New Reading Series

Duval County has adopted a new core reading program. It's full of so many pieces that it will take most of the year to figure out what we really have! I can't help but think about the money that is spent on pieces that will never be used - never be unwrapped, but that's the politics of book companies and adoptions - even in a year when money is so tight. It seems that schools will be "required" to use the sequence of skills and strategies in the program, but certainly it has been hinted that the series can be used as a "resource" instead of a page turner. Duval is a large district and the goal is to get all schools in the county "on the same page". While I understand that and want to make sure that we offer a curriculum that supports new teachers and teachers in more difficult schools, I'm also not willing to give up any of the years of gain through intensive, embedded professional development that we have in our high performing schools. If we teach the curriculum the way it is laid out, there is the feeling that we limit our students even though there is a guide for enrichment. I think it will take much more than an additional guide to teach each lesson with the depth needed to make sure to offer our children the enhancement that they have been getting.

The other concern is all the time that has been spent to provide "echoes across the day" in our previous kindergarten and first grade Pacing Guides. In other words, we have spent a lot of time making sure that what we teach in Reading and Writing for the day is repeated in Science and/or Math so that the teaching is not departmentalized but reinforces each other. On the district level however, there is no conversation going on across disciplines to make sure that is happening in the county's learning schedules. Each department is designing something that works for them vertically but nobody has looked at how that translates horizontally into the teacher's day. An example of this is the Houghton Mifflin consultant who made the statement in the first grade training this week that the teacher probably wouldn't need a Science time because all the content information is integrated into reading! Now that's someone that definitely doesn't understand the county's inquiry-based Science instruction! Or how about the time she spent talking about how to set up calendar as a ritual and routine - obviously doesn't understand the district's use of Every Day Counts! In other words nobody has the big picture, so it will be up to teachers to take the new 31-page Science, 36-page Math, and Reading/ Writing/ Skills learning schedule (that won't even be available until later in the summer) and make sense of it all - a big task - not for the faint of heart,,, or th einexperienced! So... stay tuned for how the integration of the new core reading program enhances our Readers' and Writers' Workshop and integrates across the day!

The New Theme!

At the Awards Ceremony the theme for next year was unveiled in the video below. Principal Phillips will lead us in the journey of a lifetime, "Around the World in 180 Days!" The artifact that Principal Indiana Jones - I mean, Susan Phillips, discovers at the end at the "8th Wonder of the World- Chets Creek" is a computer which will take us on this virtual journey in 2008-09. This is the same video that will open each day of next year! Can't wait!

Dividing the Classes

One of the last tasks before we leave for the summer is dividing the children into classes for the next year. Each group of teachers meet with the Principal at the appointed time and divide their children into classes for the next year. It takes about an hour per grade level. Students such as those that need inclusion services or have specific health problems or behavioral needs are placed first. I am always amazed as teachers willingly step up to take students with some of the most intense challenges. As each child is placed, teachers think about specific style and personality matches for each child with teachers for the new grade level. After the teachers hand-place each specific child with a teacher, each class stack is sorted to make sure the boy/girl ratios are even. Then the same class stacks are resorted to make sure academic high/ medium/ and low are evenly distributed. Forms are read to make sure that any parent requests such as being separated from specific friends are honored. With all that in mind, new classes are formed. While there will be some changes over the summer as new students register, the selections made by teachers at the end of this year remain virtually unchanged in the new year. This intentional, purposeful, thoughtful matching children and teachers is a hallmark of the care that is taken to insure success!

Teachers Celebrate!

As the children left the building for the last time, teachers left too! All the faculty leaves for an "End of the Year Gala" - in this case, a magical celebration, all brought to us by one amazing principal. Kindergarten teachers this year arrived in style with a limo picking them up. Off they all went to the Ponte Vedra Lodge for lunch with a seaside view. Rich Relationships

After an elegant lunch the principal, Susan Phillips, began to read letters she has gotten from parents. The letters emphasized the rich relationships that are our tradition. They honor colleagues "who have demonstrated high intention, determined effort and great passion." Parents write about outstanding teachers who are making a difference - who are changing lives one child at a time. There is never a dry eye in the house! This year was no exception.

The Keys to the Kingdom

Then the awards began. A key to the Magical Kingdom was given to our PTA President who led her team to a fourth win as the "PTA of the Year." Our Business Partner Liaison was also recognized for establishing over 50 business partnerships.

Mouseketeers

Just as the Mouseketeers began as unknowns and many rose to greatness, the beginning teachers were recognized - a large group because of our continued growth. Autograph pens were given to this group who are destined for super stardom so that they might write their signature on the hearts of the children they teach.

The Spirit of Quality and Excellence

Our Teacher of the Year, Duval County Math Teacher of the Year and our Employee of the Year were recognized with plaques along with our three new National Board Certified teachers. The names of the Nation Board Teachers will be added to the list of 14 previous winners who earned the distinction while at Chets Creek. That plaque is displayed in our hallway.

Dreamers
The "dreamers" included those teachers who had a dream and made it happen. This group included those that organized the Battle of the Books, teachers who had ALL of their students score proficient on our state test, a paraprofessional who works with our second language learners, two paraprofessionals who have embraced working with some of our most challenging students, our PE coach who brought us "Wacky Olympics," and two teachers who walked into difficult situations and handled them with grace. Each of these dreamers was given a star paper weight to wish upon!

Believers

This award was given to those who believe in mankind. They included those teachers that organized the Relay for Life Team, who organized children to stuff shoe boxes of love for needy children, who united us in gifts of goodwill to one of our own - a Spanish-speaking family in our community with four children at our school, and to our own "Spirit Chair Extraordinaire" who models selfless giving. Their award was a star in which part of the proceeds go toward the "Make a Wish Foundation." Even their award keeps on giving!

Darers

Awards were given to those that "dare." This year that went to all the teachers who have consistently blogged all year long- those who have taken the risk to jump into something new and unknown.

Team Award

The Team Award is a coveted title. This year the Team Award went to individuals who model Daniel's Pink's A Whole New Mind because each, by example, has led a team of colleagues to discover their right-brained selves. From Design, Story (a kindergarten teacher!), Symphony, Empathy, and Play to Meaning, these are our super stars. (Can you guess from the picture below which one was selected for Play?)

One of the most tearful moments of the afternoon came when our own cancer survivor was honored for Meaning and was presented a picture of the faculty all dressed in pink - the same pink that they wore every Friday as a way to help her through the ordeal. She definitely taught us about Meaning this year! Each recipient of the "Team of the Year" was given a different colored gem showing the brilliance in which they shine.

Park Closing

There are always members of the "family" leaving us and moving on - some to stay home on the "mommy track," some leave because their husbands have been transferred. An autographed photograph of the faculty was given to each of the staff leaving. In closing the Principal presented a "Think BIG Pen" to each Imagineer who all agree that they work in the happiest place on Earth.

A New Beginning

Finally we reviewed the year with a themed slide show to the tune of Disney favorites. At the end of the slide show the new theme was announced with a movie in which the principal runs along the wall of China and jumps out of an airplane and parachutes into Chets Creek among other Indiana Jones-type feats. This video will open every day next year. Each grade level will represent a continent: Kindergarten - North America; !st - Australia; 2nd - South America; 3rd - Africa; 4th - Europe; 5th - Asia; Resources - Anartica. We will take a virtual technological journey "Around the World in 180 Days" exploring the wonders of the world celebrating our own Chets Creek as the "eight wonder of the world." What an exciting close for this magical year... and what an amazing beginning for next year!

The Last Day of Kindergarten

The last day of school is a half day for the children of Chets Creek. Teaching to the very end, many kinder teachers had special and fun activities planned for this last day. In the Timmonte's class, for instance, they have been preparing a skit for the last day. Some children have been designing costumes, some have been making the backdrop and still others have been practicing parts. They had their final presentation of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" to thunderous applause!

In Maria Mallon's class the children enjoyed a final stick puppet presentation of an Eric Carle favorite, The Grouchy Ladybug.

The final minutes of the day are a send-off to celebrate our 5th grade graduates. All of the students, kindergarten through fourth grade, line the halls to "clap out" the senior 5th grade class. "Pomp and Circumstance" is played over the intercom as the 5th graders, led by the Principal, round the halls for the last time. This year is especially meaningful to the Principal as she walks accompanied by her own 5th grade daughter who has been at Chets Creek since kindergarten. It will be the first time that kindergartners have seen this yearly tradition - a tradition that they will grow up in and finally participate in during their own last days at Chets Creek. It's a fitting - and a very emotional - end to a grand elementary school career!

Summer Learning

What goes home to students to work on over the summer? Teachers send home a variety of things for students to work on throughout the summer. Remember that most of this group of teachers loop to first grade with their class so they have a vested interest in what their students do over the summer and how prepared they are when they come back to first grade!

1. Read, read, read! Most teachers send home a reading journal for the students to keep of their reading throughout the summer. They do mini-lessons on how important it is to read every day and how to pick books for pleasure to read before the students leave for the summer. Many of the teachers include this in a folder with a list of books on each child's level that can be found at the public library. They also include many hand-made black and white copies of paper books for the students that will not access the public library or that do not have books at home. Teachers even send home bags of leveled books from their classroom library in hopes that they will be returned next year (sometimes they are!) when they know a child does not have access to books. Looping teachers will be asking for the children's logs and giving prizes for those that keep them!

2. Activities - Teachers send home a variety of different types of things in this category. Although we do not use worksheets all year long, the teachers often send home practice phonics and math worksheets to complete over the summer, especially so children will see the algorithms in math. Kindergartners love to play school and this gives them great practice. Other teachers send home calendars with a short activity for each day or a list of summer activities for family fun. For the first time this year, I will be posting a weekly activity on the Timmonte blog for children to access at home - a fun activity each week for children to do over the summer. Watch to see how this goes!

3. Writing - Many teachers send home writing journals for the students to keep as they travel or enjoy lazy, summer days. Many teachers also send home their mailing address or pre-stamped and labeled postcards to encourage the children to write to them over the summer. Teachers love getting mail as much as the students and always write back. Looping teachers often have a first bulletin board of all the letters, postcards, pictures and photos that the children have mailed to them over the summer. This is such an authentic reason to write!

All in all parents and children leave the school for the summer with many, many ideas of ways to stay academically involved throughout the hot Florida months. While we want children to have a break and a great summer, we also want them to integrate the skills they have learned into their life. We want them to begin to live the life of a reader and a writer. Our data shows that children that read over the summer maintain or gain one or two levels but our children that do not read, most often drop back a level. So... teachers do everything that they can to encourage families to continue involving lieracy and math into the lives of their young children... Stay tuned until next year and we'll see how the children do over the break!!

The Last Week of School

What happens the last week of school in a high performing building?

While you will see some cleaning, straightening and organizing in this last week, teachers do not a move ANYTHING until the first day of post planning. You will not see fifth grade boys being used as free labor during this last week or custodians moving furniture and you won't walk into classrooms where the last week's agenda is watching endless movies or having hour long recess. This week is about celebrating all that has been done throughout the year. It's about creating memories.

In most kindergarten classes, each day of this final week has a theme such as "Wacky Wednesday," or "Backwards Day" where you wear everything backwards, or "PJs and Pancake Day" where everyone wears pajamas and has pancakes for lunch, or "Crazy Hat Day" where everyone wears the craziest hat they can find, or "Crazy Socks Day" where you wear the craziest socks that you have. Many activities include writing such as writing postcards to patrols who have worked in the class all year or making Father's Day cards or writing directions for how to make those delicious pancakes so mom can make them all summer. Some classes are reflecting back and writing about their favorite kindergarten activity - a final keepsake to remember their first year in school. Some classes are decorating bags or large brown envelopes to take all the end-of-the-year "stuff" home by drawing and writing about the Wacky Olympics held last week. Others are writing thank you notes to the coaches for putting on such an amazing event as Wacky Olympics. Some classes revisit their favorite star books from earlier in the year and put on plays or Readers' Theatre, remembering to use all the intonation and "voices" that they have learned throughout the year.

Some classes make their own class yearbooks. Teachers bring in one of their own yearbooks and show it to the students and then invite them to draw a portrait-type picture of each of their classmates (above). They staple the pictures together with the picture pages, a cover and a blank page and on the last day the students go around and collect autographs of all their friends. Regardless, the last week of school is a time to celebrate all of the learning that has taken place and a time to look forward to the break over the summer. It's a week filled with memories, hugs and - can't wait until next year!

Vocabulary Unit Finalized!!

If you have been following this blog from the beginning, you know that a group of Kindergarten teachers (Haley Alvarado, Elizabeth Conte, Debbie Harbour, Maria Mallon, Dayle Timmons and Randi Timmons) met last summer to write a vocabulary unit based on the work of Beck and McKeown. They used the books that they read aloud and teach their children to retell early in the kindergarten year as the foundation of books to pull the selected vocabulary. They developed and gave a vocabulary pre-assessment at the beginning of the year. All eight kindergarten classes taught the 15 units (90 words) throughout the year. In May each kindergartner was post-tested. The teachers recently met together to discuss the results of the data and to do a final revision of the units so the work will be ready for the new kindergarten team next year.

The group began their day of work with celebrations. They celebrated the response to the unit by their fellow teachers and by the students. Parents have written and wanted a list of the words because their child has been identifying vocabulary words at home! There were countless celebrations of the children identifying the words in other read alouds and using the words in their writing. All in all, the unit has been a huge success!

The group even talked about the next step for them in vocabulary development. There is interest K-5 into integrating Science into Literacy, especially around non-fiction text features to help students better comprehend their Science text and also the development of Science vocabulary. The team talked about the possibility of choosing some non-fiction read alouds based on their Science units for their non-fiction reading unit when they teach the text features of non-fiction in literacy. They would take these same read alouds and choose Science vocabulary, writing activities in much the same way they have for their kindergarten unit. They believe if they write the first unit as an example that the other grades will be able to envision how they too can develop Science vocabulary through the Literacy Block thus developing what Lucy Calkins calls, "echoes across the day."

If you are interested in using the vocabulary unit, Star Vocabulary, developed by kindergarten teachers for kindergarten teachers in your classroom, the final revision of the unit will be available in a box widget at the left. If you do try the unit, please let us know how it goes for you!