On the district web site, there is information regarding Super Saturday in District 191. This is an opportunity for children to explore more a topic of interest. The topics vary greatly - from cake decorating to building rockets! (Maybe someone can decorate a cake to look like a rocket...)
I think that this opportunity for kids is wonderful, and should at least be explored by every family. The cost is pretty low ($6.00 for a one-hour class), and the experience is priceless. There is a lot to choose from, and what I like the most about Super Saturday (besides it being on a Saturday, not after school when kids and parents are more tired!) is that it's a one or two-hour commitment...not a six-week commitment to something that the child may or may not end up loving. It's dabbling in something, it can be the opportunity to extend current learning, or give a child an opportunity to spend an hour doing something he or she LOVES to do. It's a win-win situation any way you look at it. For those of you who haven't seen the information yet, Super Saturday will be on November 7th, and the following is the link to register:
https://ssl.dwebsite.com/secure2/ce_isd191/php/public.php?action=listCategories&programId=2043
Just copy and paste that into your browser. Hope you have a SUPER Saturday!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
As I Walk Through the Building...
A little over two weeks ago, Dr. Randy Clegg (our Superintendent), Sandi Novak (our Assistant Superintendent), and I walked through our building to check out all that was happening. They were positively thrilled by time they left. You see, they had witnessed first hand the terrific differentiation going on in the building, especially in the multi-age geometry unit going on in the River Birch Community.
A week later, as I moved throughout the building during conferences, rooms were filled with parents and teachers centered on children. That seemingly routine event is a metaphor for how education professionals live their lives. All they do centers on the children. I marveled at the involvement of the parents, the maturity of the students, and the dedication of the staff. Everyone is excited about what's happening at Harriet Bishop!
Yesterday, 90 brand new, beautiful stringed instruments were delivered to our building (compliments of a MDE grant!). Next week, excited 2nd through 6th graders will come to be sized for these instruments. This is an unbelievably exciting opportunity available to ALL Harriet Bishop students. WOW!!
Today I watched Mrs. Perry lead our after school chess club. Even after tirelessly providing music instruction all day, she had tons of extra energy for our students (they had plenty left for her too)! Forty feet away, Mr. Risteau was using our new video cameras (part of our TV Studio) leading students in a movie-making endeavour using legos. The level of detail, concentration, and patience exhibited by both teacher and student was phenomenal!
As I walk through the building a see high quality, challenging instruction for all of our students. I see happy students, parents, and staff members. I see opportunities for all of our students. I hope you like what you're seeing as well.
As always, stop by, call, or email to let me know how it's going for you.
Your principal,
Rob Nelson
A week later, as I moved throughout the building during conferences, rooms were filled with parents and teachers centered on children. That seemingly routine event is a metaphor for how education professionals live their lives. All they do centers on the children. I marveled at the involvement of the parents, the maturity of the students, and the dedication of the staff. Everyone is excited about what's happening at Harriet Bishop!
Yesterday, 90 brand new, beautiful stringed instruments were delivered to our building (compliments of a MDE grant!). Next week, excited 2nd through 6th graders will come to be sized for these instruments. This is an unbelievably exciting opportunity available to ALL Harriet Bishop students. WOW!!
Today I watched Mrs. Perry lead our after school chess club. Even after tirelessly providing music instruction all day, she had tons of extra energy for our students (they had plenty left for her too)! Forty feet away, Mr. Risteau was using our new video cameras (part of our TV Studio) leading students in a movie-making endeavour using legos. The level of detail, concentration, and patience exhibited by both teacher and student was phenomenal!
As I walk through the building a see high quality, challenging instruction for all of our students. I see happy students, parents, and staff members. I see opportunities for all of our students. I hope you like what you're seeing as well.
As always, stop by, call, or email to let me know how it's going for you.
Your principal,
Rob Nelson
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Marriage
The goal in marriage is not to think alike, but to think together. - Robert C. Dodds
???Huh??? "Marriage" as a title on an educational blog about a gifted and talented magnet school?
Well, um, actually, yes. What we're doing here at HB is kind of like a marriage. Think about it: take two established entities, with established routines and established habits and mindsets, and put them together under one roof to co-exist peacefully. Isn't that like marriage?
Okay, let's look at the creation of Harriet Bishop Gifted and Talented Elementary School a different way. I'll start with a small story. I am not from Minnesota (although my high school colors were purple and gold, that's as far as it goes...), and I moved here from Chicago in 1993. I was very excited about coming to the Minneapolis area; and as I had a kindergarten daughter and heard such great things about Minnesota schools, it was just a boon for me. I came up a couple of times to look for a house, and found the people to be friendly and jovial. Cool! How much better could it be??? (This was like the dating period between Minnesota and me.)
Then I moved here, and found the real meaning of Minnesota Nice. It does exist. People ARE nice; they ARE friendly, until you move into their space. Then a shift happens. It's not that they are MEAN or horrible at all, don't get me wrong. It's just that they become more wary, more reserved, and it takes a long time for you to become established in their space. People have established friends, family, routines, etc., and it is hard for an outsider. Ask most any outsider. (Or two people who have just gotten married: one who makes the bed in the morning and one who does not. It's not that I'm speaking from experience here...)
Harriet Bishop is feeling these growing pains, no matter the way anyone looks at it. I was recently speaking with a parent whose children have gone or are going through Harriet Bishop, and the conversation was both encouraging and helpful. Some of the things we are doing at Harriet Bishop are new - and one thing every person must remember is that what we are doing is benefiting EVERY SINGLE STUDENT in school. However, some of the things we are doing at Harriet Bishop have been done before, when the building first opened. (I remember that time, too; having opened a new building the same year, teaching staff at one new building were keenly aware of the growing pains of other teaching staff at other new buildings!) So for some, this IS new, and for others, some of what we're doing is reminiscent of good things done in the past. The parent with whom I was talking was very positive about the steps we've taken, and knows that this is a process.
Our magnet has been open six weeks. Solid research states that magnet schools (and charter schools, and private schools, the list goes on) need 3-5 years (yes, YEARS) to become fully established. Most marriages look different in the first month than they do in the fifth year... as the partners learn about each other and find a way to establish NEW routines, NEW habits, and NEW mindsets - as a team. I look forward to the successful marriage of ALL of the families at Harriet Bishop Gifted and Talented Elementary School. After all, as with any successful marriage, the children are the ultimate benefactors.
???Huh??? "Marriage" as a title on an educational blog about a gifted and talented magnet school?
Well, um, actually, yes. What we're doing here at HB is kind of like a marriage. Think about it: take two established entities, with established routines and established habits and mindsets, and put them together under one roof to co-exist peacefully. Isn't that like marriage?
Okay, let's look at the creation of Harriet Bishop Gifted and Talented Elementary School a different way. I'll start with a small story. I am not from Minnesota (although my high school colors were purple and gold, that's as far as it goes...), and I moved here from Chicago in 1993. I was very excited about coming to the Minneapolis area; and as I had a kindergarten daughter and heard such great things about Minnesota schools, it was just a boon for me. I came up a couple of times to look for a house, and found the people to be friendly and jovial. Cool! How much better could it be??? (This was like the dating period between Minnesota and me.)
Then I moved here, and found the real meaning of Minnesota Nice. It does exist. People ARE nice; they ARE friendly, until you move into their space. Then a shift happens. It's not that they are MEAN or horrible at all, don't get me wrong. It's just that they become more wary, more reserved, and it takes a long time for you to become established in their space. People have established friends, family, routines, etc., and it is hard for an outsider. Ask most any outsider. (Or two people who have just gotten married: one who makes the bed in the morning and one who does not. It's not that I'm speaking from experience here...)
Harriet Bishop is feeling these growing pains, no matter the way anyone looks at it. I was recently speaking with a parent whose children have gone or are going through Harriet Bishop, and the conversation was both encouraging and helpful. Some of the things we are doing at Harriet Bishop are new - and one thing every person must remember is that what we are doing is benefiting EVERY SINGLE STUDENT in school. However, some of the things we are doing at Harriet Bishop have been done before, when the building first opened. (I remember that time, too; having opened a new building the same year, teaching staff at one new building were keenly aware of the growing pains of other teaching staff at other new buildings!) So for some, this IS new, and for others, some of what we're doing is reminiscent of good things done in the past. The parent with whom I was talking was very positive about the steps we've taken, and knows that this is a process.
Our magnet has been open six weeks. Solid research states that magnet schools (and charter schools, and private schools, the list goes on) need 3-5 years (yes, YEARS) to become fully established. Most marriages look different in the first month than they do in the fifth year... as the partners learn about each other and find a way to establish NEW routines, NEW habits, and NEW mindsets - as a team. I look forward to the successful marriage of ALL of the families at Harriet Bishop Gifted and Talented Elementary School. After all, as with any successful marriage, the children are the ultimate benefactors.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Just What Kind of a School Do We Think We Are???!
Children, and for the purposes of this blog gifted children, come in many different shapes, sizes, with many different issues and needs. And it is for that reason that our school is not a one-size-fits-all gifted school. Way back a million years ago (okay, I'm exaggerating, it was a year ago, but we've been busy!), a design team echoed the wishes of community and teachers alike: do NOT make Harriet Bishop a school-within-a-school for gifted students. We had a charge - to become a gifted magnet, but keep the attendance area families intact. That was no easy task - and that meant that we really, really, really needed to take a look at best research in gifted education and put together a school that would benefit all students.
Harriet Bishop's mission is to create critical thinkers, and twenty-first century citizens. We have designed a school which embraces the practices of gifted education for every one of its students (because gifted education has been and continues to be best practices education for all!). Through purposeful and flexible clustering (both words are extremely important here!), and proactive and carefully considered differentiation, we are designing education for our students which takes into account the students' needs and interests, and takes all students to their next level of learning.
Gifted students cannot be left to their own devices when it comes to learning. Yes, some gifted students are very independent in their learning, but that doesn't mean that they should EVER be left to do the learning on their own while we put our time into others' learning. Those students deserve the same opportunity to grow and stretch and learn as any other student, regardless of ability level, motivation level, talent level...any level. Harriet Bishop has not ignored that; as a matter of fact, that exact point is at the forefront of our development as a school. We believe that students need, crave, and eventually flourish given opportunity and challenge - and we are dedicated to bring those challenges to our students.
So what kind of school do we think we are? We are a school of widely varying students - and we'd be saying that even if we were a school-within-a-school or a school with only gifted students in it. We're dedicated to recognizing that variation and building upon it.
Harriet Bishop's mission is to create critical thinkers, and twenty-first century citizens. We have designed a school which embraces the practices of gifted education for every one of its students (because gifted education has been and continues to be best practices education for all!). Through purposeful and flexible clustering (both words are extremely important here!), and proactive and carefully considered differentiation, we are designing education for our students which takes into account the students' needs and interests, and takes all students to their next level of learning.
Gifted students cannot be left to their own devices when it comes to learning. Yes, some gifted students are very independent in their learning, but that doesn't mean that they should EVER be left to do the learning on their own while we put our time into others' learning. Those students deserve the same opportunity to grow and stretch and learn as any other student, regardless of ability level, motivation level, talent level...any level. Harriet Bishop has not ignored that; as a matter of fact, that exact point is at the forefront of our development as a school. We believe that students need, crave, and eventually flourish given opportunity and challenge - and we are dedicated to bring those challenges to our students.
So what kind of school do we think we are? We are a school of widely varying students - and we'd be saying that even if we were a school-within-a-school or a school with only gifted students in it. We're dedicated to recognizing that variation and building upon it.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Conferences
Next week, October 12, 13, and 14 are conferences. I thought I'd share an educator view of conferences.
I love 'em. Especially fall conferences, because those are goal-setting conferences, and what better use of conference time than to set goals for students? Conferences gave me a chance to sit down face-to-face with parents and families - to put a face with a name or a voice, to listen to what their eyes were saying. That was so important to experience, as a teacher. My students were my kids for a year, and I was excited about the opportunity to partner with their families in their education. I was never comfortable focusing on grades. I truly only wanted to focus on growth. That's what conferences are really all about. I hope everyone has enjoyable, productive conferences next week!
I love 'em. Especially fall conferences, because those are goal-setting conferences, and what better use of conference time than to set goals for students? Conferences gave me a chance to sit down face-to-face with parents and families - to put a face with a name or a voice, to listen to what their eyes were saying. That was so important to experience, as a teacher. My students were my kids for a year, and I was excited about the opportunity to partner with their families in their education. I was never comfortable focusing on grades. I truly only wanted to focus on growth. That's what conferences are really all about. I hope everyone has enjoyable, productive conferences next week!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Our school is COOL!
All right, I know I just posted a blog, but I just have to comment about something. Do you know how COOL it is to see an entire multi-grade community doing geometry? Yes, yes, it is loud. Kids scattered all over the place. And the brain energy absolutely permeates the air - the kids working together, learning and learning and learning. Fast-foward to another community, where fifth and sixth graders are rotating through teachers who have planned a mini-unit on poetry, each teacher teaching one of four important strategies in poetry over two days. Kids are learning from both fifth and sixth grade teachers. Then, of course, there is our SEM-R classrooms in both fourth and fifth grade, where students are reading their choice of book at their instructional level - and learning to love reading again...or maybe for the first time! They're engaged in books. (sigh...how wonderful...)
We are a community of learners, and these two examples are evidence of the type of community we embrace here at Harriet Bishop G/T! In the words of Flounder from Animal House, "This is GREAT!"
We are a community of learners, and these two examples are evidence of the type of community we embrace here at Harriet Bishop G/T! In the words of Flounder from Animal House, "This is GREAT!"
Thank you to families!
We've been getting some really wonderful feedback from our families since Harriet Bishop opened its doors as a gifted and talented magnet school. There's something to be said about a kindergartener who comes home and is excited to do and show what was learned in school that day. I even heard from a family whose son has become much more engaged in school now that he has more individualized instruction. Now, these situations should not be reserved for the "gifted" student; rather, these experiences, I hope, are being felt by many families of many students. I appreciate all the information and questions I've been receiving from parents - like our students, we staff need to be informed on what is working and what needs to be tweaked. Conferences are coming up, and this will be a perfect time to sit down with Harriet Bishop staff and discuss the next step in your child's/children's education!
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