Indoor Recess

I am not a fan of indoor recess. Not sure that anyone is. I would like for us to come together as a school and come up with a plan for indoor recess activities. At other schools there were a few options during this time for kids to do. Not everyone in the school got to participate each day, but it got 7-10 kids out of your room. At one school the library was manned and board games were played. There was actually a HUGE rubberemaid container full of games that were played only during indoor recess. The computer lab is also an option. At Nordale they had cable access, we should now, and cartoons were put on for the 30 minutes. How about the gym? I know that sometimes it is booked with K's, but if not maybe we can get a duty to have access to some balls. Last year when we returned from Christmas break it was dark and cold and we were inside for a long time. Let's put our heads together and come up with something.

Hello All

If you haven't been by to check out the garden lately, you should!! It has grown a ton in the past 10 days or so, and it looks great. Also, you will notice that we are getting a new fuel tank. I have been told it is smaller. Not sure the reasoning behind that. I chatted with Keith as he was painting the doors and trim BLACK!!! AAHHHH! He was not thrilled that they have chosen the same paint and same color when it clearly does not hold up well. What's a person to do? :)

Computer Lab

I would like to recommend that we assign computers in the lab. The older students are continually changing the desktop screen from the standard screen, they are setting some applications to open automatically, and leaving their work on the desktop. It takes two to three hours to log on to each computer and reset them. This needs to be done every few weeks. I realize that they don't understand the difference between their desktop on the laptop and in the computer lab but just talking to them as a group has not made a difference. With a seating chart I can bring those students who are assigned to that computer and explain the situation and have them clean up the screen. It would also me figure out who keeps removing the application icons off the dock so we can teach them not to do it and why. What do other people think? Any other ideas?

Scheduling

I know that we have discussions about block scheduling from time to time. I thought I would bring it up again so we could discuss the pros and cons and determine if it would work for us. I think it would help the specialists who help students with academics. It will not always work for my schedule due to the large number of students I have but for the most part it should.

I also have some comments on scheduling in general. In the fall, I try to set my schedule based on classroom teacher input. It doesn't always work but I have tried to make sure that same teacher doesn't get the bad schedule year after year. This seems to work well at the beginning of the school year but as we get closer to the last semester I get more and more requests for students to stay in their classrooms. This isn't a problem once in awhile but when it becomes frequent it is difficult to make progress on their IEP goals. I know that people have to change schedules during the year for a variety of reasons, hopefully when this happens we can work together to come up with a solution. I would like to add grade level buddies as a time that we do not pull students, it is one of the hardest things for students to miss especially the primary students.

Converstions That We Want To Have

What other kinds of conversations do we want to have?? I know in May there were a few items that we wanted to "discuss" this summer. Post a comment with your idea or conversation.

Winter Gear?
Activites during indoor recess?

Katie's idea

Katie thinks that each classroom needs to have a teacher and an assistant teacher to help all the students. We would not need to get a sub if one is absent or at a meeting.

After school homework club/academic recess detention

Those 2 subjects kind of spurred the blog. Anyone care to comment or give their thoughts?!

The Ceramic Work is Beautiful!

I sure hope that this is the first seed of more blossoming for the Woodriver Warehouse, I mean school. I will take pictures of school playgrounds back in PA and DC. My nieces and nephews are going to a brand new state of the art elementary school. I'll post some photos of their playground. Maybe PTA could help us organize a formal push for grounds/building beautification.

Preview Mural

Finishing tiles still need to be placed and the grout and sealer added but isn't it wonderful!

Mural Installation

Scaffolding should be going up today. The District (Brian) will be mounting the tiles Tuesday. Nancy plans to be there and I'll drive over to take pictures.