Author: Van Am Gram

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Pearly Whites…

Did you brush, brush, brush your teeth this morning?  Did you floss, floss, floss as well?  These are questions our Head Start learners were asked by Allie the Alligator who visited in their classrooms this week.  Allie and her team of wise assistants presented an active demonstration of proper oral care through music, rhymes, games, and with the use of student helpers.

Our Head Start friends actually practice each day here at school by taking time after each meal to brush their teeth properly under the careful watch of staff.  Here’s hoping we all practice these important daily habits so winning smiles shine brightly everyday!  🙂

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SMILE!

It’s Class Picture Day today at Miller . . . that special time when we gather with our homeroom class and friends to take group pictures and then smile individually for another picture-perfect moment to share.  Surely, you remember these days in school!  We are blessed to have our community partner, Top of Texas, to share in the experience twice a year with us.  These professionals show great patience while doing exceptional work with all our learners and their classroom leaders on campus.  Volunteer moms, Lori and Angela, were instrumental in keeping the groups flowing from one camera setting to the next so little instructional time was missed during this process.

From my position, it’s fun to watch the class interaction as they prepare to collectively smile for the photographer.  As a mom, I especially enJOY looking back at my own children’s class and individual pictures . . . it definitely reminds me that the days of childhood (and child-rearing) are long, but the years are too short.  Here’s hoping you treasure the results when they make it home to you soon!

Note:  Don’t forget to let your teacher know about sack lunch choices for our campus field trip on Feb. 21st.  Thanks! 

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A Web of Possibilities…

Salutations!  One of my favorite children’s novels of all time to read with young learners is Charlotte’s Web  by E.B. White.  The main character, Wilbur, an affectionate and bashful pig, befriends a vocal spider named Charlotte, who lives in the rafters above his barn pen.  As a prancing, playful, growing pig, Wilbur is devastated to learn from the barn rat, Templeton, what happens to “spring pigs” once the county fair is held in the fall.  Charlotte and all the animals set out to save Wilbur and convince the farmer and community (through Charlotte’s clever web-writing skills) that Wilbur is no ordinary pig.  You can see from the picture here that our 5th grade team is also no ordinary team, thus their interpretation of the story during a dress-up day on campus.

This powerful story of friendship will come to life for all our Miller learners and their classroom leaders this month when we travel to Casa Manana in Ft. Worth to experience the magic of a live theatrical performance geared especially for us.  We are so excited to share this experience with all our Miller learners; it’s truly something unique for our campus.  Special thanks to our campus Design Team and Site-Based Committee for creating an “innovative disruption” from the normal field trip routines, to our classroom leaders for leading this charge, and to our parents for embracing this unique learning opportunity “in the field” for all learners.  Be watching for the specific note home this week.  As always, we especially appreciate the support and encouragement our Miller families give to our learning community each day.  Here’s hoping during this “Friendship Month” of February we all experience the wonder and blessings of finding real friends!

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Short and Sweet…

It’s February at LaRue Miller Elementary and the signs are definitely all around us:  famous Americans, patriotic symbols, presidential trivia, friendship quotes, HEART-y thoughts, poetry, and LOVE-ly conversations.  A young friend came to my office today to share an informal conversation and celebrate his successful math work with me (because I’m not just about the bad choices, you know).  He had his hand full of conversation hearts (used in math as manipulatives today) and instead of taking them home, he wanted to share his hearts with me to enJOY later.  🙂  Not only was the math activity intriguing (and he did an exceptional job of explaining in great detail all the components to this lesson), we then became intrigued by the words on each little heart:  “Look at this, Mrs. Van!  I made a little tally sheet of letters so we could determine how many letters on average would fit onto each heart” (the average was 8).  🙂  So I had to ask:  “What does this mean?”  His reply:  “Well, you better keep your conversation short and sweet I guess!”  🙂  After a hug, some HEARTy congratulations, and a big smile, he ended our conversation like this:  “I bet you love your job today, huh?!”  🙂  Yes, I do . . . have a safe, relaxing weekend Miller Learning Community!

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February 2nd!

Yes, it’s true; we love the hundredth day of school!  There were celebrations all around:  100 objects to count; 100 years of history to share; 100 jumps with the jump rope; 100 math facts in 100 seconds (you have to really know those facts); 100 ideas for the future in 100 years; 100 trivia questions about the last 100 days of school this year . . . the list goes on and on (and hopefully I’ll have some “real” pictures to share tomorrow on the weekly wrap-up).

Then there was the BIG discussion about Groundhog’s Day.  Remember what we were doing last year on this day?  What about those spring temperatures we’ve had so far in 2012?  (I can only image how big the bugs will be this summer!)  Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, so I guess we have six more weeks of winter ahead for us.  One of my young friends stopped me in the hallway early this morning:  “It’s okay, Mrs. Van; spring break comes in six weeks and then it’s spring for real!”  🙂  I hope our bulbs in the school garden hold off their early blooming . . . Happy Groundhog 100th Day of School, LaRue Miller Elementary!

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Creative Minds, Successful Learners, and Classroom Leaders…

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of training.”  This was the opening line to an educational forum I recently attended where the panel of educational experts shared their collective wisdom and powerful reflections with the audience in attendance.  Each speaker reminded me of some critical touchpoints about creative minds, successful learners, and their classroom leaders:

  • They invest regularly in their personal growth.  With the assistance of involved parents, community members, and mentors, they receive the critical support needed to survive and thrive with success in school.  Thank you, LaRue Miller Learning Community for giving your time, gifts, and service to us daily!
  • They become real thinkers and problem solvers with savvy solutions, not just creators of problems.  We have to teach thinking in conceptual ways and not just the basic steps or procedures involved in the process.  Our evolving elementary math program in Midlothian ISD is a great example of this innovative “disruption” in school—like we do our guided reading literacy groups, we now incorporate math small groups to target specific learner needs on a daily basis.
  • They share what they learn in the form of learning communities.  For example, at Miller, our Study Buddy Program provides numerous learning opportunities for older learners to work directly with younger learners to enhance the teaching and learning for everyone.  Through the collaborative work of creative teachers, our students reap huge benefits from sharing with one another.  (I recently blogged about this.)
  • They become a team (or “Miller Family” as we like to say).  Personal growth and commitment to one another, a sense of community pride, an emphasis on helping others, and taking responsibility for personal actions become key components to overall educational excellence.  We work way beyond “the basics.”

It is my opinion that schools today look, sound, smell, and feel differently than when I attended as a student . . . how about you??  Here’s hoping we all continue this school journey at Miller with open and creative minds so our learners and their classroom leaders continue to achieve personal excellence daily!

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Birds of Prey!

The Birdman, Kevin Gaines, and his trusty sidekick, Jordan, visited our campus yesterday.  We were treated to an exciting presentation by Sky Kings Falconry.  They are dedicated to the education and preservation of our planet’s wildlife.  They also employ the natural abilities of wildlife to help reverse serious environmental issues in our world.  This powerful demonstration featured a hawk, a falcon, owls, and a vulture.  Did you know that the Eurasian Eagle owl is the largest in the world?  Our students got to see one up close and in flight!

The program specifically focused on natural history, the unique traits of each bird of prey, and the natural abilities and talents of these clever creatures.  One student commented to me afterwards:  “Mrs. Van, the facts, like why the bird is bald (because of bacteria on the head)—that was cool!”  🙂  

Special thanks, once again, to the Ramirez family for securing this extraordinary opportunity for all our learners and classroom leaders at LME and to Mrs. Clark, photographer extraordinaire, for sharing her amazing photos with us.  Here’s hoping you spot an incredible bird of prey while taking a walk or hike soon!

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Burdens and blessings…

A small group of learners were having discussion with a classroom leader about stress and anxiety when taking tests.  She used this story with them:

  • Teacher (holding up her glass of water):  How heavy is this glass of ice water?
  • Learner:  I estimate about 12 ounces, like a can of Coca Cola (these students thought this was an estimation activity).
  • Teacher:  Really, the weight doesn’t matter because it depends on how long I hold up the glass.  If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem.  If I hold it an hour, my arm will ache.  If I hold it all day long, better have Mrs. Van call 911.  In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.  That’s the way it is with a burden or stress—if you carry it all the time, it becomes heavier and you won’t be able to carry on…

The message here is so simple:  Put down the stress, burden, or anxiety and rest before holding it again.  The group went on to brainstorm some ways to lay down the stress, especially when taking an important test.  One learner remembered that I keep a basket of bubbles in my office (as treats) and can often be found blowing away bubbles (of stress or burdens) with children.  Another child shared:  “Just close your eyes for a moment and count your blessings…that’s what I do.”  WOW—how special is this pearl of wisdom?!  🙂

This reminded me why it is so critical for the adults in a child’s life to talk and share ideas together, especially when a child is feeling anxiety or stress concerning an important event.  Often times, the burden will not surface in the usual manner; coping skills may not always be in place and we must problem solve ideas together.  As we gear up for new STAARy horizons, we want you to know we are doing our personal and professional best to ensure each learner is prepared.  Here’s hoping all our burdens become blessings in disguise at some point!

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A community of opportunities…

Fridays are always busy with weekly wrap-ups, completion of projects, presentations, or class reviews.  Today was easily filled with a community of learning opportunities . . .

Our Kinder friends spent the day working with community helpers and their study buddies talking about future careers.  You can see the results of their discussions on display here.

Our StuCo members assisted with community service by stuffing bags of popcorn during their recess time for classes to celebrate successes.

Finally, I enJOYed lunch out in our community with the first semester Principal Luncheon recipients—what a great group of learners to take off campus for conversation and lunch!  Congratulations to these KG-5th grade students for no absences, no tardies, top grades, and awesome behavior!

I am truly inspired by our community of opportunities today and everyday at LaRue Miller Elementary; here’s hoping you are as well!  Have a safe, restful weekend.

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Got rigor?

As you probably know, Dr. Schlechty and his team of educators have spent numerous hours in Midlothian ISD helping us “work on the work.”  Our WOW philosophy of planning meaningful and engaging lessons through specific lesson design qualities gives all students the opportunity to learn to their personal best.  Building relationships with learners, providing relevance for the work they do, and increasing rigor to meet ever-changing state and federal standards propels each learner to achieve his or her best results.  Rigor is just one part of the whole, but it’s a challenging piece (literally).  The actual word, rigor, comes from Middle English (rigour) and Latin (rigor) meaning “to be stiff with harsh inflexibility in opinion, temper, or judgment.”  WHEW!  This sounds harsh, huh?!  The idea of being unyielding, inflexible, or making life difficult is not what classroom rigor should be (in my opinion, anyway).  I see rigor in classrooms every school day—students working at higher levels of thinking, sharing ideas in ways that stretch their personal understanding, and collaborating together to solve problems.  Rigor looks different in every educational setting.  I always encourage you to talk with your child’s teacher to better understand what rigor looks like during the educational journey this year…and here’s hoping your child never experiences classroom rigor mortis!