Friday Focus #5: 9.21.12

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." 

John Wooden

What a great week this has been...   you really can feel the excitement in the air -- especially today.  Thanks for helping to make this a special week for our students and our athletic teams.




Building Goals Follow-Up
Please make sure you read the follow-up post from the building goals meetings and complete the survey.  Here is a link to the post and the survey: http://goo.gl/qUkm1
If you are still unable to log into your Celinaschools Google account, please email Sheila Baltzell.



FIP Reminder
Don't forget to complete your FIP module BEFORE Wednesday 9/26.  For help with logging in and finding the module, use the eyes on the right.



Faculty Meeting
We will have a 20 minute faculty meeting on Wednesday 9/26 @ 7 AM in the lecture hall.  This is the 2-hour delay day...  the meeting is separate from the inservice activities.  We will be hearing from Kevin Mast regarding the ALICE training for lock-downs.



Advisory
Please remember to issue passes BEFORE activities that take place during advisory.  Also, please try to help us limit the amount of hall traffic during advisory!



Tech Tuesday
Next week's Tech Tuesday will be 'Remind 101': an easy and free way to remind your students about important classroom activities in a format that suits them!  Come listen to Ashley Lefeld show you how to use the service and what she has used it for in her own classroom.  Room 119 on Tuesday!



Upcoming Assembly
On October 9th, we have the distinct privilege of hearing from motivational speaker Kyle Maynard.  More on the schedule and format, but here is a video to give you a little preview:








Calendar of Events
Remember that Calendar Info can be found on the right hand sidebar of the blog... updated regularly...



Happy Birthday
7/23   Ryan Parrish

Building Goals Follow-up

Thanks again to everyone for participating in Wednesday's Daytime Staff Meetings!  We had great conversations, thought provoking discussions, and even a little fun along the way.  I thoroughly enjoyed what I witnessed on Wednesday in the conference room and I felt proud to be part of such a great group of educators!

As promised, here is some more information on Daniel Pink's work on motivation:

• Amazon page for "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us": http://goo.gl/2m2Q2

• The longer version of the TED Talk from Daniel Pink:

The biggest topics of conversation throughout the day centered around student ownership of learning, preparing students for life (not just college), and obviously, motivation.

Below is a link to a survey about the Daytime Staff Meeting.  Please take a moment today to fill out the survey and give some feedback.


SURVEY: http://goo.gl/41NCJ (YOU WILL HAVE TO BE LOGGED-IN TO YOUR CELINASCHOOLS GOOGLE ACCOUNT!)

Sheila Baltzell and I just discussed the possibility of starting a book study on Daniel Pink's book if anyone is interested.  Sheila is working on securing some copies of the book.  Professional Development credit will be available and I don't perceive a great number of meetings... the idea would be to get a group of interested teachers to read the book and meet a couple of times to discuss the ideas & concepts.  If you are interested, please email Sheila and Jason. 

CHS Opening Day 2012

For those of you that like to have a paper copy of the agenda: http://goo.gl/hyBJv 

Important info from our Opening Day meeting (this will be updated later as well):

CHS Opening Day Meeting 2012 Agenda

• New Staff Intros

• Special Ed News & Notes

• Guidance News & Notes

• Handbook, Discipline, Attendance & all that fun stuff

• Frosh Orientation
• Teacher intros @ 8:30 AM
• Mini-schedule from 11 - 12 noon


• copy of Frosh Orientation schedule:  http://goo.gl/oJYmC




• Class Meetings: 
• 9th -- Wednesday
• 10th -- Thursday
• 11th -- Friday (last 15 minutes of 5th p.)
• 12th -- 7:45 AM (w/ picture?)




• Open House -- 6:30 - 7:30 PM on Wednesday 8/29
• Schedule: http://goo.gl/wtESz 




• Tech Tuesday: 
• List:  http://goo.gl/jfL14
• Request:  http://goo.gl/oVQ48 

• FIP with Kim & Kelly

• Then, Now, & the Future

Friday Focus #31: 5.11.12

Mercer County Inservice

• Check out these summer inservice opportunities from the Mercer County ESC. 

• Check out these offerings at Wright State University -- Lake Campus: http://www.wright.edu/lake/academics/summer_workshops_12.html

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!
Just in case you missed it, click here for a link to my blog post on Teacher Appreciation Day!


Special Ed Info

It’s Progress Report time again!!! I know that you’re ecstatic and can hardly contain yourself!! So, here are a few dates we would like you to send out to the staff to keep in mind:

 

1) Jared and I will be distributing the Red Progress Report folders to all the teachers Tuesday, May 15, 2011.

 

2) We ask that they are returned to the clear bins on the side of the mailboxes by 7:25 A.M., Tuesday, May 22, 2011 so we can redistribute them to the Special Education Teachers.

 

3) Please have all teachers return the Blue Acura Folders to Renee/Jared anytime on/before Tuesday, May 22, 2011! Don’t worry about throwing any of the paperwork away, we will go through them and shred everything for confidentiality purposes!

AP Testing
We will be testing in the Math Computer Lab ALL DAY on Monday and Tuesday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

5/17     Ruth Rumple

Upcoming Events

5/11 Senior Meeting & Awards
5/13 Choir Recital, 4 PM, Choir Room
5/14 AP Bio Test
5/15 AP Government Test
5/17 Choir Spring Concert, 7:30 - 9 PM, Auditorium
5/17 Senior Exam Day 1
5/18 Senior Exam Day 2 -- Last day for Seniors


5/23 EXAM DAY 1
5/24 LAST DAY OF SCHOOL... EXAM DAY 2
5/24 Senior Grades Due by 2 PM
5/25 Graduation Practice, 8:30 AM, Gym
5/25 Checkout no later than 2 PM
5/26 GRADUATION CEREMONY, 10:30 AM, Football Field


5/29 Grades Due by 9 AM

In Your Mailbox...

... today are several things (you may or may not have all of the following):

• Red Folders --> these are gifts from the Special Ed Department... Progress reports that need to be completed by teachers in reference to 2nd trimester progress.  See 'Midweek Update 2.28.12' for more info.
• Class Lists --> these are the most up-to-date version available on paper.  
• Schedules --> for students you have in advisory.  There should be a schedule for every student.  Make sure the students go by this schedule as it may have changed even if they did not make a request. 
• Course Change Request Sheets --> You will only have these for students in your advisory if they made a course change request that was denied.  Please distribute these during advisory in the morning!

... later this week: 

• Blue Acura Folders --> these will include IEP at a glance and other info about students on IEPS, 504s, Document of Intervention, etc.  

Hope you all got something out of the morning sessions!  Thanks again to those of you that presented!

Friday Focus #23: 3.2.12

Exams!
Thanks again to everyone that helped read exams.  As always, this is a team effort and we couldn't do this without the help of everyone involved!
Remember the grade timeline:

• Probable Failures due by 9 AM on Monday to the counselors (sooner if you have them)
• Grades Due by 9 AM on Tuesday
• Use March 5th as the Exam Date

If you have a student that missed an exam, please bring that exam to the office along with any testing instructions.  We will proctor the exam on Monday or another day next week. 

Inservice Day
Be sure to read the email I sent out this morning regarding the inservice day.  All necessary materials can be found at tinyurl.com/CelinaInservice.  In this morning's email, I stated we start @ 8 AM and end at 3 PM.  If you prefer, you may start the day at normal time and end at normal time.  Just be sure that you are collaborating with your department members on the Common Core Standards. 


Beginning of 3rd Trimester 
We will start the day on Tuesday in Advisory.  First thing Tuesday morning, you will find a set of schedules for your advisory students.  Please pass these out and then 5 minutes into the period, we will make an announcement to advance to 1st period.

Tornado Season
That time of year again!  With the high winds that are expected today, this is a good time to review your tornado policies and procedures.  Be prepared for a possible drill next week.

National Guard Lunch
Today, the National Guard is providing free lunch to all teachers and staff.  Subs will be available in the Teacher workroom by the Media Center!
ENJOY!

Jeans Days
Don't forget, Jeans days yesterday, today, and Monday are for Service Learning Day.  Also, next Friday, the Jeans Day will benefit the Community Health Professionals "Beacon of Hope Dinner Auction for Hospice".
On Pi Day (March 14 for all you non-Math nerds), the math department would like to have a special Jeans Day... pay $3.14 and get a free piece of pi(e).  This money will also go towards Service Learning Day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

3/4    Angela Kalcec
3/9    Brad Siebert

Upcoming Events

3/2         2nd day of 2nd Trimester Exams... follow exam schedule
3/5         Inservice Day
             Jeans Day... proceeds to Service Learning Day
             Probable Failures due by 9 AM
3/6         First Day of 3rd Trimester
             GRADES DUE BY 9 AM
             Band Contest Preview, 7 PM, Gym
3/9         PAY DAY
             Grades Updated in Progressbook
             Jeans Day... proceeds to Community Health Professionals
3/12-16  OGT Week, 2-hour delay schedule all week
3/13       Student-Athlete Parent Meeting (spring sports), 6:30 PM, LH
3/14       Pi Day...  Jeans Day donation of $3.14 for Service Learning Day & free Pi(e)
3/16-17  OMEA Large Group Contest, CHS

Friday Focus #22: 2.24.12

End of 2nd Trimester
Next week marks the end of the 2nd Trimester.  Remember that we will be on an adjusted schedule on Thursday and Friday (see schedules tab at the top of the staff blog).  Grades will be due by 9 AM on Tuesday, March 6th.  Probable failures are due by 9 AM on Monday, March 5th.

Don't forget to turn in your Special Ed testing sheet ASAP for exams!  



Inservice Day
Monday, March 5th is an inservice day.  We will be running breakout sessions in the morning with some structured 'on-your-own' activities for the afternoon.  The list of morning sessions will be available first thing Monday morning.

Have a great weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

2/27   John Higgins
3/2     Wendy Mitchell-Payne
3/2     Aaron Alig

Upcoming Events

2/29    Pep Assembly
3/1     1st day of 2nd Trimester Exams... follow exam schedule
3/2     2nd day of 2nd Trimester Exams... follow exam schedule
3/5     Inservice Day
         Probable Failures due by 9 AM
3/6     First Day of 3rd Trimester
         GRADES DUE BY 9 AM
         Band Contest Preview, 7 PM, Gym

Friday Focus #21: 2.17.12

E-Tech Wrap
Many of our teachers attended a session at the e-Tech conference this week.  I know many of you came back with great ideas and mind-opening concepts.  Please share your thoughts, take-aways, and any links to resources in the comment section below.

In light of the futuristic thinking keynote speaker from Monday, here is a link to an article from Google titled:
Here Are The 17 Radical Ideas From Google's Top Genius Conference That Could Change The World

The eTech Ohio website will be posting video and conference handouts/materials soon.  Here is the address: http://www.etech.ohio.gov/conference/index.dot.

Self-Reflect: Student Engagement
When we had our visitors from St. Marys last week, one of the main things we brought up as a topic of discussion was the length of the class period and how we hold students' attention for more than an hour.  For those of you that have been around during the schedule change, you know that we spent a lot of time talking about doing at least 3 distinct things during a lesson.  Every 20 minutes (give or take) we need to change our activity in the classroom.  Students need to be engaged in order to learn...

One of the first things I look for when I walk into a classroom is whether or not students are engaged.  Its easy enough to see and any one of us could walk into a classroom and observe whether or not students are engaged in the learning process.  The tell-tale signs are obvious --

• are they sitting up or do they have their head down?
• are they participatory learners?
• are they actively learning?

The list could go on... think about and reflect on your own classroom and your own practice.  Are you dividing up your lessons?  Are your students engaged?  Do your students look forward to coming to class or do they dread it?  

Most of our students are engaged during class time, but I challenge each of you to take some time in the next few days to reflect on your own practice...  Talk with your co-workers about it... talk with an administrator.  We learn and grow best when we reflect on and discuss our own practice!   

THANKS FOR READING!

have a great 3-day weekend...  enjoy your time off!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

2/20    Sheila Baltzell
2/24    Marcia Smith
2/24    Todd Topp

Upcoming Events

2/20   No School -- President's Day
2/25   PAY DAY
          Progressbook Grades Updated
2/29   Pep Assembly 
3/1     1st day of 2nd Trimester Exams... follow exam schedule
3/2     2nd day of 2nd Trimester Exams... follow exam schedule

Inservice Day & Other Stuff

Good Morning... Here are a few very important midweek items of note.  There will be a full Friday Focus this Friday.

• We are currently in the process of planning the next inservice day, scheduled for Monday, March 5th.  Right now, we are brainstorming sessions & presenters.  

If you have an idea for a session you would like to see offered OR you would like to present a session, please email me ASAP.  Some of the best sessions from the November inservice came from teacher suggestions and were presented by our own staff members!

• Also...  just a heads up -- we will be having a staff meeting next Wednesday, February 8th for some informational stuff.  Please plan to attend this 7 AM meeting in the lecture hall.

• Week in 3 Words will make a return THIS week.  I will be in the cafeteria during 4th period on Thursday to record.  If you or your class have any ideas for Week in 3 Words, let me know...

• If you have not yet completed the Student Centered Tech Tools survey from Friday Focus #18, please do so now...  

With no Friday Focus last week, we missed a birthday...
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO
1/29    Aaron Bowsher

Friday Focus #14: 12.16.11

Tech Tuesday 12.20.11
New eBooks on the Celina High School Card Catalog

Sheila Baltzell will be showing staff how to:

• create a user account
• search for the 44 new ebooks
• read online
• check-out
• read from your online device
• check-in 

At this week's department chair meeting, we discussed several items of importance that are worth mentioning here. Hopefully your department chair will bring these items up for discussion within each department.

• Formative assessment -- this is a Race to the Top committee that is working on using formative assessment K - 12.  More on this later. 

• New Teacher Evaluation system:  This is still in the early phases, but this new system will take into account student growth as 50% of the teacher (and principal) evaluations.  There are two messages here that are important to take away: 

1. teacher input is a big part of this entire process
2. this is not as scary as I thought it might be at first!  

Look at the linked document above for a little more information.   Again... more on this later.  

• OGT results & Intervention Stats:  Our students did really well in the fall administration of the OGT.  Check out scores (remember they are confidential) in the public share folder [titled "Fall OGT Scores"].  The 'intervention' link is a summary of how many students passed each subject area that went through the OGT intervention / advisory program.  This is just proof of how effective advisory intervention has been.  Good job to those involved!

• Student survey results from May of 2011 can be found by clicking the word student. 

• ODE and the Chancellor of Higher Education released a report this week that highlights the percentage of Ohio students (by high school) that have to take remedial level courses in Math and Reading.  That report, and older versions, can be found here: College Remediation reports.

• In follow up to the previous bullet point, ODE has begun to piece together Math & English College & Career Readiness expectations.  Click the links to learn more. 

Don't forget that CEUs from the 11/23 inservice day are available in the office.  

Remember the Themes for next week & note the addition on Wednesday: 

Tuesday, December 20th --> Christmas Socks Day [last day for toy drive... $1 goes to jeans fund]
Wednesday, December 21st --> Christmas Jewelry Day [$1 goes to jeans fund]
Thursday, December 22nd --> Christmas Sweater Day (Ugly is Optional!) [$1 goes to jeans fund]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

12/21   Alicia Sneddon

Upcoming Events

12/18   Band Concert @ the Fieldhouse, 3 PM
12/20   Staff Christmas Luncheon
12/21   StuCo Christmas Assembly
12/22   Blood Drive
12/22   Club Photo Day
12/22   Staff Christmas Party -- Club 211
12/22   PAY DAY... Don't forget to update grades in Progressbook!
12/23 - 1/2  CHRISTMAS BREAK!
1/3      First Day back to reality

Have a great weekend!

Friday Focus #13: 12-9-11

On Wednesday, December 14th, we will be administering a survey to all students during advisory after announcements.  The surveys will be in your mailbox later today.  Instructions can be found by clicking here.

Parent-Teacher conferences for 2nd trimester are (believe it or not) right around the corner -- JANUARY 18TH from 4:30 - 7:00 PM.  Conference cards will be distributed soon.  Instructions can be found here.

In case you didn't notice, we now have a green screen.  Essentially, this allows us to place any image or video in the background of a recording video or image taken in front of the green screen.  I have one license for software that we are using in the office for announcements and we are working on finding another program so others can use the screen.  If you want to learn more or you think you have an idea for using the green screen, see Jason.  The guidance conference room is the 'green room'.

We are always in need of readers for the Words of Wisdom.  Please see Megan if you would like to record one or if you know of someone that would be good to feature on Words of Wisdom (we are always looking  for any staff member, alumni, community member, famous person, etc.)!

Every teacher needs to begin to become familiar with the new Common Core Standards.  Curt Shellebarger (Curriculum Director) recently sent out an all-staff email with instructions for finding subject specific standards.  In case you lost that email, or you just need a quick link, click here and you will find specific content standard links on the left hand side of the page.  More on the Common Core and its impact later!

CEUs from the Inservice Day on November 23rd are available in the office next to the envelope for the Jeans Fund.  If you attended the inservice, stop by and get your CEUs!

Every year, Student Council does a number of fundraisers to help raise money for the StuCo Santa fund -- the main one being Dime Wars.  This year, they will be trying a new fundraiser: beginning on Monday during class changes, they will be playing a Chipmunks Christmas song -- the same one over & over.  Students and staff can donate money to stop the playing of the music [it really is an annoying song].  If a certain number is reached, they will stop playing the song.  (sounds fun!)

In an effort to help raise money for the Santa fund & the Toys for Tots campaign, we will be having some dress down days between now and Christmas break.  We have created 5 theme days... if you meet 2 of the 3 criteria each day you can wear jeans on these days.
#1 -- dress to the theme
#2 -- pay $1
     OR
#3 -- bring a toy for the 'Toys for Tots' campaign

Themes: 
Wednesday, December 14 --> Christmas Tie Day (I have plenty if anyone needs to borrow one!)
Thursday, December 15 --> Christmas Hat Day
Friday, December 16 --> Christmas T-Shirt Day [last day for Santa fund]
Tuesday, December 20th --> Christmas Socks Day [last day for toy drive... $1 goes to jeans fund]
Thursday, December 22nd --> Christmas Sweater Day (Ugly is Optional!) [$1 goes to jeans fund]


Tech Tuesdays

Tech Tuesdays next week will be 'Using Twitter for PD'.  Believe it or not, the same tool that movie stars use to tell their fans when they are getting coffee or breaking up with their significant other is also one of the greatest PD tools available for educators.  Learn how to use Twitter to make you a better educator.

Week in 3 Words

Thanks to those of you that have participated in the Week in 3 Words.  Many of you have either helped by recording during your advisory/class or by doing your own '3 words'.  Let me know if you would like to do any recording...

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

12/16   Jared Rolfes

Upcoming Events

12/13   Payment for Christmas Party due
12/13   Messiah Choir Performance @ St. Paul's UMC, 7:30 PM 
12/14   Tri Star Visits (Sophomores)
12/18   Band Concert @ the Fieldhouse, 3 PM
12/20   Staff Christmas Luncheon
12/21   StuCo Christmas Assembly
12/22   Blood Drive
12/22   Club Photo Day
12/22   Staff Christmas Party -- Club 211
12/22   PAY DAY... Don't forget to update grades in Progressbook!
12/23 - 1/2  CHRISTMAS BREAK!
1/3      First Day back to reality

Friday Focus #12: 11-18-11 --> updates in bold

End of Trimester 1 -- update

• Tri Star students & exams: we have created a list of Tri Star students in case you need to refer to it for exams.  Included are post secondary students as well.  

• Tri Star juniors may not be quite on time to their 4th period exam on Monday.  All Tri Star students will arrive by 10:25 and if they are late, they will have a pass from the office. 

• If you have senior Tri Star students 3rd period, please let Megan or CJ know and send down a copy of your exam... we will be proctoring these in the lecture hall on Monday (see schedule).   

• USE 11/23/11 for exam date in Progressbook. 

• Remember that the window to enter grades is currently open. You have until 11/29/11 @ 9 AM to finish entering grades.  Probable failures should be sent to Wendy or Lynne by 9 AM on 11/23/11 or AS SOON AS YOU KNOW!

• Announcements will be at the end of the 1st - 5th period on Monday and will be over the PA.  On Tuesday, we will do essential announcements ONLY at the beginning of the day after the Pledge of Allegiance.

• We are short on Special Ed test readers on Monday and Tuesday.  Any teacher that is willing to read a test during their planning period will be paid $20 for doing so... this is easy to do and sometimes doesn't take the whole period.  On top of the extra money you can make, you will also be helping out in a BIG way.  Email Jason ASAP if you are interested.    

• Please return the Blue Acura Folders with Special Ed accommodation sheets back to Jared or Renee's mailbox by the end of the day Tuesday so they can begin getting them ready for 2nd Trimester.  Thanks for your help in this.  

Inservice Day
More info about the inservice day will be out on Monday morning.

Tech Tuesdays

Tech Tuesdays will resume after the Thanksgiving Break, beginning on Tuesday, December 6th.  Check out the poll on the sidebar for options.  Please vote!  If you have topic suggestions, feel free to comment below.

Week in 3 Words

Thanks to those of you that have participated in the Week in 3 Words.  Many of you have either helped by recording during your advisory/class or by doing your own '3 words'.  Let me know if you would like to do any recording...

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

11/21    Candy Weitz
11/27    Mary Jo Alig
12/1      Mary Meyer
12/1      Tommy Huston

Upcoming Events

11/18   Fall Choir Production
11/19   Fall Choir Production
11/21   Exams -- Day 1 
11/22   Exams -- Day 2
           End of 1st Trimester
11/23   Inservice Day
           Failures due by 9 AM
11/29   Start of 2nd Trimester
           Grades due by 9 AM
           Start day in Advisory

Friday Focus #11: 11.11.11

End of Trimester 1
We are now only a week and a half from the end of the 1st trimester.  We will have exams on Monday 11/21 and Tuesday 11/22.  The exam schedule can always be found under the schedules tab on the staff blog.  Exams work like this:

• Day 1: we run through a full schedule of shortened periods (30 minutes in length) as a final review day.  Then, we jump into exams around 10:20 AM with only 4th and 5th period exams on this day.  Lunch is organized by the 4th period teacher on day 1... eat the same lunch you always do.  We release at normal time on this day
• Day 2: we hold exams for periods 1, 2, & 3 on this day.  Lunch is during 3rd period and is based on the teacher the students have for 3rd period -- teachers should eat the same period (A, B, or C) while students could potentially be eating a different lunch period.  Tell your 3rd period students prior to day 2 which lunch they should eat.  ALL STUDENTS ARE RELEASED @ 1 PM on day 2.  Teachers are required to stay until normal time!
• Tri Star schedules can be found on the exam schedule.  Special arrangements will need to be made 3rd period for seniors in Tri Star.

Grade Entry Timeline

Grade entry can begin any time.  Grades are due by 9 AM on Tuesday, November 29th.  Remember that probable failures should be sent to the guidance counselors by 9 AM on the inservice day. 

Inservice Day

There was a blog post last week regarding our inservice day.  I have been working over the last 2 weeks to create a day that is meaningful to everyone with Professional Development tailored to your needs as a teacher.  The tentative schedule is still a work in progress.  Initially I was planning for department level meetings in the afternoon, but the district has planned to have a bully prevention event in the afternoon.  Here is an outline of the day:
8:00 - 11:45    Breakout sessions on a variety of topics (4 sessions total)
12:00 - 1:00    Lunch
1:00 - 2:30      Bullying Prevention Session (Lecture Hall)
Teachers of Freshmen can use the afternoon to work with Matt Dunlap out of the Media Center as an alternative to attending the bullying session. 

Tech Tuesdays

Tech Tuesdays will resume after the Thanksgiving Break, beginning on Tuesday, December 6th.  Check out the poll on the sidebar for options.  Please vote!

Week in 3 Words

The theme for the Week in 3 Words next week is 'Being Thankful'.  If you or your class would like to record a Week in 3 Words, let Megan know via email and we can send someone.  We will record Wednesday and Thursday next week. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

11/9    Kristi Stachler
11/17  Brian Stetler

Upcoming Events

11/18   Fall Choir Production
11/19   Fall Choir Production
11/21   Exams -- Day 1 
11/22   Exams -- Day 2
           End of 1st Trimester
11/23   Inservice Day
           Failures due by 9 AM
11/29   Start of 2nd Trimester
           Grades due by 9 AM

Professional Development

We all want to get better at what we do.  Sometimes that means reflecting on a lesson; other times it means trying something new.  Of course, professional development is one way to help us get better in our practice.  That said, many times this phrase (professional development) is met with groans and ugly memories of a bad inservice or a day spent on something entirely unrelated to your classroom.

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!

I would like for your professional development more meaningful for you...

Help me create meaning for our inservice day on November 23rd.  If there is a topic you would like covered on the inservice day, make a comment below.  If you have a passion for something you are already doing in your classroom and would be willing to lead a session, comment below.  A portion of the day on 11/23/11 will be dedicated to breakout sessions.  I have some planned, some ideas, and plenty of room for more.

Join in the discussion... make your time meaningful for you!