Today was our campus Thanksgiving Feast in the cafe during all six lunch periods.  We invited family and friends to join us for a feast of turkey and all the fixins . . . and what a great time we had making memories and sharing powerful conversations!  Several students shared what they were thankful for:  food, their home, their family, sports, fun times with friends; the list grows long.  First grade friends like Ethan and Logan dressed up for the occasion.

  Travis enJOYed having both dad and mom come for lunch; they brought a special treat!

Some students enJOYed several generations feasting together; what a true blessing!

We are grateful for the overwhelming participation of our families during special occasions; your presence in the midst of a busy day is most welcome and appreciated.  We invite you to join us for several more opportunities throughout the school year.  You are our most important partners and participating members of our learning community after all; we cannot successfully do our work here at school without you!  Here’s hoping you and those you hold dear continue to enJOY food, family time, fellowship, and festive fall fun!  🙂

It’s the week before Thanksgiving; things are moving and shaking around Miller today!  During my walk-about this morning, I was stopped by a learner who shared this poem from poet, Jack Prelutsky:

It’s the middle of November and our weather’s crisp and cool;

Thanksgiving’s getting closer so there’s lots to do at school.

Our teacher gives us projects that we work on every day;

We make Indians and Pilgrims out of paper, glue, and clay.

Our bright Thanksgiving murals are displayed on all the wall;

And our cut-out paper pumpkins gaily decorate the halls.

Today I drew a turkey with a fat and funny face;

In the middle of November, school’s a very busy place!

Yes, we have so many activities going on throughout the coming week!  Our second graders present tonight at the MISD Board Meeting.  We have a Thanksgiving Feast (prior reservations required) tomorrow in our cafe during all lunch times.  The annual Science Fair is going on upstairs all week where our Miller scientists are thankful for extraordinary equipment, supplies, and the opportunity to share some exciting experiments throughout the week (special thanks to our PTO Volunteers who serve each day assisting our learners!).  Speaking of PTO, they will meet this week on Thurs; Nov. 17 @ 6:30 p.m. in our cafe.  To top off the week, our annual SOS (Super Outrageous Science) Day will be a full day on Friday where we also have the world-champion “Science of SPIN ” group presenting some fun lessons with spinning tops and yo-yos to all learners.

Miller is indeed a very busy place this week; here’s hoping you join us at some point in the celebrations!  🙂

“Honor to the soldier and the sailor everywhere, who bravely bears the country’s cause.  Honor also to the citizen who cares for his brother of the field, and serves, as best he can, the same cause.”  These words spoken by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War on the battlefield of Gettysburg, pledged support and thanks for the service and work of our nation’s veterans.  Our fifth grade learners and leaders presented an extraordinary program this morning to our entire campus!  The audience was packed with veterans, parents, friends, and community leaders to support and celebrate our veterans.  The annual Wall of Honor is currently displayed in our main hallway along with several research projects shared by our fifth graders.  We also enjoyed classroom visits by several veterans sharing their personal stories.

Scouting Pack #277 presented the colors and led the audience in the Pledge. 

Fifth graders shared important history, facts, and several beautiful songs such as “Bless Our Troops” and “Thank A Vet.”   The Miller Ringers also played a stirring patriotic medley using our beautiful handbells (thank you, MEF).  Bill Thompson, long time friend and former U.S. Navy trumpeteer (who performed for President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington D.C.), played opening bugle calls and closed our ceremony with the traditional “Taps.”

There are over 24 million living veterans today and we took time to honor and recognize each branch of the armed services during the singing of the “Armed Forces” medley.  It was a great tribute of thanks and admiration, especially considering we have Candace Ramirez (Kinder teacher) who served in the Navy before serving in the classrooms of MISD!  You can see Mrs. Ramirez here with two of her young friends, Presley and Tristyn.

It is noted that in teaching others, we teach ourselves.  Our fifth graders did their personal best today to teach all of us from the heart.  What tugs the most at my heartstrings is the look on the faces of our future generation and knowing many of them will be called to serve shortly.  I have former students of mine serving all over the world; while I worry about their personal safety knowing they are doing their best to protect themselves and others, I am so humbled and proud to know they willingly serve their country so we continue to have freedom with liberty and justice for all Americans.

The fifth grade ceremony today marks an opportunity to remember, reflect, and revisit the sacrifices and service of the brave men and women who have before, who are today, and who will tomorrow give unselfishly of themselves on behalf of our great country.  We also thank the families of all veterans who sacrifice as well; the contributions of your entire family are greatly respected and appreciated!

It was definitely a Golden Bell of Success today at LaRue Miller Elementary School!  Many thanks to all who shared, participated, and gave valuable time, talents, and service!

Specials team:  You are superstars!

Fifth learners and leaders:  Huge BRAVOS to all!

Thanks to third grade teacher and super-photographer, Amy Clark, for allowing me to share her photos today in my blog! 

Note:  To the veteran who asked about the words to “Taps” I shared today before Mr. Thompson played:

“Day is done; Gone the sun. From the hills, from the lakes, from the skies.  All is well; safely rest.  God is nigh.  Thanks and praise; For our days. ‘Neath the sun, ‘Neath the stars, ‘Neath the sky.  As we go; this we know.  God is nigh.”

It’s time for another round of report cards, progress reports, and celebrations of successes!  Here’s a quick Miller recap of the last few weeks of learning:

Head Start:  These youngest learners studied the letters, syllables, fall things, fire safety, pumpkin carving, and their families.  They traveled to the pumpkin farm and enjoyed breakfast with their dads during a special family event.

Kindergarten:  Our Kinder friends visited with the Midlothian Fire Department to practice fire safety, traveled back in time to visit with Christopher Columbus, studied nocturnal animals like the owl, bat, and raccoon (they were fascinated during the stinky skunk crisis), and celebrated fall with several BOO-tiful events.

1^st Grade:  These outstanding readers completed a short vowel study and began work on the long vowels as well.  They conquered money and time while continuing to practice basic addition facts.  Traditional customs are shared with so many holidays approaching!

2^nd Grade:  These friends focused on the history of Midlothian and compared/contrasted schools in the 1800s versus our school today.  Verbs (present, past, and future tenses) brought action to each day.  Counting money, practicing time, and emphasizing place value were the critical math skills each day (keep practicing those facts everyday!).

3^rd Grade:  Round and round they go; where these learners stop, no one can know!  They are rounding in math with songs and writing about monsterous stories.  Science experiments include changes in water and melting Hershey’s kisses . . . yum!

4^th Grade:  Molecular structures MATTER with these savvy scientists!  They are also multiplying several digits and measuring-up with area and volume.  Novels and lots of creative writing dominate their reading and language time.  They presented their fabulous musical, “Welcome to the Jungle,” to a packed crowd . . . Bravos to all!

5^th Grade:  Our top learners have been busy discovering information about the United States branches of armed services in anticipation of their annual Veteran’s Day Program (this Friday, Nov. 11 @ 8:15).  They completed highly successful sixty-second science projects while investigating the effects of force on an object.

Our Library Media Center sponsored our fall Book Fair, the visiting author, P.W. Cantanese, and the fabulous Field of Readers!  The specials team worked on various grade level programs, art projects and props, and several sports and health units in PE.   Rowdy Runners made a mighty debut at the annual Fall Festival and Midlo Dash!

Special thanks and continued bravos go out to our incredible PTO for purchasing the new outdoor water fountains near both playground areas and assisting in the site licenses for our shape-cutter machine.  The recent Staff Luncheon of soups, salads, and subs was extraordinary—what great chefs and bakers we are blessed to have at Miller!  Also, thanks to our DADS Club who diligently come in rain or shine to help us greet everyone in the morning during arrival; we adore you and appreciate your assistance in so many ways!  Yes, it’s been such a profoundly productive fall here at Miller; let’s keep that momentum and those celebration of successes going!

The annual Field of Readers took place last night at the MISD Multipurpose Stadium; marvelous stories, books, and fun were enJOYed by all!  Special thanks goes out to all the MISD Library Media Specialists (especially our own Melissa Bolgiano) and the Instructional Technology Director, Nancy Bergvall.  Football players, band members, PALs, Ready-Set-Teach interns, teachers, instructional aides, parents, and countless volunteers manned the Book Fair, face-painting, and author station.  Speaking of the author, our fourth and fifth graders thoroughly enJOYed the visiting author, P. W. Catanese, yesterday during his highly engaging and informative writer’s session!  He graciously signed copies of his book, Happenstance Found, for those who purchased it last night.  Thanks, Mr. Catanese!

One of the highlights for our readers was the “panther tunnel.”  Readers lined up with great enthusiasm to run through the giant panther with their football heroes (who have been our reading partners this season each Friday!).  One young friend stopped me to say, “It’s dark in there but we followed the smoke!”  Thanks, Panther Football Boosters, for giving your time to bring great laughs and fun to our readers last night!

We are blessed to have so many reading models in our lives everyday here at Miller.  With the holidays approaching, here’s hoping you take a few moments to cuddle and enJOY a great book together!  Happy Reading!  🙂

You’ve heard of the three R’s of education:  reading, writing, and arithmetic.  There are four R’s we typically focus on daily here at Miller:  relationships, relevance, rigor, and results.  The original three R’s are rolled into all areas (along with a wealth of required state-mandated TEKS, student expectations, and rules).  I’m instantly reminded of a conversation with a student not long ago on this topic:

Me:  So how are things going with you in your class so far this year?  Are you comfortable in your class?
Student:  You know, I have to trust my teacher and she must trust me.  My class works as a team through games and “talk time.”  Our parents help us and we ask them questions on our blog everyday.
Me:  It’s sounds like you are building relationships with each other pretty well.  What about the things your teacher does to relate your work to your life?
Student:  She tells me she creates our lessons to meet our needs.  She makes certain she designs our work to mean something to each of us.
Me:  Is your work hard for you?  What does your teacher do to help you understand?
Student:  I see us repeating some things or adding to them each time we visit them again.  It’s hard work being a student, Mrs. Van!  🙂
Me:  How do you know you’re doing well?  What does your teacher do to show you your success?
Student:  She grades our work, talks about our work with us, shows us good work samples, and really makes us think about our work.  Sometimes, I wish she would just let it be . . .”  🙂

This brief conversation into the learner’s insight, perception, and reality of daily work–the relationship, the relevance, the rigor, and the final results–is a powerful reflection indeed!  Does everyone feel this way . . . no . . . but we can push ourselves to “R4 is the score!”

Note:  We are moving ahead this evening with the fifth annual Field of Readers Event at the Multipurpose Stadium from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.  We hope to see you there!

A learner shared with me today, “Mrs. Van, time is sure flying this year!  Did you know we only have 53 more days until 2012?”  🙂  I was shocked, so we did the math together and then I noted:  “Good golly; where does the time go?”  The child smiled, “We can’t live backwards, so look ahead and get ready!” 🙂   I was stunned into complete silence . . . .

Especially during the school calendar year, learners live in chunks of time–from the first early release day, to Fair Day, to Thanksgiving break, to winter break, and so forth.  These comforting time chunks provide routine, expectations, and predictable procedures.  Think about it; your daily routines at home revolve around the larger chunks of time at school, time in activities outside of school, and then time for weekend activities.  We tend to categorize our time into groups (and in my older years, I tend to want to spend more time on activities I truly enJOY versus those I do not).

Talk about time flying . . . we have much to accomplish in 2011 yet.  We look forward to several extraordinary events here at Miller before we tell 2011 goodbye.  As my little friend remarked, “You got an extra hour this weekend, Mrs. Van, so hopefully this will help.”  🙂 Here’s hoping we all put that “extra hour” to great use in the remaining 53 days of 2011!

Greetings from the University of Oklahoma today . . . Boomer Sooner!  It’s Parent Weekend and I spent the day with my youngest daughter who attends OU.  I’m grateful to our assistant principal, Mrs. Bass, who capably takes the helm in my absence.  She reported the day went well on campus, but that she wasn’t writing my blog post for me.  While I missed my time at LME, it was refreshing to experience academics in a different setting today; thus, this post will be a true personal reflection of sorts.

As I took a crisp walk across the campus to meet my daughter for lunch after her morning classes, this image of a glorious maple tree in full fall foliage appeared.  There are definite seasons in Norman and here was a perfect example!  I kept thinking, “WOW, sure wish I had a classroom of Miller learners to share this with me; they would have much to say about these ‘real’ trees” (not to mention all the statues, the numbers of students walking all over the campus, the variety of backpacks . . . ).  🙂

I’m blessed to have the opportunity to spend quality time with my daughter and her friends this weekend.  I’m also grateful for an extraordinary staff of classroom and building leaders who move forward in my absence.  Here’s hoping you always make (and take) time to treasure quality time with those you hold dear, most definitely your precious Miller learner!

I love Autumn…my favorite time of year with my favorite holiday.  While checking in with one of my young friends the other day, this child asked me about my favorite holiday.  There was no hesitation on my part…”It’s Thanksgiving!”  Giving thanks for our blessings, focusing on the extraordinary in the ordinary, and having attitudes of gratitude should be daily practice in all our lives. 

As a special writing challenge this month, the child’s teacher is spending the month of November actively demonstrating thankfulness by having learners write a daily entry into a “Thankful Journal.”  Each child  spends a few moments writing about one thankful thing in his or her life–30 entries in all.  The teacher then shares a personal thought at the end of the day after the children have written their own entries.  My little friend was amazed to hear the ideas from the teacher and noted, “Mrs. Van, you should do this too…oh wait…you do this on morning announcements, don’t you?”  🙂 The child then challenged me to follow along with the class this month by writing my own thought each day instead of just “saying them on the announcements.”  Consider it done, little one!   🙂

Since I believe strongly in “paying it forward,” I now challenge you to join us by taking a moment during each day this month to write your own blessings and gratitudes.  Have conversation at home while brushing teeth, folding clothes, riding in the car, cleaning up the kitchen, taking a walk, or just sitting together at bedtime to share your thoughts with your learner.  Children model the words and actions of the important adults in their lives. Take time to actively plant those seeds of gratefulness now; you’ll reap extraordinary blessings throughout the journey!

Do you prefer cake or pie, and why?  This was a question posed during my campus walk-about today.  It all started as a prewriting activity in a workstation (during guided reading and literacy time) and blossomed into so much more!  A graph was created by the first group to survey the class; they then left the survey for others to complete.  The second group polled for favorite types of cakes or pies–what a list!  A third group researched recipes for the top five picks in both categories to study ingredients and measurements for baking.   The fourth group culminated the results of each group’s work to share out at the end of literacy centers (which later turned into math centers as well).  This group also assigned the class’ homework for tonight…to poll their own family for preferences and favorite recipes.  I left class very hungry for cake, pie, and time in my kitchen today!  I look forward to revisiting soon for their results.

I sincerely enJOY watching the thought processes of our learners and how enthusiastically they tackle engaging subjects.  A simple question starts the ball (or dough, in this case) rolling:  “Cake or pie and why?”  Their questioning, critical thinking, ideas, input, teamwork, and implementation of a plan involving everyone in the class demonstrates great problem solving on their part.  It also shows wonderful leadership in their classroom.  Learners need protection from consequences during the learning process in order to take learning risks; these learners are given few boundaries and succeed in extraordinary ways (and not a worksheet was in sight!).  So . . . are you Team Cake or Team Pie and why?