Welcome back! I am so glad you are checking your email, you find yourself rejuvenated, and you are ready to start anew. It is in the first few days when we co-construct our classroom environment with students to feel safe, to make mistakes, to ask questions, and to feel valued. We begin the year by setting the tone for what is to come.

There are a few videos that always remind me why teaching is so important. While we don't always see the effects of our hard work, every moment counts. Here is one video called "Every kids needs a champion", which is part of the TedTalks Education collection.

There will likely be some PD available in the coming weeks regarding some new tools available in the district. But as always, please let me know if there is anything specific I can do to help.

Here are some topics I can review with individuals, course teams, or departments:

• All things Google (Drive, Docs, Classroom, etc.)
• Chromebooks
• Tech tools in your classroom
• Classroom websites
• Schoolloop
• Illuminate
• Blackboard
• Social Media (Twitter, Instagram, etc.)

The district will be sharing some new social media tools and I plan to run a Twitter challenge...and yes, there will be prizes!

If you need to contact me, email is the fastest way. My extension is 5254, but please try and call me on my conference periods (6th and 7th).

Have a great first week!

This summer's California Better Teacher Summit was a great experience and opportunity to learn alongside educators from across the county. Dr. Jill Biden offered some important ideas about education. One of my colleagues, a Social Science teacher at John F. Kennedy High School, presented on the importance of teaching listening first. Take a look at his presentation and I have also included some links to digital tools that will engage students in the practice of listening better.

• Listenwise - This site is similar to NEWSELA; however, instead of texts for students to read there is a collection of audio clips by NPR. Questions and lesson ideas are included.
• Flipgrid - This platform allows students to engage in discussion asynchronously. Teachers can pose a question and students film their response. It's a great formative assessment tool.