As far as Halloweens go, yesterday's party was the ending to an active day.  After a classification activity and an observation activity, students costumed up for the parade and subsequent party.

I have had the opportunity to meet with our district superintendent a couple of times in the last week (After visiting our classroom, last Friday, he now calls me The Caveman.).  I have also been interviewed in regards to the state of the district, the direction we have taken in the last few years, and where we are headed.

In Monday's meeting at the administration building, Superintendent Ridder asked select teachers, "What is the first thing someone should see when entering a classroom?"  According to one participant, the answer, was, "Kids." After some chuckles, I added that, upon entering a classroom, I would look for the joy of learning.  I want to know that students are acknowledging their progress, and they are loving their school experiences.  In education, we refer to engagement, meaning that students are fully into a lesson, learning what they are supposed to learn, collaborating with one another if needed, with no distractions.

"Now we're getting somewhere!" exclaimed Dr. Ridder.  
He then proceeded to ask the group more about some 21st Century Skills.  He suggested  that we consistently promote behavior as our primary goal from early childhood to high school.  Before hitting the academics, he postulated, we must get behavior​ right.  He cited communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity as the crucial methods in which Joplin Schools should unify.  Interestingly, Ridder wants to see these behaviors in both the children and the adults!

This outlook seems spot on.  My hope is that Room 404 already leads in many ways in these areas.  In last week's conferences, many parents shared that their children were talking about the lessons and activities we do in our room - some that surprised me.  I hope it's obvious that extra effort has been placed on every single one of these areas in Room 404.  Happily, Dr. Ridder told me, "You know what you're doing," acknowledging my veteran-teacher status.

In our efforts to bring Lewis and Clark into understanding, we took the class outside to measure the actual footprint of the famous keelboat. We attained a pretty good picture of the 8' x 55' wooden watercraft.  A glance at the gym wall also gave us an idea of the height of the 30-foot hinged mast that was positioned in the center of the boat.  Meriwether Lewis and William Clark called this boat the barge in their journals.  We remarked the needs of the expedition to have a narrow, flat-bottomed boat that could effectively carry several tons of supplies, Indian trade items, and foodstuffs, as well as a majority of the men traveling with the group.

In the first of these snippets (the one on the left), students explain the the assistant principal the process of designing a boat for a purpose. They also made a case for teamwork.  At right, students begin the process of loading the first boat with dinosaurs.

Below is a great shot of a fully loaded boat reaching its capacity (left), until its remarkably fast sinking (right).

The boat design project combined the following:

• History:  The Lewis and Clark Expedition
• Reading:  Lewis Prepares for the Expedition
• Science:  Design and Testing Hypothesis
• Math:  Multiples of Two
• Writing:  Reporting the Steps of the Project Chronologically

We also recorded the steps of the project in the Seesaw app on our iPads.  This was done by taking pictures with the iPads and by entering a note into the app.  Following the event, I kicked off a series of lessons about making better introductions in our writings.

I love it when a plan comes together.

For the article in its entirety, see the Joplin Globe website.

All subjects blend together in Room 404.  We started Tuesday morning with a quick look at different boat styles, and we took a closer look at the keelboat used by the Corps of Discovery.  Students discovered the differences between a boat that is meant to carry massive amounts of weight and a boat intended to travel quickly and easily through the water.

When Meriwether Lewis commissioned the keelboat, he needed a vessel that would carry many supplies.  The boat had some amazing technological features for the earliest parts of the 18th Century.  It had an innovative and practical design.  I suppose I expected no less from my students in designing a boat to float dinosaurs in our classroom aquarium of science.

Spoiler alert:  sadly, all of the dinosaurs perished in this experiment.

We began the actual project by making personal designs on paper.  It was apparent which students were paying attention and applied a flat-bottomed boat design.  After each student presented his/her design to the team, each team selected design features to include in their prototype and final product.

Teams then made prototypes out of regular scrap paper, folding and tearing to construct a three dimensional representation of their designs, before naming the boats and building their final products from single sheets of aluminum foil.

Along the way, our classroom received a visit from the principals, the director of elementary education, and the superintendent of schools.  They stayed for a moment to observe the project and get a view of Hoggatt Cave. TARYN did a spectacular job of explaining what we were doing.

This Tuesday our school will host a visit from the superintendent of schools, Dr. Norm Ridder.  Dr. Ridder has already visited a majority of classrooms in the district, and hopefully will stop by Room 404 for a bit while he is at Cecil Floyd.  I'm looking for my students to greet him professionally and to respond appropriately to whatever lesson we are doing when he arrives.

On Wednesday, we will meet up with other elementary schools at Missouri Southern State University for the kickoff pep rally for Operation College Bound.  We will return to school before lunch.  In the spring, our fourth graders will make a trip to Springfield for a look at Missouri State University.

On Thursday, a gentleman will visit our school to interview me for the district's strategic planning.  Superintendent Ridder will use information from such interviews of staff, students, administrators, parents, and community members to create a one-page strategic plan to help our district recover and thrive.

This being Anti-Bullying Week for our school, our counselor, Mrs. Pearce, will visit the classroom for a presentation. Mrs. Mouton's class will join us at the proper time for this short lesson and discussion.

Thursday, we will gather in the auditorium for the kickoff assembly for our annual Major Saver fund raising campaign.  This campaign funds the Joplin Schools Foundation - not Cecil Floyd.  Students are asked to sell discount cards to friends, neighbors, and family members.

Our school has the ability to be special.

Our school could be unique.

Our school should shine.

When KOAM's Lisa Olligas visited us, this week, she mentioned me by name from the microphone, remembering reports about our class that she did a number of years back.  It reminded me, as well, of a time when our school's positive publicity was more prevalent.

Later in the day, the Leadership Team (consisting of principals and teachers) met, and Principal Hennessey posed the following question:

The thoughts above came to mind.  With the sounds of Livin' Life still ringing in my ears, I wanted to believe her question was leading to something better.  After all, wherever we are now, we could be special, unique, and shiny. With some creative thought, we could bring our community into the conversation.  We could make our mark with parents and students.  We could be the source of pride.

Why can't Cecil Floyd be the flagship of our district, we're not the newest, our building is not the most modern, and, honestly, we don't have the highest test scores, but with a little creative thought and elbow grease, we can create magical events and experiences for our students and their families.

I'm not talking about sending home a note to parents to announce that they can visit the school to read with their children.  I'm not talking about families gathering for cookies and lemonade.  I mean, let's create an event, an experience, a festival for families that they will remember.  Let's create something so intriguing that makes them want to do it again.

We shouldn't wait for TV cameras to come to us.  We do plenty of things in our classrooms that get students through the day.  We feed off of those magical moments where we provide students with experiences they otherwise would not have - not because we want to be popular with little kids, but because we want to motivate them to learn and to improve.

My wish is for Cecil Floyd to be known for more than a spectacular once-a-year craft show.  It is possible for us to be known for our family of children, our outreach to families, and our impact on the community.

With this attitude, we are special, we are unique, we shine, and we soar higher than the rest.