Done.

Not going to lie to you, it's going to be a little weird waking to an alarm clock on Thursday.

Heads up

I will be sending out an email district-wide to introduce Peachjar. We are set to go online June 4th. That said, RE Baker and Elm Tree will be the first to test out this new system. Parents at these schools will be the first to receive flyers via email from Peachjar. Thanks for supporting this initiative to make flyer distribution more economical, efficient, and effective. If you still haven't identified a point person in your building, please do so ASAP. The eflyer service from Peachjar is free to the district and PTO's.

The Diversability Aware Interactive 2015 event was well-received. The students and teachers involved did a great thing and did so much to change the perception of people with disabilities. The comments I've received have been very positive.




If anyone asks, the go-IT camps sponsored by TATA Consultancy are full and registration is closed.

No #bpseduchat this week, but next Tuesday is the first annual You Matter Chat. We'll be talking about how, what, and who mattered during the year.

Grants and PD

Interested in bringing computer coding into the classroom? Not sure how or where to begin? BPS technology will be hosting a code.org workshop on Wednesday, July 8 at the Tech Center for teacher in grades K - 5th.

While the go-IT camps are full of kids, there's still opportunity for teacher facilitators. Teachers interested in MIT app development camp on June 23 and 24 can sign up here. Those interested in Lego Mindstorm Robotics can sign up here. Professional development credit is available.

Here's a link to information about an opportunity in Little Rock on June 10 to attend a conference from the Office of Education Policy and Office of Innovation in Education.
 http://officeforedpolicy.com/2015/05/20/oep-and-oie-conference-on-june-10th-register-now/

Want to be part of the conversation on education in NWA? Register to attend the E.Y.E to the Future Conference here.

Video of the Week

Last year, June 2nd. Little bit different way to spend the day. Enjoy.

Seven

For those counting days, the number's 7.

Heads Up

I am excited for tomorrow's Diversability Aware Interactive event. Transportation has been arranged, the venues are set and I hope to see many of your students and teachers there to be a part of this one-of-a-kind event. Everyone I've spoken to outside of the district think this is a great idea with traction to move into it's next iteration. Teachers participating should have received a scheduled time last week. I'll be running around today getting everything in place at the Murry Room and HLM Building. Thank you all for your support.

Please send the links to teachers for the go-IT camps. There is still a need for facilitators to work with TATA engineers. I can tell you from personal experience that it is not a bad way to spend a few summer days. Thanks to Jean Womack and Jack Loyd for the use of the TREC Center and BHS. TATA has been a huge supporter of programs in Bentonville Schools and an active and engaged community partner.
There are still spaces available in the MIT App Inventor Camp https://goo.gl/AgJgpr and the Lego Mindstorm Robotics Camp https://goo.gl/AgJgpr Thank you to all who have named their Peachjar point of contact. If you haven't please send a name to be by the end of the week. Here's the overview video again on the process.



I'll be sending a short survey to faculty this week to collect data on the impact of PBL projects. I know projects raised a substantial sum of money for charity. I plan to share the data to the board at the June  meeting.


Grants and PD

This really should be re-named the Matt Saferite Section at this time of year. There's a lot going on in the professional development world.
Here's a great opportunity from Economics Arkansas.

 Want to learn about entrepreneurship from real practicing people who are building their businesses? 

·         Want lessons to use in project based learning?

·         Want to teach your students about the leaders who made Arkansas what it is today?  And to empower them to do the same?

·         Want to earn 6 ADE PD credits and earn a $50 stipend?

Register at: http://www.economicsarkansas.org/our_supporters/event_calendar.html/event/2015/07/15/e3-empowering-entrepreneurship-education

Here's another great offering from the University of Arkansas office of Educational Policy http://officeforedpolicy.com/2015/05/20/oep-and-oie-conference-on-june-10th-register-now/

Video of the Week

Enjoy your day.

We're close

Tired, so tired.

Heads up

Got Field Day? Please send me the dates - we need some smiling happy kids pictures for the community report and the newspaper is always looking for happy kids.

Final Hat Day for Junior Highs and Middle Schools is this Friday, May 22nd. Thank you for supporting Kiwanis and Arkansas Children's Hospital.

Thursday night is 21st Century Showcase at Fulbright from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Come out to celebrate the work of our 21C grant recipients and support this innovative program that has impacted students and teachers across the district. At last night's board meeting, the foundation contributed $125,000 to this program.

I'll be sending links to staff for them to use to sign up to facilitate/collaborate with TATA Consultancy Services in producing two great, free camps for students in June. Teachers who sign up should plan on attending the June 13th training session at TATA in Bentonville (across from Walmart home office). I helped last year and the training was helpful, the engineers from TATA will facilitate the programming. The main task for teachers is to facilitate the classroom management and learning for students. It's a fun time and a great way to earn PD hours. Yes, PD hours will be earned for facilitating this camp. Student enrollment is capped at 30 per camp, Here's the video my group produced at last year's camp. Good times, good times.




No #bpseduchat this week. Next week's topic is NEW! As in what new things did you implement this year in the classroom and/or building and how did they impact students.

Preparations for Diversability Aware Interactive are nearly complete. Chris Dewitt is working out transportation for those who need it.

We are preparing for our launch of Peachjar e-flyer distribution. The Scott Family Amazeum has already signed on to support the initial distribution. Each building will need to have a designated person to upload the flyers to Peachjar, so think about who might served this role in your buildings. It is much simpler than paper distribution, and will not require a huge time commitment. We will communicate this change to parents, community partners, etc.

Grants and PD

Here's the google doc for schedule of PD information from Matt Saferite. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FXyIt80yQ5Vbt86N5uCB8q0TeCqCo9AeJsC3apekuzc/edit?usp=sharing

Video of the Week

Enjoy your week.

There yet?

I used say that May had 90 days, I might have miscounted.

Heads Up

There are so many classrooms doing projects for a cause that I think this is something to celebrate. I'd like to present to the school board the amount raised through student projects this school year. I will send a form out to all staff to collect the data and amounts. I think the dollar amount far greater than we think.

Bentonville Parks and Recreation dropped off literally thousands of Summer Program Guides last week that will begin making their way to your building. I have approved this distribution, but I am also working on a "greener" more efficient solution.

Paper flyers are a thing of the past with e-flyer management system from Peachjar! We have partnered with Peachjar to begin providing e-flyers to parents next month. This service takes flyer distribution out of your hands and into parent's smartphones. It also requires that flyers be approved prior to being sent. For more information on how Peachjar works, click this link.

#bpseduchat is talking about instructional materials tonight at 8:30 pm. If you haven't jumped into the Twitter stream yet, tonight is a good night to start.

Diversability Aware Interactive is coming together. I'll collect the data from the google forms tonight and send it to Chris Dewitt to develop a schedule. Thanks to all who supported this initiative and the students and teachers who took the risk to try and pull off an event of this size. Plans are already in the works for next year. There's still time to register classrooms to participate. Teachers at Central Park, Willowbrook, Bright Field,  Centerton Gamble, Ardis Ann, and Elm Tree.



Teachers at Thomas Jefferson, Sugar Creek, Cooper, Apple Glen, RE Baker, Old High, Mary Mae Jones, and Ruth Barker use this link. Use this form.


Currently there are 18 classes signed up to visit Fulbright. And 10 signed up to visit Lincoln. Additional classes should sign up today whether transportation is needed or not. Thank you. I shifted Mary Mae and Ruth Barker to Lincoln to help with the numbers of sign-ups. Transportation will still be provided.

RE Baker and Elm Tree Kiwanis Hat Day will be this Friday, May 15th. Final Hat Day for junior high and middle school will be Friday, May 22nd.

Grants and PD

PD schedule and information can be found at this link.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FXyIt80yQ5Vbt86N5uCB8q0TeCqCo9AeJsC3apekuzc/edit?usp=sharing

Video of the Week

Enjoy your week.

Bentonville in a League of It's Own

The BFF is here.

Heads Up

We received an allotment of 750 tickets for Thursday's League of Their Own celebrity softball game and movie showing at Arvest Ballpark.Tickets will be "will call" at the District Office. All the seats are in the Jack Link's Grass Berm area, so bring a blanket to sit on. They're first come, first served until they're all gone. Should be a fun night at the old ball yard. Remember: "there's no crying in baseball."

I will never complain about the BFF organization again after trying to pull together the First Annual Diversability Awareness Event on Wednesday, May 27th. On one hand, it's been awesome to see the passion of a group of professional educators and their students take a small kernel of an idea and blow it into an event that is destined to impact the community for years to come. On the other hand, it's a challenge to keep up with a group of professional educators and their students when the explosion starts. 

The plan is to move forward with student projects available to interact with and view at two locations - Fulbright Junior High and Lincoln Junior High. Activities will be available from 9:00 to 1:00 pm. Students in all grades from Thomas Jefferson, Sugar Creek and Lincoln are invited to walk to HLM Building; students at Central Park, Willowbrook and Bright Field are invited to walk to Fulbright. Students in all grades at Centerton Gamble, Ardis Ann, Elm Tree, Mary Mae Jones and Ruth Barker are invited to attend at Fulbright. Students at Cooper, Apple Glen, RE Baker, and Old High are invited to attend at Lincoln.  Let me know what grades and number of classes from the buildings outside walking distance and I'll get that information to Chris Dewitt to plan transportation. As with the "League" tickets above, it's first come, first served until all the available seats are gone.

This truly is an opportunity to see some amazing work by dedicated teachers and students and I believe this is the inception of an event that will be uniquely Bentonville and show how much our students, teachers and community matters. Also, given the climate of divisiveness, an event that celebrates our differences and promotes inclusion is greatly needed - no matter what your personal feelings are. Diversity is the thread that binds a community together.

Traditional elementary schools Kiwanis Hat Day for Arkansas Children's Hospital is this Friday, May 8th. 

National School Nurse Day is Wednesday, May 6th. They deserve a day off! Unfortunately, illness and the needs of our most vulnerable students won't allow that to happen. 

Finally, it's teacher appreciate week. I have a whole new appreciation for the work that happens in classrooms across the district and for all your efforts to support it. Thank you.

Grants and PD

Here's your link to all things PD.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FXyIt80yQ5Vbt86N5uCB8q0TeCqCo9AeJsC3apekuzc/edit?usp=sharing

Let teachers know about a unique opportunity to learn about PBL from BPS teachers on June 18, 2015 at 4:00 pm. Contact Matt Saferite for details, sign up on the BPS PD site.

There's some great offerings from Economics Arkansas this summer.

• K-12 teachers can learn how to qualify for for a study tour of Germany on June 24 from 1 - 3 pm at Crystal Bridges.
• The Economics of Sports, U of A Campus on June 25. Preferential registration for  Secondary Teachers. 
• Entrepreneurship Education Conference for K-12 teachers on July 15. 
• 
  

Video of the week

What happens when one little change is made to something that's been mastered?

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

A wee bit calmer this week. Hope yours is as well.

Heads up

The plans for Diversability Aware on the Square are still in the works. This project became like a giant ball of yarn rolling down hill, as soon as I grabbed a thread, it wasn't attached to the ball and unraveled in my hand. The ball kept rolling down hill. I think I've got a hold of a thread that is attached to the ball firmly in my grasp now. But the lessons learned will carry forward into next spring. I think the First Friday in May should be Diversability Day, don't you?

Speaking of First Friday, we will have a presence each event this year. The Bright Futures booth will be getting a lot of on the square. This Friday, we'll be taking "youmattergrams" and posting them on Instagram along with polling residents on what they would like more information about in the coming months. The theme is sustainability. The Northwest Arkansas Emerging Leaders Sustainability Group is looking for volunteers to collect recyclables, reusables, and compost at First Friday events. Classes or groups wanting to volunteer should contact Stephanie Garman. stephanie.garman@walmart.com

We'll be chatting about how to market classrooms, schools, and the district tonight during #bpseduchat. Join in and share your ideas, all are welcome. Not sure how to chat?



We are seriously considering implementing Peachjar for digitally distributing flyers to our patrons. There is a minimal cost to patrons, but it is far less than 8,500 2-sided color copies. There is not cost to the district or PTOs. Additionally, it's more sustainable and better for the environment.

Board recognition evening is tonight at Old High Middle School at 6:00. It will be the final recognition night of the year.

Wednesday Walkabouts

Tomorrow morning I'm trying to get to Centerton Gamble to take photos of the progress at the Bentonville West construction site.

Video of the Week

April 14, 2015

I seriously thought this would be shorter. Enjoy your week.

Heads Up

We're debriefing edcampNWA in tonight's #bpseduchat, join us to add your thoughts for next year's event. Chat starts at 8:30 pm. Lurkers welcome.

Planning is well underway for this year's Technology Showcase on May 21, 2015 at Fulbright Junior High. Teachers in the first year of the 21c program should plan to show off some of the ways technology has augmented instruction in their classrooms. Grant applications for this year are due Tuesday, April 28th and principal evaluations are due on May 1st.

May 21st is a busy day! Central Park will be hosting Pantene Beautiful Lengths. Stacee Freeman let me know that she would open this event up to any student in the district who wants to donate their hair to support the program to make wigs for cancer patients. 

Have you been influenced by someone who you think would make a great "kick-off" speaker for the start of next school year? Send suggestions to Matt Saferite. 

We have more support in telling the district's story in the communications department. Taylor Blackwell is our new assistant. You'll hear more from her soon.

Thank you for reminding your staff to send us information about events at your buildings. It's important that we tell the district story through the learning that is taking place in classrooms. If we don't tell the story, someone else will and we might not like what they say.

I participated in a presentation by Peachjar last Friday. Peachjar essentially removes paper flyers from schools and replaces them with digital versions that can be submitted by users. We're able to approve the content and target by school. Flyers can also be printed for distribution. If you're interested in participating in a focus group to check out how this product might simplify flyer distribution, let me know. The entire presentation takes less than a half hour. 

Want summer camp information included in our Campopaluzza Infographic. Send it by Friday.

Gold Rush run is Friday, May 1st. This is also First Friday so it should be a great time on the Bentonville Square. We will have a booth at each First Friday this year to promote the district.

Wednesday, May 6th is Bike to School Day this year. Anyone want to join me in a bike train from Bella Vista Lake?

Wednesday Walkabouts

Finally getting back out to where the magic happens this week! I'm going to visit MMJ scouting out location for the next Minute with Mike, and then off to CPE to for ballet practice. What's that line from the Godfather . . .  wait I remember.

Grants and PD

Classics for Kids Foundation supports matching grants for quality stringed instruments.
Easton Sports Development Foundation is ready to support archery programs. Requests are rolling for amounts up to $25,000.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics requests applications for the 2015 Engaging Students in Learning Mathematics Grant Program. NCTM members can apply for funds to show connectivity between mathematics and the world.
Finally, here's an opportunity that doesn't come along every day. Northrop Grumman Foundation is asking for entries in the Fab School Labs Contest. Winner's receive $100,000 to create the STEM lab of their dreams.

Looking for information on professional development? Follow the link below from Matt Saferite. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FXyIt80yQ5Vbt86N5uCB8q0TeCqCo9AeJsC3apekuzc/edit?usp=sharing

And don't forget that any June PD activities in your building need to be entered into FS Direct to make sure the facilities are up and running. 

Video of the week