Tulips

I like tulips.  They're definitely my favorite flower.  They're simple.  They're perennials, and I like the concept of not replanting them every year.  I like them for their shape, colors, and scent as well.  But it's much more than that.  Tulips are usually among the first to bloom of all spring flowers. They often pop up while there's still snow on the ground.  In fact, as I ventured outside and around the side of the school building last week, I had to step around a few tulip sprouts in order to measure the snow on the birdfeeder.

When tulips sprout in March in Benzie County, nothing comes easy for them.  They have to find a way to survive.  The challenges are many; the odds are stacked against them.  Yet, they succeed in spite of these many challenges.

Educators and students deal with some huge challenges too, in America in general, and at Betsie Valley specifically.  We've worked hard, and we'll continue to work hard to find the necessary solutions.  Actually, identifying challenges, intervening, and finding solutions is at the very core of what we do.  In the end, we know that it's the challenges that make all the successes we experience so sweet.  Among so many other qualities, it's this mindset of perseverance in our staff and students that makes me so proud to participate in the great work taking place in our school.

A Glance at the Week Ahead:
Tuesday: Return from Spring Break; Behavior Boot Camp
Wednesday: Behavior Boot Camp
Thursday: Behavior Team Meeting 8am; Behavior Boot Camp; Chess Club 4pm
Friday:  Staff Meeting 8am; Kirsten G at BV; Daily Winners Reward 2:40; Movie Night 6:00pm

Links, Websites, and Resources
Brandi-Lyn Mendham is on the West Shore ESD General Education Services team (formerly Mason-Lake ISD). She highlights technology websites and resources on her blog, All Things Elementary.

This site is called "NewsHugs." Their tagline is: "No bad news, just the stuff that reaffirms your societal optimism."

This is the most addictive website for a person like me.  It's called What if. Tagline: "Answering your hypothetical questions with physics."

An interesting article summarizing a study at Michigan State University.  Using gestures while teaching math in elementary school is found to boost learning.

Great things happening at Betsie Valley Elementary:

Our guest on Thursday morning was TBAISD Assistant Superintendent Jason Jeffrey. He read "Moose on the Loose" to all our kids in each of our classes.

It was Spirit Week at Betsie Valley!  Kids wore clothes connected to different themes each day including a sports day and a formal clothes day.

On Friday, staff and students enjoyed a cozy clothes day.  At the end of the day, students chose between watching Hook, Swiss Family Robinson, Mary Poppins, Shiloh, and Sound of Music.

Hunter won the 2nd Grade Spelling Bee on Friday morning.  Great job to all the participants!

 

Students are ready for the movie to begin in Mrs. Erfourth's class on Friday afternoon.

Videos Worth Your Time

There have been some amazing games in the NCAA tournament so far.  None better than this one! Go Blue!

What is the best way to learn?

Nutrition

Research tells us that adequate nutrition in children has been shown to improve learning skills, whereas inadequate nutrition contributes to irritability and poor concentration.  We also know how poverty and food insecurity has led to high rates of diet-related diseases.  But Michigan’s second largest industry is agriculture, and that puts us amongst the top producers of asparagus, blueberries, cherries, and dry beans in the country.  Plus we have access to 20% of the planet's fresh water.

In my mind, there's no better place to educate kids about eating healthy food, good nutrition, and growing fruits and vegetables than at Betsie Valley Elementary.  Students have been offered great tasting healthy food at lunchtime from our kitchen at Betsie Valley for a long time.  Mrs. Garske works extremely hard every day to provide fresh, local foods to all our kids.

Our students have also been recently introduced to Kirsten Gerbatsch.  She's begun offering food samples in the cafeteria.  Kirsten works with the Michigan Land Use Institute and FoodCorps (pronounced "Food Core").  Students are really enjoying the food and lessons that Kirsten provides.  They were really responsive to trying the white bean dip in the lunchroom on Thursday.  Here are the voting results:

Tried it - 15

Liked it - 15

Loved it - 53

Total = 83 students participated/voted

Most of the kids said they had never tried a bean dip like this before. This is an easy recipe that can be made from scratch using canned beans.  Here's the recipe for the White Bean Dip: Combine 2 cups of cooked white beans, 1/4 cup water, 2 medium cloves of garlic (peeled and minced), 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. Serve with carrot sticks or whole wheat pita chips. This dip is also delicious on sandwiches and wraps.

The next time Kirsten is at Betsie Valley (Friday, April 5th), she may try another bean recipe, perhaps a bean salad.  Kirsten is wonderful with the kids, and brings a great energy to the building.

By providing opportunities for kids to try healthy, great tasting foods, we open up a multitude of possibilities.  We want to provide the absolute best opportunities for our students to learn, and the importance of good nutrition simply can not be ignored.

Great things happening at Betsie Valley Elementary

Mrs. Travis' is now providing students with a unique opportunity to learn to knit.  She offers a knitting club as an alternative for kids at their lunchtime recess.

Our 2nd - 5th grade students thoroughly enjoyed the performance of "Annie" on Wednesday, and displayed great bus and auditorium behavior!

Mr. Cox, Mrs. Erfourth, and Ms. Herban worked with me at TBAISD on Friday to begin the work of developing our 2013-2014 School Improvement Plan, complete with goals, objectives, strategies, and practices for each academic area.

The staff and students successfully executed a practice Lockdown Drill on Thursday morning.  Law enforcement from the Michigan State Police and Manistee Sheriff's Department were both complimentary on our school's safety and lockdown policies and procedures.

Ms. Dodge provided great leadership for eight of our staff members at our initial Behavior Team meeting on Thursday morning.  We developed a plan for the rest of the spring and a general focus for the fall.


Mr. Kelly worked with other staff from each of the other Benzie schools to develop a technology curriculum on Tuesday.


It's Spirit Week at Betsie Valley Elementary!  Here's A Brief Look at the week ahead:

Monday: Favorite Color + Historical Figure Day; 3rd Grade practices Mosaic at Auditorium; District Wide School Improvement; Girl Scouts

Tuesday: Sports and Exercise Day; 3rd Grade Mosaic 6pm at HS Auditorium

Wednesday: Dress Your Best + Fine Arts Day; First Day of Spring; School Improvement Team Meeting 8am

Thursday: School Spirit + Read-a-thon Day; Chess Club 4pm

Friday: Cozy Clothes + Movie Afternoon Day; Staff Meeting 8am

Links
A former school of education classmate of mine at Spring Arbor now leads Hamilton Community Schools as the Superintendent.  Blue Star Elementary School in Hamilton recently produced a lipdub video.  It's pretty neat.  You can watch it here.

That moment you realize you're appreciated -a link to a short story about a teacher having one of those moments.

Videos:

March Madness has begun.  Here's an excerpt from the ESPN movie, "30 for 30: Survive and Advance," based on the 1983 NC State title run as a #6 seed, and their coach Jim Valvano ("Jimmy V").

 

TEDtalk: growing your own food is like printing money.

 

Kirsten leads a hands-on activity with students in 1st grade

3rd grade students sample a bean dip at lunch

School Family

Jill and I have four children: Anderson (5), Oliver (3), Ellery (1), and Isaiah (6 weeks today).  We run our home similar to the way we've always run our classrooms as teachers.    There are clear boundaries and plenty of opportunities for everyone.  There are organized bookshelves, chalkboards hanging at kid level, a calendar center, storage cubbies for games, drawers with labels such as "Blocks" and "Things with Wheels," a coloring area, a crafts area, a train table, a sand and water table...  There's a place for everything and everything goes in its place.  Add in the marble jar to encourage and reinforce positive behavior, and factor in the weekly menu that's posted for all of our meals, and quite honestly, our house is just a license away from being a daycare or preschool.  Snapshots of a couple spaces in our house:

At this point in our lives, we are solidly in KID MODE.  Everything we do revolves around our children.  Hold on, now.  That does NOT mean that we do whatever our children want.  Often times it's quite the opposite.  It just means that for every decision Jill and I are faced with on a daily basis, we take our children into account: their safety, nutrition, interests, development, (bedtime), and so on.  The thing about all this is...we absolutely love it.  We feel enormously blessed and fortunate to have them as a part of our lives.  It is a privilege to be their care-takers.  It is also a massive responsibility to be their care-takers.  It is with that kind of perspective that we approach parenting every day.

I share that same sentiment about my school family.  The students we serve at our school are someone else's kids.  When families bring their children into our school building, they hand over responsibility for seven hours to us.  That's a very big deal!  Parents place a lot of trust in our team of teachers, para-pro's, cooks, office workers, custodial staff, mentors, and volunteers, so it's a great honor to then serve them in the ways that we do.

Great things are happening at Betsie Valley 
On Tuesday, Magician Bill Gang was a guest at Betsie Valley.  He shared with our kids both his love of reading as well as his talent and passion for illusions!

Students in Mrs. Reed's music class enjoyed a preview of the musical, "Annie" that they'll be seeing at the High School Auditorium next week.

Jared and Jen Milarch donated a wonderful hydorponic system to the school.  It is being set up in our new learning center for all our students to enjoy.

Friday evening was a generous outpouring of support for Johnna and her family.  Many thanks to our PTS, staff, and the entire community for so many contributions and for volunteering at the benefit spaghetti dinner.

Great Websites, Articles and Links

Click HERE to go to a useful and free website called TodaysMeet.  It's great for classrooms to encourage participation, incorporate technology, and practice keyboarding skills.  When projected onto the screen in the classroom, everyone can read the responses of everyone else in the room.

A Brief Glance at Next Week
Monday: Community Meeting @ 9:30.
Tuesday: PTS meeting 4:30
Wednesday: 2nd-5th Graders go to HS Auditorium for production of "Annie" 9:15.
Thursday: Special Ed Staffing 8am; Behavior Team Meeting 8am; Kirsten Gerbatsch (FoodCorps) will visit classrooms throughout the day; Lockdown Drill at 11am; Preschool Playgroup 9:30-10:45; Chess Club 4pm
Friday: School Improvement Team at TBAISD 8:30am

Do you have any children of your own?  Do you need a big laugh?  Do you like good, clean standup comedy? Seriously, watch this!

Often times we talk about trying to build a plane while flying it: it resonates at so many levels!

This kid has a message to share!  Thumbs up...

"Reading is Magic" Assembly pictures

Gavyn, Jasmine, Ella, and Althea recently participated in a Chess tournament in Ludington

Teaching with Technology

It's March now, so I'm getting interested in basketball again.  Does anyone know when and where basketball was invented?  I can find the answers to those questions pretty quickly and easily.  I'll just open another tab on my laptop here and type it into google.  I'll have answers in just a few seconds.  I do about fifteen or twenty web searches every day.  I don't think I used to seek that much information, but because I know I'll be able to find answers so quickly, I do.  We are definitely becoming more inquisitive people in this age of information.

When all of us were in school, teachers would teach us facts.  Now, when there's a fact-based question that needs answered, it can be googled, anywhere and in any place, so teaching facts just isn't quite as important anymore.  Though schools may not have to teach facts in quite the same ways they once did, we'll certainly need to teach students how to effectively find the answers to the questions they have.  So, students of today need access to reliable computers and exposure to the world through the internet.  Kids can then seek, find, and share information.  That's a big deal: students becoming engaged and playing a large role in the learning process.

Twelve months ago, almost to the day, the Benzie County Central community showed its support for its schools by passing a nearly $2 million bond proposal, mostly for new technology in our schools.  If you voted, thank you!  Our labs are all now equipped with plenty of wonderful new internet-connected computers! Also, (almost) every classroom is equipped with a document camera and data projector.  Our new technology certainly isn't going to do magical things for our schools.  But in the end, the new computers and cameras will serve as very useful tools.  They'll go a long way in helping teachers develop our students.

Great things happening at Betsie Valley Elementary

Six kids enjoyed root beer floats on Monday as winners of the raffle at the Community Meeting.

Students who see Ms. Austin for speech therapy now enjoy a bigger and brighter area to work as her space has moved to occupy a portion of the professional learning center.

The Girl Scouts held their version of the Daytona 500 in the gym after school on Monday.  The running of the Bobcat 500 was a huge success!

Fourth grade boys played a rousing game of lightning in gym class with Mr. Moss on Wednesday.  Once they learned how to play it, that game was a big hit.

Both the fourth and the fifth grade classes were rewarded with ice cream sandwiches on Wednesday for their excellent lunchroom behavior recently.

Articles Worth Reading

7 Critical Truths We Forget All Too Soon

Videos Worth Watching

This is such a refreshing story!

Kindergarteners show their support for classmate Andrew with their Stay Strong bracelets

The Girl Scouts' Bobcat 500 was Monday afternoon

3rd Graders Enjoyed their Field Trip to Leelenau!

Engaging Kids

Have you seen those AT&T commercials where a man in a suit sits down to chat with a handful of elementary aged children?  There are several different variations of them.  They start out with the man asking the kids if it's better to do two things at once or just one, if more or less is better, if faster or slower is better. The answer the kids give is always the obvious choice: they think doing two things is better, and that more and faster is unquestionably best.

As for a phone, having faster and more available options is important, and perhaps it's better.  In school, if we took our cues from the voices of the most outspoken kids, our goal would be to make things super exciting all the time and put a focus on just having fun.  We'd put a priority on doing only exciting, eye-catching activities. Though we do consider the interests of the students, they haven't the maturity to know the difference between what's engaging and what's essential.

Don't be mistaken, kids have great thoughts and we ought to always listen to their suggestions, but teachers take multiple factors into account when making classroom decisions.  They look for what's best for the entire group.  They know the purpose of every activity and can sense when it's time to wrap it up.  They know when to reteach and when to move on to the next lesson, when to circle back, and how to scaffold and differentiate.  Teachers know best.

Teachers are most successful when they're able to take those essential things in the curriculum and make them engaging.  Doing that is challenging, yet very possible.  That, in essence, is our calling and our charge.

Some of the great things happening at Betsie Valley Elementary

It was a joy to spend some time in Mrs. Erfourth's first grade class on Thursday morning.  I'm thankful for each of the opportunities I get to teach in the classrooms.

Mr. Luebke's 3rd grade class enjoyed a day in the out-of-doors on a field trip to Leelenau on Friday.

All week long, technology maintenance requests are sent to Grant.  Then on Thursday, Grant pops out to Betsie Valley and is ALWAYS very helpful with all our computer and other technology needs.

The first graders appreciated the ice cream treat at lunch on Friday.  Mrs. Couturier and Mrs. Hathaway appreciated the great first graders' behavior over the past couple weeks as they worked hard to earn that reward.

As custodian, Mike is constantly going above and beyond his call of duty to take care of some maintenance needs in and around the building.  His work in the new Professional Learning Center and on the stage in these past two weeks has been incredibly helpful.

I'm constantly amazed at the Betsie Valley community in the many ways they look to help each other out and take care of each other.  Last month, it was the food drive.  This month, in the wake of a devastating tragedy, there have been several donations made, and now other plans are in the works for a benefit to raise even more money.  The old adage, "It takes a village..." is reality at Betsie Valley.

Interesting Videos

Quick Key is a new iPhone app.  Watch the developer use it to grade some multiple choice quizzes! (2 mins)

So you think you're busy...(3 mins)

Laughter is the best medicine...(4 mins)

Fourth Grade

Fourth grade was an amazing year for me.  My dad's job moved our family out of the city of Jackson and into a country home in Greenville, MI. We would only be there for a year, but it would be a definitive year with some great memories.

Many of the best of those memories are from school.  I earned a 100% on the Math and Reading MEAP tests that year.  My teacher, Mr. Scogg, greeted me at the door every morning with a handshake and a "hello," and there was this really cool reading loft I could use when I had all my other work finished.

My attitude and feelings toward school changed a lot that year.  The change was profound. Mr. Scogg believed there was something special and unique about me: perhaps a character trait or other quality.  He believed that there was something about me that could be found only in me.  He convinced me of that.  I knew I had to try my best.  At everything.  He inspired me to be the me that he saw.  

There is no doubt about what made fourth grade my year.  It was Mr. Scogg.  Several studies have shown that of all the school-based factors that go into why kids succeed in school, quality teachers ranks number 1.  It wasn't the MEAP accomplishments.  Or the reading loft.  It was, without a doubt, Mr. Scogg.  He loved doing his job, and he was very good. I had a few quality teachers throughout my school years, and I'm glad one of them was there the year I moved to Greenville in 4th grade.

Great Things Happening At Betsie Valley

All students attended a "Chill Out" Assembly on Tuesday where they learned the importance of being safe while having fun this winter.

Mr. Wassa's class enjoyed a fun day of lunch and recess right in the classroom on Thursday.  Funny how kids enjoy that change, isn't it?

The high school "choir for hire" was at Betsie Valley to serenade kids in kindergarten and 2nd grade.

Kids at both lunchtimes enjoyed the cookies that Mr. Luebke's class sold during the bake sale this week.

During the BACN food drive, Ms. Herban's 4th grade class donated over 250 food items and earned the Ice Cream Party.

All classes are spending time in the new computer lab.  It is tough to find a time to get in there.  Kids are getting more and more comfortable and confident using technology.

Articles & Websites

It's the Working Toward a Goal that Makes People the Most Happy

5 Excuses Kids Give for Not Reading (And Ways to Respond)

My friend Anna's blog, My Life and Kids is a Top 5 Funny Blog in Parenting Magazine.


Videos

Ted Talk: Engaging elementary-age kids online (15 mins)
 

Teachers! (2 mins)
 

 

The Bake Sale this week benefited the 3rd grade field trip to Leelenau

 

A Valentine serenade by the choir visited Mr. Kelly and Ms. Dodge's Room

Ice Cream reward for 4th graders... winners of the BACN Food Drive Competition

This is what my desk looked like at the end of Valentines Day

Measuring Success

With all the recent talk about MEAP scores, AIMSweb testing, and the incoming Smarter Balanced Assessments and NWEA MAP tests, I think it's important to remember that while these tests may be able to measure the degree to which a student can read and answer questions, the test scores that are produced really aren't a good measurement of a student's overall success in school.  Here are some personal qualities that we continuously work to develop in our students. None of these can be measured with standardized tests.

Creativity - It's what separates humans from machines, so that has to be incredibly important to cultivate in a child.

Motivation - If we can instill in a child the desire to want to work hard, regardless of any external incentive, that is worth all the time we can give it.

Persistence - Failure ought to be fun.  Seriously.  Trial and error is the best way to learn anything.  When learning becomes just a guided tour instead of an adventure, then failure isn't fun, and you find yourself choosing to do only the things you think you'll do successfully. 

Curiosity - C'mon.  It never killed anybody.  It did, however, lead to the discovery of pretty much everything that's ever been discovered.


Reliability - Kids want adults to count on them.  We need to continue to create opportunities for them to be counted on.  When they recognize that we need them to follow-through with something, that's what they'll do. 

Enthusiasm - Kids don't need to be taught what this is.  However, they need to be taught how to channel it appropriately and to be able to call on it when it's lacking.

Compassion - Whether it's donating to a food drive or calling a timeout in the middle of a football game on the playground to make sure your opponent is okay, kids get opportunities ALL DAY to demonstrate compassion.

And that's just naming a few.  There are more.  Many more.  How about courage? Leadership. Resourcefulness. Humor. Humility.  It's impossible for standardized tests to measure any of these characteristics, yet they're the focus of the most important lessons we teach every day. I'm referring to the teachable moments.  They come up more frequently than we ever anticipate.  And when they do, if we see them as interruptions, we get frustrated.  It's when we greet them as opportunities that we remember we have the most important job in the world.


Great things happening at Betsie Valley

Mrs. Travis led several data-based discussions with classroom teachers and parapros on Monday, which led to the reorganization of most of our reading and math intervention groups.

Kids at every grade level impressed me with their generosity during last week's BACN food drive.  Many students brought in entire boxes of food to donate to families who need it most in our area.

Mrs. Vanderlinde's 2nd graders put their hands on straws and pipe cleaners during math this week in order to create their own polygons. Squares, triangles, and rectangles were among the shapes they created.

Students are noticing a BIG difference in the way textbooks, artifacts, and other manipulatives are being displayed in their classrooms.  The new data projectors are now being used in nearly every classroom at Betsie Valley.

Mr. Luebke's 3rd graders received mini ice cream sandwiches after lunch from Mrs. Couturier and Mrs. Hathaway early in the week.  These kids' behavior in the lunch room has been OUTSTANDING!

I had the opportunity to share an ice cream treat with Dathan and Angel on Monday afternoon.  What a well-timed positive interaction with those kids!

Videos, Articles, Links, and Websites worth your time

Health Benefits of Running in Cold Weather - Short Article

Snow Day Calculator - What are the chances of a "Snow Day" tomorrow?  Check the website.

Michigan Basketball Schedule - The schedule for the University of Michigan men's basketball team.

A great clip from a great movie (2 mins)

A TED talk. The Happy Secret to Better Work. Great for everyone to watch (12 mins)

A little humor from Ellen. (2 mins)

2nd graders Jazline and Chance in Mr. Kelly's room using iPads.

5th Grade Camp!