tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35114485209429692332024-03-13T06:48:30.297-07:00Connected LearningUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-23849187739424062002017-03-08T14:30:00.000-08:002017-03-08T19:56:31.122-08:00New Adventures Embracing the Jungle Tiger<b id="docs-internal-guid-50a24cf7-b133-bf7f-aef7-42efcd58e007" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I spent my first eight years teaching and learning in a fourth grade classroom at Benton Community. As a classroom teacher, I was challenged by my teammates and colleagues within my building to think differently and continue to be a learner. I got a taste of teacher leadership having been on our building and district leadership teams. I also had the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers, administrators, and community members to write our district's grant for teacher leadership. As we went through that process, I didn't think I would be able to step outside of my zone of comfort and leave my classroom for one of the full time teacher leadership positions. When the opportunity of teachers leadership came to Benton Community and we were awarded the grant, I made a difficult decision of trying something new, putting myself out there for failure, something completely outside of my zone of comfort. I had never been an instructional coach, I had never been coached as as teacher. What would this look like at Benton Community? Would it be embraced by our teachers? What would happen if I failed?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have been extremely blessed to have been afforded the opportunity to support students and teachers at Keystone Elementary and in the Benton Community School District as a teacher leader. Now looking back, I am so thankful I took that leap of faith three years ago. I was unsure of what it would look like, how I would like it, and how much people would embrace working with a teacher leader. Our team and district built teacher leadership from the ground up. We often speak of the analogy of building a plane as we were flying it. This is because we had teachers willing to learn on the edge, try new things with us, fail together, modify our goals, and try again. Still today, my colleagues continue to amaze me by being willing to collaborate and learn together and take risks with me -- learning in the wild.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in October, this learning theory was solidified when I heard a message about finding your inner</span><a href="http://trainugly.com/jungle-tiger/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jungle Tiger</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from Trevor Ragan on an</span><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/iowaedchat/website-builder" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">#IAedChat LIVE show</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I encourage you to take a look at his videos on learning and growth. His message challenged me to dance with my fears and live beyond my comfort zone. I challenge each of you taking the time to read this post to dance with your fears, for you never know what kind of opportunities will unfold when you take a risk. I have absolutely no doubt that the staff at Benton Community will continue to amaze me with their willingness to be learners and dance with their fears. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This summer I will start a new journey at Grant Wood AEA as a School Improvement Consultant. Benton Community will always be our home, a place to raise our family, with an opportunity be a part of an amazing community. It is the place I was able to start my journey... because of people who believed in me. I had great mentors my first several years of teaching and continue to have mentors in my leadership roles. These people are my tribe. They push me to want to be better, do better, and know better. They are my coaches whether or not they have the title. To the people who have believed in me along the way, thank you for pushing me to step outside of my zone of comfort, to continue to grow as a learner, and find my inner jungle tiger.</span></div>
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Visit the Train Ugly website at http://trainugly.com/ or find Train Ugly on Twitter @Train_Ugly<a href="https://twitter.com/train_ugly" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/train_ugly</a></div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-45422509298781633302017-01-19T14:25:00.000-08:002017-01-19T14:56:29.787-08:00Student-Centered Coaching Focus at Benton Community<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Benton Community is in its third year of implementation of Iowa's Teacher Leadership and Compensation Grant. In those three years, we have learned a lot about teacher leadership and its impact on teaching and learning in our district. </div>
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Our first year, we honestly felt that we were building a plane as we were flying it. None of the five instructional coaches that were hired had ever been an instructional coach. Only one of them had ever had the opportunity to work with an instructional coach. We learned a lot from our colleagues at Grant Wood AEA and from the other first year implementation schools. We have also learned in the past three years that we aren't finished learning. </div>
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Throughout year one we learned with <a href="http://www.gwaea.org/" target="_blank">Grant Wood AEA</a> and the <a href="https://newteachercenter.org/" target="_blank">New Teacher Center</a>. Our learning centered around coaching language and ways to look for entry points to build relationships with teachers. We also did a book study on a book by <a href="http://elenaaguilar.com/" target="_blank">Elena Aguilar</a> called <i>The Art of Coaching</i> and a book study on the book <i>Student Centered Coaching</i> by <a href="https://dianesweeney.com/" target="_blank">Diane Sweeney</a>. </div>
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The spring of our first year, we started planning a summer <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BCedCamp&src=typd" target="_blank">#BCedCamp</a> focused on Teacher Leadership. This was an opportunity for teacher leaders from around the state to get together and learn together about the new TLC grant and initiative in Iowa. We are in planning stages of our Third Annual #BCedCamp, planned for June 15, 2017, so mark your calendars!</div>
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Our second year we learned with Grant Wood AEA and <a href="http://www.instructionalcoaching.com/" target="_blank">Jim Knight</a>. His sessions focused on high impact instruction and taking advantage of videoing teaching in the classroom to make connections for teacher improvement. We also read a <a href="https://educationhall.wordpress.com/petehall/" target="_blank">Pete Hall</a> book, <i>Building Teachers' Capacity for Success</i>, and attended trainings with Pete Hall and Elena Aguilar to strengthen our coaching knowledge. </div>
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This year we are learning from our neighbors at AEA 267 and Diane Sweeney around Student Centered Coaching. Our team and our administration feel this is the best way to make the greatest impact on student achievement in our district. To support this shift to a more student-centered approach, we created a visual to outline the supports we can provide.</div>
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The continuum below shows the progression from relationship building to coaching cycles. All levels of the continuum are important in any coaching relationship. This visual simply outlines that the goal is to provide teachers support as they move toward the right side of the continuum; a deeper coaching relationship which is more student-centered. Below the continuum, the instructional supports we can provide are also outlined. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I51rJzpAsuU/WIE0hPb_EUI/AAAAAAAA_tQ/EcHa9RUXq84bKZ4S0pdyL-pggRQPlGSAgCLcB/s1600/1.png.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I51rJzpAsuU/WIE0hPb_EUI/AAAAAAAA_tQ/EcHa9RUXq84bKZ4S0pdyL-pggRQPlGSAgCLcB/s640/1.png.jpg" width="492" /></a></div>
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Next, we felt it was beneficial to show that there are a few options for coaching cycles. One option is an individual or group data team cycle focused on data from the classroom. We will outline a focus for support, provide observation and co-teaching support, learn together about improvements which will positively effect student achievement, and support analysis of classroom data to gauge proficiency toward our goal. This process closely aligns with our district data team goals, it is simply focused on a classroom goal rather than a district goal. Another option is with support with implementing new instructional practices such as small-groups or differentiated levels of support for students. Also included in this support is planning, feedback, and reflection on the process. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vG3Irn8ffOU/WIE0hB75cHI/AAAAAAAA_tU/DxmvVmueqRoHzjJT2Nrql8E05QoScM5XQCLcB/s1600/2.png.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vG3Irn8ffOU/WIE0hB75cHI/AAAAAAAA_tU/DxmvVmueqRoHzjJT2Nrql8E05QoScM5XQCLcB/s640/2.png.jpg" width="494" /></a></div>
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Overall, our mission is to get into coaching relationships with as many teachers as possible to support teachers as they strive to get better. With all of the learning we have done over the past three years with such impactful instructional coaching models, we feel we are more prepared than ever to help teachers accomplish their goals. We are always learning to find ways to best fit our teachers' and students' needs. This quote by <a href="http://www.dylanwiliamcenter.com/" target="_blank">Dylan Wiliam</a> highlights our mission: "Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better." BCTLT does not want to 'fix' teachers. We want to empower teachers as they yearn to get better for the good of our students. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xE1U4FjyVEg/WIE54KMsIWI/AAAAAAAA_tw/PPeoIMyiKmAk3cdwBPDjjeWxzszrtm3fQCK4B/s1600/CMJr1fgWoAAKuJP.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xE1U4FjyVEg/WIE54KMsIWI/AAAAAAAA_tw/PPeoIMyiKmAk3cdwBPDjjeWxzszrtm3fQCK4B/s320/CMJr1fgWoAAKuJP.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p9tLNnQZK8E/WIEvzcBx8qI/AAAAAAAA_s8/ZtJ7z1oIENAikNi_AOvHlTCjKcJ6k73wgCK4B/s1600/2.png.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p9tLNnQZK8E/WIEvzcBx8qI/AAAAAAAA_s8/ZtJ7z1oIENAikNi_AOvHlTCjKcJ6k73wgCK4B/s1600/2.png.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p9tLNnQZK8E/WIEvzcBx8qI/AAAAAAAA_s8/ZtJ7z1oIENAikNi_AOvHlTCjKcJ6k73wgCK4B/s1600/2.png.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><br />
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If you'd like to talk more about our TLC journey at Benton Community, please contact me or one of my teammates!<br />
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<ul>
<li>Jo Prusha - <a href="http://www.twitter.com/joprusha" target="_blank">@JoPrusha</a></li>
<li>Andrea Townsley - <a href="http://twitter.com/townsleyaj" target="_blank">@TownsleyAJ</a></li>
<li>Laurie Donald - <a href="http://www.twitter.com/ladycatscoach" target="_blank">@LadyCatsCoach</a></li>
<li>Alex Olson - <a href="http://www.twitter.com/alexolson54" target="_blank">@AlexOlson54</a></li>
<li>Anna Upah - <a href="http://www.twitter.com/annaupah" target="_blank">@AnnaUpah</a></li>
<li>Sherrie Collins - <a href="https://twitter.com/scollins0723" target="_blank">@SCollins0723</a></li>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-2090265205709985272016-12-20T08:37:00.003-08:002016-12-20T08:37:44.435-08:00Soctober Success at #KeyRocks!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">We had SO much success with our Socktober project this year! Our presentation to give our donated socks to Olivet Neighborhood MIssion from Cedar Rapids was scheduled for later in November, but because of a family emergency, their representative had to cancel. Instead, we shared our students' projects with our students here at Keystone Elementary, and now, we're sharing them with you! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">We are so very fortunate to have such a supportive community and friends of our school to help us out with our mission project! We have had many family and friends who supported our Socktober project ask for an update and I kept forgetting to get it out, so here goes!</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9tbWKPxZUv8/WFlam9ym4ZI/AAAAAAAACDA/QCbEKvrSy-wzXfrAHES8dr7o72-9LvMnQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9tbWKPxZUv8/WFlam9ym4ZI/AAAAAAAACDA/QCbEKvrSy-wzXfrAHES8dr7o72-9LvMnQCLcB/s320/IMG_0438.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Grand total - 1,305 pairs of socks for cold feet! </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oi_FrIZ9_Mo/WFldm_frtJI/AAAAAAAACDw/P3dKpa3FeOQVcH6Y57aRyirEfI9rjVSrQCLcB/s1600/2016-12-20_1033.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oi_FrIZ9_Mo/WFldm_frtJI/AAAAAAAACDw/P3dKpa3FeOQVcH6Y57aRyirEfI9rjVSrQCLcB/s320/2016-12-20_1033.png" width="239" /></a></div>
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Socks delivered to Olivet Neighborhood Mission in Cedar Rapids!</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aw-51Owmpzc/WFlapVlkTQI/AAAAAAAACDI/uI13T4wNrzUTph9mSeY5fectDhHzRr7xgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aw-51Owmpzc/WFlapVlkTQI/AAAAAAAACDI/uI13T4wNrzUTph9mSeY5fectDhHzRr7xgCLcB/s320/IMG_0439.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nFT4q0BJ_t4/WFlaqDN97sI/AAAAAAAACDQ/VoVe8Rw0Fhwuu9p5R_RE2H1QaMRbrfzbgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nFT4q0BJ_t4/WFlaqDN97sI/AAAAAAAACDQ/VoVe8Rw0Fhwuu9p5R_RE2H1QaMRbrfzbgCLcB/s320/IMG_0440.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Look at all those socks!</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BXhDzFezknM/WFlaa4XLsDI/AAAAAAAACCM/M4q8zFo3884ncEWBDeF10buk_1hthQgSACLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BXhDzFezknM/WFlaa4XLsDI/AAAAAAAACCM/M4q8zFo3884ncEWBDeF10buk_1hthQgSACLcB/s320/FullSizeRender%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Socks from Washington! </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gXHGfNLmDf0/WFlabIaBmHI/AAAAAAAACCQ/GaG0UHiLOVA6DFuVFDdmQ_t7t6BD_K30ACLcB/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gXHGfNLmDf0/WFlabIaBmHI/AAAAAAAACCQ/GaG0UHiLOVA6DFuVFDdmQ_t7t6BD_K30ACLcB/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Socks collection from a family! </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ulMVxQKW7MM/WFladQidJ6I/AAAAAAAACCY/kt0Yha1SI9cyQF0A7CLkxvSgNelOQxdQACLcB/s1600/IMG_0204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ulMVxQKW7MM/WFladQidJ6I/AAAAAAAACCY/kt0Yha1SI9cyQF0A7CLkxvSgNelOQxdQACLcB/s320/IMG_0204.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Student posters!</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V9Pt2JvuJsc/WFladLwF-_I/AAAAAAAACCU/mw5VQIuTF3EK9m7CcUb8DbL87Ip2p45OQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V9Pt2JvuJsc/WFladLwF-_I/AAAAAAAACCU/mw5VQIuTF3EK9m7CcUb8DbL87Ip2p45OQCLcB/s320/IMG_0378.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Socks from Des Moines!</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PNNlNED3WA4/WFlad1r-FDI/AAAAAAAACCc/3wY8yySozHIg2atLLNLMjbC00VvXCwdOwCLcB/s1600/IMG_0379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PNNlNED3WA4/WFlad1r-FDI/AAAAAAAACCc/3wY8yySozHIg2atLLNLMjbC00VvXCwdOwCLcB/s320/IMG_0379.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Socks from Colorado!</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GobvKRxMICA/WFlafj19_UI/AAAAAAAACCg/T1jqQyoXxhE5NQ6BZdxaoH4fxt5iBV6jwCLcB/s1600/IMG_0380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GobvKRxMICA/WFlafj19_UI/AAAAAAAACCg/T1jqQyoXxhE5NQ6BZdxaoH4fxt5iBV6jwCLcB/s320/IMG_0380.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Socks from Nevada!</div>
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Socks from Illinois! </div>
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Socks from Arizona!</div>
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Socks from California!</div>
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Socks from Arizona!</div>
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Socks from California! </div>
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Socks from Arizona and North Carolina!</div>
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<b style="font-size: 12.8px;"><u>3rd Grade Projects:</u></b></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PlGuZ0ACvd0" width="560"></iframe>
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<b><u>2nd Grade Projects</u></b><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="245" scrolling="no" src="https://tellagami.com/gami/XGSSAI/embed/" width="435"></iframe><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="245" scrolling="no" src="https://tellagami.com/gami/7VMOQ2/embed/" width="435"></iframe>
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<b><u>1st Grade Projects</u></b><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AfUtPVMV_uQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
Yellow guy with black curly hair at the end is my favorite! ;)<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-41053845407195567252016-11-21T12:52:00.001-08:002016-11-21T12:58:40.594-08:00Five Favorite Ted Talks<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you have a few minutes to spare? Here is a short list of five of my current favorite TED-Talks. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rita Pierson - Every Child Needs a Champion</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This video gives a call for educators to ensure that all students have a "person" with which to connect. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">DIana Laufenberg - How to Learn? From Mistakes</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This short ten minute video discusses the process where learning happens. Students (and adults) learn from mistakes and by others encouraging them through embracing resilience. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Ramsey Musallam - Three Rules to Spark Learning
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.ted.com/talks/ramsey_musallam_3_rules_to_spark_learning" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I heard Ramsey speak at a conference last year. He is truly inspirational. Ramsey Musallam is a chemistry teacher from California. In this short talk, he encourages teachers to cultivate curiosity by lighting a spark with imagination and learning. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Sir Ken Robinson - Do Schools Kill Creativity?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is one of the first TED-Talks I had ever watched, and it is still a favorite. In this video, Sir Ken Robinson encourages teachers to cultivate curiosity by thinking radically in order to change the way we teach to embrace the way students learn. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Angela Duckworth - The Power of Passion and Perseverance</b></span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H14bBuluwB8" width="560"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Angela talks about how IQ is not the best predictor of success in this short, six-minute video. The power of perseverance and passion are true predictors of success. "Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint." </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-72506592171809185642016-10-10T19:22:00.003-07:002017-11-30T08:25:55.646-08:00Community Data Wall at Keystone ElementaryBenton Community School District is a Year 3 Iowa TLC school and has recently transitioned from utilizing Model Teachers to now having a Data Team Leader at almost all grade levels/departments PK-12. Our team has made data the center of most of our conversations, and with the support and guidance of our administration, the Instructional Coaches in our district have made it a goal to bring this data to a community place at all of our buildings. Many classrooms currently have data walls, much like <a href="http://townsleyaj.blogspot.com/2016/03/connecting-with-students-through-goal.html" target="_blank">this one</a> in a kindergarten classroom at Keystone Elementary. This blog will focus on the community data wall located in the office at Keystone Elementary.<br />
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<b><u>What is a data wall</u></b>, you might ask? A data wall is a space dedicated to displaying results over a period of time. It is also a space to show whole school data, as well as grade-level or classroom data. Data walls are also an opportunity for self-reflection and an opportunity to identify gaps. If the data wall is in a community space, the names of students are preserved, and often, numbers take their place or general data is used. <br />
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<b><u>Included on our data wall:</u></b><br />
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<li>Preschool IGDIs - Picture Names</li>
<li>Kinder - Letter Sound Fluency</li>
<li>1st Grade - Sentence Reading / CBM Fluency</li>
<li>2nd Grade - CBM Fluency</li>
<li>3rd Grade - CBM Fluency</li>
<li>PK-3rd grade - PBIS Office Referrals</li>
<li>Percentage of students "Progress Monitored" the week prior</li>
<li>Percentages of students who had "Intervention Time" entered into the Tier system the week prior</li>
<li>Weekly results over time<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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Keystone Elementary chose to get down to grade-level specific data from our fall, winter, and spring FAST assessments, as well as building-wide PBIS office referrals and weekly Progress Monitoring and Intervention data. Our data wall will give us a chance to look at trends and take ownership of what is happening in our classrooms.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight. </i><br />-- Carly Fiorina</span></div>
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Data is recorded and tracked over time.</div>
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We found that last year, sometimes <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0a9bdeb0-475b-4459-808a-b32b926274ba" id="9da8dfa8-d26b-4532-88c4-aa3e0fd83447"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3145fbf9-6c7e-4a8c-ad73-446a4f913639" id="bd835a3b-b441-4281-85eb-7bd4924b6cc9">our</gs></gs> Progress Monitoring inadvertently was missed or incomplete. This type of result was especially heightened during shortened weeks due to holidays or inclement weather. According to the new <a href="https://www.educateiowa.gov/pk-12/accreditation-and-program-approval/differentiated-accountability-da-system#What_is_Differentiated_Accountability" target="_blank">Differentiated Accountability</a> process in Iowa, 90% of the Progress Monitoring and Interventions must happen 90% of the time. Our district has made it a focus to ensure that our Differentiated Accountability numbers continue to rise, and ensuring our Progress Monitoring and Intervention Time is being entered will help with this goal. </div>
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Teachers make these two integral pieces a part of their classroom routine. On Wednesdays, reports are run for the previous week and the data wall is updated. Teachers are working hard to remember to make this a part of the routine, and as a result, Progress Monitoring happens every week and Interventions times are being entered with fidelity. As the quote says, it's all about the kids. This data wall is not about pointing fingers or calling each other out. Instead, it is about embracing the "us" mentality. These are our kids and we can work together to ensure their success. </div>
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For more information on data walls <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3f2a8059-ea6a-420c-8387-998edf6193aa" id="3cbebcde-e6bb-4f26-83ba-20055c7c3666"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="84a86733-2c9f-4fc5-b6e3-c43da5a57923" id="dc98c119-2f77-48f8-bfba-5b172fb82dd9">at</gs></gs> Benton CSD, don't hesitate to reach out!</div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-35334287349186807282016-09-21T07:31:00.000-07:002016-09-21T07:31:10.125-07:00Iowa Tier Tips<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tinyurl.com/iowatiertips"><span style="color: black; font-size: large;">www.tinyurl.com/iowatiertips</span></a></div>
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="600" scrolling="auto" src="https://www.smore.com/8cj3n-iowa-tier-tips?embed=1" style="border: none; min-width: 320px;" width="100%"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-15732388667834710492016-08-25T15:29:00.001-07:002016-08-25T20:03:13.226-07:00A Eulogy for My Papa Cookie<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Eulogy for Louis Junior Kaiser</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Louis Junior Kaiser, Louie, Son, Brother, Uncle, Nephew, Husband, Pa, </span><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b724dfbd-387a-4c3b-8a85-c4a6cadcc523" id="5ee17153-527d-4e81-bcb2-8eee35e27115" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="2caad689-65b7-42fd-8032-810305313c5f" id="efa2a954-8e92-4b09-ab7c-54ac1c5b3bba"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c672d832-d5d5-4845-b0ab-2d871c017de8" id="59c380d8-93e1-4bfc-b74e-414632f74948"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0c92debf-de1c-4015-b802-ddaa61a98a4a" id="a68b1208-329f-4607-989e-ab5ffa6f340a"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9b97b91f-dfd9-4580-926f-1f79ee785c9a" id="58a5c00a-0c7f-4a49-b1cc-c37aa0493d6c">Pawd</gs></gs></gs></gs></gs><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Dad, Grandpa Kaiser, Great-Grandpa, Lou, Papa, Private First Class, King Louie, Junior, Papa Cookie, Neighbor, Friend. The man we are here to celebrate today was known by many and had many different titles in his 91 glorious years.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--zy0pesit4c/V7-TkhG4hYI/AAAAAAAA9wY/ihhmIp6WBxAK2mcYYBWEO8lRpqSUDZqOACLcB/s1600/Gpa%25252520Army.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 38.4px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-indent: 36pt;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--zy0pesit4c/V7-TkhG4hYI/AAAAAAAA9wY/ihhmIp6WBxAK2mcYYBWEO8lRpqSUDZqOACLcB/s200/Gpa%25252520Army.JPG" width="152" /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fQ6uV9ohxtM/V7-UZumg14I/AAAAAAAA9xg/sUvyxzHUb3kdNK3gaoVcjgOcDDHgIrxFwCEw/s1600/IMG_4262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-indent: 36pt;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fQ6uV9ohxtM/V7-UZumg14I/AAAAAAAA9xg/sUvyxzHUb3kdNK3gaoVcjgOcDDHgIrxFwCEw/s200/IMG_4262.JPG" width="133" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EXbR_Ae9IQ8/V7-TYnNj54I/AAAAAAAA9wA/KV8CU3gToogZHehDxK91eq3HdxdLzPeEwCLcB/s1600/2016-08-23_0018.png" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 38.4px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-indent: 36pt;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EXbR_Ae9IQ8/V7-TYnNj54I/AAAAAAAA9wA/KV8CU3gToogZHehDxK91eq3HdxdLzPeEwCLcB/s200/2016-08-23_0018.png" width="128" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So what do you say about a man who had it all? He was the oldest son of nine children, he had an older sister and three younger, and he had three younger brothers. He attended a one room schoolhouse ⅓ of a mile from the family farm before attending high school in Garrison and a semester at Iowa State. Grandpa fought for his country in World War II as a paratrooper in the Army and loved his country with all of his heart and soul. </span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He raised his children to love and respect God and their country.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He started playing golf at the ripe young age of 70 with the company of his brothers. He was a man of simple words, but had wit that would sneak up on you. Grandpa was never a man to put off work until tomorrow that could get done today. He did the best he could to always keep his word and be there for his family. </span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C6188paEePA/V7-Uc-dWybI/AAAAAAAA9xM/GxwKksYTXtwGkssSrRfxycqw9Lcnv8i1QCLcB/s1600/gma2%2B%25288%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: 38.4px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C6188paEePA/V7-Uc-dWybI/AAAAAAAA9xM/GxwKksYTXtwGkssSrRfxycqw9Lcnv8i1QCLcB/s200/gma2%2B%25288%2529.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hsOHrN2tdKE/V7-UZpsq1jI/AAAAAAAA9xA/N1CxT0rvLhAJ1rAFGKY25SoyuqRWGAiXACLcB/s1600/gma2%2B%252813%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 38.4px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-indent: 36pt;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hsOHrN2tdKE/V7-UZpsq1jI/AAAAAAAA9xA/N1CxT0rvLhAJ1rAFGKY25SoyuqRWGAiXACLcB/s200/gma2%2B%252813%2529.JPG" width="133" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iuCKWO3dPbw/V7-UfJxJhqI/AAAAAAAA9xU/_b9G4x5_WdYLfYlnnF7jbSGnRYmFWmpYACLcB/s1600/gma2%2B%252881%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 38.4px; text-indent: 36pt;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iuCKWO3dPbw/V7-UfJxJhqI/AAAAAAAA9xU/_b9G4x5_WdYLfYlnnF7jbSGnRYmFWmpYACLcB/s200/gma2%2B%252881%2529.JPG" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He was married to a woman with a beautiful soul for over 60 years, whom he loved and respected deeply. We always thought Grandma was the mushy one, but he’s shown his softer side with lots of hugs and kisses the past several years. He and Grandma raised six children, resulting in 15 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. </span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He loved the land and was especially fond of Oliver tractors, and the beautiful science of the planting and harvest seasons. This love was built on a solid foundation of farming, for he started when he was 14 years old with a horse-drawn two-row planter, stepping in for his dad who was down for almost <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="cae5aea0-dd4d-49e4-b7e6-721377f396d2" id="9389a821-2cdd-48e6-acd0-11f5c2b268ee"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b38052e7-778e-4daa-ba90-46e26320284d" id="0debac0d-f136-433a-9699-035fc25985eb"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="cc74f7d6-42bb-42fc-b0ac-23b4ad4f512d" id="cedbf238-0b57-4c08-a596-3d507b715819">year</gs></gs></gs> with Malta Fever. He once said that his most important crop he ever tended, however, was his beloved family. </span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1-s34A5nJGg/V7-TxvWThCI/AAAAAAAA9wk/D3-yvbxYxv0d3-S9u92e82R6Ie4jW6xsACLcB/s1600/IMG_2258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; line-height: 2.4; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1-s34A5nJGg/V7-TxvWThCI/AAAAAAAA9wk/D3-yvbxYxv0d3-S9u92e82R6Ie4jW6xsACLcB/s200/IMG_2258.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The name Kaiser goes back a long way. Grandpa Kaiser stands for a lot of things. It stands for a man who was so well-loved by his family and friends that he was asked to be Best Man in five weddings. What do you think of when you hear his name? It reminds me of freedom, courage, strength, family, faith, and love. We will certainly not do him any sort of justice in this short message, but I can tell you one thing. We’re proud. We’re proud of the man he was, and we are proud of the legacy he has left behind with all of us. </span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5swy956i2No/V7-VArjA9II/AAAAAAAA9x0/WFBq62HC11wcuZ1eEwc6ryIpYVu11vRfwCEw/s1600/kaiser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5swy956i2No/V7-VArjA9II/AAAAAAAA9x0/WFBq62HC11wcuZ1eEwc6ryIpYVu11vRfwCEw/s320/kaiser.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s been almost six years since we lost Grandma, but their love, strength, encouragement, and support <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="6312f313-127e-45a6-a644-c8658c3778fa" id="6496f903-9eac-4911-a407-7a7c10edeae2"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b15d9e1c-2427-42ed-9b39-69c7f0383342" id="9d02c46c-6c7a-49c1-8cab-f0999cb73d73">lives</gs></gs> on in all of us, as we are frequently told from people who knew them. There are 49 people on this Earth who are direct descendants of the 62 years of marriage and the beautiful life he and Grandma shared together. Through marriage, we now total 66 people altogether. He always joked about the fact that his large family was all his fault! He saw her at a basketball game in a barn and couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He was smitten, she could outrun him, but he didn’t give up. </span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bom1v3OyNsA/V7-TgLvmAEI/AAAAAAAA9wI/CjauVuh3fEUwN_qsiQdtj8p0YJyR1WPDgCLcB/s1600/2016-08-23_1311.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: 38.4px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bom1v3OyNsA/V7-TgLvmAEI/AAAAAAAA9wI/CjauVuh3fEUwN_qsiQdtj8p0YJyR1WPDgCLcB/s200/2016-08-23_1311.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e1097lSjIMs/V7-ZetxdZNI/AAAAAAAA9x4/ZocX3CkfsDUo4GRmzFS7S-g7HfMl2ixWQCLcB/s1600/Kaiser%25252520kids.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e1097lSjIMs/V7-ZetxdZNI/AAAAAAAA9x4/ZocX3CkfsDUo4GRmzFS7S-g7HfMl2ixWQCLcB/s200/Kaiser%25252520kids.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are several stories us grandchildren, his children, and his siblings have shared over the last week. Some of them are not appropriate enough to share with you here, but many of them are, so here are a few. His sister Barb remembers her big brother allowing her to ride the pony, as long as she stayed behind the barn, away from the house, since Mother said no. Grandpa’s children were talking about their time with their dad growing up. He gave them a run for their money when the boys thought he didn’t know how to spin donuts in their farm driveway. They also told stories of lining up in the kitchen for an <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="cd1ff7e8-ea5c-4254-83bc-e771eb11ef63" id="6baffb49-28f9-4e4d-9ffe-47f69127a42b"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="32ef028f-2646-471f-8655-3d73c71e2f45" id="b0d5512a-c5b8-4200-9234-7c0f6b510feb"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0e0905ca-ab07-4a98-913e-860a979c3ce3" id="4ca7d7d6-60e1-4afc-9ef7-752d269c1219">ear spitshine</gs></gs></gs> with a washcloth <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="cd1ff7e8-ea5c-4254-83bc-e771eb11ef63" id="fa168f0d-78d0-4d75-8155-7dc837d6dc2a"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="32ef028f-2646-471f-8655-3d73c71e2f45" id="8430d862-9652-43e8-8972-01a70dc645bb"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0e0905ca-ab07-4a98-913e-860a979c3ce3" id="238c701c-0b24-4016-8819-f9e039e5b9fb">on</gs></gs></gs> the end of his stubbed finger, laughing about their beet-red, clean ears when he was done. </span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bKoJY3b_RZk/V7-T7eQ4xvI/AAAAAAAA9ww/Lr2MRPz3xTgpizovZznUqyWhumz78XMuwCLcB/s1600/IMG_0088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: 38.4px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bKoJY3b_RZk/V7-T7eQ4xvI/AAAAAAAA9ww/Lr2MRPz3xTgpizovZznUqyWhumz78XMuwCLcB/s200/IMG_0088.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When asking the grandchildren what they remembered most, there were so many stories that brought back so many memories. Hearing WMT radio has us thinking of sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, with the smell of bacon frying and the song of the farm report on the radio when we woke up. We will remember his championship horsey rides as we held onto the straps of his bibbed overalls and then <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="6fd4e536-102d-44f2-b167-e59115fff4f1" id="e5f3e845-fa62-4337-be4e-3ea457ed703a"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="52d510e1-a294-4b9d-8577-8ce5c8c0599f" id="dce3d203-b785-4b15-9a4b-573590b1e425"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="410c4fa5-1121-4f3d-aba2-9ab4fc2e7011" id="ad977bb3-0868-4677-a882-5bbc0529a8bd">him</gs></gs></gs> <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="6fd4e536-102d-44f2-b167-e59115fff4f1" id="05b697a2-eb8a-46a7-a9a5-10a5a72c9170"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="52d510e1-a294-4b9d-8577-8ce5c8c0599f" id="305a56c8-ba84-4758-a8a1-af49c468a32e"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="410c4fa5-1121-4f3d-aba2-9ab4fc2e7011" id="9b9b0d8a-3d01-494f-b8b7-9972fabdaf11">bucking</gs></gs></gs> us off as giggles filled the room. We’ll vividly remember him stealing our nose and throwing it out to the pigs, tractor rides, and playing in the buildings, outhouse, and bins <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="74b66570-048a-4451-9747-4a7277e29efa" id="ecabc9aa-75b5-47a1-8653-5058e9edae67"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b58a7922-acf6-40d2-b026-c15fcb4eaa43" id="d2f1e063-87d8-40fe-bdbe-9b92b49c7f12"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a35123f1-7e8c-405a-994b-9067eb2dc738" id="6d9a1082-708c-483f-8aec-e008ef9e9393">at</gs></gs></gs> the farm. We will reminisce often of the many UNO games he let us win, knowing darn <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b4b8cdd6-bb36-4e78-8546-0210e3c879ce" id="8d6fad22-680f-4033-b125-89c0f8509931"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c6ebace6-0d34-456e-98b6-373ff5ae7f1a" id="df09c5ae-9940-4b8f-af81-d2cef97d5590"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="979ac6b2-ef02-497d-a73a-2beb15f412ad" id="e9623ebb-3a5f-46d6-8b91-18b489757d88">well we</gs></gs></gs> were looking at his cards in the reflection of his glasses. We will always wonder how we were so gullible as to believe his “fingers” got stuck in his ears. We will cling tightly to the smell of their home, filled with the scent of freshly baked cookies, Grandma’s tradition he so graciously carried on. We will cherish the, “Whaddaya know, Kid” and the big hugs while hiding his toothpick for a kiss goodbye after a visit and a quick “love you, too”.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some grandpas tell fishing stories; our grandpa told stories of the war and the Westerns he loved, but he also gave countless explanations <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="35f12c92-55fa-4c0e-b1d3-27be15b3ee58" id="3cdad392-2e05-403f-848a-8ab86d39b42e"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="bbfb250c-5a6e-4b88-85b9-b434c6951c5b" id="5ce8b8f3-326c-4a7b-8ee7-666bdedab853"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="19e1cb37-4976-46e8-89d1-4e20c51c48ae" id="fe410904-3b60-44a1-845f-3d6f0beb7db4">to</gs></gs></gs> the reason he had two missing fingers. After talking to his sister <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="138526db-7509-44b9-a725-b441463fb924" id="f7d0c81e-da7e-4157-acdd-2711feac09b0"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a45406ec-ec5e-4565-a412-bff8ae2f0740" id="108d1aa2-02f0-4562-8d94-5c001e1bd86c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="5fee34ee-5c07-4caa-8322-8bea4373f522" id="4b47d32e-e3ac-448a-9a16-c0e71066d916">Barb this</gs></gs></gs> weekend, we think we have the “True Story of the Missing Fingers” figured out. The grandkids remember a toad named Herman living in the basement and Grandpa bringing up the baby piggies for the grandkids to play with. We’ll never forget the sound of the tick of his pocket watch, the click of the wind, and the sensation of running our hands over the buttons of his bib overalls as we sat in his lap. I’m not sure if we have ever met a person so crazy about gooseberry pie or Planter's peanuts. When opening them as gifts, Grandpa always said he’d never be able to eat it all, but somehow, he always did the job with the help of a few sons. The grandchildren also remember some intense games of Battleship, Crap on <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="465c5d96-781a-4bf2-95ba-c936bdbf9b72" id="e98688e9-dcc0-4b90-ae25-70869299fe26"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="6eb498ea-9827-4f5a-a76f-514a55979548" id="5594f0ab-1c37-4c8b-be04-fccb1779f3e4"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="cae18ecf-3fc0-4f1c-a4a0-a564803c8930" id="70e1af99-8246-4c42-a36d-7f74011e3b53">your</gs></gs></gs> Neighbor, and hide-and-seek, <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="465c5d96-781a-4bf2-95ba-c936bdbf9b72" id="9f182ce3-c54c-4e26-990b-8acf5c4dfbe9"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="6eb498ea-9827-4f5a-a76f-514a55979548" id="aa240772-9457-4b4a-bc52-db3557e12c7f"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="cae18ecf-3fc0-4f1c-a4a0-a564803c8930" id="f0e420dd-4fd4-4f22-a889-70e4d1bb1734">won</gs></gs></gs> right there in the basement of their home. We’re sure you will also have no problem remembering his hat always being tipped to the side, and his crooked, beautiful smile. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GmMC6tVg0vA/V7-TTs0msDI/AAAAAAAA9v8/7jr08bcNoOEtSG-aZ49OPVgD0o_scX5vQCLcB/s1600/2016-08-22_1641.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: 38.4px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: normal;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GmMC6tVg0vA/V7-TTs0msDI/AAAAAAAA9v8/7jr08bcNoOEtSG-aZ49OPVgD0o_scX5vQCLcB/s200/2016-08-22_1641.png" width="200" /></a></span><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rrXQ99n3iFg/V7-TSU2YHFI/AAAAAAAA9v4/NuMrW7CgkLcK54gix6GSHSK0UIXmXntdwCLcB/s1600/111111111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 38.4px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rrXQ99n3iFg/V7-TSU2YHFI/AAAAAAAA9v4/NuMrW7CgkLcK54gix6GSHSK0UIXmXntdwCLcB/s200/111111111.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A5l7HK638mw/V7-TrA6_0PI/AAAAAAAA9wg/NRDcktBLAVMpsE-Uxp9mR5pIKM2TJTnbgCLcB/s1600/DSC06509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A5l7HK638mw/V7-TrA6_0PI/AAAAAAAA9wg/NRDcktBLAVMpsE-Uxp9mR5pIKM2TJTnbgCLcB/s200/DSC06509.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t9FaJ23-uQk/V7-UljA2xTI/AAAAAAAA9xg/BxG8HWwW7SYoPM4mtCfeZHlCKo4g0KMKgCEw/s1600/IMG_9562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t9FaJ23-uQk/V7-UljA2xTI/AAAAAAAA9xg/BxG8HWwW7SYoPM4mtCfeZHlCKo4g0KMKgCEw/s200/IMG_9562.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our grandparents were always patient with us as we stopped by to invade their house before or after practice, waiting for that next event at the school. It was a beautiful thing to see him watching with such humbleness as he enjoyed sporting events of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He even waited patiently for 40 years for a Kaiser to finally win a medal at the state wrestling tournament. We also reminisce about more recent favorites like watching him take part in ravenous pillow fights with the great-grands, still using the bucking-bronco voice we remember hearing as children to rile up our kids. Feeding our dogs table scraps is usually a no-no, but when King Louie did it, we let it slide. Even with all of the ways he was able to show us how strong he was, he still wasn’t afraid to show his emotion. We can remember talking with him about Grandma several times and he’d say, “My eyes are leaking, again!” His tight grip holding our hands the last few days is also something we will hold very dearly, a treasure so simple, but worth so much. We also hold a special place in our heart for the survivor <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="95546bf7-bcbe-4de2-8259-9bb4caea9afd" id="a2423613-c185-41e9-9325-9f7a94e0f526"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="204f8c1d-0a53-405c-b1ce-9767455fa351" id="3b18dea9-e6cc-442f-a322-edd6a60f85e8"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ed3c716b-d0f0-4a43-9238-5b391c281a5b" id="a5d2efcb-997e-47a5-b56f-d8e057794a00"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8926295a-bae8-4c69-bcf3-39f654f28a8b" id="132c4b31-2b10-4dd1-830d-e7e68a246afb">in</gs></gs></gs></gs> him. He was always so proud to take part in the survivors’ lap <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c98b6b55-add9-4575-bdfe-dd29d3523d57" id="0aee1634-58db-4870-b54d-d3be3dc140ea"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c277cb94-276e-4eb3-842d-fbc51ea20b6a" id="1761516e-e79b-4019-a752-ec21fa05485e"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0dc8cbdf-60f9-459e-b369-f38f32e1a0a3" id="b313e053-4cda-49cf-9a2c-032d3f676678"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c51086d6-5200-45f0-b44b-506bf7dcf8b5" id="6c548f77-97fc-476c-84ce-ecb1ee2816ed">at</gs></gs></gs></gs> the Benton County Relay for Life. Even though he didn’t think he could make it last year, he enjoyed that lap and was proud of his accomplishment with his youngest grandson by his side. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can also tell you a little bit about that <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9804daf8-5f2c-46fb-8749-b7adfa51ae03" id="b850f787-efe6-473a-90d7-603158dd1db7"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d6a730d6-8691-447c-8211-bc34fb493c17" id="6a3b1511-c58a-44de-b827-a400076ec119"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b52cf595-ba33-4972-b51e-4a1059e3d40e" id="cb794df4-3397-45d8-ac45-2a3c454dd41d">reunion we</gs></gs></gs> know happened on Sunday evening in heaven. We joked that we knew grandma baked a fresh batch of cookies or a gooseberry pie, had freshly painted nails, the brightest red lipstick, blushed cheeks, donned her most beautiful smile, and tackled him to give him the biggest bear-hug imaginable. He’s probably now holding hands with Grandma, playing cards with his family and hers, and catching them up with the great things happening on Earth with those family members missing him so deeply right now. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We hope that when you think of Grandpa, you see his crooked hat and his beautiful smile, and that your heart is happy. We are so blessed that we have had so many wonderful years with this special, special man. We only hope to live up to the kind of life he instilled in us. A life filled with freedom, courage, strength, family, faith, and love. Thank you for helping us celebrate his beautiful life. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Until we meet again, “Love <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="42753d59-11d6-452b-b60e-922b007c2fc2" id="6529c473-412b-491e-938f-e538b842cb73"></gs></gs></gs><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="42753d59-11d6-452b-b60e-922b007c2fc2" id="6529c473-412b-491e-938f-e538b842cb73"></gs></gs></gs><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="42753d59-11d6-452b-b60e-922b007c2fc2" id="6529c473-412b-491e-938f-e538b842cb73"></gs></gs></gs><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="42753d59-11d6-452b-b60e-922b007c2fc2" id="6529c473-412b-491e-938f-e538b842cb73"></gs></gs></gs><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="42753d59-11d6-452b-b60e-922b007c2fc2" id="6529c473-412b-491e-938f-e538b842cb73"></gs></gs></gs><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="42753d59-11d6-452b-b60e-922b007c2fc2" id="6529c473-412b-491e-938f-e538b842cb73"></gs></gs></gs><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="42753d59-11d6-452b-b60e-922b007c2fc2" id="6529c473-412b-491e-938f-e538b842cb73"></gs></gs></gs><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="42753d59-11d6-452b-b60e-922b007c2fc2" id="6529c473-412b-491e-938f-e538b842cb73"></gs></gs></gs><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="42753d59-11d6-452b-b60e-922b007c2fc2" id="6529c473-412b-491e-938f-e538b842cb73"></gs></gs></gs><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="42753d59-11d6-452b-b60e-922b007c2fc2" id="6529c473-412b-491e-938f-e538b842cb73"></gs></gs></gs><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="04cd3c01-1916-4b27-b0de-7eeb277217bb" id="14c5d8c7-b919-4549-bffb-d66824400b8c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="42753d59-11d6-452b-b60e-922b007c2fc2" id="6529c473-412b-491e-938f-e538b842cb73"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="76b05f68-3ff2-4c5d-8f81-95a78c2b7e64" id="01fb82ed-8fea-4302-a5dd-d66f742d75f3">ya</gs></gs></gs></gs>, Kid.”</span><span style="line-height: 2.4; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-e2ee6c69-c497-b333-74a2-d58b5d14b7b4"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/local/benton-county/2016/08/22/obituary-louis-junior-kaiser-91/89110732/" style="text-decoration: none;">http://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/local/benton-county/2016/08/22/obituary-louis-junior-kaiser-91/89110732/</a></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-4307367699265983852016-05-31T21:08:00.001-07:002021-02-11T12:02:26.275-08:00TLC Year 1 and 2 - What's Worked For Us?<a href="https://www.smore.com/0zq1b-bc-teacher-leadership" target="_blank">Benton Community - BCTLT</a> is closing out our second year of participation in Iowa's Teacher Leadership and Compensation grant to garner teacher leaders from within Iowa's schools. Having been one of the first 39 districts in the state of Iowa to implement, we had to build our plane while we were flying. We now have the opportunity to learn with the many other Iowa districts who are a part of this teacher leadership movement. Benton Community has had the pleasure of <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="434e1671-5192-4a56-ae44-7eeb950d59cd" id="c5544e53-961c-484e-9822-3237221ae065"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="531e59ff-9329-42aa-920e-7097535d9728" id="9d035ba9-1e90-44e0-808e-ffeb697c59a7"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="72d6b710-cf27-40e3-b39e-ac9f3666ec7a" id="01f10e18-caf0-4239-a867-f34c16d8680c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="19b836b9-422f-47a1-aaf7-0bc7988dae92" id="b614c03e-356b-49b5-aa7d-596f12607bcf">having several districts ask</gs></gs></gs></gs> us what has worked for us. Here is a snapshot of a few foundational pieces of our system. If you would like more information on any of these tools, please don't hesitate to let me know. <br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">1. Coach Check-In</span></u></b><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aupLnMVsTKU/YCWNAnhUH_I/AAAAAAABX3I/DbLYqsDuSqMPG4KB6cAZfT9hkqSJfnMPACLcBGAsYHQ/s2372/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-02-11%2Bat%2B1.59.14%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="2372" height="186" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aupLnMVsTKU/YCWNAnhUH_I/AAAAAAABX3I/DbLYqsDuSqMPG4KB6cAZfT9hkqSJfnMPACLcBGAsYHQ/w405-h186/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-02-11%2Bat%2B1.59.14%2BPM.png" width="405" /></a><br />
This coach check-in is a modification from an <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3ad869e3-0558-47bb-a16a-b98a5aaa0360" id="3c08782c-c633-42b3-b135-c4a2915cf712"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f3643810-a607-4560-a28f-99ed23290ea8" id="500ae185-5070-4236-a55f-dd7b99139677"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="439afbf8-7e00-42cd-959c-758321099f9f" id="a76041eb-39c9-4769-8583-5b2084613be4"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ddecf7be-d8df-49fa-b997-99acbd1496fc" id="eb7c816d-3a8f-44c7-b3f1-8f468ab210c0">interaction</gs></gs></gs></gs> scale created by Susan Woodruff which can be found <a href="http://www.instructionalcoach.org/images/downloads/tools/Instructional_Coaching_Scale_Rev_8.0.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. We have found that a 5-point interaction scale works best for our district. Knowing that relationship building is the foundation of great coaching, many of our interactions started off as 1s and 2s for the first few months. As our coaching interactions increased and our coaching conversations deepened, we experienced more 3s, 4s, and 5s. Our team utilizes this check-in to ensure we aren't accidentally leaving out any staff members and it helps us be intentional about our interactions with staff. We also use the comment feature to log what types of interactions we are having and to keep track of the conversation focus taking place. <br />
<br />
<b><u>NA -- Attempt at contact but rejected</u></b><br />
--Absent or sick --Change in schedule --Did not respond<br />
<b><u>1. Relationship building </u></b><br />
--Informal conversation --No relationship with classroom<br />
<b><u>2. Focused conversation / observation initiated by instructional coach</u></b><br />
--How are things in the classroom? --Are you having a good year? <br />
--How is a certain initiative going?<br />
<b><u>3. Focused dialogue / observation redirected or initiated by the teacher</u></b><br />
--Could you come and watch this? --Could you help me with this? <br />
--Modeling / Co-teaching --Could you find this for me?<br />
<b><u>4. Reflective conversation regarding instructional practices / observations</u></b><br />
--What went well? --What would you change? --What steps in the future? <br />
--Will you plan with me?<br />
<b><u>5. Coaching cycle</u></b><br />
--Goal setting --Instructional implementation --Setting instructional focus <br />
--Modeling / Co-teaching --Fill out coaching log<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">2. Staff Surveys - Every 30 Days (Days 1, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180)</span></u></b><br />
By happy accident, we started sending out surveys to staff at the beginning of our first year. About 30 days into the school year we sent out another. This practice has continued through our two years of implementation. This not only gives us a great pulse on our district, it also gives us a gauge of interactions with staff and a chance for us to garner feedback from our teachers. Below are a few of our staple questions each time we survey. <br />
<br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0A1OHzJIZtc/YCWNICpYfTI/AAAAAAABX3M/oswWgccr-rIWtCevYk9sVxoqSbmyL6_BACLcBGAsYHQ/s1328/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-02-11%2Bat%2B1.58.31%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="1328" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0A1OHzJIZtc/YCWNICpYfTI/AAAAAAABX3M/oswWgccr-rIWtCevYk9sVxoqSbmyL6_BACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-02-11%2Bat%2B1.58.31%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
--<i>Are you willing to work with an Instructional Coach? </i> This question gives us some baseline data on whether or not our staff is open to working with our coaches. The percentage of staff willing varies depending on the busyness of the school year. Our trends show an increase in participation in October that lessens around December. Then, willingness picks up around January and levels off in April. <br />
<br />
--<i>If we visit your room, would you like us to drop in or make an appointment? </i> This question helps us form a plan for observation and drop-ins for classrooms. Instructional Coaching at Benton Community is optional. We want teachers to feel comfortable with our presence and know that we are welcome in classrooms, so this question helps us know which classrooms<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3b66a3dc-966e-4e73-ad1d-b541dfbc7226" id="4f24e3be-904b-4114-a5fa-37e5baff8605"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ab4f99b8-c61e-4a53-b44b-4062cb273614" id="fcc4ef9e-ae35-4bd1-b4da-9a70a72fd74d"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d677072d-dad5-445e-b595-60f88ad627bb" id="d518618b-bffd-49b7-9bae-ae45dedd05af">,</gs></gs></gs>we can drop by and which ones we need to set up a convenient time to visit.<br />
<br />
--<i>How would you rate your interactions with an Instructional Coach? </i> This question helps us decide whether our coach check-in interactions match our teachers' perspectives of our support. The response on the survey asks teachers to rate the interactions by the following classifications:<br />
-No interaction<br />
-Mostly relationship building<br />
-Interactions initiated by the Instructional Coach<br />
-Interactions initiated by the teacher<br />
-Reflective conversations<br />
-Meet regularly with an Instructional Coach<br />
<br />
--<i>Where will you see your team needing the most support in the near future?</i> This question helps us decide where our staff is as a whole. Do we need to focus our learning on Priority Standards, Proficiency Scales, Common Formative Assessments, or MTSS planning and support? Each team's response differs and we can tailor our support to meet each team's needs.<br />
<br />
--<i>What additional feedback do you have for #BCTLT</i>? This open-ended question gives our teachers an opportunity to give us feedback on the successes and challenges of implementing a new system. Our surveys are not anonymous because we need to be able to follow up with teachers. This can be one of the most <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3e10d3a5-df33-4eb0-a20a-fa65ae83d665" id="b22ae88c-ef6d-4661-999d-4ab34f47670c"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="4ef6d121-eead-4c01-8f68-ef2aaa13ea7f" id="2411092e-1d3d-4d7a-9962-5bfc70d26c2b">impactful</gs></gs> questions you ask to get teachers to exercise their voice in utilizing the teacher leadership platform. We are fortunate that our teachers utilize this question to give us honest, thought-provoking, and growth-minded feedback to help our system benefit to the fullest.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">3. Role Definitions</span></u></b><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q07Z784Pcpg/YCWNOxJeJtI/AAAAAAABX3U/9GrV-_jrM-ohzehQDoJobplQScciPB20ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1936/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-02-11%2Bat%2B1.57.09%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1936" height="171" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q07Z784Pcpg/YCWNOxJeJtI/AAAAAAABX3U/9GrV-_jrM-ohzehQDoJobplQScciPB20ACLcBGAsYHQ/w336-h171/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-02-11%2Bat%2B1.57.09%2BPM.png" width="336" /></a><br /><br />
This is a resource that came out of our Model Teacher training before we started implementation of year one back in August of 2014. Something that we thought would take an hour or so took more than a day of discussions and modifications. We brought this resource to teachers at our first staff in-service and they were able to take more ownership in our system because the role definitions were created by teachers to help them understand our system in its various capacities. <br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">4. SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!</span></u></b><br />
Your stakeholders need to know what is happening in your district. Your teachers need to see what great things are happening down the hall. Two ways we were able to share are by participating in <a href="http://townsleyaj.blogspot.com/2016/01/keystone-elementary-learning-walk.html" target="_blank">Learning Walks</a> and hosting <a href="http://tinyurl.com/bcedcamp2016" target="_blank">#BCedCamp</a>. We have shared our journey with teachers in and outside of our district. By doing so, we have opened the doors to learn from each other and we have had the pleasure of learning with other districts who are leading the way in their teacher leadership journey. Our Middle School/High School got their feet wet with Learning Walks and they quickly spread throughout our three elementary centers. This gives teachers an opportunity to visit other classrooms and reflect together during a scheduled time once every one-two months. This has helped increase the amount of time teachers spend learning from and reflecting with one another. They've also spent more time opening up their classrooms to share the great things their students are accomplishing. In addition, on a whim last April, we decided to invite teacher leaders from across Iowa to Benton Community to learn together about the successes and challenges of this system. We are hosting year of #BCedCamp 2 in June and would love to have you! <br />
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Whichever tools or resources you choose on your teacher leadership journey, please know that you must utilize what works best in your district. What works for us may not especially work for you, and "trial and error" and "risk, fail, and repeat" are your best bets for finding success. There is no exact fit for any district. You must modify what is working for one district until you find the right fit to meet the needs of your teachers. Best of luck on implementing teacher leadership! Let me know if I can be of any service to you on this journey.<br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Find me on Twitter -- @TownsleyAJ<br />
--Andrea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-22496667776703084612016-05-31T18:52:00.002-07:002021-02-11T12:19:20.699-08:0050 Years of Benton Community Schools<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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The Keystone Elementary students and staff celebrated 50 years of Benton Community with interviews of past graduates, teachers, coaches, and parents of Benton Community schools. Interviewed for this project were Tim Sanderson, Angie Von Ahsen, Kim Fisher, Madison Weekly, Chad Hennings, Eldon and Mary Bridgewater, Jeff Bridgewater, Amy Kaiser, Candi Benesh, Marilyn Schlotterbeck, Lois Wessling, Dee Kulbartz, Jo Prusha, Mary Rita Kromminga, Shannon Feuerbach, Judy Garbers, Hunter Semelroth, Kal Goodchild, Ron Donald, Jan Logan, Jo Morgan, Diane Eckenrod, and <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a52f2360-ebf7-480d-be6d-c433e4817510" id="9b9a864f-4354-4294-af71-9ec4a6413d6e">Byran</gs> Kimm. Students had a great time hearing about exceptional teachers, favorite lunches and recess games, and advice from former Bobcats. If one thing rang true throughout these interviews, it is that all of these people are so very proud to be Benton Bobcats. Please see<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> our video showing clips from these interviews. We are proud Bobcats and happy to celebrate 50 Years of Benton Community. </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/g8UQtxjVHQU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g8UQtxjVHQU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-14916151013324741632016-04-13T14:33:00.002-07:002016-04-13T14:36:29.433-07:00Favorite Tech Links<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Sites to check out</span></h3>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3942340435494162382" itemprop="description articleBody" style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 578px;">
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.scoop.it/t/educational-technology-for-teachers" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ed Technology for teachers by Donna Browne</a></li>
<ul style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4; list-style: disc; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Google Add-ons</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Video tutorials</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">iPad Apps</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Teacher tools</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Tech Tips</li>
</ul>
<li style="border: none; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.cookie.com/" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Cookie.com</a></li>
<ul style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4; list-style: disc; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Primary skill development practice</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Interactive, online games to practice phonics</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Videos to engage learners and support skill development</li>
</ul>
<li style="border: none; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://educationtothecore.com/2015/05/making-technology-meaningful-in-primary/#respond" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Meaningful Tech in Primary Classroom</a> Blog Post</li>
<ul style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4; list-style: disc; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Ideas</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Tips</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Tricks</li>
</ul>
<li style="border: none; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.techsmith.com/jing.html" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Jing by Techsmith</a> (I use this multiple times daily!)</li>
<ul style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4; list-style: disc; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Screen captures, video screencasts</li>
</ul>
<li style="border: none; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r0TmU4pFJhbQGypEYkc4kReet2w2I9rEFAe9CYYXXeg/edit" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">iPad compatible apps</a> - compiled by Jonathan Wylie</li>
<li style="border: none; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1fK5LQGS0vyyHR0V5bHHZGfIh44MiLIoe8-YQjj_BwiY/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">60 Apps and Chrome Extensions</a> by Stacy Behmer</li>
</ul>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-16148878106485790792016-04-13T14:24:00.000-07:002016-04-13T14:24:02.178-07:00Favorite Instructional Strategies<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<b style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4;">Classroom strategies</b><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4;"> --</span><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4;"> </span><a href="http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies#skill1038" style="color: #771100; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Reading Rockets</a><span style="font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.4;"> gives examples of classroom strategies for phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing</span></h3>
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<b><br /></b><b>Task Cards or Choice Boards </b>-- give students flexibility to learn independently on their own schedule by allowing them choice of tasks to show proficiency of a concept.<br /><b><br /></b><b><a href="http://www.palmbeachschools.org/qa/documents/Handout5-MarzanoHighYieldStrategies.pdf" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">High Yield Literacy Strategies</a></b> -- great list of strategies and graphic organizers to use for specific skills<br /><b><br /></b><b><a href="http://www.beesburg.com/edtools/glossary.html" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Glossary of Instructional Strategies</a> </b> -- thorough list of terms and strategies<br /><b><br /></b><b>Whip around </b> -- after instruction, have students quickly go around the room and state a fact or idea.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Pause and reflect</b> -- have students pause every 3-5 minutes to talk with a partner about their learning.<br /><br />When <b>reading a passage,</b> -- have students create questions, outline the sequence of events, give them a checklist of key points, agree/disagree T chart<br /><br /><b>Independent connections</b> -- allow students to find connected texts to what you are learning in class<br /><br /><b>Pause and reteach</b> -- have students pause after learning a big idea and reteach to a partner.<br /><br /><b>Student modeling</b> -- have a student model the correct way to accomplish a task.<br /><br /><b>Non-examples</b> -- have a student model a non-example of how to complete a task.<br /><br /><b>Survey</b> -- have students create a quiz or review for their group members to complete.<br /><br /><b>Circle retell</b> -- have students sit in a circle and retell a story or sequence of events.<br /><br /><b>Sporting event</b> -- divide students into 2 teams, put a line down the middle of the board. Students try to get the ball to move to their side by answering questions to make a goal.<br /><br /><b>Stump a classmate</b> -- have students craft questions they think will stump their classmates.<br /><br /><b>Fishbowl</b> -- as students ask great questions throughout a lesson, write them down and review with these questions at the end of learning.<br /><br /><b>Exit tickets</b> -- I was surprised when...; I think I will...; I would have liked...; Now I understand...; I wish...; I could be more successful if...; I learned that...<br /><br /><b>Spot the error</b> -- have students write questions or sentences with errors and see if their classmates can spot them.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-35453135313306143032016-04-11T20:31:00.001-07:002016-04-11T20:38:26.111-07:00Learning Walks and #LoveMySchoolDayToday was a day full of learning and sharing at Keystone Elementary and many other schools. All you have to do to witness this is check out the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LoveMySchoolDay?src=hash" target="_blank">#LoveMySchoolDay</a> hashtag on Twitter or Instagram. I was fortunate enough to find out last night that our April Learning Walks landed on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LoveMySchoolDay?src=hash" target="_blank">#LoveMySchoolDay</a>! We were able to share all of the awesome things going on at Keystone Elementary on this fantastic hashtag and share in our excitement and passion with educators from all over the nation and world!<br />
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Our building's Model Teachers helped make this round of Learning Walks go off without a hitch. They jumped in and helped modify the experience to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency for teachers. We took feedback from past learning walks and were able to modify our routine for the day. We arranged for subs to come in for the classroom teachers rather than the specials and special education teachers. The past two times our classroom teachers went on their walks during their prep time. Our special education teachers had substitute teachers hired for the past two Learning Walks, but this time they were able to go during their prep time. You can learn more about our past Learning Walks at my post <a href="http://townsleyaj.blogspot.com/2016/01/keystone-elementary-learning-walk.html" target="_blank">here</a>. This time we were able to take 30 to 60 minutes for each team of 3-4 teachers to go on their walk. It felt more laid back and I think the observations and conversations were much more rich not having to rush around to 4-5 classrooms in 30 minutes like during our past two walks. <br />
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We had teachers take a feedback survey to gauge how they are feeling after three sessions: December, January, and April. It's apparent from the results of our survey that teachers find value in Learning Walks. <br />
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It's also apparent that teachers have a variety of different purposes when they enter each other's classrooms. Classroom management techniques and student engagement are two of the top look-fors.</div>
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The goal of Learning Walks is always to get teachers out of their comfort zone and into other classrooms to learn from each other. There is SO much on teachers' plates, we know they are not looking for another thing to add, but this gives evidence that they find it valuable enough to go to each other's rooms to learn from one another outside of the designated Learning Walk times. </div>
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If you'd like to check out more of our posts from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LoveMySchoolDay?src=hash" target="_blank">#LoveMySchoolDay</a>, please check out our Instagram page! <a href="http://www.instagram.com/keystoneelementary">www.instagram.com/keystoneelementary</a> </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-70134604265543686082016-04-06T20:53:00.003-07:002016-04-06T21:01:01.819-07:002016 Iowa 1:1 Reflections<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today was a whirl-wind day spent in Des Moines with educators from across the state of Iowa. I spent most of the day at the Iowa 1:1 Conference before heading back to some late afternoon professional learning with the Model Teachers in our district.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">According to their website, the focus of the Iowa 1:1 Conference is to:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While the title of the conference suggests it is for 1:1 schools, it is certainly not a requirement. There are a variety of topics discussed from team and culture-building and ways to evoke creativity and student empowerment to resource and app sharing. While this was my first 1:1 conference, I certainly hope it isn't my last! Here's a recap of the sessions I attended!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1.) <span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><u>Ooh and Aah Moments with Devin Schoening</u></b> <a href="http://twitter.com/dschoening" target="_blank">@dschoening</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wow is this guy a dynamic speaker. He is a great story-teller to help make personal connections and is very engaging. He gave supreme examples of Ooh and Aah moments he experiences in classrooms he is a part of as an Instructional Coach in Council Bluffs. He also talked about the characteristics of excitement (</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">connecting, engaging, talent, passion, creativity, being genuine, fun / silliness, building relationships, evoking interest, and finding purpose). He </span><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">challenged us to reflect on how many of these are in our daily plans. A few (OK - more than a few...) of my favorite take-aways from his session were: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">2.) Beyond the Blue Share Button with Beth Swantz <a href="http://twitter.com/betswan" target="_blank">@betswan</a> and Amber Bridge <a href="http://twitter.com/abridgesmith" target="_blank">@abridgesmith</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were so many great tips and tricks shared in this session; I can't wait to make time to investigate on my own. It is SO important to provide authentic and timely feedback to students and this session certainly provided resources and ideas for how to do this effectively. Some of my top favorites included JoeZoo Express, Alice Keeler Drive 20, and Screencastify, all found as add-ons or extensions in Google. They also shared a few "must follows" for GAFE resources - <span id="docs-internal-guid-71a3146a-eeb7-67ea-c216-1b69409eb3c1"><a href="https://twitter.com/alicekeeler?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alice Keeler</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/jmattmiller?lang=en" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matt Miller</span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span>. I am so blessed that these two are part of the rockstar <a href="https://twitter.com/DLGWAEA" target="_blank">@DLGWAEA</a> team and I have them at my fingertips whenever I might need them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">3.) Social Media 3.0: Developing a Connected Mindset Through Intentional Practice with Dan Butler <a href="http://twitter.com/danpbutler" target="_blank">@DanPButler</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.94px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have been following this guy on #IAedChat as a participant for about a year and a half. I now get to work with him each week as we co-moderate #IAedChat together. We use Voxer to plan and communicate about our weekly chats, but it was great to meet Dan in person and get the chance to sit down and listen to him tell his personal story of why using social media to build relationships is what drives him. He's very passionate about his work and that was very apparent today in his session. I'm so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him on a weekly basis. His passion for making positive connections and building strong relationships makes me want to just be better! If you get a chance, check out <a href="https://www.naesp.org/sites/default/files/20-25%20F-Butler.pdf" target="_blank">this article</a> that speaks of being intentional in your connections. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.94px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I also had the great pleasure to host an #i11i session with two of my colleagues - Kim Fisher <a href="http://twitter.com/mrs_kfisher" target="_blank">@Mrs_KFisher </a>and Anna Upah <a href="http://twitter.com/annaupah" target="_blank">@AnnaUpah</a>. It was titled </span><span style="line-height: 17.94px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1my8wmWdfkDjgQkdS6I_EgMqX8aJ6UnyMaCl9m4iLQf0/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Share Your Inner Awesome: Using Social Media to Connect with Families and Teachers</a>. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22.4px;">We talked about the What, the Why, and the How to share teachers' and students' inner awesome. We spoke about our favorite connection platforms of</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22.4px;"> Blogger, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Voxer, Blab, Pinterest, and Google Plus. While we may use a variety of avenues to connect, it's important to remember that teachers need to use what works for them and for their audience. Teachers need to think about their intended purpose for sharing, who the audience is, and what is being shared. Don't try to do all of them at once. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 22.4px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 17.94px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our session resources are linked above and the Google Slides are filled with hyperlinks galore. </span>If you currently live on any of these social media platforms, please, look us up! We'd love to connect and see how you're sharing your inner awesome with families and stakeholders to strengthen your partnerships!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 17.94px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hosting a session at a state-wide conference is something I would not have ever thought possible before taking on a leadership role in my district. While I enjoy helping teachers think outside the box in my role as an Instructional Coach, it is certainly a two-way street in my building. I have teachers who also push me to continue to be a learner and step outside my box on a daily basis. I am very thankful for teachers who help me keep my mind fresh and always search for new ideas and passions! </span></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-15934165603835375502016-03-21T10:22:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:32:31.253-07:00Connecting With Students Through Goal-Setting<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The following blogpost highlights Mrs. Kim Fisher (<a href="https://twitter.com/Mrs_KFisher" target="_blank">@Mrs_KFisher</a>) and her work with goal-setting and feedback in her kindergarten classroom at Keystone Elementary. Check out her work at <a href="http://kfkinderland.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">kfkinderland.blogspot.com</a> and follow her classroom happenings at <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23kfkinders&src=typd" target="_blank">#KFKinders</a>. Also take a look at the work of other Keystone students and staff at <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23keyrocks&src=typd" target="_blank">#KeyRocks </a>on Twitter and Instagram.</i></span><br />
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Throughout my day, I have the great pleasure to work with some fantastic educators. These teachers are committed to making their students' experiences at school engaging, impactful, and student-driven. One way teachers at Benton Community are making this happen is with individual and classroom goal-setting conversations with students. I wrote about our district goal-setting process earlier this year <a href="http://townsleyaj.blogspot.com/2015/09/connecting-results-with-goals.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>. Taking it to the next level, many teachers are going beyond the district-provided three-times-per-year conversations. <br />
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At the request of our teachers, my colleague Cynda Mehlert (@cmehlert) and I did a professional development earlier this year on <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_VF4bCuz_iUG7U2PSmzE_kV67HXXZLycg1ND6CSJINo/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Setting Quality Goals, Monitoring, and Providing Effective Feedback</a> at our PK-3 centers. Included in this learning was research from John Hattie and his work in, <i>Visible Learning</i>. We outlined the importance of feedback, and that in order to make the greatest impact student achievement, our goal-setting conversations with students have to be constant. They cannot be goals we make with our students and then let them sit on a shelf for three months before we revisit them. Students need to take ownership of these goals. Our teachers took this learning and ran with it! <br />
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I would like to highlight how one of Benton Community's teachers is working through a new goal-setting process in her classroom. I get to see this process as Mrs. Fisher's Instructional Coach, but I also witness the excitement as a parent of a student experiencing this first hand. My son comes home increasingly motivated to tell us about how he and his class are progressing on their goal wall. <br />
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The idea surfaced during a coaching cycle conversation Mrs. Fisher and I were having surrounding Characteristics of Effective Instruction. We were looking for a way to go more in-depth with our coaching relationship, so Kim chose to do a self-assessment surrounding "Assessment for Learning". We went through the <a href="http://www.gwaea.org/iowacorecurriculum/IA_Core_START_poster_attributes.pdf" target="_blank">Innovation Configuration Map</a> for this specific Characteristic of Effective Instruction. It was during her self-evaluation that she found she had some great ideas brewing for long-term goals of how she wanted to align goal-setting and feedback in her kindergarten classroom. Fast forward a few months, and it is up and running in her classroom. I'm am so impressed with the determination she has to make this work for her students. She is up for modifying on the spot and seeing it through to a second year of implementation. <br />
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Please let me know if you have any questions as you look through this goal-setting process in Mrs. Fisher's kindergarten classroom!<br />
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Student goal-setting wall. "I Can Statements" are on the top and bottom of the board. </div>
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Each paw represents a student who has met the learning goal. No names are attached, the class is aiming for 18 paws in each column, one for each student. </div>
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Top Half: Sent home when goal is set - students meet with Mrs. Fisher weekly to look at potential goal areas. They brainstorm ways the student can help him/her meet the goal with activities at school and ways to practice at home. Bottom Half: Sent home when goal is met! </div>
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Mrs. Fisher meets weekly with students to assess and check to see if they have met the learning goal. </div>
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Bottom Half: Sent home when a goal is met - the student, teacher, and principal sign the bottom of the goal sheet and it is sent home to parents. They then set a new goal to work on for the next week.</div>
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Mrs. Fisher keeps track of each student's progress on a class Google Sheet. She marks dates of re-assessments and highlights when the goal is met. </div>
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Mrs. Fisher now puts a * when all of the students have met the target. The class can see how they are doing while also taking ownership in their part of the process.</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-68840876915834808352016-03-21T09:51:00.000-07:002016-03-21T09:58:26.650-07:002nd Annual #BCedCamp is June 23<div style="text-align: center; width: 195px;">
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="600" scrolling="auto" src="https://www.smore.com/49sdr-bcedcamp-teacher-leadership?embed=1" style="border: none; min-width: 320px;" width="100%"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-89226839431613033072016-02-29T14:24:00.001-08:002016-02-29T15:28:09.543-08:00Teacher Leadership at Benton Community<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aAY2koDpIc0/VtTUBn55gZI/AAAAAAAA7Ps/PxHez3ZN3Ew/s1600/2016-02-29_1727.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aAY2koDpIc0/VtTUBn55gZI/AAAAAAAA7Ps/PxHez3ZN3Ew/s320/2016-02-29_1727.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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Benton Community is rounding out its second year of Iowa's Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) implementation. Over the past few years, our district has gone through a great transition. Before TLC, our district had teachers from our various buildings take part in our District Leadership Team and help design and carry out professional development. These teacher leaders were also in the classroom full time. <br />
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Since we were awarded the TLC grant and have been fully implemented, we have the opportunity to have five full-release teacher leaders. Two have dual titles as Curriculum/PD Leader and Instructional Coach. The other three full-release positions are Instructional Coaches. We also have the opportunity to have 17 teachers across our four attendance centers act as Model Teachers while still serving as full-time teachers. We have learned a great deal on our teacher leadership journey, and we continue to modify as our district's needs grow and change. Next year, in year three of implementation, the Model Teacher role will change to a Data Team Facilitator role. These teacher leaders will take a more active role in our beginning stages of the data team process and collaborate with building Instructional Coaches and administration to help design professional learning to best fit teacher needs. <br />
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Our district chose the New Teacher Center to give us a strong foundation in Instructional Coaching throughout our first year. We attended eight workshops at Grant Wood AEA to grow our knowledge base to understand our new roles and meet teachers' needs. Throughout our second year, we have taken our Instructional Coaching learning a layer deeper by attending <i>High Impact Instruction</i> training with Jim Knight and Ann Hoffman. We have also been fortunate to be in the great state of Iowa where we have the opportunity to attend conferences to learn from great educators such as Doug Fisher, Pete Hall, Elena Agular, Steve Ventura, Ken O'Connor, Robert Marzano, and Rick Wormeli. It was also our pleasure to host Brad Buck, the former Director of the Iowa Department of Education and the Governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad our first year of implementation. Ryan Wise, current Director of the Iowa Department of Education, has also visited Benton Community on three different occasions for question and answer sessions and to participate in professional learning with our staff. <br />
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Last June, we hosted our first ever #BCedCamp focused on Teacher Leadership. Educators from across the state got together for a day of unconferenced learning. We created a schedule at the beginning of the day based off of our needs. You can read more about it <a href="https://www.smore.com/3phj1" target="_blank">here</a>. We are still looking for feedback whether districts would like us to host a learning similar to this again this summer.<br />
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We have found ourselves in discussions with districts new to Teacher Leadership. The following are themes which occur in those conversations.<br />
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1.) Be transparent with your staff in the rollout of your Teacher Leadership program. Ensure the vision of the TLC grant stays at the forefront of decisions. All stakeholders should have "one voice" when talking about key pieces of the district plan.<br />
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2.) Create a system for teachers to share their voice to teacher leaders. At Benton Community, we do this through surveys to staff every 30 days. These surveys allow staff to provide us with feedback allowing us to make data based decisions regarding needs of our district. They also allow us to gauge teacher perception of our interactions. These surveys also allow us to track participation in collaborative coaching conversations and cycles over time.<br />
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3.) Start with building relationships. This integral part of the system cannot be overlooked. Teachers need to be able to trust the coaches and know that they (teachers) are allowed to share conversations, but the Instructional Coach keeps discussions confidential. This helps a fine line be drawn between the collaborative coaching role and the administration evaluator role. With a strong foundation of collaboration and trust, on-demand professional learning between teacher and Instructional Coach will help you district meet the needs of students and teachers alike.<br />
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Please reach out if you would like copies of any of our documents we have created so far. I'd also love to hear what is working and what isn't at your district. Districts should not have to start from ground zero. We can learn together what works best for teachers in Iowa!<br />
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Find me on Twitter -- @TownsleyAJ<br />
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<a href="https://www.smore.com/0zq1b-bc-teacher-leadership" target="_blank">BCTLT Smore</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-47838060701654812832016-01-31T19:55:00.000-08:002016-01-31T19:55:06.149-08:00Tech Ideas<span style="font-size: large;">Looking for a way to infuse more technology into your classroom? Check out the list below and choose ONE to investigate more. </span><br />
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Kathy Schrock - <a href="http://www.schrockguide.net/">www.schrockguide.net/</a> - HUGE collection of resources and ideas! You can't go on this website and not learn something! </div>
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<a href="http://www.thinglink.com/scene/531154089749250048" target="_blank">SAMR Thinglink</a> - SAMR Smash from @hneltner - Click on the ThingLink for more info on these SAMR infusion ideas! </div>
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<a href="http://www.thinglink.com/scene/505781831551942657" target="_blank">SAMR ThingLink</a> - from www.appsolutelyapril.com - quick and easy list of how to reach the levels of SAMR in your classroom!<br />
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<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/gtoews/free-apps-list" target="_blank">Great list of Free Apps for Educators</a> from Gary Toews to help you get started. Pick one and go from there! </div>
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Start with the basics - Google Drive Cheat Sheet from <a href="http://www.shakeuplearning.com/">www.ShakeUpLearning.com</a> holds <a href="http://www.shakeuplearning.com/blog/a-new-google-drive-cheat-sheet#sthash.CWYHryzC.dpbs" target="_blank">Step by step</a> directions on how to learn more about how to organize everything Google Drive!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-17517931426606364812016-01-31T19:34:00.001-08:002016-04-06T21:08:17.860-07:00Instructional Strategy IdeasTeachers are always looking for something to 'hook' their students. Here's a short list of my favorite strategies to get high-leverage results. <br />
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<b>Classroom strategies</b> -- <a href="http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies#skill1038" target="_blank">Reading Rockets</a> gives examples of classroom strategies for phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Task Cards or Choice Boards </b>-- give students flexibility to learn independently on their own schedule by allowing them choice of tasks to show proficiency of a concept.<br />
<b><br /></b><b><a href="http://www.palmbeachschools.org/qa/documents/Handout5-MarzanoHighYieldStrategies.pdf" target="_blank">High Yield Literacy Strategies</a></b> -- great list of strategies and graphic organizers to use for specific skills<br />
<b><br /></b><b><a href="http://www.beesburg.com/edtools/glossary.html" target="_blank">Glossary of Instructional Strategies</a> </b> -- thorough list of terms and strategies<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Whip around </b> -- after instruction, have students quickly go around the room and state a fact or idea.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Pause and reflect</b> -- have students pause every 3-5 minutes to talk with a partner about their learning.<br />
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When <b>reading a passage,</b> -- have students create questions, outline the sequence of events, give them a checklist of key points, agree/disagree T chart<br />
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<b>Independent connections</b> -- allow students to find connected texts to what you are learning in class<br />
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<b>Pause and reteach</b> -- have students pause after learning a big idea and reteach to a partner.<br />
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<b>Student modeling</b> -- have a student model the correct way to accomplish a task.<br />
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<b>Non-examples</b> -- have a student model a non-example of how to complete a task.<br />
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<b>Survey</b> -- have students create a quiz or review for their group members to complete.<br />
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<b>Circle retell</b> -- have students sit in a circle and retell a story or sequence of events.<br />
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<b>Sporting event</b> -- divide students into 2 teams, put a line down the middle of the board. Students try to get the ball to move to their side by answering questions to make a goal.<br />
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<b>Stump a classmate</b> -- have students craft questions they think will stump their classmates.<br />
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<b>Fishbowl</b> -- as students ask great questions throughout a lesson, write them down and review with these questions at the end of learning.<br />
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<b>Exit tickets</b> -- I was surprised when...; I think I will...; I would have liked...; Now I understand...; I wish...; I could be more successful if...; I learned that...<br />
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<b>Spot the error</b> -- have students write questions or sentences with errors and see if their classmates can spot them.<br />
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-35868013211020745692016-01-11T09:18:00.000-08:002016-01-11T11:09:56.790-08:00Keystone Elementary Learning WalkTeachers learning from one another is one of the most powerful ways to grow as an educator. Keystone Elementary recently took advantage of an opportunity to get into each other's classrooms to view teaching strategies and classroom management techniques. We have heard over and over that teachers want to get into other rooms to connect but can't find the time to make it happen. With the prompt of a video from The Teaching Channel called <a href="https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/the-learning-walk" target="_blank">The Learning Walk</a>, we organized the day so teachers were able to visit several classrooms and then have the opportunity to debrief with peers after the observation. We were fortunate to have a combined planning period that general classroom teachers were able to use, so they did not require substitutes or lesson plans. Specials teachers and special education teachers needed to be out of their classrooms and prepare substitute plans for 30-40 minutes in order to participate in the learning walks.<br />
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Our schedule looked like this:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bC1pBo_UTS8/VpPn2q9sFSI/AAAAAAAA68s/q0AhGSjbOp8/s1600/2016-01-11_1134.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bC1pBo_UTS8/VpPn2q9sFSI/AAAAAAAA68s/q0AhGSjbOp8/s320/2016-01-11_1134.png" width="320" /></a><br />
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We scheduled four to five classroom observations for each group of teachers. We were able to schedule five to six teachers in each group to help the discussions during the debrief be more rich. The order of observations were carefully timed so the teachers were able to see key pieces of instruction when visiting classrooms. We stayed in classrooms for three to five minutes and then stepped into the hallway to debrief after the observation about take-aways from the visit. <br />
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Teachers were also able to jot down positive feedback for the teachers to be compiled and given to them at a later time. Another document teachers had to reference for ideas of what to look for is included below. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T670msuaZg0/VpPOLK_k1zI/AAAAAAAA674/JB3Y06S_i-Q/s1600/2016-01-11_0945.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T670msuaZg0/VpPOLK_k1zI/AAAAAAAA674/JB3Y06S_i-Q/s640/2016-01-11_0945.png" width="582" /></a><br />
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Additional resources for teachers to look for during observations were included in this great resources from <a href="http://www.mshouser.com/instructional-coaching/11-things-coaches-should-look-for-in-classroom-observations" target="_blank">Ms. Houser's Instructional Coaching website.</a> She has a great number of resources for educators, so if you haven't stalked her website, I highly recommend it!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BC6nBlAWkXQ/VpPO0kXzmvI/AAAAAAAA68E/kQioY5d2QWk/s1600/2016-01-11_0946.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BC6nBlAWkXQ/VpPO0kXzmvI/AAAAAAAA68E/kQioY5d2QWk/s640/2016-01-11_0946.png" width="478" /></a><br />
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The final document included in the teacher observation packet was a teacher feedback form. These were completed by the observing teacher and compiled later to give to each teacher before we left for Christmas break. The purpose of this feedback was to give teachers an idea of some of the great things they are doing in their classrooms and to reflect on how to make that even better after break. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2CjISXWzRU4/VpPPnMmwm6I/AAAAAAAA68c/rXXSos3oYmE/s1600/2016-01-11_0947.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2CjISXWzRU4/VpPPnMmwm6I/AAAAAAAA68c/rXXSos3oYmE/s640/2016-01-11_0947.png" width="478" /></a><br />
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I would say that our first go with Learning Walks was a success! We have had great feedback from the teachers who were able to participate, and we are already looking for ways to improve for our next Learning Walk! Let me know if you have ideas for us, or if you'd like me to send any of our resources your way.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-64604418711141391412015-11-29T20:53:00.000-08:002016-01-31T19:56:02.095-08:00Early Literacy Resources<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm working with a teacher on creating quality literacy centers and have compiled several *FREE* resources into one spot for easier access. A special thanks to the creative teachers and parents who have shared these resources on their websites or blogs. Many of these resources are hands on and creative ways to help children with sight words. Hopefully you can gain some ideas with a resource or two! </div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literacy-Handouts-for-Parents-1808988" target="_blank">25 FREE Literacy Handouts for Parents</a> by Primary Punch on TeachersPayTeachers - This is a great resource for parents to use at meet and greet, conferences, or parent nights at school! And, did I mention it's free! </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NRHycApgBAo/VlvQp7wcy8I/AAAAAAAA6G4/bAeuT47kmtk/s1600/2015-11-29_2232.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NRHycApgBAo/VlvQp7wcy8I/AAAAAAAA6G4/bAeuT47kmtk/s320/2015-11-29_2232.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.sightwords.com/">www.SightWords.com</a> is a differentiated website with flashcards, lessons, strategies, and games to help build speed and fluency with sight words. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AP29xmdJ6us/VluZGsno6uI/AAAAAAAA6Fc/pwFybpYWRIw/s1600/2015-11-29_1835.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AP29xmdJ6us/VluZGsno6uI/AAAAAAAA6Fc/pwFybpYWRIw/s400/2015-11-29_1835.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sight-Words-Uno-Pre-Primer-Dolch-Words-FREEBIE-224121" target="_blank">Uno Sight Word Game</a> by Ms Jessica - Practice pre-primer sight words while having fun playing this family game! It includes the same directions as the original game, but players get to practice sight words! </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M04A6CZeHjE/VlvRXdKgi3I/AAAAAAAA6HA/5qpKM2ly8eg/s1600/2015-11-29_2236.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M04A6CZeHjE/VlvRXdKgi3I/AAAAAAAA6HA/5qpKM2ly8eg/s320/2015-11-29_2236.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/load.htm" target="_blank">Starfall.com</a> has great online e-readers with easy word patterns and sight word practice games.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3qxBNZdYRxM/VluzTLwzR9I/AAAAAAAA6Fs/1qVJQx4dVEY/s1600/2015-11-29_1926.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3qxBNZdYRxM/VluzTLwzR9I/AAAAAAAA6Fs/1qVJQx4dVEY/s320/2015-11-29_1926.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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21 Sight Word activities from <a href="http://www.mrsperkins.com/activities.html" target="_blank">Mrs. Perkins</a> with materials needed, goals, and centered around gradual release model. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aWUbvjJwz6I/VlvFAtEDkNI/AAAAAAAA6F8/TL2zwCQuPrw/s1600/mrs.%2Bperkins.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aWUbvjJwz6I/VlvFAtEDkNI/AAAAAAAA6F8/TL2zwCQuPrw/s320/mrs.%2Bperkins.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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50 Sight Word Activity Ideas from <a href="http://childhood101.com/2013/09/sight-words-activity-ideas/" target="_blank">Childhood 101</a> is a great blog resource for quick and fun ideas with directions and pictures!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g1AE4r0dwJ4/VlvI_-jdQ3I/AAAAAAAA6GI/W-o0533zdeM/s1600/2015-11-29_2157.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g1AE4r0dwJ4/VlvI_-jdQ3I/AAAAAAAA6GI/W-o0533zdeM/s320/2015-11-29_2157.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Take Me Out To The Ballgame - Sight Word Game from <a href="http://www.readingresource.net/support-files/baseballscorecard.pdf" target="_blank">ReadingResource.net</a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wlX-m4cK3yM/VlvLliW090I/AAAAAAAA6GY/RFwGFg9FDV8/s1600/2015-11-29_2210.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wlX-m4cK3yM/VlvLliW090I/AAAAAAAA6GY/RFwGFg9FDV8/s320/2015-11-29_2210.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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9 Hands On Sight Word Activities from <a href="http://blog.maketaketeach.com/teaching-sight-words/" target="_blank">Make, Take, and Teach</a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xKSki56t3E4/VlvNJI3XsVI/AAAAAAAA6Gk/6Cm7hbFvhxI/s1600/2015-11-29_2217.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xKSki56t3E4/VlvNJI3XsVI/AAAAAAAA6Gk/6Cm7hbFvhxI/s320/2015-11-29_2217.png" width="251" /></a></div>
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More Than 100 Sight Word activities from <a href="http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/">kidsactivitiesblog.com</a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vdj-CjFTjZQ/VlvN2_WzkOI/AAAAAAAA6Gs/dM5jhElU-Co/s1600/2015-11-29_2219.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vdj-CjFTjZQ/VlvN2_WzkOI/AAAAAAAA6Gs/dM5jhElU-Co/s320/2015-11-29_2219.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you've gone through these resources and still haven't found THE ONE, check out the endless <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=sight+words&term_meta%5B%5D=words%7Ctyped" target="_blank">SIGHT WORD</a> search results on Pinterest! </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-77537960363090325632015-10-30T08:42:00.002-07:002015-10-30T08:44:35.795-07:00Connected with the Community -- Socktober Update!<h2>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Thanks to everyone who sent socks to Keystone Elementary! So far, </span><span style="color: blue;">first graders collected over<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span>1,200 pairs of socks</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> to deliver to Olivet Neighborhood Mission in Cedar Rapids! Thanks for showcasing your caring spirit, first graders, students, and staff at Keystone Elementary and everyone else who contributed to this success!</span></h2>
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-27136914562744584042015-10-19T20:34:00.003-07:002015-10-20T08:31:26.474-07:00Connecting -- What Works For You?We are fortunate at Benton Community and especially at Keystone Elementary that so many teachers are willing to share the different ways in which our students are learning each day. There are several ways to share our students' awesomeness ranging from the newest fads in technology to good ol' fashioned face-to-face. What works for you and our stakeholders?<br />
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<b><u>Twitter</u></b><br />
At Keystone Elementary, and a growing number of teachers across our district, Twitter is a place to share with our community, families, and other educators what is happening inside and around our schools. Oftentimes schools will choose a hashtag to attach to their posts. This places the tweet into a file folder on Twitter / Instagram with this certain tag that is easily searchable. For instance: Benton Community (@BentonCSD) has a few hash tags. The most popular ones are <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BentonCSD&src=typd">#BentonCSD</a> (general Benton awesomeness), <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23beaboBCat&src=typd">#beaboBCat</a> (sports and activities), and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BCTLT&src=typd">#BCTLT</a> (Teacher Leadership Team). To be more specific to our school, many Keystone Elementary teachers have started posting with another hash tag: <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23KeyRocks&src=typd">#KeyRocks</a>. In addition to this tag, we also have a hashtag for our Makerspace (<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BCMakers&src=typd">#BCMakers</a>), our Outdoor Learning Space (<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BCKeyGarden&src=typd">#BCKeyGarden</a>), and a few classrooms have their own hashtag (<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23KFKinders&src=typd">#KFKinders</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23HappelFirsties&src=typd">#HappelFirsties</a>) for parents to get a direct feed of posts. If you get a chance, check some of them out. You won't be disappointed!<br />
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<b><u>Check out our #KeyRocks hashtag on Twitter and Instagram! </u></b></div>
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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-THc5Si_GkT8/ViWuQz833kI/AAAAAAAA5fg/1nBa-M7Y3So/s200/2015-10-19_2106d.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vm7pkJlx6dw/ViWuUuLUE7I/AAAAAAAA5fo/LyYwvDRGBqA/s1600/2015-10-19_2107s.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vm7pkJlx6dw/ViWuUuLUE7I/AAAAAAAA5fo/LyYwvDRGBqA/s200/2015-10-19_2107s.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-htziTjv0m5g/ViWuWw3xb2I/AAAAAAAA5f0/Gl1Y3nAZ7h8/s1600/2015-10-19_2108.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-htziTjv0m5g/ViWuWw3xb2I/AAAAAAAA5f0/Gl1Y3nAZ7h8/s200/2015-10-19_2108.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l8DIwCwDTIM/ViWubu4bB7I/AAAAAAAA5gE/BaqEG-WPxKA/s1600/2015-10-19_2109s.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l8DIwCwDTIM/ViWubu4bB7I/AAAAAAAA5gE/BaqEG-WPxKA/s200/2015-10-19_2109s.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5QHy7UN4rlI/ViWuXZDVtLI/AAAAAAAA5f4/9nDHG3OsrOY/s1600/2015-10-19_2109.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5QHy7UN4rlI/ViWuXZDVtLI/AAAAAAAA5f4/9nDHG3OsrOY/s200/2015-10-19_2109.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z5TWMJMF5No/ViWucIW6B-I/AAAAAAAA5gI/zGN7Yz6KjOA/s1600/2015-10-19_2109w.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z5TWMJMF5No/ViWucIW6B-I/AAAAAAAA5gI/zGN7Yz6KjOA/s200/2015-10-19_2109w.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ih8sketiy8/ViWudBQO3MI/AAAAAAAA5gQ/jIETH5M0GTM/s1600/2015-10-19_2111.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9Ih8sketiy8/ViWudBQO3MI/AAAAAAAA5gQ/jIETH5M0GTM/s200/2015-10-19_2111.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6X-xYcLX9AI/ViWui6fE-dI/AAAAAAAA5gg/VBiICeZ43Zo/s1600/2015-10-19_2111s.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6X-xYcLX9AI/ViWui6fE-dI/AAAAAAAA5gg/VBiICeZ43Zo/s200/2015-10-19_2111s.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y7hIa-tvUYo/ViWuqFruNHI/AAAAAAAA5g8/YK85iVLF3dA/s1600/2015-10-19_2113.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y7hIa-tvUYo/ViWuqFruNHI/AAAAAAAA5g8/YK85iVLF3dA/s200/2015-10-19_2113.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DN5nS9bkLXE/ViWuoX6IMwI/AAAAAAAA5gw/2WQNwQMwjb4/s1600/2015-10-19_2113s.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DN5nS9bkLXE/ViWuoX6IMwI/AAAAAAAA5gw/2WQNwQMwjb4/s200/2015-10-19_2113s.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QCCcgbQzKTw/ViWuvTk-IGI/AAAAAAAA5hU/y_m-dbioLa0/s1600/2015-10-19_2115a.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QCCcgbQzKTw/ViWuvTk-IGI/AAAAAAAA5hU/y_m-dbioLa0/s200/2015-10-19_2115a.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MEx7MC7s6Dc/ViWu0iRWtmI/AAAAAAAA5hw/484HjvI1dSo/s1600/2015-10-19_2116w.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MEx7MC7s6Dc/ViWu0iRWtmI/AAAAAAAA5hw/484HjvI1dSo/s200/2015-10-19_2116w.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bCKM961FqD0/ViWuqhjfD8I/AAAAAAAA5hA/QqqolOlqpkY/s1600/2015-10-19_2114l.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bCKM961FqD0/ViWuqhjfD8I/AAAAAAAA5hA/QqqolOlqpkY/s200/2015-10-19_2114l.png" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-02xgNDumsUQ/ViWu1pg2HiI/AAAAAAAA5h0/yOMNnBXHl14/s1600/2015-10-19_2117.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-02xgNDumsUQ/ViWu1pg2HiI/AAAAAAAA5h0/yOMNnBXHl14/s200/2015-10-19_2117.png" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3SeqiqZlwC0/ViWu8QEAqCI/AAAAAAAA5iI/rRoxfTxxO8w/s1600/2015-10-19_2120.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3SeqiqZlwC0/ViWu8QEAqCI/AAAAAAAA5iI/rRoxfTxxO8w/s200/2015-10-19_2120.png" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vPYHyKgy9eY/ViWvCbnfe1I/AAAAAAAA5io/NYNKCLrkoHA/s1600/2015-10-19_2122s.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vPYHyKgy9eY/ViWvCbnfe1I/AAAAAAAA5io/NYNKCLrkoHA/s200/2015-10-19_2122s.png" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jm8zYxpmQqI/ViWvCVJ8LzI/AAAAAAAA5ig/ZCZF1YVckCU/s1600/2015-10-19_2123.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jm8zYxpmQqI/ViWvCVJ8LzI/AAAAAAAA5ig/ZCZF1YVckCU/s200/2015-10-19_2123.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PsQKxU2stfk/ViWvCxH7FkI/AAAAAAAA5is/HBY0-9PV49w/s1600/2015-10-19_2124.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PsQKxU2stfk/ViWvCxH7FkI/AAAAAAAA5is/HBY0-9PV49w/s200/2015-10-19_2124.png" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AwIjjoxktfA/ViWuiKN8XeI/AAAAAAAA5gc/VFrM0H4grx4/s1600/2015-10-19_21123.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AwIjjoxktfA/ViWuiKN8XeI/AAAAAAAA5gc/VFrM0H4grx4/s200/2015-10-19_21123.png" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ko7Eo9ZISWo/ViWukEf2nKI/AAAAAAAA5go/CUL4-VMQY7M/s1600/2015-10-19_21124.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ko7Eo9ZISWo/ViWukEf2nKI/AAAAAAAA5go/CUL4-VMQY7M/s200/2015-10-19_21124.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Blogger</u></b><br />
Several classrooms at Keystone Elementary have also chosen to share their classroom happenings via classroom or grade-level blogs. A complete listing of these blogs can be found <b><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wN_ywjOGjwdnoQmRRKeFFbo7deXOcn8AHIXG_I_mhio/edit" style="background-color: yellow;"><span style="color: blue;">HERE</span></a></b>. Blog posts can be about a variety of topics from classroom newsletters to upcoming field trip reminders. They can also be photos of events or learning going on each day or videos to help parents understand a topic we are learning about. The posts don't have to be exhaustive narratives, in fact, they should be short and to the point. Get the message out there short and sweet! Some examples of the classroom blogs are below.<br />
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<b><u>Mrs. Benton - Preschool</u></b></div>
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<b><u>Mrs. Bridgewater - 2nd Grade</u></b></div>
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<b><u>Mrs. Embray - 2nd Grade</u></b></div>
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<b><u>Mrs. Bonewitz & Mrs. Kimm - 3rd Grade </u></b></div>
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<b><u>Instagram</u></b><br />
Our school recently adopted an Instagram page (@KeystoneElementary) and we have a teacher, Ms. Upah, who uses classroom leadership roles so a classroom photographer share snapshots via Instagram (@BCFirst). This is a chance to give a quick snapshot inside the walls of our classrooms where students are accomplishing wondrous things!<br />
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<b><u>Face-To-Face</u></b><br />
Nothing beats a good ol' fashioned face-to-face conversation or a handwritten note. This is an imperative in how we continue to build trusting relationships with families in which we serve. Our teachers continue fostering these forms of communication while also reaching out to parents on digital platforms. Our face-to-face communication with parents and teachers is not limited to conferences twice per year. Each fall we schedule a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-Czn4Tvxrb24NFdZ1r-F27LAKRTDpvJdfDJK4QxLBlA/edit">Parent Partnership Night</a> for families to come in and ask questions of the school and teachers and find out how they can stay connected to their students' learning. This year we had this communication opportunity differentiated for different parent needs through a parent edCamp. It was a hit and we hope to continue growing our audience next time!<br />
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All of our teachers are also extremely active in student and community activities whether it is working concessions at soccer games or attending Benton Community fine arts and athletic events. We also have a very active PTO which allows parents to visit for breakfast dates and sponsoring activities for students and their families to participate. <br />
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Whichever way you choose to share your classroom awesomeness, consider trying something new. Step outside of your comfort zone and see if there is another way to share your message. By sharing our message, we no longer give kids the option of saying, "nothing" when a parent asks what happened at school. A parent can see a blog post or a Twitter or Instagram photo and say, "Tell me about this learning!" or "I see you did ______ today. Tell me about it!" Help us continue the learning from our day into your dinner table conversations! I'd love to hear about how you are sharing with your stakeholders! Tweet me at @TownsleyAJ or tweet to our Teacher Leadership hashtag, #BCTLT. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-1670205539322953032015-10-14T14:56:00.001-07:002016-01-31T19:56:34.356-08:00Connecting with the Community<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every October for the last three years, first graders at Keystone/Van Horne Elementary Centers have chosen to turn the month into "Socktober"! This mission was inspired by Kid President's "Socktober" video back in 2013 which promoted kids "taking back the internet and doing something awesome". Anna Upah (<a href="https://twitter.com/annaupah" target="_blank">@AnnaUpah</a>) and Samantha Happel (<a href="https://twitter.com/samanthahappel" target="_blank">@SamanthaHappel</a>) thought this was a great mission, so they provided an opportunity and their students took the lead!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It all started with this Socktober call to action by Kid President in 2013.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dFZGyUZ9YrM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dFZGyUZ9YrM?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">KCRG, our local news station, came out and did an interview about the awesome things students were doing in Mrs. Happel and Ms. Upah's first grade classrooms. <a href="http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Its-Socktober-in-Van-Horne-229672731.html" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> for the story and video! </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">Kid President even heard about the impact these first graders were making and gave them a shoutout on his Facebook page! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9N-iMo_zLcs/Vh7I3QClbII/AAAAAAAA5Ik/MQSVWUXaugI/s1600/SOCKTOBER.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9N-iMo_zLcs/Vh7I3QClbII/AAAAAAAA5Ik/MQSVWUXaugI/s320/SOCKTOBER.png" width="312" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">News clip from Van Horne's Socktober in 2013!<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ttB_Uf_8f5E/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ttB_Uf_8f5E?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In 2013, first graders at Van Horne Elementary collected over <a href="http://teachinginthe21st-anna.blogspot.com/2013/11/sock-donation-to-waypoints-madge.html" target="_blank">900 pairs of socks</a>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last year, students collected almost <a href="http://teachinginthe21st-anna.blogspot.com/2014/10/final-sock-count.html" target="_blank">1,100 pairs of socks</a>! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another favorite Kid President video is a pep talk to teachers and students!<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RwlhUcSGqgs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RwlhUcSGqgs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, here's our latest call to action! </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">Happy Socktober, 2015!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Please send us some new socks and we'll donate them to our local homeless shelter at the end of the month! If you want to skip the post office, head over to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=socks">amazon.com</a> and they'll ship them directly to us; just make sure you attach a note with where your socks are being shipped from. We'd love to get socks from all 50 states! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can send your new socks to:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1st Grade #Socktober at Keystone Elementary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">PO Box 306<br />Keystone, IA 52249</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you'd like to know more about #Socktober, click <a href="http://soulpancake.com/socktober/" target="_blank">HERE</a>. Thanks for your support!</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-20387960086196135522015-10-12T21:50:00.001-07:002016-11-03T07:15:59.120-07:00Connecting with Other EducatorsThe last year has included many firsts for me as a professional. The most exciting and impactful have been the opportunities given to me to share my learning in and outside of the district as a part of Iowa's Teacher Leadership and Compensation (TLC) grant. <br />
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This spring I participated in a Teacher Leadership Panel with Iowa School Librarians at #iasl15 with one of my teachers who was a Teacher Librarian in our district. We spoke about Teacher Leadership in our district and how we make it fit best into how we learn and grow as educators. Our panel was moderated by Sarah Brown-Wessling, so that was exciting in itself!<br />
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I have also gotten the opportunity to share our journey several times with our Benton Community Teacher Leadership team. One of these times was at Iowa ASCD this spring at the Standards-Based Grading conference. The Keynote speaker was Mr. Ken O'Connor. We shared our SBG journey so far and gained some powerful take-aways to bring back to our district. <br />
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Another great opportunity we have had this fall is the chance to speak with Maddie Fennell with the United States Department of Education about our Teacher Leadership program in place at Benton Community Schools. We shared all aspects of our Teacher Leadership journey including struggles and successes. We were empowered by the encouragement we received after her visit to continue with our district vision of teacher leadership! </div>
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We also had a great opportunity to share our TLC journey with other educators in Iowa and learn from others at the same time. We fashioned our own #BCedCamp experience for Teacher Leaders in our school district, and then a few weeks later, we shared again at Mt. Mercy University's Teacher Leadership Symposium. The great thing about opportunities like this is that we share our journey, but at the same time, we are getting great ideas from other districts who are just as willing to share tips and tricks of what works for them in their districts. This allows us to work smarter, not harder, and it gives us more time to focus on making impactful decisions in our district to move students forward. <br />
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This summer and this fall were by far my most favorite sharing opportunities. A few co-workers continued to push me outside of my comfort zone. We presented at two technology conferences! At #iPadU and #ITECia, I was blessed with the opportunity to share about our social media story at Benton Community. By far most exciting, however, was when we brought students to share in their digital learning with us. We had students travel to both Cedar Rapids and Des Moines to come and teach other teachers how to use iPad apps they are fluently using every day in their primary classrooms!<br />
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These powerful learning opportunities could not have been possible without my amazing coworkers who I am blessed to work with every day. They push me to be better, work harder, and learn more than I ever have before. I am grateful for these experiences, and I'm eager to continue learning with these inspirational coworkers at my side!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3511448520942969233.post-27827895144148795652015-09-25T15:04:00.003-07:002015-09-25T15:04:20.651-07:00Connected with Families and our PTO<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The support teachers receive from parents at Benton Community is second to none. Our parents have a great connection with helping out at our school through active Parent/Teacher Organizations, or PTOs. This year our three PTOs in the district combined into one amazing PTO. We decided that with the great deal of restructuring that took place in our district it would be a great idea for all of us to work together toward a common goal of student support as one stronger team. We joined together the Atkins PTA, Keystone/Van Horne PTO, and the Norway PTO and are now joined forces as Benton Community PTO. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each year our PTO at Keystone Elementary has put on a Bobcat Dash. <span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is an event promoting fitness and family fun! This is always our primary fundraising activity for the year</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This fundraiser is put on solely due to generous donations and support of local businesses, our school parents, teachers, and our hard working students. </span></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-25b59aca-0158-ab4b-b5d3-a79c15df0d2a"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This fundraiser is comprised of several obstacles, </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.08px; white-space: pre-wrap;">in which families will complete together. **</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Think </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WIPEOUT </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">without the commentating and concussions!** They will do this all while getting dirty, laughing, and having fun! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We're so excited for the 228 participants and the 45 teams we have signed up! </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 22.08px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Visit this links below to see some of our previous years of fun! </span><br />
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2013 Bobcat Dash Highlights</div>
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2014 Bobcat Dash Highlights</div>
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This year's obstacles! </div>
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Our AWESOME Platinum sponsors!</div>
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</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0