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MONTHLY NEWSLETTER MAY 2009

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Do you like the look of thisnewsletter? It is so easy to create

beautiful documents using theapplication Pages from theiworks bundle on our laptops.

As a classroom teacher I usedPages to create my monthly

newsletters. To make it easy to open Ialways converted it to a PDF file. Then when I

attached it in anemail (or post iton my blog) itcomes up like aread onlydocument in Word.

Summer is a great time to play around with and

learn more about the powerful tools on our newlaptops. If you have other tech ideas to share let me

SummerLiteracyIdeasForKidsChoice Literacy has

posted some great ideas tohelp encourage students toread over the summer.

What I like best is thatthey arent workbook or

worksheet driven. Theactivities can be tailored tofit individual student needsand honor the spirit of thesummer- FUN!

As a parent, I know Iwant my daughter to read,but I also want her to enjoyher time off. (And I need abreak from being thehomework police, too.)

At ACS you can findthese articles on FirstClassin my folder in ES News- oremail me and Ill send themto you.

Also, see the postKeeping the End inMind on my blog for a linkto a parents perspective tothe end-of-year craziness.

As we begin to finish up andclose down for the year I canthelp but think of all the things Ishould/could do over the holiday.But honestly I just want to do a

good deal of nothing- Im tired!

However, after the 15th tripto the pool I start to transitionfrom feeling burnt-out to beingexcited about the upcoming year. When you begin to movefrom Im done! to Im ready to

do it again! here are three simpleideas based on articles fromChoice Literacy to get youthinking about next year:

1. Read a professional book(in preparation for ourliteracy team work next year.)

2. Visit and follow a literacyblog online (see the blogrollon my blog for ideas)

3. Keep your own writers

notebook.

TECHNOLOGY TIPS

Summer is so close...and I cant wait!

Notes from the Lit Coach

Wyoming, USA

TA TRAINING: Weveagreed to wait until nextyear to continue with TATraining. We will begin withsome work duringOrientation. Let me know if

you have training ideas.

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MONTHLY NEWSLETTER MAY 2009

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This spring the reading team(K-3) and the writing team (3-5)met repeatedly to work on a

variety of topics. Our first

presentations to the larger gradelevel groups happened in April.

Not only were these teamsable to begin forming some plansfor implementation andalignment, we also bonded asprofessionals and had time totalk about our work. The goodnews? This is only the beginningas these teams (with the K-3reading team being made up of

new members) will continue towork through and present otheritems next year.

During the LA CurriculumCycle these teams will also betapped for work specific to theteam they are on. Making sure

we can streamline our meetingsand use our work in many

different ways (from theclassroom to the LA reviewcommittee) will ensure we are

working smarter- not harder.

As these first groupspresented, I realized we arealready in need of a K-5connections. Next year duringorientation I hope to be able tobring the larger reading, writingand word study teams together totalk about the workaccomplished this spring..

The kit weve

purchased is one of

three created by

Regie in her

Transforming Your

Teaching series.

If you are interested in

preparing for this work

over the summer, check

out one of Regiesprofessional texts from

the Literacy Library!

SUNY Credits

will be offered at

the rate of $86

per credit hour.

More details

about that to

follow...

There are

15 PD

sessions in

each kit.

This professional

development series is

getting rave reviews

from teachers who

take part!

Both Keynote presentationsand their accompanyingdocuments are available onFirstclass in my folder on ESnews.

Writers

Workshop:

Units of

Study

Grades 3-5Implementation

PlansWednesday, April 29-

3:30-4:30

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT- DRA K-3 AND UOS IMPLEMENTATION 3-5

ES Literacy Teams:

Reading: Lydia, Emily, Kim,Priscilla, Stan, Chris

Word Study: KG2 teachers(Josie), G1?, Ken, Patti, Scott,

Jared

Writing: Heather, G1?, Maryke,Kathy, Alison, Marisa

JUST ARRIVED! REGIE ROUTMAN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT ACS FOR NEXT YEAR!

If you want to have a more de-

tailed look at the kit, here is

the link:

http://www.regieroutman.com/i

nresidence/rdg/default.aspx

http://www.regieroutman.com/inresidence/rdg/default.aspxhttp://www.regieroutman.com/inresidence/rdg/default.aspxhttp://www.regieroutman.com/inresidence/rdg/default.aspxhttp://www.regieroutman.com/inresidence/rdg/default.aspx