And the Traditions Continue...

Today we donned our comfy pj's, carried our handmade teddy bears and celebrated reading at the annual First Grade Sleepover! This grade level tradition starts each year with an at home project designed to get families involved by making a unique bear for the day. These precious creations are displayed the week preceding in the lobby and then carried as students participate in the day's activities. The first grade team hosts a Make and Take during PTA Family Night where families decorate pillowcases commemorating the week. The day of Sleepover begins with a "nighttime" parade complete with flashlights throughout the downstairs hallway while the entire school sings Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and cheers them on. From the parade the entire First Grade gathers in the Dining Room for a pancake breakfast and fun. Even the teachers perform special dances for the kids. Literacy centers taught by our extraordinary resource team provide for a myriad of opportunities to celebrate books and readers. Everyone leaves at the end of the day ready to go home and really "sleep" off all the fun. Traditions like Sleepover are just one of the ways we build a unique culture at Chets Creek that makes it feel like more than just a school.


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Risk...Care...Dream...Expect...

Have You Gone LIVE Lately?

At CCE we get lots of opportunity to learn professionally right inside the school walls - how lucky are we? However, from time to time we get out and go to trainings, workshops and conferences in an effort to broaden our horizons. For years I think it was so hard to carve out time to share our new learning from these opportunities with colleagues. Often just our teaching/thinking partners or grade level teams got the benefit of our growth leaving the rest of us wondering - How do we make sure everyone gets the benefit of the training? The resounding answer to that questions became BLOG IT - and Live From the Creek was born. Live is a blog devoted entirely so that those attending training outside the school can share their experiences with the rest of us left behind - in real time. Melanie Holtsman, our Tech Coach, and I are currently at FETC (Florida Educational Technology Conference) in Orlando, FL and are posting to Live From the Creek as we sit in the sessions - placing you right in the seat beside us! Have you gone LIVE lately?

Risk...Care...Dream...Expect...