NaNoWriMo

Have you heard about NaNoWriMo?

Back when I tried dabbling with Lois and Clark Fan fiction, I was introduced to this wonderful concept. I knew right away that it would be great in an upper elementary through high school classroom. But since that's not the grade range I prefer to teach, I've never had the opportunity to use it.

What is it?

National Novel Writing Month happens every November! It's a fun, seat-of-your-pants writing event where the challenge is to complete an entire novel in just 30 days. For one month, you get to lock away your inner editor, let your imagination take over, and just create!

That means participants begin writing November 1 and must finish by midnight, November 30. The word-count goal for our adult program is 50,000 words, but the Young Writers Program (YWP) allows 17-and-under participants to set reasonable, yet challenging, individual word-count goals.

In 2011, 250,000 adults participated through our main site, and 50,000 young writers participated through the YWP.

No there's no reason to expect your 5th graders to write 50,000 words. Did you know there is a special branch of this program for kids?

As part of the teaching resources section they include educator resources with a LOT of worksheets to help your writers create.

You can order for free (suggested donation $10) their classroom kit. I really wish I was teaching so I could use these!

NANOWRIMO YWP CLASSROOM KIT 2012

$0.00

If you are facilitating NaNoWriMo for 10 or more students in a school, library, or community center, you may order one 2012 classroom noveling kit free of charge!

The classroom kit includes:

• NaNoWriMo’s Triumphant Chart of Noveling Progress
• up to 35 sets of NaNoWriMo progress stickers
• up to 35 “Imagination Activated” buttons

It's too late to get their free kit before the program launches, but I would still order it if I was you, and update the chart when it arrives.

My imaginary plan, ordering late: Start November first talking abut 4 weeks of writing in class and at home, and have the class write outlines and character bios before my official kick off the first full week of November.

Good Luck!

Why do I bring this up? I'm going to try to write a novel again this year, and maybe actually finish it. Wish me luck!

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Your Weekly lol 13

We teach, we teach, we reteach, we review, we pretest and finally we test or assess and what too often happens? We go back to a subject months (or weeks) later and find at least one student has completely forgotten the answer.

There has to be an answer. I hope it will be found in Whole Brain Teaching, which is one reason I'm spending so much time reading the articles and watching the videos.

What do you think we can do?

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Wisemen Christmas Song

I'm sitting in front of my computer right now, trying to figure out what my Sunday School class should sing this year. Every year I try to write it myself using a familiar tune as the base. I wish my old laptop hadn't crashed a few years ago, because it had all my old songs on it.

Last year I posted Jesus was born on Christmas to share. It went over well with both the parents and students.

I went as far back as I could in my computer and dug out another song, and I don't remember writing it! I hadn't taught Sunday School for a few years because I was living out west, and didn't teach my first year home because I didn't know if I'd be moving before the year started.

I'm sure I did, but if it's yours, please share with me the link to where I found it, thanks!

All The Songs:

Jesus was Born on Christmas

Wisemen

Shepherds

Christ Was Born Today

Wisemen
(to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle)
Once there was a star so bright
Wisemen followed it at night
All the way across the sands
Bringing presents in their hands
Baby Jesus was the boy
Who they came to see with joy.

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Banned! Controversy!

Did I get your attention?

It certainly got my attention when I saw it on the news.

Does Halloween Belong in School? One District Says No

By Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine | Parenting – Thu, 25 Oct, 2012 5:27 PM EDT

An Illinois school district is banning Halloween this year in what the superintendent says is an effort to address low test scores and avoid cultural and religious conflict. 

"There will be no costumes, no candy bags, no parties," District 69 Superintendent Quintin Shepherd told the Skokie Patch. 

But parents aren't pleased -- and not just because they'll be dealing with disappointed kids. Shepherd made the decision in early October without allowing parents weigh in, saying that asking the community for input would have been a waste of time.

"We knew what their response would be," he said. "We know they would feel strongly [about banning Halloween in the school district]. So, the reason we didn't go forward with the community hearings is because we knew they would be upset."

Instead, he sent out a letter saying that the decision had been made.

"District 69 has made the decision not to celebrate Halloween this year. This decision was not made lightly and many factors (including economic, social and religious) were considered. Many students cannot afford costumes and there is an economic disparity. We also have students that are unable to participate for religious or cultural reasons. In the past, these students have had to sit in another room and participate in an alternative activity. Every year the number of students that cannot participate grows. Our staff and administration feel very strongly that we never want students to feel uncomfortable while in school and this celebration makes many uncomfortable."

Shepherd said that he'd been mulling over a ban for the last three years. Some families felt uncomfortable about their kids celebrating Halloween at school because of religious and cultural issues, he explained; others felt that the parties were a financial burden.

Teachers and administrators "noticed more students were unable to participate in Halloween activities and they asked me if there was something we could do to try to address it," he added.

"This is a cultural sensitivity thing for us, also, sort of religious cultural," he told the Niles Patch. "There are some that don't allow for the celebration of Halloween as part of the background."

But angry parents have pointed out that there are plenty of ways to have an all-inclusive celebration without offending anybody. One parent launched a petition on Change.org calling on Shepherd to reconsider.

"While respecting different cultures is very important, many of our children look forward to the Costume Parade and parties," Shaun Saville wrote. "It is unfair to the majority of families who do celebrate Halloween to cancel all school festivities with no discussion or input from anyone other than those who don't celebrate it."

"I feel the decision to cancel all Halloween celebrations was an extreme solution for a small problem," Skokie resident Lynda Meyer commented. "If some children cannot afford a costume then the Halloween celebration at school may be the only way they celebrate. I would be willing to donate all of my children's costumes from previous years. Also I would be willing to donate money to invest in some red capes that could be used as costumes and perhaps also used at Super Hawk assemblies."

"Why not make it a celebration in which all can participate?" asked Saville. "There are other communities as diverse as Skokie and they find a way to respect ALL cultures."

Other districts in Skokie will still be holding their Halloween parties, but the seven-member board of District 69 backed ban after Shepherd raised concerns about his schools' test scores. Shepherd insists that the scores, and the fact that attendance seems to drop on Halloween, made the ban worthwhile.

"No, I do not think we are being too poltically correct," he said. "I think we are being responsive at the numbers we're looking at." 

What are your thoughts?

Here are mine:
*Yes, there are families who cannot afford the expensive elaborate costumes bought in retail stores, but it wasn't that long ago that kids MADE their own costumes with the help of their parents and stuff found around the house. I've been both a hippie and a gypsy using clothing belonging to people in my house. Today using what's in my and my husbands closets I could be a Superhero (thanks to my husbands tshirt collection),   a 50's housewife thanks to a round skirt and a string of white beads, a bride thanks to my wedding dress (although I wouldn't wear it to school), a lumberjack thanks to a winter toque and my husbands plaid shirts, a witch thanks to a black dress and black construction paper to make a hat (although mom still has the hat I used in high school, so that's much easier), a sleepwalker thanks to jammies slippers and a housecoat, and a music fan thanks to a band tshirt. It doesn't have to be elaborate!
You can also MAKE your own costume: use aluminum foil to make your self into a robot, a cardboard box to make a TV or computer, or a bag of trash using a garbage bag.

*As for the students left out due to cultural or religious convictions, I do understand. The last school I worked at all my students were Muslim, so we didn't celebrate a single holiday all year, at least not any Christian ones. However, in public schools, parents should expect their children to be surrounded by and learn about culture, not just the Christian one.

*Also, Halloween parties need not be a whole day affair, they certainly weren't in the schools I attended in the 80's. We changed into our costumes at lunch at home, and the very last hour of the day was our party, which was basically a costume parade and treats. Students who do not celebrate can still take part in looking at the costumes and eating the treats, or they could be dismissed an hour early depending on the parents preferences. Going to a separate room for the party puts a stigma on a student when their is only one excluded, but if there are many, they could definitely have their own "Celebration" which could be overseen by a gym, music, art or resource teacher. Perhaps they could could even spend the time preparing a special presentation for Remembrance/Veterans day?

*I have heard of a few schools that have forbidden scary costumes and requested that all students wear HAPPY costumes or even dress as characters from books. I believe a fall festival of that sort would be a better alternative for many students currently left out. Although I know for some people even dressing up is not allowed, no matter what the reason.

*There really is no way to please everyone, and I don't believe its fair to expect the Christian cultural majority to give up our holidays to appease the smaller growing non-Christian minority. Yes, we should and do respect their cultures, but they need to do the same. Their families can help the schools come up with ways to be more inclusive, maybe by helping to teach the classes/schools about a part of their beliefs which the students would find interesting.

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Your Weekly lol 12

As teachers we are becoming more and more accountable to parents and society for what we teach, how we teach it and why we teach it.

Do you ever wonder sometimes if accountability is going a bit TOO far?

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2012 School Board Election: Issues

Today was the last day of advance online and phone voting for our municipal election. I'm voting in person on Saturday at a nearby Elementary school. I'm looking forward to the walk with my daughter, even though she'll be covered up because it's supposed to be raining.


I'm pretty sure I know who I'm voting for when it comes to the Mayor, but I have SEVEN choices for Council, and of course two for School Board.





Of the seven council choices, two have held the position before (My Municipality just reduced the number of districts as a cost saving initiative), and one goes to my church. It's a really hard choice because there are so MANY choices. SEVEN!

I've mentioned in a previous post that there are only two choices for School Board in my district, and I think I've made my decision, and it wasn't an easy choice. There's not a lot available online from the candidates or elsewhere that details their stances on all the issues.

Graham Judge doesn't have either a highlighted section of his blog or a tab which shares in one easy place his stance on the issues. You have to read through his posts to see his opinions.

Gin Yee makes it slightly easier for the voter to see his opinions because he has a tab labelled Platform. It doesn't hurt that he has held the job for the last two terms and knows what the voter wants.

There is a citizen group in Nova Scotia called Students First Nova Scotia, which aims to promote the needs of the student first in Education. They apparently sent out a questionnaire to all the candidates to see how well their beliefs matched with the groups, but they did not post the results on their website, which personally I would have found enlightening. A few candidates posted their results online, but neither of my choices did that I can find.

The questions posed to all School Board Candidates were on a scale from Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree, or No opinion. They were then given a space to leave a comment and expand on their answers.

I will not share Mr. Poole's answers, as he is not running for my district.


PART A – Statement of Principles
Better schools begin with you. To truly transform education in Nova Scotia, to create a system that puts
students’ needs first, we need parents, teachers, administrators, politicians, and citizens from across the
province to come together, recognize the problems in our system, and work together to overcome them.
We believe:
 Great teachers can make a tremendous difference for students of every background; all children
deserve great teachers.
 Students should not need luck to get a good education; every family should be able to choose an
excellent school.
 Public dollars belong where they can make the biggest difference; we must fight ineffective
programs and bureaucracy.
 Parental involvement is key to improved student outcomes, but the entire community must be
engaged in the effort to improve our schools.
I agree with 3/4 of these statements.


PART B - Core Principles
Please read each of the short statements and indicate your degree of support for each of those principles:
PUT STUDENTS FIRST
Education should be first and foremost about the student. No two students are the same and so our system
must be flexible and adaptive to the needs of every child.




EMPOWER PARENTS
Every family should have the information and access to choose among quality schools. No student should
be forced to attend a low-performing school or be taught by a low-performing teacher.


ELEVATE TEACHING
Great teachers make a difference for children of all backgrounds. All children deserve great teachers.



RAISE STANDARDS
The surest road to mediocrity is lowered expectations. Standards and expectations should be at the highest
level for everyone: students, teachers, administrators, parents and the community.






SPEND WISELY
Administrators should use resources efficiently to ensure sustainable spending that puts students first.
Schools should be managed through structures that ensure a focus on student results rather than adult
interests.



PART C - Opinion of Students First Nova Scotia and Its Mission
Please Check ONE:
______ I AGREE with the goals and objectives of StudentsFirstNS
______ I AM INTERESTED in learning more about StudentsFirstNS
______ I AM UNDECIDED about StudentsFirstNS
______ I AM UNABLE TO SUPPORT StudentsFirstNS







And these were just the issues of this one parent group. there are so many other issues being thrown around.
-making math and literacy a priority: We had low scores last year in the province on standardized tests.
-bottled water in schools.
-busing (lower distance, and subsidize bus passes for those not included)
-school boundaries
-school closures
-the role of technology in the classroom
-physical education in the schedule daily
-moving grade 9 from junior high into senior high.
-promotion of french immersion
-class sizes (caps)
-anti-bullying programs
-limit split classes
-designate official walking routes which all have sidewalks, safe paths.
-more crossing guards
-snow days


As with every election, it really depends on what is important to you, and what the candidate has to say about that particular issue. Since my daughter is only 8 months old, I'm not as yet that invested in the small issues, but as a teacher (albeit one without a classroom), there are issues which do effect me.

Let's see what happens on Saturday!

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Your Weekly lol 11

Do you have students who would give anything to not be called on? Do they avert their eyes, or slouch behind their desks and books?

That's why I like the idea of names in a cup. You simply pull random Popsicle sticks from a Solo cup to be sure everyone gets called on during the day. If you're not happy with an answer or you want to give someone extra chances, the trick is to have a smaller cup inside the larger one, and place the ones you've called in the middle. If you're calling again, place in the outside ring with the uncalled sticks!

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School Board Elections 2012

My local school board is having an election this month, alongside the municipal elections for Mayor on October 20th. The board consists of 8 elected members and one African Canadian member elected by entitled voters.

To be a candidate in the Halifax Regional School Board Election you must be:

• A Canadian Citizen
• 18 years of age or older at the time of nomination
• Be ordinarily resident in HRM for at least 6 months prior to nomination day (before March 11, 2012)
• Not otherwise disqualified under the Municipal Elections Actor Education Act of Nova Scotia

I have to choose between two people running for the board: Graham Judge and Gin Yee. I wish I knew more about them, but I'm new to this district, having moved within the city this year. I do know that Gin Yee has held the position before. But I do have access to both their websites.

I feel that Mr. Judge is awfully young and inexperienced, but he may have some great insights which will help the board reach forwards. On the otherhand, Mr. Yee has been successfully on the board for 8 years.


I'm going to be doing a lot of reading about the candidates this year and the responsibilities of the board as I think I may someday wish to run for a school board position. 

Have any of you ever considered stepping out of the classroom into such a position or even doing both jobs (which seems most likely here)?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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Reading with Star Wars

.

Did you know that it was recently Star Wars Reads day? I learned about it after the fact, and thought it was kinda cool. It was Saturday October 6th, and hopefully it will be an annual event for geeky kids and their families

I'm definitely a geek, but when it comes to "Star" geek series, I always prefer Star TREK.

Nevertheless, these posters are pure geeky awesomesauce, so I'm sharing with you!

You have NO IDEA how many linkbacks I followed to find the original source, good grief, Charlie Brown!

It seems they were recently on a website called "Steal this Art", and are no longer available.
By a former Disney Artist named Jason Peltz.

So what do you think? Are they pure geeky teacher awesomeness?

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Your Weekly lol 10

What exactly do parents say when we send home more "beautiful" artwork?
How do they store it?
Do they keep it?

My mom used to admire everything, and it was kept for awhile, but was eventually trashed. Today it would be recycled.

I've seen some teachers on Pinterest who put everything in a scrapbook for the year (actually, I think that's what my grade primary teacher did).

I've seen some moms scan all artwork to keep a digital copy.

If parents complain or ask your advice, what do you say?

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Your Weekly lol 9

No one is perfect, but when there are HUGE mistakes sometimes I want to jump through the computer screen and strangle some of my friends on Facebook.

Do you have any pet peeves?

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