Hello parents!
I apologize for the slow communication this week. I have been completely overwhelmed with the volume of student work that has been turned in. For most students, this is an excellent indicator of work and progress. Because of the high volume of homework that has been turned in, I have not had a chance to update all of your students' grades. The grade on RDS is not currently correct. I will have all of the student work graded and input into RDS by Sunday evening. Starting later this weekend, I will start making phone calls home for those students who are not performing at their ability level. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me or e-mail me at any time. Your children are important to me and I want to help them be as successful as possible.
Furthermore, I have shared with your students that I am available everyday before school from 7:00 - 7:50 AM and during their lunch period for extra/one-on-one help. Please encourage them to take advantage of those times for additional help if they are struggling.
Other important announcements from this week:
-The African American Choral Ensemble will be featuring Brandon Lee Sears and Nate Bean, at the "Back Together Again" workshop and concert. The workshop will be held at Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Jan. 26-27 at 6:00 pm and New Hope Missionary Baptist church on Jan. 28 at 2:00 pm. The concert will be Jan. 29th at 5:00 pm at the New Hope Baptist Church.
-Students interested in Teenpower should pick up an application in the office and return to Mrs. Seitz or Ms. Schmidt.
-Once again this summer, the Southern Indiana Career and Technical Center will be offering the opportunity for area 7th and 8th grade students to participate in the 2012 iEngineering 2.0 Summer Experience. This experience is a two week, half day summer engineering program that is a hands-on initiative that focuses on topics related to engineering, manufacturing and architecture. To have parents\students register, please have them visit our website, www.sictc.com and click on the 'iEngineering' link at the top of the screen. Space is limited and the deadline for registration is April 9, 2012. We have a pamphlet in the office if you need more information.
-Students selling spaghetti dinner tickets for the DC Trip 2013 should turn in order forms by FEBRUARY 10!!
Next week, we will be testing on the information that your children have learned over the course of the past three weeks and we will begin a new unit on Wednesday. :)
As always, have a great weekend and contact me with any suggestions, concerns, or questions.
Keshia Seitz
Friday, January 27, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Good morning!
Today your students will be learning about how to use an interactive online Web 2.0 Tools called Glogster. Glogster is used to create posters and other interactive presentations online. It is free and easy to use :)
We are continuing our learning journey about the Rise of Sumer and the Sumerian Achievements.
Today I will also be showing your students how to check their Angel accounts for feedback on their homework assignments. Hopefully your students will share this information with you as well.
Just as a "heads up", your students will have a substitute tomorrow. I will be out of the school building attending a professional development session about flipped classroom (this model of instruction). Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns. As such, your students will have a work day in class tomorrow.
Announcements:
-Any student interested in joining the Academic Super Bowl Team, will meet in room 6 after school on Friday the 20th from 3-4pm.
-Students interested in TEENPOWER should pick up an application in the office.
-Students interested in the Washington, D.C. Trip should contact Mrs. Seitz for more information.
-At McGary Middle School, we are developing 21st century thinkers and problem-solvers!
Keshia Seitz
Today your students will be learning about how to use an interactive online Web 2.0 Tools called Glogster. Glogster is used to create posters and other interactive presentations online. It is free and easy to use :)
We are continuing our learning journey about the Rise of Sumer and the Sumerian Achievements.
Today I will also be showing your students how to check their Angel accounts for feedback on their homework assignments. Hopefully your students will share this information with you as well.
Just as a "heads up", your students will have a substitute tomorrow. I will be out of the school building attending a professional development session about flipped classroom (this model of instruction). Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns. As such, your students will have a work day in class tomorrow.
Announcements:
-Any student interested in joining the Academic Super Bowl Team, will meet in room 6 after school on Friday the 20th from 3-4pm.
-Students interested in TEENPOWER should pick up an application in the office.
-Students interested in the Washington, D.C. Trip should contact Mrs. Seitz for more information.
-At McGary Middle School, we are developing 21st century thinkers and problem-solvers!
Keshia Seitz
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Hello parents!
Today your students started a unit of study on the Sumerians and their greatest achievements. For homework, they have to complete parts 1-2 of the lecture. The Check Your Understanding questions that correspond to this lecture are due on Friday in the appropriate dropbox on Angel. Your students were also provided with an extra credit opporunity and their TIPS assignment for the week is already posted on Angel as well (both due Monday 1/23). It seems that many of your students are loving this new model of instruction. Please continue to provide me with feedback as to your perspective as parents. :)
By popular request, I will now be posting the daily announcements to help you stay aware of things that are going on at school...
-Students interested in TEENPOWER should pick up an application in the office. Applications are due February 1, 2012 to Mrs. Seitz or Mrs. Schmidt.
-Students interested in going on the Washington, D.C. 2013 trip should see Mrs. Seitz in Room 5.
-Remember, in most public places, it is best to remove your cap or hat when indoors. Removing your cap or hat is a sign of respect and good manners. When inside at a school event (such as a play, choral program, etc.) the removal of your cap or hat exhibits respect for those performing. When attending a patriotic ceremony, the removal of your cap or hat shows respect for our country.
Let's have a good week, Pioneers! :)
Keshia Seitz
Today your students started a unit of study on the Sumerians and their greatest achievements. For homework, they have to complete parts 1-2 of the lecture. The Check Your Understanding questions that correspond to this lecture are due on Friday in the appropriate dropbox on Angel. Your students were also provided with an extra credit opporunity and their TIPS assignment for the week is already posted on Angel as well (both due Monday 1/23). It seems that many of your students are loving this new model of instruction. Please continue to provide me with feedback as to your perspective as parents. :)
By popular request, I will now be posting the daily announcements to help you stay aware of things that are going on at school...
-Students interested in TEENPOWER should pick up an application in the office. Applications are due February 1, 2012 to Mrs. Seitz or Mrs. Schmidt.
-Students interested in going on the Washington, D.C. 2013 trip should see Mrs. Seitz in Room 5.
-Remember, in most public places, it is best to remove your cap or hat when indoors. Removing your cap or hat is a sign of respect and good manners. When inside at a school event (such as a play, choral program, etc.) the removal of your cap or hat exhibits respect for those performing. When attending a patriotic ceremony, the removal of your cap or hat shows respect for our country.
Let's have a good week, Pioneers! :)
Keshia Seitz
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Catching up :)
Hello parents!
This week has been a learning experience for your students and for me as well! We have spent the majority of the week learning how to use the Angel course management system and how to download lectures, etc. Almost all of their work this week was completed in class. I wanted to make sure that your students understood how to access the homework. We also went over expectations and academic standards that relate to the content we are discussing in class.
We are currently talking about the Geography of the Fertile Crescent. By the end of the week, your students should have completed lecture #1 (and the corresponding "Check Your Understanding" Questions) and the Wordle in-class activity. By Monday, your students should have completed the TIPS assignment with you! :)
Keshia
This week has been a learning experience for your students and for me as well! We have spent the majority of the week learning how to use the Angel course management system and how to download lectures, etc. Almost all of their work this week was completed in class. I wanted to make sure that your students understood how to access the homework. We also went over expectations and academic standards that relate to the content we are discussing in class.
We are currently talking about the Geography of the Fertile Crescent. By the end of the week, your students should have completed lecture #1 (and the corresponding "Check Your Understanding" Questions) and the Wordle in-class activity. By Monday, your students should have completed the TIPS assignment with you! :)
Keshia
Monday, January 9, 2012
A Case of the Mondays...
Welcome back to the parents' blog! Today your students and I had a good time working with a new emerging technology called Wordle. Wordle is a free and easy-to-use web-based tech tool that students can use to create digital representations of the content that they are learning in their classes. This is great for presentations and for studying and identifying main ideas from the text/lecture.
As you know, we are all new to the flipped classroom model of instruction. I spent a large portion of the day explaining how the new course will operate and showing students where to find their assignments on Angel. However, when students tried to download their homework lecture, the audio in power-point does not work on their netbooks. I am currently working on fixing this tech glitch, and the lecture will be posted tomorrow for your students in the form of a podcast to accompany a power-point with notes. For the most part, your children reacted well and adapted very quickly.
Your student does have access to their first TIPS assignment on ANGEL. They were instructed to try to work on this with you tonight. If you have any problems, please e-mail me and I would be happy to assist with the process. The TIPS Assignment is due next Monday in the dropbox on Angel.
Also, I have posted an extra credit opportunity for the students to participate in. This is also due next Monday and is obviously optional.
Keshia
As you know, we are all new to the flipped classroom model of instruction. I spent a large portion of the day explaining how the new course will operate and showing students where to find their assignments on Angel. However, when students tried to download their homework lecture, the audio in power-point does not work on their netbooks. I am currently working on fixing this tech glitch, and the lecture will be posted tomorrow for your students in the form of a podcast to accompany a power-point with notes. For the most part, your children reacted well and adapted very quickly.
Your student does have access to their first TIPS assignment on ANGEL. They were instructed to try to work on this with you tonight. If you have any problems, please e-mail me and I would be happy to assist with the process. The TIPS Assignment is due next Monday in the dropbox on Angel.
Also, I have posted an extra credit opportunity for the students to participate in. This is also due next Monday and is obviously optional.
Keshia
Friday, January 6, 2012
Creativity
If you have a chance, check out this interesting video by Steven Johnson. Steven Johnson talks about concerns that our students are too "plugged in" or dependent on the internet. He asserts that the internet is influential in allowing our students to develop brilliant ideas. If you watch this, let me know what you think by commenting below! :)
End of Week 1
Hello 7th Grade Parents! First of all, I apologize for not blogging last night. However, your students continued with the connecting activity called "About My Classmate..." Each student used the information that they gathered to create a power-point slide about their classmate. The students really had fun working on this presentation! We finished the week out with this activity. I am excited to start grading these collaborative projects.
We are also having a parent meeting on Thursday, January 12 at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria regarding the option that you have to send your students to Washington, D.C. over Spring Break in 2013. We are at the initial stages of this project, so it is not too late to get involved. Parents are welcome to come on the trip as well! Please call me or e-mail me if you want to know more about this trip but are unable to attend the meeting.
I hope that you all have an enjoyable weekend with your students! I'll look forward to seeing them again on Monday! :)
We are also having a parent meeting on Thursday, January 12 at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria regarding the option that you have to send your students to Washington, D.C. over Spring Break in 2013. We are at the initial stages of this project, so it is not too late to get involved. Parents are welcome to come on the trip as well! Please call me or e-mail me if you want to know more about this trip but are unable to attend the meeting.
I hope that you all have an enjoyable weekend with your students! I'll look forward to seeing them again on Monday! :)
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
About My Classmate...
Well, we're starting to get back in the swing of things! Today I began conducting data conversations on a one-on-one basis with your children regarding their Acuity Data for Social Studies. Overall, your students did a great job for their first time taking the social studies acuity. When we are conducting these data conversations, I am discussing with your child what their life goals/plans are and I am encouraging them to think about the kind of education and/or training that will be necessary to help them achieve their goals. We are also discussing their recent scores on Acuity Predictive B and we worked together to set realistic goals for your child on an individual basis. Finally, we decided on three goals that your child and I can work on in social studies to help them achieve their new acuity score goal and their other life goals as well. We will continue these conversations for the remainder of the week. If you would like for me to sit down with you individually to discuss your child's acuity data, I would be more than happy to do so. Please e-mail me at keshia.seitz@evsc.k12.in.us. or call the School and leave a message for me so that we can set up a time to meet!
While I was conducting individual data conversations, the rest of the class began working on a connecting activity called "About My Classmate..." For this activity, students were asked to interview a classmate that they didn't know very much about. Then, the students were instructed to record their classmate's answers to the interview questions in a word document format. After gathering responses to all of the questions, the students were provided with a link to the class Google Document Presentation. Each student used the information that they gathered to create a power-point slide about their classmate. The students really had fun working on this presentation and will continue to work on it for the remainder of the week. These assignments are due Friday.
While I was conducting individual data conversations, the rest of the class began working on a connecting activity called "About My Classmate..." For this activity, students were asked to interview a classmate that they didn't know very much about. Then, the students were instructed to record their classmate's answers to the interview questions in a word document format. After gathering responses to all of the questions, the students were provided with a link to the class Google Document Presentation. Each student used the information that they gathered to create a power-point slide about their classmate. The students really had fun working on this presentation and will continue to work on it for the remainder of the week. These assignments are due Friday.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
First Day Back
Whew... Christmas Break flew by! It was great to see the students back at school today. I had definitely missed them over Christmas Break. It was exciting to get to see and hear about the students' adventures outside of school.
Today was a day to "get back in the groove" of school. In my class, your students spent the first part of their period "reconnecting" with each other and with me. The purpose of reconnecting is simply to "break the ice" and get comfortable in the learning environment again in the classroom. We shared about what we did over break, what we got for Christmas, and our favorite sports/activities/clubs. I learned many interesting things about your students and their favorite past times and activities. This information will help me when I plan for future lessons. I love to tie in relevant student interests into the curriculum whenever possible!
Students did not have any homework in my class today because we spent the majority of class getting new seating arrangements, behavior charts, and a parent letter to take home to you. Each of your students was sent home with a parent letter. Please sign and return the back page as soon as possible with your student. Many of your children might have mentioned the new seating arrangement in my classroom. Students are now sitting with their desks in "pods" (AKA groups of four). Your child has been assigned a seat specifically so that their learning can be scaffolded in those groups. The purpose of the group seating arrangement is to encourage collaborative work and exchange of ideas in the classroom. In addition to the seating arrangement, we also added a new behavior plan to increase the amount of on-task student time in the classroom. Students have been challenged to work together to be in their seats and quiet and ready to learn when the bell rings. If the class can successfully accomplish this task for 10 days in a row, they will be rewarded with a snack party. for this first challenge, I have promised each class a donut party when they achieve their goal.
Overall, it was a great first day back to school with the students! I am looking forward to a great semester with your children! :)
Today was a day to "get back in the groove" of school. In my class, your students spent the first part of their period "reconnecting" with each other and with me. The purpose of reconnecting is simply to "break the ice" and get comfortable in the learning environment again in the classroom. We shared about what we did over break, what we got for Christmas, and our favorite sports/activities/clubs. I learned many interesting things about your students and their favorite past times and activities. This information will help me when I plan for future lessons. I love to tie in relevant student interests into the curriculum whenever possible!
Students did not have any homework in my class today because we spent the majority of class getting new seating arrangements, behavior charts, and a parent letter to take home to you. Each of your students was sent home with a parent letter. Please sign and return the back page as soon as possible with your student. Many of your children might have mentioned the new seating arrangement in my classroom. Students are now sitting with their desks in "pods" (AKA groups of four). Your child has been assigned a seat specifically so that their learning can be scaffolded in those groups. The purpose of the group seating arrangement is to encourage collaborative work and exchange of ideas in the classroom. In addition to the seating arrangement, we also added a new behavior plan to increase the amount of on-task student time in the classroom. Students have been challenged to work together to be in their seats and quiet and ready to learn when the bell rings. If the class can successfully accomplish this task for 10 days in a row, they will be rewarded with a snack party. for this first challenge, I have promised each class a donut party when they achieve their goal.
Overall, it was a great first day back to school with the students! I am looking forward to a great semester with your children! :)
Monday, January 2, 2012
Hello and Purpose of Blog
Hello!
First of all, let me introduce myself! My name is Keshia Seitz and I am your child's social studies teacher at McGary Middle School. I graduated from Indiana University-Bloomington in 2009 with a Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education: Social Studies. I earned my Master's Degree in Secondary Education with a Focus on Technology from IUPUI in December 2011. I am currently a doctoral student at Indiana University - Bloomington, pursuing an Ed.D in Educational Leadership with an anticipated graduation date of May 2015. Before being hired at McGary Middle School, I worked at Mount Vernon High School and Ivy Tech Community College. On a personal level, I am married and have three children. As many of you already know, I was hired to work at McGary Middle School mid-semester (October) due to a teacher vacancy. I eagerly accepted the position because my heart is devoted to K-12 education. I have enjoyed getting to know and work with your students over the course of the last three months. I look forward to getting to know them better and know you as well!
I decided to set up this blog to help improve my communication with each of you regarding your students and the work that they are doing in my class! This is the first time that I have used blogging to communicate with parents, and I am personally very excited about the potential for increased parent-teacher communication. Many of you have jobs or life experiences that could deeply enrich the learning experiences of our students and I would LOVE to know about those resources. Parental input is highly valued in my classroom! :)
Furthermore, the world that our students are growing up in (and eventually will be expected to work in) is constantly requiring students to learn and interact with each other on a more digital and global level. This is precisely the reason that I have decided to "re-vamp" the learning format in my classroom. At McGary Middle School, we are focused on "Developing 21st Century Thinkers and Problem-Solvers" and I truly want to embrace this goal! Over the course of this semester, I will be asking your students to try to use a lot of new and unfamiliar Web 2.0 Tools (all of which are free, by the way!). This will be a challenging endeavor for them, but it will be extremely beneficial to them as they move to the high school setting next year. (And we'll be with them every step of the way!) Let's put those netbooks to good use! :)
One new aspect of the course will be "TIPS" Assignments. TIPS stands for "Teachers Involving Parents in Schoolwork". Each week (starting the week of January 9, 2012, your students will be given a TIPS assignment to complete sometime during the week with you. Typically, these assignments should take 15 minutes and are assigned on Mondays. They will be due the following Monday. These TIPS assignments will be posted on your child's ANGEL account (as will all of their homework, starting 1/9/2012). The purpose of TIPS assignments is to facilitate conversations between students and their parents about the content that they are learning in the classroom. How many of you have asked your students "What did you do at school today?" and have them respond with "nothing"?
It is my intention to use this blog to keep you updated on the content that we are studying in class and to solicit parent feedback and suggestions. I am a firm believer in transparency in education and I want you to be aware of the learning opportunities that your students are participating in! I also want to use this blog to post examples of exemplary student work so that I can brag on our awesome Pioneers! However, I want this communication to be a two-way exchange ... I need your feedback and suggestions to help improve the learning experiences for your children (and future classes)!
Thank-you for all that you do to help make your children successful!
Keshia Seitz
First of all, let me introduce myself! My name is Keshia Seitz and I am your child's social studies teacher at McGary Middle School. I graduated from Indiana University-Bloomington in 2009 with a Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education: Social Studies. I earned my Master's Degree in Secondary Education with a Focus on Technology from IUPUI in December 2011. I am currently a doctoral student at Indiana University - Bloomington, pursuing an Ed.D in Educational Leadership with an anticipated graduation date of May 2015. Before being hired at McGary Middle School, I worked at Mount Vernon High School and Ivy Tech Community College. On a personal level, I am married and have three children. As many of you already know, I was hired to work at McGary Middle School mid-semester (October) due to a teacher vacancy. I eagerly accepted the position because my heart is devoted to K-12 education. I have enjoyed getting to know and work with your students over the course of the last three months. I look forward to getting to know them better and know you as well!
I decided to set up this blog to help improve my communication with each of you regarding your students and the work that they are doing in my class! This is the first time that I have used blogging to communicate with parents, and I am personally very excited about the potential for increased parent-teacher communication. Many of you have jobs or life experiences that could deeply enrich the learning experiences of our students and I would LOVE to know about those resources. Parental input is highly valued in my classroom! :)
Furthermore, the world that our students are growing up in (and eventually will be expected to work in) is constantly requiring students to learn and interact with each other on a more digital and global level. This is precisely the reason that I have decided to "re-vamp" the learning format in my classroom. At McGary Middle School, we are focused on "Developing 21st Century Thinkers and Problem-Solvers" and I truly want to embrace this goal! Over the course of this semester, I will be asking your students to try to use a lot of new and unfamiliar Web 2.0 Tools (all of which are free, by the way!). This will be a challenging endeavor for them, but it will be extremely beneficial to them as they move to the high school setting next year. (And we'll be with them every step of the way!) Let's put those netbooks to good use! :)
One new aspect of the course will be "TIPS" Assignments. TIPS stands for "Teachers Involving Parents in Schoolwork". Each week (starting the week of January 9, 2012, your students will be given a TIPS assignment to complete sometime during the week with you. Typically, these assignments should take 15 minutes and are assigned on Mondays. They will be due the following Monday. These TIPS assignments will be posted on your child's ANGEL account (as will all of their homework, starting 1/9/2012). The purpose of TIPS assignments is to facilitate conversations between students and their parents about the content that they are learning in the classroom. How many of you have asked your students "What did you do at school today?" and have them respond with "nothing"?
It is my intention to use this blog to keep you updated on the content that we are studying in class and to solicit parent feedback and suggestions. I am a firm believer in transparency in education and I want you to be aware of the learning opportunities that your students are participating in! I also want to use this blog to post examples of exemplary student work so that I can brag on our awesome Pioneers! However, I want this communication to be a two-way exchange ... I need your feedback and suggestions to help improve the learning experiences for your children (and future classes)!
Thank-you for all that you do to help make your children successful!
Keshia Seitz
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