Technology, Music, Connecting the World

I just visited with our music teacher, Mr. Grunwald, who shared some amazing videos with me. The Libertyville and Washington Elementary theme for the year is "A Collaboration Age." Our goal has been to move beyond the physical walls of our building to create collaboration among staff in various buildings, to encourage community and parent involvement, and to enrich the learning opportunities for our students.

I think you'll enjoy the following videos, and will be able to clearly see how powerful technology can be in supporting "A Collaboration Age.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 1

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 2

Thank you Mr. Grunwald!

Also, for fun, visit this music and "old school" technology masterpiece! Touch Wood

Standards-Based Report Cards

Next year, all Fairfield Elementary students in grades k-4 will receive the new standards-based report card. Currently, kindergarten and 1st grade are using this type of report card. Rather than students receiving the traditional As and Bs, or the common elementary Es and Ss, They will receive scores of 1-5. I read a great article today that provides a nice overview of the change.

Rethinking Report Cards

Why Formative Assessments Matter | Edutopia

Why Formative Assessments Matter | Edutopia

This is a great article. Formative assessment is foundation for Response to Intervention.

You Can't Send a Duck to Eagle School

Thanks to Mr. Sathoff for sharing this.

Do You Cha Cha?

Cha Cha is a free information service. People can text limitless types of questions to 242-242 (cha-cha) and receive answers in 1-5 minutes.

I learned about Cha Cha from my teenagers.  This is a go-to source of information and entertainment for my daughter. During the last year we have "cha-cha-ed" to find out:

• How is powdered milk made?
• Can two baby birds hatch from one egg? (sparked from a family conversation about The Decorah Eagles.

and of course...

• How does olive oil lose its virginity?

When I realized that my daughter was using Cha Cha, it reminded me of a story that I heard last year about a kindergarten student.  The teacher asked the class how they could find out how snow is made. Her goal was to talk about encyclopedias. One kindergarten student piped up, "If I had one of those fancy phones, I would look it up on Google."

I have noticed that our family tends to use Cha Cha most when we are out and about, having conversations, and are curious about random things. More and more frequently I catch myself saying, "Hey, let's Cha Cha that." Tonight, we were talking about the third Decorah eagle egg. The discussion meandered from "Do you think it will hatch?" to "What will the eagles do if it doesn't?" and then "Can two eaglets hatch from one egg?" Our family conversation didn't end with us all wondering. We just asked Cha Cha, and learned something new!

So, what do you say? Do a little dance...? Try cha cha!

Cha cha says 

ChaCha is like having a smart friend you can call or text for answers on your cell phone anytime for free! ChaCha works with virtually every provider and allows people with any mobile phone device - from basic flip phones to advanced smart phones - to ask any question in conversational English and receive an accurate answer as a text message in just a few minutes.

What’s your question?
Simply text your question to 242242 (spells ‘ChaCha’) or call 1-800-2ChaCha (800-224-2242) from your mobile phone to ask any question. What are you waiting for? Ask away!

Teamwork

Thanks to Mr. Wear for sharing this video!

Boxtops for Education

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How you can help

 Here are a few ways you can help our schools:

• Count and submit Box Tops before the big submission times, in October and February.
• Put a Box Tops collection bin at your workplace, place of worship, health club, or other places you regularly spend time.
• Get friends and family members to contribute by collecting Box Tops and signing up for Box Tops online. No matter where they live, they can make a difference for your school!
• Let your school know you’re ready and willing to do what they need. 

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