Microsoft Photo Story and Research

As I walked down the primary hallway, I noticed classrooms full of engaged and motivated students who appeared to be focused on the lesson at hand. That's not unusual, but the intense focus still piqued my interest. The topic, I discovered, included practicing the skills needed to gather information in preparation for writing a biography. Students were to use on-line and text resources to gather information about a famous individual and then present a summary of their findings using Microsoft Photo Story, a free application that allows users to create a visual story from digital photos. The value of effectively researching, summarizing, evaluating information, digital editing, and presentation were all on display, not too bad for second grade.

Why I'm Proud of our School

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Adding "Heat" to Breakfast in the Classroom

Just a little background:
In hopes of improving access to breakfast for students in the elementary, reduce costs, and improve program efficiency, the breakfast program shifted from a traditional cafeteria based program to a classroom-based program during the 2009-2010 school year.  The well-established program of the past provided a chance for students to eat breakfast for under $2.00, but participation was typically limited to 10-15% of the school population.  With the combination of reducing the price per meal to $0.50 and serving meals in the classroom setting, the goals of the transition were met.  Whether as a result of eating breakfast in the more-comfortable classroom setting with classmates or a simple price reduction, participation rates have increased to nearly 60% of the student body.  Not only do students have access to a proper and inexpensive breakfast, the combination of increased efficiency and participation made the program financially self-sufficient.

Heat and Eat Mini-Cinnis

So, what next?
Given the need for portability and food safety, menu items included a variety of pastries, fruits, cereals, and breakfast bars.  Each met or exceeded the dietary requirements and were actually well-liked by kids.  However, as our food service director continued to explore new menu items to maintain interest and variety, he discovered several products that would be popular, but really needed to be eaten warm, not for food safety purposes, rather to improve quality.  Most people don't prefer cold pancakes over warm ones.  How could we provide a warm breakfast without increasing food or labor cost?

Insulated Food Transport Bags

With the purchase of insulated food transport bags, under $15 each, we discovered that warmed breakfast items could be delivered to the classroom using the normal schedule and still be served warm to even the latest-arriving students.  Again, these items are not temperature sensitive for safety, rather satisfaction.

Proofer/Warmer

A little creativity and cooperation makes a big difference.  Kitchen staff lay out the fruit strudel, mini-pancakes, cinnamon rolls, etc. on trays the day before, a sorting practice that would happen for other items anyway.  The trays are placed in the warmer, but not yet heated.  Each are prepackaged and do not require refrigeration.  When the morning custodian unlocks the building, his one flip of a switch on the warmer makes it possible for the usual morning kitchen crew to arrive at their usual time and still be able to deliver a warm item to the classrooms.  Thanks to the cooperation and support of amazing support staff and classroom teachers always looking to improve, students can start their day with a great-tasting breakfast and the energy they need to learn and grow.

Tech Savvy 4K Students at Cashton Elementary

Even the youngest students at Cashton Elementary have learned first-hand the value of technology assisted learning. Over the course of a couple days, I visited just a few classrooms to see how teachers have continued to leverage digital tools to further engage students in learning. For this post, the focus is on our four year old kindergarten class with Mrs. Kramer, a veteran teacher who is eager to find innovative means to reach all students.

Three and four year old students in this classroom have access to a set of iPad2(s), a SMART table, a SMART board, and a couple of aging desktop computers daily as part of digital centers. Students explore a wide variety of apps and programs both collaboratively and independently based on their individual strengths and struggles. During this snapshot in time, students were working on alphabet sequence, listening to interactive digital stories, studying US geography, and using a modified ten-frame to improve number sense. Best of all, each of the activities was occurring at the same time. As I observed the students in action, I was impressed with the level of engagement and individualized instruction.    Take a look, you will be too.

Ipad 2: US Geography



SMART Table: Number Sense


Desktop Computers:  Digital Storybooks


SMART board: Alphabet sequence

ANIMOTO

Make your own slideshow with music at Animoto.

Winter Concert 2011

 On Monday, December 5th, students in 4K-Grade 5 shared their talents with a large audience of family and friends.  Congratulations to the students for putting on an outstanding performance.  Thank you to Mrs. Miller, Mr. Muraski, and the many staff members who helped to bring out the best in our students!  Check out more pics including candid shots from behind the scenes at the Cashton Elementary Photo Gallery.