Sunday, May 30, 2010
Today's a welcome chance to catch up, and gas up, for the final stretch...
Memorial Day weekend at last, can't believe I made it this far. The year has been a challenge, certainly. A chicken is simmering on the stove for a comforting and sustaining soup later. It feels like fall here in Seattle, mid-50's and rainy. Got some paperwork taken care of, much more to do of course, but the next three weeks feel more do-able at the moment.
I'm working on a first - an agreement/contract allowing my third graders to check out one of our seven XO laptops at home for a day or two. The demands of the year have relegated them all too often to a locked file drawer, many days never even getting them out. I hope to at least put them in the hands of more people by the end of the year, just for the experience. Back to the soup, smelling real nice right now...
I'm working on a first - an agreement/contract allowing my third graders to check out one of our seven XO laptops at home for a day or two. The demands of the year have relegated them all too often to a locked file drawer, many days never even getting them out. I hope to at least put them in the hands of more people by the end of the year, just for the experience. Back to the soup, smelling real nice right now...
Friday, May 28, 2010
Antidote for a tough year- watching August Rush
Beautiful movie with heart, soul, and hope. Tried watching Avatar, I don't think so...
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Young Authors Day celebration underway at Arbor Heights Elementary in Seattle: http://bit.ly/2z4LHt
Kids sharing books they wrote, listening to each other, signing each other's beautiful shirts, it's always a special day. http://bit.ly/2z4LHt Here's last year's, with links at the bottom to many years past... http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/ya.html
Monday, May 24, 2010
Outa ink and air
Now I’m not usually much of a whiner, but this afternoon was a bit much. This morning my classroom color laser printer told me I needed to replace the black cartridge. I called the local Staples and learned it would be $93. This was just as I was beginning to print out my third graders’ “Best of My Blog” books. Ouch.
On my way home on my bike I headed on a side trip to the store. Halfway there I got a flat tire. Second one in two weeks. Goodness, I’d gone two years in a row without a flat before.
So I walked my bike home, replaced the tire (thank goodness for two spare bikes I have kept around for parts), and headed off to Staples when my wife got home with the car. I just went to the garage to check the air in the repaired tire. A-ok, yippee skippee!
In the silver lining department, while walking my bike home, I found a glove I had lost five days ago by the side of the road…
Posted via email from Mark Ahlness on posterous
On my way home on my bike I headed on a side trip to the store. Halfway there I got a flat tire. Second one in two weeks. Goodness, I’d gone two years in a row without a flat before.
So I walked my bike home, replaced the tire (thank goodness for two spare bikes I have kept around for parts), and headed off to Staples when my wife got home with the car. I just went to the garage to check the air in the repaired tire. A-ok, yippee skippee!
In the silver lining department, while walking my bike home, I found a glove I had lost five days ago by the side of the road…
Posted via email from Mark Ahlness on posterous
Friday, May 21, 2010
Third graders respond to high stakes test
My third graders blogged brief thoughts on Washington State's latest high stakes test, the MSP, replacing our WASL. http://tinyurl.com/27zkevc Lots of references to the snacks and doing well, so I guess I did my job just fine - giving them confidence and goodies to take away some of the sting of test anxiety, just like the test prep manuals suggest. Right.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
msp testing, day 2
Kids really concentrating at the outset on the reading test. Will see well how their concentration holds. Test is long, and pretty tough. I don't think the IOWA tests of my youth were this bad - nor were they as hard on us.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
msp testing, day 1
First break time a few minutes away. Snacks await my third graders. Most are finished with the math test. Deathly quiet in here...
Monday, May 17, 2010
High stakes testing starts tomorrow, feeling ill...
Disheartened by stories of colleagues spending not just hours, or days, but weeks - doing schoolwide, daylong test prepping. Thanks NCLB and RTTT.
Doing my best to not succumb to the insanity, to keep the kids relaxed - and even have a little FUN in school. Here goes...
Doing my best to not succumb to the insanity, to keep the kids relaxed - and even have a little FUN in school. Here goes...
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Lincoln Park birders
At the end of a birding outing with Mr. Ahlness - AH auction item from last fall brings in 21 species and good times. Bird of the day: pileated woodpecker
Back from birding with family from school at Lincoln Park. Great day
This was an item from our school auctionlast
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
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