Technology education meetings at SFDS

The SFDS technology department recently hosted two meetings to address parental concerns surrounding children and their consumption of technology.  These meetings were designed to create a safe environment in which families could share anecdotes, ask questions, and debunk student-driven myths, such as “everyone else in my class has an iPhone!”  Another goal of these meetings is to help families gain consistency in terms of expectations and guidelines regarding technology use for children.

We covered a wide range of topics in both meetings, touching on the following:

Yearbook recognition ads are a great way for parents, families and friends to commemorate student achievements and important milestones.  To purchase your ad online, go to www.YearbookAdService.com and choose your ad size, template and upload your pictures. If you prefer to upload a custom ad, you can save it as a JPEG and upload as one image.

Questions? Call 925-376-9527 or email www.yearbookadservice.com.

Details*:
Full Page $180.00
1/2 Page $95.00

*Please contact Michelle Phillips (mphillips@sfds.net) or Annette Allen (aallen@sfds.net), 2011-12 Yearbook Advisors, with any concerns or questions regarding pricing.

All ad orders must be placed online by Sunday, January 15!

Currently our focus in math is the introduction and early development of multiplication. By making use of realistic contexts, this unit invites students to find ways to mathematize their lived worlds with grouping structures. The unit uses many contexts: inside the grocery store; postage stamps; city buildings, windows, and buses; tiled patios; a baker’s trays, and sticker pages. Initially, formal multiplication notation is not the focus; efficient group is, as students are encouraged to make groups (and groups of groups) to find efficient ways to deal with repeated addition and determine totals.

We began the unit with the context of a grocery store. Students viewed an illustration (shown below) of fruits and vegetables arranged in bins, paper towels in stacked packages, and bottles of water in six packs, among other items in a grocery story. Although the objects shown could be counted by ones, the arrangements naturally invite students to use repeated addition, skip-counting, and doubling strategies–for example, 8 groups of 6 is equivalent to 4 groups of 12 which is equivalent to 4 groups of 6 plus 4 groups of 6. Look for such thinking in the student work below.

Next a stamp context was introduced. This context eliminates the possibility of counting by ones and pushes students towards multiplicative thinking.  The work with stamps supports repeated addition and efficient grouping employing doubling, doubling and halving, and the addition of partial products. The work below shows students  working with these important ideas.

As this unit progresses, students will explore several big mathematical ideas, including the distributive property of multiplication (over addition and over subtraction), the commutative property of multiplication, and the place value patterns that occur when multiplying by ten. We will not formally teach and name these ideas. Rather they will arise as the students develop and invent ways to deal with challenging multiplicative situations. Formal notation for multiplication will be introduced at the close of this unit.

I encourage you to talk with your third grader about things that come in groups and to share and discuss strategies for calculating totals of such things. The contexts mentioned above are a wonderful place to start.

As her prize, Ms. Sonnemaker was able to choose from a suite of SMART technology products.  She selected the newest product that SMART has to offer: SMART Response XE system, to the great benefit of SFDS.

What can the SMART Response XE system do? In short, almost anything.  To learn about the many capabilities of this handheld device, click here.  One of the most appealing features is its ability to keep students engaged in lessons: SMART Response XE helps keep students interested, involved and participating in lessons by giving them a way to individually respond to teacher questions. Students can answer questions with their handheld remotes, and once a question is complete, they receive feedback instantly and confidentially on their remotes. The class results are also shown anonymously, so students can compare and learn from each other’s answers.

Michelle Phillips
Director of Communications

This year’s theme for NAIS’ 24^th annual People of Color Conference (PoCC) and Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) was We the People. The event was aptly named, as we came together in the “city of brotherly love and sisterly affection”: Philadelphia, PA. I was joined by three other members of San Francisco Day School: Renée Otero, Loren Moyé, and Rosa Wang-McClung.  This year, 3,813 teachers and administrators were joined by 1,500 high school student leaders from around the country to discuss issues of justice and equity.

At the PoCC and SDLC, NAIS addresses two key points: the need for people of color in independent schools to come together for support and the need for schools to find ways to build and sustain inclusive independent school communities.

When I returned from the conference, several colleagues asked me, “What was it like?  What kinds of workshops did you take?” In my attempt to briefly sum up three jam-packed days, following is my account of the events that had the greatest impact on my experience. Overall, I found the experience to be deeply moving and incredibly worthwhile.  As with any conference, I found some workshops better than others; some speakers more engaging; other meetings more interactive.  But what remained constant was the feeling of sincere support and the open exchange of opinions, thoughts and ideas.

Age Doesn’t Determine Change – Fire Does
Wes Moore was the keynote speaker at the PoCC opening ceremonies. He is a Rhodes Scholar, youth advo­cate, decorated Army com­bat vet­eran, busi­ness leader and author of The Other Wes Moore.  Wes spoke about the origin of his new novel – a true story that came about after Wes discovered his namesake in a local newspaper.  In the very same newspaper that announced his Rhodes Scholarship, Wes read an article about four young men who had allegedly killed a police offi­cer in a botched armed rob­bery. One happened to share his name, Wes Moore, and was sentenced to  life in prison for felony mur­der.  Wes just couldn’t shake off the unset­tling coin­ci­dence.  He learned that the “other Wes Moore” grew up in the same neighborhood and he eventually wrote a letter to the other Wes, asking: Who are you?  How did this happen? That let­ter led to a cor­re­spon­dence and rela­tion­ship that has lasted for sev­eral years, and ultimately to the creation of his novel. Wes remarked that there are many “others” out there, young people that need guidance and support to make the right choices for their future.  He urged the student leaders in the audience to use their passion and determination to instill positive change in the world.  As Wes so eloquently stated, “age doesn’t determine change–fire does.”

We Are Multiracial
When I was in school, there was no such thing as a “multiracial” affinity group.  Although I am bi-racial, I never recognized a personal need to discuss, share or explore this aspect of my identity – aside from answering the question “What are you?”  The multiracial affinity group showed me that although we may not share the exact same cultural or ethnic backgrounds, we definitely share similar experiences, challenges and doubts about our own mixed-race identities growing up.  On the last day of the conference, students joined the adults in each affinity group, and I listened to some of the most moving personal testimonies I have ever heard.  One student asked through tears and a smile, “How is it that you already know me better than anyone at my school, better than some of the friends that I’ve had for years?”  I hope to further instill this sense of belonging, safety and comfort in the students here at our school.

Name It, Claim It, Stop It
Rye Country Day School hosted a workshop “Ally(n)ing Your Middle School: Creating Space to Talk About LGBT Issues.” While some workshops were more theoretical in nature, this session provided practical strategies used to facilitate LGBT conversations with middle school students.  From PSAs to film festivals, Rye Country Day School found a number of ways to address what can be a very sensitive topic, particularly at this age.  The speakers reminded the audience that as adults, our lens can often limit what we think kids are ready for, or what they are already hearing.  They shared student videos from Rye Country Day’s GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance), and when asked why it was important to have a GSA in middle school, one student responded, “It’s important for people to have support and hear positive things from their classmates before they start to hear negative things.”  The students came together to teach their peers phrases like “name it, claim it, stop it,” to empower one another to take a stand against injustice both inside and outside of their school campus.

Between Affinity groups, workshops, and speeches, this was an exhausting and exhilarating experience.  I left feeling hugely inspired and want to echo Danny De Leon’s sentiment from last year: it’s a glimmer of comfort in a world that doesn’t necessarily look like your own.  As we continue to work on our own cultural competency at the School, I find this experience has just reaffirmed what I already knew: that diversity work is an ongoing process that can be equal parts uncomfortable, painful and full of joy.  I am learning to settle into this process and I am grateful to have had the experience at PoCC to help me along the way.

If you’d like to learn more about PoCC, please visit: pocc.nais.org.  Next year’s conference is scheduled for December 8-10 in Houston, TX.  The 2012 PoCC theme will be “Energizing Our Future Through Redefining Our Shared Sense of Community: 25 Years of Fueling the Power of Change in Independent School.”

Shelley Haven, Assistive Technology Specialist
Shelley Haven has worked for more than 20 years helping individuals with physical, sensory, cognitive, and learning challenges to unlock their potential with technology. As our first presenter of the evening, Shelley jumped right into the heart of the discussion:

• What is Assistive Technology?
• Simply put, it’s any “thing” that helps a person to do something they can’t do, or have difficulty doing, because of a disability.  Assistive technology is a tool.  And equally important are assistive technology services, which is a term for any service that helps users benefit from the tool – for example, assessment, skills training, strategies, evalutions, etc.  Shelley emphasized that one does not work well without the other.

Hi-tech, Lo-tech, and No-tech!

Throughout the evening, we were introduced to a broad range of tools and services, and it was amazing to see how accessible and even mainstream many these tools have become, thanks to technology.  There is a tool and service out there for everyone, and it can be overwhelming and challenging to select the right tool for your child.  One of questions Shelley hears most is “What’s the best technology for _____[reading, writing, taking notes, etc.]?”.

As an analogy, Shelley asked us to consider the “best” cooking tools (utensils, appliances) to prepare a meal:

• “What kind of meal will you prepare?” Choice of tools will vary greatly depending on whether you wish to make a sandwich, cook a frozen microwave meal, or prepare a multi-course Thanksgiving dinner.
• “Who will do the cooking?” Is it a college student with moderate cooking experience, a young child, or chef Julia Child? Lastly, we need to ask about the context in which the meal is prepared. Is it to be cooked in a well-equipped kitchen, a college dorm room, or at a campsite? Do you have several hours or only 10 minutes? Will the meal be prepared independently, or is help available?

These questions help us understand that we first need to ask the right questions to ensure that our tools are related to an individual’s functional needs – not his or her learning challenge.  We must match the tool to the student, the task and the environment.  Shelley also shared a number of tools:

• Speech recognition software (Dragon Dictate)
• Contextual spellchecker (Ginger for PCs only)
• Visual thesaurus (VisualThesaurus.com)

Nicholas Anton, LRP Specialist
SFDS is fortunate to have many important resources currently available to our students in the classroom.  It’s not uncommon to see students with headphones on for any number of reasons – whether listening to music, an audio lesson or for auditory support.  This makes it a bit easier for students to use headphones to get the support they need without feeling the social stigma that can be associated with these tools.  Nicholas introduced parents with brief demonstrations of the following tools: Inspiration, ROL (ReadOutLoud), WOL (WriteOutLoud) and Co:Writer.  SFDS has a universal license to these programs and parents are welcome to contact the school to obtain this software for use at home:

• Inspiration: A graphic organizer that enables students to organize and structure their thoughts and ideas.  Nicholas used the Inspiration Outline View to demonstrate it to the audience while giving his presentation.
• ROL and WOL:  Both provide auditory support to the student.  ROL enables students to read with stronger comprehension and WOL helps students overcome grammatical and spelling challenges, and eases their difficulty with word choice while writing.
• Co:Writer: A type-and-speak writing assistant with intelligent word prediction, designed to help students write complete and correct sentences.

Potential Pitfall?
A parent raised the question of whether there is a potential for over-reliance on these tools, similar to the over-reliance some adults have with regard to tools like spell-check.  Teachers noted that these tools are not meant to act as a substitute for instruction – the classroom teacher will always be aware that there is a tool in use, so that there is a plan and strategy for the student.  Additionally, activities like handwriting with a pencil and pen are still practiced for their specific benefits as well.

Notetaking and Knowledge Management

Shelley introduced us to a number of “knowledge management” tools that enable users to capture, organize, retrieve and apply information as needed:

• Graphic organizer notetaking templates, like Inspiration or GO Solve
• LiveScribe Smart Pen (some say, “magic pen”): An audio recorder built into a pen that enables the user to record audio in addition to the handwritten text.  The recording is then indexed with the handwritten text, so that tapping on a written word plays back the recorded audio from that part of the recording.
• Digital notebooks:  Note taking software such as AquaMinds, which is utilized at SFDS

Rebecca Hendricks Lisner, Physical Therapist/OT
Rebecca showcased many different types of tools used to assist learners of all ages and encouraged parents to examine each tool at her demonstration station:

• Sensory tools for students, including: weighted lap, shoulder and body pads, fidget balls, seating wedges, heavy resistance straws, chewing gum
• Bio-mechanical tools, including: pencil grips of all shapes, slate boards, clay tray
• One of the tools she demonstrated was a “time timer.”  This is a clock that features a visually contrasting red color to help students judge how much time is left. The disappearing red disk allows students to “see” time without knowing how to “tell” time. The Time Timer is perfect for setting time limits, managing transitions and training students to make better use of available time.

Peter Dickstein and David Wildkress, Project Onboard

Peter, an SFDS parent, recently created and launched Project Onboard at SFDS, with David’s support. Onboard is essentially a web-based time, task and communications toolkit for students, family and teachers.  This online organization tool is unique because it is student-directed and relies on student-centered support and input, along with teachers’ broadcasting assignments and updates. There are a number of innovative and useful features, including the ability to view a student’s entire assignment/test schedule for a particular class and across subjects. This is currently being rolled out across grades 6-8 at SFDS and we expect to give updates on progress shortly.

Resources and Links

Thank you to the PA and PGLD for organizing this worthwhile and informative event.  Here are links for more information:

• Resources for Sensory Tools and Pencil Grips
• Technology and Tools Presentation with additional resources at back
• http://msadlersminutes.blogspot.com/, which lists Ms. Adler (LRP Specialist) favorite tools she calls upon to better her teaching, her understanding of the mind and how it works, and her capacity for compassion when working with students of all ages and struggles.

Being a member of the ITL committee is a thrill: each spring our committee of faculty members and administration gather to review proposals for summer professional development. It is exciting to see the ideas that teachers have to further their learning, improve their educational programs, and enhance the overall quality of their students’ experiences here at SFDS. Teachers do this by either researching and working in groups at school, or attending conferences elsewhere. As a committee, we discuss each proposal with the participants, helping them clarify their objectives and further develop their plans for their work. From these proposals we select those that we feel are strongest: the plans that are moving the school’s programs forward in new ways and are in line with our strategic plan and curricular goals.

This summer, more than fifty faculty members participated in ITL projects.  During the last weeks of June and early weeks of August, the hallways are still buzzing, even without the students.  In various classrooms, you can come upon a group of teachers working on developing curriculum, reading research, and making plans.

In June, the Kindergarten, First and Second Grade teachers met with Renée Otero to develop a program on Identity and Empathy for their classrooms. They researched programs at other schools and read materials on the subject. They attended a local TED conference on Empathy. From this work, they have developed a K-2 scope and sequence that is informed and cohesive across the grade levels.

One of the larger areas of focus this summer was the math program at SFDS. Third grade teachers worked on developing new assessment tools. Math teachers in grades 5-8 also met in various groups to continue refining and developing their curriculum based on their work with Nancy Lobell, a consultant from the Stanford ‘STEP’ program. Many Lower School faculty members attended a “Mathematics in the City” workshop held at City College in New York. This program has become a focus of our math program in the lower school, and is based on work by Katherine Fosnot, who will be coming to SFDS to work with our teachers in October. The workshop was challenging, inspiring and served as a great jumping off point for our work with Katherine this fall.

Many Upper School Teachers attended a workshop on “Developmental Designs,” which is a social-emotional curriculum for Middle School students, and based on the Lower School’s “Responsive Classroom” program. The teachers who attended came back with many ideas for the Upper School, and the Advisory program in particular.  The faculty who attended have begun piloting many components, and the program in its entirety is being piloted in 6th grade advisory.

The rhythm of the school year is something that I have always loved. The beginning of the year is full of promise and new ideas are put into practice, while the end of the year offers time for reflection, refinement and renewal. Our ITL program fits perfectly with this pattern and works to inspire and excite teachers in new ways each year.

I’d like to welcome you to the best place in the school, but I know that is subjective and I am biased. Yet that is how I truly feel. Libraries have been one of my favorite places for as long as I can remember.

The most kind-hearted woman in the world, my grandmother, who had no more than a 2nd grade education and did not speak English, took me to the library weekly. Sitting patiently with me as I examined every book on a shelf until I found what I fancied, she is the one who taught me to love books. Her patience allowed me to explore, take risks, and develop a passion. The rest of the week I’d read and talk with her about my books. She questioned  me and made me think deeper and harder about everything I read. It is my desire for all children to have such an experience with books. Although I fall short of my grandmother’s impressive attributes, I do try. Mostly I try diligently to provide  a warm and loving space for children to nurture a love of reading and to encourage them to think about what they read.

Click here to download a pdf of our Library Media Center newsletter, The Buzz!

The performing arts electives program for 8th graders has just begun, and the student and teacher enthusiasm is off the charts!

Here are the details:
• On 8/31, the four performing arts teachers (Drama, Dance, Vocal Music/“Glee”, and Rock Band) met with the 8th graders, presented their course offerings, and answered all of the students’ questions.
• At the end of the presentation, 8th graders ranked the four classes in order of preference.
• With the goal of giving every student his/her top two choices for the year (a new class each semester), Mr. Roberts and Ms. Busby then assigned first and second semester classes to each 8th grader. We succeeded in giving 85% of the students their top two choices; no one will have a fourth choice class.
• The performing arts classes will meet every Monday and Wednesday throughout the year.
• On Thursday 1/19, the class of 2012 will perform their final work for family and friends at 7 pm. Please mark your calendars!

We are thrilled with the range of choices and high caliber of the performing arts instructors. Click here for more information, and please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Sincerely,

Steve Roberts                                                                 Lisa Busby
sroberts@sfds.net                                                         lbusby@sfds.net
415-568-3643                                                                415-568-3668
8th Grade Performing Arts Coordinator                 8th Grade Performing Arts Co-Coordinator