Brevity

Short update this week. I hope you all had a wonderful break from work last week.

Heads Up

NWAedcamp is gaining traction across the region. Teachers from as far away as Tulsa have signed up to share their knowledge and discuss education. It's not too late to register for the Saturday, April 11 event at BHS.

I'm thinking about having a one-stop location on the website for summer camp information. If you have information from regional camps, please send it my way. We'll develop a page with links to camp information to get the word out.

Tonight's #bpseduchat topic: Topic: Downtime, why it's important and what you're reading now. It's also "love a lurker week." Invite a newbie to join in the conversation, Short video intro to a Twitter chat. Never been a better week to join in.

Wednesday Walkabouts

The hiatus will hopefully end soon. There is nothing better than experiencing the vibrancy of a building full of students learning. I wish all stakeholders could walk in my shoes,

Grants and PD

Some great opportunities this week.
Know an excellent mentor in science, math or engineering? Encourage them to apply (or apply for them) to receive a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.

ASM Materials Education Foundation seeks to help teachers bring the real world of materials science into their classrooms.

Donor'sChoose.org and Paul G. Allen Family Foundation challenge teachers to "teach for the planet" and find innovative environmental science, climate change, and sustainability projects. Over 500,000 projects have been funded.

Captain Planet Foundation will fund student-directed projects that integrate environmental education and a solution to real-world problems.

State Farm is accepting applications for its service-learning grants program in a variety of areas.

Video of the Week

After hearing this family speak this morning at Central Park, I thought I share their story with you all.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Happy St. Patrick's Day, enjoy it!

Heads Up

Has anyone created a banner to support runners in the Bentonville 1/2 Marathon March 28, 2015? Perhaps this is the week to do it, especially with those antsy kids ready for spring break. Great way to share school/community pride.

No #bpseduchat this week. Next week is love a lurker week. Topic: Downtime, why it's important and what you're reading now. Short video intro to a Twitter chat.

I'm starting to get calls asking to promote summer camps. The plan is to create a one-stop link on the website to direct stakeholders to camp offerings along with posts to district social media. Send inquires to me.

Wednesday Walkabouts

Thank goodness for Twitter! If a staff member at Old High hadn't hipped me to Arts and Academic night on Thursday, I would never have known about this fantastic event. (Nor would I have been able to buy some new tools in the silent auction). Quid pro quo time, people. I send you information on Tuesday, you send me your weekly communication to staff. Thank you.

Grants and PD

Foundation grant applications are due this Friday, March 20, 2015.

EdcampNWA is on for April 11, 2015 at BHS. I'll be sending information to faculty tomorrow on how to sign up. It's real simple. www.edcampnwa.org/

Educational leaders from NWA will be discussing education on Thursday, March 19, 2015 from 3:30 to 5:00 pm at Trike Theatre.

Follow the link below for on-line course offerings sponsored by ADE.
http://www.virtualeduc.com/e-announcements/ade.htm

Video of the Week

Have a great vacation.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

I guarantee no snow days this week.

Heads Up

Please share the Bentonville Parks and Recreation membership information with your staff again. Here's the link to PowerPoint and I've attached the forms.

I'll be posting a reminder on immunizations prior to Spring Break on district social media. Deb Keith is helping put that together.

Consider having your students create a banner of encouragement for runners participating in the Bentonville 1/2 Marathon on March 28th. I'll be happy to pick them up and hang them on the fences by Thomas Jefferson and Tennie Russell early in the morning. If your kids know anyone participating, I'm sure they would love to see a personalized message.

Tonight's #bpseduchat is on assessment. Questions can be found here. Add any that you would like to discuss.

If you haven't heard already, Conner Dohse has taken a position at Arkansas Arts Academy as head of technology. He's perfect for the job and will definitely make positive changes.

Wednesday Walkabout

Postponed due to PARCC. Do let me know of any news-worthy events.

Grants and PD

Interesting grant opportunities this week.
Lily Sarah Grace provides support for teacher-initiated projects that foster arts-infused approach to inquiry-based learning in K-5 Title 1 schools. http://www.lilysarahgrace.org/grants

NCTM is looking for proposals for it's In-Service Training Grants program. http://www.nctm.org/Grants/

The following link has information on the U of A Administrator's retreat - Writing for the Common Core.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6b-hmPbL-K9aXNJaHJBYS1naVk/view?pli=1

And don't forget edcampNWA coming April 11, 2015. Register here. Want to read about how a district used the edcamp model to train teachers. Read this.

http://rogers.ss5.sharpschool.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=3091742&pageId=5307013

Video of the Week

In the Media

http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2015/mar/09/tiny-house-idea-big-help-for-teens-2015/

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

I am not going to lie to you - it doesn't feel like March, and I can't believe three-fourths of the year has passed.

Heads Up

Please send photos of Humphrey author Betty Birney's visit to your schools and special events that are occurring as One District, One Book wraps up. Or better yet, post them to your Twitter/Instagram feeds and share the @handle of your building. That makes them much easier to share with the district community.

"Spread the Word to End the Word" awareness campaign is this week.More information/activities can be found here.

Planning is well underway for EdcampNWA on April 11, 2015. Not sure what an Edcamp is? Here's a quick video introduction via the edcampnwa website. Over 60 participants registered the first two day from across the NWA region and parts of Oklahoma and Missouri. Join us from 8:30 to 3:00 for a day of collaborative learning.

Bentonville 1/2 Marathon is scheduled for March 28. It's the Saturday after Spring Break so it's going to be a challenge to support the city in this, but I was wondering if school's could create some poster-paper banners of encouragement for the runners? Especially for those runners you know. I'll hand them on the fences at Tennie Russell and Thomas Jefferson on race day. Let me know if your building would like to participate.

Wednesday Walkabout

BPS staff rockin' the hairnets to support The Pack Shack

Best part of the job and the hardest to get done. I do appreciate all the invites from teachers to attend school events and honestly try to make them all.

Grants & PD

Thanks to the dedicated and committed faculty, staff, and administrators who braved the weather to pack meals for The Pack Shack last Friday afternoon. Thank you.

Here's an opportunity from our friends in Joplin.
Dr. Paul Bloomberg Core Collaborative Network

March 13

8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Joplin High School

2104 Indiana Ave., Joplin, MO 64804

There is a cost to attend. Here's a link to more information: http://www.thecorecollaborative.com/#!events/cm1r

And here is a link to information about the Core Collaborative Network: http://www.thecorecollaborative.com/.

Video of the Week

Bentonville Convention and Visitor's Bureau is now Visit Bentonville. Here's their re-branding video. I would love to produce something similar for each school in the district.

Enjoy your week. More winter weather's expected tomorrow.