Year End Activities

May 31, 2019 Will Gourley General, Year End Activities

Beat the clock

Tick tock teachers, can you beat the clock?

The month of May is on the books, and with fewer than 20 instructional days for us in the classroom remaining in June, every minute is valuable. So, I’ll try to be brief.

Where is your time being apportioned to this June?

Concerts, bbqs, play days, graduations, grad trips, field trips, track and field, mandatory government standardized testing, final projects and presentations, assessments, report cards, ordering consumables, class placement meetings, staff meetings, packing up to move rooms, packing up to leave schools for new postings or after an LTO ends or after receiving a surplus/redundancy notice or one last time before retirement, and of course, there are the year end celebrations of learning with students and staff each and all are stretching teachers to the limit.

A number of educators I’ve spoken too share the same surprise that they feel it is all wrapping up too fast. One thing’s for sure, I do not have time to waste or to pop in a movie to ride out the year.

Not to be overlooked either, but some students are already beginning to check-out. Don’t forget the world outside of school which has its fill life’s extra-curriculars such as family, personal health/wellness, and the tauntings of a misbehaving/misinformed government too. Let’s face it, it can be overwhelming at times especially when there is a set number of days to get all of our work done.

How are you managing?

I am struggling with all of the above, but am always reflecting on how it can be easier next time. My school has a naturally evolved a number of buddy groups who cluster together over coffee or lunch to support one another. I have found myself checking in on colleagues who tend to miss visiting the staff room. I have also been lunching with our caretakers lately. No matter where I have been breaking bread, I am able to listen to the stories of my peers, and to share when I feel frustrated or anxious too.

Sharing meal time within the different groups of our school team has been very insightful. I appreciate the relationships that are being formed as we do. I encourage everyone to do the same and step outside of their usual lunch groups to engage with someone different or new or who might only be visiting for a day as an OT.

So as you reflect on the past 9 months and prepare to finish strong, take time to encourage one another. Take time to reflect on all of the good you have done and give yourself permission to be proud of the hard work. Take a walk, grab a drink/meal with someone. Just avoid staying stuck in the same place if you can. There is so much we stand to gain from time with one another. It’s worth it. The more teachers I meet, and witness in action, the more I am proud of the work we are all doing on behalf of our students, families, and schools.

Tick, tock, less than 20 days left on the school clock.
Keep going, we’re in this together. We got this. #ETFOStrong

June 30, 2018 Arianna Lambert Celebrating Success, Year End Activities

End Of Year Reflections

EEEK!!! Where has the time gone? I meant to post this earlier in the month to get the conversation going and to perhaps find new or different ways of reflecting both for myself and students but began writing and switched to report cards, June Reviews or OSR sign-offs.

Every June or maybe even earlier, I start to reflect on the year. I think about the positives/gains that I made both personally and with students and I take time to think about what I could have done better. Inevitably the column of what I could have done better outweighs the column of what I accomplished and while that always offers me the opportunity to improve as an educator, the problem becomes that I can leave the year feeling as though I haven’t really made as many gains – which simply isn’t the case. I wonder when we get our students reflecting, if this too is the case for them.

As I mentioned, I started reflecting earlier and I don’t think that I realized the impact that I had on my students until the day that I told them that I was leaving. While I hated seeing some break down in tears, it wasn’t until that moment that I realized that I had reached some who I perceived as my toughest critics. Students for whom I often felt as though I wasn’t reaching started to open up about the ways in which our interactions and our work together this year changed their mindsets and how they wanted to learn in the future. Some expressed a sense of being heard and/or seen while others felt as though they found their passions through some of our activities using Design Thinking. And then I started to wonder how different the last few months may have been had we taken the time to start reflecting earlier and perhaps not taken each other so for granted.

While I reflect personally, I think it’s really important to have students reflecting as well. I know that there are many ideas that are out there for ways in which students can reflect, but I wonder in what ways can we work with students so that they are constantly reflecting and not simply because they are told but because they know that reflection can facilitate greater success. This year we answered questions about moments of pride in our year as well as moments where we learned something about ourselves or others. We also created a Google Slides deck of words to live by, which included quotes we found and/ or created on our own. Students were tasked with using the words but finding images that may help viewers to feel inspired by the message of the words. Many were very deep and in retrospect, I now see that it would have been useful to have done this earlier in the year. I would have printed them out and had them on the walls of our classroom to continue to inspire us through the learning process this year.

So my question is, how do we as reflective educators, truly take the time to recognize the gains made throughout the year and not just at times when journeys may be changing? Is it about smaller chunks of time on which we reflect? I know that I reflect daily but it’s sometimes a challenge to see the progress from day-to-day. How do we get our students doing the same thing? How do we get them to reflect or become eager to reflect on their own? Is it offering times of journalling or getting students to reflect like I saw a fellow Twitter Friend – Jay Dubois – do with his students – https://twitter.com/Jay__Dubois/status/1011345374009847810?

Screenshot 2018-06-30 at 4.35.54 PM

My role is changing next year but know that reflection is a huge part of my ongoing learning journey. Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated. How do you reflect?

June 30, 2017June 30, 2017 Laura Bottrell Celebrating Success, Year End Activities

Puzzling Together the Pieces

As the school year comes to an end, it’s important to keep our students engaged and active in meaningful activities. Aside from all of the celebrations and partying, we took some time at our school to get our students reflecting and connecting on their year as a whole.

My current school is a very small, close-knit community, which led me to think about a way to get the entire school collaborating on some kind of year-end reflection. My principal asked me to take the lead on an activity that would allow students to recall their learning, communicate it with others and possibly share these thoughts with younger students entering their grade next year.

So, I came up with the idea of having each student in the school design a puzzle piece that represented learning that was meaningful to them. I visited each classroom and facilitated a discussion about what the big ideas of their learning were and what experiences were part of their story. Students had some wonderful reflections to share and once the conversation got started the students began to recall and make connections about many different areas of learning from their year at school – both curriculum based and not. We worked together to make sure that within the class, all of the most important areas of learning or events were represented.

We talked about how each piece of the puzzle was important and connected with the other pieces. We also talked about how all of their puzzle pieces came together to paint a picture of their experience, both of the individual class and the school as a whole.

It was nice for me, as a teacher, to participate in this activity with my students. I got to reflect on all of the wonderful memories we made together during our year and it was very informative for me to hear what they felt important enough to include in our discussion, and on their puzzle pieces.

After visiting each class, I collected all the puzzle pieces and, with the help of some of my eager students, created a giant mosaic in our school’s entry way. This mosaic is going to remain there well into the next school year so students can look back at their learning!

This is only one of many ways to facilitate year-mapping with students. Next time I do this, I think I will challenge students to think about where their puzzle pieces fit into the puzzle as a whole, and get them to share why they place their piece in a certain spot. Overall, I really enjoyed leading this school-wide activity and it was a great way to celebrate the stories and success of our community!

June 28, 2017June 22, 2017 Will Gourley Celebrating Success, General, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, Occasional Teachers, Professional Learning and Growth, self reflection, Year End Activities

The (W)rap

The following is proof why I will never quit my day job for a career in entertainment.
Sung to the tune of Rapper’s Delight with apologies to the Sugar Hill Gang.

Rap

It’s June again and the heat is on,
School is buzzin’, students’ll soon be gone.

What’s that you say? No not yet.
You forgot to give one last test.

Too late my friends that’s all the learnin’
It’s time for the grades they’ve been earnin’.

10 months of fun fly by so fast.
Too bad, so sad these times don’t last.

But, that’s ok, not to fear,
We’ll all be back for another new year.

So say see you later, not goodbye
There’s no need to dry your eyes.

Take time to celebrate your endeavors,
Kick back, and relax. Take time to recover.

Boxes

Before you shut the door for the final time this June, take time to look back on all of the amazing things you were part of in your classroom this year? Maybe it was a break through in Math or Language. Perhaps it was a victory in classroom management? Don’t forget the “a-ha!” moments where it seemed like all of the light bulbs over your students’ heads went on at once. Make sure to pack your boxes of memories tightly. Holding on to each one, because it is the sum of these experiences that continue to inspire, shape, and fuel your practice.

Look at the lives you made better for students where you invested time to coach teams, organize a concert, or lead a club. Cherish the moments of learning outside of the curriculum. The minutes you have shared will add up to a life time of difference in the lives of learners. Think about the mentorship you provided a new teacher, or the warm welcome you gave to an OT. Take time to remember all of the good you’ve brought to education this year.

Congratulations to everyone for another amazing year of education at the speed of life. It is an honour to share the journey of education with you all. May your time away be truly be relaxing and restorative.

June 27, 2017 Will Gourley Constant Learning, Financial Literacy, General, Inquiry, Learning in a Real Life Context, Year End Activities

Mov(i)e Time

It’s the last school week of June. Things are still happening at the speed of learning, of course. Final assessments are in the books and reports are printed. Students are buzzing, bristling, and bursting with energy like they’ve been equipped with new solar panels from TESLA to absorb the energy of sunny days.

By this month’s end my school will have hosted an evening fun fair, a talent show, track and field day(s), a graduation, a TED Ed event, a play day, and a year end celebration. Despite June being the month with the longest days, it still feels there is not enough daylight to get everything done.

In addition to the above, we have curated, collated, crafted, and corrected our report card comments. Many of us are moving classrooms within the building or to new schools. Boxes are packed and rooms are returning to their neutral states, void of anchor charts, memes, inspirational quotes, and student work. The memes are gone too.

With so much happening around a school, it might be easy to let things slide with free time or busy work. Popping in a movie in order buy a little packing time is tempting, but it is also a great time to engage in some real world learning.

So in between assemblies, graduations, and ancillary events, instruction is alive and well. My grade 6s are working, consolidating, collaborating, digging, questioning, sharing, encouraging, playing(baseball for gym), and reflecting. As I type, they’re calculating the cost of living in Markham in Math. #EyeOpener

These lessons are meant to inform students in the area of financial, social, and life literacy as well as teaching them to be reasonable, realistic, and responsible consumers in our society. The lessons spark curiosity, comments, and conversations that lead to deeper understandings about a world of responsibility out there.

I’ve discovered that whenever students engage with activities like these, they are the ones that are remembered most. Most of the lessons will fade into the recesses of the mind, but the skills, the discoveries, and the “A-ha” moments never go away. As this final week hits its stride, my grade 6s are too. Now that is a scene that I can watch over and over again.

In my post Tick…tick…ticked off I rail against media making claims that teachers are holding film festivals during the last weeks of school.

The last weeks in a classroom cannot be taught on auto-pilot because there is still a lot to teach, discover, and share. So contrary to a public broadcaster’s opinion, the kids and teachers have not “checked out”.

Sorry I’m not sorry to burst this bogus bubble folks, but the kids will have to sit on their own couches over the Summer if they want to watch a movie.

Admittedly, I was prepared for another battle as June approached. However, this year, the same broadcaster brought forward a more appreciative stance towards educators, and in doing so took time to honour the hard work and dedication of our profession. Listeners heard stories of impactful educators as well as memorable students. Hearing these simple affirmations have made these last weeks, much more enjoyable. Once again, an encouraging word makes all the difference.

With 450 minutes or less of instructional time left to count down on this year’s clock, I know most teachers are looking forward to every minute. I hope that you do too.

May 31, 2017 Will Gourley Assessment, Celebrating Success, General, Modern Learning, Report Cards, Year End Activities

On track

A couple of years ago, I shared a post titled Not feeling it today. It was a response to the highs and lows experienced in my life as an educator. The post’s banner image captured a lighthearted take on our profession in a simple sentence. It read,

“Students: If you ever want to know what a teacher’s mind feels like, imagine a web browser with 2,789 tabs open all the time.”- via Buzzfeed

Laugh it off

Each day comes with its own set of open tabs that seem like a wave of ups and downs. On the upside, I witness students working hard, asking questions, and discovering their talents. On the downside, the lows come in the form of students struggling with anxiety, issues of adolescence rearing their heads, and even some perceived/learned hopelessness about the future. Each time I look at this meme, the irony of it’s humour helps lighten my mood when I need it most coping with everything that occupies the physical and mental space of my own practice. We all need to laugh. Laughter is an effective stress reliever.

It seemed like June was so far away. I started hitting my stride around March Break, and suddenly it’s the last week of May. Instead of coasting to the finish line, I find myself running the other way after looking at my Teacher’s To Do List.

How are you coping?

I’m struggling, straight up. The frequent visits to the coffee shop are getting expensive. As this month winds down, I’m nervous that the light at the end of the tunnel might be a train pulling boxcar after boxcar of assessment, reporting, and end of year activities. Yet, here I am speeding down the track towards it.

A similar sentiment gets shared when speaking with colleagues too. The hard part is not running out of steam.

Have you noticed that students are feeling it too? I’m finding this a great time to encourage collaborative work in remaining subject areas. Free time is allotted to Maker Space, Inquiry, and Genius Hour projects. We will also be creating a Year Map to add a visual note to their past 10 months in the classroom.

In all of this many of us will be compiling assessment data. Whether, it is on sticky notes, digital, or mark books, our students will be given a snapshot of their accomplishments.

Kind words

For me, solace is found in reflecting over student growth throughout the year. I see the final report card as a treasure hunt that gets a new map attached to continue the adventure next year. Each year, our learners show so much growth and potential. As we report en masse these next weeks, take time look back at all of the amazing things that were accomplished in your classroom. Celebrate the highs, lows, bizarre, unexpected, and growth in yourself and your students. I have been fortunate to witness incredible growth in the curriculum subjects by my students this year, but it pales in comparison to the growth they have made as citizens and community. I hope you can celebrate this with your students too.

July 1, 2016 Will Gourley Celebrating Success, General, Professional Learning and Growth, Year End Activities

All gone

Desks emptied, stacked and put aside. Check. Dormant superfluous paper recycled with extreme prejudice. Check. Walls filled with student work, learning goals, art, and inspirational messages now returned to vanilla coloured vacant voids in waiting. Check. Boxes packed and piled in preparation for transport to my new pending portable location (second in 4 years). Cool.

As you’ve observed from the picture on the left, Room 103 is on vacation along with my students. Until the middle of this week it has been a 10 month hive of activity home to 31 + 1 learners all buzzing at their own frequency. Our class was a hub of inquiry, personal growth, and constant learning. And now it’s all gone.

With 9 weeks of summer ahead, I wonder how much of what has been taught over this past year will come back with students when they return in September? Have you ever thought about why we the school year is paused in the modern learning era? Have you ever wondered what it might be like to embrace a balanced teaching year?

I am not advocating additional teaching days beyond the 190+/-, but am asking if we could consider alternatives to a schedule that seems more suited as a throwback to our hunter gatherer ancestors. This got me asking how the schedule we work around really came to be used? Other than the fact that our elementary schools are not equipped with any climate control in the classrooms I am not sure what else it might be from balancing the instructional year? A post from Learning Lab Why Does School Start in September? Hint: It’s not the crops provides some context to this issue.

Now before the hate mail about how important the summer break is for teachers and students, let’s consider the positives. Balanced school schedules allow for greater retention of instructional concepts. That means less knowledge hemorrhage from year to year. Imagine students having the same amount of instruction time, but spread out more evenly, but they retain more of what they’ve learned? Secondly, with a balanced year, there will be weeks off at different times for families to enjoy time together around already existing holidays. Think of the travel savings? Imagine if March Break was 2 weeks? We could all drive to Florida and back relaxed and ready for Spring.

Okay, I’ve shared the sunny side of this, but here’s the shady side. Balanced school years impede students’ ability to make money from summer jobs which may be crucial to helping them attend school, or helping their families. Balanced school years may not provide enough recovery/down time for students or educators to relax and recharge. This might lead to mental health issues such as stress and anxiety. Not good.

Weighing both sides of the conversation is healthy. There are schools already operating on a more balanced schedule with positive results. So where do stand with the classroom empty and the students/staff all gone. Where would you want education to go with this one? Holler when you get a chance. After some down time.
Happy summer. Thanks for reading, responding, and sharing. See you in September. Will

July 1, 2016 Will Gourley Celebrating Success, Challenging Topics, General, Inspiring Teachers, Making a Difference Through Education, self reflection, Year End Activities

Start strong. Finish stronger

I write this post as a tribute and thank you to all educators who breathe inspiration into the lives of their students and into one another from September’s strong start to June’s stronger finish.

This post is the completion of a promise after a response reminiscent of a rant written to address comments in the media about educators. In the spirit of warmth and fuzziness I’ll keep my word(s) positive.

You did it!
10 months in the books, out of the books, torn away from the books, and complete with several second looks. From field trip bookings and to figurative (text)book burnings the school year sparked a 5/6s of a year long fire of growth. And now, as the embers cool, the ash settles, and the warmth fades another year of memories will linger as ember in the mind to be stoked again soon.

Does anyone else feel the same way? I do and know that I’m not alone on this one.

This year, my seventh, which I am privileged to witness many intellectual and life fires lit, fanned, spread wildly, and occasionally control burned. A feat, I am sure, that was accomplished throughout millions of classrooms around the world thanks to incredibly caring educators like you.

Imagine that you were part of the transformation, edification, and education of a student. You helped someone, or several someones, be a part of something, achieve something or realize something they’d never known before? Could there be a more noble calling?

When students arrived in your classroom last September, they were rough around the edges, unsure of what was to come, carrying some of the baggage from the previous year, and full of energy (nervous and otherwise). And from that you set out rough around the edges, unsure of what was to come, carrying some of the baggage from the previous year, and full of energy (nervous and otherwise).

There were times, too many to mention (reports, parent meetings, phone calls, bombed lessons, planning lapses, sick days, and life in general) that required us to dig deep into our vaults to rise above, resolve, and retain our raison d’etre.

And now?

Rest, raise a toast to one another, as I do to you because you started strong and you finished stronger.

Cheers! Santé! Gom bui! Kampai! Prosit! Djam! Mabuhay!
Thank you for the inspiration.

Will

June 17, 2016 Tisha Nelson Constant Learning, General, self reflection, Year End Activities

Revise, Refine, Reimagine

Although sometimes I would rather have a balanced-calendar school year, where summers were shortened and more frequent breaks are embedded throughout the academic year, the two months off that a 10-month school year calendar is still a welcomed experience. The structured close of what often is an intense year of teaching and learning, affords us the opportunity to touch the reset button, as it were, and engage in some meaningful reflection about how to continue the journey forward.

For me, this is one of the most difficult times of the year where my focus is consistently being challenged. Engaging in year-end activities (i.e. report writing, school celebrations, etc. ) while at the same time anticipating the year to come (i.e. new teaching-assignments, classroom moves, etc.) pulls my attention is so many directions that I find it hard to stay present and in the moment. My mind is constantly racing ahead as I would honestly rather engage in the year-end clean-up of my classroom as the thrill of reorganizing my “stuff” seems all too inviting. (Sidenote: teacher hoard WAY too many things…sigh…)

Reflecting on the year that was, however, is the best way to prepare for the year ahead. Intentionally thinking about the things that went well and the challenges that were grappled with can prepare you for a more focused year. The following is a framework for reflection that some colleagues and I have explored as we sought to address areas where we can improve in the work we do:

Revise: What were the things that didn’t work out the way it was intended to this year? Why was that so? How might you revise the experience so that it achieves the purpose and function that you had originally envisioned?

Refine: What went well this year that, with a few additional tweaks, could go even better the next time around? How might you refine your practice in ways that allows you to work smarter and not necessarily harder? What might be some efficiencies that you could employ that will allow your efforts to be stretched far and wide?

Reimagine: What possibilities might there be for aspects of your practice that you find stuck in your comfort zone? How might you embrace the spirit of innovation to reimagine possibilities that were once never an option? With the prevalence of technology and resources that support integrative thinking, what aspects of your practice might be opened to your imagination for radical shifts?

After engaging in thoughtful reflection the year forward can look so bright. With the natural starts and stops, we are compelled to be progressive as teachers. Here’s to closing the school year with a boom and beginning the new one with a bang.

April 27, 2016April 28, 2016 Will Gourley Field Trips, General, Learning in a Real Life Context, Outdoor Learning, Year End Activities

Spring cleaning

Aaaaah, fresh air! It’s like the earth turned on an air purifier and sun lamp to awaken us from our annual hibernation. There is excitement all around and almost everyone at my school seems to have a bounce in their steps. This is probably because we are not getting weighed down by clunky boots, toques, scarves, mittens, snow pants, and parkas.

Spring has arrived, and the classroom has come alive again.

Is there anything like a fresh breath of air that comes with Spring? From our class window we watched a stubborn, dirt-laden snow pile melt into oblivion. We beat you this year Winter! And now we wait for the field to dry so we can, once again, run free over our own school savanna without fear of a mud bath.

Now that it’s official, it means there are a little more 9 weeks of school left for 2015-16. Thoughts of changing classrooms, grade assignments, or moving to a new school are popping up like the buds on a tree and returning Canada Geese. And then it hits – the sudden realization that reports cards are due in 7 weeks…or less.

This post is not intended to scare you, but to encourage you through what are some of the most incredible chances to teach, learn, and grow your classroom community. Have you taken advantage of planning some lessons that include the great outdoors?

One of my favourites is called Survivor – School Perimeter. In this lesson teams of students must complete Math challenges for a chance to win the choice of measurement tool they’ll use to find the perimeter of our building. Tools range from a broom handle, ruler, metre stick, rope, and Popsicle sticks. Students get to enjoy the time outside while sharpen their measurement and team skills in a large scale task. The activity culminates with students drawing scale diagrams of the school based on their measurements.

The great weather has also lead to community service projects. Last week our school celebrated Earth Week and spread out through our neighbourhood collecting trash from the lawns, sidewalks and side streets. Students were given gloves, a few trash bags and a half hour to tidy one block of our subdivision in Markham. This activity promoted civic pride, community outreach, and good environmental stewardship. Students could see the visible difference of their collective efforts and felt a sense of ownership and pride by their actions.

So with the weather warming, and the instructional days flying by faster than geese with jet packs heading north it’s time to get outside, take a deep breath, and enjoy some incredible outdoor learning opportunities. Thank you.

By Muffet - flickr.com, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16416451 — By Muffet – flickr.com, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16416451

Do you have a favourite outdoor activity or go to lesson now that the weather has improved? Please share it in the comments section below and help keep the conversation going. See you out there.