September 23- 3:00-6:00 (3 hours)
Every time that Mt. Ulla has a book fair, it stays open late one night for parents to come in with their children to shop. I stayed to help with sales. Mrs. Sloop showed me the steps of checkout. She did other things around the library, while I manned the check out table. There were about ten families that came that night. I learned how to add all the books up that the families were purchasing, added the tax, and even used a credit card machine. Mrs. Sloop said most schools use the machine for all transactions, but she prefers to still use her notebook to keep up with the purchases. It was a great way for me to experience how the book fair runs. It was also nice to see students I have taught in years past. It stayed fairly busy the whole time. There was about one to two families shopping at the same time. As it got closer to 6:00 however it got really busy! The janitor had to make several announcements that the school was closing in order to get the families to pay and leave.
I thought this was an enjoyable experience and helped me learn a lot!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Books, books, books
September 21-1 hour
September 22-30 minutes
September 23-30 minutes
This past week Mt. Ulla has had a book fair. Our library runs on a completely flexible schedule so teachers and students can come to the library as they need. To benefit the teachers and students, the library remains open for circulation during the week of the book fair. Mrs. Sloop said that there are a lot of schools that close down circulation during that time because of how busy and chaotic it can be. She does not believe in that. She wants all teachers and students to feel welcome at all times. She said that it might be possible because we have a smaller school of under 340 students but she still feels strongly about it even if there were more. With all that said, there are books everywhere in the library! Mrs. Sloop and Mrs. Sheets stay so busy with circulation and book fair that they have difficulty finding the time to shelve all the books. The books still remain available to the students, they just are not where they belong.
I have been trying to go in during my student's enhancement times to help shelve the books. On September 21 I went into the library while my students were on the play ground from 11:30 to 12:00 and again when they had Guidance from 2:00 to 2:30. September 22 my students got to go to the book fair to shop. While they shopped, I helped shelve and helped some students find books for checkout. On the 23 I went into the library when my students were in Art class from 8:30 to 9:00. While I was shelving, I tried to come up with a system that made the process more efficient instead of walking back and forth from one side of the library to the other. For the nonfiction books, I made several stacks based on the books call numbers. I now have a fairly good idea of which part of the shelf that the books are located, so I separated them based on which side of the shelf they belonged and their Dewey decimal number. I had a similar system for the fiction books by placing them in stacks in alphabetical order and where they belonged on the shelves.
I have enjoyed shelving books because it is helping me learn the Dewey decimal system and I love organizing things. I have enjoyed learning how the library is set up.
Within these times, I have also helped students check in their books, check out books, and help find books using the online catalog then finding them on the shelves. One child was looking for a book on parrot fish. It said that it was in, but because all the books have been here, there, and everywhere, we were having difficulties. We eventually found it on one of the book carts waiting to be shelved. Another child wanted a book on China. There were several books on the Chinese New Year and she was satisfied with those.
September 22-30 minutes
September 23-30 minutes
This past week Mt. Ulla has had a book fair. Our library runs on a completely flexible schedule so teachers and students can come to the library as they need. To benefit the teachers and students, the library remains open for circulation during the week of the book fair. Mrs. Sloop said that there are a lot of schools that close down circulation during that time because of how busy and chaotic it can be. She does not believe in that. She wants all teachers and students to feel welcome at all times. She said that it might be possible because we have a smaller school of under 340 students but she still feels strongly about it even if there were more. With all that said, there are books everywhere in the library! Mrs. Sloop and Mrs. Sheets stay so busy with circulation and book fair that they have difficulty finding the time to shelve all the books. The books still remain available to the students, they just are not where they belong.
I have been trying to go in during my student's enhancement times to help shelve the books. On September 21 I went into the library while my students were on the play ground from 11:30 to 12:00 and again when they had Guidance from 2:00 to 2:30. September 22 my students got to go to the book fair to shop. While they shopped, I helped shelve and helped some students find books for checkout. On the 23 I went into the library when my students were in Art class from 8:30 to 9:00. While I was shelving, I tried to come up with a system that made the process more efficient instead of walking back and forth from one side of the library to the other. For the nonfiction books, I made several stacks based on the books call numbers. I now have a fairly good idea of which part of the shelf that the books are located, so I separated them based on which side of the shelf they belonged and their Dewey decimal number. I had a similar system for the fiction books by placing them in stacks in alphabetical order and where they belonged on the shelves.
I have enjoyed shelving books because it is helping me learn the Dewey decimal system and I love organizing things. I have enjoyed learning how the library is set up.
Within these times, I have also helped students check in their books, check out books, and help find books using the online catalog then finding them on the shelves. One child was looking for a book on parrot fish. It said that it was in, but because all the books have been here, there, and everywhere, we were having difficulties. We eventually found it on one of the book carts waiting to be shelved. Another child wanted a book on China. There were several books on the Chinese New Year and she was satisfied with those.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Book Fair
September 15- 4:15-5:15 (1 hour)
Mt. Ulla's bookfair is this coming week in our media center. On Wednesday Mrs. Sloop and Mrs. Sheets (media coordinator and assistant) were setting the bookfair up. Classes always have the opportunity to preview the bookfair before they purchase items, so it always needs to be set up early. I helped set up one table that had Cookbooks, Adult Bestsellers, and Reference books on them. I aslo set up the Award Winning Books display and the NC State Awards table display. I had to look up the NC State Award winning books to decide where the books should go because we have a K-2 side and a 3-5 side in the bookfair. I was allowed to browse through all the items that we have in the bookfair before any of the other teachers, which was a big bonus!
Mt. Ulla's bookfair is this coming week in our media center. On Wednesday Mrs. Sloop and Mrs. Sheets (media coordinator and assistant) were setting the bookfair up. Classes always have the opportunity to preview the bookfair before they purchase items, so it always needs to be set up early. I helped set up one table that had Cookbooks, Adult Bestsellers, and Reference books on them. I aslo set up the Award Winning Books display and the NC State Awards table display. I had to look up the NC State Award winning books to decide where the books should go because we have a K-2 side and a 3-5 side in the bookfair. I was allowed to browse through all the items that we have in the bookfair before any of the other teachers, which was a big bonus!
PTA Meeting/Open House
September 14- 6:30pm-8:00pm (1 hour and 15 minutes)
PTA held their Open House meeting at 6:30 until 7:15. They discussed upcoming school and PTA events for first quarter. They also discussed the PTA fundraiser and the media grant that will match how much the school makes for new books for the library. After the meeting, parents and students were allowed to visit the classrooms to see what has been going on in school up to that point and talk to the teachers about their children. My students were to complete a scavenger hunt to show their parents around the room. Three of my four parents that came to visit my classroom had specific questions about their children and specific things happening in the classroom like AR, grades, and class work. It was nice being able to meet with some of my student's parents.
PTA held their Open House meeting at 6:30 until 7:15. They discussed upcoming school and PTA events for first quarter. They also discussed the PTA fundraiser and the media grant that will match how much the school makes for new books for the library. After the meeting, parents and students were allowed to visit the classrooms to see what has been going on in school up to that point and talk to the teachers about their children. My students were to complete a scavenger hunt to show their parents around the room. Three of my four parents that came to visit my classroom had specific questions about their children and specific things happening in the classroom like AR, grades, and class work. It was nice being able to meet with some of my student's parents.
AR Meeting
September 14- 45 minutes
Mrs. Sloop the media coordinator needed to meet with our new interim teacher, Mrs. Miller, and our new third grade teacher, Mrs. Burns, about Accelerated Reader. I joined in the meeting to listen and to give feedback as I could because as a second grade teacher, I have used AR with my students for the last four years. We discussed the purpose of the program (reading comprehension), how students should be reading in order to make their goals, how goals and points should be set for each individual student, what to do for struggling readers, and how to share the information with the parents. We helped Mrs. Miller understand what she should do with particular students and how to get them to make their goals and points.
Mrs. Sloop the media coordinator needed to meet with our new interim teacher, Mrs. Miller, and our new third grade teacher, Mrs. Burns, about Accelerated Reader. I joined in the meeting to listen and to give feedback as I could because as a second grade teacher, I have used AR with my students for the last four years. We discussed the purpose of the program (reading comprehension), how students should be reading in order to make their goals, how goals and points should be set for each individual student, what to do for struggling readers, and how to share the information with the parents. We helped Mrs. Miller understand what she should do with particular students and how to get them to make their goals and points.
IMPACT Meetings
September 1 and 9- 2 hours total
For these two days the second grade (Mrs. Heglar, Ms. Bates, Mrs. Miller and myself), the media coordinator (Mrs. Sloop), the tech facilitator (Mrs. Hargett), and the curriculum coach (Mrs. Gray) all met to discuss our first quarter IMPACT project. We have decided to have our students learn about natural resources and recycling. Students will learn basic information about natural resources and recycling, research a certain natural resource (water, wood, petroleum, gold, and aluminum), and create a "Wanted" poster on their natural resource to share the information that they learned. The school has placed a trailer in the front of the school to collect aluminum cans for money donations to Samaritans Purse ( the media and second grade project for second quarter). We will be visiting the landfill and local recycling center to show students the importance of recycling. We are also premoting that students bring in recyclable items. Students will then reuse items for a recycled instrument and other items.
For these two days the second grade (Mrs. Heglar, Ms. Bates, Mrs. Miller and myself), the media coordinator (Mrs. Sloop), the tech facilitator (Mrs. Hargett), and the curriculum coach (Mrs. Gray) all met to discuss our first quarter IMPACT project. We have decided to have our students learn about natural resources and recycling. Students will learn basic information about natural resources and recycling, research a certain natural resource (water, wood, petroleum, gold, and aluminum), and create a "Wanted" poster on their natural resource to share the information that they learned. The school has placed a trailer in the front of the school to collect aluminum cans for money donations to Samaritans Purse ( the media and second grade project for second quarter). We will be visiting the landfill and local recycling center to show students the importance of recycling. We are also premoting that students bring in recyclable items. Students will then reuse items for a recycled instrument and other items.
Faculty Meeting
September 13- 1 hour and 15 minutes
At this staff meeting we discussed the previous year's EOG test scores. We looked at how our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders performed in math and reading. We also compared last year's scores with the pre-test scores to see how much they increased since the beginning of the year. We compared last year's scores with the previous year's scores to see how the students did from year to year. The staff discussed what all teachers in the school need to do in order for the students to do well on their EOGs this year and how the school can meet AYP (we have not met it in two years).
This year we have began having an activity block where some of the staff are pulling low performing students and remediating them on the parts of curriculum that they struggle with.
At this staff meeting we discussed the previous year's EOG test scores. We looked at how our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders performed in math and reading. We also compared last year's scores with the pre-test scores to see how much they increased since the beginning of the year. We compared last year's scores with the previous year's scores to see how the students did from year to year. The staff discussed what all teachers in the school need to do in order for the students to do well on their EOGs this year and how the school can meet AYP (we have not met it in two years).
This year we have began having an activity block where some of the staff are pulling low performing students and remediating them on the parts of curriculum that they struggle with.
Faculty Meeting
August 30- 1 hour
This was our first faculty meeting where we discussed Steven Layne, a teacher and an author that specializes in reading promotion in the schools. We discussed that all teachers and staff in the school should have a "book pick." This should be a book that we would like for students to read. These books should be displayed in a way that they will catch the students' attention and will then want to read the book after us. We also discussed other strategies that Steven Layne came up with, like the recommendation shelf, the someday book lists, and the read around "game" that allows students to view several books in a small amount of time. This was a very informative meeting where we all became more interested in promoting books and reading.
This was our first faculty meeting where we discussed Steven Layne, a teacher and an author that specializes in reading promotion in the schools. We discussed that all teachers and staff in the school should have a "book pick." This should be a book that we would like for students to read. These books should be displayed in a way that they will catch the students' attention and will then want to read the book after us. We also discussed other strategies that Steven Layne came up with, like the recommendation shelf, the someday book lists, and the read around "game" that allows students to view several books in a small amount of time. This was a very informative meeting where we all became more interested in promoting books and reading.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Grade Level Meetings
August 26, September 2, September 8 and September 16 grade level meetings 10:50-12:00 for a total of 4 hours and 40 minutes.
In all four grade level meetings we have discussed lessons that we would like to teach in our classrooms. This is a time for our curriculum coach, tech facilatator and media coordinator to meet with us and help us with things that we want to do in our classrooms. For these meetings we discuss our curriculum and our pacing guides. We have decided on our first IMPACT project that we are going to complete with our students (natural resources and recycling). We have discussed how to utilize our Title I teacher and our reading tutor in our classrooms. Our curriculum coach has agreed to come in and do assessments with our students. We have discussed field trips that we plan on taking this year with our students. We have discussed technology that we plan on using with our students this quarter (Key Skills, Pages, Comic Life, Photo Booth, AR, and AM).
In all four grade level meetings we have discussed lessons that we would like to teach in our classrooms. This is a time for our curriculum coach, tech facilatator and media coordinator to meet with us and help us with things that we want to do in our classrooms. For these meetings we discuss our curriculum and our pacing guides. We have decided on our first IMPACT project that we are going to complete with our students (natural resources and recycling). We have discussed how to utilize our Title I teacher and our reading tutor in our classrooms. Our curriculum coach has agreed to come in and do assessments with our students. We have discussed field trips that we plan on taking this year with our students. We have discussed technology that we plan on using with our students this quarter (Key Skills, Pages, Comic Life, Photo Booth, AR, and AM).
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