New Semester Begins!

Welcome to the 2nd semester of the 2013-2014 school year! I am excited to be working with the OCS students through the Occupational Preparation courses and Biology. 

This semester the junior Biology students are being taught by myself as well as Ms. Woodyard. I am so excited to bring the students to a class where they can learn about Biology, meet new people, and challenge themselves to work in a biology class setting.

This semester I am focusing on goal setting with my students. We are working on S.M.A.R.T goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time bound). I shared some of my personal goals with the students the other day.

I will read 50 chapter books of my choice by the end of 2014.

I will run 500 miles by completing 1 half marathon a month by the end of 2014.

The students are also keeping a reading log where they are tracking what they are reading in their free time. They are setting weekly reading goals for them to accomplish. Please check with your student to see what their goals are for the week.

I am also using a new book "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" by Sean Covey. His book is very interesting and lists ways to make good decisions, identify your principles and to live a balanced life. The students so far have idenitfied their values which is important in picking a career that is best for them. The 7 Habits are featured in the picture above.

Please let me know if you need anything and hope to see everyone at some point this semester!

Winding down the semester...

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Well, it is finally here. Exams week. We have learned a lot and now we have to put it to the test. I hope that all students do well on their exams this week and I look forward to the new semester starting next Wednesday!

Jimmy Fallon is an inspiration in the Classroom....

I found this video on the internet and then after having it stuck in my head for days thought it might be a great opportunity for the students to be creative... The students created their own songs using pop culture hits to sing/write about jobs and going on interviews. We had a great time and it was amazing to see their creativity shine!

STEM Challenge

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Congratulations! You have been selected to participate in the 2014 Carolina STEM Challenge® Competition.   We are putting the final touches on the document that contains all the details. 

I put an entry the other day for another hands on lab for Applied Science and found out yesterday that our class was chosen! Yay! I am so excited that there seems to be so many wonderful resources to receive supplies for the classroom. I am looking forward to making the the catapult with the students as they work with concepts like: gravity and air resistance. 

Donor's Choose Grant

Recently, I applied for a Donors Choose grant (www.donorschoose.org) and received full funding within a week. This website is wonderful in providing classroom materials to teachers. For this grant, the students received 9 book sets! I am so excited to begin reading with them as a group and going through the process of creating a love of reading. The titles include some of my personal favorites:

Little Women by: Louisa May Alcott
Hatchet by: Gary Paulsen
The Cay by: Theodore Taylor
The Outsiders by: S. E. Hinton
The Giver by: Lois Lowry
Charlotte's Web by: E.B. White
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by: C.S. Lewis
Holes by: Louis Sachar
The Island of the Blue Dolphins by: Scott O' Dell

This grant provides over $350 worth of books to the OCS Program which is a wonderful thing for our students to have!

Exceptional Children's Conference

Recently, I was able to attend the North Carolina's Exceptional Children's Conference. I had a great time and attended sessions focused on:

- Greensboro's UP (University Participant) Program
- Building Better Relationships with Parents
- Accommodating and Writing Meaningful Goals for Children with Autism
- Teaching Reading to Struggling and Non-readers
- Implementing Positive Behavior Strategies in the Classroom

I came back with quite a few ideas on how to use new strategies with students. The UP Program which is located on several campuses in North Carolina Universities looks like a wonderful program for our students to learn independent living skills after high school. Please let me know if you are interested in more information. There is an application process and admission criteria that would be pertinent to know in applying. I am going to share the information with the rest of the OCS Teachers and I am sure we will speak about this information at our yearly meetings.

Disability Empowerment Month

As the end of October is nearing, the Occupational Preparation students are finishing up their research projects and are eagerly sharing their presentations with each other. It has been a lot of work on their part but everything is coming together smoothly. Presentations will begin tomorrow and I will post some pictures of the finished products later this week.