Week of February 25

             Thursday Thoughts February 25

I had so much fun tonight!  In fact, I can't remember the last time we had an after school event that was this engaging.  Kids (and parents) were excited about building, making, throwing, rolling and everything in between.  I was so impressed with our Mustangs who showed off their technology competition projects.  I couldn't believe some of the elaborate structures that students made for the little pigs' houses.  The butterflies were so unique and no two roller coasters were alike.  It was neat to have the JCHS Gladiator Robotics Club help our little ones with the Lego Robotics.  The teens were so helpful and patient and they had everyone in awe with the robot they made.  One of my favorite stations was the technology museum.  It is hard to believe how far we have come over the course of 25 years. Leigh is going to keep it set up tomorrow, so you have to stop by. This event was another reminder of what an amazing school we have.  You guys put your heart and soul into teaching everyday.  It was unbelievable to see so many staff members stay to help set up, facilitate stations and clean up.  All of this after an already long workday.  Today was a day that our students will remember for a long time.  But you don't have to take my word, just read the email that was sent by a parent this evening.

Just wanted to tell you that STEAM night was SO COOL!! My kids were so upset when it was time to leave! They couldn't even begin to pick a favorite, saying they loved all of the stations! I can't believe this was the first time for this event. Please do this again! 

Thanks to all the teachers and staff running the show this evening! You all are amazing!

Best,

The Joice Family

P. S. I know I've left several out who helped put this on. Please let them know how great this event was!

Staff Spotlight

This week I would like to shine the spotlight on Anita Chan.  When Anita came on board in January, I told her that some STEM and PBL work had been started but she needed to figure out how to keep the momentum going.  That was pretty much all of the guidance I provided.  I made sure to tell her that we were planning a STEM/STEAM night and by "we" I meant her.  Anita exceeded all of our expectations.  The stations in the hallways was a genius idea as it kept the students from rummaging through the classrooms.  The stations were age appropriate for all and the materials used were everyday items.  And while I am grateful for Anita planning an amazing STEAM event, I also want to acknowledge her for the assistance she provided with our ACCESS Testing.  Her expertise as a former ESOL lead teacher and her experience in administering the ACCESS test proved to be invaluable during this testing period.  We are excited about the PBL work that Anita will continue to do with the grade levels and we are thankful for the assistance that she provided for ESOL.  We are fortunate to have Anita on our team.  Welcome to Medlock Anita!

Personalized Learning


27 Ways To Enhance Retention In Your Students

by TeachThought Staff    2/22/16

How you can help students retain what they learn? What sort of teaching strategies, curriculum mapping techniques, or other changes can you use to help them remember and apply information?
Most broadly, this is a matter of understanding and transfer. The more complete a student’s understanding, the less likely they are to ‘forget.’ One way to think about understanding is to think of it like a tent–or rather the stakes used to anchor a tent into the ground on a windy day. If the understand is “deep,” the stakes are less likely to come out of the ground when they wind blows, whereas topical ‘understanding’ can become unanchored more easily. It’s not driven as deeply.
Transfer matters as well–more so than the more general idea of ‘practice.’ Can a student use knowledge in a new and unfamiliar context, and more importantly, will they do so unprompted?
In an attempt to create a more specific taxonomy to help you measure understanding, we developed our TeachThought Taxonomy for Understanding, 36 ways to help students wrestle with, rethink, and explore “how they get it.’ That taxonomy, however, is complex (we need to release a 2.0 version, and we plan to).
For something a bit more grab-and-go, there is the following infographic from Mia MacMeekin. It offers 27 ways to enhance student retention of understanding. Its strength lies in the diversity of the ideas, from painting and singing, to focusing on the big idea, to using games and even visual cues like different fonts and typography.

Habitudes- (Growth Mindset)

Looking Ahead
Nothing new to share.