By: Angelica
This quarter brings with it a brand new after school program: hair braiding. I have partnered with the sixth grade science teacher to create a program where participants will learn the art of hair braiding in a variety of styles. These students will be able to create a portfolio of their accomplishments in this program, that includes pictures and strategies for how to complete each braiding process. In preparing for this program, both me and the other teacher have been braiding other students hair as advertisements for the program. Having students in the school with their hair braided by one of us, has caused students to develop an interest in the art of braiding. I believe this will be a great program for students to learn a new craft and walk away from it with a valuable skill. I know from experience that it is often very easy to make extra spending money by braiding family and friends hair.
1/31/13
1/30/13
We Are Learning
By: Francesa
When it was Ms. Connie's current fourth grade class's opportunity to give the Friday presentation in front of the school it was following a particularly rambunctious week. Ms. Connie had her class read the poem "We Are Learning" in front of the school. The fourth graders also created a poster with how they've learned to be respectful, responsible, and dedicated. Their posts ranged from being responsible with the amount of time they spend in the bathroom to being dedicated to achieving their personal best in school. It was great to see the student's interpretations of the poem and school's motto!
1/23/13
It's Election Time!
By: Dianny
The spirits are high, promises are on the rise, and ballots are set to go! Ladies and gentlemen, I hope your ID cards are ready because it's election time here at ICS. Some of our 5th grade students are running in the elections for student council. Yes, it sounds ordinary but elections here are taken seriously and they are far from common. The student council' s elections are the topic of the month and everyone is talking about it! They are so extraordinary they deserve their own blog post.
Running for office is not easy...our students sure do know that! Before running for office our students had to apply for a position and submit it. Then they had to write a speech that they would recite in front of the 3rd graders, 4th graders, and their 5th grade classmates; think about anxiety. Not only that, but they had to highlight their entire campaign on a poster board to display in the school's cafeteria for every teacher, staff member, parent, and student in the school to read. If you think that these poster boards are the usual boring spiel about why the voter should consider the runner for office...you might reconsider it. Their promises might not be exactly achievable but these posters are really creative; some of them are even hilarious.
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The poster that grabbed most of my attention was one of a student running for treasurer. He talked about honesty which is a big detail when talking about money. His poster was all about the money: it was green, it had pictures of 20 dollar bills, dollar bill signs, etc. In addition, the slogans he used were one of the best they said, "In Quincy we trust" and "Loyalty is my middle name". But the funniest thing about his poster was a phrase that said, "This bunnies mother trusted me so can you" pointing to his campaign picture in which he was holding a bunny. I just hope that for the 2016 presidential campaign, our presidential candidates have some of the sense of humor that these students have.
Wishing the best of luck to the students in their campaign. Let our community choose who deserves to be in office.
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The spirits are high, promises are on the rise, and ballots are set to go! Ladies and gentlemen, I hope your ID cards are ready because it's election time here at ICS. Some of our 5th grade students are running in the elections for student council. Yes, it sounds ordinary but elections here are taken seriously and they are far from common. The student council' s elections are the topic of the month and everyone is talking about it! They are so extraordinary they deserve their own blog post.
Running for office is not easy...our students sure do know that! Before running for office our students had to apply for a position and submit it. Then they had to write a speech that they would recite in front of the 3rd graders, 4th graders, and their 5th grade classmates; think about anxiety. Not only that, but they had to highlight their entire campaign on a poster board to display in the school's cafeteria for every teacher, staff member, parent, and student in the school to read. If you think that these poster boards are the usual boring spiel about why the voter should consider the runner for office...you might reconsider it. Their promises might not be exactly achievable but these posters are really creative; some of them are even hilarious.
.jpg)
The poster that grabbed most of my attention was one of a student running for treasurer. He talked about honesty which is a big detail when talking about money. His poster was all about the money: it was green, it had pictures of 20 dollar bills, dollar bill signs, etc. In addition, the slogans he used were one of the best they said, "In Quincy we trust" and "Loyalty is my middle name". But the funniest thing about his poster was a phrase that said, "This bunnies mother trusted me so can you" pointing to his campaign picture in which he was holding a bunny. I just hope that for the 2016 presidential campaign, our presidential candidates have some of the sense of humor that these students have.
Wishing the best of luck to the students in their campaign. Let our community choose who deserves to be in office.
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1/22/13
Role Model
By: Nellie
Similar to last year, I am involved with Highlander’s basketball program; this year being head coach for the girls team. I am learning a lot more than I did last year because I am in the front and have to take more control and responsibility for running a team. I am learning a lot about myself; being knowledgeable about the sport is very much different than motivating students to play, and helping them learn the fundamentals of the game. My favorite part about coaching is that it is essentially teaching in a different way. Recently some girls from my basketball team wrote a card to me and it was very touching. They mentioned that I am the best role model that they could ask for, and that I am nice and enjoyable. One piece of the note said that when they mess up or do something at practice; I don’t get mad I just encourage them to try harder. It makes me feel respected, and that I am accomplishing my goals of teaching life skills.
Similar to last year, I am involved with Highlander’s basketball program; this year being head coach for the girls team. I am learning a lot more than I did last year because I am in the front and have to take more control and responsibility for running a team. I am learning a lot about myself; being knowledgeable about the sport is very much different than motivating students to play, and helping them learn the fundamentals of the game. My favorite part about coaching is that it is essentially teaching in a different way. Recently some girls from my basketball team wrote a card to me and it was very touching. They mentioned that I am the best role model that they could ask for, and that I am nice and enjoyable. One piece of the note said that when they mess up or do something at practice; I don’t get mad I just encourage them to try harder. It makes me feel respected, and that I am accomplishing my goals of teaching life skills.
1/18/13
Charter Corps Gets Technical
Charter Corps members are getting the chance to use some brand-new technology in their classrooms!
Metryx, a formative assessment tool developed by Shawn Rubin, founding teacher and resident tech guru at Highlander Charter School, is being rolled out by team members to help target and differentiate instruction with their students. Members attending training this morning, then got to take their shiny new Nexux 7s back to their service sites to put everything to work.
Formative assessment is informal assessment that a teacher conducts during instruction to help determine what a student is learning and struggling with. It is meant to provide data that informs the teacher of how to go about adjusting their techniques and serves as a basis for reflecting on their methods.
Metryx is a highly customizable web-based application that allows an instructor to build a roster of students, input subjects, skills, and skill sets based on exactly what students are learning at any given time, quickly and easily assess those skills, compare and track data over time, and differentiate instruction. It will help Charter Corps members meet their performance objectives. Most importantly, it will ensure that the students we serve improve on their skills.
It was a rough start to the morning with technical difficulties in abundance, but it's important to remember that with any new technology, patience typically pays off. Educational technology, in particular, is set to revolutionize the way teachers teach and students learn. We've waited this long! Special thanks to Shawn for getting us there! ;)
Charter Corps members learn the ins and outs of Metryx:
by: Jill Marie
Metryx, a formative assessment tool developed by Shawn Rubin, founding teacher and resident tech guru at Highlander Charter School, is being rolled out by team members to help target and differentiate instruction with their students. Members attending training this morning, then got to take their shiny new Nexux 7s back to their service sites to put everything to work.
Formative assessment is informal assessment that a teacher conducts during instruction to help determine what a student is learning and struggling with. It is meant to provide data that informs the teacher of how to go about adjusting their techniques and serves as a basis for reflecting on their methods.
Metryx is a highly customizable web-based application that allows an instructor to build a roster of students, input subjects, skills, and skill sets based on exactly what students are learning at any given time, quickly and easily assess those skills, compare and track data over time, and differentiate instruction. It will help Charter Corps members meet their performance objectives. Most importantly, it will ensure that the students we serve improve on their skills.
It was a rough start to the morning with technical difficulties in abundance, but it's important to remember that with any new technology, patience typically pays off. Educational technology, in particular, is set to revolutionize the way teachers teach and students learn. We've waited this long! Special thanks to Shawn for getting us there! ;)
Charter Corps members learn the ins and outs of Metryx:
Shawn making sure we're all on board:
1/16/13
Come Visit the Carboniferous Period!
By: Deyan
In the last session of after school at Highlander Charter School, a group of 2nd to 4th graders traveled 300 million years into the past to explore the Carboniferous Period with Mr. D! Over the course of the activity, we used Hanner Bonner's awesome book, When Bugs Were Big, Plants Were Strange, and Terapods Stalked the Earth, to investigate steamy coal swamps, giant bugs, and the evolution of land-dwelling amphibians and reptiles. Then, on he very last day, the class had an opportunity to make brochures advertising the Carboniferous Period as the ultimate vacation destination. Check out what some of them had to say:
If that doesn't make you want to hop in your time machine and check out the Carboniferous period, I don't know what will!
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| Ava made sure to look in the book to check her facts |
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| Ruziah paid lots of attention to little details in her brochure |
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| Steven made sure his brochure was colorful and fun |
If that doesn't make you want to hop in your time machine and check out the Carboniferous period, I don't know what will!
1/15/13
Snowflake Snowmen
By: Itza
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For one of the Friday
activities we made snowflake snowmen. All the students loved this activity.
They didn't stick to traditional snowmen but made colorful creations worthy of
the refrigerator. I didn't think the activity would last long but the students
surprised me with their focus and dedication to making their creation come to
life.
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Days later they still continue
to make snowflakes during their free time. It's become a semi competition to
see who can create the coolest snowflake. They're always amazed by everyone's
creation. I'm amazed by the lasting impact an activity can have on our
students. It was a reminder to me. My students absorb everything I do. I must
both foster it into growth and also be careful with what I do.
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