Trivial Pursuit

This article, written by Jamie McKenzie, examines the differences between trivial questions which hold little meaning for students and those questions requiring critical thinking skills.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Here is a great site listing verbs, sample questions, and potential activities for each hierarchy of Bloom's Taxonomy.

The Friday Memo

Happy Friday!

I hope your Friday has been a good one!

Before I proceed with our announcements, I want to thank you for the professionalism that each of you has displayed in the aftermath of Wednesday's chapel. I know that you were put in the position of answering some awkward questions without any warning, and you handled the situation beautifully. I'm so glad to be a part of your team!

1. Homecoming festivities begin next week, so things will definitely be different around here. Don't hesitate to guide me through the process as this will be my first Trinity Homecoming experience. Please encourage our kids to enjoy the planned events while keeping in mind our expectations.

2. Please remember that parent contact and good communication are essential to the success of a school. Studies show us that the single most important factor in school success is parental involvement. Let's do our part to be proactive with respect to partnering with our parents in the education of their children.

3. Now that we have the school year up and rolling, I will be visiting your classrooms more often. These early visits, or "walk-throughs," are for me to get a feel for what is going on in our middle school and will, for the most part, be unannounced. I will let you know when evaluation visits are coming, and you and I will have the opportunity to speak before and after such visits.

Thanks again for your hard work, dedication, and professionalism. Thanks most of all for putting the kids first!

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Friday Memo

Happy Friday!

Due to our lengthy faculty meeting Monday, I don't really have any points other than this:

1. Have a great weekend.

2. You are a much loved and appreciated Faculty!!

See you Monday!

PS - If my tired brain thinks of anything else, I'll add it this weekend, so you might want to check back here Monday morning!

"Jeopardy!" Games and Other Fun Stuff

Check out these fun SmartBoard and PowerPoint sites for educators. Hopefully you can use some of these resources in your classrooms.

Great SmartBoard Site for Science Teachers

If you teach science, you may want to take a look at this SmartBoard site dealing with the phases of the moon.

Have a good Wednesday!

Remember What I Said About Brain Research?

In yesterday's faculty meeting, we talked some about brain research and how we can utilize it with respect to teaching and assessment. The Dallas Morning News has published this article, well worth the time taken to read it, that discusses some exciting developments in this area.

Have a good day!

RSS Feeds

Good Afternoon!

It has been brought to my attention that some of you are having trouble getting this blog in your email inbox via RSS. I posed this problem to Dr. Frank Buck, a fellow administrator and friend. His response appears below. I hope it helps!

For parents who use Outlook, the program I use is called intraVnews. It’s free and can be found here: http://www.intravnews.com/ The RSS feeds go directly to e-mail. To me that’s the easiest thing since people are going to check their e-mail anyway and they are automatically going to get the RSS stuff without even having to think about going anywhere else.

As far as something web based, Bloglines is good. (http://www.bloglines.com) You set up a free account, add your feeds, and each time you visit, you click on the feed and you will see everything that has been posted since last time you checked. Hope this helps.

Have a great day!

The Friday Memo

Hello, Teachers --

Here is an abbreviated Friday Memo. I'll update with more info over the weekend:

1. Please make sure that you are posting test to the calendars and that you are posting grades to Edline every other Monday.

2. Although we have chaperones for tonight's "Blue Jean Bash," you are welcome to attend, even if for just a few minutes. The kids will get a kick out of seeing you there!

3. We will have our first faculty meeting Monday afternoon immediately following carpool. Location TBA.

4. Thank you for the professionalism you are displaying with respect to parental communication. You are a valued and appreciated faculty!

Please keep Sandi Faulkner in your prayers. She capped off a really tough week with a kidney stone and has spent the day today in the hospital.

Have a great weekend!

Great SmartBoard Article

Check out this blog post outlining ten effective ways to use your interactive whiteboard.

Have a great Thursday!

The Friday Memo

Happy Friday!

We have just a few announcements this week:

1. Please make sure that you are posting tests to the calendars in the teacher workroom. I will post these to the parent blog each Friday.

2. If you have not already done so, please submit your goals to me as soon as possible.

3. Please remember that teachers are required to have grades posted the second and fourth Monday of each month. The first required posting is Monday, September 8.

4. Please remember that I will be happy to sit in on any scheduled parent conferences. Parents are being encouraged to schedule these conferences through the Guidance Center rather than approach you in your classroom after school.

Next Week at a Glance:

Monday -

5:00pm - MS Football vs. MA (Home)

Tuesday -

4:30pm - MS Volleyball @ Catholic

Wednesday -

Chapel - Activity Schedule

Thursday -

4:30pm - MS Volleyball vs. MA (Home)

Friday -

7:00pm - Varsity Football vs. Lafayette (Home)

9:00pm - 3rd Half Activity for Middle School (Sponsored by the YMCA)

Heads Up! Week of September 15:

Monday, 9/15

5:00pm - MS Football vs. Catholic (Home)

Tuesday, 9/16

Noon Dismissal (Upper School College Day)

4:30pm - MS Volleyball vs. St. James (Home)

Thursday, 9/18

4:30pm - MS Volleyball @ Prattville

Friday, 9/19

7:00pm - Varsity Football @ Dadeville

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

Have a Great weekend!

Congratulations Miss Head!

Most of you probably know by now that Miss Head had a pretty exciting afternoon today! Scott Dudley, dressed as our Wildcat, proposed to Miss Head during her 7th period class. What a way to end the day!

I have more pictures posted here.