HUMS Staff week of April 29, 2019

1.  Hello all, 

We have a very busy week.   Some reminders:
a.  Holocaust presenter - April 30
b.  Parent/Teacher conferences - Wednesday, May 1
c.  Climate Rally - Wednesday, May 1
d.  NOTICE - HUUSD decision on school choice final decision this week .
Blood Drive - April 30 - They will be using the middle school gym.
We will have recess in the gallery (4 square and outside on the basketball court.
I will ask that the Blood Drive no longer be held in the middle school gym s
tarting next year.  Too many disruptions in the schedule may
lead to climate issues. 

Duane:  Monday evening, MRVCF board meeting, Fayston Principal Interviews Tuesday right after school until 8:30, Wednesday family/teacher conferences, Thursday, Admin team - 2:30 - 6:30.

2.  Meeting 

April 30 - Full Faculty (Part II of Recovery Session Planning)

May

May 7 - TA Meeting (Middle School Meeting) Kendra's room

May 14 - Shared Staff Meeting

May 21 - Full Faculty (Part III of Recovery Session Planning)

3.  Reminder: 

SBAC information

Hello all, 

Here are the dates for our SBAC assessments.   

8th Grade ELA:  5/7 - 5/10

8th Grade Math: 5/14-5/17

7th grade ELA/MATH:   May 20-May 24. 

Make-ups? 

4. Since Spring is right around the corner - and it is nice outside (sort of) - here is an article about learning/students and moving.

 Jennifer Gonzalez on Getting Students Moving in Class

            In this Cult of Pedagogy article, Jennifer Gonzalez makes an impassioned plea for more movement in classrooms. “The concept of ‘learning styles’ has overwhelmingly been labeled a myth by researchers,” she says, “so attempting to determine which of your students are kinesthetic learners will not be a good use of your time. What is worth your time is using movement when working with all learners because plenty of research backs that up.” Here’s why:

-  More information gets into long-term memory when it’s presented in more than one modality – for example, visual, verbal, and kinesthetic.

-  Even the addition of a few small hand gestures positively affects what’s remembered.

-  Physical movement activates the brain, improves cognitive functioning, and boosts academic performance.

All this, says Gonzalez, means that “any kind of physical activity, not just movement associated with the material we’re learning, can benefit students academically.” She suggests six ways to include movement in classrooms (click on the link below to see classes demonstrating most of these):

            • Total physical response– Developed for second-language learners, this involves students using physical gestures to represent words they’re learning – or any other content.

            • Tableau/snapshot– Students use their bodies to create a physical “picture” to represent an idea.

            • Simulations– Students demonstrate content with some kind of motion – for example, the human circulatory system or the difference between linear and exponential growth. Gonzalez has a cautionary note on using simulations for potentially disturbing historical material – for example, slavery. 

            • Songs with movement– One Massachusetts teacher uses custom-made lyrics to help his students remember challenging concepts like Bodak particles. 

            • Virtual and augmented reality– AR headsets immerse students in a 360-degree computer-generated environment and get their bodies moving. Google Expeditions offers “tours” of over 500 locations, including historical landmarks, national and state parks, underwater sites, and close-ups of scientific phenomena. Students can create their own expeditions with Google Tour Creator. 

            • Brain breaks– YouTube has videos for quick classroom breaks for all ages, from Tooty Ta for first graders to toe-tapping with high-school math students.

            Gonzalez closes with a few suggestions:

-  Don’t overdo it – you don’t want students saying “Not that again!”

-  Get input from students – they may have the best ideas.

-  Use movement for retrieval practice, repeating movements in short practice sessions.

-  For younger students, gestures linked to content matter more than they do for older students.

“To Boost Learning, Just Add Movement” by Jennifer Gonzalez in The Cult of Pedagogy, March 31, 2019, https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/movement/