GUEST POST, Mrs. Petrin learns something new!

As a teacher, new to Hester Jr. High, I feel like each day thus far has been a “learn something new day”. I have really embraced my role as a facilitator of digital literacy. In order to reach my goal of becoming a distinguished educator, I have made an effort to become a connected educator. Meaning, I am making connections and collaborating with other educators all over the world using web 2.0 tools.

 I consider myself to be a private person, so putting my thoughts and ideas out into the world is a little scary for me. I started small by joining Edmodo Communities. I am able to share lesson ideas and resources with other teachers just like me! After attending a “Flipping Your Classroom” conference, I went out on a limb and joined Twitter. Next, I began to ‘Follow’ companies and people that relate to educational technology. I’ve since made a point to Tweet at least once a day about things we are doing in class or interesting articles about education that I’ve read. Each time I tweet, though, I have doubts. Am I using @ and # correctly? Have I given proper credit? Are my tweets too long? Is anyone even reading them? Turns out they are! I have slowly began to acquire more followers and have noticed that some of my tweets are being re-tweeted by the companies I follow!

Last night I took part in my first ever Twitter Chat. A twitter chat is an interactive conversation at a specific time on Twitter, using a common hashtag, such as #edmodochat. As this was a brand new experience for me, I was very nervous, but I joined the conversation anyway! It was awesome. The two Edmodo Ambassadors, facilitating the chat, were from Australia. It was 5 pm on Wednesday night for me and 10 am on Thursday morning for them. There was even a participant from Italy, where it was 1 am! The way the chats work are the person or people facilitating the discussion post a question relating to the topic and whoever has joined the chat can respond.

Last night, there were four discussion questions during the hour chat and about 10 participants. I learned how to use some new features and apps in Edmodo, and how other teachers utilize Edmodo in their classrooms. I even discussed creating a group with another teacher around the world, so our students could “meet” and collaborate. Another great feature is that this conversation is automatically stored “in the cloud”, meaning I can log into Twitter, type #edmodochat, and review the conversation anytime I need to. I was able to tweet directly to @Edmodo and @CommonSenseEdu thanking them for the wonderful resources they provide and they responded back to me! I learned some abbreviations for commonly used words, and best of all, I now feel more comfortable using the Twitter platform.

 I guess the easiest way to learn something new really is to dive in head first. I would recommend joining Twitter to any of my colleagues. It is a great way to connect with others who are in the trenches, experiencing the same things we are. Follow me @sarahpetrin. See you online!

Reading Lab writing assignment Nov. 19

I was walking down the basement hall on Tuesday afternoon and I happened to see my name on the marker board in Mrs. Reyes' classroom.  So naturally, I stopped to see what it was about.  It seems that our Reading Lab students were responding to a HYPOTHETICAL prompt about whether or not I should change the school day so it starts later.  Below is the prompt and their pleas for me (backed up with evidence) to start school later.  I'm much more of a night-owl than a morning person, so getting me on your side might not be as tough as you think! :]  I'm excited to read your responses and I might even have some follow-up questions, so make sure your argument is solid.

Mr. Trotter is debating whether or not he should start Hester Junior High School's day later than usual.  Your opinion counts!  Write a letter to Mr. Trotter explaining why or why not we should start school later than  usual.  Provide solid examples.

Hester Fall Concert Nov. 14, 2013 (pictures)

6th grade band

6th grade choir

Jazz band

.

Concert band

Combined chorus and concert band

Juggling: One week in!

One week in, and I have made some progress.

As soon as I announced to the school that I was challenging myself to learn how to juggle, the students told me that Mr. Grimm, our P.E. teacher, knew how to juggle. So I sought out the expert in the building!

Later that day, during 6th grade lunch, Mr. Grimm did a little demonstration of his juggling skills for the 6th graders and gave me some tips.  

I've been practicing for less than a week. I literally started from zero.  

After reading a little in the juggling book (pictured in the other post "here we go") and Mr. Grimm's tips........I can juggle two items with one hand for a few seconds.  

Catch the riveting video at  http://youtu.be/lRpJrYt-iIw

-One thing I have learned so far is that, like so many other things in life, juggling is very much mind over matter.  Training your brain to resist the urge to reach out and catch the bag rather than making a good throw and waiting for the bag to land in your hand is a exercise in patience.  

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thank you to all of the parents and students who came out to Hester Jr. High's report card pick up on Nov. 6th and 7th, 2013.  We had a total of  362 report cards picked up over both nights.  That works out to 85.4%. That smashes our recent history record (from last year) of 319.  I could not be more proud of our school!
Our fantastic Hester teachers conducted nearly 1400 parent conferences in two nights, WHEW!

Thank you also to our Hester community for your continued support in the success of our students! We couldn't do it without you!

For my Hester Wildcats:
6th grade met your 90% goal with 91% of report cards picked up.  You have earned an afternoon of popcorn and a movie, CONGRATULATIONS!
7th grade,  84% of your report cards were picked up. Still a very admirable job.
8th grade,  82% of your report cards were picked up. Also a very admirable job.

Although 7th and 8th grade did not meet the 90% goal we set for a grade-wide reward............I am open to being convinced that the reward should be given anyway.

Students or groups of students may post your well-crafted arguments as to why your grade-level should still receive the reward. I will take submissions until the end of the day Tuesday.  If you make an argument as a group, be sure to sign it from all members.  YOU MAY GET HELP FROM YOUR TEACHERS.
I can't wait to hear your arguments!
I would also love for you to share how many of you were able to get your report card picked up when it had not been picked up before. Share your success!

Here we go!

I'm ready! Thank you Amazon.com!
Notice the BOOK next to the juggling balls. Can anyone spot the importance of being able to read all types of text in this picture????????
Look for me in the lunchroom on Friday, time permitting.  I've already learned something new from the first few pages of the book.  It's less about the act of catching the ball and more about the perfect toss.

The Learn Something New Project

Here's the challenge, it's very simple: It's called the "Learn Something New Project"

Beginning November 6th, I'm challenging everyone who works at, attends, or is a member of our Hester community to learn something new during the second trimester.  Then share your experiences here on the blog! That's it.

"So what about you, Mr. Trotter, what are you going to do?"-Good question!
 I've always wanted to learn how to juggle. So I am going to challenge myself to be able to juggle 3 objects by the end of second trimester.  I'll be sharing my experiences on the blog, in the lunchroom, and hallway as I no doubt, make many drops on my way to learning to how to juggle.  Feel free to have a little laugh at my expense, but a word of encouragement would be ROAR-tastic too! 

What's your challenge? What will you learn? How long do you think it will take? Will you stop at just one thing?
What do you think Mr. Cybulski will learn?

I can't wait to read your posts about how you are going to challenge yourself to learn something new!

What's Get Hesterized mean?

Welcome to my brand new blog, Get Hesterized! 

My name is Giffen Trotter and I am incredibly lucky and honored to be the Principal at Hester Jr. High.

To me, "Get Hesterized" means to spend every day being ROAR-tastic.  When you exhibit Responsibility, Organization, a positive Attitude, and Respect you have been Hesterized!

What does it mean to you?  I can't wait to read your posts!