Day 162 Open House Mrs. Murphy

Mrs. Murphy volunteered to be our blogger. Today she learned that the Hood School Teachers work really hard and put in a ton of effort daily.

Day 162- Julia H. PE Teacher for a Day

My name is Julia H.  Today I was the P.E teacher for the day. I learned to be fair and what the P.E teacher has to go through day to day.

Day 161 Mia on being a Principal

Today my sister and I were Principals for the day.

We read to classrooms, played PE, had lunch with friends and learned that working in a school is fun.

Day 160- Grade 3 Field Trip to Minuteman National Park

On Wednesday we went on a rainy field trip to the Minuteman Man National Park in Concord. It is great to live so close to historical places!

We learned how to shoot a musket and how to march. They taught us to face front, face back, face left and face right.

We saw the wall where the battle occurred.

Day 159 Emma K. I want to be.........

I want to be in the Air Force because my mom is. Six members of my family are in the military.

Day 158 Career Day. Ayden F.

Today I learned that I can be anything I want to be. I want to be a State Trooper.

Day 157 Camera Class

We learned about camera safety and how to shoot video.

Day 156- Norcamm Class Today

Justin and his friends learned all about video cameras and sd cards.

Day 155-the Unique Game Show Grade 3 Red Team Winners

They learned
Jas learned that you can have fun while learning.
Alyssa learned learning in teams is fun
Tannian learned to work together
Dev learned you can make new friends when groups are randomly made.
Jared learned that our PA sponsored the program

Day 154 Kristen G. Grade 1- What I learned at Drumlin Farms

We went on a field trip and I learned that you can learn outside of school and enjoy lunch with friends. 

Day 153 Mia Grade 5 The Red Panda

Day 152 North Reading High School Library- Kim Smith

Please Interrupt Me…Or, What Does a School Library Media/Specialist Do All Day?

I originally saw this sign when I was at a library conference and realized that this is the message that needs to be relayed to students and staff that come into the high school library. Please…interrupt me! I’m here to help you. One of the roles of a librarian involves promoting reading for both information and pleasure. This requires an understanding of the interests and abilities of the student population and is the aspect of the job that most people first think of. They picture a librarian sitting behind a circulation desk, checking materials in and out to people.  However, that is only a small part of the job.

Many people are unaware of the active role that a school librarian plays in the educational process.  For example, few people realize that in the state of Massachusetts a certified school library media/ specialist is a licensed educator. As an educator I am responsible for understanding the Curriculum Frameworks and the Common Core State Standards so that the library can provide students and teachers with appropriate resources for teaching and learning.

Another aspect of the job involves being familiar with and using technology.  Teachers frequently work with me to create projects that make use of the many print and electronic resources that are available through the school library. I work with groups of students at the beginning of research projects to familiarize them with the available resources and provide instruction in the use of the resources.  I also provide professional development opportunities for teachers with a focus on integrating technology into instruction and learning.

So the next time you see me  sitting behind the circulation desk at high school library feel free to interrupt me…I may be doing collection development, searching for new materials to add to the library’s collection. I may be adding web links to the library’s website for a class research project, or I may be reading about a new technology tool that can be used by students or teachers. Whatever the case may be, your request is more interesting than what I’m doing!

Day 151- Sunil Hornets at the Hood

This week in our Hornets at the Hood program we learned about working together.

Day 150- How many people does it take to teach Mrs. Welch how to use the iphone?

The answer is nine. Today three adults and six students taught Mrs. Welch how to use her iphone in the morning program. The students helped her learn how to enter contacts, use Siri, battery conservation, close apps and take photos!

Hand in Hand We Can conquer technology.

Day 149 Videography Class - Justin W.

Today in our videography class we learned the following from our friends at Norcamm:
We learned what an SD card is.
We learned what a tripod is.
We brainstormed ideas for our video and the parts of the cameras.

Day 148- Jake D. & Mrs. Welch

Today we learned that a petition is a wonderful way to get Mr. McKay's attention. Thank you for your efforts to bring Sue Heck back as our MCAS hall monitor!

Day 147 Intelliplate Group from ExploraVision

The IntelliPlate group from the Toshiba Exploravision competition shared what they learned from the activity with me.



They learned about the difficulties that individuals with allergies experience, they learned about microplasma as well as Mass spectrometry and how a motherboard works.

Day 146 Hornets at the Hood Geocaching

Today we learned about Geocaching and teamwork. Working together is much more effective if we listen to the ideas of others.

Day 145 Ms. Ton, Exploravision Parent Coordinator

The Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision made its debut at the Hood this year, many thanks go to Mr. Cassell at the Batch for meeting with me last summer to assist in bringing it to fruition.  The science competition "encourages K-12 students to imagine what technology might be like in the future".  

We had three 4th grader teams with Mrs. Gorman as our coach.  Each team had a mentor with 3-4 students per team.  Team one was mentored by Colleen Menis along with Kim Wyatt as co-mentor.  The students were Parker Menis, Eddie Wei (Mom-Shelley/Xiongwen Pan), Justin Wildman (Mom-Michelle Wildman) and Peter Wyatt.  

Team two was mentored by Dana Rudolph with students Elizabeth Kelly (Mom-Amy Kelly), Sunil Kumar (Mom-Lorraine McGee), Jordan Rudolph (Mom-Helen Maynard), and Shannon Alley (Mom-Lynn Alley).  

Team three was mentored by me along with Chris Butler and Jerrilyn Rinaldi.  The students were Garrett Butler, Trent Lee and Nick Rinaldi.  

After 3.5 months of group meetings and hard work to invent "the intelliPlate", "the Strep Sucker" and "Fitpalz", the three teams were awarded Honorable Mention on May 8 by representatives of Toshiba, Mr. Dave Bornstein and Mr.  Capalupo.  The students and parents have learned many valuable lessons such as team work, research and pure creativity.  

We hope that ExploraVision will be part of the Hood community going forward.  Thank you Mr. McKay and Mrs. Gorman for your support!

My apologies if I've inadvertently left out anyone or make any mistakes with the names, etc...

Day 144 FitPalz

The FitPalz Toshiba group learned that 1/3 of school aged children are obese and that you do not have to be obese to be unhealthy as well as Nonotechnology.

Day 143 Strep Sucker

The Toshiba ExploraVision Group shared that they learned many lessons through this project. They learned that it takes many ideas to get to a great idea, that it is not healthy to get exposed to radiation, that using swabs can hurt people and that public speaking is easy if you are confident.

Day 142-Grade 5 Students AKA the Arithmachicks!

Our three wonderful students finished measuring the school today. We have learned how to calculate area over a large space. We have learned teamwork and how to breakdown tasks into smaller pieces.

Day 141- Adam L. Grade 1 Student

Adam learned to never give up, always be gentle and that glitter can make everything better!

Day 140- Mr. McKay & His Favorite Topic, Social Emotional Learning

Social Emotional Learning

Social Emotional Learning instruction is an extremely important area of focus for elementary education. As an Elementary School Principal, it is my belief that Social Emotional Learning (SEL) instruction will have a significant impact on students’ feelings of well being and these feelings will have a direct impact on student learning/achievement in the elementary school setting. In fact, 20 years of research has shown that children need a strong foundation of social-emotional competence to succeed in school. Successful schools ensure that all students develop their student’s academic skills. Furthermore, successful schools need to focus on developing students that have the skills necessary to function socially in our complex society. SEL goes beyond the classroom to promote the emotional skills that are needed to be successful in life. 

Social Emotional Learning is a conceptual framework for school and academic improvement that addresses social and emotional skills essential for all students. The SEL skills are designed to create attitudes, and behaviors that promote healthy social relationships, personal well being, and academic achievement. Interest in SEL sparked in the mid-1990s with the publication of Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence (1995). Goleman proposed the idea that individuals are born with general emotional intelligence that determines their potential for learning emotional competencies. Goleman describes emotional competence as a learned capability based on emotional intelligence that results in outstanding performance at work or school. He believes our emotional intelligences determine our potential for learning the practical skills that are based on its five elements of competency: self- awareness, motivation, self-regulation, empathy, and adeptness in relationships. It is important to note that Daniel Goleman is a co-founder of Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) that was established in 1994.

            The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) The Collaborative Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization whose mission is to establish social and emotional learning (SEL) as an essential part of education. In an effort to promote children’s success in school and life and to support the healthy development of all children, CASEL has designed and implemented a social and learning program with five teachable principles to help students acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful team members and problem solvers.  CASEL defines Social Emotional Learning as follows,

SEL is the process of acquiring and effectively applying the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to recognize and manage emotions; developing caring and concern for others; making responsible decisions; establishing positive relationships; and handling challenging situations capably. Similar to the way students learn academic skills, they learn, practice, and apply SEL skills by engaging in positive activities in and out of the classroom.

Furthermore, social and emotional learning is the capacity to recognize and manage emotions, solve problems and establish positive relationships with others, competencies that clearly are essential for all students. As social and emotional factors play such an important role in student mental health, behavior, and academic performance, schools must attend to this aspect of the educational process for the benefit of all students. The five teachable principles help students acquire the skills and the knowledge necessary to be successful in learning environments. The five teachable principles are: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship building skills, and responsible decision-making.

            As, I have written about previously, Open Circle is the adopted Social Emotional Learning curriculum of the North Reading Elementary Schools. Open Circle is a curriculum that is utilized to teach these the skills described within the CASEL framework. Open Circle is a classroom-based primary prevention program for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The multiyear, comprehensive program has two goals:

1.     Strengthen students’ social and emotional skills related to self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and interpersonal relationships and problem-solving.

2.      Foster safe, caring, and cooperative classroom and school climates.

            These skills are linked to creating good friendships, higher level thinking, and academic achievement. 

            Social Emotional Learning instruction benefits our school community significantly through the implementation of this wonderful program. As Open Circle celebrates it twenty-fifth anniversary it is exciting to note that Open Circle was named a "CASEL Select Program," one of only 22 in the country.

Day 139- Grade 4 Students-

Each day we put the flag up and take it down. We have learned how to fold the flag, we have learned how to tie it to the pole and to never let it touch the ground.

Day 138- Mrs. Pacheco on Fundations

Today the elementary interventionists met together with Cathy Shockro, our district literacy specialist from Wilson Language. We had an open discussion sharing ideas and positive  attributes  on how the "Fundations" program has been working within our district.   Thanks to our fantastic team at the Hood I am not "shocked" ;) with how well we have been able to work as a cohesive group and collaborate on effectively implementing this program grades K-2. In working closely with our schools reading specialists and classroom teachers- we have all adjusted to changes and learned the importance of keeping a flexible mindset! I am lucky to work with such professional and hard working  teachers!! This year we have seen  importance of data collecting, double dose reading lessons, monitoring assessment tools  and seeing the direct results tracking progress with our students! As a special Education teacher , part of the tier 3 Interventionist team,  I have learned to celebrate the accomplishments of all students Big and small with a BIG smile :)