Week 7: 09/26/16 – 09/30/16

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Here’s our week at a glance:

**Do you have surplus property to add to the list? Please do so ASAP!

Monday, September 26th
Happy Birthday Jill Michalski šŸ™‚
New Teacher Meeting @ 2:50pm (Room 132)

Tuesday, September 27th
1st Grade (Rooms 110, 100, 108 & 102) Field Trip to Safety Town
Faculty Meeting @ 2:50pm <–click for agenda

Wednesday, September 28th
1st Grade (Rooms 101, 109 ,103) Field Trip to Safety Town

Thursday, September 29th

Friday, September 30th
1st Spirit Assembly @ 9:00am
5 By Friday!

(10/01) Happy Birthday Sarah Sicher šŸ™‚

screen-shot-2016-09-25-at-3-20-05-pmApple just announced Apple Teacher, a new program created to support and celebrate educators. The program provides a self-paced learning experience with tips, inspiration, news, and learning materials to help teachers unlock the magic of iPad, Mac, and built-in apps in the classroom. Earn badges and an official Apple Teacher logo so you can share your achievement with the world. Sign up today!

The first 5 Kennedy School teachers to become an “Apple Teacher” will receive a $25 iTunes gift card &Ā a $50 credit to use towards ordering any “accessories” for your iPad.

Have you Heard of FLIPGRID?
Video Responses for Classroom Collaboration: Flipgrid.com allows teachers to create an online space (or grid) where students can answer questions and discuss information through recorded videos (Awesome for our 1:1 iPads!) Great for reading responses or literature circles!~ Once a teacher creates a FlipGrid, students can visit the grid to record their video in response to a teacher’s question! Recordings are limited to 90 secondsĀ 

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PBS YOU CHOOSE
Designed to help elementary school students understand some of the key points of the 2016 US Presidential Election. The site features short biographies of Trump & Clinton, create little campaign posters, and collect “Presidential Trading Cards”. A collection of short, animated videos is also included in PBS Kids You Choose. The videos feature familiar PBS Kids characters singing and/or talking about things like the importance of voting, the first Presidents & frequency of elections.

TECH TIP: HOW TO INSERT COLUMNS INTO GOOGLE DOCS
Last week, Google announced a change to the way in which search works in Google Drive. Buried at the bottom of the announcement was a note about column formatting in Google Docs. For years, the only way to create columns in Google Docs was to insert a table. FINALLY, you can insert columns into your Google Docs by opening the “format” do-down menu and selecting “columns” (see video below):

Draw & Tell App
Draw & Tell app allows students to easily create an animated screencast with voice, drawings, images & objects. This app makes it simple for emerging learners to create digital stories or presentations on any number of topics!

Week 6: 09/19/16 – 09/23/16

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Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, September 19th
Happy Birthday Roger šŸ™‚
Cycle 1 Assessments This Week….
Evacuation Drill @ 9:00am
Technology Committee Meeting @ 2:35pm (Room 202)
RTI Committee Meeting @ 2:40pm

Tuesday, September 20th
Happy Birthday Michelle McMorrow šŸ™‚

Wednesday, September 21st
Happy Birthday Bridget Elliott šŸ™‚
1st SIP Committee Meeting (2:40pm-3:05pm) <—click to see where committees will be meeting. Have you signed up for one yet? ALL staff sign up for ONE committee!
ABC Parent Group Meeting @ 6:00pm
Board of Education Meeting @ 7:00pm
*New Early Childhood Wing being featured as Example of Excellence

Thursday, September 22nd
PreK/PATS Field Trip to Lincoln Park Zoo
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm (Conference Room)

Friday, September 23rd
Happy Birthday Amanda Peterson šŸ™‚
FALL Picture Day
RSVP to the 1st Staff Social Event @ Bub City on Friday, October 14th….

Have you filled out the “THINK COLLEGE THURSDAYS” Google Form yet? We need everyone’s responses so we can create our bulletin board!

(09/24) Happy Birthday Britney Lane šŸ™‚
(09/25) Happy Birthday Marta Ocon šŸ™‚

Week 5: 09/12/16 – 09/16/16

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Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, September 12th
1st Day of Reading Room
Morning Interventions in Full Swing….

Tuesday, September 13th
Faculty Meeting @ 2:50pm <–click for agenda

Wednesday, September 14th
Half Day of School Ā (AM PreK dismisses @ 10:30am, K-3 dismisses at 10:55am, NO PM PreK)
SIP Agenda <–click to view

Thursday, September 15th
Bus Evacuation Drill <—K-3 teachers, have you signed up for a slot yet?
Boy Scouts of America Sign-Up (6:30pm-8:15pm in main lobby)

Friday, September 16th
Fire Drill @ 9:00am
*Questions on where to exit the building, please ask an administrator
5 Positive Connections by Friday! šŸ™‚
Spiritwear Orders Due!

Reminders:
-Please fill out theĀ Google FormĀ for our Think College Thursdays bulletin board
-All Staff should please sign up for a School Improvement Committee for this year (see Kennedy conference for an email sent with link to sign up). Our first ā€˜check-inā€™ will be this Wednesday at the end of our SIP day work.
-Certified Non-Tenured Staff: Please be sure to schedule your first observation with your administrator

Week 4: 09/05/16 – 09/09/16

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ā€œWhat makes a good school has very little to do with how rich or poor the students are, or the type of curriculum thatā€™s taught. It has very little to do with the special programs, expansive playing fields, snappy uniforms, or whether the school is wired to the Internet. What makes a good school, whether itā€™s public or private, religious or nonreligious, charter or non-charter, is aĀ feeling. A feeling shared by the entire staff that their particular school isĀ special. The feeling that their school really belongs to them.ā€ (Manna, 1999).

At Kennedy School, each member of our team has a distinctive character that cares deeply about each and every one of our Kennedy Kubbies. Your unique attributes and talents contribute to the feeling people get when they enter this building. As a result, our children will remember you long after they leave Kennedy.

ā€œSchools are not buildings, curriculums, and machines.Ā Schools are relationships and interactions among people.ā€

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I hope everyone enjoyed a relaxing and enjoyable weekend with friends and family. Hereā€™s our 4-day week at a glance:

Monday, September 5th
NO SCHOOL: Labor Day

Tuesday, September 6th
**Please park at St. Maria Goretti Parking Lot
1st Day of PreK (Meet & Greet for first 30 minutes of the session)
Book Fair (Preview Day) <—did you sign up for a slot to preview the books with your class?
*Media Center time begins

Wednesday, September 7th
Book Fair (Buy Day)

Thursday, September 8th
Book Fair (Buy Day)
SLT Meeting @ 3:00pm
Curriculum Night 6:00pm-7:30pm

**Check out ourĀ Kennedy School Curriculum Night Pinterest BoardĀ & pin your ideas to the shared board.

Friday, September 9th
GO GOLD for Childhood Cancer Awareness
Reading Room Plan Day
*5 by Friday — Have you made 5 positive connections this week? Phone call, email, positive postcard….

(09/11) Happy Birthday Beatriz Diaz šŸ™‚

Blog Posts Worth Checking Out:

An Easy Way to Distribute Contact Info During Open House

Begin the New School Year with a Positive Mindset

Two Ways to Visually Show Classroom Noise