TCS Teachers Present at NCTM Conference

Math coach Lisa Lothspeich and fourth grade teacher Jana Walls presented Developing Multiplication Fact Fluency in the 21st Century during an NCTM session today in Nashville.  Their session was at capacity with 175 participants.  Over eighty others were turned away, so Lisa and Jana were asked to do a second session tomorrow.  It is obvious that their session is one of great interest to elementary teachers.  

Teachers Report Better Student Performance With Scholarship Program Incentives

Did you know students can earn scholarship money beginning their ninth grade year for attending school regularly,participating in community service activities,making good grades,playing a sport, and more?

Raise.Me, has a program that allows students the opportunity to earn and bank money for activities they complete in high school. These are considered "Micro Scholarships". Students can register for an account at any point in their high school career and activities can be added retroactively.

There are approximately 86 schools currently offering these micro scholarships. Alabama schools participating in the program are UAB, Montevallo, and Spring Hill College, Auburn University, and more.

Students must meet the GPA requirements of each college in order to be awarded the money.  GPA is calculated by taking the average of your unweighted core course grades (English, Math, Science, and Social Studies, and Foreign Language).

If your students think micro scholarships aren't worth their time, show them this article about Abby Saxastar who only discovered Raise.Me a few months before she graduated and was able to earn over $80,000 by retroactively logging her grades and service activities.  She now has a full ride to Stetson University in Florida.

Encourage your students to gain parent permission and read the privacy policies before creating an account. There may be personal information required so we strongly recommend this be completed at home with a parent.
Learn more about Raise.Me and create an account HERE.

Magnolia and Cahaba Progress

Cahaba Elementary

November 16, 2015

Magnolia Elementary

November 16, 2015

Science Teachers Learn at CCRS Quarterly Meeting

Administrators and science teachers from all schools attended the second of four quarterly CCRS Science meetings at the Lincoln Center in Birmingham.  Teachers are unpacking the new Alabama Science Standards.  They turn their new learning around for science teachers in their schools.  

Media Specialists in Ohio

On November 5, Laura Graves, HTHS Media Specialist, Rachel Media Specialist, PP Media Specialist, and April Chamberlain, Technology and Media Specialist Coordinator arrived in Columbus, Ohio for the American Association of School Librarian's conference.  Learning started at 8:00 AM and lasted until 12 midnight.  They attended sessions about: maker spaces, be a research rockstar, designing a genius hour program, hack the association, research projects with primary students, using children's literature to open guided inquiry and much more.  They also spent time with other media specialists from Alabama and their region to develop a plan to strengthen support for media specialists and coordinators in Shelby and Jefferson County through online communication, online live events and face to face meet ups.

On the exhibit floor, they discovered many new authors, new books and a cool maker space where Rachel and April created light up name badges while Laura explored the awesome furniture.

  

The learning did not end in Ohio.  They worked while driving home to reflect on their learning and make plans not only to support Trussville media specialists, but others in the region.

Virtual Collaboration

In an effort to provide secondary teachers more opportunities to share ideas, we've created Google Classrooms for content-area teachers in which they can share resources and lessons.
Feel free to visit these virtual collaboration spaces:
English - https://classroom.google.com/c/MzY1Mjg0MTgz      
History - https://classroom.google.com/c/MzY1MzA1NDM1
Math - https://classroom.google.com/c/MzY1MzAyMDk5
Science - https://classroom.google.com/c/MzU3Mjc3Njk1

TCS Teachers to Attend NCTM

TCS math teachers from all levels will attend the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Regional Conference, November 18-20, in Nashville.  Teachers will be able to select over 200 sessions and workshops that cover the following topics and are specific to grade levels.

Algebra, Algebraic Thinking, Patterns, Functions
Assessment, High-Stakes Testing, Instructional Strategies, Classroom and Large-Scale Assessment, Formal and Informal Questioning
Calculus, Precalculus
Communication, Representations, Connections – History, Literature, Science, Art, Music
Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability
Discrete Mathematics, Symbolic Logic, Sets or Set Theory, Graph Theory
Equity, Diversity, Alternative Schools, Multilingual, Special Needs, Gifted
Geometry, Measurement Systems and Processes, Constructions, Transformations
Innovative Teaching Strategies
Number, Number Sense, Operations, Computation, Estimation
Policy Decisions, Program Evaluation, Community Relations, State and Federal Legislation, Outreach and Advocacy, Accountability, Funding
Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Modeling, Mathematics Applications
Professional Development, Coaching, Mentoring, Learning Communities, Lesson Study, Induction Programs
Reasoning, Sense Making and Proof
Technology

This professional learning will complement our districts' objectives, and participants will return and share their new learning with colleagues.