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.
Grants and Professional Development
Here's a link to the 11th Annual Conference Technology Information Conference on Administrative Leadership being held in Little Rock, February 17 - 19. Could be an interesting professional development opportunity.
Recent grant info links:
http://www.captainplanetfoundation.org/apply-for-grants/
Provides funding for hands-on environment-based projects and stewardship activities.
http://www.crayola.com/for-educators/ccac-landing/grant-program.aspx
Grants for schools to identify and deliver innovative programs that infuse art into education.
http://www.awesomefoundation.org/
Grants up to $1,000 to support awesomeness. (Seriously, that's what the site claims.)
http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/minigrant-program
Provides support to projects that foster creative expression.
Video of the Week
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.
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