Depictions of Future-Focused Leaders

Gary Marx, author of Twenty-One Trends for the 21st Century, exhorts school leaders to take the offensive rather than holding on to the status quo.  Marx surveyed people from several parts of the world, asking them, "What words would you use to describe a future-focused leader?"

These are among the phrases they provided: creative, imaginative, a clarifier, future-oriented, a generalist, interdependent, interested, conceptual and brainy, teacher, mobilizer, implementer, earned respect, exhibited endurance, a mentor, thoughtful, a problem-solver, a coordinator of talent and energy, genuinely interested in all people.  Also, genuine, not pretentious, nurturer, collegial, a sense of humor, empathetic, not arrogant, and enjoys complexity and constant change.  

TCS Participates in Learning Forward Fall Conference

Thirteen TCS staff members attended the 24th Annual Alabama Learning Forward Fall Conference at the Wynfrey Hotel November 20-21.  The keynote speaker was Ron Nash, author of The Active Classroom.  Paine Intermediate counselor Lauren Blake led a concurrent session, "Student Clubs/Collaborative Planning Time for Teachers - A Win-Win for Everyone."  Lauren shared the story of how Paine Intermediate School carved out time for teachers to collaborate and learn together while providing student clubs that engage, enrich, and extend learning.  

Learning about Colonial Times

Second graders in Jennifer Bruno's and Sabrina Johnson's classrooms presented delightful and informative Thanksgiving plays for an audience of parents, grandparents, and kindergarten students this morning.  The students were able to contrast and compare life today and in colonial days.  

iCan Girls in Engineering

Alabama Power has partnered with Trussville City Schools for the past six years, offering iCan, an engineering program for a selected group of approximately 30 eighth grade girls.  The program involves 5 events throughout the year.  At each event, a group of female engineers leads the girls in hands-on engineering activities or they facilitate a field trip centered around engineering.

The program, which is sponsored by Joy Young at HTHS and Sandy Hoffman at HTMS, has been very successful.  Many of the participants continue through the high school engineering academy.
Last year four senior girls who had started in the iCan Program as 8th graders all received engineering scholarships to major universities.

This morning I was invited to visit the HTHS Engineering Lab where these students were greeted by Alabama Power engineers who facilitated the Fancy Feet Activity.  Students learned about load distribution concepts as they worked as a team to design, build, and test a shoe.  Our students are fortunate to have opportunities such as this.  Many thanks to Joy, Sandy, and Alabama Power and to all of their teachers who have inspired creativity and helped grow these bright minds.

Changing the Way Fractions Are Taught

For many elementary teachers, fractions have traditionally sprung to mind lessons involving pizzas, pies, and chocolate bars, among other varieties of "wholes" that can be shared. But in what many experts are calling one of the biggest shifts associated with the Common Core State Standards for mathematics, more teachers are now being asked to emphasize fractions as points on a number line, rather than just parts of a whole, to underscore their relationships to integers.  Read more about this big math shift by clicking Fractions!  and accessing the Education Week article.

Congratulations to the TOYs!

Trussville City Schools' Elementary Teacher of the Year, Chris Byars, and Secondary Teacher of the Year, Suzanne Glasgow, were recognized and honored by Dr. Neill and TCS Board members at a board meeting this evening.  Congratulations to two of Trussville's finest!

Common Core Math a Mystery to Some Parents

Most U.S. public school students are learning math very differently than their parents did, due to Common Core State Standards, national K-12 math and reading benchmarks that have been adopted by 43 states and the District of Columbia.

The changes have confused many parents — particularly at the elementary level — leaving them flustered by a basic parental duty: Helping with homework.

To read more about how schools are  helping parents understand Common Core Math Standards, click on the link below:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/common-core-math-can-be-a-mystery-and-parents-are-going-to-school-to-understand-it/2014/11/01/af57efa0-604f-11e4-9f3a-7e28799e0549_story.html 

101 Books for College Bound Kids

From GreatSchools Staff

Take a respite from the rush and chatter of modern life and spend time with a masterpiece. Even better: entice your teen to join you. Choose a book together and take turns reading it aloud, or track down the audio version and listen to it during your next road trip. This book list, compiled by the CollegeBoard, includes classics your student should read before (or during) college. But don't use the "s" word! Instead, let your child know that these aren't just classics, they are tales of romance, war, adventure, and courage, and that — while they won't love every story — a few are sure to become beloved lifelong companions. As author Italo Calvino wrote: “A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.”

To see full lists of suggested books, click here.