Who's Bad?

From the desk Alice… I cannot remember how I came across the link but in an era of visual clutter on social media, this one stuck with me. I made a mental note to watch it and even tried to find it on cable so I could DVR the next episode.  After a little more…

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Compassionate Classrooms

  “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.  Without them humanity cannot survive.”                                                                                    …

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Give Them a Purpose

My youngest child has developed a love for horses.  This love has grown exponentially over the last few years and honestly, as a busy mom, I have provided the minimum amount of support for this hobby.  Despite this, I am becoming a barn mom.  Because she is young and inexperienced, I have stayed at the…

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You Are One Person

From the desk of Alice… There is research that suggests students only need to be connected to one person in the school in order to be successful in high school. One person. That one person could be the secretary, the teacher, the housekeeper or an administrator. After spending time in a high school recently, I…

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Belonging – When I Becomes We

   “When ‘I’ is replaced by ‘We’ – even illness becomes wellness.” – Malcolm X My heart soared while watching the news the other day – and that rarely happens.  In a sea of negativity, Mr. Barry White Jr. was a shining example of what is right with education.  This remarkable fifth grade English teacher…

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Passion for Perseverance

  “If you can’t fly, then run.  If you can’t run, then walk.  If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”  – Dr. Martin Luther King I am a big ACC basketball fan and my all time favorite player is Michael Jordan.  That man had a vertical…

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Love the Uniqueness

  This month our ERG theme is love!  Webster defines it as an intense feeling of deep affection.  As I sit and ponder over what it is that I love about teaching, my first thought is its uniqueness.  Each day I have the gift of a fresh start and the privilege of working with very…

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The Arts – A Great "How"

“If our goal is for children to become knowledgeable, critical thinkers who are good at solving problems, we need to pay attention to the ‘how’ of teaching.”  –  Linda Crawford I want my students to thrive!  I want them to soak up their learning experiences, remember, recall, and apply their knowledge at school – and…

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In the Woods

From the desk of Alice… When I was a child, I played outside any chance I could.  These were the days before home computers and 500 TV channels, so playing outside was actually more fun than being inside on most days.  There were some woods behind our house that my sister and friends and I…

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Relationships Count

“It is the teachers who have created positive teacher-student relationships that are more likely to have the above average effects on student achievement.”  – Dr. John Hattie After years of extensive research on student learning, Dr. John Hattie found that the relationships teachers share with their students have a greater effect on their academic growth…

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