Wednesday, December 23

Have a great break!
Thanks for all of your support this fall.  I appreciate all of your efforts to continually improve our school.  Have a great holiday break!  

Email & Google Group Lists:
Please check this file linked here.  Follow the directions at the top of column I if you need to have me add or drop an email/Google group list. 

Anyone need help completing the ePMF (BEDS) form?
Let me know if you need help.  I can help you on Wednesday.

SURGE(?) Program?
While speaking at the concert the other night, I announced that we are applying for (and have a good chance for) a large extended day grant.  A recent graduate introduced herself and told me that we had a program called "SURGE" when she was here.  She told me she loved it and that Miss Wicks was in charge of it.  If anyone can tell me about this, please do.

BOCES 12/15 News

As always, some great opportunities from our friends at BOCES. 

Testing Week:
Count on Friday January 29 being a regular school day.  There is testing in the morning only with a limited number of students, so classes will not be hard to run. 

Board Room closed 1/5
Testing accommodations will be in the old AD office near the atrium.  Please report there if you have that duty. 

Conference attendance:

A teacher asked a good question about one of my last posts concerning proof for conference attendance (audit reasons):

Teacher:
If our attendance is verified through mylearningplan.org does that count?  When we go to a BOCES event we have to sign in.  It is then verified in the mylearningplan.com system that we were actually at the event by whomever is in charge of putting the attendance into mylearningplan.com.  It has been that way for several years.  I just got notification today from a conference I attended yesterday that said that my attendance was verified by mylearningplan.com and  that I had to go into mylearningplan.com to mark the conference as complete.

From Naomi:
Great. Then print that and attach to your claim. Remember it is only if you have a claim (mileage, meals, hotel, etc) that you need to verify.


Striving to remember names:
One thing I'm not great at (I know, there must be at least 2) is remembering names.  Over break, I'll be working on a file to help me remember names by quizzing myself.  I'm putting kids' pics into a file and putting the names next to the pics.  The trick for me is turning the font white in front of a white background.  That way, I can run my mouse pointer over the space next to the pic as I continually quiz myself on a particular kid.  Click the file here to see the file. 

I like using tricks like this to help with memory. Something like this might help you to remember these too, or you could use something like this as a study guide for something else. 

Wednesday, December 16


Conferences - Proof of attendance needed:
Our auditors are consistently asking for proof of attendance to conferences. Please make sure that you return with some evidence of attendance. Thanks.

You might want to read this:
Gov. Cuomo’s Common Core task force calls for evaluation freeze, test changes

Reworded restriction policy:
This policy is now in the staff share / handbooks & vital docs folder.  

PD schedule for 12/23:
Missy Butler will be filling in the slots for next Wednesday.  Please check on this in the next day or two.

January Testing Week (HS only):
Tuesday January 26 to Friday January 29
A few changes coming (Christa, others?)  Let me know if you have any questions. 

Wednesday, December 9

Win Win Discipline by Dr. Kagan
Here is a description of Win-Win Discipline for tomorrow's attendeed:  Win-Win Discipline is an effective approach to classroom discipline. It is designed to handle discipline PROBLEMS at the moment of the disruption with powerful and proven discipline strategies; but more importantly, it targets the root of discipline PROBLEMS—students' unfulfilled needs.  Excerpted from: http://www.kaganonline.com/free_articles/dr_spencer_kagan/ASK15.php

PD schedule for Thursday:
Please check this link.  Any changes needed?  Let me or Missy Butler know.

Faculty-Staff Appreciation: - You Are Invited!
Middle & High School Faculty & Staff
Stop by the main office for coffee & baked goods on
Thursday, December 10th from 11:00 – 2:00
All Middle & High School Staff Welcome!
Thank You! We Appreciate All You Do!
Hosted by the SSCS Parent Teacher Community Organization

Fighting Absenteeism:
Thanks to the person who left me the advertisement from the Council on Children and Families.  You can see their resource site at www.everystudentpresent.org.  I will look at this and you're also welcome to.

Great picture resizing tool:
Rob H put a picture resizing tutorial in the tech folder (click above).  If you are using pictures right off your camera, chances are the file will be too big in size, even when you make it look smaller in a document or presentation.  Some images are more than 4 mb when taken on your camera, depending on your settings.  That size will make the doc or presentation awfully big.  Have you ever clicked onto a page where the pictures slowly load, especially when there are several? Try this resize tool  to make the file much more manageable.

Finding things in Google Drive:
Here are a few tips for finding files.  All these files are in the tech/tutorials folder.

BOCES Newsletter Dec. 1                 Newletter Dec. 8






Monday, December 7

PD schedule for Thursday
Please click the title above for the PD schedule, which includes activities for all teachers, aides, and assistants. If I have missed anything or if you have something else planned (with the exception of a 2 hour pizza party at Mark's or Italian Kitchen), please let me know.

Teacher Web Pages
Check out Joe Brewer's new page linked here.   Now that's what I'm talking about Mr. Brewer! Joe is planning on graduating to a Weebly site, but this is an awesome start. If you have a site, please keep it current.  If you don't have one, please look into starting a basic page like Joe did.  Joe attended one of Rob Hermanet's after school workshops. With just one workshop, he got some valuable info up and running.  We could use more teacher sites in our efforts to enhance communication.

Teacher website options:
Thanks to Rob H for making a page for teacher website options.  Click here. This file is located in staff share / tech.  Remember Rob's "Website Wednesdays" in his room after school.  

Racing Extinction
I watched this very powerful film on the Discovery Channel the other night, and it is definitely worth watching and showing your students. The site is linked in the title. An article about the film is linked here.  Maybe we can get a copy or two through the LMC.

Good article about the pitfalls of one-to-one devices:
Naomi shared this article (thanks Naomi).  It concentrates on younger elementary kids, but there are plenty of worthy cautions there for our levels.  Let's use the tech, but not depend on it. 

Steve Andrews here on Thursday:
Steve will be here for help with SIS and the grade book.  I want this to be as much one to one help as possible.

Dodge ball fun:
Click here for your goofy principal getting pelted.  Maybe I should have the teachers do the same sometime!

A Note from John Hind:

Hi everybody,
I wanted to take a few moments to “talk myself up” and suggest different ways that I can assist you with instructional technology.
I spent seven years in the classroom as a middle- and high-school Social Studies teacher, including five years in a 1:1 laptop school.  I’ve been using Google Apps with students since the 2008-2009 school year, so I’m very fluent in the platform.  Supports I can provide include but aren’t necessarily limited to:

  • Basic training and technical assistance with Chromebooks, Tablets, Google Apps, Promethean Boards, etc.
  • Suggest apps and extensions to improve the Chromebooks’ utility
  • Perform non-evaluative observations and provide guidance and suggestions on ways to effectively utilize Chromebooks/tablets in instructions
  • Co-plan with teachers or teams of teachers to “upgrade” existing lessons
  • Push into classes to demo, co-teach, or just provide additional support as you roll out a new app or extension.  


There is a calendar in Tim’s shared folder that lists days I will be on campus (typically Fridays), but I can occasionally come up other days if necessary. If you would like to set up an appointment with me, you can email me at jhind@tstboces.org, or call my office line at (607)257-1551, x1012.  I generally respond to emails pretty quickly, and chances are I may be able to provide assistance with many problems remotely via email or telephone.


John Hind,Technology Integration Instructional Specialist
TST BOCES   (607)257-1555 x1012