March 20, 2015

Happy Spring!

 

I am looking out my window at snow. Silliness.

Students as Learners

GRRL Tech Day at URI – a great day of science and stem workshops for talented high school females. Over 500 students from throughout the State attend.  Natalie Bernier won the essay contest! Very exciting as this is the first time NK had a winner.

Thank you to Joy Tavano and Susan Eriksen for chaperoning for the day.

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The Academic-Decathlon competition that was held this past weekend at CCRI in Warwick. At present time the total team scores / final results for the competition for all schools have not been released.

However, Dean Kareemo (grade 12) who has been a part of the academic-decathlon team since his freshman year achieved a silver medal at the competition in both the Interview Competition and Speech Competition. If you see Dean, let him know how sharp he looks! Thank you to Tom Doran and Chris Fronce—Advisors for the team.

Adults as Learners

Preparing for EdCamp: Take back your professional learning.

Quick video, 1 minute! I want you to feel comfortable with this format and the more you know about it, hopefully you will get excited for the possibilities.

If you are unsure of whether you would like to lead a discussion here are some topics that other educators have used:

We Taught 8th Graders Quantum Physics with Dance. 
How to Address Privacy and One's Digital DNA.
Design Thinking and Innovation.
Writing in the Digital Age.

While many topics surround technology in education, a great, interactive discussion will be rewarded by large participation in that discussion. Think…"What do you want to learn?"

Student Management Office

Teachers, please remember that when you submit attendance during Periods 2-5, if you see that a student in your class has been marked absent during a previous class, you should send that student to the AP Office. The student may not have signed into school upon her/his arrival and Mrs. Anderson must correct the situation in order for us to have accurate records. Thank you, Mr. Lalli

Health and Wellness

FIRST DAY OF SPRING! 

Days are close to 12 hours; daylight rapidly increases allowing new plant growth to "spring forth".

This spring transition brings to mind rebirth, renewal and regrowth.
With such an unusually harsh winter behind us, can you slow down enough to notice signs of the transition?

Former NKHS science teacher Lynn Wolslegel would post student estimates on the date Ospreys would return to the nest high on the pole near the track.  What's your guess? 

Technology

Barbara is working with the central administration on the details of the technology initiative in planning the roll out of Chromebooks to faculty and students.  Please feel free to share any ideas about professional learning that will be needed or suggestions for particular applications that could be useful. Barbara is currently researching learning management systems to recommend to the committee, so it would be valuable to hear the experiences of those who have used Schoology, Google Classroom, or another app in this genre you find helpful.

Upcoming Events

Tues, March 24^th – School Committee Meeting, 7pm

Thurs, March 26^th – Band Concert

Fri, April 3^rd – Professional Development Day – no school for students

Fri, April 10^th - School will be held in place of the PD day and will follow a Day 1 schedule

Sun, April 12th -- Cupcake wars
Tues, April 14th--All Town Strings Concert
Thurs., April 16th--All Town Choir Concert
April 20 – 24 – Spring Recess

Articles Worth Reading

PARCC;The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Threeapp Smash Projects to Challenge Your Students

Senior Project News:

My name is Amelia Bowen and for my senior project this year I am doing a movie screening of the documentary Girl Rising at the Jamestown Arts Center on March 29th at 2 pm

The screening is a fundraiser for Plan USA, which is an organization that provides immediate aid to girls in trafficking situations in developing countries and pays tuition for those who cannot afford it. 

Food for Thought

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

George Bernard Shaw