"I am a Portrait of A Learner."I had the amazing opportunity to hear 9th grade students in Tara Bennett's class present their Portrait of a Learner last week. It was inspiring to see our courageous students reflect on the Portrait of a Learner competencies, select one that they felt best represented them at this moment, and share their story of why that POL competency resonates with them. Students will use this exhibition of learning as one piece of the Mastery Learning Records that will develop over their high school careers. As we get closer to our district-wide Inspired learning Day (February 6th!) - we wanted you to know how these 9th grade students are sharing their stories, built on experiences they've had throughout their Mendon-Upton journey, and celebrate how you've all contributed to creating so many Portraits of a Learner! Reflections on our crazy weatherAs they say, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute." We've had some crazy, unexpected weather so far this winter and it's only mid-January. We hope you enjoyed last week's snow day as much as our second graders at Clough did. Thank you all for your patience and your ability to adjust as we do our best to respond appropriately to the weather. Focus on us - keep the laughter going!We heard from several of you that you really appreciated Carrie Stack's message and especially how she made us all laugh!!! "I really needed that!" & "What a great way to start 2024! How can we keep the laughter going?," were some of the things we heard. We thought we'd check in and ask you - What has kept you laughing these last couple of weeks? Maybe a story you can share or a meme you saw or a joke you heard? Whatever it is we thought we might keep the laughter going by asking you to share it with us here. Use this form to upload your joke, image, or story. See below for our latest installment of "Laughter is the best medicine." HELP WITH USEFUL RESOURCES AND APPSWith the January iReady diagnostics nearly upon us, and being at almost the 90-day mark, this is a good time to ask if there are those out there who could use some additional support with any of our curriculum and assessment resources. If you would benefit from a tutorial on Bridges, Wonders, IReady, Desmos, Elevate, ST Math, or other applications and resources, let us know. We will be working to assemble and provide training resources, and would be happy to stop by to help. Let us know what you need with this form. --Cheryl & Colleen Book study - discussion Tuesday, 1/23 at 4:00Educators across the district have signed up for a book study focused on the book, Unlocking English Learners' Potential. Our first, optional discussion is offered virtually this Tuesday from 4:00-5:00, so folks will have time to get home, put on thier slippers and log on. This book is full of practical advice and suggestions that we will discuss and support each other to apply. Participating in this book study and applying what you learn during on your own time, will enable educators to complete 15 PDPs towards licensure requirement in English as a Second Language/ Sheltered English Immersion. But even if you don't need the PDPs, this will be a great group. So join us and reach out to me or Kim Lowther if you need a book. --Cheryl Deeper Learning through service learningThe Department and the Massachusetts Service Alliance are pleased to offer a series of free trainings and resources to help educators develop and implement high-quality units that integrate the explicit teaching and learning of social and emotional skills with academic subjects through service-learning projects. Participants are encouraged to attend all sessions in the series but may sign up for fewer if they choose. Participants can register and find additional details about the sessions online:
Dese looking for the next teacher of the year!Know a great teacher? Nominate them today to become the 2025 Massachusetts state teacher of the year! Getting nominated is a huge honor and a way to show someone that the effort, care, energy, passion, and love they bring to their classroom has been noticed. Nominations can come from colleagues, supervisors, students, students' family members, or other members of the school community. Educators who are interested in this unique and special leadership role can self-nominate or jump right into the application process. The teacher of the year gets the chance to develop a platform, advocate for students and teachers, and meet other teachers in Massachusetts and from all 50 states. Learn more about this incredible opportunity and the application process online. Nominations are due by Thursday, February 1. Applications are due by Monday, February 12. laughter is the best medicineinspiration
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