All posts by lspady

Things I Learned at Camp

August 13, 2015Spady Blog, Uncategorizedlspady

Zip Lining, Canoeing, Rock Wall Climbing,

Fishing, Horseback Riding, Slingshots…

What more could a kid ask for?

For the past 3 years, my boys and I have traveled to Montague, Michigan for Family Camp at YMCA’s Camp Pendalouan. It’s a fun-filled 4 days and 3 nights of every outdoor activity you could imagine. This year’s camp experience taught me a few things…

It’s all a matter of perspective! On the 2nd day, thunder rolled through camp and a down pouring of rain left me panicked! How would I find enough indoor activities to keep 4 boys busy? Enter Professor Puddles (aka Sam from Wales with an awesome accent). Wearing a PFD (Personal Flotation Device) and a graduation cap, Professor Puddles invited interested campers to go on a puddle jumping expedition. Why not?! We jumped in small puddles, deep puddles, muddy puddles were judged on everything from the height of our splashes to the form of our jumps. This experience reminded me it’s all a matter of perspective. What might have otherwise been a dreary day turned into one of the highlights of my camp experience!

Kids know what they like and are perfectly capable of personalizing their day. I will be completely honest and admit to having some control issues when it comes to keeping my boys busy and plugged into what I feel are appropriate educational activities. After 12 hours of trying to keep all things in control on the car ride to camp (books on CD, playing the alphabet game, looking for license plates, NO electronics), I decided to let my guard down and just let the boys decide what they wanted to do when we got to our destination. The result was that each boy went in a different direction and found exactly what they wanted to do. There was excitement and all sorts of stories to be told when we reconvened as a family at meal times. The boys’ independence at camp got me thinking about this…

What would happen if the school day was structured like camp? Could students be trusted to choose their own path and personalize at least part of their day? I think so.

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Camp Pendalouan 2015 was amazing! Each year, I am grateful that my boys are making memories that will last a lifetime. What did you do this summer? Did any of your summer experiences teach you something new? Leave a comment below!

Novels Available for Check-Out

August 13, 2015Novels and Novel Unitslspady

Below is a link to a list of novels housed at the EY office. The spreadsheet contains the title of the novel, the author, the number of copies available, the number of pages contained in the novel, the genre, a link to a book summary or trailer so that you can see what the novel is about, and the approximate F & P level. Titles that are blue have a link to a google doc of discussion questions/activities. Katie will be working on these throughout the year, so check back often.

If/when you decide you would like to check out a set of one of these novels, please e-mail Katie Sindt, who will then put your name in the “checked-out by” section of the spreadsheet and the date the novels are due back. Please try to give Katie about a week’s notice to get you the novels.

Click here for a list of the novels.

Welcome Back!!

August 12, 2015Sindt Bloglspady

Hello!

Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year! I hope you had a wonderful summer! As you can see from my pictures, we spent the summer at baseball games, the zoo, and we also went on a trip to Kansas City where we visited Legoland, Oceans of Fun/Worlds of Fun and we took in a Royals game. Lots of fun!!

There are a couple of changes this year to EY. First of all, the EY schedule will follow a four-day rotation just like the other specialists. On cycle days 1 and 3, I will be at Rockbrook the whole day. On cycle days 2 and 4, I will be at Hillside the whole day. Here is a link to our EY calendar so you can see where these cycle days fall. During my time in the buildings, I will be providing enrichment opportunities and I will also be going into the classrooms to help enrich math and reading. I’m very excited to be in the buildings on a more consistent basis this year!

I am looking forward to seeing your kids and hearing about their summer! Please don’t hesitate to e-mail me with any questions.

Thanks!

Welcome Back!

August 12, 2015Heflin Bloglspady

Hello! My name is Miss Heflin, and I am new to the EY team this year!

I hope everyone had a fantastic summer, I know it always flies by too fast! It seems just like yesterday I was at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida, and now I’m back at school. Summers are my favorite, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I was excited to go back to school this year. For the past few years I have been the librarian in the district, and when the opportunity to join the EY team arose, I jumped at the chance to work with some amazing teachers and students!

This year the EY schedule will follow a four day rotation just like the other specialists. During my time in the buildings I will be going into different classrooms to support math and reading, as well as other enrichment opportunities. I am very passionate about personalized learning, and my goal this year is to provide a lot of opportunities for students to learn and grow by personalization throughout their math, reading, and enrichment classes.

I am really looking forward to all of the exciting adventures that we will go on together this year! Checkout my Twitter to see what’s happening in my classes @missheflin and if you ever have any questions please don’t hesitate in getting in touch with me at heflin.kelly@westside66.net.

—-Miss Heflin

#1: Strandbeests

August 9, 2015Full STEAM Aheadlspady

Artist Theo Jansen demonstrates the amazingly lifelike kinetic sculptures he builds from plastic tubes and lemonade bottles. His creatures are designed to move – and even survive – on their own.

Spark your thinking!

1. Set up your language Full STEAM Ahead recording page: #1: Strandbeests

2. Read this quote from Theo Jansen. “Every spring I go to the beach with a new beast. During the summer I do all kinds of experiments with the wind, sand and water. In the fall I grew a bit wiser about how these beasts can survive the circumstances on the beach. At that point I declare them extinct and they go to the bone yard.”

3. On your recording page, write about what you think a Strandbeest is like.

3. Watch this video. and gather more information.

4. Set your timer for 3 minutes. On your recording page explain a Strandbeest to someone who has not seen one before.

5. Watch this TED talk: Theo Jansen: My creations, a new form of life. On your recording page record 5 takeaways from the talk.

6. Visit Theo Jansen’s website. Click on “Strandbeest” and then “Genealogy” in the menu to explore the photo gallery. In detail, choose one of the structures to describe on your recording page.

7. Write about what you you learned. How does what Mr. Jansen create relate to Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM)?

8. Share your Full STEAM Ahead recording page and visual with your teacher/EY coordinator.

2015-16 Seminars, Contests, and Events

July 10, 2015Events & Contestslspady

We are excited to offer a variety of opportunities this year. All students are welcome to attend unless otherwise noted. There will always be some sort of “ticket” that needs to be completed first. The “ticket” might be a qualifying test or a project you develop.

Westside Schools often get invited to special contests (math contests, quiz bowls, etc.) Those contests are not listed below, but make sure to check this site often for updates!

April 28: Science Olympiad-Ticket Due Tuesday, April 12 (Grades 3-4)

April 29: Film Seminar Due Friday, April 15 (Grade 6)

May 2: Art Seminar Due Tuesday April, 12th (Grades 4-6)

May 7 (Saturday): Coder Dojo 9:30-11:30 at Westgate Elementary Topic: TBD

Registration Link: http://goo.gl/forms/BfN8xUzHUa

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September 3: Portfolio Pow-Wow (Tier II and III identified learners)

September 9: Coding Seminar (Grades 4-8)

September 10: German Seminar (Grades 5-6)

September 19: (Saturday) Coder Dojo (Grades K-6)

Other Coder Dojos sponsored by AIM can be found here: http://aimforbrilliance.org/coderdojo/

September 29: Invention Convention (Grades 5-6)

Invention Convention Keynote

September 30: Invention Convention (Grades 2-4)

October 26 & 27: School Spelling Bees

October 29: Taking the Road Less Traveled @ Iowa State (WMS and WHS Girls)

November 11: Music with Andy Hackbarth (Grades 5-8)

November 17: Path to Personalization (Grades 4-6)

November 20: District Spelling Bee

November 21: (Saturday) Coder Dojo (Grades K-6) FULL!

Other Coder Dojos sponsored by AIM can be found here: http://aimforbrilliance.org/coderdojo/

November 24: Quiz Bowl

December 2: Explore Computer Science Day at UNO (Grades 5-6)

December 14 & 15: School Geography Bees

January 20: Extreme Math Day for Grade 5 (Ticket Due January 8)

January 21: Elementary STEMinar (Grades 4 – 6) (Ticket Due January 8)

February 6 (Saturday): Coder Dojo 9:30-11:30 at Westgate Elementary Topic: Bitsbox

Registration Link: http://goo.gl/forms/Vrz2cTiyMl

March 10: Battle of the Books (click here for the book list)

Click here for BOTB details

March 11: District Speech Contest

March 12 (Saturday): Coder Dojo 1:00-3:00 at Westgate Elementary Topic: Unplugged Coding Activities

Registration Link: http://goo.gl/forms/H9wtHWyKgA

March 22: Westside/Ralston Battle of the Books

Congratulations to the top 4 teams from Westside’s BOTB competition on March 10. They will compete against Ralston’s top 4 teams on March 22.
- Rockbrook: Rainbow Flying Bananas
- Swanson: The Noble Narwhals
- Sunset Hills: The Book Barbarians
- Oakdale: Lightning Bolts

April 9 (Saturday): Coder Dojo 9:30-11:30 at Westgate Elementary Topic: TBD

Registration Link: http://goo.gl/forms/hsaKhBv7jW

#1: Zenzizenzizenzic

June 17, 2015Math Mini Sparks, Uncategorizedlspady

Wow…that’s a mouthful! I wonder how many points that would be worth in Scrabble? Explore the meaning of this bizarre sounding word by completing some Math Minutes this week!

Spark your math thinking!

1. Set up your math mini spark recording page: #1: Zenzizenzizenzic

2. Listen to how to pronounce the word Zenzizenzizenzic 5 times. Say it 5 times to practice. Can you say it FAST 5 times?

3. Find out the meaning of zenzizenzizenzic by reading this article.

4. Make a tiny Z math dictionary page. Your page should have the word and definition for at least ten Z math words. Here are some other ideas of Z math words. You can use these or find your own.

Z-Intercept Zenith Zero Divisors Zero Element Zero slope Zodiac Zone

5. Find out how many points zenzizenzizensic would be worth in Scrabble using this online scrabble calculator. Record the points on your recording sheet.

6. Share your math mini spark recording page with your teacher/EY coordinator.

Spring Parent Meetings

May 21, 2015Parentslspady

If you were unable to attend the parent meetings we held at the end of April, below is a link to the Google presentation.

Click here to access the presentation

We will hold an additional meeting in the fall, but in the meantime, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email Lynn Spady (spady dot lynn @ westside66.net).

BOTB 2016

May 15, 2015Battle of the Bookslspady

The EY team is excited to announce that we’ll be partnering with Ralston Public Schools for the 2016 Battle of the Books Competition. More details will be provided in the fall, but we wanted to make sure you had the book list for summer in case you wanted to get a head start.

Click Here for the List of Books

Students in grades 3-6 are welcome to form a team of 2-4 students. The book list only contains 15 books and we realize that a couple are repeats from the last two years.

Summer Suggestions

May 12, 2015Lusero Bloglspady

It is hard to believe that the last bell will ring soon and summer fun will commence! The EY team will continue to provide a variety of learning experiences through our blog to keep those summer minds sharp! We also wanted to pass along other opportunities available outside of our team and/or district. We hope that these resources provide a starting point for your search into further enrichment opportunities. Please note that these are suggested resources and are not endorsed or extensively researched by the Westside EY team.

TenMarks Online Math Summer Program As you know, students lose an average of 2-3 months of math comprehension
over summer break. TenMarks offers a Free Summer Program that is proven to
reverse the loss. Students that participated in the program last year not
only reversed their learning loss, they showed an 11% gain in math
proficiency!
This summer, TenMarks is making the Summer Math Program available to your
students for FREE! (previously $39.95/student)
Register at summer.tenmarks.com

Nebraska Association for the Gifted website list This list has various opportunities around the metro area and state. Please be sure to contact the sponsor for availability and further information. http://www.negifted.org/4995.html

Metropolitan Community College – College for Kids and Teens http://mccneb.edu/collegeforkidsteens/

Arts For All is a nonprofit arts education organization dedicated to making the arts available and affordable for all ages throughout Metro Omaha. In 2013, over 1,500 students participated in Arts For All’s quality culturally-enriched programming. http://artsforallinc.com/

Summer Kid’s Music Clinic 2015 Sponsored By The Papillion LaVista Community Theatre Contact MONIKA PETERS AT mpeters@paplv.org for more information.

Camp Wonderopolis (online) Camp Wonderopolis is headed to new frontiers this year with a theme of Mission to Wonder. Camp will enable programs, families, and individuals to customize their experience to their needs while campers explore different tracks of STEM-based exploration. Along the way they will build their vocabulary, background knowledge, and literacy skills http://camp.wonderopolis.org/

Leap Ahead in Math This Summer! (online) Research shows that students who are not exposed to stimulating, educational activities over the summer months easily lose a couple of month’s worth of math skills. Instead of losing skills, sharpen skills and leap ahead in math this summer with LeapAhead!. http://www.noetic-learning.com/summermath/

Westside Excellence in Youth

Talent & Interest Development for All Learners