Just Write

While sometimes we think that we struggle, or that life is difficult, photo essays can touch the deepest parts of our hearts. If you can, scroll down to the last entry for August 2012, titled "Just Write."
http://stevemccurry.wordpress.com/2012/08/

Leaving Comments on Posts

Some people have been asking how to leave a comment on a post. Here is a goofy model of how to do that...I am experimenting with a free website called Screenr that I'm going to use with my students to have them explain things on our blog. Sorry I am talking so slowly!

One of the most important things to know, and that I forgot to mention making this Screenr, was to make sure you are actually commenting on the post you want to talk about. If you go to another page, or scroll down to an older post, your comment might be lost out there somewhere.
Hope this helps.

GREAT IC GRADEBOOK NEWS!

So, at our PLC, Tara figured out that we hadn't set up our categories on our 2012-2013 gradebook, and while going to do that, I figured out we can copy the categories from last year!!

Here's how to do it...
1. Go to Edit Grade Calc Options.
    ELA and MATH are going to be overall as traditional A-F, while all the little categories in those subjects will be %.
If you use the drop down menu fill all for the %, just go back and change the T1, T2, and T3 overall grade to traditional.
All the other subjects will be traditional A-F.

2. Go to the top left of your screen and use the 2011-2012 year, then go to edit categories, and choose copy categories. You have to do each subject separately, choosing to copy them to this year.
Click next, then you also have to use the drop down arrow to choose what to assign the category too, for example informational text or writing.

3. NOW YOU CAN ADD ASSIGNMENTS!
Yeah? More help to follow, or post your help here.

Wish I had Said That...

OK, so while working on my classroom blog, I found this post by another teacher. I sure wish I had said this to my students, as truly it's what I believe...even after a day of dinosaur noises and boys pretending to have broken legs and other 6th GRADE!! issues. Here's the quote, plus a link to the blog.

I started school today. I told the students, "I'm more like a miner of gold than a teacher. There is gold inside you and I want to find it. It won't look like gold when we dig it out, but if we work together to recognize the value of your talents and polish them together, you'll come out shining. That is my purpose."
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/

I'll try to keep this in mind tomorrow, as it's true.

Infinite Campus Issues

OK, so while I am the least caught up usually, I thought I would avoid the disaster of keeping grades on paper, then having to add them all at once by adding the work I have right now...
SO, when I go to create the assignment, I can't click on the part where it says,

Create scoring alignment(s) to Grade Book by selecting from the following choices:

Standards Select which standards get this assignment.

It won't let me click on anything - and there are six strands of math for me to choose from. So I can't create and save the assignment right now.

When I took a survey only 3/26 students didn't have a computer with internet access! So I was thinking maybe some parents would want to actually look at their kids' grades, and I should be ready.

Wishful thinking on all counts?

If anyone knows what is going on, could you comment? Thank you - it seemed like a good thing to do while watching water polo!

WELCOME BRIAN MYERS!

What a crazy week or two - first of all the sudden departure of our principal, and then the awful delay in announcing our new principal, even though we gave a strong recommendation to the district on the candidate of our choice.

Finally, we have our new guy.  I can't help thinking of the song, "The Boys are Back in Town" but I hear that Brian will be the first EVER male principal at Cannan. What's up with this?  We now have a loaded male campus of 4, so the testosterone is flowing in our hood now...

Anyway, I know Brian will be a great principal, just as he was an excellent VP over at Mathews.  He may have taken a detour to get here, since he for some reason had to swing by Beasley for 6 years, but it is funny how many of us have crossed the pond, or at least the Oddie overpass. I guess we all know a good thing when we see it.  I did find a great review of Brian at ratemyteachers.com where the kid wrote, "He takes his job WAY too seriously" So obviously, he is a perfect fit for Cannan!
Here's to an exciting new year, with only forward and upward progress under a cool leader.

Welcome Brian! (or do we address you as Sir?)

First Tries and Baby Steps

As you can see, this is a beginning version of what we hope our teacher blog can be! It will be a group blog, so that everyone will be able to write posts, upload photos, videos, and share the amazing thinking that is going on around our school every day.
We hope it will be a place to engage in deep-thinking conversations that will result in improving our teaching and raising our students to a new level in their learning.
Let me know what you would like to add or change about our blog, and I will make it happen.
Thanks for your input, and I look forward to our future as a blogging community...
Mrs. Harvey