Wednesday, September 24, 2014

CWU Mascot at Lince

Monday morning students arrived to school to be welcomed by Wellington P. Wildcat, the official mascot of Central Washington University. A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Paulson for her efforts in promoting post-secondary education!

Some students asked if that was me in the costume. They kept mentioning something about... "well, he does has a huge head." Ouch.





Friday, September 19, 2014

Future Principal

Last night at the RL  Open House I took the opportunity to take an "us-sie" (as opposed to a selfie) with one of our 2nd graders, with aspirations of being a principal. He makes me look good. :)


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Money for College at Open House on Sept. 18

We are serious about having every student go to college!

If we start planning now we can remove the barriers and excuses people use to not go. Probably the biggest reason why kids don't go to college is because it can be expensive! But we found one way around that....

At our open house on Thursday, September 18th, along with learning about what's going on your kiddo's classrooms, we will have other informational tables set up outside the library. One of these will be the GET program, or Guaranteed Education Tuition program. (Click here for website

A GET representative will be onsite to answer questions, provide brochures and related information, and has GIVEAWAYS FOR STUDENTS! Be sure to stop by and see what they can offer  to guarantee your child has that opportunity to go to college.


Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Shifts in Math Learning: Common Core State Standards

     This morning all the principals and assistant principals in the district spent two hours observing teachers at John Campbell. We watched four teachers, at different grade levels, teach math lessons. Our purpose was to look for how teachers are implementing the Common Core State Standards and the shifts in how we teach and look at and talk about math. Gone are the days when students memorize math for the sake of appeasing the teacher. We need students to know exactly what it means to "borrow and carry" not just that they are crossing out and rewriting the numbers, which is now called ungrouping and regrouping, decomposing and composing numbers. When students understand exactly what it is that a math equation is asking them to do, when those problems get harder they will have the foundation of understanding to help them think, solve, and analyze problems independently.
     For the first time in history there is a national standard for student learning expectations. For some states, the Common Core State Standards are extremely difficult, compared to what they were using. For Washington, it is more rigorous but definitely something our students can attain. The biggest thing I appreciate with Selah SD is that we have standards, math curriculum, and end-of-the-year state testing that are 100% aligned to each other. In years past, teachers had to scramble the last few months in 3rd and 4th grade to make sure students covered everything on the state testing because testing was not aligned to a common standard, and neither was the curriculum. Now, when students cover the curriculum, we know they are learning the rigorous national standards. And since the tests are all based and written around these national standards, teachers won't need to "cram" to help students feel prepared. It will be a whole year of "cramming." :)

P.S. We were very pleased with what we saw in the walk-throughs today. We saw students talking to each other about their math thinking, questioning each other and explaining their reasoning. Most importantly, we saw teachers let their students "productively struggle." When teachers give students answers, when they come to the rescue, no one learns. When a student has to really struggle and work through a problem, they've learned that concept for life.



Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Learning in the 21st Century

Our teachers are really working to be ahead of the technology trends. The more we can utilize the technology in students' hands, the better we can engage them. 
Here is a group of teachers sharing blogging ideas and ways they utilize technology in the classroom. This year Mrs. Carney changed jobs from the library, which she absolutely loves, to be our 21st Century Technology Specialist, something she is also very passionate about. She meets with classes for 45 minutes a week to provide them with ways to use teachnology for learning, and teaching. She also collaborates with classroom teachers to connect the learning that's going on in the classroom with  technology to provide students with the richest experience possible. 

We realize that we are preparing students for careers that may not even exist yet...using technology that definitely does not yet exist. Though we cannot control what they'll be learning, we can teach them how to learn so they'll be prepared for whatever career paths they choose.