With those holiday greeting and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It's the hap-happiest season of all!
One of my most favorite times of the year is singing holiday songs with our students. Classes take turns joining me in the multi-purpose room to sing Christmas Carols while I accompany them on the piano. Students take turns selecting carols and some even get to come help ring the jingle bells!
I hope all enjoy their holiday season with friends and family. I will be spending time with my family in Idaho Falls, Idaho - where it will be a White Christmas!
I'll see everyone back at school on Monday, January 4, 2010!
Victoria teachers participated in an art activity at our staff meeting on December 9th. Mrs. Gale Bjelland, RUSD Instructional Specialist of Visual and Performing Arts, led us in a watercolor activity using watercolor pencils, water, and paint brushes on watercolor paper. What an awesome media! Things sure have changed from the time of the messy watercolors I used when I was in elementary school. I thought it was so cool, that I bought a set for me for Christmas!
Mrs. Bjelland has also been working to write lesson plans tied to the social studies curriculum for each grade level. Additionally, she has posted online video instruction for teachers to use in their classrooms with their students.
On December 8th, Victoria strings students joined students from Castle View, Washington, and Alcott to perform at their Winter Conert held at Gage Middle School. Mrs. Kendra Schwartz meets with each class one hour each week during the regular school year. Victoria has two beginning strings classes, one intermediate and one advanced class.
The following night, December 9th, our band students performed at Gage Middle School. These students have been working with Mrs. Melissa Wilson twice a week. Throughout the program, various students played solos. I was so proud of our students!
'Though the weather outside was frightful, The ice cream was so delightful... To the plaza we did go...
Let it snow, Let it snow, Cold Stone!
Thursday, December 3rd, was Victoria Night at Cold Stone Creamery in the Riverside Plaza. Victoria students and parents lined up to be served by one of our staff members. Many tip$ were given just to hear the teachers sing! Mrs. West, Mrs. Love, Ms. Bennett, and Mr. Kaufhold worked the first shift from 5-6 pm. They were relieved of their duties by Mrs. Russell, Mrs. Younan, Ms. Santana, and Mrs. Cruz, who worked from 6-7 pm. This is when things really started getting busy! It was so crazy - that at times, each teacher was singing a different Christmas carol - crazy fun! Mrs. Sanchez, Mrs. Schmit, and I finished out the night mixing up the ice cream creations.
This was such a fun night that the PTA is planning another Cold Stone night!
Thank you to all who participated in making this fundraising event a hit!
It's that time of year again! Time to start thinking about science fair projects. Winter Break is a perfect time to begin one.
I remember one science fair experiment I conducted when I was in the sixth grade. I wanted to determine which material(s) would have the greatest effect on the temperature inside your house.
My dad, who was a high school wood shop teacher (lucky me!) helped me make two models of the same house - complete with windows, a door, an attic, and a shingled roof. Inside each house I put a thermometer and set both houses outside in the sun. I left one house "as is" to be the control. With the other house, I added various materials - one at a time, i.e. solar screens on the windows, insulation in the walls and attic, weather stripping around the door, insulated curtains, and bushes/trees around the outside of the house. Over several days, I collected data (the temperature in each house). Then I tested different combinations of the materials (solar screens and insulation; insulated curtains, solar screens, and weather stripping; etc).
I really enjoyed conducting this experiment! And, to my joy, I won the school science fair and moved on to the district and then county level. My project and I went all the way to a Science Fair in Los Angeles (I think it was the Seer Fair). What a wonderful experience and memory!
I encourage all students to participate in the Science Fair this year. Conducting scientific experiments can be really fun and you might just discover that you'd like to be a scientist when you grow up!
I've added a button on the Victoria School website labeled "Science Fair". Click on this button for more information about science projects and our school Science Fair in January.
On Halloween, I dressed up as Miss Viola Swamp from the book Miss Nelson is Missing! by Harry Allard and James Marshall. This children's book is about a teacher, Miss Nelson, and her class of elementary school students. It describes a day when the sweet Miss Nelson is absent from class and in her place is a mean substitute teacher, Miss Viola Swamp.
After an especially rowdy day in Miss Nelson's class, her students discover that Miss Nelson is not coming to school the next day. "Now we can really act up," yells one of the students. However, before they get the chance to make mischief, Miss Nelson's substitute, Miss Viola Swamp, shows up. The students think she is a real witch! Swamp is a strict disciplinarian and gives the students a lot more school work than Miss Nelson ever did. The students miss Miss Nelson is so much that they go looking for Miss Nelson and make unlikely predictions about what may have happened to her. The following day, Miss Nelson returns to class and the children rejoice. At the end of the book, the reader infers that Miss Viola Swamp was Miss Nelson in disguise.
Next time you visit the library, check out this book Miss Nelson Is Missing! Also, take a look at its two sequels:Miss Nelson is Backand Miss Nelson Has a Field Day.
This week kicks off our annual A.O.K. Coin Drive. A.O.K. stands for "Acts Of Kindness." Each year students bring in (harvest) coins. The money collected is then used to help Victoria families who may need assistance during the holiday season. At Victoria, we believe all students and staff should treat others with kindness and respect. Children need specific examples of how they can demonstrate these characteristics. The following list includes other "acts of kindness" that can been given to others:
Respect other’s rights and property
Share with others
Help others feel better when they're hurt or sad
Play with a new student and help him/her make friends so he/she won't feel lonely
Work quietly in class so others can concentrate
Treat others the way you would like to be treated
Politely listen when someone is telling you something
Hold the door for a kid whose hands are full
Use words that show kindness, such as: "please" and "thank you"
Did your grandparents give you a dollar for each A on your report card? Did you spend your high school years hoping you would squeak by with C's in important classes? Did you ever see the dreaded F on a paper, test or your report card?
Like many other districts across the nation, RUSD schools pair standards-based report cards with standards-based teaching. Parents, teachers, and students get more information about achievement towards to grade level standards (what students should know and be able to do by the end of the year).
Because this way of grading is so different from when we were in elementary school, here is some information to help you understand it better. Imagine two different grade books for the same set of students, as shown in the table below. Which one of the two better illustrates what students know and what they still need to learn?
Comparing Traditional and Standards-Based Grade Books
TRADITIONAL GRADE BOOK
NameHomeworkQuiz 1Chapter 1 Test
John906570
Bill5075 78
Susan1105062
Felicia109085
Amanda9510090
STANDARDS-BASED GRADE BOOK
NameObjective 1Objective 2:Objective 3:
Write an alt.Identify elementsCompare/Contrast
ending to storyof a storytwo stories
JohnBasicProficientBasic
BillProficientBasicBasic
SusanBasicBasicBasic
FeliciaAdvancedProficientProficient
AmandaBasicAdvancedProficient
The standards-based grade book gives a wealth of information to help the teacher adjust instruction. Note that two objectives (1 and 3) may require more class instruction. The notations for Objective 2, on the other hand, suggest that the class only needs practice and one student needs some reteaching.
Students can also see much more information about their learning. In the traditional grade book, Amanda would assume she is in great shape, but standards-based grading reveals that she has not mastered a crucial concept.
Gifted and talented students can be truly challenged in a standards-based classroom because if they show early mastery of fundamental skills and concepts, they can then concentrate on more challenging work that is at higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy or that seeks connections among objectives.
I am the principal of Victoria Elementary School in Riverside Unified School District. I have been in education for many years as a classroom teacher, categorical program specialist, assistant principal, and principal. It is my honor to serve the Victoria community of students, parents, and staff.
It's the most wonderful time of the year
