Friday, August 17, 2018

Another First Day of School in the Books!

Year 31 in Education and I still get nervous the day before school! I absolutely love the first day of school. Teachers feverishly getting their classrooms ready, students and parents walking around the school peering in excitedly to see a familiar face, and the love and energy buzzing around the hallways. It's almost like Christmas! Yesterday was our first day of school and I had the pleasure of hanging out with the PreK and Kinder students ALL day. Whew! What a day! But so much fun! There were hugs and lots of them! There were tears and lots of them - parents and kids! But the best part of the day was getting to talk to 4 and 5 year old's. It's true what they say, "Kids say the darnedest things!" Here are the highlights of those conversations: “My dad’s name is daddy.” “I work out!” “My yogurt has m&m’s in it! “Get your hands out of your pants!” And then 4:15 on that same day when the last car rider pulls away you realize your body is old, tired and your energy level is zapped out! You go home and fall asleep early and dream about the next day! Welcome Back to School!

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Back to School!

As I sit in my little office, next to the fourth and fifth grade teachers getting ready for our first day back to school, I hear sounds of happiness, summer stories, planning details and hints of excitement in their voices! It reminds me of the hard work and the fun work some of us are privileged to be able to call our careers. It also reminds me of how important the work we do matters! While I am catching up from my "busy" summer of providing professional development to educators, I am also sitting here remembering that my work matters only a fraction to the tireless hours my neighbors are putting into getting ready to greet new students. The dedication they exhibit and excitement is compared to few places I have ever worked outside of education. It makes me proud to be apart of something really big - educating children!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Editing Technique

It's been a long time since I've been on my own blog. Life has changed a lot for me. I left Boston and now am working for Alvin Independent School District as a Curriculum Specialist. I am training 7 new literacy coaches!!! I love it! BUT, am crazy busy and in a state of confusion most days. Anyhoooooo....

Our district has been trained in the writing process through Abydos (formerly known as New Jersey Writing Project). An editing technique from Abydos training we use is a technique called Ratiocination. I am attaching a PDF I found from another district explaining the process. I hope you find it useful! Would love to hear back from anyone using this technique. Download here.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

I spent the morning working with district colleagues and Irene. Just as I was beginning to feel overwhelmed with work in education I am now rejuvenated!

We spent the morning discussing our roles as trainers of coaches and big ideas we should work toward. I came away from the talk thinking how important it is that we continue to hone our observation and analysis skills.

I'm going to include a few "one-liners" of Irene's that have me thinking in new and deeper ways. Hope you find them thought-provoking as well!

Thanks to everyone in the training this morning for contributing to my learning!


"It's more than changing teaching, it's changing thinking."
"Teaching is a beautiful blend of art and science."
"Talk reveals her (the teacher) understanding."

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Happy New Year! Can you believe 2010 is here! What's your resolution this year???

This week is Literacy Collaborative training week 4. We've been digging into our the reading and writing work of our case study students. It's a great group of people!

I want to share a great book I just read, Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore. It's a story about 2 unlikely men that become friends and the woman that brought them together. It's a true story, one that will make you laugh and cry. I highly recommend you read this fabulous book!

I also am putting together list of new titles for children. I'll post them soon.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Friday, December 11

Today was the last day of Week 3 of the Coaching Academy. I had the opportunity to work with a great group of educators from all around the northeast. We worked very hard analyzing teaching and honing our coaching skills. It was a great opportunity to meet 17 dedicated educators that are working hard to help teachers meet the needs of all their students. If any of you read this I hope you will keep in touch.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Thursday, December 10

Today in the coaching academy we focused our coaching on writing. We watched a grade 1 and grade 7 lesson. The group also listed some helpful resources. Hope you all find them helpful!

Janet Angelillo - A Fresh Approach to Teaching Punctuation, Writing to the Prompt and Writing About Reading
Carl Anderson - Assessing Writers, How's It Going?
Barry Lane - Reviser's Toolbox, After the End
Katie Wood Ray - Study Driven, About the Authors
Jeff Anderson - Mechanically Inclined
Mary Ellen Giacobbe & Martha Horn - Talking, Drawing, Writing

Some other authors of good professional text on writing are...
Lucy Calkins
Maria Cruz
Ralph Fletcher
Tom Romano

Please post more titles!

Angus

Angus
RIP, I lost my beloved buddy to doggie cancer in August.