Friday, January 29, 2016

Making the World a Better Place

Each year, the fifth grade students come together to work on a service project. This year, our PTA chose a crayon collection drive through thecrayoninitiative.org.  The crayons that are collected are recycled into new crayons and sent to hospitals all over the country so that children can continue to enjoy art while they are hospitalized. Since crayons are not biodegradable, recycling crayons is also good for the environment as this prevents them from ending up in landfills. 


Fifth grade students were involved in every aspect of the service project. They decorated and put together collection boxes, created posters and wrote scripts for the morning announcements. 


Each morning during the week of collection, the fifth grade students read their scripts over the morning announcements encouraging students and staff to donate their used crayons. 



The students spent their recess time collecting the crayon donations throughout the school. 


It was great for them to see the difference they were making in caring for the environment and bringing art opportunities to children in hospitals all over the country. We are proud of our students' efforts and the positive impact they are having. Our fifth graders are truly helping to make the world a better place! 

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Putting the Pieces Together


This poster that students made in one fourth grade classroom reminded me of all the pieces that go into being able to deeply understand and think critically about what is being read.


We want our students to read and understand the characteristics of a variety of genres and sub-genres.

We want our students to be able to use their schema (current knowledge and understandings) to build connections and strengthen understandings of new information.

We want our students to be familiar with a variety of text features and structures. They can use their awareness of how text is organized and broken down to aid their comprehension. 


Students need ample time to discuss, share and compare interpretations and questions about what they are reading. 


They also need ample time to immerse themselves in sustained, purposeful independent reading. 


Summarizing and annotating key ideas and details are important strategies our students regularly practice to strengthen their comprehension.


It's also exciting to see how our students' literacy learning can be "amplified" with the integration of technology. Technology tools enable us to find a variety of high-interest texts, adjust reading levels, provide audio recordings, define tricky vocabulary, access images and videos to enhance comprehension & visualization of text, highlight or change the size or font of text, and allow for more student interaction with text. 


I'm so proud of the depth and critical thinking our students are practicing as they enjoy and explore reading so many great books at Dryden!









Friday, January 15, 2016

One Word: Family



Instead of New Year's resolutions for 2016, I've learned of a strategy from colleagues to choose one word as a central focus for the year. Through much reflection about the one word that best describes my values, goals, hopes and dreams both professionally and personally, the word that kept surfacing in my heart and my mind was FAMILY.


I was very fortunate as a child to be surrounded by very loving and fun-loving immediate and extended family. There was always a strong sense of security and support from those around me. They instilled a sense of confidence and zest for life in me.


My immediate family moved to the midwest when I was a teen. There was sadness in moving away from loved ones, but I learned that I could still experience a sense of extended family at school and in my community. I was fortunate to develop relationships with many caring individuals who provided support, mentoring, encouragement and laughter.  


When spending time in Japan and studying abroad, the warmth and closeness of the families I lived with still resonates within me. Although I learned so much about a very different culture and language, the deep caring and kindness only a family can provide is unforgettable. 


Now that I am an adult, the sense of courage and determination I feel to keep my own family safe, loved and cared for is beyond compare. I want my children to receive an outstanding education and do well in school so that they can reach their hopes and dreams. But most importantly, I want them to grow up to be healthy and happy, caring individuals. 


Perhaps the greatest joy of being in the education profession is the sense of FAMILY felt within a school. It's truly wonderful to be part of school family that strives to provide the security, encouragement and support in good times and bad so that our students can learn and grow with confidence and achieve their hopes and dreams, too. There is much to love and appreciate about the Dryden FAMILY!!



Friday, January 8, 2016

Enthusiastic & Engaged!

Happy New Year! It's great to be back at school after a relaxing and rejuvenating winter break! Our students and staff jumped right back into school routines and many new and exciting learning opportunities.


It's so great to see our students taking the lead in the "author's chair" as they read their writing and share their illustrations with their peers. Peers ask thoughtful questions and provide helpful feedback to one another in this setting. 


This art project brings back memories of our author/illustrator visit by Ethan Long. Students are using a similar technique that Ethan used with iPads in which they take photos of their sketches then use a special app to clean up their drawings with smooth, crisp lines. 


Australia, here we come (virtually)!! Second grade students prepared for a trip to Australia that included passports, boarding passes and virtual tour of Sydney. 


In the LMC, with the Nearpod app, students were able to feel like they were actually walking through Sydney as they walked about the LMC and moved the iPad up and down and all around them. Lots of "oohs" and "ahhs" were heard during this experience!


A big part of what keeps students enthusiastic and engaged in learning is the sense of ownership and purpose they feel in the process. Here, students are discussing and working out how to sort and organize their classroom library. 


It is a huge undertaking to sort and organize hundreds of books, but they were fully committed to this endeavor. The students cooperated and problem-solved through the entire process.



What a wonderful sense of pride and accomplishment they had! It's hard to have the winter blues when there are so many exciting things to learn and do at school!