On Monday of this week our second round of report cards went home and officially kicked-off spring Parent-Teacher Interview week. Being that we are a K-12 school, our K-7 teachers scheduled and organized their own meetings which ran throughout the week. In the 8-12 end, our school secretary scheduled our meetings for us which were primarily held on Thursday after school and Friday during school-hours (there were no classes on Friday). Compared to the 30+ interviews I had first semester, this round was a breeze with only 20. I think last semester I had a lot of interviews because… Read More
2 Stars & A Wish: Week 26
After two weeks of battling bronchitis-like symptoms* I am finally feeling better and this week felt like a fresh start! (*I have no idea if I actually had bronchitis because I couldn’t get into the doctors office). Not only did I hit the ground running in regards to my lesson plans and classroom activities, but our report cards were due for review this Friday as they go home with students this upcoming Monday. Thank goodness I was feeling better because this week definitely had some stressful moments, but two things that I think went well this week were: 1 )… Read More
My First Science Fair
On Friday my Grade 8 class held their first Science Fair after working diligently over the past three weeks. After a very long first unit on Cells & Systems (I was getting used to teaching Science!) we moved on to our unit on Fluids at the start of January. As a summative assessment, I decided to have my students organize, plan, and administer individual science experiments that would then be showcased with a Science Fair (an event that our school does not formally have). Not only would this serve as a summative assessment for our unit, but it would also… Read More
2 Stars & A Wish: Week 25
This week actually represented my shortest teaching week on record due to extracurricular activities, meetings, and illnesses.– Tuesday was our Grade 7-12 Ski Trip to a downhill ski hill approximately 2 hours away (a gorgeous day where I got to snowboard with my students!)– Wednesday I attended a meeting at our Division Office– Thursday I had my first sick day all year after battling bronchitis-like symptoms for almost two weeksAs such, I feel like I wasn’t able to accomplish much this week. I am hoping to hit the ground running on Monday, however, as spring break is only a… Read More
Free #EdTech – Apps For Your Class 3
Free #EdTech – Apps For Your Class is a sporadic posting I do every time I find a neat new app that is not only being offered FREE (for a limited time) but that is also educational and could serve a purpose in your classroom. While no longer free, last sessions app: King of Maths: Full Game, is still awesome and I recommend you check it out! Today I’ve found: Fun Slides I think this photography app would be a easy and fun tool for students to create fast presentations! It allows users to:– Upload pictures from their… Read More
Good Things Sunday
This post is inspired by the stories at the collaborative blog, One Good Thing. – On Friday we were having a work period in one of my classes where students were given time to work on completing projects. During these periods I often have music playing and one of my students began dancing to the song. In response I had one student look up from a project, chuckle, and mumble, “You are so weird”. Without missing a beat the student replied with a huge smile on her face, “I’m being myself, I love this song and I love to… Read More
2 Stars & A Wish: Week 24
I haven’t reflected formally through a “2 Stars & A Wish” post in quite some time and it is something that I would like to get back into. While I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting informally throughout my lessons, at the end of the day, etc I feel like I benefit more when I take the time to write out my thoughts and get feedback from those around me. As such, two things that I think went well this week were: 1 ) Having my Gr 8 Students Pass 3,000 Pageviews on Their Blog!– My Grade 8 students… Read More
Share The Love
Last week I was pleasantly surprised to receive a link to a blog post written about… me! Before I go further, I should provide some context. Last month, I had the opportunity to present via Skype for Brandon University’s Internet for Educators class (a class which only one year ago I was a student in). I shared my experiences regarding the integration of technology into my classroom as well as the successes and challenges that have arisen from my ideas. Mr. Nantais, the professor of the course, has all of his students maintain a blog sharing their learning… Read More
Good Things Sunday
I follow a lot of blogs… blogs written by educators… blogs written by administrators…. blogs written by friends/family… but one of my favourite blogs to see pop up in my Feedly account is One Good Thing. This collaborative blog, is a space where educators share stories of good things from their day. Teaching is a profession that can leave you overwhelmed, exhausted, and questioning if you are doing anything right. As this blog states, however, “Every day may not be good, but there is one good thing in every day”. I love reading the stories from other educators… Read More
March Currently
March is here which means my first year of teaching is officially over half way done! I can’t believe how fast the year is going by and I know that it will only continue to fly by. In most years, March would mean warmer temperatures and the start of melting snow as we near the end of the month. This winter, however, seems to be much more severe than anything I can remember and I doubt that winter will let up at all this month! Here is what March started as for us: Yes, you’re reading that right, “Feels… Read More