A first? Hot Weather causes early dismissal!

We had an early dismissal today due to weather.   HOT weather.   There is a bit of a heatwave here in CT right now, and many schools in the state let kids out early.   It is currently 10:48 pm and about 80 degrees...  tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter!

New Master's Class- Try this out!

Hi,

I am testing out Survey Monkey in my latest class.   Paste the following into your browser to see if it works:

www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=I19217ksGCZ86JLqtT5zmQ_3d_3d

Join us at WRITE NIGHT!

Please join us for WRITE NIGHT on May 7 from 6:30-8:30 to listen to our seventh and eighth graders share their poetry, short stories and songs (?).   We hope to have refreshments and fun in a  coffee-house like setting.

Come for a great night of the works of young authors!

Update on my Tech Classes

I have learned so much in just a few weeks! Although I had some comfort with technology, the chance to use it to create projects for my class has given me a greater appreciation for ways to incorporate technology at Ashford. Our professor started us off kind of easy by asking us to draw a two-dimensional truss bridge. This led to a map of our classroom, and a "blueprint" of our dream home. (For those of you who know me, you'll appreciate that I included a tap dancing studio!) We continued on to a project using Microsoft Paint in which we graffitied a photograph of our beloved professor. After turning him into a grotesque monster, we wrote short stories--this one will surely end up in my lesson plans! The last assignment we completed was called "Can O' Your Town." It was a fun activity in which we reproduced a soup can label and sold our respective towns. I can see this one being a huge success in any content area, and look forward to using it in my own classes.

It's Nearly CMT Time!

CMTs are almost upon us-- please help your child do better on his or her state tests by ensuring they get a good night's sleep and eat a healthy breakfast. Please also encourage your child to come to school every day during Mastery Testing--make-ups can be difficult to schedule and take your child out of regular academic time.
Let me know if you have any questions!

Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Well, tomorrow I begin a new adventure that I know will benefit my students! Through Lesley University, I am starting a program to receive a Master's Degree in Educational Technology. This appears to be a challenging, yet managable, and extremely beneficial to my students course of study. My classes are on line, which is new to me. I have "classmates" who live all over the country and beyond: the Carolinas, Minnesota, Massachusetts and even Korea! My professor is from Las Vegas! (I'm not sure I'll make his office hours, but with email, all hours are office hours!)
I'll try to post from time to time all the cool things we're doing in class!

Yearbook!

The order forms for the school yearbook have gone out!  I would like to take a few moments to answer some questions.  The cost for the book this year is $17.  Yes, this is a significant increase, but the book is very different this year.  We have opted to go with Herff Jones and have our book professional printed in full color!  Students have seen the samples of these gorgeous books and are excited by the prospect of such a professionally bound annual.   

In the past, we have been able to offer families a 1/4 or 1/2 page ad space, but we will not be offering this in the 2008 book.   In order to keep the cost as low as possible, we needed to reduce page numbers.  By offering these advertising spaces, our book cost skyrocketed.   

For those who are interested in writing a note to their child, or this class, we are offering the opportunity to sponsor a page.   For $3.00 you can write a 75-character message to your graduate and it will appear at the bottom of a particular page.    Seventy Five Characters is a sentence about this long:

Congratulations, Elly! We are so proud of you.  Love, Mom, Dad, Tim and William.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.  We can explore the idea of returning to the 1/4 page and 1/2 page ads for future editions of the yearbook.   What other ideas do you have?  Let us know!