I should end there and let you finish up your work for the year, but bear with me for a couple of paragraphs. First, thanks for all you've done to support the numerous food drives over the past few weeks. I'm determined to get better intelligence on who's supporting whom and hope to use that knowledge to collaborate on ways to address food insecurity year-round and not just during the Holidays. But, that's a topic for next year.
Andy, Technology team, and I have all talked with you about developing content to build a connected digital community between schools and with the community. The web app is a vehicle to do this. Let's get creative and look for community members with the time and talent to support you and our professional educators in updating and maintaining their web presence. I know there's a way without adding one more thing - it just hasn't been discovered yet. For now, we can use social media to make each other aware of what's happening in buildings across the district. If you have a Facebook page, Twitter or Instagram handle, please share them so I can tag, retweet and share items of interest with the community.
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| Bentonville Zoo architectural model |
Wednesday Walkabout
Last week's Walkabout had to wait until Friday. I was fortunate to see a fantastic example of student choice and technology/art integration last Friday at Apple Glen when I toured 3rd grade classrooms. Their proposals for a zoo in Bentonville were amazing. Students worked in pairs to create a digital, or analog (poster) presentation on an animal along a diorama of a habitat exhibit. They were so excited to share their new knowledge not only about their animal, but also how they used PowToon or blabberize to create their digital presentations.
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| Ready to share new learning |
Hour of Code
Thanks to all for participating in the Hour of Code last week. You're helping build a case to include computer coding in elementary and middle schools. Governor-Elect Hutchinson has stated his support for mandating Computer Science for all high school students. I think we all know that's too late. Computer coding is a literacy activity that needs to be funded adequately and supported at all levels.
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| Success! |
Grants and PD
My goal for the New Year is to step up my game in the grant department. This is an area where I'm truly learning on the job. I also firmly believe that people with the greatest investment and autonomy in the outcome will produce the best work. Therefore, the best grant applications come from those with the most ownership of the outcome. I'll be happy to facilitate in any way I can to help you, your faculty and staff create the learning environments students' need with the resources that help them be successful in learning.
Here's to a well-deserved vacation with less angst and more joy.
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