Just a few items to make you aware of this week. It was great to see so many of you at the PBL Professional Development last night. Tonight is the first ever #bpseduchat at 7:30 pm. The topic is PBL join us and share your wisdom.
Heads Up
I am meeting with a representative of the Walton Family Foundation about the bike program soon. If you could ask your P.E. teachers to provide some information about the program's impact on students, I would appreciate it. It doesn't have to be a dissertation, only a couple of sentences about how many students participate, what they see as the importance of the program and effect on students, and any issues or wishes they would like me to communicate.
Board recognition night is tonight starting at 6:00 pm in the OHMS Auditorium.
Thank you for participating to help support the Samaritan House Snack Pack program. They have stepped up their support of NWA schools and do great work. I've attached the flyer feel free to distribute to community groups, etc. Let me know what you need.
As always let me know when great things are happening in your buildings, if we don't frame the conversation - some else is going to do it for us.
Wednesday Walkabouts
Last week I spent some time talking with teachers interested in applying for 21st Century Grants from the district and didn't make the rounds as I would like. This week I'll be at Fulbright to speak with students about organizing a 5K run in the neighborhood. Can't wait to hear their ideas.
Video of the Week
Here's an interesting take on testing from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
What's the difference between 230 and 192? Quiet, and yesterday was really quiet at central office. I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weekend.
Heads Up
Here's some things to be aware of in the coming weeks.
Mr. Poore is planning his annual "fill the office" food drive for February 2nd through 13th. The goal is to fill his office with snack pack items to the point where he's working on the roof of the admin building on February 16th. Items will support Samaritan House snack pack programs at schools. Samaritan House has stepped up to fill the shortfall created when Arkansas Rice Depot stopped supporting the program January 1st. This is an opportunity for us to partner with an exemplary organization to support students and families in our district. I'll send out something for Tuesday folders and post to social media next week. Our goal is to support sustainable food initiatives, spread food collections out during the school year, and support programs that directly benefit our students. Samaritan began distributing snack packs to 275 middle, junior, and high school students this month.
Tuesday, January 27, is the next board recognized night. It will be at Old High and begins at 6:00 pm. Vicki will get information to you.
One District, One Book kicks off next week.
I have Crystal Bridges January/February calendars - FREE - if you want some let me know.
Are you, a PLC, or a group looking for a fun, creative, team building activity that supports a good cause. See attached flyer or http://www.cwjcnwar.org/getouttabedrace/
Wednesday Walkabouts
Last Wednesday, I started the day tagging along on a field trip to Samaritan House with Marisa Shofner and Ruth Barker student council members to pack snack packs. I honestly had no idea of the depth and breadth of their programs to support the NWA community.
Next, I previewed GoNoodle videos created by students in Rissa Webber and Tiffany Snodgrass' classes at R. E. Baker. The kids were so excited to show off their hard work to the visitors assembled. GoNoodle is free to classroom teachers thanks to support from Mercy (Health), Arkansas Children's Hospital, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Then I went to Mary Mae Jones and visited with ESL teachers and watched an amazing transition take place. All the first graders left their rooms, gathered in a designated spot with a teacher, and headed off for intervention and enrichment activities. Unbelievable.
Finally, I stopped in Carrie Beach's classroom at Washington to talk about bats. She and Amy Van Pelt at Old High have got some pretty big ideas about how students can educate the community on the benefits of these oft-maligned creatures of the night.
Grants and Professional Development
Encourage teachers to apply for KNWA' brightest classroom awards. Each winner receives $500 for classroom supplies. Donor's Choose has also worked well for some teachers. Blake Matthews at Washington just had a project funded in a day. Here are the current projects from Bentonville Teachers http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/search.html?state=AR&community=15771:2 I started checking this site to promote teacher requests on district social media. In my opinion, fifty $500 donations that directly impact kids is worth more than one $25,000 grant in many respects.
Welcome back!
I hope you all enjoyed every minute of time with family, friends, an acquaintance or two, and whatever provides you with an opportunity to "sharpen the saw" as Steven Covey would say.
Obviously, I couldn't get everything put together last week. I should have spent more time working over the break, but old habits die hard. I'll get back into the grove this week.
We had a considerable amount of media coverage last week. Fulbright Junior High 7th graders in Ms. Renfroe and Mr. Smallridge's classes presented projects to Mayor Bob McCaslin. News stories can be seen here http://goo.gl/K5lKxZ, here http://goo.gl/Nazbtx, and here http://goo.gl/K8GHxO. A story on Ruth Barker's Ellis Island project for 6th graders aired on KUAF Sunday - http://kuaf.com/post/recreating-ellis-island-bentonville. Keep encouraging your staff to contact me when they have something going on, even if they don't think it's newsworthy. The more we put a positive story out to the public, the more we show that Bentonville Schools are #bpsmorethanascore.
When students, faculty and staff complete community projects and volunteer, remind their teachers or someone on your campus to log the hours, send them to me, and I'll build a spread sheet. The Mayor's office collects this data as part of the community volunteer program.
Wednesday Walkabouts
This week I'm planning on visiting R.E. Baker on Wednesday to see 4th grade presentations of their GoNoodle math "brain breaks." I was fortunate to have a conversation with Mary Mae Jones last week, so I feel obligated to visit her namesake and get acquainted. I may get over to Washington and check in on the "bat project." I am happy to support curriculum and instruction in any way I can - reading a book, authentic audience member, genius hour panel member - whatever you all need.
I became interested in Stanford Physiology Professor Carol Dweck's work on the importance of developing and maintaining a growth mindset a couple of years ago. If you get the chance to read her book, I would highly recommend it. Until then, here's a short video overview.
As always, I appreciate all you do, and thanks for letting me help create the best learning environments for students in Arkansas.
