Days, Nights, and Diavolo Too!

Schools are dynamic, breathing, living places.   Flexibility is key, hundreds of decisions are made in the moment, and no two days are ever alike.  Honestly, ask any principal or teacher and they’ll tell you that the love of kids and sheer variety of the days is why we do what we do.  Case in point this week.

Spring parent conferences happened on Monday, grades 3 & 4 took their middle of the year district assessments, our final New Parent Orientation took place Tuesday, and staff came together around a truly fabulous PTA provided luncheon on Wednesday.  But there was so much more...

Second grade enjoyed a beautiful field experience to Zilker Botanical Gardens on Tuesday; it was a great tie-in to their yearly Japan Unit as part of their SS TEKS.   I tagged along with Mrs. Guenther’s group that day and had a lovely stroll with the kids as we learned about "The Bridge to Walk Over the Moon", heard details on the garden's creator Mr. Taniguchi, as well as oohed and awed over the fact that the front area ponds in the garden spell the word AUSTIN.  Pretty neat.  The students came away with many ideas for elements in their own Japanese Garden creations, all of which will be on display during the annual Fair in March. 

Beth Finkle and Lisa Bachman's Fractured Fairy Tale Play also took place on Friday for parents and it was extremely well done.  Mrs. Finkle tells me this is one of the best productions she’s ever had and attributes it to the great actors she has in class.  The play served as a culminating activity to her Fairy Tale Unit, with students actually creating sets, props, and some costumes.  They also wrote their own fractured fairy tales and pop-up books based on the original stories for the unit and will use them to read to our Kinder and 1^st grade classes during library
time.  Per Mrs. Finkle, “ This gives us an authentic audience.  Many of my students were here in K or 1^st and had one of my students read to them way back then!”  Love that connection.

I think you can tell from the picture below, that Coach Deline enjoyed his moment in the spotlight at Monday night’s Zarrow Outstanding Teacher Lecture on UT’s campus.  It was a great evening, full of bright Teachers of Tomorrow and many representatives from UT’s College of Education honoring five AISD Outstanding teachers in various areas.  Wow, that spirit is catching – gotta’ love the vibe of a college campus!  An award, reception, and break-out session where the recipients answered questions posted by teachers in training were part of the evening, but the highlight for me were the winner speeches.  All were moving, all made me proud to be a part of this profession, none more so than Coach’s heartfelt speech.  Seriously, many of us had a few tears as Coach talked about what it means to teach and to care.  Each winner was asked the following question for print in the keepsake program - “What would you like your students to say about you long after they leave your classroom?”  Jim simply wrote, “He noticed me”.  And he does in the best way.  Thanks Coach!

George Llewellyn, Lamar Middle School principal, delivered another informative parent presentation at Tuesday evening’s PTA general meeting in our cafeteria.  Once again, he provided relevant information on the upcoming Fine Arts Academy, the re-tooled academic delivery model in math, plans for the remainder of the year, and plans going forward.  There are so many cool partnerships with community providers and McCallum HS that I can’t mention them all here, but look at the offerings in place now or happening next year:

Rockestra/Fiddle Group                      9 music offerings, including guitar instruction 
3 theatre offerings                                Plans for an outdoor performance center
A unique new scrolling marquee          DANCE! 
French, Spanish, Japanese                    Robotics, Graphic Design, and Digital Photography  Radio                                                    Creative writing incl. songwriting & screenplays             

Advanced Math track                          High School credit courses 

That evening, Mr. Llewellyn told the audience, “We are working closely with McCallum to align our programs.  We want kids to go to school in their neighborhoods…we will provide interventions for those who need them, but not for everyone.  We will customize for each student”. Thanks for reminding us Mr. Llewellyn that we have a strong vertical team, not only in the area of the arts, but in academics as well.  And we are getting stronger and more aligned each year. Great second HP visit – together, as Coach likes to say, we are Scottie Strong!

Finally, Diavolo, Diavolo!  Tonight was beyond fun.  We came, we saw, we were filmed. Not to mention we were thrilled with the cubes, the galleon, the jumps, the moves.  Trajectoire was given 2 Big Thumbs Up by Beck and Geffen!  Thanks to all Scotties for attending this second arts event as part of our Any Given Child initiative, thanks to TPA for your hospitality, and thanks everyone for continuing to build community through the arts. 

Building empathy and understanding

Monday was an event-filled day at HP.  Katie Dawson, director of UT's Drama for Schools program, along with Lara Dossett and film crew, were on hand to film a model lesson taught by Kennedy Center Master Teaching Artist and published author Dan Kelin.  Fifth grade teacher Pam Kolodziej and one of her classes graciously hosted the lesson and came away with some really cool new ways to think about "power and point of view using tableaux as an activating strategy."  The finished arts integration instruction video is one of several being created to support the program's work, per Katie and Lara. During part of the lesson I observed, students, through movement, demonstrated body traits connected to characters in the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin; traits included shapes, space, action, and attitude. All then tied specifically to how words hold power over people, a concept with direct connections to Mrs. Kolodziej's Social Studies TEKS. New strategies learned by the teacher and new ways of thinking about text by students. 

Those of us on hand for the continuation of our Book Fair week got a special treat during the Poetry Slam Monday evening.  Safe to say we were slamboozled!  Students (along with Mrs. Land, Mrs. McDaniel, and myself) performed original poetry to a packed house of students and parents.  We heard poetry about fluffy bunnies, gummy bears, cars, orks (ask 4th grader Bennett for clarification), and quite a few about science topics - one or two specifically written and performed in honor of 5th grade science teacher Mrs. Matetich.  Sweet.  I must say our own Mrs. Land went out on a limb with hers - she wrote her poem on sentence strips, then silently held them up for the audience to read.  It was pretty neat to hear the applause and affirmations for her silent poem as it detailed how it's okay to "be different" and to "be yourself".  I also was impressed with our students reactions to each performer.  They applauded and cheered as each poet headed to the stage, as well as when they exited.  Hopefully recognizing the courage it takes to perform, especially if performing's not your thing.  Thanks Scotties for showing that Scottie Spirit and special thanks to Christy, Ellen, and Stacy for another terrific Slam!

Alyssa Smith, third grade language arts teacher, also hosted parents on campus one day this week as a culminating activity to her James and the Giant Peach novel unit.  Per Ms. Smith, in addition to the basics of annotating text written by the author Roald Dahl, studying literary elements, learning vocabulary, and making connections with other text (such as Dahl's biography), students had a variety of in-class and at-home projects to complete.  In-class projects included a research paper, a critical-thinking paper, and a creative writing piece, with specific criteria given for succesful completion.  A variety of sources, both online and through books, were used for the research; finished projects "ranged from research on glow-worms to  magic potions to determining fair punishments for the antagonists of the story".  Students were also given a list of 9 at-home project ideas and had to choose at least 3 to complete.  Examples I saw during the open house were "Wanted Posters" for characters, multiple choice tests over the book, book cover designs, handmade puppets accompanied by biographies for two main characters, and some really neat dioramas.  Mrs. Smith tells me several kids completed "more than 3...just for fun!"  Thanks for hosting the parent open house, thanks for keeping the learning authentic, and thanks for providing multiple ways to make meaning of text.

Black History Month is always an important recognition time in our schools.  Teachers prepare lessons and activities and celebrations tied to accomplishments of notable Black Americans.  Some classrooms, such as our fifth grade Social Studies classes, are focusing on the study of important Black Americans tied to their TEKS (Rosa Parks and Colin Powell are two people who come to mind).  These fifth graders have created poetry related to important facts, read connected text - My Dream of Martin Luther King by Faith Ringgold is one - and written about Dr. King's Dream.  Has it been realized in our society?  Purposefully done through the themes of change and peace and very relevant discussion for us all.

Mrs. K's Celebration Board

However, second grade's celebration of Black History Month included new activities this year that deserve special note.  In  their quest to further incorporate more creative teaching strategies within their classroom, they hosted Zach Scott theater in their Social Studies classes.  This week, Zach teacher Mr. Frank taught students lessons on Black History through games, role play, and discussion on the lives of Ruby Bridges and Medgar Evers.  "The kids viewed actual photos of Ruby Bridges and had a great discussion of the paintings of Norman Rockwell, specifically the well known 1963 painting The Problem We All Live With," shared teacher Mrs. Pappert.  "New vocabulary was added, such as 'segregation', 'protesting', and 'equality'.  The kids acted this out as they recreated the (Rockwell) painting depicting Ruby Bridges and her guards.  They also created a protest and role played the Medgar Evers scene with passion.  One student said, 'It felt like I was really there and having to defend myself'."  Pretty powerful learning tool, but more importantly, one more way to help kids build empathy and understanding for others in the world they inhabit today.

           

The power of 6 words

Monday mornings always begin with our broadcast announcements.  Fifth grade student readers, as seen below, deliver the news to know for the day and week ahead, including Project Wisdom lessons.  Scripts are prepared ahead of time by our technology teacher and parent volunteers with student and teacher input, so most Mondays we have pretty smooth sailing.  This AM announcement time also gives us an opportunity for special skits, guest speakers, and more.  We’d love to be able to grow the program where we have  a dedicated anchor set on campus and more student written pieces, so the sky's the limit to the program.  Thanks awesome Scottie Parents for keeping KHPS alive and well each week.

To say that Coach DeLine was more than pleasantly surprised on Monday would be an understatement.  Three lovely representatives from UT’s College of Elementary Education presented Coach with a congratulatory letter notifying his selection as one of the 2012 Zarrow Outstanding Texas Teacher Award winners.  I understand from the presenters Elexa Antweil, Bess Wirht, and Rachel Herold that our very own PE teacher was the only kinesiology department winner in the surrounding Austin area; the acceptance letter states that Coach was “nominated by University field-placement supervisors, and winners were selected by a committee of students in Teachers of Tomorrow”.  He will be feted on Monday, February 20 at UT’s Activity Center ballroom and we couldn’t be prouder.  Way to go Coach!

Our annual Book Fair has begun!  Though there are many terrific activities for kids of all ages through the week-long event, the Dad’s Breakfast is one of the favorites around here. Today, the fair opened before school with students and dads arriving on campus, partaking of breakfast, conversation, and book buying galore  It’s one more opportunity for our school to connect with parents and we love that so many dads have embraced the event and show up to spend some morning time with their sons and daughters.  Thanks Dads and breakfast organizers - one more meaningful way to connect over books.

Ms. Guimbarda, our wonderful fifth grade language arts teacher, always does her best to keep students motivated, interested, and engaged in high quality assignments.  Her students have recently been reading the Lois Lowry novel Number the Stars along with creating time capsules and analyzing poetry/other relevant text connected to the Holocaust time period.  One very meaningful addition to the unit this year is Ms. Guimbarda’s inclusion of The Butterfly Project into the unit.  Per the project's website, “1,500,000 innocent children perished in the Holocaust.  In an effort to remember them, Holocaust Museum Houston is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies.  The butterflies will eventually comprise a breath-taking exhibition, currently scheduled for Spring 2014, for all to remember."  Beth McDaniel of the Jewish Community Relations Council further states that the butterflies will be part of a "spectacular exhibit at the city-wide Holocaust Remembrance Day (April 19^th) and also at the exhibit at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden the month of April" before reaching their final destination in Houston.  We are glad our children's artwork will be a part of these remembrances.

For this project, each fifth grader was given a short, age-appropriate biography of a child who died during the Holocaust.  From that biography, students created colorful butterflies they felt best represented their assigned child, as well as a 6 word memoir written on the back of the artwork, both of which they presented in an Honoring Ceremony today. The very act of summing up, in only 6 words, something so unimaginable for most of our children may seem impossible.  But they did.  And they did so beautifully and respectfully.  Sometimes a few words are all that is needed.  On the back of Will's, simply written, was the following memoir -

You deserve more than 6 words. 

Thank you Ms. Guimbarda, Will, and our fifth grade students for reminding us that words not only have the power to help us remember, but also can inspire the future good in us all. 

Beyond the Text

Lia Nudelman's second grade language arts students recently studied fractured fairy tales.  In addition to reading and discussing the attributes of fractured fairy tales, they wrote their own tales, then participated in reader's theater surrounding some of the favorites they had read.  I was fortunate to catch their renditions one day this week, as student groups read their parts from such selections as Spiderella and The Brementown Rappers, before enjoying a tea party as a culminating activity.  Hearing those second graders, with much  voice, chant "Who let the donkey out...bray, bray, bray. Who let the cat out...meow, meow, meow"  was worth the visit alone. Not to mention a great way to make meaning of text.  Priceless.

Mrs. Hunter's fourth grade language arts students were also busy finishing their Shakespeare unit this week and gave a first-rate performance for parents on Wednesday.  Loved it!  Students had seen Julius Ceasar, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Nights Dream,created Playbills, then worked with UT Shakespeare at Winedale outreach coordinator Clayton Stromberger as he went through the process of adding more "oomph" to the performances of all three plays.  Per Mrs. Hunter, "Clayton put more of the original language in the simplified scripts we had been using. Once completed and parts assigned, he read through all 3 scripts with the kids, then worked with them on the scenes.  He helped us better use movement to energize the actors and their voices".  Staying true to the staging used during Shakespeare's time, giving direction in kid friendly language (ask one of the actors to explain a Scooby-Doo moment to you), helped bring these classic plays alive for students.  In the words of William Shakespeare, "Action is eloquence".  Indeed it is.

Waiting in the Wings

Be sure to check out Mrs. Leibick's "Birth Order" bulletin board if you get a chance.  Her fourth graders have been reading The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, along with connected poetry and informational text, as part of her annual Mystery Unit;if you have never seen the opening crime scene, you really should next year as it's very well done. As a further connection to the characters and plot of the novel, not to mention their own written compositions, Mrs. Leibick's students have also been studying the affect of birth order on personality and used their own "family ranking" -youngest, middle, eldest - to see if the current hypotheses/research rings true for them.  Mrs. Leibick tells me that in the 5 or 6 years she has been doing this activity, many of the characteristics often associated with birth order (eldest being responsible and youngest being highly social, for example) do indeed seem accurate when she looks at her class make-up.  However, as she also states on the display board, "Personality is much too complex to be controlled by just one variable".  Check it out.  High interest topic for anyone, but most especially for students.

Wrapping up our week, note a scene from a typical Friday afternoon down the fourth grade hallway.  Every Friday, this tradition that started many moons ago, fourth grade teachers bring all fourth grade students to the hallway for the last 10 minutes of the day.  Once done, out come the tried and true folk songs many of us older Scotties grew up with; words to songs are displayed on laminated poster board as a guide - songs like Country Roads, This Land is Your Land, Going to the Zoo to name a few.  Mrs. Leibick straps on her guitar, and all engage in a sing-along before the weekend goodbyes begin.  I have to admit I find myself down that hallway many a late afternoon when I need a respite from something or simply want a moment where I can feel more connected and inspired.  I love singing with the kids, giving a knowing nod as the words pour out of each of us.  It is a great way to end our week and a great way for each of us to take a calming breath and find our center before we all scatter.  Those few minutes always make me feel a part of something often too good to put into words and I hope that's how the kids feel as well.  And sometimes that's enough.