Our first week...

Our first week... on PhotoPeach

First Day of School

Wow we had a great first day of school in Room F today! First we lined up on the upper yard.  We saw old friends and met some new ones too. 

We met our new principal, Mrs. Brazell.

Then it was off to our new class. We lined up by our new classroom.

 We learned a little about Mrs. Levy, took a tour of the school,  and talked about class rules.  

 We read some new books and graphed the number of letters in our names. 

We also played with magic playdough.  If the white playdough turned colors we knew it was going to be a wonderful year.

We are off to  an amazing start .  What was your favorite thing that we did today?

All About Mrs. Levy

All About Me

In the first few days of school, we will learn so much about everyone in class.  Here are a few facts about Mrs. Levy.

1. I have a son named Max.

2. I love the ocean and love open water swimming.

3. Before I was a teacher, I worked as a librarian.

4. I have blue eyes.

5. I have four older brothers.

6. I love Chaparral Elementary.

7. One of my favorite books is Where the Wild Things Are

8. This is my 5th year at Chaparral Elementary.

9. My favorite color is blue.

10. I love chocolate.

11. I love coffee.

12. My car license plate says, SWMnOCN

13. My husband is a teacher.

14. When I'm not at school, I am at  home or swimming.

15. I make mistakes.

16. Blueberry pancakes are one of my favorite breakfast.  I love them!

17. I listen to all music.

18. Butterflies don't scare me.

19. I love veggies.

20. I love bulldogs.

21. Sunny days are my favorite.

22. I think macaroni and cheese is the best meal ever.

23. Sharks are amazing.

24. Max (my son) will graduate from high school this year.  Wow!!

25. First grade is the BEST.

Reflections and Take Aways on the Model Schools Conference

This past week over 100 people from LVUSD went to the Model Schools Conference in Washington D.C.  Here are some of my highlights, reflections and brief notes from the conference.

Far and away one of the highlights of the conference for me was the opening night key note speaker- Dr. Sue Szachowitz.  With her real world personality and no nonsense attitude, Dr. Sue explained how her high school Brockton High went from one of the lowest performing schools in the state to one of the highest in the Massachusetts. 
My take away quote, "It's about the adult's not the kids."

Morning keynote address Bill Daggett:  "Begin with the end in mind."  In his morning keynote address Daggett layed out the current course of education- to prepare students for college.  With statistical support, Daggett posited that we need to actually be preparing students to be College AND Career Ready, focusing on the "and career ready."
My take away quote, "Your major matters."

Deb Delisle:  "Commitment to kids"
In this session, the Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education encouraged teachers and administrators to renew their commitment to kids.  One idea I loved was to create an "I Quit" file of all of the wonderful notes from students and parents to look at on days when you want to throw in the towel.
My take away quote,"The primary aim of education is not to enable students to do well in school but to the lives they lead outside of school."

Bill Daggett:  "Culture Trumps Strategy"
Ah-hah moment:  the concept of "learning together."  Mrs. McEvoy and I will be brainstorming a "learning together" project next year for our penpals. 
My take away quote, "Want to change school culture, change the test.  Don't test anything you can google."

Sharon Wolder from Brockton High School
The Associate Principal explained how they transformed from a culture of low expectations and poor test scores to a high school recognized for their academic excellence.
My take away quote, :"Put all of the negative folks together in the same group to marginalized their voices."

Next Generation Assessment:  Sue Gendron
Wow, a big change is coming soon with the new Common Core assessments.  In this session we analyzed the new assessments and the implications for the for what we will need to see in the classroom instruction and in terms of the technological shifts that will need to occur to be successful with these tests.
My take away website:  http://www.smarterbalanced.org/pilot-test/

Quad D Classroom:  Alisa Braddy
This was one of my favorite sessions because I got to spend time with my wonderful Chaparral team.  

Learning through example, Alisa took us through a 4th grade quad D experience, using the Rigor/ Relevance Framework.   I walked away from this session with a real world understanding of what a Quad D classroom experience would look like. 
Take away idea:  "Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up"

"Effective Ways to Open and Close Lessons to Increase Rigor and Relevance:"  Denise White
This session provided instructional strategies to motivate students and insure student retention of information learned. 
Take away closure ideas: exit tickets and
3:2:1
3 things you learned
2 questions you have
1 thing my teacher should know
Take away quote:  "Consistent use of closure leads to significant increases in retention of information."

Other amazing highlights:

• Networking with colleagues from my school district and other schools in the nation about best practices in education today.

• Dinner in Georgetown  

• Meeting one of Mrs. McEvoy's favorite students Dylan Loewe, speech writer to the Vice President Joe Biden.

• Lastly, fireflies!!!! Spending the last few days in rural Virginia I had the magical experience of seeing fireflies the first time.  What a treat.

I am thrilled that I was able to spend an intensive 3 days in Washington D.C. learning about critical issues in education.

What were your take aways, "ah-ha" or favorite moments at the model schools conference?

Model Schools Conference

Today Mrs. Levy and Mrs. McEvoy are flying to Washington D.C. to attend the 21st Model Schools Conference.   LVUSD is bringing 100 teachers, administrators and students to the conference.  The goal of the conference is  "to inform and inspire teachers to take action to meet the challenges and opportunities we confront today as K-12 educators."

 This year’s program includes the following highlights:
• Effective and efficient approaches to meeting increased expectations in times of declining resources
• Explicit modeling of instructional practices for increasing student achievement
• Deep dive discussions on leadership issues related to teacher support, selection, and evaluation
• Systemwide strategies for preparing students to be college and career ready.  

Let the learning begin!

Thank You!

Thank you students and parents of room F.  It was an amazing year!

Our Pen Pals Come for a Visit

Pen Pal Visit

Celebrations!

What a wonderful Open House!  The kids were very excited and proud to share their hard work with you.  Thank you also for all of the special birthday attention and treats.  Attached is a video of a birthday dance we did yesterday.  First grade is so much fun! 

Open House Tonight!

Please come and see all of our hard work at Open House tonight!  

Room F:   6:30-7:30

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