National School Counseling Week--Resources to Support TIME Day

Happy Friday! As we close out this week, let's extend a 'thank you' to honor our wonderful counselors during National School Counseling Week.  We appreciate the many roles you serve to support our students.

TIME Day--February 16th

We are looking forward to school teams having the opportunity to explore, collaborate, and share new learning on our TIME day on February 16th. Below is a list of possibilities for Genius Hour.  These ideas are organized around key points from the curriculum plan (the circles). Please note that these are only possibilities--this list is neither exclusive nor exhaustive.  You are encouraged to explore beyond these ideas and also invited to add any links under the provided categories.  Please come to Genius Hour with your your topic identified in order to keep your focus in one area. 

Genius Hour Possibilities

Below is information from last week's blog with details for TIME day.  Please stay tuned to the blog next week for information on a technology tool to help share and extend ideas from this day. 

Details

Date: February 16th

Hours: 8:00 AM-3:30 PM

Please report to the building you report to on Mondays.  If it makes sense to collaborate with a different team, please let the building principal know for attendance record-keeping. 

Please note that this is a day in addition to the contract.  Participation is optional for this day. Additional per diem payment (your hourly contract rate) is also available this day for those who participate.  Since this is not a contract day, there is no need to take leave if you are not able to attend.  If you do not participate on this day, please do not enter it into AESOP.  

Structure

The day will begin with a "Genius Hour." Ninety minutes will be provided for teachers to research and explore new and innovative teaching practices.  Later in the day you will have the opportunity to share your learning with your PLC and gather feedback on possible next steps. This Genius Hour will have 3 components: Identify, Learn, and Share.

Identify

Decide on a topic that you want to explore, research and implement that can further enhance teaching and learning in your classroom.  A list of possibilities for you to consider are listed above in the blog, although we encourage you to follow your own ideas and explore options beyond this. Please come to Genius Hour with your your topic identified in order to keep your focus in one area. 

Learn

For the first ninety minutes of the day, spend time exploring and researching your topic. Make plans on how you will carry it out.  The time is yours--innovate as you see fit!

Share

At the end of the day, you will meet with your PLC to share what you discovered and get feedback on next steps.  You will also get to hear more about what your colleagues explored.  We will be integrating some technology tools to share ideas across the district.  Look for more information on this in an upcoming blog.

The remainder of your day will be spent at the building level engaged in professional learning to support your school improvement plans.  We are looking forward to a day of meaningful learning!

TIME--February 16, 2018

Agenda

8:00-9:30 AM Genius Hour

9:30-11:30 Building Goals

11:30-12:30 Lunch

12:30-1:30 Building Goals

1:30-3:30 Genius Hour Sharing and Follow Up