Read Across America Day
+ Can my whole class come? YES! Tech TastingsDon't forget EVERY Tuesday until the end of the year will be 15 minutes, quick USEFUL Tech Tips and Tricks to make your life easier. No need to sign up, just show up and learn! Learn more..... YearbookThe yearbook is coming along. If you or any of your students did not take pictures here at Malvern in the fall, please make sure to take part in the Spring Picture re-takes. A few important notes:
Cardboard Challenge, Arcade and Spring Extravaganza!It's coming! The week of April 22 will be our LAUNCH. I will send information out at this point including an announcement to share with students, I would also LOVE to talk to classes/grade levels about this challenge. If you are not sure what this is, learn more here (beware the page needs to be updated). I will have plenty of cardboard in the Learning Commons if students need it, hope to have tape and markers on hand as well this year. Please plan to attend our Spring Extravaganza on May 17th 5-7pm. Not only will we have the bookfair open that night, we will have the Cardboard Arcade in the gym, the In-N-Out AND the Perot Trucks out front! A great night of fun, but we will need LOTS of volunteers. Students who submit games will be required to attend and winners will be announced at 7pm. Spring Book Fair: The Spring Book Fair is May 15-19. We will have two days of preview and shopping beginning on Wednesday the 17th. It will also be open during the Spring Extravaganza. This is a great time for kids to buy some books to read over summer break! Please encourage students and families to participate and encourage summer reading overall. Supporting your T-Tess GoalsIs technology part of your T-Tess goals? Please let me know what I can do to support YOU and your goals. I am happy to offer 1-on-1 help, to support your team with their specific needs and also encourage you to take part in all of the opportunities for tech PD you can including Tech Tastings, reading the Toilet Paper Tech and TRYING new things, I am about to send out a 17 Things to try in 17 I encourage you to TRY as many as you can, and this summer we will have another Badge competition! Explorer Stations and Language LabExplorer Stations are our version of Maker Space, and it is an ACTIVE part of our Learning Commons. Thank you to all of the teachers who send students each day and each week! If this is not a part of your routine, please consider adding it: here is the pass! Each week (or two) I post new challenges, but I am always open and looking for new ideas. If you would like to integrate the Explorer Challenge with upcoming curriculum or events, please let me know. Based on teacher feedback we will expand our Maker-Space to include more "Playker-Space", Tinkering, and STEM materials that students could use instead of working on the current challenge. Look for a new pass and new materials to be added over the summer. If you have any suggestions for materials, please let me know ASAP. It is my hope that these materials would ALSO be used by teachers in a separate language lab or even your classroom! NEW: Padcasters! Thanks to my MEF grant we have two amazing iPad, camera and microphone combination tools to help us make some REALLY cool videos (ones you can see and HEAR!). If you have any students or projects that might want to use these I would be happy to work with them. Maker FaireThe last week of school May 30 - June 1 will again want to take advantage of this time for our Maker Faire! I want to present teachers with two options: 1. Maker Faire in the Learning Commons (like last year) we will supply and set up various stations for students to complete and teachers can sign up for a 1-hour window during those three days. 2. Each TEACHER creates ONE station (STEM/Maker theme) for their room and all students travel as a group to each room. This could be 1-2 DAYS of stations, depending on how we decide to structure it. VOTE HERE! Book BucksMarch will begin a NEW PUSH for more Book Bucks. ALL teachers are encouraged to CATCH KIDS READING! The Explorer Challenge for the beginning of April is to SYNERGIZE as a class to submit the best "Caught Reading" commercial (a PSA for Reading), so I encourage you to start collecting images of your students "Caught Reading" OR make this a class job or effort and pair it with Book Bucks. Think outside of the box too and look for these kids during ANY downtime: bus duty, car duty, after testing, when in line, etc.
End of Year Book and Technology CollectionMay 12th will be the last day for book checkout and we will begin sending you and your students' notices for overdue/missing books after Book Fair. Students are responsible for paying for lost books. They may use cash, checks, Book Bucks, or work off time during recess. Please help all students find their books, clear their records and keep our collection complete. All Teacher iPads must be ERASED, RESET and checked in with the MRS by May 25th. Teachers who plan to return to an MISD school may keep their laptop over the summer, and teachers who plan to return to MALVERN may keep a Master iPad over the summer as well. Textbook InventoryMay 16th, 3:30 will be Inventory TRAINING. Each team should plan to send at least one member to this training. If no one can make it, or you would like to be trained sooner, please speak with the MRS. Each team is responsible for the electronic inventorying of THEIR textbooks and textbook closet by May 25th. How you complete this is up to your team. After you complete your inventory each team will be provided with a list of (hopefully zero) missing items that they need to track down before June 1. MISD charges Malvern for missing items, and this cost may be passed along to grade levels. SummerSummer? Yes, we are thinking about summer already! This is a great time to Sharpen Your Saw. I hope to offer a Book study, badges and mini-badges, and encourage you to take advantage of trainings and conferences and informal PD. Converge is a GREAT McKinney ISD conference where you can meet other local teachers and learn SO much. ISTE is coming to San Antonio and if you have even a day to visit it is well worthwhile (I will be there, let me know if you come!). If you can find any EdCamps, they are WELL worth the time! If your team would like to take advantage of their time off to schedule a half or full day informal PD customized to your needs I would love to invite you to meet at Malvern (everyone needs to bring some food and make it a fun, relaxing day).
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Susan HefleyLibrarian or Media Resource Specialist at Malvern Elementary School, McKinney, TX Archives
August 2018
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