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Building Leadership Skills with Team Building

6/14/2018

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​Submitted by Niamh McQuillan 
S.T.A.T. Teacher, 
Windsor Mill Middle
Windsor Mill teachers gathered in a circle, splashing in the puddles of mud in the wet grass at Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center in Parkton, Maryland. Erin, the camp counselor, placed a bucket of balls in the center of the circle and directed the Leadership Team to grab the number of balls that matched their responsibility load during a typical work day at school. Next she tasked the team with tossing the balls across the circle to each other until all the balls were in play. “Figure out how to make it happen,” she said, stepping back. Physical Education teacher, Adam Berkowitz and Music teacher, Marybeth Benesch, quickly took charge, seamlessly pairing their skills to lead large groups of people in synchronized activities.  The team began tossing one ball then built to two, four, and eight, until all the ‘responsibilities’ (minus a few that were tucked into pockets) were flying around the circle like a well-choreographed square dance.

For two hours on a Monday morning, Windsor Mill team leaders and department chairs learned to work together in a new way. Math Chair Lauren Savage remarked, “Being in an open space and a new environment gave me the opportunity to break down barriers, not only for myself, but with my colleagues as well.” Team Leader Kelsea George piped in and added, “It was exceptional fun.” The morning was part of a Leadership Retreat day to plan for the school’s August return and the rest of the year. Teachers spent the remainder of the day working in teams to refine and create ideas and materials.
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8th grade Team Leader Rafe Park said, “I have attended a lot of leadership retreats and have done a lot of team building exercises. This was the most effective one. I feel like we actually walked out with a plan and are now a stronger group of leaders. It was helpful that admin said go and have those open conversations.”

At the day’s close, Savage shared, “I feel re-energized and renewed to begin again. I am excited for the coming school year to implement the ideas and strategies that my peers and I collaborated on together today.”  
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Ridgely Middle School Celebrates Learning

6/14/2018

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Submitted by Susan Smith
S.T.A.T. Teacher, Ridgely Middle School
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Drones in Action at WMMS

6/14/2018

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Submitted by Niamh McQuillan 
S.T.A.T. Teacher, 
Windsor Mill Middle
On a beautiful early June afternoon, Principal Harvey Chambers gathered four drones and Ms. Hockenbrock and her students and led his small team outside. Jose and Yamar quickly grasped the mechanics of flying the tiny machine, and within minutes, one student had launched a drone and a second was cheering as it soared into the sky.
 
Next year, Windsor Mill Middle School will offer a Drone elective to 90% of its students. While WMMS has had a drone club for some time, when WMMS was named an International Baccalaureate candidate school in April, a new opportunity opened up to offer Drone Technology as a class. Since becoming a BCPS Lighthouse School four years ago, WMMS has integrated technology into the fabric of instruction. Drones can now be use to enhance learning even further. Principal Chambers noted, “There are math and science implications in flying drones. And it’s fun. What better way is there to make learning fun? It doesn’t get any better than this.”
 
Krystal Hockenbrock, teacher of WMMS FALS class was as delighted as her students with the adventure. “See the able, not the label,” she declared passionately. The team laughed with delight moments later when the students mastered the skill of flipping the drones high in the air. “With the right supports, our FALS students can do the same thing as other student do. They can learn and use technology, just like everyone else.” And have fun in the process. 
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Scientists in the Making

6/7/2018

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Submitted by Susan Smith
S.T.A.T. Teacher, Ridgely Middle School
Remember these names: Soma Hebbar, Nerissa Wong, and Ying Meng. These young Ridgely Middle School students are going places.
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Johns Hopkins University has an annual Spring Science Fair on the Homewood campus. The fair took place on April 21, 2018. These three RMS students participated in the Science Bowl, a science trivia competition, against approximately ten teams of children in grades 5-8. These bright seventh graders came in first place! Each won a trophy and a $25 gift card.

The girls also participated in another fun contest and placed second. It’s called Hopkins High-Rise Construction Project. Participants are challenged to build a tall structure using dry spaghetti, gumballs, and marshmallows.

Way to go, girls; you make Ridgely proud! For more information about this exciting JHU Science Fair, visit this website http://physics-astronomy.jhu.edu/events/annual-physics-fair/.There’s something for children in grades 1-12.
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Blended Learning in Action at CHS

6/1/2018

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Submitted by Raquel Dove-Natale
​English Teacher, Chesapeake High School
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Before I began to integrate blended learning practices in my classroom, learning was repetitive…we did the same types of activities every day and it had an impact on my student’s engagement.

I felt that I was restrictive in my instructional delivery, as I could only get to a few students at a time, and have those meaningful conversations around my content with them. I was in a “keep the train moving” mentality to try and get everyone to the same place at the same time...even if some weren’t ready yet.
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Being involved in the Formative Assessment professional learning community (or Flock as we call it) helped me to break from that one track mindset. I learned that the assessment cycle is on-going and after I had given assessment, I don’t need to move on no matter what; but build in structures to accelerate or remediate students… we call that being responsive. 
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I have also been exploring how to leverage technology to enhance my instruction. I have been recording my feedback conferences for revision on student writing and uploading them to a lesson tile. This allows my students to have a personalized experience and receive a one on one conference, while also saving me time (I don’t have to write feedback for each of my students).
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In my PLC and during my personal coaching conversations, I have also begun to explore success criteria. 
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​The impact on my students’ work ethic has been noticeable as they see the relevance in what they are doing and the expectations are clearly set. I am excited to continue to learn more about not only the formative assessment process; but acting on the data in order to be a more responsive teacher.
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