Saturday, September 19, 2015

TEAM: Together wE Achieve More

This week in honor of Constitution Day, we engaged in higher level thinking strategies like brainstorming and systems thinking to draft our classroom constitution.  Students are pretty sure they want to have fun this year.  That was evident from all the data gathered.  However, they also expressed a passion for achievement in terms of things like:  getting 600s on their SOL tests, and getting all APs.  Students also expressed a wish for having choice over the types of projects they are asked to complete this year.  These are pretty common wishes from fifth graders.

There was one area that did surprise me.  There were several references to cheating and fairness.   These types of references are new to me.  I have been inviting students to craft their learning environment with me for over 10 years now.  Cheating is not a topic I have heard of before.  I have heard some reference to the principle of fairness being applied to all.  Our country is dealing with the issue of fairness every day, wouldn't you agree?

The Gabbiano's were able to craft their common goals this week and start a rough draft of their agreements.  I am planning on engaging them in several types of dialogue structures this coming week to really tease out details related to fairness and habits of mind.  You are invited to join us in the dialogue from home by conversing about the following questions.  I also provided links to interesting student and family resources below for your use as needed.  Stay tuned to our blog for more information about our classroom constitution.

Questions for consideration:
1.  What does fairness mean?  What does it look like and sound like?  Is fairness the same for everyone?  Why or why not?
2.  What does "do your best" mean in your family?  What does it look and sound like?
3.  What habits of mind do you use daily?  Which ones do you still wonder about?  Here is a list of the most common habits (nscd.org, 2015):
Links for further information:

Saturday, September 12, 2015

STEM Design Challenge=Unique Solutions!

Students were given the challenge to create an animal with at least one moving part from the materials given.  That moving part could only be move-able by air!  Many unique creations resulted from this challenge!  What would you have created if asked to complete this challenge?  Go to Curiosity Machines for some challenges you can do at home.










Sunday, September 6, 2015

Getting Started

I am very much looking forward to our first week together.  Here are the web resources that will help us get this school year started.

1.  Students will use Schoology.com to curate, store, and access daily content (to include, homework, calendars, videos, and photographs).  The access code for English-Language Arts for students in Mrs. Buhner's homeroom is:  NS87D-DRPQG The access code for students in Mr. Kimpan's homeroom is:  ZTJN4-4FGXF 
NOTE:  this is the login for students!  Parents, you will get a login once your child has completed the registrations process.

2.  Mr. Kimpan and I will use remind.com for announcements.  Enter the number 81010 in the To: section of a text message.  Enter @buhnerkimp in the Message: section.  Hit send and you are ready to receive remind announcements via text.  Don't want to receive texts, but would rather e-mails from remind.com, email me and I will send directions.

3.  I publish a weekly blog that will be used by myself and the students often.  The blog address is:  http://deygabianosblog.blogspot.com/  You are invited to follow by e-mail by going to the blog and entering your e-mail address in the box indicated on the right-hand side of the blog.

VBCPS published a BYOD (bring your own device) policy a few years ago and I have, and will continue to, integrated technology into our daily lives at school with great success.  I appreciate your willingness to allow your child to not only bring a device to school, if available, but also access Schoology and our blog from home!  

We will conduct several sessions at school about internet safety and digital citizenship.  I will send out a date soon for our first parent information meeting where we will get a chance to work with and further discuss tools for "edtech".

Still have questions or concerns about "edtech" and your family, please do contact me.