News from Team 8-1

Students in Mr. Childs’ history classes will be making their own coat of arms.  Coat of arms identified knights in the Middle Ages.

Mrs. Ezzell’s class was one of three science classes that competed in an egg drop competition this week.  Students used their knowledge of air resistance, speed, gravity, and other concepts that they learned in physics to create a device that would allow their egg to survive an 18 foot drop. 

Team 8-1 will be having a celebration

next Friday, which will include a

slideshow and team-building

activities.

EGG DROP PHOTOS

News from Team 7-6

Mr. Parrish’s Social Studies classes will be doing case studies of  specific locations in Latin America.  Mrs. D will be discussing the animal kingdom in Science.  Mrs. McColgan’s classes are reading stories with surprise endings.  Mrs. Bowen’s classes are studying clauses for English.  Mr. Pinto’s classes are multiplying and dividing fractions

The East Stroudsburg University Reading Specialist Certification / Master’s Degree program for E.A.S.D. teachers got underway on Monday afternoon at Shawnee. Dr. Mary Beth Allen is teaching the first course the cohort is taking. The course, Analyses of Instructional Techniques in Reading, is being taught via distance learning. Best wishes for a summer of fun and learning to all participants!

Save the date… Penn State Lehigh Valley Annual Diverse Literacies Conference will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2008 at Bear Creek Resort and Conference Center from 8:30-2:30. More information can be found on the web at www.lvwp.org

The final District Literacy meeting for this school year was held on Tuesday, May 13 from 8:30 to 10:30. The group discussed the following district literacy goals for the next three years.

K-12 Data Analysis (Data teams, differentiated instruction)

K-12 Elements of Effective Instruction

K-12 Common Formative Assessments

K-6 Response to Intervention (Tier IV Special Ed. / Reading Initiative)

Gr. 5-12 Reading Apprenticeship (Thanks to Kim Ravese and Melissa Orwan for preparing a power point to provide an overview of this framework to the committee.)

Gr. 5 and up Special Education Co-Teaching Initiative

Thanks to all participants who served on the committee this year.

The Friday, May 9 half day in-service for K-4 classroom teachers was held at Tracy School. The afternoon was facilitated by the Elementary Literacy Coaches and Kindergarten teacher Toni Ann Falcone. The topic of this in-service was writing instruction within the Scott Foresman Reading Street Series. Evaluations completed by classroom teachers were very positive.

Submitted by Janet Matthews, Associate Director of Literacy, K-12

News from Shawnee Team 7 – 5

     Shawnee students have sent their thank you notes to the Veterans of The Battle of the Budge group to show their appreciation for the assembly given by the Veterans two weeks ago.  Mrs. Coon and the rest of the reading department organized this fantastic and beneficial assembly. 

     Also, Mrs. Kinney’s English classes are currently working on their research project in the library.  Students are researching and creating Key Note presentations on their chosen poem and poet.  In Miss Hunter’s Social Studies classes, students are studying the early civilizations of Latin America; the Aztecs, Mayas, and Incas.  In Miss Gardner’s science classes, some students are doing presentations, while others have completed posters on the invertebrate phyla.  Some students in Mrs. Blake’s  Math classes are finishing up work with percentages and others are completing work with fractions.  Math Final Exam review will begin Tuesday, May 27th.