Christmas Carolers at the District Office

The USD 331 District Office staff enjoyed Christmas music from Pat Dixon and the KUMC children's choir as they stopped by on Wednesday afternoon.

Streaming Video - Kingman vs Nickerson, Friday, Sept 23

The Kingman High School Video Production class will be streaming live the Kingman vs Nickerson football game Friday, September 23rd.  To watch the video stream or to view it after the game, go to the Kingman iHigh.com site.

http://www.ihigh.com/kingmaneagles/index.html

Kingman High 2011-12 Enrollment

New Students
Tuesday, August 2 from 8 am - noon

Seniors
Friday, August 5 from 8 am - noon

Juniors
Friday, August 5 from 1 pm - 4 pm

Sophomores
Monday, August 8 from 8 am - noon

Freshmen
Monday, August 8 from 1 pm - 4 pm

Kingman Elementary 2011-12 Enrollment

Wednesday, August 3 from 7 am - 7 pm
Thursday, August 4 from 7 am - 7 pm

Norwich 2011-12 Enrollment

Norwich Elementary/Middle School & Bridges to Learning

Wednesday, July 27 - noon - 4 pm

Thursday, July 28 - 5 pm - 7 pm

NHS Juniors and Seniors

Wednesday, July 27 - noon - 4 pm & 5 pm - 7 pm

NHS Freshmen & Sophomores

Thursday, July 28 - noon - 4 pm & 5 pm - 7 pm

Summer Tech Work

We are full swing into summer tech work. We are imaging 24 laptops simultaneously here at KHS.  When we finish we will have imaged nearly 800 laptops.

McDaniel's Third Grade Rainforest

It was hard not to notice the rainforest in the third grade classroom at Norwich.  This was a reward for a job well done on state assessments.  The students created a rainforest in the classroom and were working on creating the animals for their rainforest.  Ms. McDaniel's students are applying the scientific knowledge acquired during the year to the project.

Creating Video Games in the Classroom

At the MACE conference I attended a presentation titled "What Teachers (and Students) Can Learn From Video Games" from Curtis Chandler, Kansas 2011 Teacher of the Year.  It was one of the best sessions of the conference and I believe that video games can play an important part in educating our students.


Video game use in the classroom is broken down into three different categories.  The categories range from fun/motivational, to simulations to create multiple solutions to a single problem, to the creation and sharing of video games.


Curtis used Burger Tycoon and Incredibots 2 as examples of simulation games.  Both of these were great examples of how students can use critical thinking as well as trial and error to learn cause and effect.


I was the most impressed with the power of video game creation.  Video game creation is not regulated to programmers and with these free programs, teachers can incorporate video game creation into their curriculum.  The incorporation into curriculum is only limited by teachers' imagination.  Some of the game creation programs used by Curtis include Scratch, Storytelling Alice, Sandbox, and Wii Game Studio.


If you are interested in incorporating video games into your classroom, you can watch Curtis Chandler's presentation below.  I would also be excited to help you utilize these tools in your classroom.

Keep Track of News and Blogs with Google Reader

Numerous educational blogs exist that can help you in the classroom.  Google Reader can help you to organize your blogs.  Everyday users can use Google Reader to keep track of news and blogs outside of the education realm.

Google Reader - follow the instructions or view the video

1. Create a Google Reader account
   • Go to http://reader.google.com/
   • Sign in by typing your District Gmail password.
2. Find educational blogs, news, or information that you would like to add to your Reader account
3. Once you find an educational blog that you wold like to follow:
   • Copy the link of the site
   • Go to Google Reader
   • Click Add a subscription
   • Paste the link
   • Click Add
4. Check Google Reader periodically as it will go and find any updates to the blogs you are watching and post them in your Reader account.

Google Reader Instruction Video
This video is a little dated.  You will be able to login with your email password instead of creating a new account.  In the interest of saving our district's Internet bandwidth, users outside the district cannot view this video.

Finding Educational Blogs

To find educational blogs, you can search the web or you can visit MrsSmoke’s blog post, “Educational Blogs You Should Be Investigating” listing and categorizing many different blogs.  Don't forget to add the Eagle Technology blog!

I also use Google Reader to keep up on state legislative news.  Here are three sites you can add to Google Reader to keep up with the Kansas State Government.  Add these feeds to your Reader to get easy, automatic updates.
The Topeka-Capitol Journal - http://cjonline.com/do/not/override/panel/taxonomy/term/15/2
The Wichita Eagle - http://www.kansas.com/news/legislature/index.html
LJWorld - http://www2.ljworld.com/news/politics/kansas_legislature/

English teachers be sure to check out and add the Grammarly blog to your Reader!

Parents, be sure to add the following teacher blogs to your Reader feed!
Teresa Bradshaw - http://bradshawssocialstudiescentral.blogspot.com/
Rebecca Huelskamp - http://mrshuelskamplanguagearts.blogspot.com/

Grammarly@edu (Formerly SentenceWorks)

Fine tuning writing skills can be a tall order. Grading student writing is a very time consuming task, and students must write frequently and receive feedback to improve those skills. Grammarly is a tool that will allow your students to check their papers for over 150 grammar rules, plagiarism, vocabulary enhancement, and spell check. This is a resource that you can require your students to use to get immediate feedback and fix their writing before turning in a paper. English teachers know that a well written paper is easier and quicker to grade than a poorly written one.

I checked this blog with Grammarly. The program reminded me about preposition use and suggested that I reword my sentence so I did not end with one. Passive voice was pointed out to me, and I chose not to correct it in this sentence. Grammarly felt like my nagging high school English teacher constantly critiquing my paper with red ink. I kept modifying my paper and reviewing my changes until she had almost nothing left to say.

Grammarly is currently in use within USD 331. According to our stats, a number of teachers are currently using the online resource regularly. Please contact me and I can resend you the registration information if you wish to have your students utilize this tool.

Teacher blogs to keep an eye on

Be sure to check out what is going on in the classrooms of Teresa Bradshaw and Rebecca Huelskamp by visiting their blogs.  Teresa Bradshaw's blog can be found at bradshawssocialstudiescentral.blogspot.com and Rebecca Huelskamp's blog can be found at mrshuelskamplanguagearts.blogspot.com.

You will see posts of their blogs on the Kingman High School website, the Kingman Elementary website, and the USD 331 Facebook page from time to time.

Massachusetts Students Compare Egyptian and French Revolution

On Friday February 18th, I was driving from our school in Norwich and I was listening to a  Hear and Now segment on KMUW Wichita Public Radio.  The segment was titled "As Protests Spread In Middle East, History Comes Alive For US Students."  The segment was a great example of how to use current events and adapting instruction to engage students in the classroom.

The ninth grade class in Plymouth, Mass. researched the history of Egypt and events that led up to the recent revolution and compared it to the process that led up to the French Revolution.  The lesson gave history a modern context that the class was able to relate to.  I would highly recommend visiting the site by clicking the segment title above and listening to the 7 minute podcast.

21st Century Marketing in USD 331 Communities

The Internet and social media continue to redefine how organizations, businesses, and the community promote themselves.  How can you work to improve the visibility of your organization on the Internet?  Can you promote your business with social media?  Is it possible to attract businesses and families to our community using these tools?

USD 331 staff and students are discovering the answers to these questions by attending the Marketing Using 21st Century Tools course at ESSDACK.  During this five session course we are learning how to market ourselves and our community by using Social Media, Blogs, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  Our goal is to apply this knowledge and use the resources within our schools to promote and improve our schools and community.

We have taken some of the first steps in marketing our school by creating a Facebook and Twitter presence as well as redesigning our school websites to provide updated content.  Please take a look at these resources.  Be sure to "Like" us on Facebook and "Follow" us if you are a Twitter user.

IXL Math - Practice Math Skills at Home

If you are looking for a good resource to help your student fine tune their math skills, you might consider IXL Math.  Kingman Elementary introduced this resource this past school year with the Technology Rich Classroom grant in 4th and 5th grade.  The teachers participating in this grant highly recommended IXL.  The students like IXL because it is quick to load and they get rewarded for their accomplishments.  Teachers like it because it is aligned with state standards and they can assign specific skills.

As a parent, I purchased a license to IXL Math for my 3rd grader to help with his math skills.  I was surprised by the wide variety of practice skills available.  Over 200 for third grade alone.  IXL Math has practice skills for Pre-K through 8th grade, covering everything from basic math to consumer math to geometry and linear functions.  Repetition is a great way to learn math skills and IXL provides a good environment for your child to practice a skill repeatedly if needed.  You can visit the site and preview the question categories.

The site advertises that they will provide content for grades 9-12 soon.  The cost for one license per year is $79.  With the wide variety of skills available for us to practice, it is a tool that I plan on using at home with my kids for the foreseeable future.

Paying Fees Through the Campus Portal

USD 331 has implemented a new system for paying fees online.  The online payment system can be accessed through the Campus Portal which can be accessed through a link on any district website.  If you do not have an account to log into the Campus Portal, contact your school office and an account will be created for you.

1. Log into the Campus Portal.
2. Click on the Payments link under the Family menu.
3. You can add a payment method by clicking the Register your credit cards and banking information link.
4. In the payment window you will see your children listed with their food service balance.  In the Payment column you can add a specific amount for each child or click the Select estimated amount button.
5. Once you are satisfied with the payments, click the Continue button.
6. Select the payment method you wish to use and click Continue.
7. If the payments are correct, click the Make Payment button.

You will receive a Payment Receipt email detailing the transaction.  You can click on the Food Service link on the left menu to see an updated balance for each account.

Access Report Cards Through the Campus Portal

Grade cards will be mailed out soon but you can view your child's report card now through the Campus Portal.  The Campus Portal can be accessed through a link on any district webpage.  If you do not have an account to log into the Campus Portal, contact your school office and an account will be created for you.

Once you log into the Campus Portal, you will see your child's name on the left side of the page.  Under your child's name, click on the Reports link.  Find the report card that corresponds with your child's grade and click on it.  The report card will open in a new window.

Receive Daily School Event Updates in Your Email Inbox

Keeping up with events at USD 331 Schools is as easy as creating an account at your school website.

1. Go to your school website by clicking the links below, find the Create Web Account link, and create your account.
2. Once your account has been created, scroll down below the calendar and click the My Personal Settings link.
3. In the My Personal Settings page, select the Notifcations tab and click the Setup Daily Digests link.
4. In the Setup Event Digest window, you can have a daily digest (email) sent the day of or the day before.

Once you configure the daily digest settings, you will begin receiving emails detailing the days events at your school.

School websites links:

Kingman Elementary School - Create KES Account

Kingman High School - Create KHS Account

Norwich School - Create Norwich Account