Building Updates-The office staff will return to work on July 18th. Due to summer school at WS, our building is not even close to being ready for staff or teachers to return. There is a LOT of work to be completed before this can happen. (waxing rooms and hallways, replacing ceiling tiles, resurfacing parking lot, upgrading our phone system, installing our new sound system...) SOOOOOO, my goal now is for teachers to be back in the building the first week of August. I will try to keep everyone updated with emails. BASE Aide-Please welcome Miss Kaite Dickie to Willard South Elementary. Katie will be our new BASE aide. She is no stranger to the district and WS. She did her student teaching with Dana Beck in 2009 and worked as a paraprofessional at Willard Intermediate during the 2010-2011 school year. WELCOME TO WILLARD SOUTH! Anita-She is finally on the road to recovery. I spoke with her last Friday and she is feeling better. She is hoping to be even better by the beginning of the school year. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Leadership Team Mtgs-I have scheduled two Leadership Team meetings for August 2nd & 9th at 10:00am in the WS library. We will be discussing our schoolwide discipline procedures, Tiger Pride assemblies, Brain Gym, Data Team workshops...Please RSVP if you would like to attend. We had a good crowd on Monday at our Brain Gym workshop with Tiffany Houghtaling. Below is some information from our workshop and a copy of the handouts that we received. (HANDOUTS FROM TIFFANY) What is BRAIN GYM? *The program is based on the premise that all learning begins with movement. The repetition of specific activities is said to promote efficient communication among the many nerve cells and functional centers located throughout the brain and sensory motor system. There are 26 of these exercises, which are designed to integrate body and mind in order to improve crossing the midline, increase the oxygen flow to the brain, increase balance, improve thinking skills, gain self-reliance and problem solve. Why is BRAIN GYM important? *Calms or energizes students *Changes a behavior or “brain state” *Increases blood flow which supports memory function *Helps create a community within your classroom and building How can you implement BRAIN GYM in your classroom? *Make an effort to implement these BRAIN GYM activities in your daily schedule. (transition time between activities, walking in the hallway, moving from their seats to the carpet (whole group) area, during your morning meeting,…) *Remember in order for you and your students to benefit from Brain Gym, you must be intentional with these activities! Congratulations-I would like to congratulate Stephanie Walters for her promotion to Assistant Principal at WMS! She will be missed around here at WS but I am confident she will be a great asset to WMS. I also want to wish Sarah Sims best of luck with her new position at Fair Grove. Sarah will be the new librarian/technology teacher. CONGRATULATIONS to both of you! Welcome Aboard-Please welcome Amelia Yates to the Willard R-II School District. She will be joining our 3rd grade team. She comes to us from Ash Grove with 13 years experience. I know she will be a wonderful fit to our WS family! BTW...Niki Schapeler will be our new computer lab teacher. I am looking for a new BASE teacher at this time. Brain Gym-Don't forget that we have our workshop with Tiffany Houghtaling on Monday, June 20th at 2:30 in the WS library!! Anita Yates-Please keep Anita in your prayers. She is still at St. John's and hopes to be home on Sunday. She had to have surgery again to remove some tissue that was not healing well on Thursday afternoon. They were able to put in the wound vac which should help with her recovery. If you would like to send a card or drop off items in the office, I would be more than happy to take them to her next week. T-Shirt Sizes-Please fill out the form below so I can order tshirts for next year! Below is an interesting article that I read regarding ebooks and a study done by a Missouri teacher. I thought is was worth sharing...ENJOY!
Julie Hume, a reading specialist in University City, MO, received a grant to conduct an experiment. She works with children in grades 3-5 who struggle with reading fluency. At the beginning of the school year, she divided the children randomly into two groups: a TumbeBooks treatment group and a control group. The TumbleBooks group "spent time at a computer, reading and listening to ebooks that were either at or just above their reading level." The other group "received the same reading interventions that she had used in the past, with Hume sitting at a table and assisting them as they read along in their paper books." Hume sought to investigate "which group would show the most improvement?" Here is an excerpt from the article which discusses the amazing results! The students using Tumblebooks leapt ahead of their peers. Last November, three months after starting the project, the average fluency rate for the Tumblebook group was 23 percentage points higher than that of the control group. Students using the ebooks had moved from a Lexile level of K to M. By January, the entire group of children in the ebook program had achieved fluency to the point that they were "exited" from her pull-out sessions and integrated back into their regular classrooms. It took the control group two months longer. She credits the success to the ebooks' ability to narrate the story, while allowing students to feel like they're in control of what and when they read. "When students repeatedly have a strong model of fluency, the more they hear that, the better they get it." For the complete article visit: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/printissuecurrentissue/890540-427/are_ebooks_any_good.html.csp In today's digital world, ebooks are particularly relevant. For example, "Laura Hodges, a principal at Churchville Elementary School in Augusta County, VA, says Tumblebooks are helping her school attain its goal of 'embedding technology into instruction,' while saving money on books. Teachers who want to give children access to picture books in their classrooms can make them available on computers without the school having to buy multiple copies of the same book." Parents can also benefit by sharing the books with their children 24/7. The possibilities are endless! |
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