Sir Ken Robinson Video--Paradigm Shift in Education

Several teachers have asked for the link to the Sir Ken Robinson video that we watched in a recent division meeting. I hope you enjoy watching it again by clicking here! It certainly gives us a lot to "ponder"!

Christmas Blessings 2010 from The Shelley Family

Noel Lace Christmas Card

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Are my graded assignments really assessing higher order thinking skills?

You will enjoy this short 7 minute audio clip concerning higher order thinking skills and the best way to assess these skills.
Click here to listen.

Adding an Email Subscription Form to your blog!

This is another question I get a lot. . . how do I make my blog open to subscribers? Click here for instructions. It will also be in the QuickLinks section for reference!

Four Step Instructions to Easy Blogging!

I've had several requests for the site with 4 easy steps to making a blog. Please click here to access the site. It is also included in my QuickLinks section to the right for future reference!

Seniors Read to Kindergarten Students! Memories Made!

I was able to catch our seniors reading to our kindergarten students! I hope these pictures warm your heart! I only wish you could have been there with me to catch the true spirit of the moment! Memories were definitely made for all involved! Thank you to our seniors for investing their time on campus with our younger students! What a blessing it is to be at a K-12 school like TPS!

More Thanksgiving Memories 2010

Thank you to our three first grade teachers and parent helpers for all the first grade activities centered around Thanksgiving! Thank you, Mrs. McNelley, Mrs. Morrison, and Mrs. Etheredge!

Thanksgiving Memories 2010

I wanted to take a moment and reflect on Thanksgiving Chapel and our First Grade Feast by sharing some pictures from these special events! Many thanks to all those that helped make these memories so special for all of us! I pray you have enjoyed a time of thanksgiving with family and friends! The pictures above are of John Hall and Logan Powell. John, one of our 8th graders, blessed us with his musical talents and abilities on the piano. Logan, our senior class president, spoke at chapel. Logan reminded us to be thankful for those things we can see as well as the things we cannot see! What a blessing it is for our lower school students to see our middle and upper school students using their gifts and talents to glorify God at their own school as well as in their community.

What is a Podcast anyway?

The word Podcast is thrown around a great deal as a learning tool. For many educators, it is an unknown. The following article may help shed some light on the meaning and uses of podcasting! Click here to read more.

Interactive Sites for Learning Abound!

If you have not checked out our library/media center wiki lately, please take some time and do so! You will find a plethora of information concerning suggested reading lists for children, a myriad of interactive learning sites, as well as at home reading sites! The link is http//trinitywildcatroar.pbworks.com . It has been added to this bog for quick access. You may also access it as well as any of our other teacher blogs through our website. I encourage you to check out the wikis and blogs by teachers' names at our school. The easiest way to do this is to go to our homepage, go to the far upper left and click "about" then scroll down to "faculty/staff directory". If a teacher has a blog or wiki it is listed or linked to their picture. There is more information on these blogs/wikis than you can imagine!

I have also added a link called Free Rice to this blog. This is an interactive vocabulary builder great for all ages, right up to adulthood. It is a non-profit website run by the UN World Food Program and partnered with Harvard University. The words used are based on high level standardized testing (ACT, SAT, GRE) and are in a multiple choice format. For each correct answer 10 grains of rice are donated to help end world hunger.

Reminders:
*the Holiday writing activity deadline is approaching next week!
*LS Faculty Meeting will be Mon., Nov. 8th
*Midterm Reports go out Mon., Nov. 8th

Intentionally Pouring Your Life Out Daily!

I heard several references this week in sermons, devotionals, etc., to the term "intentionally pouring your life out"! It reminded me of how each of you daily pours your life out for the students at Trinity. Thank you for all that you intentionally do each day in and out of your classroom.

Take a look under Quick Links section on this blog, I have added the following:

*Scientific American Magazine Subscription (purchased through the library funding, this requires a password which was emailed to faculty members last week)

*Two Writing Teachers is a great blog to help us generate new ideas in the area of writing

The Reading Teacher Magazine! Enjoy!

Teachers, it is my pleasure to let you know that Mrs. Osmer (through Lower School Library Funds)has purchased a group subscription for The Reading Teacher Magazine. This group subscription allows all lower school teachers access to the online Reading Teacher Magazine. This is a real bonus for each of us and we are very grateful for this investment in professional development. The online access is made possible when logging onto the internet through our Trinity Network. This means that it is not accessible from home or other networks off campus. If you find an article that you would like to read and do not have the time while at school please feel free to print that article off and take it home to read or share later! I have placed the link to this magazine under Quick Links for quick access. After you click the link and access the site, click "current issues", when you locate the article you would like to read click the orange "full text" button. Enjoy!

Bloom's Taxonomy

I have added a great article on Bloom's Taxonomy to our Quick Links Section of the blog. This article was shared with me by Trish Hixon as we began to use Bloom's Taxonomy to help guide our classroom instruction and goals for our students. The article includes graphic organizers for quick reference that I believe you will find helpful as you reflect on your classroom instruction and planning.

Have a blessed week at Trinity as you touch lives daily!

Short Video Clip of Todd Whitaker! Enjoy!

I found this great clip by Todd Whitaker. The link is under "quick links" section to the right on this blog. If you ever have a chance to see Todd in person, please take it. You won't regret it. He is a very good "teacher" speaker! He has a great sense of humor! Enjoy!

Thank you! Great Work!

It has truly been a whirlwind two weeks with Homecoming then Accreditation! I was thrilled with the wonderful comments the team had for our lower school faculty and staff. I was able to spend a great deal of time one on one with each team member answering questions as well as asking for guidance in some areas. I am anxiously awaiting the written recommendations from the team. I feel that the team was specifically chosen for us and will become mentors that we can visit and call upon as we grow. The passion you have for your calling with children came across loud and strong. We are truly blessed! Thank you for your efforts!

I have included another great website in our quick links section: 100 Ways Google Can Help Make You A Better Educator! Please take the time to click on this and try some of it out. I am continually amazed at what Google has to offer to educators.

Reminder we will have an all school faculty meeting after school Monday, Oct. 11th. The second Monday of the month is usually reserved for Division meetings, however, Mr. Neu wanted time to talk to all of us together concerning the accreditation visit that we just completed.

Last week as we met in our technology committee meeting, it became quite evident that we need to tighten up our printing guidelines. Last year, we went way over our budget for printing cartridges, paper, etc. Please help us keep a closer eye on printing costs. I know we want to do all we can to be a good steward of the many blessings God has given us at Trinity. Thanks so much! Have a super week as we head into Parent Conference Day on Friday, Oct. 15th!

Safety First: Please keep your keys with you at all times and lock your classroom doors (as well as LS and Kind. hallway double doors) coming and going. I know it is a pain but it is a necessity at this time. Here are a few reminders:
*Lock your classroom hall door when you are in the classroom as well as when you leave to go to lunch or specialists.
*Take your keys with you at all times.
*If you are in grades 1-5, please do not cut through K commons unless it is bad weather--we are having teachers/classes coming and going and leaving the 2 sets of double doors unlocked all day long. These should remain locked at all times.
*Construction safety! Please navigate children around the construction fencing--keep an eye on children while outside at all times. Strongly encourage children/parents to put shoes on the children in K-3 due to the construction.

Have a wonderful week! Here is a thought I ran across this weekend for us to ponder this week:

"Change is inevitable but growth is a choice."

SAIS Visit

Our SAIS team will be arriving on campus today and will be here through Thursday. We have asked a few of you to visit with the team for about thirty minutes Wednesday afternoon from 12-12:30 in the PTO Board Room. Thank you for agreeing to help with this. If we have not touched base with you on how your classes will be covered please ask Linda Helms just to be sure!

Thank you for the hard work you have put into this visit. You have each served on committees and put in long hours of work in the preparation of our self-study. We certainly owe a huge "thank you" to the leadership of Laura Williams,our accreditation coordinator, during this journey! Laura has kept us on track and has done an outstanding job!

Just a reminder that our K-12 faculty will meet at 3:40 in Willett Hall to hear the SAIS team present their findings to us.

Please check out the following new sites that I have added to the blog. I "borrowed" them from Kerry Palmer's blog and they are extremely useful for all of us!

How to Weather the Frustrations of Technology Integration
Five Hallmarks of Good Homework

Have a great week!

Great Things are Happening at TPS!

Friday was a great day for TPS! The ribbon cutting and the groundbreaking were both long awaited events for our school. I saw many people on campus Friday that date back to the beginnings of Trinity school. It is extremely important to remember the history of our school and those who have helped make Trinity what it is today. I am grateful to all those who have gone before us. Brannen reminded the students in chapel that they are on a journey here at Trinity and to make the most of each day. I remind us, as a faculty of that, as well. Each decision or adjustment we make to curriculum and instruction at this school is vitally important to the future of this school. Thank you for being reflective as you make informed decisions for the students at Trinity.

Jung and Briggs/Myers Typology Test

Thank you for taking the personality assessment! What interesting findings for a faculty to be able to use as we break into groups this year. As many of you noticed (and mentioned to me!), you were not working in homogeneous groupings during the last faculty meeting where we focused on goal setting! I will flip it around at times to see if you notice!

Let me give you some summary of our faculty findings for our 29 faculty members and 1 administrator, just for fun!

ESFJ 10 faculty members
ENFJ 7 faculty members
INFJ 5 faculty members
ISFJ 3 faculty members
ISTJ 1 faculty member
ENTJ 1 faculty member
ESTJ 1 faculty member
ESFP 1 faculty member


These summaries of the four criteria helped me out a lot when trying to reflect on my own findings.

(Note: Carl Jung's typology contained the first three criteria then Isabel Briggs-Myers added the fourth criteria!)

Criteria #1: Extraversion-Introversion defines the source and direction of energy expression for a person.
Extravert---mainly in the external world; Introvert---mainly in the internal world---operative word here is "mainly"! We all have combinations of both depending on our rolls in different areas home, work, church, extended family, etc.

Criteria #2: Sensing-Intuition defines the method of information perception by the person.
Sensing---a person believes mainly information he/she receives directly from the external world; Intuition---a person believes mainly information he/she receives from the internal or imaginative world. (once again note the word: "mainly"!)

Criteria #3: Thinking-Feeling defines how the person processes information.
Thinking---person makes decisions mainly through logic: Feeling---person makes a decision based mainly on emotion.

Criteria #4: Judging-Perceiving defines how a person implements the information he or she processed.
Judging---person organizes all his/her life events and acts strictly according to plans; Perceiving---he/she is inclined to improvise and seek alternatives.

If you have not given this to any of those at home or in your extended family . . . I encourage you to do so! We have used this at Thanksgiving before and gotten a big laugh out of it as folks see who they are most like and most not like!!!! You have to have a sense of humor or it will spoil your Thanksgiving--beware--use it with the right mix of people!!!

What I like to take from this is the "'uniqueness" of each person! How God created us in a unique way and even something that may appear on paper to be a negative can be used as a huge positive depending on your roll at the time! Another great idea is that even though something is our "mainly" type mode of operating . . . it doesn't have to cause communication problems. If we need to be flexible and operate in another mode to interact as a team ---we can choose to be reflective and alter our responses so that a person of a different mode can truly understand our intentions on a given subject! If we just ask, God is gracious to give us the thoughts and words to show others our true heart. He desires for us to get along peacefully and in harmony. Thank you again for taking the time and effort to do this little exercise. I pray it has been enlightening to you as a professional on a team as well as just plain fun!

Homecoming Week!

Dress Up Days:
Monday: Tie Dye Day (this set out to be tie dye tops only with uniform bottoms--not sure that was made totally clear in print so . . . be flexible on this one for bottoms on Monday!)

Pep Rally at 2:30 in the South (old) gym--you have a seating chart--do not panic if you sit in the wrong spot--just enjoy and be safe! I have warned parents that we might be a few minutes late loading due to this at the end of the day. Please try to be packed up prior to the pep rally.

Tuesday: Book Character Day

Wednesday: Crayon Day-- dress all in one color--once again be flexible on bottoms, shoes, etc.

Thursday: Crazy Hair/Hat Day

Friday: You have a seating chart for the parade--11:15 is the parade time so begin coming outside around 11:00! You will need to return to your room to vote on the floats and give out lunch tickets. Parents should come to the room to gather children, tickets, etc., and proceed to the concession area to get lunch then onto the marked picnic area near the north gym circular drive area.

Upcoming dates:
Accreditation visit Oct. 5-7 Please organize your work samples and email Laura Williams as she asked last week--if you will CC me on that as well in case I get asked about work samples.

Oct. 15 Parent Conferences (We will have heavy snacks and drink refreshments provided for teachers that day to help you stay energized!! Lunch type items will be delivered around 10:45 or so in case you would like to take a lunch break and turn your lights off and close your door for a bit!) This is a long but extremely important day for you as well as your parents. Thank you for all the preparation!

One on One teacher meetings--I am thoroughly enjoying visiting each one of you and hearing the neat things taking place in your room and more over in your thinking as you strive to meet the needs in your classroom! Bless you!

Walk Throughs--What a blessing it is to walk through and see the many things going on each day all over our campus! Thank you for the planning and preparation that goes into differentiated instruction for one on one communication with our students.

Blessings for a great week,
Tami


Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also
set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done
from beginning to end.

Exciting Week Coming Up!

Thank you for all the work you are putting into your classroom management and instruction! It is a joy to visit classrooms and see you in action! This coming week is full of excitement at TPS!

Monday: Third Monday of each month is set aside for meeting in your grade levels. I will be posting our schedule for bi-grade level meetings which will begin Monday, Oct. 18.

Tuesday: Techie Tuesday--please take advantage of this one on one help each Tuesday!

Wednesday: Brannen McMahan, one our seniors, will be sharing with us in chapel at 8:15 a.m.

Thursday: I look forward to our Fourth Grade Partner with the Principal Luncheon!

Friday: The dedication for the MS/US Library will be around 8:30 or so then things will move down to our end for the ground breaking around 9 a.m. I will give you more specific info on how this will be done and where everyone will stand as the week progresses.


Thank you for your preparation and prayer as we head into our accreditation visit on Oct. 5-7. What an exciting time to share with others the mission and heart of our school.

I look forward to touching base with each one of you to see how your year is going and where I can be of help to you. Please feel free to share with me any informal assessments that have helped inform your instruction and grouping in your classroom to meet needs. (Some examples might be H-M baseline test, Star test, informal math assessments done in class, classroom observations, etc.)

I hope you had a restful weekend,
Tami

Thanks for a great division meeting!

Thank you for a great division meeting! I appreciated those who updated us on assessment, curriculum, professional development, and communication. Everyone did a great job breaking into small groups to come up with the 2010 goals for lower school. The three goals are as follows:

1. Teachers will meet with Mrs. Shelley twice a year (Sept./April) to discuss the formal (ITBS) and informal (H-M, Star, classroom observation)assessments used to inform instruction in the classroom.

2. Classroom discussions. lesson plans, and classroom assessments (graded work) will reflect the higher order thinking skills of Bloom's Taxonomy (example: use of wording--explain, demonstrate, construct etc.) used in our written curriculum.

3. Teachers will communicate on a weekly basis with parents concerning upcoming lesson plans using email, blogs, or wikis.



Upcoming All Faculty Optional Professional Development:
Monday, September 20th - Integrating Newspapers and Magazines into your Classroom (OPEN FOR EVERYONE) Would you like to learn how to better use newspapers and magazines in your classroom? Newspapers and magazines can enrich your classroom by highlighting current events that are relevant to the students' lives. A short workshop will be offered on Monday, September 20th in room 414. CEU credits are available. Several practical and engaging activities will be presented as well as information about beneficial resources and websites to turn to for more help.
Monday, October 18th - Grief Counseling with Dr. Rosemary Wool-Jones

Off to a great week at Trinity!

I wanted to wish each of you a great week before we get started tomorrow! Just a reminder that the all school faculty meting will be tomorrow at 3:45 p.m. (Tuesday) in WH. This is the final week before mid-term reports go out next Monday in folders. Thank you once again for the "above and beyond" effort as well as the "can-do" attitude as we prepare to open the newly remodeled MS/US library this week! Readers have been lined up to come to your room during your normal library time for approximately 15-20 minutes. We will keep you posted on the progress of the playground this week. Thank you again for your flexibility during all of these minor inconveniences as we grow! Have a terrific week!

Enjoy Your Weekend!

Please enjoy your weekend and take some time to rest and refresh yourself! If you find yourself with a few minutes, you may want to click on the links I have added under "Quick Links to Professional Development" on the right side of the faculty blog under the faculty pictures. I am trying to provide valuable professional development links for you so you do not have to do the hunting and selecting . . . all you will need to do is click! If you really like one of the sites, check and see if it is one that you can subscribe to and receive updates regularly through email.

Thank you for a great start to our school year!

Lower School Division Meeting Highlights and Follow Up --Mon., 8/30/10

Thank you for a great lower school division meeting today! If you missed it--we missed you! I will review the highlights as well as clear up a few questions that came out of the division meeting!
*Tues./Wed. (8/31 and 9/1) are picture days
*Techie Tuesdays will be held in WH beginning tomorrow (8/31 at 3:45)Bring your laptop and questions! This is a great time to get large and small questions answered so you can make the best use of your technology with the least amount of frustration!
*Faculty Meeting Monthly Rotation:
First Monday of each Month: All School--WH
Second Monday of each Month: Divisions--TBA
Third Monday of each Month: Grade levels meet in rooms (Kind. will meet 3rd
Wed. of each month)
Fourth Monday of each Month: Accreditation Committee Mtgs. (if called)
(If Monday is a holiday the meeting will be held on Tuesday; if a month has a
fifth Monday this may be used by the principals if needed.)
*Faculty Meeting for Divisions beginning in Sept. will focus on the time being used for 20% Lower School Business/80% Professional Development--Please come to division meetings with a charged laptop and/or power cord
*Computer problems should be emailed to: computersupport@trinitywildcats.com
(with the exception of printer ink--you may get this for yourself in Pete McCoy's office--please note on the sign out sheet the type you are taking and place your used cartridge on the floor by the cabinets to be recycled)
*Maintenance/copier issues should be emailed to: maintenance@trinitywildcats.com
*Playground will not be available until later next week due to this past weekend's rainy weather setting back some foundation work that was needed. (The exact date will be updated as soon as we are more certain of it! Thank you once again for your flexibility!)
*Reminder Sept. 10 is the PTO request deadline!
*Thank you for a great start to a wonderful school year. Your can-do attitude is contagious!