November 17, 2015

Happy week before Thanksgiving week.

Head's Up

Well, next week is Thanksgiving, which officially marks the beginning of the Season of Nighttime Performances. Let me know what you all have going on so it can be shared.

One performance already scheduled is the BHS Choral Department's NOEL. This is a must see performance. Tickets are on sale now at www.bentonvillechoirs.com or by calling 800.965.9324.

This week is American Education Week - celebrate your awesomeness! Tomorrow, November 18th, is Education Support Professionals' Day. Thank you to classified employees for all they do to support teaching and learning. Friday, November 20th, is Substitute Educator's Day.

It's also Global Entrepreneurship Week. Curious? http://wearegen.co/gew I'm going to keep this in mind for next year and be more prepared.

December 7th through 11th is Computer Science Education Week. Find resources for adding computer science to your classroom here. Ozark STEM and BPS are collaborating to present Hour of Code this year on December 12th at Washington Junior High. It's actually a few hours of code and a FIRST robotics competition all in one. Here's a sneak peek at the flyer for the event. If you would like to volunteer at this event let me know.

@bpscommunity

Lot's of great activities across the District for Veteran's Day. I feel fortunate to have been able to be at a couple of schools as they honored our nation's most valuable citizens - those who literally put their lives on the line to secure the freedoms we too often take for granted, or worse, feel are our entitlement. (Thump - That's me jumping off the soapbox.)

Ardis Ann Middle honored Veterans with a choral performance that incorporated a history lesson on why we celebrate Veterans and their contributions. Great way to make content real and relevant and connect history to our time. 

Ardis Ann Color Guard preparing opens the assembly last Wednesday. 

 Central Park students, teachers and parents acknowledge the contributions of 30 Veteran's in attendance.

WWII Veteran Lavon Chandler inspires students to be people of character, conscience, and empathy. According to Mr. Chandler, the most important thing you can do in life is "do a little more and then some" no matter if it's in your job, your relationships, or your activities. Success will follow.








Jo Dunlevy lead Old High Middle School students to another fantastic performance. It's the 8th year OHMS has brought down the house with this inspiring performance.

Monday, four BPS teachers were honored at Economics Arkansas with Bessie Coleman Awards. This is a fitting tribute to their hard work and dedication to providing students with relevant learning opportunities. Jessica Imel and Jason Swim were honored for their work with kids at Gateway and infusing entrepreneurship into the curriculum. Cara Moreland at Mary Mae Jones, Krista Harvey at Central Park, along with Debbie Etheridge at Fulbright Junior High were honored for their innovative projects that engaged students in learning economics principals and helping society.

All this and BHS Dance team won a state championship, and the Bentonville Pride Marching Band took at the Bands of America Grand National in Indianapolis.
To keep up with all the events happening in Bentonville Schools, follow us on Twitter @Bentonville_PS and Like Bentonville Public Schools on Facebook.

Finally, check out these kids from Barker.

Grants and PD

Interesting eSchool News article on quick and painless PD. Two of the five suggests should be familiar.

Missing #bpseduchat? Suggest a new time and date here. Or follow this link http://goo.gl/forms/NIhGlZu6uC

Video of the week

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your week.

November 10, 2015

Thankfully, it's almost Thanksgiving.

Head's Up

It's National Young Readers' Week. Thank you for supporting them.

For the 8th year, Jo Dunlevy at Old High has organized an Honor Veterans concert. Performances are at 9:00 and 11:00 am in the auditorium; an evening performance is scheduled for 6:00 at Arend.

Wednesday, November 11 is Veteran's Day.

Many of you know former CPE art teacher Mitch Terry is a talented artist and writer. Mitch will be at Two25 Gallery and Wine Bar (225 S. Main, Bentonville) on Friday, November 13 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm signing copies of his latest book Okiehomeland.

Next week, November 16 - 20 is American Education Week. Let's celebrate what's good about what we're doing all week long (and into the next, and after that, for another few days, aw, heck, let's just make it a whole year.) The National Education Association has some resources at nea.org.

If you've had Cooper Mackey in class or know the Mackey family, then you know they are people of impeccable character and passion for helping others. For the past few years, they've organized a basketball tournament to support curecmd.org. Read their story here and support their efforts if you can.

@bpscommunity

Old High Middle School P.E. program is making the most of the space they have available on campus to get kids out on the bicycles in this short "day in the life" documentary of Old High P.E. class cycling activity.



I'd like to make a similar short video for every school. P.E. teachers, let me know when those bikes are out!

Big crowd at Arend to celebrate 134 students inducted into the National Honor Society.

Cooper Roundup featured student performances. Student leaders run the show and do a great job -very empowering for the kids. 

 Cooper students judging the "minute to win it" leaf dropping contest. Yes, those teachers are on chairs.

Cooper teachers accept $2,000 donation for a makerspace from Russ Daniel. Central Park is the next to have their projects put to public vote. 

Bentonville High School's 14 (yes, 14) National Merit Semi-Finalists - some fantastic kids with some serious academic skills.

 Allen's Grocery Store in Bella Vista is donating 1% of sales to Bentonville Schools. All you have to do is shop and drop your receipt in the box. That simple.

Grants and PD

Did you miss Edcampnwa 2015  on October 17? Here's a sneak peek at the day. Without a doubt, Edcamp is the best, most engaging, relevant professional development anywhere. Don't miss the next one.

Video of the week

Thought-provoking or infuriating, I'll let you be the judge.



Have a great week.

November 3, 2015

Hope that extra hour of sleep helped you recover from Halloween.

Head's Up

Let me know when the bikes will be out at your school. We're making a short video about the bike program for the Walton Family Foundation.

Today is National Sandwich Day. Thank the Earl for disrupting lunch by packaging it between two slices of bread. 

It's No-Shave November y'all. Let it grow to raise awareness and money for a variety good charities. www.no-shave.org/

A preliminary Diversability Awareness meet-up is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, 2015 from 4:30 to 5:30 at the Admin building. If you are interested and can attend please add your voice to the conversation. 

Monday, November 9th is World Freedom Day. The week of November 9th - 13th is National Young Reader's Week.

Need some books for those young readers? Visit Barnes and Noble Book Fair November 6 - 8, 2015 and not only get some new books but also support  the Washington Junior High Robotics team and FabLab. 

There's an interesting opportunity coming up on November 21, 2015 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Meteor Theater in Downtown Bentonville. There will be a Holiday Market! Might be an opportunity to sell some of those maker-space items for a profit. The Lighting of the Square occurs on the same day at 6:00 pm. 

@bpscommunity

Know a new teacher who's just plain rockin' it? Email Taylor Backwell tblackwell@bentonvillek12.org and suggest that he/she be the subject of the next New Teacher Feature. Read about the inaugural featured teacher Ruth Barker's Katie Trumbo here. 

Grants and PD

Infosys Foundation USA is looking for applicants for its Infy Maker Awards program. Fifty middle and high school students will win $1,000 each. 

Foot Locker Foundation seeks entrants for the 2015-16 Foot Locker Athletes Program. Could mean $20,000 for a student.  


Here's a calendar of webinars from edweb.net. I've done a few of these and they are pretty good,. The presenters supply their materials to participants the following day. http://home.edweb.net/webinars/

A whole bunch of good stuff from Economics Arkansas:

JOIN.ME/ECONOMICS ARKANSAS: (TESS 4d and 4e)

The 3^rd Tuesday of each month at 3:30 pm, we will host a quick online meeting (30 minutes or less) spotlighting a resource or activity to use in the classroom. To join, simply visit: https://join.me/economicsarkansas. Our next online meeting will be November 17^th! 

ECONCHALLENGE: (TESS 3c)

We are excited to announce that we are offering the EconChallenge this year. This academic competition is free for student teams in grades 9-12.  The first phase of the competition is an online testing period which is available November 16-20^th.

To find out more information, visit: http://www.economicsarkansas.org/for_teachers/econ_challenge.html

10 FUN-FILLED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS: (TESS 3c)

Edutopia recently shared 10 of their favorite formative assessments. Learn more at

http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/10-fun-filled-formative-assessment-ideas

“FREE” NEW ECONOMIC AND PERSONAL FINANCE  RESOURCES (TESS 1d)

1.   EconEdLink   http://www.econedlink.org

There are a number of wonderful new lessons available on EconEdLink. Plus, your K-12 teachers will find many tried and true lessons. All are available at no cost to educators and integrate economics through technology, literature, and more!

2.   St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank Resources http://www.stlouisfed.org

Encourage your teachers to visit the economic resource section on the St. Louis Fed website. There are a number of children’s literature selections tied to economic and personal finance with Whiteboard applications. In addition, there are online courses, podcasts, video series and more for all ages.

Crystal Bridges has some great opportunities coming up as well: 

Wednesday, November 4, 6 to 8 pm

Wednesday Series for Educators » Unveiling the Mysteries of the Art Library

Join Interim Library Director Valerie Sallis for a guided tour of the Crystal Bridges Library and helpful advice on how to use the library for research. Two hours of professional development credit available. Sponsored by Neff and Scarlett Basore. $10.

Friday, November 6, 5:30 to 7:30 pm

Teacher Preview Night » Picturing the Americas

Join fellow educators for a first glance of Picturing the Americas and a discussion of possible classroom connections. This event does not count for professional development credit. Sponsored by Neff and Scarlett Basore. Free.

Register for these and other Crystal Bridges programs here, or by calling Guest Services at 479.657.2335

Video of the Week

This one's for all the nerds and geeks out there.

If you haven't checked out TEDed yet, it's worth a look.