Attending the Infinite Campus conference proved to be beneficial for all. Brenda Montoya and Sarah Vance attended a two day conference to learn how to better manage our school information system. They learned that there are many features that Infinite Campus has to offer that we are not currently utilizing. They also learned how we can better utilize the system in our daily work. There was also a lot of learning around the implementation of new technology that Infinite Campus is sending down the pipe and how that new technology will benefit our school. We left the infinite campus come conference with many of "nuggets" to bring back and implement as soon as possible. Look for some changes soon.
Flip teaching (or flipped classroom) is a form of blended learning in which students learn new content online by watching video lectures, usually at home, and what used to be homework (assigned problems) is now done in class with teachers offering more personalized guidance and interaction with students, instead of lecturing. As I reflect on all the things that Haskin classroom teachers are asking students to do at home, it is clear that we are well on our way to implementing blended learning without even knowing it! We have students reading books and analyzing poetry at home and then having deep discussions in classrooms. We have students taking pictures with their iPads and creating poetry at home to then bring back and discuss with a teacher. We also have students watching and learning using math videos at home and then discussing them in classrooms the next day. It is clear that we are well on our way to implementing blended learning in many classrooms we are on the cutting edge of this pedagogical model of teaching.
Haskin Elementary BLT has been meeting the past couple of months to look at grading scales and grading policies. Last week the BLT met and we finalized some items that we will discuss at the staff meeting this week, but we wanted you to have a quick picture of what will be happening. BLT noticed there was a discrepancy in the primary grading scale. This grading scale was causing us not to be able to explain how we assign grades at the primary level. We've come to consensus that we have to change the grading scale at the primary level. The grading scale will be changed to match the grading scale used by 3rd through 12th grade at Center Schools. We've come to realize that many teachers are wanting a grading policy to help them stay on track as far as entering grades. The BLT decided that we should enter one to three grades per week. This will help inform parents, it will help teachers make better decisions about kids, and this change will help implement a more fair grading process. We will discuss this more at the staff meeting on Tuesday.