Tuesday, May 3, 2016

BFF is here! BFF is here! Probably the one week out of the year that if you can't find something to do,your living under a rock.

Head's Up

The Bentonville Film Festival begins Tuesday, May 3. I don't know about you, but I'm kind of curious about what a Cinetransformer looks like. Download the BFF app or check out their website for schedule of events.

Tuesday, May 3, is National Teacher Appreciation Day, but you're so special we're appreciatin' you all week! Have a great week. It's also Ardis Ann Middle School's Fine Arts Night from 5- 7 pm.

May the 4th is Wednesday, also known as Star Wars Day. It's also bike to school day this year, which means, in theory, you could ride to work on those totally awesome speeders from Return of the Jedi.

It's National Bike Month. So, get out there and ride! The weather's great and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a cyclist on a trail around here. In fact, May 14th is the spring Square to Square ride from Fayetteville to Bentonville. It's really a fun day. Try it. (No cats were hurt in the writing of this paragraph.)

Gold Rush 5k is THURSDAY, May 5, not Friday as is has been in the past. I guess there's some Cinetransformers blocking the route. It's Cinco de Mayo, so, I'm not sure what to expect at this year's race.






Looking ahead, next week elementary schools will be hosting a district-wide open house on Monday, May 9th. Here's a short promotional video.




It's also school National School Nurses Week. Want to know more http://www.nursingworld.org/NationalNursesWeek-History

Did you know that BHS has a Fishing Team? Join them at Fishing Derby Day on May 14th from 8 - 2 pm. All families from Bentonville Public Schools are welcome.

@bpscommunity

Have you been itchin' for a twitter chat? Join #whatisschool Thursday at 6pm moderated by @OLDHIGHMS teacher @tobiemichele this week. Questions here: http://mrkempnz.com/2016/05/what-is-school-building-rapport-and-relationships.html


Really believe I saw who should be leading our country Monday at BHS when I visited Ms. Hamm's class and watched debate students in a mock Congressional debate. Wish I could have brought all those people who complain about kids with me.

BWHS was open for tours on Wednesday for future students and parents. The place was full of excited Wolverines ready to get to work in NWA's premiere collaborative learning environment.








The school features open spaces and lots of areas for students to collaborate. I've heard many people comment that it is more like an office building than a school.

The competition gym at BWHS seats 2,250. It's large enough to host state playoff games; better yet, the entire student population can gather in the gym.










Regretfully, I wasn't able to attend the 21C Showcase on Thursday. I heard it was exceptional and really showcased the way technology is being integrated into classrooms across the district.

The Central Park Ballet was Thursday, and, as usual, the production was amazing. Here's a video clip of the teacher performance during the morning performance. They really outdid themselves this year, and I'm sure they brought the house down Thursday night.

If you'll permit me to shout - Friday, WAS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE! I got to spend the day at the Amazeum "convening" about the future of learning, teaching, entrepreneurship, and economic development.









Not only that, but the Woods Trail bike trail at Ardis Ann officially opened in the afternoon. This could be the future of the bike program. Compact, collaboratively built bike parks for all ability levels. Want to thank Tim Keith for his leadership in making this happen.

Mary Mae Jones, and Willowbrook both held health fairs with the support of community members.





Here's something cool from Cooper - Cooper Cafe! The 2nd grade class is using a reading restaurant as a fundraiser to buy books for the book room.The menu and chef changes daily and offers up a just right meal for the customer.

Talk about a great trip to Crystal Bridges! Guess who these Ruth Barker 6th graders ran into on their last trip to the museum. Alice Walton is always to gracious when approached for photo ops.












And at Washington Junior High S.E.R.E (Survive, Evade, Read, Escape) Camp is immersing kids in what can only be called "adventure reading" to build literacy skills. Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm, students face a new and dangerous reality found in the assigned books. This, people, is a great idea.

Grants & PD

Time is running out for submissions to the 2017 Economic Calendar Contest, entries must be postmarked by May 13, 2016. Details here http://www.economicsarkansas.org/for_teachers/econ_calendar.html

Video of the Week

Just pretend that there's great TED talk video here. I have some saved up for YouTube videos I'm can't wait to share.