New Books on Display

We have some new titles on the display shelves at the moment.  A community member generously donated a collection of books by Anthony Horowitz - namely the Alex Rider series and the Power of Five series.  

These fit into the genres of Adventure and Horror respectively, so should suit a number of the students.
 
We are missing an odd one here and there from the series - but that's OK.  
If people want to read them, I can get them!  We can do Inter-library-loans here - and there is always the Public Library, who have a great collection of titles ready and waiting to be borrowed.  

So come in and check them out!  If these are not your 'thing' let me know what is - and I will do my best to try and provide it for you.  

Learning Tools

Check out the link below - it takes you to a number of weblinks about free technology/learning tools that can be used in your class.  It covers all classes from Primary and up and there are 101 of them - so hopefully there is something there that may catch their attention - or yours!

http://www.docurated.com/101-free-free-try-online-collaborative-learning-tools

Being Friday,  all I will say further is - have a great weekend - and see you all on Monday.

Word Power!

Today's post is something a little different - a discussion has been happening in here about the way the English language changes and develops and how different words appear, or come to mean different things.  
I can recall my consternation a few years ago, when I gave my grandson a gift and got a big hug and the comment "Thanks grandma - that's totally sick!!"  Turned out he WAS happy about it - obviously I hadn't been keeping up with the current teen dialect!!  And I am pretty sure it has changed again already!

Anyway, I have a list of words that are still used in the English language, although some maybe not all that often plus a few newer ones.  

My challenge is - how many do you know the meaning of?  And no, do NOT reach for the keyboard to Google it!!  

I would hazard a guess it will depend on your age as to how many you have heard of or know the answer to.  Or even WHICH ones you know the answer to.  Let's see how you go! 
Futz -
Tmesis -
Petrichor -
Illywhacker -
Piscatorial -
Discombobulate -
Frankenfood - 
Verjuice -
Infowhelm -
Vidiot -
Gazillionised - 
Vexillogy -
Triskaidekaphobia - 

Have fun - maybe run it past the kids!  Their faces should be  interesting! Let me know if you would like me to post the answers next time.

World Read Aloud Day 2016

If anyone is interested - February 24th is World Read Aloud Day.  This is a day to celebrate the power of words - and is about taking action to show the world that the right to be able to read and to write belongs to all people, whoever and wherever they may be.

World Read Aloud Day asks everyone to take part by grabbing a book, grabbing an audience, even if it is only one other person and reading aloud.  You have the right - use it!

Some other ideas to try could include:
*   Make bookmarks to hand out with information about the day
*   Ask someone from outside the school to come and read aloud to the class
*   Make posters about the day and put them up around the school 
*   Have a classroom discussion about the fact that worldwide at least 793 million people remain illiterate and why this is so bad.
*   Maybe each student could read aloud a paragraph from their silent reading books 

Make it a day to celebrate the power of words!

2016 - Welcome back!

Welcome back to everyone - and an extra big welcome to our new staff - looking forward to getting to know you all ... and don't listen to anything that the other staff tell you about me!  It is all exaggeration and untruths, I swear!! 
Hope you all had a wonderful break - lots of relaxing, and lots of reading happening.  

For the new staff - and a reminder for some of our previous staff - below is a list of some of what we can help you with. I put this list up each year, so if you go back through the posts, it is all there. 
Anything else? If there is something that you think we can help with, just come and have a chat. We are reasonably good at pulling rabbits out of hats and challenges are always interesting.

• Looking for a particular book or resource? Come and talk to us. We can organise an Inter-library-Loan or help you find where to purchase it.
• Resources: Books, DVDs, Magazines and Newspapers, iPad sets, Digital Cameras, Video Recorders, Computer Mice sets, Data Projectors, Teacher Reference, Board games, Chess sets, Kits........
• IWB area and a bank of computers, as well as laptops that are available to be booked for classes.  The Library laptop trolley is only to be used in the Library area, however.
• Help with research, proofreading of assignments, suggestions for books to read - we are your people.
• A place to display your amazing class work.
• Collation of websites for subjects/classes
• Booking sheets for: Library areas, F Block Laptops, Headphones, Ipads.

Students have a 2 week borrowing period while staff have a month. For most of the resources, we can adjust the loaning period for whatever is needed - at least till the end of term. However, this doesn't include the AV materials - that is a 1 week loan period only.

I am always looking for ideas or ways to use this blog with teachers and students - so if you have any suggestions, please see me.

End of 2015

Okay folks - end of 2015 and now a six week break!

 It has been a busy year all round with lots happening and I think everyone is looking forward to the break coming up.

Thanks for all the fun, laughter and support throughout the year.  It has been awesome.

Farewell to the staff leaving us and wishing you all the best wherever you go.  

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all. 

Computer Coding and the Hour of Code

December 7th to 13th sees the 2015 Hour of Code run once again.  Every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path. See more stats on code.org. 

This app is being offered free as an official app for the Hour of Code - see below. 
"Box Island: One Hour Coding - The #1 mobile tutorial for an Hour of Code™.  Officially featured by Code.org at https://code.org/learn.

Box Island purports to teach kids from 6+ about coding via a game and it’s currently free on the App Store https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/box-island-one-hour-coding/id1048373739

Take a trip on Box Island and help Hiro collect all the clocks scattered in the wilderness! In this fun mobile tutorial, students take part in a journey on Box Island that has been specifically designed for the Hour of Code™ campaign. Students are introduced to many of the basic fundamentals of coding through engaging puzzles in the tropical wilderness of Box Island.

Students are introduced to fundamentals such as:

* algorithmic thinking

* sequencing

* pattern recognition

* loops

* conditionals

* debugging

The tutorial is student-led and suitable for age six and up. The Hour of Code™ is a nationwide initiative by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org [code.org] to introduce millions of students to one hour of computer science and computer programming.

It could be handy for getting kids more involved in computers and computer science.

Digital FootPrints

Have you ever vaguely thought how 'convenient' it is that the ads that show up on the sidebar of your computer seem to be the sort of stuff that you are interested in?  Ever noticed that you don't ever really see anything other than your interests?  No?  Never thought about it?  Well, maybe you should.

The weblink below  takes you to a documentary about the web economy and privacy - or the lack of, mainly.  It is apparently personalised so everyone watching will have a slightly different experience depending on the computer they are on - and it hopes to make people think about privacy on the web, both theirs and others. Everything is driven by the almighty dollar, and how to separate us from our dollars.

Most of us have no real idea how we can be tracked by our mobile phone or how an advertising network operates, nor do we even really know how much information is being collected about us through our activities on the web. 

Check out the link below and see what you think.  
https://donottrack-doc.com/en/intro/

 And further to that, if anyone is interested, there is a book called 'The Filter Bubble' by Eli Pariser - which talks about how and when Google began customising results for it's users instead of giving a broadly popular result.  This quote from the author probably explains it clearer than I can.

"We’re used to thinking of the Internet like an enormous library, with services like Google providing a universal map. But that’s no longer really the case. Sites from Google and Facebook to Yahoo News and the New York Times are now increasingly personalized – based on your web history, they filter information to show you the stuff they think you want to see. That can be very different from what everyone else sees – or from what we need to see.
Your filter bubble is this unique, personal universe of information created just for you by this array of personalizing filters. It’s invisible and it’s becoming more and more difficult to escape."

Hmmm,  anyone else see the computers and the Internet taking over the world??  Or is that just me?? 
(Cue Twilight Zone music here) 

Games Day in the Library

On Friday we ran with the theme of International Games Day in the Library, which is an activity promoted by ALIA. (Australian Library and Information Association)   Various board games were set out, especially the ever popular Connect 4, along with Pick Up Sticks and Chess.
  
There were also a variety of Minute to Win It Challenges happening during recess and lunch as well, which were very popular with the students.... or maybe it was the M&Ms contest and eating them that was the highlight?

 Kalheel currently holds most of the top scores, successfully defending his title against all comers.  He came back when the lunch bell rang to go back to class, concerned in case he had been toppled off his perch, and was very happy to be assured that he was still top dog.


A couple of the boys challenged Mr Marday to a game of chess - so he took them both on at the  same time.  Very impressive!
 
On asking the students for feedback, it seems they all had fun, and would like to see more of that type of thing happening in the Library -so something to plan for - although maybe not everyday as was requested.  And nobody appeared all that upset that the computers were off-limits for the day, so bonus!  

A very enjoyable day for all involved it seems.  My thanks to the teachers who came in and helped supervise, and challenged the kids to some of the activities.

R.E.D. Book Awards

The RED Book Award is an initiative by Falkirk Council in Scotland to promote reading by raising awareness of new titles and encouraging teenagers to read, enjoy and debate (R.E.D) good books. This year is a celebration of 10 years, and ten secondary classes from different countries across the world were selected to participate with Falkirk schools. Students in Mrs Spina’s year 8/9 English class, in Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, were the lucky Australians chosen. 

Students enjoying the books

This week we received our lot of books. There are four different titles ‘Beneath’, ‘Inflicted’, ‘Salvaged’ and ‘Mind Blind’ all specifically chosen for 13 – 15 year olds. Students have already begun reading their first book in silent reading, and we have already had several requests to take the books home to continue reading!

Enjoyment and choice is at the heart of pupils’ experiences as well as the opportunity to develop listening and talking, reading and writing skills. 

Students with Dion

As participants, we have been teamed up with a sister school in Denny and we will be communicating and sharing our thoughts and views on the books. Some of our responsibilities as participants is to provide some fabric that represents us/Australia that will be added to a patchwork quilt that represents the selected schools and countries. Fortunately, after discussions with Mrs Boulter, she was able to organise our local artist Dion Beasley to provide a fabric piece featuring Dion’s Cheeky Dogs. Further to this, Dion very generously donated a copy of the book he illustrated ‘Too Many Cheeky Dogs’ for us to send to Scotland. Our librarian, Mrs Walsh is making a special bookplate and has also donated some other beautiful Australiana fabric featuring platypuses, kangaroos, koalas and Aboriginal artwork. Students in photography classes have also begun planning the visual images they wish to create and send, while others are planning a sleep over in order to Skype our new Scottish friends. 

If any blog readers have further suggestions or items to donate, please contact our wonderful librarian Shelagh Walsh, who first introduced us to the RED Book Awards.

It is a wonderful opportunity to read some fantastic short-listed books, as well as talk to students on the other side of the world. 

Massive thanks to Yvonne Manning and the Falkirk Council for including us in this exciting experience. 

Stay Tuned for book reviews and More!
(Guest Blogger this week is Mrs Spina)

Special Days

Just so you know, today is the International Day of Peace and also World Gratitude Day. What are you all grateful for today?
 
Thursday 24th September is Punctuation Day - probably a good one for English teachers and Friday 25th September is World Dream Day - a good day to start working on making your dreams a reality, whatever they are, even if it is just by figuring out where you need to start.  Doesn't this sound like PLP and Dream boards?

And just a couple more ready for next term - Wednesday 14th October is World Maths Day and Saturday 24th October is Make a Difference Day - which is a day designated for service - whether you start or join in with a big project, or just help out wherever you can in your community.

These days may be something that you can use in your planning - or just something to know about.

Either way - carry on with being amazing - and remember - it is week 10!!  A weeks break coming up - now there's something to be grateful for.
 

Deadlines and Mad Hatters.

Well, end of week 9 - just one more week to go to the term break - and although a week doesn't seem long enough, I think most people are going to enjoy a little downtime.  Term 3 always seems the busiest somehow. 

Senior classes are battling the last assignments with deadlines looming everywhere  and teachers are pouring in just as much effort, if not more, to help them get through, and everyone is getting just a little frazzled and frayed around the edges.   

Maybe we should start off term 4 with a Mad Hatters Day?  This is actually a recognised day to celebrate, believe it or not - which was started by a bunch of computer technicians who had nothing better to do.  The benefits of this day of silliness were immediately seen - not only because they caused less damage than if they had been doing their jobs, but also because of the side effects of less stress and tension if only for a day.  Sometimes being a little silly just helps to smooth out the ripples.  Mad Hatters Day is usually celebrated on October 6th, which is about when we return to school.  

Silly hats, riddles and cupcakes could be the order of the day, maybe with a prize for the weirdest hat or best unanswered riddle?  Or maybe some Minute to Win It games and competitions? It could be good for all our sanity, as I have been noticing a lot of ruffled feathers everywhere.  (Even mine have been fluffed up every now and then, and we all know what a sweet person I am!!)

Anyway, just my two cents thought for the  day and more 'Special' days to come next post.

Have a great weekend - and just think, last week of term starts on Monday - we can do this!

And again, QR Codes

Just thought I would share with you all the web site I use to produce the QR Codes I use here at school.  It is almost totally idiot-proof - and that is coming from me who nearly always manages to run foul of technology.

http://www.qrstuff.com/

Log on, have a play and see what you can create.