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May 27, 2013

Memorial Day is the time we remember all of those soldiers (and anyone in the Armed Forces) who gave their lives in the defense of American freedom. In war and peace, they made the ultimate sacrifice, and because of them we are privileged to live the American Dream.

Once a year, we honor them, their sacrifice, and those they left behind. Here are some activities to help students understand the import of this day:

1. Folding the American flag
2. In Flanders Field–poem
3. Memorial Day Maze
4. Memorial Day Messages, Speeches, Oaths, Poems, Anthems,  and images
5. Memorial Day Poems
6. Memorial Day Poetry–poems
7. Memorial Day Prayer
8. Memorial Day puzzle I
9. Memorial Day Puzzle II
10. Memorial Day Quiz
11. Memorial Day Word Search
12. Patriotic numbers coloring pages
13. Primary source recollections of War
14. Quotes about Memorial Day/Wars
15. Remember our Warriors
16. Who you are remembering–Americans killed in action

 

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Moving from Good to Great takes hard work, dedication, commitment, and sacrifice.  I appreciate all members of the Loudon County team as we constantly reflect on ways we can work together to continue to move our district forward always keeping students the center of our focus.  As my college football coach once said, " The best teams make adjustments to their game plan after analyzing their strengths and weaknesses.  Those teams are the teams that win championships."  As educators and administrators, we must regularly reflect on best practices and be willing to change as needed to ensure the success of our students.  I am excited to announce some changes to our district level leadership that will continue Loudoun County Schools on the path to excellence for all students.

 Mike Casteel will serve as the principal at Greenback School.  Mike's proven leadership skills from North Middle School will benefit the Cherokee's as they continue their pursuit for academic excellence.    

 Matthew Tinker will return to North Middle School in the role as principal.  Matthew's hard work and commitment to student achievement will contribute to the Stars' high achieving culture.

 Christie Amburn will take the helm as principal at Fort Loudon Middle School.  Christie's instructional leadership abilities will encourage the Braves as they continue to move forward academically.

 Marvin Feezell will assume principal responsibilities at Steekee Elementary School.  Marvin's dedication to student achievement through data will continue the Scouts' quest of moving from Good to Great.  

 Stephanie Smallen will serve as an assistant principal at Loudon Elementary School.  Stephanie's ability to analyze data and make instructional decisions will contribute to the Redhawks' academic success.

 Tonya Cope will assume assistant principal responsibilities at Steekee Elementary School.  Tonya's ability to model research based instructional strategies to improve instruction will move the Scouts forward academically.

 Jeremy Lorenz will serve as an assistant principal at Loudon High School.  Jeremy's dedication and commitment to student achievement will benefit the Redskin Nation on their drive for excellence.

 As we move forward as a team , I am reminded of a conversation I had with my daughter this weekend which changed my perspective.  We must make each moment we are given a memorable one.  Every opportunity provided, no matter how great or small, we must give our best as a child is always impacted.  

  

Respectfully,

Jason Vance

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Don't let your kids forget all they have learned this school year.  Discover how to stop the summer brain drain and make learning a fund part of your everyday routine.  Enjoy this "virtual beach bag" of activities to stay busy all summer long!

10 Awesome Outdoor Summer Learning Ideas

48 Ultra-Cool Summer Sites for Kids and Teachers

 Summer Learning Tips from Edutopia

School & Family Education Summer Activities

Read, Write, Think Summer Learning Resources

Summer Learning Units from Cybraryman

Roll Out Those Lazy Crazy Days of Summer

PBS Super Why Adventures

Reading Rockets:  Get Ready for Summer! Ideas for Teachers to Share with Families

20 Educational Activities for Kids in Summer

National Summer Learning Association Activities

What's Summer? Hands-On Learning Time for Teens!

50 Summer Sites for Kids and Teachers

Age 1-12 Summer Learning & Book Lists

Week-by-Week Activities for Summer

Great Schools 68 Summer Learning Activities

Have an A+ Summer from Scholastic

Family FUNdamentals Pre K-3 Learning Activities

Keep Kids Skills Sharp with Summer Learning

How to Raise a Reader this Summer - Article

10 Simple Ways to Keep Your Kids Safe Online this Summer

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1. A copy of the child’s social security card
2. A copy of the child’s birth certificate
3. Proof of Loudon County Residency
4. Proof of income (*Pre-K only) 
5. Proof of child's Physical Examination on appropriate state form
6. Immunization Record *White Certificate of Immunization (if complete)

These documents are required at ROUND-UP. 
Look forward to seeing you at ROUND-UP!

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Feathery Fatouse Wins the LHS Video Game Contest
by Kris Peterson

This week the first Video Game Design Class accomplished a huge goal; build an original video game with a team of 4 classmates, present it to the student body during lunch for playing and encourage players to vote online for your game. Well the results are in and it was a close one. On Thursday it was a 3 way tie between Feathery Fatouse, Kiddie Kingdom and Zelo's Dark Descent. On Friday more people played and voted to make the final choice and the winner is "Feathery Fatouse". The game team who built it are Program Manager, Dustin Littleton, Art Director, Shaye Berry with assistants Jacob Lynn and Dustin Littleton and Programmer, Devin Johnson.


Dustin, Shaye, Poster holder Daryl, Jake and Devin

This event came about due to the students hard work and a new computer lab that was put in place in October of this school year. CTE Director Tom Hankinson labored diligently to write a grant for $90,000.00 made available thru the Federal Carl Perkins fund to purchase the lab for the new class. The first Video Game Design class was offered this Spring of 2013. Below are photos of the other teams and the evolution of the Graphic Arts classroom. Thank you Loudon County Schools for your support and encouragement. Our students are very happy and excited about learning how to build video games.




You can still play our new games by clicking on the picture below. Thanks for playing and voting!

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FREE

Energy Quest Day Camp

For

Loudon County & Lenoir City students in grades 3-5 (2012-2013 school year)

Presented by:

The Loudon County Health Improvement Council, Lenoir City & Loudon County Schools Coordinated School Health, The Loudon County Education Foundation, Tate & Lyle, Lenoir City Parks & Rec, & Loudon Parks & Rec

June 10-15, 2013

Two locations: Lenoir City Park & Loudon Municipal Park

Cost = FREE *(conditions apply)

Each camp is limited to 50 participants

Click here to download a camp brochure

Click here to download a camp application

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The Greenback Middle School Boys Golf team are state bound after coming in 2nd place at the ETMSG Regional Tournament held in Lafollette on Monday.    The team reached the regionals after placing 1st in the District Tournament held at WindRiver in Lenoir City.  North Middle School received 3rd Place in District Play.    In Regional Individual Play Greenback's Colbe Cagle received 1st Place and  North Middle School's John Sims came in 3rd.  In Girl's play Ella Morton from North Middle School came in 2nd Place.    The Greenback team members are:  L-R  Zach Edmonds, Sam Blair, Colbe Cagle, & Alex Degenstein. 

 Individual Photos:  Colbe Cagle, Greenback 1st Place Individual Play

                            John Sims with Coach Brad White, North Middle School 3rd Place Individual Play

                            Ella Morton, North Middle School 2nd Place Girl's Individual Play

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On Saturday night, May 4^th Savannah Moua competed in the Distinguished Young Women of Loudon County and won!! In addition she won 3 out of the 5 categories: Interview, Talent, and Self-Expression. She receives a $3600 scholarship and an additional $100 cash scholarship for each category, totaling $3900.00.

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Be sure to visit the new website www.PLAYLoudon.com for great resources and family friendly events right here in Loudon County!  PLAY stands for Physically active, Living healthy, Adults, & Youth of Loudon County.  We hope this website becomes a one-stop shop for healthy living resources and family friendly events in the Loudon community.  PLAYLoudon is a project organized by the Loudon County Health Improvement Council’s Obesity Task Force.  Visit PLAYLoudon often and follow us on Twitter @PLAYLoudon for the most recent healthy, fun, & family friendly happenings in Loudon County!

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Steekee Elementary Volunteers were honored with a catered breakfast.  Each volunteer received a certificate from the school to show their appreciation for their time and dedication to the students at Steekee Elementary. 

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April 22nd is Earth Day. Celebrate it with your students by letting them visit these twelve websites:

1. Breathing Earth
2. Breathing Earth YouTube Video–of CO2 use, population changes, and more
3. Conservation Game
4. Environmental footprintEco-friendly houseEeko WorldBreathing earth– the environmentConservation GameHome of the FutureMy Garbology
5. Ecotourism Simulation–for grades 4 and above
6. EekoWorld
7. Electrocity
8. Eyes on the Earth–from NASA
9. Footprint calculator
10. Home of the Future
11. My Garbology
12. NASA City

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Fort Loudoun Medical Center is conducting a community needs assessment. We are using multiple ways to gather information about the health and quality of life of Loudon County. Please use the link below to activate the survey. We appreciate your perspective and time in helping us look at the health opportunities before us.

Take the Survey

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Loudon County Teachers have been requested to take a survey regarding the 2012-2013 Pilot of ELA Common Core Standards.  Click on the Common Core link, enter your login credentials, scroll down to announcements, and click the link to the survey.  The DOE has requested that all surveys be completed by April 12. 

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Greenback Teaching as a Profession students took 1st place in the KC3 (Kids Creating Community Content) International Competition.  Their lesson, Spelunking, was taught via videoconferencing to 5th and 6th grade students in Victor, Montana.  The students shared information and experiments on:  the history and legends of East Tennessee caves, how caves are formed, ecosystems within caves and caverns, White Nose Syndrome and cave formations.  Lessons are judged by educators and experts in technology on:  content, presentation, use of technology and interaction between the two distant sites.  Seated L to R:  Baylee Smith, Taylor Gilmore, Ivy McJunkins, Ellie Talley; Standing L to R:  Sarah Wampler and Chloe Jones.

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Loudon County band directors Lisa Michaels and Jennifer Conway performed with the Tennessee Wind Symphony at the annual Tennessee Music Education Association Conference on Friday, April 12, 2013 at the Chattanooga Convention Center.  The concert was attended by music educators and students from across the state.   The Tennessee Wind Symphony is under the direction of school board member, Dr. Ric Best.  The concert was in honor of the Tennessee Bandmasters Hall of Fame.  Dr. Best was inducted into the TBA Hall of Fame in 2010.

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April 12, 2013 Loudon High School hosted the Annual Area 22 Special Olympics, Track and Field Events. Area 22 consists of Loudon County Schools, Monroe County Schools, Sweetwater City Schools, and Lenoir City Schools. Loudon County Schools was represented by Eaton Elementary, Steekee Elementary, Loudon Elementary, North Middle, Fort Loudoun Middle, Greenback, and Loudon High. Students from these schools should be praised for the effort and encouragement they displayed. Results for the Track Meet can be found in “The News-Herald” published on April 14, 2013.

Also, a special thank you to all the volunteers and businesses that made this a special day for our students.

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As Loudon County Schools begins to implement Common Core Standards in Reading/Language Arts and Math, resources are being collected and posted at this link.  Interested parents and students are also welcome to join us as we head down the Common Core path together. 

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Congratulations to Jodi Lowery, 4th grade teacher at Eaton Elementary, and Bobby Amburn, CTE teacher at Loudon High School for being selected 2013-2014 STEM Teaching Fellows by the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network.  They will attend training during the summer and work jointly in the coming school year to implement STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) into the curriculum.

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Several Greenback students and teachers took part in the Covenant Kids Run on Saturday, April 6.  More than seventy-six students had been practicing each Wednesday afternoon since January. 

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Each year, Education Consumers Foundation takes the value-added performance data provided by the state of Tennessee and presents it in the form of charts for elementary and middle schools in the state. This format allows parents and others to easily compare the performance of schools in their district or region.  Overall, Loudon County Schools rank high on these measures. 

Fine Arts Showcase

Admission is FREE
Where: Loudon High School
When: Friday, March 22, 2013
Who: Showcasing the Music, Art and Photography of students from Loudon County Schools
Workshops: Workshops for registered students starts at 8:15am and ends at 3:15pm (meals provided)
Concert and Awards: Art work on display at 5:00pm, Concert starts at 6:00pm

Click here for the 2013 Fine Arts Contest Winners

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"NMS Uses Award System to Boost TCAP Scores" is a News-Herald article picked up and publicized on the TN SCORE Report.  The article describes efforts to improve math achievement at North Middle School. 

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Did you know that March is National Nutrition Month? Well, it is. That means you should devote at least some time to discussing proper nutrition, eating, quality of food, and perhaps come up with a few lessons on the importance of proper nutrition.

Here are three Apps from Edudemic to help get you started. 

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Imagine Cup happily invites aspiring game developers, ages 9 to 18, to learn coding by developing a video game with Kodu, an easy-to-learn, game-creation toolkit and programming language available for free download on Windows-based PCs. We've drawn on the expertise of Mercy Corps and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop to launch this new challenge and we can't wait to see what young coders create!

The Kodu Challenge runs from March 19 through May 17, 2013, and invites students in two age brackets (9-12 and 13-18) to design games on the Kodu platform. For this challenge, students will explore the relationships between water and people through the medium of Kodu video games. Although the only limits for these students are their imaginations, the partnership with Mercy Corps offers the chance to learn and explore water-related issues, including disaster relief, clean-water engineering projects and much more through a video series launching soon right here on our site. While acquiring valuable skills such as critical thinking, storytelling and programming, students in both age brackets will compete for first-place prizes of US$3,000, second-place prizes of US$2,000, and third-place prizes of US$1,000.

Click here for more information

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Middle School Science Fair Winners



Click for List of Grand Champions

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K-5 Science Fair Winners

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Greenback art students celebrated Pi Day early this year after studying color schemes and radial designs.  National Pi day is March 14th (3.14). Students created a colorful Pi symbol using monochromatic, analogous, complementary, primary, secondary and tretiary color schemes and CD's.  After completing the project, students feasted on a variety of pies. 

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On Wednesday March 6th students in sixth grade at FLMS  learned about weather from School Board member, Jeremy Buckles,  who will complete his degree this semester in Meteorological Sciences. In addition to being a new board member and soon to be college graduate, Mr. Buckles has also spent his time in a professional fellowship at Channel Six news with Meteorologist Ken Weathers.  The students were very excited about the opportunity to meet Mr. Buckles and learn about meteorology.   His presentation included maps, photos, and Doppler images just like the ones students see on the news. 

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The Loudon County Board of Education was well represented in Nashville Wednesday, Feb. 22 during the annual "Day on the Hill" event.  Board members were working hand in hand with legislators to promote education, especially for Loudon County.

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Ms. McKinnon’s class had a special visitor on Friday, February 22 from a community helper. Ms. Kelsey McKinnon, a dental hygienist, spent the afternoon with the kindergarten class talking about the importance of brushing their teeth and flossing.

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Congratulations to two Loudon High School seniors, Logan Joiner and Brittany Gentry, who auditioned for and were accepted into the University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland Marching Band.  From Redskin to Vol!   We'll see you at the games in the fall!

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Great Idea! Classroom Grant Applications are now being accepted from Loudon County and Lenoir City teachers.  The deadline for application is April 1, 2013.  Click the link below for more information.

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Students from Eaton Elementary presented "13 Facts and 1 Opinion" to the Board of Education during their February 14 meeting.  The presentation highlighted technology use in the classroom including the integration of QR Codes.  Click the link and get your code readers ready....

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At the LCBOE Board Meeting on February 14, the Board voted unanimously to move the School Board Workshops from the Loudon County Technical Center on Harrison Road to the Conference Room at the Loudon County Office Building, 100 River Road, Loudon, Tennessee.  The Workshop meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month unless otherwise noted.  The regular monthly School Board meetings will still be held at the Courthouse Annex on the 2nd Thursday of each month unless otherwise noted.

 The March Workshop and School Board meeting will be cancelled due to the School Board Retreat and Spring Break.  The regular schedules will resume in April.

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Yummy Math Valentine’s Day Activities

Valentine’s Day Chemistry

Valentine’s Day Math Problems

Spelling City February Valentine’s Day Words

We are Teachers Pinterest Board of Valentine’s Day Activities

Elementary Technology Lessons: Heart Shaped Writing for Valentines

Activities for Valentines Day at Internet 4 Classrooms

Valentine Town: Making Valentine Celebrations Educational | Expat Educator

Globalvalentines - French Voxopop Talkgroup

Teacher Planet St. Valentine's Day Theme Page

Valentine's Day Theme - Lesson Plans, Thematic Units, Printables, Worksheets, and More from A to Z Teacher Stuff

Valentine's Day- education.com

Valentine's Day for the Art Teacher - LiveBinder

Valentine's Day Printables (Play2learnprintables)

Valentine’s Day guide - Kaboose

Valentine's Day Lesson Plans, Ideas, and Activities

Valentine's Day Activities and Games - Apples for the Teacher

TeachersFirst: Valentine's Day Resources

Valentine's Day Links

Songs & Poems - Valentine's Day (CanTeach )

Valentine's Day is today! - ReadWriteThink

Valentine's Day Lessons and Activities - Teaching Heart

Valentine's Day - The Lesson Plans Page

Valentine's Day Puzzles - Vocabulary.com

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Eaton Elementary’s kindergarten celebrated 100 days of kindergarten on Friday, February 15th. They asked the students to dress like they were 100 years old. The kindergarten teachers have planned many 100 day activities for their student’s involving reading, writing, and math all using the number 100.  Click
the arrow to see a short video featuring some of the students who celebrated being 100 days smarter.

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National School Counseling Week 2013, "School Counseling: Liberty and Learning for All,"  will be celebrated from Feb. 4-8, 2013, to focus public attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. National School Counseling Week is always celebrated the first full week in February.

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New Teachers of the Year

Claire Svoboda, EE

Chad Lewis, FLM

Kimberly Callais, LH

 

Experienced Teachers of the Year

Jessica Anderson, PK-4, GB

Stacey McNabb, 5-8, FLM

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"The groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears." Bill Vaughn

 Groundhog Day - The Official Website of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club

It's Groundhog Day and Forecast is...Rodent Weather Predictions for Spring (or Not)

Groundhog Day History from Stormfax®

Teaching is Elementary: To See or not to See (his Shadow that it is) - Punxsatawney Phil and Groundhog Day

Don't Reenact the "Groundhog Day" Movie in Your Yard!

Groundhog Day: 15 Fun Teaching Resources | Scholastic

Groundhog Day - Surfnetkids

Lesson Planning Come to the Groundhog Day Party! - Education World ®

Groundhog Day Theme - Lesson Plans, Thematic Units, Printables, Worksheets, and More from A to Z Teacher Stuff

Groundhog's Day Theme

Groundhog Day Lesson Plans and Activities

Groundhog Day - Kaboose

Groundhog Day Fun - Crafts Games Puzzles and More

Groundhop Day: Lotsa Lesson Plans - Hummingbird

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This week, there might be a bit of Super Bowl energy and excitement running through your classroom, and there are a number of great ways to wrangle those murmurs into teachable moments. This Sunday, February 3, the San Francisco 49ers will face the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl 47.   If you're looking for ways to incorporate the Super Bowl into your lessons, here are some links to resources around the Web. There's a little bit of every subject -- from media studies, to math, science, and the arts.

· Five Ways to Teach the Super Bowl from NY Times Learning Network (1): Lessons and teaching strategies are based around five subject areas -- Science, Math, Media Studies, Language Arts, and History and Civics -- and cover a variety of relevant ideas, from statistics math lessons to critical analysis of Super Bowl ads.

·         Videos: The Science of NFL Football (2): These insightful and interesting video lessons feature several lessons for students, covering topics like geometry, nutrition, and Newton's Laws of Motion. At Lessonopoly, there's also a great list of accompanying lesson plans (3).

·         Super Bowl Mania -- Creating Cross-Curricular Lessons That Score Big (4): Although this Scholastic article was produced for the Super Bowl in 2012, the ideas can be easily updated. Here, author Addie Albano provides ideas for math, language arts, science, and geography lessons framed around the Super Bowl.

·         Learning about Music with Touchdown Songs (5): ARTSEDGE from The Kennedy Center produced this lesson plan for teaching about football using music. The lesson is designed for students 12-18 years old and covers fight songs, half-time sounds, and music from NFL Film.

·         Super Bowl Math from Thinkfinity (6): Featuring several lesson plans for football-related math activities, this resource has ideas for every grade level. Students will be challenged to use their math skills to calculate odds and probability from football games, and there's also a lesson that looks at sports rankings. There's also a great list to outside links, as well, including "Swish! Pow! Whack! Teaching Onomatopoeia Through Sports Poetry (7)," from ReadWriteThink.

·         The Best Sites Where ELLs Can Learn About the Super Bowl from Larry Ferlazzo (8): Blogger and educator Larry Ferlazzo has been updating this list for the last few years, and there's plenty of valuable links throughout. Included in the list are links to podcasts, articles about Super Bowl history, and Super Bowl ads. There's something for every classroom.

·         Top 12 Super Bowl Related Activities for the Classroom (9): This TeachHUB resource from last year provides 12 great ideas for incorporating the Super Bowl into classroom lessons. There's a wide range of ideas, from nutrition lessons to commercial analysis and writing projects.

From:  Edutopia

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The Tennessee School Boards Association has set Jan. 27 - Feb. 2, 2013 as School Board Appreciation Week in Tennessee as a time to build awareness and understanding of the vital function an elected board of education plays in our society. Loudon County is joining all public school districts across the state to celebrate School Board Appreciation Week to honor local board members for their commitment to Loudon County and its children.

“It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and these individuals devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level,” Director of Schools Jason Vance said. “They make the tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the kind of accountability our citizens expect.”

Director Vance said the key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:

• Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student
achievement the top priority;
• Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do;
• Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at
expected levels;
• Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results;
• Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach;
• Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and
• Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising
issues related to student achievement.

“School board members give Loudon County citizens a voice in education decision making. Even
though we make a special effort to show our appreciation in January, their contribution is a year-round
commitment,” said Vance.

The members serving our district are as follows:

Students in grades K-8 in Loudon County Schools have the chance to get healthy and win prizes for themselves, their schools, and their coaches!

The Covenant Kids Run is a fun 1.2 mile non-competitive run/walk for kids 8^th grade and under that will be held Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 6:00 pm.  The starting line is at the World’s Fair Park and kids finish on the 50-yard line of Neyland Stadium!  By participating, kids can also “run a marathon.” Just run or walk a total of 25 miles between registration and the Covenant Kids Run and track progress in a log book.  The schools with the greatest participation of students completing the Kids Run will win Fittest School Challenge Awards – up to $750 in cash prizes for schools!  Schools from eight area counties (Anderson, Blount, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Roane, Sevier) will be pooled together for the Fittest School Challenge.

Mark your calendars!  To kick off the Covenant Kids Run there will be a kid’s run held at the Knoxville Zoo on Saturday, February 2^nd.  Admission to the zoo is free for each child who registers and one accompanying guest.  All other admissions are half-price.  The registration fee is $15 and this also covers the child’s registration for the official Covenant Kids Run on April 6.  By participating, kids can run a “marathon.”  Each child receives a log book to start tracking his or her miles and exercise between the Zoo run and the official Covenant Kids Run April 6. 

 

To help students log miles, Eaton Elementary, Ft. Loudoun Middle, Greenback Elementary/Middle, Highland Park Elementary, Loudon Elementary, Philadelphia Elementary/Middle, and Steekee Elementary are offering running/walking clubs one day per week starting the week of February 4th.  Any student in grades K-8 in Loudon County Schools that attends the Kickoff event at the Knoxville Zoo on Saturday, February 2^nd, has perfect attendance at all running club practices, and attends the Kids Run on April 6^th will be entered into a drawing for prizes!

But wait – there’s more! The Loudon County Schools office of Coordinated School Health is awarding additional prizes to the schools and coaches that have the highest percentage of students that attend practices and register for the Covenant Kids Run!

Students who are unable to participate in the running/walking club at their school may still register to participate in the Covenant Kids Run. 

Permission forms for the running clubs must be returned to your school no later than Tuesday, January 29. 

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Description: In 2013, Tennessee Educational Technology Association (TETA) is looking for original digital stories centered around the theme of "How to...". Videos can be created using a variety of multimedia tools. This is an opportunity to share with Tennessee technology leaders exceptional digital work that students and teachers have produced.

Eligibility: "Tennessee eTales" student & teacher initiative is open to any student or teacher in a K-12 Tennessee school.

General Guidelines: Entrants must be students or teachers in Tennessee schools grades K-12. Schools will judge all student videos so that two student entries per grade level per school will be submitted for the regional competition. Single, partner, and team projects will be accepted. Non-English dialogue must be translated with subtitles. Teacher videos will be limited to one video per teacher.

Submission of Entries: Deadline is March 1, 2013. Entries will be submitted for regional judging by this date.

Please use the online submission from at http://www.myvrspot.com/etales. You will also upload your video at this site as well. (www.teta.org) No entries that are submitted by mail or email will be accepted.

Entry Specifics:
1. Tennessee eTales must not exceed three (3) minutes in length.
2. Tennessee eTales must include at least (3) of the following components:
Voice-over narration
Images
Video
Music
Titles
3. Piece must be self-contained, no plug-in required.
4. Entrants must own and give permission to allow TETA to use anything included in their digital story, other than background music.
5. Tennessee eTales must meet a cut score of 70 or above in order to be considered for awards. The scoring rubric is available here.

Originality: Entries must be the original work of a single student, student partners, or group of students. Teachers may provide technical assistance with younger students, but an adult may not alter, change, or enhance the creative integrity of a students work. Teacher entries must be the original work of the teacher or group of teachers.

Deadline: All entries forms must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2013. The video must be uploaded by midnight March 1, 2013 as well.

Showcasing and Awards: All submissions will be judged at the regional level. Regional winners will receive cash awards and other recognitions.

Publication: All eTales entries will have the opportunity to have their work published on the Internet and linked to the TETA website - http://www.teta.org/. Applicants must sign a Terms and Agreement form providing publication rights to TETA. Entries will not be returned, but may be viewed on the public site.
***Applicants must sign the Terms and Agreement providing publication rights to TETA. The Terms and Agreement form can be downloaded HERE. Please scan or mail the signed form(s) only to the contact listed for your region.

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Mr. Breedlove’s sixth grade science classes at Fort Loudoun Middle School have been using iPads to research the Kepler Space Telescope. The students used several science news sites online to gather information about the telescope. Using apps on the iPads, students were able to create presentations with the information they gathered. Students were able to score each other’s presentations using a rubric on the iPads. Pictured: Mr. Breedlove is using the rubric to assess a presentation. Two students are presenting their research on the Kepler Space Telescope. 

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The LCBOE Workshop scheduled for January 03, 2013 at LCTC will be moved to January 10, 2013 at 6:00pm at the Courthouse Annex with the regular Board meeting to follow.

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The purpose of the First Lady’s READ20 Book Club is to give Tennessee families a fun goal of reading together with their children for 20 minutes every day. One book will be selected each month as the featured “Book of the Month,” but we encourage you to continue reading other books after you’ve finished our featured book.

The book club is for children and families of all ages! Whether a fifth grader reading independently, or a younger child being read to by an adult or older sibling, the featured books will appeal to a broad group of elementary-aged children and their families.

Goals

• 1. To encourage reading for enjoyment, reading fluency and comprehension
• 2. To give families a method of establishing a reading habit with their children for 20 minutes every day
• 3. To promote school readiness and reading proficiency
• 4. To provide parents with tools and activities to be more engaged with their child’s learning

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Eaton Elementary is participating in a research program using stability balls in the classroom. This research program is being coordinated by Mrs. Shelia Borders from the UT Extension office. Half of Eaton Elementary’s classrooms in grades 1^st – 4^th have taken away their normal chairs and replaced them with stability balls. We are anticipating that the use of the stability balls will increase student health and have classroom benefits. The stability ball requires kids to use balance to stay seated through an engagement of their core muscles to achieve this balance. The stability ball seats also help improve posture, because they aren’t able to slouch on the balls easily and still maintain balance. Classroom benefits we anticipate observing are students being able to better focus and pay attention to what's going on in the class. The increased attention and focus from the stability balls we predict will increase student achievement as well. Research has also shown that children with ADHD benefit from outlets for their constant movement. A stability ball as a chair is beneficial to children who have difficulty sitting still because they can move slightly, channeling their extra energy or fidgeting, while sitting on the ball. This program began Tuesday, January 22^nd. To see a few clips from classrooms at Eaton please click on the picture above.

The Loudon County Board of Education is in the process of purging Special Education records. If you turned 25 years of age between January 1, 1987 and December 31, 1987 and would like to have your Special Education records before they are purged, please call Sissy Foster, Special Education Supervisor at 458-5411 Ext. 1008. After February 15, 2013 the records will no longer be available.

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Winner- Trevor Good (8th Grade)

First Runner Up- Eric Hall (8th Grade)

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Dear Loudon County Parents and Staff members,

I appreciate the job that each of you do each day and realize that the next few days may be particularly challenging in light of the tragic events this past week at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  As a father of elementary school students, my heart goes out to the families of this community.  My wife and I have been praying for strength for the community as they deal with these events.  As many of our students are exposed to the news media constantly, I realize you may be faced with difficult questions.  Please review the attached resources from the www.nasponline.org as they may prove to be helpful in talking with your students.  Also remember we have guidance counselors and school psychologists on staff to assist with any needs you have in your classrooms.  Our administrators along with school resource officers and local law enforcement regularly review the school safety plans that have been developed specifically for each school as well as school teams practice them on a regular basis.  

 If I can assist you in any way please let me know.  We all love and care for the children we serve.  To teach is a calling and I believe that everyday you may have to do something different to help each child.  Today, we may have to show them support, comfort and remind them that school is one of their safest places.

Talking to Children About Violence

National Association of School Psychologist Advice after Sandy Hook

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Resources: Talking and Teaching About The Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut is from The New York Times Learning Network.

Unspeakable Tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School is from Edutopia.

Helping Children Cope with Traumatic Events is from Share My Lesson.

Tips for Talking to Children About the Shooting is from The New York Times.

How to talk to kids about violence is by Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post.

Dr. Steven Marans: Talking to children about violence

Talk to Your Kids About the Recent Violence is from ABC News.

Kids, the Media and Tragedy: 5 Lessons I Learned From Columbine

Taking Aim at Violence in Schools (lesson plan) from NY Times Learning Network.

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Fourth grade students in Mallory Russell's class at Philadelphia Elementary visited the Grand Canyon on January 9 without ever leaving their classroom.  Mrs. Russell scheduled a virtual field trip through the National Park Service and students were able to interact with a Park Ranger who works at the Grand Canyon. 

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The Builders' Service Club at Fort Loudoun Middle School collected 520 Christmas cards for military personnel. FLMS students and staff wrote encouraging messages in each card and are mailing them to our service men and women overseas. 

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Congratulations to Maria Urias, a North Middle School student, who won the 2012 Loudon County Spelling Bee.  Maria, along with all the other school winners, will go on to represent Loudon County in the Scripps-Howard Appalachian Spelling Bee in March.  School winners are: 

EES winner: Ana Depres

SES winner: Logan Hoppel

FLMS: Kathryn Fellhoelter

GBS winner: Will Chastain

HPES winner:  Gabriel Silvey

LES winner:  Brianna West

PES winner: Sydni Lynn (alternate Sarah Williams)

NMS winner: Maria Urias

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 Invent It Challenge is a project from ePals Global Community.  Students and teachers can register by Jan. 5.

	Challenge 1: Think about a problem in your school (or one in your ePals friend's school) and come up with an invention to solve it.
	Challenge 2: Find an invention that is used in your school and tell us how you would improve upon it.
	Challenge 3: Find a real-world problem and come up with an invention to solve it.

LHS Academy Awards Show
Watch the Trailer HERE!

Friday, Dec. 7th, 2012 at 1:45pm
LHS Auditorium - Admission is FREE
All students and faculty are welcome to attend



Don't miss the 8th Annual LHS Academy Awards show this fall on Friday, Dec. 7th. Students and faculty members will be called out for a special assembly at 1:45pm in the auditorium. The show will feature films made by LHS students from the Graphic Arts Dept. A special highlight this year will be the school-wide music video that was filmed right before Thanksgiving Break. The show will be hosted by Jon Dorsett and Boe Sellers. A panel of judges from our faculty will vote to select the winners for Best Music Video, Best Short Film, and Best Picture. A 4th prize, the Student Choice Award, will be selected by the audience at the end of the show by cheering the loudest for their favorite film. Click on the link above to our trailer about the event to see a brief history on our program plus clips of what's coming.

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Mrs. Kim Shubert, Highland Park Elementary teacher,  received WIVK/Shoneys teacher of the month. Gunter, Wivk the frog and the Shoney bear came to HPES Dec. 5 and awarded her with prizes. They interviewed Mr. Clinton, Mrs. Shubert and several children in her class and it will be aired  at 4:30 Dec. 5  on WIVK, and also the rest of this month.

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Loudon County had two Common Core sessions at the Tennessee Educational Technology Conference (TETC2012) in Nashville Nov. 28-30.  Jennifer Malone, Technology/Middle School Supervisor,  had the TETA Spotlight Session with "Common Core, Technology, and Project Based Learning - A Recipe for Success."  Jodi Lowery and Ashley Talley from Eaton Elementary presented "Stem to the Core".  You can access these presentations by clicking the links below.  Teachers can also access these presentations on the district Common Core page of the web site. 

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Mrs. Edwards and Mrs. Huff classes from Steekee Elementary participated in the 2012 Fantasy of Trees for Children's Hospital by decorating a four foot tree. Both classes also did a gingerbread house for the gingerbread village.

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Greenback students were big winners in the National Gingerbread House Competition.

 1st Place in the Children's Division--Briley Ervin Pre-K

Top Ten Youth Division--Amanda Spafford

Top Ten Teen Division--Emily Spafford

Top Ten Teen Division--(l to r)Ellie Talley, Taylor Gilmore, Ivy McJunkins, Kati Hooper

FCCLA members provided demonstrations with gingerbread at the Fantasy of Trees.  They donated 27 houses to the Children's Hospital charity and made an additional 12 houses doing demonstrations. 

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From Director Jason Vance:

I am proud to be a part of such an amazing team of educators, community leaders, parents, and students.  The Advanced Ed process and their recognition of the success of our school district just reflected what I see every day as I visit our schools.  Each of you are committed to student achievement through hard work and a daily commitment to excellence.  Thanks again for all you do each day for our most important resource, our students.

Report from Advanc-Ed External Review Team

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On Thursday, October 25, the Teaching as a Profession students and FCCLA members traveled to McMinn County High School to teach 3 sessions of Family and Consumer Science students the value of Project Based Learning.  Greenback students are participating in their 18^th year of designing and creating gingerbread houses for sale at the Fantasy of Trees.  A total of 60 students are participating in this year’s community service project to benefit the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital.  Taylor Gilmore, Ellie Talley, Ivy McJunkins, Sarah Wampler, Chloe Jones and Baylee Smith demonstrated how to make and decorate gingerbread houses and answered questions to help the McMinn County students begin the program at their school.  The Greenback FCCLA members have helped to raise over $35,000 in the past 17 years. 

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Have you ever wanted to help plan your school cafeteria's lunch menu?  The Food Services Department wants to give you a chance to tell us the foods you like best.  Please spend about five minutes on this short survey and tell us what you want for lunch.

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The Loudon County Board of Education has been recognized as a Board of Distinction by the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA).

The Board of Distinction program recognizes outstanding performance by school boards in the areas of planning, policy, promotion and board development. To qualify, a board must meet specific standards within a two-year period, including the conduction of a superintendent evaluation, developing a five-year plan, participating in a board retreat, conducting an annual review of all board policies, being recognized at the TSBA Delegate Assembly, adopting the TSBA code of ethics, and participating in a board self-evaluation.

Designation as a Board of Distinction is given for two years.

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Congratulations to all the winners of the Loudon County Social Studies Fair held Tuesday, October 30 at Greenback School.  A special thanks to all the volunteers who helped make the fair possible. 

4-5 PowerPoint

Ian Shelton - NMS

 

4-5 Exhibits

Individual:  Christian Grantham - NMS

Team:  Emilie Stiltner and Madiruth Jenkins - HPES

 

4-5 Maps

Individual:  Nic Bevins - NMS

Team:  Emerson Tripp and Delan Bradshaw - PES

 

4-5 Performances

Individual:  Scory Correa - LES

Team:  Emily Jones and Hannah Hodge - NMS

 

6-8 Exhibits

Individual:  Clayton West - NMS

Team:  Rachel Scheffer and Samantha Ezell - NMS

 

6-8 Documentary

Individual:  Jerri Ellison - PES

Team:  Megan Bornhoeft and Emily Collins - NMS

         Austin Lyttle - GBS

 

6-8 Performance

Individual:  Summer Shipley - PES

Team:  Elijah Bivens, Shelby Lampkin, Stone Sanchez, Caitlin Pratt, Jonathan Thompson - NMS

 

6-8 Websites

Individual:  Ricky Utera - PES

Team:  Trevor Good, Nick Plemmons, Eric Hall - NMS

         Bailey Stiles and Sally Ford - NMS

 

6-8 Maps

Emily Melton - FLMS

Allana Olson - FLMS

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Amy Grimes Kindergarten Class at Loudon Elementary School just completed an interdisciplinary learning project centered on pumpkins.  Here is the video they produced to share their learning.

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