Welcome back!

A new year has begun here at Ashford and I am very excited!   I have a great group of students this year-- full of energy and excitement.  (Some even laugh at my silly jokes!)  We have been using technology in our classroom through a grammar webquest.   My Master's classes are not starting for a few weeks, which has given me a nice, and much needed, break.  

One change that I have made this year involves the journal prompts.  Students will now be submitting them via email-- a great way to save paper and incorporate technology.   I'd like to do more with email and discussion boards-- we'll see I can put that into place.

I'm looking forward to lots of learning and fun times in room 36!

www.dumpr.net

This is just about the sassiest site ever!   There are some very cool "toys" that you can modify with photographs.   Check it out!

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!