Being Thankful

Many reasons to be thankful this week as we head into our holiday season...



Pink Scotties came out in full force early last Sunday morning for the Komen Race for the Cure.  It was a day to be thankful for as we walked in honor or memory of those who have been affected by cancer.  Our own Mrs. Olson led the charge in her fluffy, hot pink cowboy hat and even made it on air at one point.  Great day and a great cause with Scottie parents, kids, and staff coming out to show support. 

I also continue to be thankful for my visits to classrooms.  In Mrs. Finkle's 4th grade Science class this week, students were involved in learning about the relationship and patterns between the sun, earth, and moon as part of their Science TEKS; there were a variety of aligned activities to keep the engagement high. I saw partner reading and the intro to student created Phases of the Moon flip books, as well as a model demonstration by Mrs. Finkle on the tilt of the earth and the relationship to the sun (think seasons), with students making inferences and self-reflecting on their learning.  I enjoyed speaking with Mac and Trevor following the teacher demonstration and hearing their thinking about how our natural world is connected. Per Mac, "without the tilt of the earth, people in areas without sun would not be as healthy or as evolved.  It would affect crops, livestock, everything".  Trevor further decided if this was the case he could take his "NASA spacecraft out of the darkness..." and this led us to briefly discuss what our earth would be like if we were indeed forced to live in smaller areas of livable space.  Hmmmm....big ideas and no easy answers.  Before I left, Mrs. Finkle did manage to pump up the volume with a Phases of the Moon rap video, with all (yes, including teacher!) joining in a truly rap-tastic dance.  Fun!

There were a variety of other things taking place this week in and around campus.  I visited Mrs. Kolodziej's fifth grade social studies class one day in order to see her graduate intern from UT's theater department leading a lesson.  Mr. Williams had students charting their ideas on "What are Taxes?" as a part of the Revolutionary War unit of study.  Students were discussing various acts, leading up to the use of a DBI (drama based instruction) strategy - role play between "a 12 year old boy and a colonist".  Building empathy, becoming a character, real or imaginary, gives students a much deeper understanding of perspective and the "why" behind the history they read.  Thanks Mr. Williams for working with HP!

Our after school Lego Club was in full swing this week as well.  Steve and Michelle Bohls are the club sponsors, there were truly a "passel" of kids when I stopped in on Monday, and student groups were very enthusiastically engaged in the creative process.  Two groups were in play - ones with predesigned frameworks and one freestyle.  Roan, Jamie, and Benjamin's group had some pretty cool figures and tools in their Lego land model, including a "hybrid troll, ninja, knight" character - just in case one is needed.  Thanks for the visit boys!

Finally, we had a very informative math presentation at our PTA general meeting on Tuesday evening, courtesy of fourth grade teacher Mrs. Finkle and fifth grade teacher Mrs. O'Donnell.  This presentation was designed to give parents information about our school's implementation of Ms. Math and Singapore Math computation methods in our classrooms, methods we've incorporated into our math program for some time now.  These research-based whole-number computation strategies give our students other math tools to use besides traditional algorithm methods; students, through their use, are forming the foundations of learning and understanding of math concepts (think numbers rather than digits) through problem solving, justifying their answers, and explanation by using different methods of computation.   Both teachers talked about three important concepts:  use of strategies that are number oriented rather than digit oriented, strategies that are left-handed rather than right-handed, and strategies that are flexible rather than rigid. Our take-away from the evening was that more of these events need to take place on our campus and we still have need to share information about Model Drawing (also Singapore Math) as it relates to problem solving.  Students learn in a variety of ways as we all know and as Mrs. Finkle stated, "the traditional algorithms are there for use, but it's sort of like stepping back a bit, keeping the training wheels on, so students have a firm grasp of the concrete concept of numbers before moving to the abstract of digits".  Those of us there were truly thankful for both Mrs. Finkle and Mrs. O'Donnell and their presentation on behalf of our campus.


One last picture which will make you thankful you took a look.  Below are student created turkeys on display outside Mrs. Goldsmith's first grade classroom.  They are creative and unusual turkeys as you can see and always draw me in for a moment as I head down that hallway.  Think King Pig turkey and Princess turkey to name two. Check them out if you are need of a smile. Works for me every time!

Lots of good to be thankful for this week, especially the staff, students, parents, and community of Highland Park.  Thank you for making HP a really cool school for all of us to enjoy.

A good week indeed

Good things continue to happen in around our school, as evidenced this week.  Please take the time to pull up fourth grade teacher Ms. Snell's language arts blog when you have a chance (http://tsnell.edublogs.org/).  It's also posted on the fourth grade WIKI at the Highland Park website.  Ms. Snell, finishing her master's in library science, began this blog last year and utilizes the tool for student responses to literature currently being read in her class.  The prompts require students to have an understanding of the text, make inferences, and make personal connections to people and events in the story, which are important for those "text to self" and "text to world" connections. Currently, Ms. Snells's students are in process of posting responses to the novel The Secret School by Avi.  Students are required to respond to 4 of 9 given prompts; the teacher then scores their responses on such components as text evidence cited, vocabulary, and conventions of writing.  Ms. Snell has become a passionate proponent for integrating technology into her classroom, telling me that this forum "lets kids write for a wider audience (than just the teacher or classmates).  It's preparing them for working in an online environment which is a 21st century learning skill.  Even reluctant speakers in class now have a voice and use it".  Pretty powerful.

I was also fortunate to visit a fifth grade Future Problem Solvers class this week, taught by Mrs. McHorse.  This once per week pull-out for our identified gifted and talented students continues to shine and I was impressed with the level of critical thinking, time management, collaboration, creativity, and more I saw in action.  This particular group of students were working in small teams on a future scene about the re-establishment of coral reefs in the year 2038; completed booklets will be sent away for scoring, returned with feedback, then processed with student reflection; this "practice" helps prepare the students for the actual competition in January. 
If you haven't seen an FPS problem solving model, let me tell you it is very involved and requires a level of thinking that would stump many of us.  The model follows a six-prong approach:  Identify 16 (yes, 16!) challenges related to the given future scene overview, Select an Underlying Problem, Produce Solution Ideas, Select Criteria, Apply Criteria, then Develop an Action Plan.  Keep in mind that the 16 challenges have to relate to 16 different global issues categories (there are 18 total and they include such broad topics as defense, law & justice, ethics & religion, and technology) and student teams only have TWO hours to complete the entire booklet.  Pretty impressive.  Mrs. McHorse tells me that though she sees much critical and creative thinking in action, the collaboration piece these kids engage in (true teamwork) is the big takeaway.  Listening in on one group I heard Javier discuss everything shark skins (kids tell me he is an expert on sharks and I believe it!) as well as Daniel stating, "we know there will be one animal in this challenge that is a danger to coral reefs...".  This conversation between team members brought home how important it is for our students to have opportunities for collaboration.  Can't wait to see how these Scotties did on their practice booklets.  On to January!

Great training today also with all teachers and teaching assistants.  We travelled over to Lamar Middle School with the other Creative Classroom pilot elementary schools for a half day staff development on creativity in the classroom.  The breakout sessions, by grade level and specialty area, comprised of 2 geared toward actual models and instruction on creativity (think dance/movement, narrative pantomine, art therapy, and more), with one room devoted to a showcase of community arts providers.  We are all so fortunate to have access to these resources in our community.  Thanks Brent, Christy, and everyone for furthering our understanding of what creatvity in the classroom is all about.  Good stuff.

Finally, our week took a more somber, reflective tone at yesterday's Veteran's Day assembly for fourth grade parents.  The students sang a variety of patriotic songs in their red, white, and blue dress, with many of us in attendance singing along with them.  It was hard not to get choked up during the traditional branch of service songs, with audience members (think parents and grandparents) standing when their branch of service was noted.  Additionally, the red and blue Stars of Valor displayed in our main hallway were a reminder of those who proudly and valiantly give so much for all of us. For those who have served or are serving, we thank you.

Community

I took a field trip one morning this week with a couple of third grade classes.  If you haven't checked out the in-town Elisabet Ney Museum, you really should.  This field experience is part of third grade's Social Studies TEKS, broadly noted as community, and is one of a handful they take to enhance student understanding of some notable members and places of our own community in Austin.  This particular visit, with Mr. Robenhorst and Ms. Smith's classes, gave students information on Elisabet's early years, her unorthodox views (for the 1800's, women wearing pants or riding their horses astride, were both considered rebellious acts by women, something our students have a hard time grasping today), her work as a noted sculptor here and abroad, as well as a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse at the building itself (her studio/residence).  We heard about and saw many of Elisabet's noted works and learned that she typically started "small", with a bust of some type before working on full body pieces. We also were able to take the spiral staircase to the study of Elisabet's husband, Dr. Edmund Montgomery, and discover the secret door that leads to the roof.  That was pretty neat. The figures of notable Texans Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin were also on display (see below) and our docent very graciously gave us an overview of their accomplishments, which third graders will definitely hear more about in fourth grade and all things Texas history! 

Soles4Souls is also happening on our campus this week through November 15.  Sponsored by our CLASS after school student service club, this wonderful first semester project will provide shoes for those who need them.  I plan to clean out my closets this weekend, bring in my $1 donation to cover shipping for each pair donated, and help a good cause.  Thanks to our CLASS staff sponsors and students for coordinating a worthwhile endeavor. As the website at http://www.soles4souls.org/ states, "Shoes help prevent the spread of parasitic diseases that plague over 1.4 billion people worldwide, and they are a basic human necessity."  Help a good cause for our community members at large and drop off your new or gently worn shoes in a designated hallway box at HP.

PTA Reflections art projects wrapped up this week and the entries were impressive.  The theme this year was "Diversity Means" and students were to "Reflect on a Theme.  Create an Original Work.  Be Recognized".  Originals works could include dance choreography, photography, film production, musical composition, visual arts, or literature.  Several of the students will be advancing to the next level. Super work!  I enjoyed stopping by for the culminating trip to Berry Austin after school yesterday - thanks!  Check out two of the entries by Sophia and Sophia shown below.  Truly thoughtful work as we think of the diversity in our own community (and what it truly means!). Special thanks to Stephanie Wilson for chairing this annual event for our school.

Finally, I'm posting this a bit early with the hopes that you come out to support our own vertical team community at Lamar Middle School's annual fall carnival, Lamarfest.  Starts at 6:00 pm tonight, Friday, November 4. Promises to be a blast!