Student Work – A Principal's Decree

Friday Focus: Great Things I’ve Seen This Week at DGS!

August 27, 2015 Mrs. Ellis

The best part of my job (even though there are many things I love) is getting into the classrooms and observing the students and teachers doing what they do best: Learn and Teach! Each week I share in my staff memo (coined the Friday Focus) a list of great things I have observed throughout the week while in classrooms. Whereas this list is not comprehensive, I wanted to share just a peek of the learning and teaching that is going on this week at DGS!

The use of the 5 rules from whole brain teaching has been a joy to watch. The rules are consistent across grade levels, easy to remember, and engaging for our kids.
The Chromebooks are out in classrooms and already getting used! I’ve seen them used to write google docs, access moby max, perform research, and develop GoodReads Accounts to maintain student book logs digitally!
I’ve seen some great TLAP activities going on; “Talking Sticks,” Spaghetti and Marshmallows, PlayDoh, IPICK books, technology, purple royal pens, book tastings, ect! Everyone has really done a fabulous job creating engaging and meaningful activities to welcome our students back this week. The environment and lessons we create have a direct impact on the engagement and motivation by our students.
Hands on science learning in 3^rd grade using colored markers, water, and coffee filters to teach the scientific method.
Classes seizing transition times to maximize learning with reading emergencies and math flashcards
Positive Office Referrals turned in to recognize ROYAL skills! I enjoy sharing these positive notes with parents and at morning announcements!
Engaging parent presentations and technology connections with families during Back to School Nights. The use of blogs, twitter and ongoing parent communication fosters ‘glass classrooms’ and effective and efficient parent relationships and rapport!
“Intro to Counselor” sessions that used props to engage kids in the role of the counselor!
Introduction of the Buddy Bench!
Deputy Butterfield playing with kids on the playground! A great example of “Swimming with the Fish”
Classes seizing the awesome weather to take classes outside for learning opportunities

2013-2014 Service and Leadership Club

October 12, 2013 Mrs. Ellis Leave a comment

Collaboration, Teamwork, and Shared Leadership!

The 2013-2014 Service and Leadership Club kicked off after school on Monday! This team of exemplary 5th graders will serve as a team of role models and student advocates this year, and well as directors of service projects around Dunlap Grade School. As a team, the group created a mission statement to direct our year, in addition to ground rules that ensure a productive team.

Be on the lookout for club members living out this mission throughout the year!
“The ROYAL Service and Leadership Club will be life-long learners by taking others point of view to solve problems, coming up with recreational and education ideas, and leading by example.”

This year, Service and Leadership members will be completing a book study on The 7 Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). The club members will take the knowledge from this book and apply it to our student body here at DGS. We are excited to be life-long learners and leaders together this year!

Enjoy a Video of our Leaders at

https://vimeo.com/76570736

Cross Curriculuar Collaboration

September 13, 2013 Mrs. Ellis Leave a comment

A staff norm at Dunlap Grade School is to participate in cross-curricular collaboration and communication. This was demonstrated earlier this week when 2nd grade staff partnered with music teacher, Mr. Anderson, to make some wonderful music.

In Mrs. Pitzer’s class, Mr. Anderson taught the students that a measure has 4 beats using 4/4 time. Each student was then responsible for using musical notation to fill each measure with four counts. Who knew there was math in music?! After choosing a line or space, they got to compose and listen to their music creation. You can hear what they composed by clicking on the links below:

Group One’s Music

Group Two’s Music

Group Three’s Music

Group Four’s Music

Group Five’s Music

In addition, 2Z students practiced math in a musical way! Mr. Anderson has been helping students learn that a measure has 4 beats using 4/4 time. Each student was responsible for using musical notation to fill each measure with four counts. What a great connection to math skills! After choosing a line or space, the group played their creation for the rest of the class to listen and enjoy! You can listen to their compositions by clicking on the links below:

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

We are so excited that Mr. Anderson found such a neat website for us to practice our learning! We can be 21st century learners wherever we go!

August Royal Students of the Month

August 30, 2013 Mrs. Ellis Leave a comment

District Strategic Goal #2: Create a Satisfying and Productive Classroom Learning Environment

Dunlap Grade is recognizing students that demonstrate commitment to our mission, vision and norms. Each month, teachers will nominate a child from their classroom to be recognized as a Royal Student of the Month. This morning, August Royal Students of the Month were announced! These students are excellent examples for their classmates!

To be selected “Student of the Month, students must meet the following ROYAL criteria:

Respect Others

Respect Yourself

Respect Learning

Criteria also include, but are not limited to:

Demonstrating Second Step Skills for learning, empathy, emotion management and problem solving.
Students show progress and improvement in subject areas.
Students make contributions to the community through service.
Students display exemplary leadership skills.
Students show positive attitude toward classmates, school staff, learning and school.
Students have good attendance.
Students demonstrate appropriate behavior.
Students encourage others to do their best.
Students work up to their ability.
Students exhibit good character, hard work, and honesty.

Students will be recognized with:

Recognition at Morning Announcements
Certificate of Achievement
Photograph displayed on the foyer bulletin board
Letter of Congratulations from the Principal, Mrs. Ellis
End of the Year celebration activity

Nomination Process:

Teachers submit nominations by the 25^th of each month.
Students will be recognized on the first student attendance day of the month.

Student Work

4th Grade Math Goes Outside

August 20, 2013 Mrs. Ellis Leave a comment

District Strategic Goal #2: Create a Satisfying and Productive Classroom Learning Environment

4th Grade students took the opportunity of a beautiful day to collaborate with both classes and learn math concepts outside. In the book, “Teach Like a Pirate,” author Dave Burgess asks teachers to consider “what is the best environment to teach a concept?” In this situation, the fresh air and cool breeze created an environment conducive to collaboration and mathematical critical thinking where students could energize their brains and bodies. Students worked in teams as they cycled through stations that required them to problem-solve, work together, work on fact fluency, and more. Needless to say, students enjoyed the time outside the classroom walls as well as honed their mathematical thinking.

Student Work

Art Clay Projects

May 9, 2013 Mrs. Ellis Leave a comment

District Strategic Goal#1: Continuously Improve Student Growth and Achievement

Recently the first and fourth grade classes have completed clay projects in art class. The first grade “clay-d” bugs allowed the students the opportunity to explore the technique of scoring. Scoring is when the clay surface is scratched to allow water or liquid clay to enter into it a little. It basically helps the clay get sticky so pieces do not fall apart once they dry. They also were able to use glazes and become familiar with the term “kiln”. A kiln is an oven that heats the clay to high temperatures –almost 2000 degrees! At high temperatures the clay changes and becomes very hard and the glazes melt and becomes glass-like.

The fourth grade classes recently finished clay cups based on animals –some real, some make believe. The students began with a simple pinch pot and then added feet, head, neck, etc. They were also given the opportunity to make the tail of the animal into a handle. Some students chose to stick with a normal looking tail though, which was fine. The cups have been glazed and are now waiting to come out of the kiln. Fourth grade did a great job on them!

First Grade Reader’s Theater

March 27, 2013 Mrs. Ellis Leave a comment

District Strategic Goal#1: Continuously Improve Student Growth and Achievement

A group of first grade students spent the last two days performing their Reader’s Theater scripts for their classmates. Students spent two months learning their parts, creating props, and practicing their plays. Mrs. Donavan served as an excellent director to all of our actors. Students did an excellent job as performers and enjoyed seeing literacy come to life!

Reader’s Theater is a research-based instructional strategy to improve reading fluency, prosody, expression, and confidence. Reader’s Theater is a dramatic presentation of a written work or book in a theatrical script form. Readers read from the script and parts are divided. There is no required memorization, costumes, staging or special lighting required: Just reading practice in a fun and engaging way!

Peer Writing Conferences

March 7, 2013 Mrs. Ellis Leave a comment

District Strategic Goal #2: Create a Satisfying and Productive Classroom Learning Environment

4^th grade students are working on writing a Persuasive Essay on a topic of their choice. In order to ensure their success in a 21^st Century Learning classroom, students shared their essays or their pre-writing with a peer to seek advice on how to improve their ideas or their writing. Students had great conversations about how they could add details to their writing and what they could include in their writing to make their reasoning clear. As they were conferencing, students were changing and adding details to make their writing the best they could.

4th Grade Students Conduct a Peer Editing Writing Conference

Dr. Seuss’ Birthday

March 4, 2013 Mrs. Ellis Leave a comment

District Strategic Goal#2: Obtain a Satisfying and Productive Classroom Learning Environment

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He published his first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, under the name of Dr. Seuss in 1937. Next came a string of best sellers, including The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. His rhymes and characters are beloved by generations. Several Classrooms at DGS celebrated the birthday of Dr. Seuss on Friday!

Mrs. Pitzer’s second grade classroom started off celebrating Dr. Seuss’s Birthday by wearing mismatched clothes to school and having breakfast. They gobbled up green eggs and ham, doughnuts, Fruit Loops and orange juice. They also made Seuss hats to wear and Cat in the Hats by only tearing paper. Since it was Read Across America Day, They all snuggled up with some of their favorite Seuss books and ended the day watching Horton Hears a Who. Other classrooms spent time creating Oobleck, Dr. Seuss snack mix, and reading Dr. Seuss stories. Mrs. Kamin enjoyed sampling Green Eggs and Ham from 2nd grade and Mrs. Ellis joined in the fun by reading Dr. Seuss books during lunch time.