Grade Report

Hi Everyone,
I don't know if you've been able to check in lately. I have been so busy and almost forgot about this way of communicating with all of you. Hope you've been having a good year. I have been implementing Reader's Theater this year quite successfully. I have seen growth in fluency and comprehension and the kids love it.

I actually was wondering if any of you received a grade report from our class and how I can get one that is suitable for certification renewal. Do I need to go to RIC and get an official transcript to send with my renewal application? If anyone can help me, please reply here or email me at school at lkeogh@westwarwickpublicschools.com

Thanks and hope you all have a nice summer. It will be here before we know it.
Lisa

When it rains it pours

I had a really great week last week two of my boys from the Bridge School stopped in. Mark was pretty excited having started his first class at CCRI in Providence. I could hardly remember him. I must have had him in class 4 years or more ago when I was the class teacher. (time flies) He just wanted to say Thank you for encouraging him and believing in him. "when everyone told me I couldn't make it, you told me I could Mrs. V. I am just here to tell you thanks".

Then there was this other kid. I cannot for the life of me remember his name.He was well dressed, dress shirt and blue tie, dress black pants and a really nice pair of dress shoes. I say this because all that kid wore were sagging pants. I always say to the boys "Hey guys I don't want to see any boxers, I see too many at home, I live with all guys".

This boy was was an expert talker. He was the lawyer for the class. he had stopped by to say that he was now going to the Sawyer school and that he was engaged to be married. he showed me 2 tatoos on both of his wrist. One ,when he got engaged and still another the date in 2009 when he will be married.

Then as if that was not enough, my friend and I walked over for lunch at CCRI yesterday 9/10 . I felt this towering person hugged me from behind" What are you doing here Mrs. Vassell?" I forced myself to turn around it was Justin, 6 feet tall, books in hand. "I'm doing classes here Mrs.V!" he said. "I have a full schedule"! "I'm taking four classes". "Can you handle that ?" I asked "Oh yeah" he said smiling. "Let me know if there is anything that I can do",I said. "Okay Mrs.V I still have the Bridge number". he gave me one last hug and walked away to catch the trolley.

Whey nuh dead nuh dash wey (Jamaican Proverb) Where there is life there is hope.

Flashback

My smoke detector batteries need to be replaced...I know this because they all started beeping at steady intervals this morning! I immediately thought of all of you and our two weeks punctuated with beep...beep...beep...

See you the 19th
Julie

Welcome Back

I hope everyone has had a good start to the year. Mine has gone well.

Interesting article the other day about the new regulations for graduation. One third of their grade will be based on standardized tests? I am curiosu for everyone's take on this.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the renewal meeting.

Spelling(Jennifer's topic of study)

Hi Everyone,
I started back to work on August 25th. I hope your school year is going well so far if you are back. Enjoy the Labor Day weekend! I plan to! Anyway, does anyone remember the website that Jennifer got the 100 words kids should know.(I think that is what it was called.) I would like to use it as a supplement to my spelling curriculum.
Thanks,
Lisa Keogh

Readers' Theater

Lisa - and anyone else looking at Readers' Theater - one publisher that is doing leveled scripts is Really Good Stuff (www.reallygoodstuff.com) . They don't have "mixed levels" but they do show Fountas-Pinnell Guided Reading Levels and DRA levels for each text, and they are designed for choral reading so that stronger readers can support weaker readers...there are more out there with mixed levels...I'll keep you "posted" :)

I think I can actually do this!

I think I can actually blog - wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles! I also think I was able to add a comment to Julie's piece "I am a Your Child's Teacher." I was blown away by that piece and I encouraged her to publish it beyond our blog. Thanks to all for a great experience. I went back to school after my 50th birthday (just because) and finished a master's in counseling at PC's Newport Navy Base campus (two years, 42 credits and working..........). Especially because of the nature of some of those courses, we, of varying ages and varying backgroungs, bonded and often shared the type of openess and laughter that we experienced these past two weeks. That was, after all, two years - that the same experience was achieved with us after about one day is incredible.

See you in September, that is, of course, if I can find the information about the follow up meeting!

One More Thing...

This is something I wrote a couple of months ago following a particularly grueling school committee meeting...call it my own personal venting session. I was getting a little tired of the "negative energy" in the air...anyway, I have shared it with only a very few so far (my mom, my husband, a good friend from college...and Ron!) but I think - I hope - it is something that will resonate with you all.

I am your child’s teacher. I come to school every morning long before she arrives, and I stay long after she leaves. I prepare lessons that meet her needs and the needs of every other student in my room. I assess her constantly so that I may monitor her progress and adjust my instruction accordingly. I bring her papers home with me every night to correct, and I work every weekend to be ready when she returns to school on Monday.

I am your child’s teacher. I teach him reading, writing, math, science, social studies and health. I teach him the skills he needs to compete in the technological world of the 21st century. I teach him an appreciation for the arts. But my teaching is not limited to academic subjects. I teach him time management and anger management. I teach him patience. I teach him citizenship, respect for himself and others, tolerance for diversity, perseverance, and the joy that comes from satisfaction with a job well done. I teach your child self-esteem, not through empty praise, but through completion of tasks, and the knowledge that he “can do it.”

I am your child’s teacher. I invest my personal time and my own money into professional development so that I can continue to hone my craft. I have a Master’s Degree, but I spend hundreds of hours doing additional coursework and attending workshops and seminars. I am your child’s teacher, and I know that he will never have a chance to live this year again – so I must do everything within my power to make sure that no year is a bad year.

I am your child’s teacher. I comfort her when she is sad, and I listen to her when she is angry. I stand up for her when she is being bullied and I hold her accountable when she is behaving inappropriately toward others. I encourage her when she doesn’t feel up to the challenges of the day. I push her when she is not doing her best, and I acknowledge her efforts when she is.

I am your child’s teacher. Every day, I walk the classroom tightrope, finding and maintaining the delicate balance between pushing him hard enough so that he can progress and not frustrating him so that he wants to give up. I worry when he goes home at night not understanding the math lesson, and I agonize when he doesn’t do well on the reading assessment. I am thrilled with his every success and I suffer with his every failure.

I am your child’s teacher. I am also a parent. I know what it is to say goodbye to a child in the morning and place her in the hands of a stranger that I must trust – not only to teach her, but to care for her - until I can be with her again. I empathize with you, and so I share what I learn about your child through report cards with thoughtful comments, through progress reports and through communication logs. I want you, the parents, to know what I have learned about your child – and I want to learn what you know. I contact you when there is a problem and I contact you when there is a reason to celebrate. We are partners, and the more we work together, the better your child’s educational experience.

I am your child’s teacher. I am humbled, daily, by the awesome responsibility you have placed before me in the form of your child. I recognize my good fortune, daily, when I arrive at a workplace that feels like a second home, where I am surrounded by children’s laughter, where there is always the promise of a new adventure, and where the air vibrates with the anticipation of what today might bring...I love my work, and I work for your child.

I am your child’s teacher.

Hello All!
I TRULY missed you all yesterday. I've become accustomed to the lively exchange of ideas and the friendships that have developed in such a short time. I'm particularly impressed with our different teaching styles and unwavering commitment to our students. My paper is complete, and it did change a great deal...that's the process, after all. Most of all, I want to thank everyone for helping me realize that, even though the setup of my ELL classes is "unconventional", I don't have to go it alone.
Pam asked me to comment on chapters 7-9: Those "in the know" in Education really frighten me sometimes...50 years ago, kids with serious learning disabilities were delegated to the ungraded room, where their lack of self worth grew by leaps and bounds. Now, those that really need services are stymied by "regulations" yet a senior can be "identified" and therefore be able to magically graduate, after doing nothing for 3 years.(here goes that graduation fairy again)!!
Sorry- I don't mean to be a cynical. Maybe I need more time in Italy!!! Arrivedirci! Donna

Last Day Ruminating...

I should be putting the finishing touches on my paper, but as usual, I'm procrastinating...thinking over the past several days and all that has transpired in Building 31 and beyond...

At the risk of over-dramatizing our two short weeks together or our imminent departure, I'd like to share a portion of a favorite song from favorite musical:

I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn - and we are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them, and we help them in return. Well, I don't know if I believe that's true - but I know I'm who I am today because I knew you...Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun...like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood...who can say if I've been changed for the better? But because I knew you, I have been changed for good. ("Because I Knew You" - Wicked)

I can honestly say, "I do believe I have been changed for the better!"

Thank you all for allowing me to learn from you -
It has been tremendous fun!
Julie

Oops!

Guys, I heard that I spoke too long today. Here is my disclaimer. I may be disguised as a regular gal but could it be that this regular gal is really a Pentecostal / Baptist preacher?

Tahtiah

P.S. These preachers have so concept of time........ just kidding!

pamela said...
7/22 Journal entry: This class has been a treat --such a lively spirit bubbles out of it. I always feed on that energy and it has always carried over well into the school year giving me a cushion to ride on. I hope PFC will do that for all of us this year.

A few little inside jokes have developed. I guess Tom and the v word top them all, though. The sharing of resources and experiences among participants is always a particular delight for me to see. Good teachers --ones who are secure in their role as a teacher and have some confidence in their abilities -- are always the ones who eagerly give of their own resources. They want to help other teachers; they try to somehow lighten the load. It has always bothered me how jealously protective of their "stuff" some teachers become. Instead of sharing their experience and expertise, they hoard it. But it's not happening here...and that is one of the things that keeps me coming back. Pam
July 22, 2008 10:30 AM

Pam's Journal

7/22 Journal entry:This class has been a treat --such a lively spirit bubbles out of it. I always feed on that energy and it has always carried over well into the school year giving me a cushion to ride on. I hope PFC will do that for all of us this year.A few little inside jokes have developed. I guess Tom and the v word top them all, though. The sharing of resources and experiences among participants is always a particular delight for me to see. Good teachers --ones who are secure in their role as a teacher and have some confidence in their abilities -- are always the ones who eagerly give of their own resources. They want to help other teachers; they try to somehow lighten the load. It has always bothered me how jealously protective of their "stuff" some teachers become. Instead of sharing their experience and expertise, they hoard it. But it's not happening here...and that is one of the things that keeps me coming back. Pam

Curiouser and curiouser...

After pondering today's conversation about the monetary roundabout we seem to be on regarding where money is spent and where it is not spent -- man, I feel that Alice's little adventure had nothing on where we are located. That it benefits someone to keep their child/student/young adult under the special services umbrella -- simply for a regular check -- well, the system needs a political overhaul/re-analysis/enema! This not only is wrong for the very obvious reasons -- but it hurts how people look at Special Services as a whole. This, of course, hurts the kids who truly need and benefit from these services. This is all akin to the military paying $12,000.00 for a latrine.

Red tape begets red tape begets redder tape...and onward we spiral into the abyss...

Ron

"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?
-Alice

For Tom...

Sorry, I couldn't resist:

Joke 1: A man comes to the doctor and says, "Doc, I want a vasectomy." The doctor says, "Well, that's a big decision; have you discussed this with your family?" And he replies, "Yes, and they're in favor, 11 to 3."

Joke 2:

"My stupid brother's vasectomy"
After having their 11th child, my brother and his wife decided that was enough, as they couldn't afford a larger house. So my brother went to his MD and told him that he didn't want to have anymore children. The doctor told him there was a procedure called a vasectomy that could fix the problem but it was expensive. A less costly alternative, said the doctor, was to go home, get a cherry bomb, light it and put it in a soda can, then hold it can up to his ear and count to 10.

My brother said to the doctor "I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I don't see how putting a cherry bomb in a soda can next to my ear and counting to 10 is gonna help me." "Trust me" said the doctor. So my brother went home, lit a cherry bomb and put it in a soda can. He held it up to his ear and began to count:

"1"
"2"
"3"
"4"
"5"
At which point he paused, placed the can between his legs and resumed counting on the other hand.

R**