November 30

The SAN Script – the week of December 1 – 5

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Art makes life bearable. It isn’t a luxury. Like our capacity for understanding, and our experience of love, it is a vitally important part of life.

– Gillian Pederson Krag

even hip hop!

St. Anthony this week this week

Monday, December 1

Donna is in this week – Krista will be returning to us on December 8th!

Meg, Paul and Nora out at the board – digital portfolios (AM)

Aviva Semi finals start at noon today – please vote for our school!!  This is a 10-day campaign so every day counts!!

https://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf19604

Squirmies today (Last day) 11:35

Advent Week One celebration in the gym (2:00 PM)

waste walkabout

remember to get a gift ($15.00 max)for the gift exchange!

Tuesday, December 2

Franck in today to work on configurator – we need all your iPads and iPods by Tuesday morning

Vote for our school!  https://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf19604

Chess today 11:35

Volunteer in Mrs. Rupnik’s PM class, Dorothy Stanyar- Reading with students

 Wednesday, December 3

Vote for our school!  https://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf19604

waste walkabout

Rosary visits to St. Anthony

Paul away – Family of Schools meeting 12:00 PM

Every 1st Wednesday of the month, beginning October 1st

JK AM is FDK 1,  10:00 to 10:20

Grade 1/2 Ms.Myers; 12:15 to 12:35

Grade 2/3 Mrs. Manzoli 12:35 to 12:55

Grade 1/2 Mr. Cook; 12:35 to 12:55

Grade 4/5 is M. Girard; 12:55 to 1:25

SK PM is FDK 2,  1:45 to 2:05

Grade 5/6 is Ms. Hubert; 1:45 to 2:30

Last session of young Rembrandts

Thursday, December 4

Vote for our school!  https://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf19604

Kathi, SLP, in Mrs. Rupnik’s Class

Friday, December 5

Memorial Mass for Meg’s mother at St. Anthony Church – 7:30 am

Vote for our school!  https://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf19604

waste walkabout

Hip Hop Little Horn Theatre

* HIP HOP Katie St. Anthony’s

JK/SK 8:30-9:00 (20)

JK/SK 9:00-9:30 (20)

9:45-10:00 recess

10:00-10:40 Grade 1 ( 12) +

Grade 1/2 (20)

10:40-11:15 Grade 2/3 (16) *get

ready for lunch upon dismissal

11:15-12:15 LUNCH

12:30-1:10 Grade 4/5 (24)

1:30-1:45 LAST RECESS

2:00-2:40 Grade 5/6 (24)

Christmas staff social at Mill Street Brew Pub starting at 5:00PM – don’t forget your gift!

A Simple Explanation Of ‘The Internet Of Things’

by Jacob Morgan

The “Internet of things” (IoT) is becoming an increasingly growing topic of conversation both in the workplace and outside of it. It’s a concept that not only has the potential to impact how we live but also how we work.  But what exactly is the “Internet of things” and what impact is it going to have on you if any?  There are a lot of complexities around the “Internet of things” but I want to stick to the basics.  Lots of technical and policy related conversations are being had but many people are still just trying to grasp the foundation of what the heck these conversations are about. Let’s start with understanding a few things. Broadband Internet is become more widely available, the cost of connecting is decreasing, more devices are being created with wifi capabilities and censors built into them, technology costs are going down, and smart phone penetration is sky-rocketing.  All of these things are creating a “perfect storm” for the IoT. internet-of-things-2 So what is the Internet of things? Simply put this is the concept of basically connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet (and/or to each other). This includes everything from cell phones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices and almost anything else you can think of.  This also applies to components of machines, for example a jet engine of an airplane or the drill of an oil rig.  As I mentioned, if it has an on and off switch then chances are it can be a part of the IoT.  The analyst firm Gartner says that by 2020 there will be over 26 billion connected devices…that’s a lot of connections (some even estimate this number to be much higher, over 100 billion).  The IoT is a giant network of connected “things” (which also includes people).  The relationship will be between people-people, people-things, and things-things. How does this impact you? The new rule for the future is going to be, “anything that can be connected, will be connected.”  But why on earth would you want so many connected devices talking to each other?  There are many examples for what this might look like or what the potential value might be.  Say for example you are on your way to a meeting, your car could have access to your calendar and already know the best route to take, if the traffic is heavy your car might send a text to the other party notifying them that you will be late.  What if your alarm clock wakes up you at 6 am and then notifies your coffee maker to start brewing coffee for you? What if your office equipment knew when it was running low on supplies and automatically re-ordered more?  What if the wearable device you used in the workplace could tell you when and where you were most active and productive and shared that information with other devices that you used while working? On a broader scale the IoT can be applied to things like transportation networks “smart cities” which can help us reduce waste and improve efficiency for things such as energy use; this helping us understand and improve how we work and live.  Take a look at the visual below to see what something like that can look like.

libelium_smart_world_infographic_big this is a really cool topic – to learn more, please go to here

And finally….

SAN-Aviva-button

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November 28

The SAN Script Friday, November 28

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.

-W.T. Purkiser

Photograph by New York City Municipal Archives, WPA Federal Writers’ Project, Jack Rosenzwieg / AP In this beautiful black and white photo from 22 December 1936, a man looks across the Hudson River towards Manhattan from the New York tower of the George Washington Bridge. The photo is one of over 900,000 that are hosted online by the New York City Department of Records, which has the largest collection of historical images of New York City in the world.

Photograph by New York City Municipal Archives, WPA Federal Writers’ Project, Jack Rosenzwieg / AP
In this beautiful black and white photo from 22 December 1936, a man looks across the Hudson River towards Manhattan from the New York tower of the George Washington Bridge. The photo is one of over 900,000 that are hosted online by the New York City Department of Records, which has the largest collection of historical images of New York City in the world.

St. Anthony Today

sorry about the mix-up yesterday with Hip Hip – I will publish the entire Little Horn schedule sometime today so there are no more surprises – Thanks Geraldine for making up the schedule.

Paul

Waste Walkabout

Donna out – Janice Labelle in

Paul at Board – 10:00 am

Aviva Announcement noon today about semi finalists

Shaun and Sue Hopkins visiting St. Anthony – 1:00PM

 

Are Teachers of Tomorrow Prepared to Use Innovative Tech?

 

Teaching-with-Tech

With a new generation of teachers coming into the work force, there’s a discrepancy between what principals expect of teachers-in-training and what they’re actually learning in school.

A new Project Tomorrow report surveying principals concluded that they want to hire new teachers with creative ideas about how technology can be leveraged to create authentic and differentiated learning experiences. But student-teachers report that their tech training focuses only on simple management tools. At the same time, the report concludes that those who have the biggest influence on new teachers — veteran educators –  don’t always embrace new ways of using technology to engage students.

Only half of current working teachers believe they can use technology to motivate students to learn, compared to 75 percent of incoming teachers. Only 17 percent of current teachers believe technology can help students deeply explore their own ideas, compared to 59 percent of incoming teachers. And 26 percent of current teachers believe students can use technology to apply knowledge to problem-solving, compared to 64 percent of aspiring teachers.

Screen Shot 2013-02-13 at 10.36.21 AM

Teachers-in-training say coursework focuses on technologies that help a teacher stay organized, rather than ways to engage students. In their methods courses, where teachers learn the mechanics of running a classroom, 71 percent report that they’re taught to use simple word processing, spreadsheets and database tools, 64 percent report learning how to create multimediapresentations and 55 percent say they’ve learned how to use interactive whiteboards.

Incoming teachers use tech fluidly in their own lives, but they’re learning to teach within a system that lags behind the times.

“Principals want new teachers to know how to use technology to create authentic learning experiences for students (75 percent) and how to leverage technology to differentiate instruction (68 percent) before they apply for a position at their school,” thereport said.

more here

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November 27

The SAN Script Thursday, November 27

In the time of your life, live — so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it.
– William Saroyan

Maker Junior will be joining us for our Dec 9th staff meeting along with the staff of St. Luke

Maker Junior will be joining us for our Dec 9th staff meeting along with the staff of St. Luke

 

 

 

December 9th staff meeting – Maker Junior – We will be joined by St. Luke’s for this presentation and a wine and cheese social

Making builds confidence, sparks curiosity and helps kids discover new areas of expertise. Alison Evans Adnani believes the experience of making needs to be available to every child. Alison founded Maker Junior to bring maker programming out of the maker space and into classrooms, libraries and community centers. Alison will share:n- simple projects that allow for exploration and play- tips for teaching techniques- strategies for managing larger groups

Alison Evans Adnani — Founder

 Maker Junior

I take maker projects to classrooms, libraries and community centers to get kids working with technology. I share what I learn and I am passionate about inspiring the next generation of innovators.

St. Anthony Today

Paul away – Peace Conference at St.Pius

Notre Dame visit to St. Anthony – 9:00 am

Volunteer in Mrs. Rupnik’s PM class, Dorothy Stanyar- Reading with Students

 

 

 

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November 26

The SAN Script – Wednesday, November 26

Indifference to injustice is more insidious than the injustice itself.

-Cornel West

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

St. Anthony Today

Green Team meeting with Andrew Harvey – 9:30 learning commons

Young Rembrandts – session 3

Kathi Elborn

SEA Trainer in for 5/6 students

waste walkabout

 

Is Growth Mindset a Sliding Spectrum? – a response

I want to swim in the deep, murky waters of nuance when it comes to growth mindset. Maybe I need some lessons.

 Royan Lee This is how Royan Le finishes off his article on Growth Mindset.  It is a good place to finish a post on how we develop our own growth mindset.  This is something I am thinking about this year.  Our board has made this an important initiative this year for all of us and I know many school boards conducted studies and research on this last year. I think as teachers, we get into this profession because we believe in having a growth mindset.  I think it is a great focus for our school board.  I really like how Lee used the ‘How to Learn Math’ series by Jo Boaler in his post.  He is following the series and I am going to encourage our teachers to do the same thing. This will be a good series for me too – I actually said in a staff meeting ‘I never could teach math’ good start! For us, the challenge of growth mindset will be transferring this to our students and parents.  I know I have lots to learn about all of this, but my first thought is that we need to make sure our students believe in themselves.  They need to know that they can make a fundamental change in their living circumstances. One of my goals this year will be to have a growth mindset for myself, the staff, students and our parent community.  Where can we growth, where can we move to. We will try all sorts of projects to see if we can encourage a growth mindset – right now we are trying to redevelop our entire schoolyard.  It is a bit of a crazy idea, but it is capturing the imagination of our kids and teachers.  If you push hard enough, what can you achieve?

It doesn’t matter if we win this competition – although we would love your vote!  What matters is that we are trying new things to see what is possible, to see how we can grow and make a difference. Actually, we are doing OK, we are in 6th place nationally right now and are poised to enter the semi finals next week. Still, this will be a learning journey – I totally agree with Lee – I will need lots of lessons!

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November 25

The SAN Script Tuesday, November 25

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.

– Hebrews 12:1

Seen here is a beautiful black swan in Bulgaria’s Bacha Reservoir. The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The black swan was a literary or artistic image, even before the discovery of Cygnus atratus. Cultural reference has been based on symbolic contrast and as a distinctive motif. You can read more about black swan emblems and popular culture here. Philosophically, the black swan theory is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. The theory was developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

Seen here is a beautiful black swan in Bulgaria’s Bacha Reservoir. The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The black swan was a literary or artistic image, even before the discovery of Cygnus atratus. Cultural reference has been based on symbolic contrast and as a distinctive motif. You can read more about black swan emblems and popular culture here.
Philosophically, the black swan theory is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. The theory was developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

St. Anthony Today

Big Kid Entertainment today – Diversity and Acceptance

chess club cancelled today

Performance 12:45 – 1:15
Classroom visits: A) 1:45 – 2:05 Grade 1, 1/2, 2/3
B) 2:10 grade 4/5, 5/6 Language class
C) 2:30 grade KP 1 KP 2

Is Growth Mindset a Sliding Spectrum?

Posted on November 22, 2014

Last week, I spent a couple of hours watching the above playlist from Jo Boaler’s fantastic online course “How to Learn Math”. In it, she speaks much about the foundational importance of Growth Mindset for becoming a mathematician. It’s the latest of many other articles, videos, and books I’ve been sampling due to their importance in my current work as a curriculum consultant in my board.I’m a big fan of Jo Boaler’s ideas. I love the way she blends research and theory about learning dispositions with practical tools and strategies for implementing them. I also find her delivery exudes authenticity and wisdom, which is important to me. I was astonished that I was able to maintain engagement to watch all the videos considering most of them consisted of one person speaking directly into a camera.There’s something I want to go deeper with, however, especially after thinking about Alex Quigley‘sprovocative critique of the framework. Even though it’s a fantastic start to juxtapose fixed and growth mindsetsin order to stress the dangers of the former and the power of the latter, I’m wondering if growth mindset is less like this:CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user Corey Seeman CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user Corey Seeman And more like this: CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user Louise Docker CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user Louise Docker I’ll use myself as an example. When it comes to my work as a pedagogue and leader, I feel a strong growth mindset has driven almost all of the countless intrinsic rewards I’ve attained in my still progressing professional life. I’ve rarely met a pedagogical problem I didn’t ecstatically pursue the solution for. As a father, too, I always look at myself as a work in progress, wanting to learn more, reflect perpetually, and do it in partnership with my beloved wife. But, who knows, perhaps even I will experience my own times of stagnation or regression, where I have difficulty moving my own proverbial needle. On the other hand, there’s swimming. I have this thing about swimming. I’m really bad at it, and my family constantly berates me for my hypocrisy in refusing to take simple steps to improve. There’s also my own father. He and I don’t have the greatest relationship on earth. Our lines of communication have always been like a drive home on Toronto’s 401 on the worst snow storm of the year. I’ll admit that I need to approach our relationship with more resilience and grit. I have not researched my stuff. Carol Dweck, Jo Boaler, great people like that have. I love their stuff, but now I want to go deeper. I want to swim in the deep, murky waters of nuance when it comes to growth mindset. Maybe I need some lessons.
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November 23

The SAN Script – the week of November 24 – 28

Richard Rohr‘s Daily Meditation

Love
Love Is What Is
Sunday, November 23, 2014

The core belief of all the great world religions is that the underlying reality is love. Teilhard de Chardin says that “love is the very physical structure of the universe.” Everything is desiring union with everything in one sense or another. I actually believe that what it means to know and trust God is to trust that Love is the source, heart, engine, and goal of life. Our primal and deepest act of faith is the willingness to somehow say, “It’s okay” because at its core all of reality is good and of God. (Ironically and sadly, many religious people say they love God but they do not trust the goodness at the heart of all reality.)

The Christian belief in the Trinity makes it clear that God is an event of communion. God is not a noun nearly as much as a verb. We’ve always thought of God as an autonomous Supreme Being, rather than as Being itself, as an energy that moves within itself (“Father”), beyond itself (“Christ”), and drawing us into itself (“Holy Spirit”). When Christianity begins to take this pivotal and central doctrine of the Trinity with practical seriousness, it will be renewed on every level.

All of creation is a perfect giving and a perfect receiving between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, with no withholding and no rejecting. St. Bonaventure called God “A Fountain Fullness.” Once we begin with outpouring love as the foundational pattern of reality, and love as the very shape of God, then everything somehow has to fall into that same family resemblance. If this is the Creator, then somehow this must be the DNA of all of the creatures.

Love is where we came from. And love is where we are going. When we live in love, we will not be afraid to die. We have built a bridge between worlds. As Paul says “Love does not come to an end” and “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8, 13).

Adapted from Gate of the Temple: Spirituality and Sexuality, disc 1
(CD, MP3 download);
and The Divine Dance: Exploring the Mystery of Trinity, disc 4
(CD, MP3 download);
and Adam’s Return: The Five Promises of Male Initiation,
pp. 165-166
Gateway to Silence:
Love is What Is.

Nov 23

St. Anthony this week

Monday, November 24

Waste Walkabout

Sabina in all week

December Newsletter Submission Deadline

lockdown practice 10:00 am

Squirmies – 11:30

Last day of voting for Asphalt to Oasis

Asphalt to Oasis

Asphalt to Oasis

Tuesday, November 25

Cathlee O’Connell to read with Mrs.Rupnik’s class

Volunteer in Mrs. Rupnik’s PM class, Dorothy Stanyar- Reading with Students

chess club

Big Kid Entertainment – afternoon activity

Wednesday, November 26

Waste Walkabout

Kathi Elborn in

Andrew Harvey in to review greening plan with Green Team

SEA trainer for Gr. 5/6 students

Thursday, November 27

High School Peace Conference – Paul away all day

Notre Dame visit to St. Anthony – AM

Toothbrush program begins for kindergarten students

Friday, November 28

NAC – Somi Kim classical singer from Sochi Olympics – all juniors attending

Guest Reader in Mrs. Rupnik’s Class- Sara’s mom

Guest Reader in Mrs. Rupnik’s Class, Mrs. Iverson

Waste Walkabout

When Kids Teach Kids Through Social Media

My nephew excited to learn.

My nephew excited to learn.

A number of educators in the Langley School District spent the day learning from Alan November today.  During the morning, a key takeaway for me was asking the question “who owns the learning?”(also a title of November’s book).

While at conferences, workshops, and sessions, I often share my learning through social media.  The best part of sharing my learning is when someone outside the session does or says something that takes my learning to a whole new level.  Today, my sister and nephews helped make that happen.

November showed this AWESOME video of a child attempting and reflecting on his Rube Goldberg Monster Trap machine.  This video showed a child embracing mistakes and attempts in learning, a growth mindset, and complete engagement and excitement for learning.  Take a moment to watch below:

The rest of the article here

conclusion:  Students NEED us.  They NEED teachers and parents to help support their learning… but we also have to reflect on the aforementioned questions and ask ourselves, “Who owns the learning?”.  When we give up some control and create the conditions for more opportunities for kids to learn with and from each other (with our support)… more student engagement and increased student learning can occur.

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November 20

The SAN Script Thursday, November 20

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

– John 1:5

I believe that God is in me as the sun is in the color and fragrance of a flower — the Light in my darkness, the Voice in my silence.

–Helen Keller

Lord, this is the day that you have made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it, even as we know it will bring more than we can do. Amen.

– Common Prayer

Students working on one of the Makey Makey kits in our maker space

Students working on one of the Makey Makey kits in our maker space

St. Anthony Today

welcome back Meg!!

Jeans Day – charity to be determined

Boys Volleyball at St. George today – Cassandra coaching

Kathi, SLP, in Mrs. Rupnik’s Class

special lunch today for April!

Assembly today at 2:15

This Thursday’s assembly at 2:15 will include WASTEFREE WEDNESDAY winners lead by Green Club students Debra and Sophia (Maria’s class) and Ecojeopardy skit lead by other Green Club members.
Acknowledging our volleyball teams!

Special announcement by the grade 5/6 class

TGIT at 4:00PM at Pub Italia

The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning

How can games unlock a rich world of learning? This is the big question at the heart of the growing games and learning movement that’s gaining momentum in education. The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning [PDF] explains key ideas in game-based learning, pedagogy, implementation, and assessment. This guide makes sense of the available research and provides suggestions for practical use.

The MindShift Guide to Digital Games and Learning started as a series of blog posts written by Jordan Shapiro with support from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and theGames and Learning Publishing Council. We’ve brought together what we felt would be the most relevant highlights of Jordan’s reporting to create a dynamic, in-depth guide that answers many of the most pressing questions that educators, parents, and life-long learners have raised around using digital games for learning. While we had educators in mind when developing this guide, any lifelong learner can use it to develop a sense of how to navigate the games space in an informed and meaningful way.

MindShift-Guide-to-Digital-Games-and-Learning-Cover

Here’s a preview of the table of contents:

Introduction: Getting in the Game (Page 4)
An overview of games in the classroom from Katie Salen Tekinbaş, executive director of the Institute of Play.

What the Research Says About Gaming and Screen Time (Page 6)
Much of the research around digital games and screen time is evolving. Pediatricians, academics, educators, and researchers are working to find answers to how games and technology affect learners of all ages.

How to Start Using Digital Games for Learning (Page 14)
Since each learning environment is unique, here are some steps to assessing your resources before committing to a particular game or platform. See how some educators are using digital games in the classroom and how they find support.

How to Choose a Digital Learning Game (Page 19)
The sheer volume of games classified as educational can be overwhelming. This section gives you a starting point for game selection by providing an understanding of the types of games available in the marketplace and how to go about selecting them.

the rest of the article can be found here

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November 19

The SAN Script – Wednesday, November 19th

Some great close-up footage of a squirrel nabbing a GoPro and carrying it up a tree before ultimately dropping it. The video description said he was trying to get close-up footage by attaching a piece of bread to the GoPro, but he wasn’t expecting the little guy to take the camera up the tree…

Some great close-up footage of a squirrel nabbing a GoPro and carrying it up a tree before ultimately dropping it. The video description said he was trying to get close-up footage by attaching a piece of bread to the GoPro, but he wasn’t expecting the little guy to take the camera up the tree…

The Kind of Person
Posted: 17 Nov 2014 09:00 PM PST
With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. ~Mahatma Gandhi

I’m not going to lie down and let trouble walk over me. ~Ellen Glasgow

Nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing is so gentle as true strength. ~Ralph Sockman

Some people strengthen others just by being the kind of people they are. ~John M. Gardener

Quotes about strength

St. Anthony Today

Don’t forget for tomorrow

  • special lunch for April

  • jeans day – need new direction for the money

  • TGIT – Pub Italia – we are buying the first round of appetizers 

Catherine McKenny – new counsellor visiting today

Young Rembrandts – second session today at 3:15

Waste walkabout

from Teach Well Now blog – Maureen Devlin

“Education is not the filling of the pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
– William Butler Yeats
If you had the chance to pose a a question about your teaching and student learning that a large number of educators would assess, what would that question be?
That’s a challenge the faculty at my school are grappling with since in a couple of months a large number of educators will come to our school and assess one question related to student learning. Every educator at my school has the chance to vote with a $1.00 worth of points for a question they hope the educators will assess.
The question I favor is, “Are students inspired?”
I am in favor of that question because I know that inspiration holds high value when it comes to student learning. Yet, how do you assess inspiration?  What evidence demonstrates inspiration and what evidence doesn’t when you “look down” and observe student learning.
I offer the following evidence that depicts inspiration:
  • Students are on task.
  • Student language demonstrates that they are inspired to learn with related questions, encouraging remarks to classmates, learning examples, organization steps, positive self talk, and progress remarks.
  • Students work demonstrates investment with regard to meeting and extending the task.
  • Students are excited and enthusiastic.
  • Students’ actions support their learning.
The following evidence would suggest a lack of inspiration:
  • Inactivity, heads on the desk.
  • Little discussion, questions, or self talk.
  • Little effort or completion of tasks.
  • Less bright eyes, eagerness and enthusiasm.
  • Little to no enrichment or extension of the task.
How would you illustrate an inspired classroom? What evidence of inspiration would you look for? Do you think this is an important question to assess? If so, why? and if not, why not?  What question would you choose?
I know the educators I work with will contribute many wonderful questions, and I know we’ll end up with an investigation of merit. However, in the meantime, I’ll keep this question close at hand as I design, deliver, and facilitate learning experiences.
Aviva Update:
 
be part of the wave – vote now!
 
We certainly had our best day ever yesterday!  Here, again are the highlights:
 
  • we were interviewed on CBC All In A Day yesterday afternoon – we gave Allan Neal a poster, so we are up in the CBC Newsroom!
  • we received the High Jump Badge – given to the  5 fasting vote-gaining ideaseach day in the entire competition
  • we moved into 7th place overall beating out a competitor by 7 votes
You can see the surge below.
 
Please keep voting – still really need a high school to adopt a ‘St. Anthony Minute’ where everyone votes every day – once set up this will take a minute a day!
 
See you all at our booth on Christian Community Day!
 


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November 16

The SAN Script The week of November 17 – 21

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Our Opera Lyra stars

This my second blog post for the #SAVMP project.  Thought it would be good to share with all of you

Paul

What are some areas of teaching and learning that you can lead in your school? #SAVMP Blog Post

The November question is What are some areas of teaching and learning that you can lead in your school?

Always good questions come from SAVMP! What can I lead in my school?

That is a bit difficult to answer. When you are new in a school I think the question becomes – what teaching and learning can I pick up from the staff. At this point, this is a much more interesting question for me to reflect on.

What can I say so far?

our staff connects with its community – parents are in all the time to meet with teachers and discuss concerns – face to face beats the phone every time.
people here are all about empowerment. This is a poor community, many parents speak a language other than French and English at home. Our teachers challenge our students and they have very high expectations – this is so visible to me! Our students rise to these expectations and they perform better as they get older on our standardized testing.
our children love our school. There is a great deal of affection amongst the students and parents for our school. This is, I believe, is because our staff provide a nurturing environment, a place where children can thrive and grow.
our staff are willing to experiment – we are introducing e-portfolios, new math and language on-line programs, a makerspace, a national campaign to transform our asphalt yard – the staff accept and embrace all of this and much much more. They are for the kids and are willing to try new things all the time.
there is a strong spiritual sense about the school. We celebrate together and we pray together. Today, I witnessed one of the most moving Remembrance Day ceremonies I have ever seen. The kids all know how important these moments are and treat these ceremonies with great respect.
People come to our school and they say it has a special spirit. I am the newest member of the staff and I agree with them. There is a special spirit here, it makes you want to do your best and contribute what you can to make the community even stronger.

What areas of teaching and learning can I lead? Right now I can lead best by following the staff and learning the culture of our school. I can learn to become part of a vital and caring culture.

 

English: Tweeting bird, derived from the initi...

English: Tweeting bird, derived from the initial ‘t’ of Twitter Deutsch: Twitschervogel, entwickelt aus dem Anfangs-‘t’ von Twitter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

This is a brilliant resource!  I suggest you dave it and refer back to it all year – there is soooo much good stuff here – I have made sure the links work to all the articles referred to in the article.  I have also shared this with you on Drive.  Please bite off a little morsel at a time!!!!

 

 

 

 

Ambassador Phase 2: Event 1- Communicate Resource Doc

 

Greetings DEN Ambassadors!

 

Welcome to phase 2 of the program. The purpose of this handout and corresponding video is to review 3 “Communication” tools you can use with your students, your peers and your community. As you watch this video, follow along using the resources below. There will be several pauses in the video which will allow you some hands-on time to try out these tools. Click on the blue underlined resources to explore the links. We encourage you to use the comment feature to add your own thoughts or additional resources throughout this document.

 

Video: Ambassador: Communicate

 

Use the following resources to dive deeper into these different communication tools.

 

Edmodo
Twitter
Skype

 

As you explore feel free to insert comments with additional examples and resources to support each of these tools.
Edmodo

 

Edmodo is a microblogging system designed specifically for teachers and students. It provides numerous ways to communicate with your students, and it extends the learning outside the 4 walls of the classroom. By posting questions, polls, notes, quizzes, and assignments, you and your students can communicate from anywhere, anytime.

 

Student Communication

 

If you don’t have an Edmodo account, go to Edmodo and create a teacher account.
If you need help getting started, explore these how-to sites:
Edmodo Teacher Home Page
Edmodo’s Getting Started Video Tutorials for Teachers
Create a class group by selecting the “Plus” icon next to “Groups” on the left side panel of your Edmodo home page. Enter a group name, click “create”, enter a description of your group, and click “finish” to receive your 6-digit group code. You will need to share this code with your students so they can join your group.
Explore the following websites to better understand ways to use Edmodo with your students. As you view these resources, begin to make a plan to implement Edmodo in your class.
15 Things Teachers and Students Can Do with Edmodo
Edmodo The Total Class Solution
20 Ways to Use Edmodo
Connect with Discovery Education’s Edmodo Community:
Discovery Education Edmodo Page

 

Twitter
Twitter is a powerful social media tool you can use to communicate with your peers and grow your Professional Learning Network, or PLN. There are thousands of passionate educators from around the globe who are sharing helpful resources on Twitter. It’s a great place to go for your own professional growth. By spending just a few minutes a week on Twitter you can walk away with dozens of helpful tools and resources.

 

Peer Communication

 

If you don’t have a Twitter account, visit Twitter and create your profile.
To better understand the various components of Twitter, read this blog post:
Twitter + Education
The following resources will help you better understand how to use Twitter to develop your PLN. As you explore these resources you will begin to add to your list of followers. Think about what questions you want to ask on Twitter as well as what you want to share. Try sending a tweet, replying to a tweet, and searching for specific hashtags.
7 Ways to Find Teachers on Twitter
3 Reasons Why School Principals Need to Tweet
Chatting with Connected Principals: Twitter Tools and Top Ideas
DEN Chat
Tweeting for Schools
Twitter for Teachers: Establishing Your Personal Learning Network
50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom
Using the search option on Twitter, explore some of the popular education hashtags such as: #DENchat, #edchat, and #spedchat
Click on the links below to connect with Discovery Education and DEN STARs on Twitter:
Discovery Ed Twitter
DEN STARs Twitter

 

Have an idea to share? Go to “Insert” then Comment” and add it to the side bar.
(Thanks Baldwin for sharing this one)

 

Skype
Skype allows you to make voice and video calls to anyone else with a Skype account, for free. This is a great tool to use to communicate with the community, empowering you to bring guests into your classroom virtually. With the click of a button you can connect your students with an author, a scientist, or a historian. You can share class projects with other classes from around the world and in turn your students get to know people from different cultures.

 

Community Communication

 

DEN-video-background

 

If you don’t have a Skype account, visit this link to download Skype to your computer or mobile device.
Once you have installed Skype, create a profile. You will need to register using your email address to create an account with a username and password.
You will need a webcam and speakers to complete a video Skype call.
Explore Skype for Education to find out how you can communicate with others. Collaborate with other classes, find guest speakers, or take a virtual field trip.
Skype’s Education Home Page
The Complete Guide to Skype in the Classroom
Skype’s Mystery Skype
The following links provide examples of using Skype in the classroom.
DEN STAR Mystery Skype
Skype for Educators Wiki
Graphic organizer of student roles and descriptions
Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom
Skype App for the iPod Touch/iPad

St. Anthony This week

Monday, November 17

Bully Awareness Week all this week – please make sure your Digital Citizenship lessons are completed this week – thanks!

Sabina in all this week

Squirmies 11:30

Donna Clark in today

Waste Walkabout

Tuesday, November 18

chess club – Paul and Wayne 11:30

Cathlee O’Connell to read with Mrs.Rupnik’s class

Young Rembrandts – week 2 – 3:35 PM

Wednesday, November 19

Waste Walkabout

Thursday, November 20

Kathi, SLP, in Mrs. Rupnik’s Class

Boy’s Volleyball at St. George

Monthly Assembly – please let me know what you have for the assembly

TGIF at Pub Italia – first appetizer on the social committee!

Friday, November 21

Christian Community Day

What’s coming up??

  • Big Kid Entertainment – whole school activity – Nov 25 PM
  • First pizza day – November 27th
  • PD sessions on e-portfolios – December 1st
  • Staff meeting with St. Luke Catholic – 3:45 in Learning Commons – focus on makerspaces with
    Maker Junior Alison Evans Adnani – December 9th (catered, Wine, beer)
Category: SAN This Week | LEAVE A COMMENT