An Exciting Showcase

This past Friday, our 2nd/3rd grade learners had the opportunity to showcase their learning at their Enrichment Cluster Showcase!  You could feel the excitement in the building.  Our learners had just about every topic covered: electricity, magic, CSI, medical response, etc. 



We were thrilled to have several visitors come and enjoy the day with us!  Several CISD board members, Dr. Turner (Superintendent), and several other central office administrators came and took part in the learning.  Also, two guests from Laurel Mountain Elementary came to witness our progress on our journey towards implementation of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model.  We are extremely grateful for their help and time as we have gone through the process!

Check out this brief video of the Showcase from Liz Malone, GT Facilitator.

Showcase Video



Our Hollywood Debut!

It's been a long time coming....

I've finally been able to put our experience at Laurel Mountain Elementary into a short movie!  There are some great examples of current enrichment clusters as well as some good advice and suggestions from the Principal and SEM Coordinator.

Once again, we would like to send a big THANK YOU to Laurel Mountain for hosting us and spending the time to answer our questions.

A-Hunting We Will Go...

.... Scavenger Hunting that is!
                                               

Teachers, you'll be playing the part of a detective and completing a Scavenger Hunt of Laurel Mountain's S.E.M. Blog.  More specifically, we will be looking at the different components of E-Time.  I think you'll find that this will be incredibly productive as we build our understanding of what E-Time is and what E-Time is NOT.  Also, you'll see some concrete examples of how Laurel Mountain classes are using their E-Time (with ideas that you can take-away)!

You're with your new E-Team, so let's get started!  First, open the following link that will guide you through our Scavenger Hunt:

E-Team Scavenger Hunt.

Then, use the following link (to the Laurel Mountain SEM blog) to help you discover the answers to the Scavenger Hunt questions:

http://sematlme.blogspot.com/

 

Happy Hunting!

 

 

Laurel Mountain SEM

ENERGIZED.... That's how I felt as we left Laurel Mountain Elementary last Friday (in spite of the long drive down to Austin at the crack of dawn)!  It was such an eye-opening experience to see SEM "in action."

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll work on getting a video together to share our experience with you.  Until then, suffice it to say that the excitement on the kids' faces and the passion in the teachers' voices spoke volumes. 

It was also great to discuss the "nuts and bolts" with the campus principal and SEM coordinator.  Our teachers came armed with questions, and it really helped to speak with people who have been through the struggle of implementation.

Check out the pictures below....

Visiting with the Principal and getting ready to see the Clusters in action....

 It was the perfect weather for the Sports and Fitness Cluster to meet!

The First Aid Cluster was exploring different parts of the body.

The Lights, Camera, Action Cluster was adding final touches to student created movies.

Check out Laurel Mountain's SEM Blog and their "Shout-Out" to Austin Elementary: 

http://sematlme.blogspot.com/