What to Keep? What to Pitch? June 10, 2012

A sample of what’s currently in my recycle box:

• memoir rubric
• using prior knowledge to understand unfamiliar text
• 5 year Strategic Management Plan from 2010-2015
• certificate of attendance from Ohio Resource Center
• Ohio Academic content standards with notes
• thank you note from Ronald McDonald House for former fourth grade economic project
• Reading Level Correlation Chart

 A sample of what’s currently in my keep pile:

• Elementary Gifted Service Matrix and Advanced Learner Specialist file
• PD notes from Promoting a School’s Literacy Community
• 32 Text Structure notes from Katie Wood Ray
• Where You Are From George Ella Lyons poem
• Suggested Expectations for conventions K-12 document
• pacing guides
• curriculum maps
• a copy of the first day of school letter I sent home for all 15 years
• a xerox copy of an amazing piece of student art work

Do I need any of it?

• Will I remember what I want to use from what I’ve recycled or kept?
•  Does it really matter to my remembering if I have “it” or not?

When I was a teacher I used to keep things in case I needed or wanted to replicate or modify something I had done in the past.

When I was a curriculum coordinator I kept things to show work in progress and keep us moving forward.

With a change in administrations twice in nine months, I kept things because no one else would have ever known things existed.

In many ways I am a blank slate, starting over. I bring with me my prior knowledge and background of experiences.

No one from my new school is going to ask me to see something from my old district because they won’t know it existed, nor would it be relevant.

Why am I re-sorting for the twentieth time, rather than just pitching it all?

It took me three years to part with all my fourth grade files, and I should learn from that. Never once did I go back and use anything in those files.

Part of my brain still thinks, “When I write a book about this….”, I will want hard copies of things to help with my writing.

I want to just dump it all as I look forward, but I still just can’t make myself do it…

Summer Reading set in Africa June 6, 2012

The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis
Chanda’s Secrets by Allan Stratton
Secrets in the Fire by Henning Mankell

Summer Reading (or listening) June 5, 2012

All you parents trying to figure out how to keep your kid reading, check out this summer’s free downloads at Sync. There is a popular new title and a classic each week all summer long. Some of them are right off the summer’s required reading list.

Schedule of SYNC Downloads

 

SYNC Titles
Summer 2012

June14 – June 20, 2012
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch, Read by Dan Bittner (Scholastic Audiobooks)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Frank Galati [Adapt.], Read by Shirley Knight, Jeffrey Donovan, and a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

June 21 – June 27, 2012
Irises by Francisco X. Stork, Read by Carrington MacDuffie (Listening Library)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Read by Wanda McCaddon (Tantor Media)

June 28 – July 4, 2012
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, Read by Simon Jones
(Listening Library)
Tales from the Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang, Read by Toby Stephens
(Naxos AudioBooks)

July 5 – July 11, 2012
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Read by August Ross (AudioGO)
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, Read by Ian Holm (AudioGO)

July 12 – July 18, 2012
Guys Read: Funny Business by Jon Scieszka [Ed.] et al., Read by Michael Boatman, Kate DiCamillo, John Keating, Jon Scieszka, Bronson Pinchot (Harper Audio)
The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Stories by Mark Twain, Read by Norman Dietz (Recorded Books)

July 19 – July 25, 2012
Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter, Read by Kirsten Potter (Oasis Audio)
Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare, Read by a Full Cast (AudioGO)

July 26 – August 1, 2012
Pinned by Alfred C. Martino, Read by Mark Shanahan (Listen & Live Audio)
TBA (Brilliance Audio)

August 2 – August 8, 2012
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Read by Khristine Hvam (Hachette Audio)
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Read by Simon Prebble (Blackstone Audio)

August 9 – August 15, 2012
Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy, Read by Rupert Degas (Harper Audio)
Dead Men Kill by L. Ron Hubbard, Read by Jennifer Aspen and a Full Cast
(Galaxy Press)

August 16 – August 22, 2012
The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, Read by Jay Laga’aia (Bolinda Audio)
The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Read by William Roberts (Naxos AudioBooks)

ABroad in Senegal May 22, 2012

Check out my new blog dedicated to all things about the move to Dakar:  ABroadinSenegal.wordpress.com

Association of International Schools of Africa

Who we are Representing international schools on the continent of Africa, AISA has a membership of schools which range in size from 20 to 3600 students. AISA schools are strongly influenced by their location in Africa and their cosmopolitan student enrollment and teaching staffs who emanate from countries across the globe. Some AISA schools have an American based curriculum, others are British, and still others have an ecclectic mix. All have an international focus. AISA’s Goal AISA’s goal is, in collaboration with our Associate Members, to serve the varying needs of nearly 42,000 students and over 2,500 teachers and administrators. Mission Statement The mission of the Association is to facilitate school effectiveness and to inspire student learning in the international schools of Africa by promoting communication, collaboration, and professional development. AISA Members Believe All individuals have intrinsic worth and deserve an opportunity to learn in a challenging, safe, and nurturing environment Optimal student learning is advanced through educational research and its application through effective practice International education provides a foundation for global citizenship Collaboration and interdependence among individuals and organizations are powerful agents of positive change Appropriate use of technology maximizes student learning and school effectiveness AISA’s Objectives AISA will Enhance the quality of student learning by promoting effective educational practice Foster intercultural and international understanding Promote an appreciation and understanding of Africa Support professional development within member schools Collect, analyze, and distribute information to help guide member schools Enable close collaboration and networking among its members Develop and maintain partnerships with organizations and institutions which complement AISA’s values and mission

travel quotes

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~St. Augustine

Insurgent, Divergent, Dark Days Tour with Veronica Roth May 8, 2012

I had pre-ordered Insurgent many months ago, but ended up also buying it on my Kindle so I could make sure I had it on release day. I had read Divergent that way originally so I thought it would be interesting to continue in that tradition. No sooner had I read the first several pages and then re-read the pages, it was apparent that I was going to need to re-read Divergent to refresh my memory of characters and plot lines. I know some people always read the preceding books over before reading a sequel, but that is not my MO. I’m always anticipating book releases and don’t want to take the time away from other reads to re-read. I decided I could probably keep plowing through Insurgent and get the gist of what I hadn’t remembered, but I REALLY wanted to enjoy reading Insurgent. I set it aside and fast read Divergent. I am very glad I did as it also served to remind me why I had liked Divergent so much on the first read.

I like the descriptions of the factions, the main and supporting characters, and the many intricacies that are woven throughout the book. It’s interesting to think about the choices the characters made that led them to leave or join a faction and then consider what you would have done in that situation.

The Dark Days tour-Cover to Cover June 7th

I have actually seen Veronica Roth at ALAN/NCTE this past year and while she is super cute and young, she was not that impressive as a speaker. I actually feel really bad writing that but I was surprised by how underwhelmed I was after being such a huge fan of the book from the release of Divergent. Now just because you are a great author, does not mean you have to be a great speaker. Being a great public speaker is just as hard as being a great author in a different way.

Despite that I am ready to give her another chance and will be joining book blogging friends to see Veronica Roth, Aprilynne Pike, Ellen Schreiber, and Josephine Angelini. Now I haven’t read anything  by the other YA authors, but stacking up a great TBR pile to kick off the summer seems like a great idea!