School

Wide Events

Dr. Seuss Day Set Up: February 17, 2016
Dr. Seuss Day: March 2, 2016

Dr. Seuss week is something that Trace Crossings puts on every year to highlight the
work of Dr. Seuss. It is our job to help decorate the hallways. This year the reading
team decided to decorate different hallways like a different popular book that Dr.
Seuss wrote. They chose to do The Cat and the Hat, Horton Hears a Who, The Lorax,
etc. We were all required to sign up and work for a two hour shift to come to Trace
and work on the decorations. Our group for the day worked on creating the hat in
the picture beneath. It was as tall as the wall and took more time to make than you
would think. We worked well together and ended up having time at the end to make
Thing 1 and Thing 2 (Not Pictured). It was a productive day and the team leaders
really did a great job of communicating to us what they needed done. I will look
forward to seeing it all come together and displayed for the kids to see during the
week. Dr. Seuss day was a hit for all of the students. Each class dressed up as a
different character and went to the school-wide assembly. My first grade class
dressed up as The Cat in the Hat and they said that they loved the assembly. I think
that focusing on an author and his or her work in this way is a great to motivate
students to learn and I could tell that this Dr. Seuss week did this!

Space Day: March 14, 2016

Space day was such a fun morning! I feel like this day really brought our block
together and showed how hard and well we work together. It was very encouraging
to see. The leadership team did an amazing job delegating and communicating to us
throughout the whole process of preparing for the kids. The group that I was in was
assigned to the Constellation room and it didnt take long for us to work together
and figure out how we wanted to do our mini lesson. Writing the mini-lesson,
communicating to the sophomores for decorations, and buying the materials was all
that we really had to do to prepare for our awesome Constellation Station. The
morning of Space Day we went over some things, but we felt really prepared and
confident and were excited to get started. Our activity was a hit with the students.
We build constellations out of marshmallows and toothpicks and the students loved
it. I think that it showed how hands-on learning for students is the best way to
engage them. They were having fun while learning and communicating with their
peers. This would be a great activity to do during the closure section of a lesson or
even a practice. The students could pick a constellation, build it, and then label its
characteristics. We felt like this was a great way to help them understand how
constellations are formed and loved how it turned out. It was a great day and fun to
see it all come together for the 4th grade students. I hope that they felt loved and that
they learned some awesome space things during their time here at Samford as well.

(Space Day Mini Lesson)

Names: Rebecca Hastings, Julia Sansom, Katie Toler, Mary Grace Sanford, CaDric
Moulton, Lindsey Harding
Station: Constellations
Date: March 14, 2016

Standard:
4th Grade
10.) Describe components of our solar system.

Defining comets, asteroids, and meteors

Materials List:
PowerPoint Presentation
KWL chart (on the PP)
Sticky notes
Toothpicks
Marshmallows
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZffhapfOgg

Invitation or Introduction:
The Samford teachers will greet the students as they come into the class. There will
be Star Wars music playing in the background to make it welcoming and to get them
excited to learn about the constellations! They will introduce themselves to the
students and will explain what they will be learning about. The teacher will then pull
up a PP presentation with a KWL chart. They will ask the students to write down
one thing on a sticky note about what they know about constellations. They will turn
and talk about what they want to know.

Teaching:
The teacher will play the video SuperStars for the class to teach them what a
constellation is, its purpose, its history, and the different types. As the video plays,
they will be encouraged to think about the KWL chart that was just discussed. When
it is over the class with discuss what they learned by filling out the L portion of the
KWL chart.

Activity:
The students will make a constellation out of toothpicks and marshmallows. There
will be sample pictures of two constellations for them to look at as examples. They
will have the opportunity to choose which one they would like to create on their
own.

Hoover Board Meeting: April 18, 2016

I had never been to a city district board meeting before, so this was very exciting
and interesting for me to go to. One thing that I did not realize was how long they
were. I stayed for an 1.5 hours and they had only gotten through the first few things
on the agenda. From what I did see in the meeting, I learned a lot and gained respect
for what these people and this school district does. First, the board recognized
different students and groups for their achievements. Teachers and students both
came up and spoke or gave awards for different accomplishments. One thing that
really struck me about this was the emphasis that they put on family and
community. I thought that it was so cool that parents showed up to support their
kids in this and that the city would recognize students for their hard work. Seeing
the smiles on those kids faces when their name was announced for receiving first
place at a conference or for their work was priceless. It seems so simple to
onlookers, but those kids will remember the day that they got to stand in front of the
Hoover Board and show off their accomplishments and be praised for it. I really
loved seeing that aspect of the meeting. It was long, but it just showed how the city
values honoring their students. After the much recognition, a woman came up to
speak about the evaluation of the superintendent. She went into great detail about
the different scores and areas that the superintendent excelled at. Some of those
areas included collaboration, decision-making skills, etc. A score of 3 is satisfactory
and she scored about a 4 on every area. Her lowest area was a 4 and that was on
long and short range planning. One of the things that the woman pointed out was
that the superintendent and the board are in constant communication with each
other. I thought that was interesting and should be something that we all do within
our school systems. Communication is key as well as evaluations of our work. If
schools are doing both of these then there is accountability and growth. After the
woman gave the evaluation, the superintendent was able to speak on what her
future plans were. Some of the things she mentioned were providing more materials
to schools, supporting and encouraging personnel, unity status with the new
rezoning plan, and working with funds/ budgeting. I loved hearing her vision and
passions after hearing how well she has already done. After being at Trace Crossings
under the Hoover City board, I see now where a lot of their structure, ideas, and
benefits come from. I really enjoyed being more behind the scenes and seeing a
different side of what goes on behind the school. In the small bit of this board
meeting that I was able to hear, one of the things that stood out to me was their goal
of creating student learners and thinkers. Whether it was talking about music
education or rezoning, I could tell that students success was at the forefront of their
mission.

Young Authors Conference: April 21, 2016

To prepare for the Young Authors Conference I read the book Esperanza Rising. I
had never read it before and loved the themes and messages that it sent to the
reader. I ended up serving as a group guide, so I did not get to lead that station, but I
loved participating in all of them. One of the stations for this book created roses with
the students that signified the hope that Esperanza brought with her from Mexico.
The station leaders asked the students to visualize their life and what they were
thankful for and the hope that they would hold onto if they lost everything they
knew. It was awesome to see the students thinking and I could tell that they were
connecting to the story. As a group guide I got to see 4 different book stations and
then I participated in anothers diversity questions discussion. Although it would
have been fun to lead a station, I really enjoyed hearing about all of the books
because I have not been able to read all of them. Being at each station I really saw
the connection of diversity and how each book focused in on all different types of
people and areas of life. I have learned so much this year about diversity and the
different needs of students. This urban placement really opened up my eyes to see
the different lifestyles and backgrounds that people and students come from. In all
the books that were highlighted at the conference, each main character had a story
and had something that gave them purpose/ hope. It made me think of the students
that I have engaged with this year. Each come from different situations and
backgrounds and yet something drives all them in what they do, whether good or
bad. I had the opportunity to talk to one of the Miles College students in one of the
stations. It was the highlight of the whole morning for me. I told him about my urban
placement and how their behavior and home lives were not good. He said that is
where he came from, but it all changed for him in 5th grade. He was held back and
always caused trouble. One day they were writing poems and he wrote one like any
other day, but the teacher did something different. She told him that it was really
great and she hung it on the door for everyone to see. His mom was called in for a
parent teacher meeting and he said that when that happened he always got spanked
after because the news was never good. He sat in on the conference and the teacher
talked highly about his work and his talent the whole time. He said his mind
spinning and that his life was changed from then on. That meeting and seeing that
poem on the door everyday gave him hope to hold onto. He said that every time he
was about to make a bad decision he saw that poem hanging on the door and knew
he was better than what he was about to do. He is now a motivational speaker and
Christian rapper for kids. He has substituted for years but is getting his teaching
degree now so that he can make an impact on those kids. Words can be powerful
whether they are written or spoken. Whether it is the books and stories I share with
my students like the ones we highlighted today or if it is the words that I say and the
actions that I take to praise student work, I want to give them a purpose and a hope
to hold onto no matter where they come from. I hope that this conference gave
these students some take aways and that they are driven to be better readers and
writers from this time.