What a great day we had at VIT Elementary on last Thursday! We recognized all those students who met their reading goals during our Race into Reading Incentive Program. So many kids met their goals. About 100 were recognized in front of their classmates. After the recognition ceremony, all the students were treated to drinks, popcorn, and the movie Cars 2. After the movie and lunch, the kids were treated with a real race car. A local racer named Steve Lance Jr. brought is race car down from Cuba as a backdrop for reward pictures for those who met their goals. The car was so popular that all the kids had their picture taken next-to or in it! A special thanks to Steve for donating his time to our students. I have included a picture of his car at the bottom of this post. Ashley Strode was our randomly drawn winner of the Grand prize. She won an authentic race-used tire from Dale Jr's 88 car. Look for pictures in the next Argus. A special thanks to Mrs. Shaw, Ms. Becker, Mrs. Hampton, Mrs. Hunt, and Mr. Churchill for helping with the special day.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Race into Reading Reward Day
What a great day we had at VIT Elementary on last Thursday! We recognized all those students who met their reading goals during our Race into Reading Incentive Program. So many kids met their goals. About 100 were recognized in front of their classmates. After the recognition ceremony, all the students were treated to drinks, popcorn, and the movie Cars 2. After the movie and lunch, the kids were treated with a real race car. A local racer named Steve Lance Jr. brought is race car down from Cuba as a backdrop for reward pictures for those who met their goals. The car was so popular that all the kids had their picture taken next-to or in it! A special thanks to Steve for donating his time to our students. I have included a picture of his car at the bottom of this post. Ashley Strode was our randomly drawn winner of the Grand prize. She won an authentic race-used tire from Dale Jr's 88 car. Look for pictures in the next Argus. A special thanks to Mrs. Shaw, Ms. Becker, Mrs. Hampton, Mrs. Hunt, and Mr. Churchill for helping with the special day.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Busy Time of Year
Things are really
happening around here during the early part of November. Here is a list of
"things" keeping our kids busy outside of the daily academic
schedule:
- Parent - Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Thursday
and Friday. I hope to see all of you here.
- Scholastic Book Fair at both building Wednesday and
Thursday
- PTO Fundraiser - The elementary kids are selling
products and treats to fund the PTO which in turn provides needed funds
and resources for the elementary school.
- High School classes are having fundraisers of their
own.
- Race Into Reading Program is winding down. The reward
day is scheduled for Thursday and the kids are excited. We had about 100
kids meet their reading goal. We will have a fun-filled day for those who
met and those who did not. Each year we will try to get more and more
students involved in the reading incentive programs.
- Winter Sports are Heating up
- Fall Sports Banquets for HS sports is 11/15
- Family StarLab Night and Hot Dog Supper is scheduled
for 11/21
- Learning Farm is being rolled out for all students to
use at school and at home.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Thursday, October 24, 2013
8 Things We cannot Accept in Education
While I normally try to put my own thoughts into this blog, today I have simply copied another
person's work. I read this blog post yesterday and could not agree more with it.
I hope you take a few minutes to read Justin Tarte's views on our current state of education:
Saturday, October 12, 2013
8 things we can't accept in education
We can't accept what's been done
in the past as the
only way to do things in the future.
Obviously changing just for the sake
of changing is not appropriate, but we
can't ignore the changes that are
happening all around us, and as such
there must be corresponding changes
in education.
We can't accept not teaching
the 'whole' child. More and more
frequently our students are entering our
schools with needs that extend far
beyond just 'learning.' In order
for education to be successful,
we can't ignore the external
factors that play a critical role
in what we do in education.
We can't accept working in
isolation and working in silos.
The world is rich with opportunities
for collaboration and
there is no possible way
to argue that we aren't stronger
as a team and stronger working together.
We can't accept that our content is more important than
the relationships we establish with our students. It is with
almost absolute certainty that students won't care about your
content if they don't care about you. Develop strong relationships
to truly bring your content to life for your students.
We can't accept and continue to allow educators to believe
that integrating technology into instruction is optional.
As individuals, we can choose to ignore the influence of
technology in society, but as educators we are robbing our
students of experiences they will need to be successful.
We can't accept and continue to think that learning is
limited to what happens within the four walls of a classroom.
Learning can't be contained and learning can't be defined
by man-made structures. Learning is everywhere and
learning is all around us... education needs to acknowledge it.
We can't accept and continue to believe we have
an achievement gap. In reality, we are facing an 'opportunity gap'
that continues to divide the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' between
equitable and equal access to educational materials and resources.
We can't accept and can't allow ourselves not to be
held accountable. We as the educators are responsible for
what happens in our schools, and it's that responsibility that
makes working in education awesome.
JUSTIN's Link: http://www.justintarte.com/2013/10/8-things-we-cant-accept-in-education.html
in the past as the
only way to do things in the future.
Obviously changing just for the sake
of changing is not appropriate, but we
can't ignore the changes that are
happening all around us, and as such
there must be corresponding changes
in education.
We can't accept not teaching
the 'whole' child. More and more
frequently our students are entering our
schools with needs that extend far
beyond just 'learning.' In order
for education to be successful,
we can't ignore the external
factors that play a critical role
in what we do in education.
We can't accept working in
isolation and working in silos.
The world is rich with opportunities
for collaboration and
there is no possible way
to argue that we aren't stronger
as a team and stronger working together.
![]() |
| http://goo.gl/ot8rUW |
We can't accept that our content is more important than
the relationships we establish with our students. It is with
almost absolute certainty that students won't care about your
content if they don't care about you. Develop strong relationships
to truly bring your content to life for your students.
We can't accept and continue to allow educators to believe
that integrating technology into instruction is optional.
As individuals, we can choose to ignore the influence of
technology in society, but as educators we are robbing our
students of experiences they will need to be successful.
We can't accept and continue to think that learning is
limited to what happens within the four walls of a classroom.
Learning can't be contained and learning can't be defined
by man-made structures. Learning is everywhere and
learning is all around us... education needs to acknowledge it.
We can't accept and continue to believe we have
an achievement gap. In reality, we are facing an 'opportunity gap'
that continues to divide the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' between
equitable and equal access to educational materials and resources.
We can't accept and can't allow ourselves not to be
held accountable. We as the educators are responsible for
what happens in our schools, and it's that responsibility that
makes working in education awesome.
JUSTIN's Link: http://www.justintarte.com/2013/10/8-things-we-cant-accept-in-education.html
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