Screenagers

I was able to view the documentary Screenagers today.  I have attached a link to the trailer.  I thought it was very well done and a must see for all parents.  The district will be having a community screening with a discussion panel on January 10th at the high school 7-9pm.   Mark your calendars!  I would highly recommend attending.  It made me think about how we use technology in our classrooms, how as a parent my husband and I help to manage the use of devices in our home, and how multi-tasking, gaming, social media and screen time impact our brains and how we manage our lives.  It will be well worth your time! (Call up some friends and attend together.  You could make a night of it and grab some dinner in town first!)

-Brenda

Here is the movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQx2X0BXgZg

SCREENAGERS (Official Trailer) www.youtube.com SCREENGERS is an award-winning documentary that probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including the director's own, and depicts messy struggles,...

Be Vulnerable?

Heavy video alert!

Brene Brown is a writer and researcher who has done extensive work around the idea of vulnerability. Although her TED talk is long, I would encourage you to put your feet up this weekend and give it a listen. While you listen, consider:

• What role does vulnerability play in your life and who you are with your colleagues?
• How can you put yourself out there? Do others "see" the real you?
• How does this apply to kids?
• What shame do you hold?
• How do we give kids a sense of belonging here at QUEST?
• How do you teach emotion regulation? 

Reminders

• We have a shared calendar. I would encourage you to take a weekly look at it! 
  
• Joy shop begins next week. 
• Don't forget to complete those Global Compliance Trainings! I'd encourage you to complete them before the holiday--wouldn't it be great if QUEST was the first building to have it done, similar to BEDS? :)
• The budget request can be found on the blog (top). This is for aidable AND any larger purchases you'd like to have considered. Even if we can't make larger purchases immediately, having a list is helpful to a principal so that we can spend on those items when money is less tight. I'm here if you have any questions about the form.
• Two weeks until the holiday break. Make it count! Every kid. Every classroom. Every day. Keep in mind that as we get closer to the holiday, some kids may struggle with the idea of break. This can present itself in a multitude of ways.

Reminder OSOB meeting Fri Dec 15th 8 am library. :)

CIA Change of Plans

Next Tuesday we have our next CIA meeting. Originally, this was going to be all about values; however, being new my planning failed me a bit. We need to review our current budget as we are in the process of planning for next year's school budget. In addition, we also have Barb and Jon Miller coming--Barb to help us with the SLO forms and Jon to give you an FYI about a survey. We will start right at 7:45 so that we can squeeze it all in!

We will continue solidifying our values in January. I will say, however, that community is CLEARLY a core value. That much is clear from all the findings.

Joy

We are hard at work creating a month of JOY here at QUEST. Although Joy is not an IB Profile, finding joy, creating joy, and having joy is one of the richer treasures in life. The process of finding it can be just as rewarding as acquiring it. The best part? Joy is a choice.

This month I am not doing a Principal's Challenge--I know, celebrate--but I would encourage you to find ways to create joy with your colleagues. Joy is a choice, and if you ever need to see what it looks like, just notice how our kids engage with one another--joy will likely be present in most positive interactions. This time of year also brings daily, natural examples of joy.

Thank you for being such a passionate, sincere, and authentic learning community. Thanks for spreading your joy, and your love of learning, to our kids. WE are QUEST!

Keyboarding FYI From the Office of Instruction

As you know, the results from the keyboarding survey indicated that most of you believed that direct keyboarding instruction was best for the success of our students. After an analysis of several keyboarding reviews, examination of features, and recommendations from other districts, the Office of Instruction has decided to utilize EduTyping. For the second half of the 2017-2018 school-year, we have decided to use this program with all of our students grades 3-8. After this year, we will be reaching out to you for your input, as our plan is to continue using EduTyping with grades 3 and 4. The revised ELA/Literacy standards state the in grades 3 and 4 explicit instruction in the area of keyboarding is required.

Key Features of EduTyping:

·       Web-based to enable students to practice at school as well as home

·       Two levels of curriculum—elementary and secondary

·       Elementary: row-by-row method with high frequency and sight words integrated 

·       Secondary:  traditional method of touch-typing and includes a series of interactive lessons that integrates updated pop culture content

·       Includes practice, games, tests and immediate feedback for students

Next Steps:

·       Due to the differences of how technology is allocated and organized at each school and grade level, your building principal will be reaching out to you in the near future to discuss the specifics of where, when, and how.

·       

In order to ensure success we are recommending that students practice keyboarding 3 times a week for about 10-15 minutes, which may include what the students do at home.

·       If you want to explore the program….which includes a free trial….here is the website: https://www.edutyping.com/

A Look Ahead

Why QUEST?

Thank you to Mr. Moon for being our next person to respond to the Why QUEST prompt. Enjoy his response below.

Why do I value QUEST?

·      I love the small town feel. The fact that I can know and interact with every student and teacher in the building is something that is very special to me.

·      I love how our graduates turn out when they leave this building. I have the pleasure of coaching kids at the middle and high school levels and there is something different about a kid that went to QUEST. They really do imitate the IB attitudes and learner profiles.

·      I love the community and traditions that have been developed over the years. I find it awesome that kids can be a part of days such as thanksgiving feast, the sled race, science fun day, field day, and exhibition. You will not find those things at any other school.

·      Finally, I love the way kids treat each other here at QUEST. Older kids will help the younger kids by doing things such as tying sneakers, reading, holding their hands and walking them somewhere if they are lost. By being a positive role model, it creates excitement and motivation by all students to help each other.

Shared Calendar

To help us stay organized, we have added a shared cal. in one of the SharePoints. Thanks to Hannah for going in and adding dates from various documents. The video below explains it.