Update, Week of February 1, 2010

Hello,

This is my first ever blog, so please be patient. Blogging is actually not something I really ever saw myself doing but as technology changes the way we communicate changes too. I'm hoping that this will be a useful tool and that you will gain some valuable information about our school and how we are trying to help our students learn. One of my goals is to provide valuable technology tools for our students in our school so we are preparing our students for the 21st century. This is something that you will hear me talk a lot more about in upcoming blogs. If you have suggestions, please contact me.

As I look out my office window, I see that once again we are being blessed with some snow! If I only loved to ski as much as I love to play golf! Oh well, at least it's February!

This week we have had some great things going on at our middle school. We have had a successful week of learning. I have had the opportunity to visit multiple classrooms this week which has been fun. I was able to team teach in both 6th and 8th grade math classrooms. In both instances it was interesting to hear the student conversations. We have a lot of good things going on in our classrooms. Some of the questions and thinking strategies that I witnessed this week have been impressive.

One new thing I'm trying to do with our teachers is to visit their classrooms and video capture segments of their lessons. I did this for the first time this week. After capturing the video the teacher and I, and sometimes a team of teachers, will go back and review the video. From this experience we can offer suggestions to each other about teaching practices and hopefully learn from each other. We have the technology available to do this. This type of learning requires are teachers to be open and honest with each other. This is a great thing!

Another awesome thing I got to witness this week at Clear Creek Amana was on Wednesday night when our middle school Future City Team presented to the school board. The team members are Anna Johnson, Gabi Scarpa, and Allison O'Keefe. The team recently became the first CCAMS team to win a state championship. As a result of winning the state the team will travel to Washington DC next week to compete in the National Championship. Based on what I saw at the board meeting this group will represent CCA exceptionally. The team will be accompanied to DC by CCA teacher, DeAnna Kellenberger and mentor and retired CCA teacher, Creig Dunlap. We are all very proud of you and good luck!!

Next week we have basketball games on Monday (Mount Vernon, 7th grade home) and Friday (Vinton, 8th grade home). We also have a swim meet next Tuesday night at Muscatine. Good luck to all of our athletes. So far I'm proud of how our teams are competing. Not only are they doing well, but they are representing our school in a positive way.

The middle school play cast and crew have been busy building set and preparing for their upcoming performance. The group is under the direction of middle school teacher, Jess Sauer. This years production will be "Cinderella in New York."

Next Wednesday during advisory time some of the high school teachers will present information to our 8th graders in the auditorium. This will be an informational session for our 8th graders explaining some of the classes and programs that they can be a part of next year. This is all part of the transition to high school process.

Next Monday our teachers at the middle school will benefit from some technology training through our AEA consultant. The teachers at the middle school are eager to use technology within their classrooms. We must learn everyday to catch up and keep up!!

Next Friday night, from 7 to 10 PM, we will have a middle school dance in our gymnasium. If you have questions about the dance, please contact our counselor, TJ Croco at tcroco@cca.k12.ia.us.

Have a great weekend! If you need anything, please contact me.