A Renaissance Kind of Week!

As you can see, we are gearing up for tonight's Spring fundraiser, with all things purple in the air. 
Staff and students are literally a sea of purple as they gear up for Purple Rain the Scottie Way.  The grade level fling artwork is out, it's very well done as always, so should be a fun evening for everyone.  Fling co-chairs Monique Penner and Keli Sotello deserve big thanks as these parent driven events are never easy to pull off and the details are coordinated in between their own real jobs and real life happenings. 

Ms. Maca's work with HP fifth graders

Lots of good learning taking place all over the building this week.  Our fifth graders are in the throes of their grade level service project, collecting food donations for those in need.  I like that all students participate and learn about the power of personal philanthropy in class, before they leave our school at the end of the year.  This fifth grade endeavor (spearheaded by Mrs. Dean), along with our long-standing K-5 after school service club CLASS, gives these students a foundation and appreciation to give back to the community. Now and in future.

Mrs. Dean and students gathering donations

One of the best units Mrs. Dean's LA students undertake each year surrounds the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's.  She incorporates much around the young adult novel The Watson's Go to Birmingham, but what really strikes me is the way the unit evolves each year.  The power of growing into your own as a teacher is a beautiful thing.  This year, Mrs. Dean incorporated new text (working on the all important text to text comparisons), used an Inquiry Board for students to post thoughts as they read chapters of the the central novel, and when I popped in, were exploring music as art.  I left the room literally dancing in the halls.  These students watched Pharrell Williams' Happy video while I was there - they had watched some old school Sam Cooke footage previously I was told- and, most importantly, while they were watching and listening, were highly engaged in analysis of the music, the times, the connections to what they were reading and learning about America in the 60's...and today.  They have deep thoughts, these intrepid fifth graders, and many times much more wisdom than us.  Those of us who know Mrs. Dean know she has a real interest in social justice for all, a real passion to get kids to think beyond the obvious, so it's great to see that passion translate into the classroom.  These kids will make their own way and form their own individual beliefs on a variety of topics as they move forward into young adulthood.  But it's a good thing that they are being given the tools and forum to think and explore today.

One of the new texts this year

recording thoughts while listening

Over in fourth grade, teacher Laine Leibick was once again tackling her Mystery/Detective Unit.  And once again, just like Mrs. Dean, she has changed it up, kept it fresh for the students as curriculum specifics change, and kept it fresh for herself so she stays inspired.  Mark of a good veteran teacher.

I popped in for a bit before Laine's Parent Visiting Day activities took place as she had mentioned an art

Sarah's rough draft

installation I "just had to see".  Glad I went.  Student John Savage had installed a giant geometric colored pattern on the floor, around a set of desks (done the afternoon before I hear), and it simply blew me away with its scope and precision.  In the unit, these students always explore visual art along with the reading,  writing, and other content connections - think mysteries of life across all spectrums! - and John chose the artist Jim Lambie.   John, along with his peers, did some amazing other research in those classes as well.  This included research and writing on historical figures who spoke Truth to the Power, learning about those people who "bucked" the system in their quest for truth and justice.
They also researched and wrote about 
Renaissance men and women (think Galileo and Michelangelo), exploring the mysteries of multi-talented and multi-faceted people.  I was especially taken with Sarah's choice of writing about her classmate Gustavo.  She recognizes his unique gifts to the world and it was affirming and joyous to read what she wrote about him. As Mrs. Leibick shared, "when I read papers like this, it gives me hope for our future".  Couldn't agree more.

Truth to Power research booklets

An homage to artist George Rodriguez

Two last things for this post.  Thanks to Lamar Middle School principal George Llewellyn for taking the time this morning to visit our fifth graders, going through the choice sheet options, and helping answer any questions that arose.  Leaving the bubble of your elementary school is often very scary for these students, but George has a way of calming the waters, always steady as he goes.  I simply can't say enough about my respect for him (another Renaissance Man!) and the great work happening over at Lamar.  Don't forget we will help celebrate the HP/Lamar connection on Friday, February 28 for the HP Night at Grease.  See Kerren Campa for details on tickets to this Lamar student performance of the well known musical. 

Finally, though I had no part of the event, I did travel last Sunday to Westlake High School to see all things TedxYouth@Austin.  Wow!  I went at the invitation of former Scottie Maddie Goulet (event youth project manager, couldn't be prouder!), and was blown away by the talented Renaissance youth on that stage - everything from a 19 year old grad assistant at UT working on life saving medical research to a socially conscious youtuber (he was the rock star of the event by the way) to a high school student who also trains service dogs for veterans and others.  Making a difference kids who are not just doing one thing in life, but tackling many do-good things as they go. 

I was glad I saw some former Scotties in the audience, now scattered to public and private high schools all around Austin.  Loved the energy, the creativity (at the heart of all those kids do) and the fearlessness of just going for it.  Though I felt like a bit of a slacker most certainly, I did leave the event with a feel-good vibe knowing our future movers and shakers are on it.  They are on it.  Definitely check out TedxYouth@Austin next year if you are able.  Worth your time.

Happy Valentine's Day and more

Days keep rolling along in between icy mornings.  Though we experienced another school delay earlier in the week for safety reasons, staff, students, and parents are doing their best to get back into a routine.  Wacky weather everywhere...

Here's a snapshot of our  very, very busy week.  Enjoy!

Kinder celebrated all things 100 Days on Monday.  Teachers and students always make a big to-do out of this milestone and I caught a few of them in the cafeteria that day with their special 100 day hats.  Love the enthusiasm from our youngest learners.  Big hearts for all they do!

Additionally, these students have also been doing other learning activities around the concept of 100 (a big deal for Kinders) and I especially loved the student artwork in Ms. Davidson's room.  Students created portraits based on what they thought a 100 year old person would look like (one Kinder told me she knew someone who was 106!), and as you can imagine, hair was often at a minimum. Priceless.

We will be gearing up soon for our own Scottie Olympics, but as you can see the celebration is under way as the Sochi Winter Olympic Games take place.  Always exciting.

Coach wearing his Torino 2006 cap

Book Fair carried on in between all weather happenings and kids were clamoring each morning to get in the library and to those books!  How cool is that?  Librarian Cheryl Mullins really gives it her all during the week long Fair, along with our annual Book Fair/Poetry Slam night tri-chairs Christy Savage, Suzanne Gonzalez, and Stacy Mendelson.  We had over 80 performers at Tuesday night's Viva el Slam, with a packed house as always.  It was also fun to kick off the evening with my fellow slammer Lizanne McDaniel.  Thanks to all student participants and to the folks who coordinate this event year in and year out.  This is the sixth year for the Slam and I hope it lives and grows well into the future.

Waiting to perform at the Slam!

Stacy & Christy workin' the Book Fair

All poetry was original.  Cool!

Mrs. Hunter's and Mrs. Duquette's language arts classes have been studying Shakespeare over the last few weeks and it was iffy how performances would go, given the practice time weather interruptions.  But they pulled it off without a hitch. Those fourth graders on Thursday's performance day nailed it.  They knew their lines as they performed shorts acts from MacBeth, Hamlet, A Midsummer's Night Dream, and more, and they delivered those lines with expression, accuracy, and confidence.  Very impressive delivery of sometimes difficult language for our modern day kids to grasp.  Huge confidence builder, not to mention a way to build understanding & connections to learning.  

A delightful fairy with King Oberon

Witches & More Waiting pre-performance

Rubber swords of course for these fine young men!

Big thanks to Angela Cardenas, of AISD's SEL department and our own SEL champion Cari Land for a very informative overview of Second Steps curriculum at Wednesday night's PTA meeting.  Our in school implementation is being done with fidelity and is on target, but we have plans to pump up the consistency for the all important at-home support piece; we even have tentative plans for an SEL student presentation at our May PTA General Meeting.  Whole Child Learning encompasses much, with adults as models, facilitators, and our own SEL perceptions/needs at the heart of the work.  Striving for a more connected, authentic, healthy society for all.  Thanks ladies!

Angela and Cari

Furthering our path to common understanding in and around SEL initiatives, our newly formed book club group met for the first time to receive our book selection, Same Kind of Different As Me. We

have 15 staff members participating, we are ready to read and explore and have open, courageous conversations related to race, friendship, homelessness, faith, and other subjects often difficult to tackle, most especially in a work environment.  Those who have read this true story tell me it is inspiring, gritty, but ultimately uplifting and I am truly looking forward to our first Sunday afternoon meeting together. Special thanks to Angela Ward of AISD's Department of Academics, Cultural Proficiency & Inclusiveness for providing the books to get us going - important conversations for us all.

Two last things to share.  All things HP Spring Fling Silent Auction are in the works for next weekend.  As you can see from the purple raindrops hanging from the ceiling (can you guess this year's theme?), the chairs are gearing up for a fun evening that supports all things programming and initiatives at our school.  One big part of the event in recent years is the grade level student created artwork.  Early this morning, I was able to catch a few fifth graders, along with grafitti artist Zuzu, working on their own grade level piece.  It, along with others, will go up for auction soon and from what I could see today, the pieces are quite cool, and quite Austin.  On to the Fling!

Zuzu and students in grafitti stance!

Finally, big hug to everyone on this Friday Valentine's Day.  What a few weeks it has been, we are truly gearing up for STAAR testing at grades 3-5, and hopefully, the snow and ice delays and cancellations are behind us.  Busy weeks ahead for us all, but enjoy the Valentine's Day ahead, along with the good weather weekend.  We will see you back here on Monday, Feb 17!  

Ms. Maca's student created hearts - lovely

Thank You to our Reading Fluency Center Volunteers

It was another short week due to a very icy Tuesday morning, but we are back at it with all things teaching and learning.  A big part of what a school does centers around literacy, and we could not do the job we do without the support of our awesome parent base. 

One very important aspect to how we address literacy (as it relates to reading) is through our parent volunteer Reading Fluency Centers.  Today the co-chairs held their annual thank you breakfast for volunteers in the program; I was more than happy to stop by and say thank you to these folks who provide a great service for our students.  Students meet with trained volunteers for short periods during the week, reading passages aloud, practicing their reading at an independent level and charting their progress.  Our reading specialist Kathy Sederholm created this program seven years ago for us and though some of the original volunteers have rotated off at this point, the structure is so strong that the FC parent chairs have a transition system for new volunteers coming on board.  A well run endeavor if ever there was one at HiPark! 

Big thanks to Kathy, as well as current chairs Leslie Donovan and Heidi Murphy for building upon

Co-chairs Leslie and Heidi

the original structure and continuing to give our parents (and grandparents) opportunities to make a real time difference in a child's life.  As we all know, reading fluency is one of the five identified reading skills we want children to master, per the National Reading Panel's original report.  Research shows that fluency (rate, accuracy, prosody) is a skill that is key as students move into those more content focused/text dependent intermediate years and beyond - moving from learning to read to reading to learn.  Of course, fluency in all areas is a goal, so math fluency centers are being piloted in fifth grade this year (thanks Melissa O'Donnell and Leslie Donovan) and I'm sure those champions of math fluency will keep parents posted as that newest program evolves.  Thanks for making a difference in all you do, fluency volunteers!

A few of the volunteers who stopped by for breakfast today!

Special days with special peeps!

We ended our week with an atypical snow day.  Something you don't see very often in the great city of Austin.  However, before that "day off" (not really a free day as we will all make it up on Feb 17), our staff and students celebrated No Place For Hate Week with a variety of special days.  Thanks to counselor and SEL coordinator Cari Land for getting it all together.  A good week.

Tuesday saw many of us in red and black, a nod to unity even given our individual differences.

Wednesday saw many colors of the rainbow, as a reminder that "all colors are included at school".

Then finally, it was Pink Day on Thursday, a reminder "to bust the stereotype that only girls wear pink".  Loved it!

All of these special dress days served as a great tie-in for the MLK activities in classes this week, with one really standing out for me.  Ms. Zabilka's first grade students developed a pathway to change on the floor, just outside her class door. They listed things they could individually do to change the world for the better.   Great reminder that even our youngest students can think deeply, do care about the world around them, and feel empowered to get things done.  Pretty cool.

Good words

Big Scottie Welcome to newest Creative Learning Specialist Ruthie Fisher.  Ruthie is joining our 2nd grade classes this semester as a drama specialist (first semester was a dance focus), helping integrate the power of theater our second grade language arts and social studies TEKS.  Thanks Ruthie!








Even though tutoring is in full force second semester at grades 1-5 - including a bit of cursive handwriting practice - enrichment opportunities are back as well.  Check out the cool offerings for after school if you have not done so.  Everything from a film club to a robotics club to a math club.  Additionally, we are finishing up our Boosterthon Fun Run fundraiser this week and there have been many positive learning outcomes.

Teachers supporting today's run!

Such as the physical and social/emotional health and wellness messages delivered each day.  Thanks to the Boosterthon Committee chairs Christy Strub and Krista Bergeron, as well as PTA board officer Bergan Casey.  They kept the momentum going and monitored and adjusted as needs arose.  True Champs!  Our parent base works tireless hours, all unpaid, all on behalf of this school, and yep, it does indeed take a village to keep all the balls in the air.  All for kids, all good, and all worth it.

Check out the pics below from today's grade level fun runs.  The energy level was cool, not to mention catching!

 

Though every teacher is a winner in my book, I'm happy to announce our 13-14 Campus Teacher of the Year is Mrs. Pam Kolodziej.  Those of us who have seen her in action as the 5th grade Social Studies teacher are amazed by the all she does, including the special learning events she dreams up and puts in place.  Who can forget last year's Presidential Debates, complete with Secret Service?! And this year's History Project Runway, with the thumping, current music selections playing as our fifth graders strutted down the runway in costume?!  She goes above and beyond in all she does and this peer selected recognition is well deserved.  Congrats Mrs. Kolodziej.    

Finally, as we head into the long weekend, let's take a moment to remember the reason for Monday's holiday.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's message was one of hope and peace and service, and most importantly, unity around our common spirit.  Next week, our school will have a variety of activities around the celebration of everyone's uniqueness, through our No Place for Hate Week daily events and varied Dr. King remembrances and lessons in our classrooms.  However, those activities are also designed to bring into focus our oneness as people. Our common human spirit.

This coming weekend, my wish for you is to find ways to celebrate Dr. King's message in big or small ways. Celebrate who you are and the gifts you bring to the world, connect with others, be of service to those you love and perhaps even those you may not know so well.  Peace, love, unity, and hope for all.  Certainly good words for our days ahead.

A cold start!

It was a cold start for staff and students as we returned to school post winter break.  Regardless, it's good to be back as there is always much to do in a school second semester.  Nice to see familiar faces and some of the "cool" attire many wore to combat those polar vortex temps.  Check out the headgear below.  Love it!

Gear guaranteed to keep the head toasty warm!

We've been in and out of classes this week and I've got to tell you, the teachers and students have gotten right to it.  Lots of writing and much focus on good math instruction.  Think manipulatives, daily work with multi-step word problems,  and student use of varied strategies during learning.  Our math committee has also been hard at work filming their November parent math presentation.  There are some clips on a couple of team wiki sites already, with a bit of additional filming to go.  You will be able to see and hear K-5 teachers demonstrate invented/alternative strategies to solve problems, as well as model drawing in action.  Our goal is to have these completely posted before the end of January.  Check out the grade level wiki sites on the hipark website if you want to know more.

Training and spreading the good word to all of our stakeholders is important to us.  And it's important to me.  In the spirit of furthering understanding of all things creative learning/arts integration, we are hosting a parent workshop on Friday, January 24, 8:00-10:00, HP cafeteria.  UT's Drama for Schools staff Katie Dawson, Sarah Coleman, and Lara Dossett will provide the why behind the what, while demonstrating DBI strategies currently being used in our classrooms; they also will provide attendees with some very concrete strategies parents can use at home to help support learning.  Cool.  Promises to be hands-on, engaging, and something you really won't want to miss. Bring a friend and hope to see you there. 

Finally, big shout out to Sally Hunter, fourth grade teacher and truly a social studies guru if ever there was one. She recently completed an application with the Gilder Lehrman Institute on behalf of Highland Park and we just received word that it was accepted.  What does that mean for our school? Sally tells me that "Highland Park is an official Affiliate School of The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.  Our teachers now have access to exclusive professional development opportunities, web chats with historians, and over 60,000 primary source documents representing more than 500 years of American history.  Very exciting old stuff!  The Social Studies vertical team will help interested H.P. teachers set up there own accounts on the Affiliate School Program Site.  For a glimpse at what Gilder Lehrman has to offer, check out http://www.gilderlehrman.org/".  Big thanks to Sally for continued advocacy of high quality teacher and student learning.

Welcome Back Scotties to Second Semester!