Drama week has come and gone, and Jamie and her crew worked tirelessly to put on two performances of Romeo and Julie and Something’s Rotten in the State of Denmark. Jamie’s dedication to the drama team allows other students to grab the spotlight (pardon the pun) and discover their talents. Activities such as drama, robotics, choral speaking, cardboard boat races, games club, and the many other activities I’m failing to mention, help round out what are some amazing extra-curricular options available at Hepburn School.
Resonate Week is upon us, and it is so exciting to see the participation, not only from many of our students, but from teachers as well. As he did last year, Kurt will be playing a pivotal role in Resonate, and as Kendra Worman said, “he works tirelessly to help those kids”. If you know you have students in your room that are going to Resonate, how will you have them share what they experienced with the rest the group?
It’s nice to have Ryan back with us after a week in New Hampshire learning about reading and writing from Penny Kittle. Ryan will share some of what he learned with us at our staff meeting on Monday, and even though it’s almost impossible to distill a weeks worth of learning into one short presentation, I know it will be a valuable use of our time.
In honor of Ryan’s trip, this week’s learning links focus on reading and writing. In the first video, 3 boys (gr. 12, gr. 12 & gr. 11) talk about their experience as readers, where they were and where they are now. As you watch, ask yourself, do we have low expectations of our readers and thus are creating “floaters”?
In this video several grade 6 students talk about writing; what they write, when they write, how they write and the importance of daily free writing where kids are not always being evaluated. See if there are any ideas or questions that come out of this video for you. Questions: when you ask students to write, do you write as well? Do you share what you write? Would that be valuable?
Finally, here is a link to Penny Kittle’s Resource Section from her website. I’m sure Ryan will speak much more about resources from her, but in the meantime it will give you something to peruse.
Here’s what is coming up this week:
Monday:
- Gr. 9-12 marks due
- Staff meeting (3:10 ~ Ryan’s room)
- Bruce gone (pm)
Tuesday:
- Jr. badminton hosting Rosthern
Wednesday:
- Gr. 8’s going to Persephone Theatre
- SRC Spirit Day: Spring Day
Thursday:
- Sheppard’s Villa Lunch ($2.00)
- Gr. 9-12 progress reports going out today
- Gr. 7-12 MADD presentations (pm)
- Resonate Music Conference
- Jr. badminton hosting Blaine Lake
Friday: Day in Lieu (note: this is still a day on the 6-day cycle)
As always, create a great week!
