February 13, 2017

Our Mission:  “Educate students for lifelong learning and responsible living.”

Our Vision:  “Provide a learning environment that promotes and develops academic and

social growth.”

Attaining Learning Outcomes = Higher Achievement

Greeting students with their own handshake.... it means so much to greet your students.  Cool Teacher "Certain moves go with certain kids because it is personalized".  

• Monday:  Professional Development.  Potluck Breakfast.
• Tuesday:  Valentines Day.  District Comprehension Snapshots with Mastery Connect Opens.  PLC meetings please bring your laptop.  Pat in the building.  Valentine's Parties 2:30 p.m.  No Faculty Meeting -  School Board Election Day.
• Wednesday:  Regular school day.
• Thursday:  Brett out - Principal Meeting.  Smart Start.
• Friday:  In the Gap at Coolidge

MyOn Data:
Coolidge students have completed 23,576 books and spent 4,526 hours and 8 minutes reading.  The leader for the school continues to be 4th grade with 8,200 books completed and 1,596 hours and 49 minutes spent reading.  

Blake Weese has spent the most time in the building reading with 104 hours reading.

Intentional Relationships with your students:  Edutopia.org

22 Ways to Build Intentional Relationships With Your Students, Even If You're at a Big School

If you can't fit advisory into the master schedule, you can implement a lot of what Big Picture does during homeroom, in your classroom, or during lunch and break periods. At the heart of advisory is building intentional relationships with your students. Here are 22 ways to do that.

1. Know your students' names, suggests Snorten. When you use someone's name, you're recognizing their identity. It's simple, but it helps your students know that they're being seen.

2. Recognize something that your students like. "Even something as simple as, 'I know your favorite color is green,'" recommends Snorten. "Or, 'I know your favorite football team is the Washington Redskins' -- anything like that. It's a talking point."

3. Notice something about your students. "'Hey, I love your blouse. It's really pretty.' That extends itself for a conversation," explains Snorten.

4. Ask your students about their experience in after-school activities. You can say something like, "’Hey, I know that you were able to go speak in front of the mayor. Tell me what that experience was like for you,’" suggests Snorten. “Or, 'You all had a softball game the other day. I understand it was pretty tough. Share some fun things about it.' These kinds of conversations are quick, and they don't take hours and hours to build."

5. If a student is late (or acting up), check in with them. "Instead of saying, 'Go to class,'" suggests Courtney Ivy Davis, Nashville Big Picture's school counselor and internship coordinator, "start a conversation, and say something like, 'Hey, I've seen that you've been late for the past couple days. What's going on? Do you need some help with anything?'"

6. When you're having conflict with a student, use that as an opportunity. As a teacher, you’re positioned to help students problem solve and work out their issues. The language that you use in these situations is key, and Snorten advises asking the following questions:

• What happened with this situation?
• Was there something that you could have done differently? What would the outcome have been?
• What are resources that you can use to help you work through issues or concerns that you have?

Edutopia.org  Project Based Learning:

Last year, I was surfing Pinterest with the intent to find some interesting ideas to implement into my AP World History class. I came across several articles where individuals had used the classic tales animated by Walt Disney to encourage student learning. After thinking on this I had an epiphany: What if I could have students use their historical knowledge gained throughout the course to pick out the inaccuracies in Disney films? This had the potential to be an interesting project for students to explore a movie of their choosing and develop a polished presentation to teach their peers about the selected time period and region. I wanted to create an assignment in which students harnessed and nurtured their creative abilities but also accomplished the goals.

After extensive planning, I was able to develop a project that embodied the analysis of historical context, a fun animated classic, and also primary sources. The parameters for the culminating project were as follows:

1. Summarize the story as portrayed by Disney.
2. Determine the origins of the fairy tale. Where did the fairy tale originate in the world? How true to the tale did Disney stay?
3. Determine the setting of the movie (time and place) and whether the architecture is appropriate. (i.e.: Is Mulan set in Han China when the Forbidden City was not yet constructed?) Is the clothing congruent with the setting? How accurate are the appearance of the characters? Are there any geographic misrepresentations? (i.e.: Does Hercules mention visiting Mt. Kilimanjaro in Greece?)
4. Determine what was going on the world at this point in history. Consider all events globally and identify at least one major event from each continent (except Antarctica).
5. What historical inaccuracies can you find in the movie? Aside from talking animals and the magical powers of wands and genies, what fallacies are represented in the movie?
6. Select two primary sources from someone who would have been a contemporary during the time and in the location of the movie’s setting. If Beauty and Beast takes place in Revolutionary France, you can use a letter from Robespierre. This source should be connected in some way to the movie. If you use Robespierre’s letter, perhaps you want to relate it to Gaston in his attempt to raid the castle.

As with any new project, there is always some trepidation as to whether the outcome will be as desired. There were several what if that flowed through my mind. “What if the students really just see this as an excuse to watch a movie and really do not analyze it as I envision? What if the students just decide to turn in poster paper? What if I have not prepared my students to think about these movies in a global context and really analyze the movies? Have I really thought through any possible hiccups? With so little guidance into what the final product should look like, what should I expect?” Because my students had worked so hard to prepare for the AP test, I figured I would wing it. Trial and error, right?

At the end of this project, I was more than impressed. Of course, there are always modifications to be made but essentially all of my students created final presentation products that were polished, analytical, and comprehensive. I received some Prezi presentations, video compilations, elaborate PowerPoints, and even a PowToon. Several of my students reported that they learned more from this project than any other assignment in their history classes. Others reported the freedom they were given to search out resources and to create a product in a format other than a written report was refreshing.

I consider every lesson a learning experience no  matter how many times it has been implemented. This lesson with a select group of students has taught me that the studies supporting project based learning  encourages a deeper learning model. I have also learned, that despite our best intentions to maintain a structured environment, there is something beneficial about letting students guide their own learning. We as teachers all know that our students learn more when they are interested in a topic, but letting them drive their own learning takes this to the next level. Granted, I consider this assignment a success and plan to implement it again this spring, I am still considering taking this project even further into the redefinition category (for you SAMR fans). Perhaps, it is time to engage my students in a digital collaboration platform such as Google Drive or even the Microsoft 365.

References:

Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Estrada, V., and Freeman, A. (2015). NMC horizon report: 2015 K-12 edition. Retrieved from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2015-nmc-horizon-report-HE-EN.pdf

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This post was created by a member of Edutopia's community. If you have your own #eduawesome tips, strategies, and ideas for improving education, share them with us.

To Develop Every Child Into a Reader:

• Everyday a child reads something they choose to read.
• Every child reads accurately
• Every child reads something they understand.
• Every child writes something that is personal and meaningful daily.
• Every child talks with peers about reading and writing.
• Every child hears an adult reader read fluently.

Coolidge Elementary Academic Goals for 2016-2017

• All Students WILL achieve academically.
• Reading:  Increase reading proficiency by at least one grade level.
• Math:  Increase math achievement by 10% with 80% mastery of math facts on grade level.  
• Writing:  Increase writing proficiency by 15%
• Student Attendance:  Increase student attendance to 98%.
• Increase Faculty Attendance to 98%

OKCPS Literacy Standards

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OKCPS Math Standards

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Melissa Brett | Principal

Coolidge Elementary School | Oklahoma City Public Schools

5212 S. Villa, Oklahoma City, OK 73119

(405) 587-2800

(405) 208-1581 (cell)