Congratulations to ITEC Presenters

Three proposals from Libertyville and Washington Elementary Schools in the Fairfield Community School District were selected to present at this year's ITEC (Iowa Technology and Education Connection) Conference in October.

Presenters include:

• Shelley Carter & Brianna Thornton, 2nd grade teachers
• Brandi Strickler, Kindergarten teacher, with John Grunwald, Music Teacher
• Kelly Schloss, Principal

Stay tuned for updates about their presentations.

http://www.itec-ia.org/

We're Off to a Great Start

It was an energizing week for me! Throughout the short week with students, I was reminded of several things.

1) Remember and treasure their innocence. It's easiest to see in the kindergarten students. They are learning so many new routines, and trying so hard. The rudimentary drawing of a fork and spoon that I had drawn on the silverware buckets at lunch had worn off since I drew them on last year. I noticed that our new cook had written "Forks" and "Spoons" on the bucket. She smiled when I asked to borrow her marker to draw the symbols on again... "Some of 'em can't read yet," I said. She nodded.

One afternoon, I walked past the girls' bathroom. I heard a small voice say, "How does this work..." Then SPLOOOSSHHHH... The same voice said "Oh!" I smiled to myself, thinking of all of the little things we "just know."

As a staff, we watched Van Harden's reading of the Dan Valentine poem, "I Trust You'll Treat Her Well," which I enjoy listening to each fall before school starts. I reminds me to treasure the innocence.


2) Students remember how we treat them. When I asked the students, "What is my job? What is the principal's job?" Most of them started with the regular, "takes care of naughty kids." Several students, ones who have actually been to the office, said, "She helps you solve problems."


This morning I was visiting a 2nd grade classroom where students were working on math. One little boy motioned me over and whispered, "I need help on this one. It's big." It was a word problem. 

Last year, when he was a first grader, I noticed that he was supposed to be working on math and had a huge pile of bear counters in front of him. I saw that he was pushing them around and acting busy. I kneeled down and quietly asked him to read the first problem, "7-3=  ". He said, "Seven, three." I explained the symbols to him, and we reread the problem together. Then I modeled that 7 meant that we start with 7 bears. I counted out seven, and pushed the rest aside. Then, we took three away. We counted the leftovers. After another problem, I was on my way to the next classroom. That afternoon I wandered into music class. He wiggled and wiggled. Finally, there was a break as students were putting materials away. He turned around and said, "Mrs. Schloss! I finished ALL of my math!"


Back to this morning. We read the problem together. Mother baked 6 chocolate chip cookies. She gave two cookies to Kevin. How many did she have left? I whispered, "Do you remember last year when we worked with the bears?" He nodded. I said, "If we counted out bears for the cookies, how many would you count out?" He said, "6." "So, how many does Kevin get?" "2." "Great, can you see them in your mind? Moving two away? How many are left?" "4!" "Right!" 

3) I am part of an awesome team.  Repeatedly this week, adults came together to get things done. There were duties, and planning. New students, open house, and classrooms to get ready. Students who weren't sure what buses to get on. It was busy, busy, busy... Nonetheless, every time that I walked into a classroom, a meeting, or down the hallway, my teammates were smiling and teaching students, connecting with families, and working to provide the best education for each student. Many people had their flexibility tested this week, and I am very thankful for their positive team approach.

Getting Ready, With Passion

from Edutopia 

Edutopia shares words of wisdom to re-ignite your passion for education.


Outstanding in Your Field: What It Takes to
Be a Great Teacher
Ben Johnson ponders what it means to be excellent in education.

Why Do You Teach? What Sustains Us in
Our Work
Elena Aguilar reflects on what keeps educators in the classroom.

Just Get Out There!
Andrew Marcinek reminds us to put aside excuses and take a risk or two.  

Summer Reading Lists – A Way To Stay Cool On Hot Days

It's finally getting hot outside. If the kids are indoors cooling off, here are some books and activities to keep them reading. This website, education.com, provides grade level reading lists for preschoolers through third grade. They also suggest several fun activities such as creating a kids' book club, having children illustrate a famous book, and pretending to be characters in the story they're reading. There are also tips for parents to help “sneak and asked her reading.”

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Research shows that students who do not engage with books during the summer often halve “summer learning loss.”  This tends to be more true for students who do not have access to books, or, simply take a break from school during the summer. Our Fairfield Public Library is a wonderful resource for summer reading materials and activities. Parents, family members, and family friends can encourage students to read in everyday situations. Young students often use context clues, the beginning letter of words, in the shape of words to guess what word is. For example, children recognize signs, advertisements, and labels of common household items, and often infer what word is. This is a great strategy!

It is also important for children to interact with other types of print such as magazines and books. In primary grades, teachers assess “concepts of print.” Here are some examples and questions you can ask your child regarding concepts of print.

• Does the child recognized the front of the book?

         Say: Show me the front of the book.

• Does the child  know that the print, not the picture, is what is to be read?

         Say: I will read this book to you. Show me where to read.

• Does the child know that print is from left to right?

         Say: Which way do I go?

• Does the child know that at the end of the line they should return to the next line?

         Say: Where do I go after that?

• Does the child have one-to-one  matched with voice to print?

         Say: Point to the words as I read.

• Does the child understand the concept of first and last?

         Say: Show me the first part of the story. Show me the last part of the story.

• Does the child know that the left page is read before the right page?

         Say: Where do I start reading?. (After opening the book to a page with words on the left and right pages.)

• Does the child know the meaning of a question mark?

         Say: What is this for? (Pointing to a question mark.)

• Does the child know the meaning of a period?

         Say: What is this for? (Pointing to a period.)
Feel free to stop by the school Facebook page and share what you're reading! Maybe you'll find others with similar interests who are looking for a good book. Have a great summer! Mrs. Schloss

Related Sites

• http://www.education.com/seasonal/summer-reading/?cid=55000.0066263073&s_kwcid=TC|8363|elementary+summer+reading||S|b|3490238845&gclid=CMa8v7-04KkCFQvKKgodhRptXw
• http://www2.youseemore.com/fairfield/default.asp?
• http://www.facebook.com/pages/Washington-Elementary/113499418712782?ref=ts#!/pages/Libertyville-Elementary/164305143594642

Lifeguard Visit Thrills Campers at Camp Courageous

April 29th, 2011

Washington Elementary student, RJ Hawkins, loves helicopters. His teacher, Jen Christensen, and flight paramedic Ben Schloss came up with the idea to see if Lifeguard Air Ambulance from St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids could fly in and land while the students were attending Camp Courageous.

Camper RJ got to sit in the Pilot’s seat with his teacher Jen Christensen with the help of Pilot Skip Barthle.

All the students from Fairfield got to see the helicopter up close with the help of its crew.

There was time for a group photo before the crew took off. From left to Right: Washington Teacher Jennifer Christensen, Flight Paramedic Marni Wacha, Flight Nurse Vicki Petersen, Student RJ Hawkins, Pilot Skip Barthle and Craig Willoughby.

Thank you to Jeanne from Camp Courageous, Debbie from Lifeguard, Mrs. Christensen and Mr. Schloss for making this dream come true!

Congratulations Teachers, We're Almost at 100%

Out of the 30 teachers serving Libertyville and Washington Elementary schools, only 6 do not have blogs. This means that 80% of teachers have blogs to share information with families, communities, and their students. What an awesome job you have all done! Just remember, "Don't be afraid of bronze!"



"They say that bronze will revolutionize they way we hunter gather,"

From Airhead to Genius

I have always wanted the same things for my children that other parents want - for them to grow up to be good adults - kind, caring, helpful, smart, witty, responsible and adaptable. As our children made normal "kid" mistakes, we used the lens of "raising good adults" to make decisions about how to address their behavior.

It can be especially tough for teenage girls. I hope that the video below can help inspire teenage girls to give up the facade of being "airheads" and put the on the armor of being "genius"!

Watch the full episode. See more NOVA scienceNOW.

Yoky Matsuoka, A former tennis prodigy aims to create advanced prosthetic limbs controlled by human thought.