First E-slot of the Year!

Fridays are a very exciting time at Laurel Mountain. Besides the weekend being so near, we have Enrichment Slot or E-slot EVERY Friday. This is a time for ALL of our students to engage in enrichment activities in areas they are interested in. During our professional development last week, the staff created a list of what E-slot is. According the LME teachers E-slot is: 

• Based on student interests
• Purposeful
• Drawing, if that is what kids like
• Exploring
• Expanding interest
• Exposing
• Finding
• Creativity training
• Problem solving
• Depth
• Being with kids with the same interests
• Explore what you are truly interested in
• Type 1 activities AND time to explore further
• Could be a one time thing or could be semester long
• Community building
• Service learning
• Cross curricular
• Small group
• Flexible grouping

This morning, I walked around the school and looked in on classroom. Below are some pictures from my E-slot walk. As you can see, E-slot is one of the many things that set LME apart. 

Bar graph from survey results...E-slot is the brown bar

 "Will it float?" Experiments

 Seeds planted

 Lions being painted

 Food coloring, milk and detergent experiment

 Shaking for ice cream

 Origami

 Spaghetti, tape, string and marshmallow towers being constructed 

 Another class bar graph...enrichment is the brown bar.

 "How do we like to present?" bar graph. Our kids LOVE technology

 First grade goals

 Lincoln Log construction

 Gears

 Salt dough maps

 Selling goods for jewels

 Our classes fit together

 Marker experiment

 "Me" Museum

 LME Students are "Game Changers"

2013-2014 Goals

It is important to set goals.  Goals help us focus, keep on track over a long period of time and allow for continuous improvement.  

We often set personal goals for ourselves at the beginning of the new year.  As teachers, we ask our students to set goals for the new school year.  What do they already do well that they want to continue to do well? And what areas can they grow in?  

Well, Schoolwide Enrichment Model is no exception to goal setting.  Every year, we look at our accomplishments from the previous year and ask what are we doing well and where can we grow.  Below our the 2013-2014 SEM Goals.  I look forward to working with our staff, students and families to make these goals happen.  This is what set LME apart...

We will continue to grow in the following areas already in action at LME:

Primary Education Thinking Skills (PETS): Mrs. Levitan will continue to teach the Primary Education Thinking Skills (PETS) lessons in grades 1st, 2nd grade and 3rd grade. Ms. Ferriola will teach the PETS lessons to our kindergarten students. The lessons teach students about the different types of thinking (convergent, divergent, visual and evaluative) that people use to solve problems.

LEGO Educational Kits: Students will continue to have an opportunity during the school day to learn with the LEGO Educational Kits.

Independent Investigative Method (IIM): The Independent Investigative Method (IIM) of research will continue in all grade levels K-5. We will continue to focus on increasing the level of questioning in the students’ research questions by focusing on Bloom’s Taxonomy and Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity Model. We will increase the quality of authentic products made by the students to show what they have learned throughout their research.

Total Talent Portfolio (TTP): We will continue and improve on building and utilizing each child's Total Talent Portfolio (TTP). Our goal is to communicate contents with parents and students during conferences and throughout the year.

Enrichment Clusters: In grades K-5, students will continue to participate in Enrichment Clusters for 6-8 weeks. We offer a wide variety of topics based on student’s interests. We work towards more student driven clusters guaranteeing that each enrichment cluster round is different, since the students participating are different. Furthermore, we will work on developing more student driven authentic products and services by focusing on what would the enrichment cluster look like in the “real world”.

Enrichment Cluster Tours: Enrichment Cluster Tours are for parents and interested community members. These tours allow our parents and guests to witness enrichment clusters in action.

Parent and/or Community Experts: We utilize parent and/or community experts to assist with enrichment, enrichment clusters and/or Enrichment slots (E-slots) taking place in the classroom.

Communication: We communicate with parents and community through the LME website, E-news, SEM blog, emails and Parent University classes.

Collaboration and Resource: Mrs. Levitan collaborates with teachers in a variety of areas, such as IIM, service learning, enrichment clusters, enrichment slot activities, Philanthropy Mentoring Program, differentiation, PETS lessons and more. This helps LME to reach all of our diverse learners.

New goals for this school year: 

Differentiation in the Classroom: This past August, we had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Marcia Gentry and one of her doctoral students, C. Matthew Fugate, to Laurel Mountain to deliver a full day of professional development to the staff. Dr. Gentry is the director of the Gifted Education Resource Institute and Professor of Educational Studies at Purdue University. Her research has focused on the use of cluster grouping and differentiation; student perceptions of school; and on non-traditional services and underserved populations. She developed and studied the Total School Cluster Grouping Model and is engaged in continued research on its effects concerning student achievement and identification and on teacher practices. The goal this year is to use what we learned from Dr. Gentry to help teachers facilitate differentiation within the classroom. This is another example of what sets LME apart, since we are working towards meeting the diverse needs of our students. 

New Enrichment Team (E-Team): In the past, the enrichment team has included our Enrichment Coordinator, a representative from each grade level, special education, TAG and specials. We have decided to try something new. This year, the new E-Team will be comprised of our support staff, including our TAG teachers, interventionists, counselor, librarian, IT specialist, principal, assistant principal and enrichment coordinator. The purpose of this team is to provide resources and support to classroom teachers to help facilitate differentiation for all students in the classroom. Members of this team will work one-on-one with students who need extra support and guidance in the classroom.

New format for Enrichment Cluster Showcases: In the past, the showcases for the enrichment clusters have been a “walk, look and see” format. This year, the students will be the docents for the displays from their enrichment clusters. They will be able to share “live” what they accomplished and learned during their enrichment cluster. This will provide a more authentic experience for the parents and guests. But most importantly, it will provide an authentic experience for the students.

We're Back!

Or at least the teachers are!  Welcome to the 2013-2014 school year.  It is hard to believe that summer is over. However, I am excited about the new school year and all of the exciting things that will be taking place at Laurel Mountain.

This week, the teachers are participating in several professional development meetings, along with meeting with their teams and getting their classrooms ready for students.

I am super excited because on Wednesday Laurel Mountain has the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Marcia Gentry to present to the staff.  She will be talking about Total School Cluster Grouping and differentiation. In fact, Dr. Gentry wrote the book on this...literally...check it out:  http://www.amazon.com/Total-School-Cluster-Grouping-Differentiation/dp/1931280096

And you may notice that the "SEM AT LME" blog has a new look for the new school year.  The new look, along with our new tag line "SEM...It's What Sets LME Apart, reinforces what we believe at Laurel Mountain.  We believe that the best way to educate our children is from a strength based model.  The best way to prepare our kids for the future is to utilize a way of teaching that looks at the individual strengths, talents and interests of every child.  SEM is who we are at LME.  SEM is what we do.  And this is what makes Laurel Mountain different, this is what sets us apart.