May 2, 2016

I wanted to take a moment to remind you that your hard work in the lives of our scholars DOES MATTER. Parents do appreciate everything you do, even if they don't tell you! I know you have a heart for kids and I appreciate everything you do to make the @canSTEM experience the best. I found this "One Hundreds Years From Now" reminder that each of YOU make a difference!!

End of the year assessment window opens up on May 2nd. We will be adding our writing assessments to the blue literacy folders stored in Brenda Milum's room. If you have any questions, please email me.

Also, the Humanities will be having their new curriculum overviews on every Tuesday in May. Have you signed up to attend one yet?

April 25, 2016

Currently at Cannon we have 10 teachers that have attended the 21st Century Learning Academy at the Fort Worth Museum. There are several more planning to attend this summer. This is a training that ALL teachers at Cannon should plan to attend, in order to deepen your knowledge about STEM-based instruction.

• The 21st Century Learning Academy will provide educators with in-depth experiences on integrating STEM education into their classrooms. The pedagogy, practices and implementation strategies taught will enhance professional practice and help build educators' understanding of how STEM based instruction can benefit student learning.
• 3-8 Educator's Academy: July 25-29, 8:30am-4:30pm
• K-2 Educator's Academy: August 1-5, 8:30am-4:30pm

Please consider attending this foundational training to learn how to implement STEM strategies into classrooms. This class is a great addition to add to your STEM toolbox!!

Here is what two of your colleagues said about FWMSH:

Kami: "My experience at the FWMSH for the STEM professional development was the best and it was challenging. I needed the background to help me find my 'place', so learning pedagogy was fantastic! Also, because it wasn't tied to Cannon, (if I messed up, it wouldn't reflect badly) l was comfortable trying to merge pedagogy and 'Kami'. I had a blast and finally felt I was understanding STEM and actually did a pretty good job!"

Heather: "Going to the Fort Worth Museum STEM week greatly impacted my teaching because I understood how to incorporate engineering into any content I was teaching and how I could incorporate other content areas into the design challenge or project. This training also allowed me to design work to have students apply their learning to authentic global problems rather than just creating scenarios for them. It also made me understand the significance of the engineering design process and how this should be a guide not only for students to use but is a guide for us when designing lessons."

April 18, 2016

fi·del·i·ty - /fəˈdelədē/

noun

1.faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support

synonyms: loyalty, allegiance, obedience

As I observed in many classrooms and have had to opportunity to listen to visitors this past year, everyone consistently comments on two student behaviors that are evident at our school. The first is the ability of our scholars to work in groups and the second one is how our scholars can explain their thinking. The success of these two student behaviors are not accidental-thanks to YOU!

The fidelity in which the Engineering Design Process has been implemented in our program, K-5, is the key. Our current students have 4 years of executing the EDP and is evident by your continued belief in designing work that solve real world problems. That is apparent by the risk taking and creative problem taking place at Cannon.

Just like the attached photo states so simply...The work of our amazing Cannon staff spreads to amazing learning experiences for our scholars every day!"

April 11, 2016

MAY HAS TWO OPPORTUNITIES THAT I DO NOT WANT YOU TO MISS!

#1-The unveiling of the newly redesigned K-5 Humanities curriciulum (3 are hosted here at Cannon).

#2-A book study hosted by the math department! I can’t wait to learn more about growth mindset applied in the classroom.

SNEAK PEEK - UNVEILING OF THE NEWLY REDESIGNED K-5

After months of work by over 70 of GCISD's K-5 teachers, we are hosting 4 identical sneak peeks into the new documents, resources, and expectations. Join us on one of the following dates:

May 3, 3:30-4:30, hosted at Cannon Elementary library - Registration link

May 12, 3:30-4:30, hosted at Cannon Elementary library - Registration link

May 19, 3:30-4:30, hosted at the CMS library - Registration link

May 24, 3:30-4:30, hosted at the Cannon Elementary library - Registration link

Mathematical Mindsets Book Study

The GCISD math department is excited to enter into a book study with teachers of mathematics from across the district! Dr. Jo Boaler of Stanford University has published a new book this year that explores the application of growth mindset to mathematics classrooms. We look forward to learning together how we can better serve our students!

Join us May 18 @ PDEC for our kickoff! Register in Eduphoria:

Session 1 (3:30-4:30) PDEC-Panther Den

Session 2 (4:15-5:15) PDEC-Bronco Bowl

Check out additional Humanties PD opportunities scheduled for this summer!

April 4, 2016

Carol Dweck, author of Growth Mindset, discusses how an integrated curriculum affects the way students view learning in this 4 minute video from Connect Ed. Dweck states that "expertise in the real world is about knowing something from every angle." This affirms our goal and work to integrate in our PLCs. She also talks connecting math and science to real world things and the impact that has on learning. Listen to when she talks about growth mindset and how it aligns to our Engineering Design Process. WOW!

March 28, 2016

I know you have followed your passion and purpose in life by teaching. However, if you had to do it all over again and decided to become an engineer, what type of engineer would you be? I have pondered this question as I have listened to engineer presentations over the past two year.

This quiz will help you determine your "engineer" type. On Young Engineer's Night, this could be a great activity for parents to complete with their child. I can't wait to hear what type of engineer YOU should be!!!

CLICK HERE TO TAKE YOUR QUIZ NOW!

March 21, 2016

Please make a note of the following PLC dates to accommodate STAAR testing and 4th and 5th grade robotics schedule.

5th, 4th and 3rd grade: weeks of 3/21, 4/4, 4/18, 5/2, 5/16

1st, K, and 2nd grade: weeks of 3/28, 4/11, 4/25, 5/9

If there are specific resources you need for your PLC time, please send me an email.