Tuesday, March 31, 2015

What strategy has the greatest effect on student performance?

John Hattey studies educational innovations and their influence on student learning. The following description is from the website http://visible-learning.org/glossary/. "Self reported grades comes out at the top of all influences. Children are the most accurate when predicting how they will perform. In a video Hattie explains that if he could write his book Visible Learning for Teachers again, he would re-name this learning strategy “Student Expectations” to express more clearly that this strategy involves the teacher finding out what are the student’s expectations and pushing the learner to exceed these expectations. Once a student has performed at a level that is beyond their own expectations, he or she gains confidence in his or her learning ability. Example for Self-reported grades: Before an exam, ask your class to write down what mark the student expects to achieve. Use this information to engage the student to try to perform even better." Student motivation is the key to student learning. Hattey identified student goal setting as the most effective strategy for motivating students to learn. The MAP test (Measures of Academic Performance) can also be used to motivate students if students keep track of where they scored previously and then set a goal for where they will be at the next test date. Hattey has listed the effect size for over 200 educational strategies/innovations. His book Visible Learning or his new book Visible Learning For Teachers are both excellent sources of information for what works in education.

Friday, March 27, 2015

BR Speech Team- State Champions!!!!!!

Bancroft-Rosalie wins the D-2 State Speech Championship with 128 points. Individual winners- Brianna Wegner- STATE CHAMPION Persuasive Chase Bonsall, Kylie Cole, Austin Bruning, Ian Nottlemann, Jerrica Tietz- STATE CHAMPIONS- Oral Interpretation of Drama Suzanne Ras- STATE RUNNER-UP Informative Austin Bruning and Ian Nottlemann- STATE RUNNER-UP Duet Acting Kylita Gomez- THIRD PLACE Informative Suzanne Ras- FOURTH PLACE Humorous Prose Kylita Gomez- FIFTH PLACE Persuasive Brianna Wegner- SIXTH PLACE Serious Prose Congratulations Coach Ras and Coach Linnerson on your STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

State Speech Awards live streamed at 5:30 pm

You can watch live streaming of the State speech awards presentations at: http://netnebraska.org/basic-page/television/live-demand?field_media_categories_tid_1=669 The D-2 Awards are scheduled for 5:30 pm. B-R has 8 events in the finals. Serious Prose- Brianna Wegner Informative- Kylita Gomez and Suzanne Ras Persuasive- Kylita Gomez and Brianna Wegner Duet Acting- Austin Bruning/Ian Nottlemann Humorous Prose- Suzanne Ras Oral Interpretation of Drama- Nottlemann/Bruning/Tietz/Bonsall/Cole

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Teammates Runza Day Tuesday March 31

West Point Runza will be donating 10% of their March 31 sales to the Cuming County Teammates Program. Bancroft-Rosalie School is part of Teammates wil three active mentors associated with our school.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Sunday March 29 Pancake Feed for Chris Snyder

Chris Snyder will be participating in the Down Under Bowl football games for the Central Conference Team in Australia this summer. There will be a Pancake Feed to help him raise the money to go this Sunday March 29 in the Rosalie Town Hall from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm. Sausage, eggs, and all you can eat pancakes for $8.00.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Four B-R staff to attend the June Future Ready Summit in Chicago

Led by trained facilitators skilled at using technology and digital learning effectively, the Future Ready Summit will provide professional assistance to four B-R staff members- Dr. Jon Cerny, Joy Nolting, Bev Zwygart and Stephanie Henry. The summit will focus on a comprehensive set of issues that drive student learning including: curriculum, instruction, and assessment; professional learning; technology, networks, and hardware; budget and resources; data and privacy; use of time; and community partnerships. The summit will provide the resources and expert support to build digital learning plans that align with instructional best practices, are implemented by highly trained teachers, and lead to digital learning experiences for all students, particularly those from traditionally underserved communities. The Chicago Summit will be June 15-16. The B-R team will travel by bus with educational service unit #2 staff and other ESU2 schools.

Choosing a College information from College Choice

Alibina Burn from College Choice asked if I would share this information on my blog. Choosing a College
Source: CollegeChoice.net

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Nebraska State Reading testing next week

Bancroft-Rosalie School will be giving the Nebraska State Reading Assessment to grades 3,4,5,6,7,8 and 11. We want students to perform at their best. Parents, how can you help? 1. Create enthusiasm; your attitude as a parent has a direct bearing on the attitude of your child. 2. Talk to your child about the importance of giving their best effort and about staying focused during the assessment, but do not make your child overly anxious. Do your best to reduce anxiety if it exists. 3. Be sure that your child gets plenty of rest and eats a good breakfast. 4. Get your child to school on time. No tardies, please. 5. Communicate with the school in a timely manner if your child must be absent during a testing time.

Jess Tietz National Tournament MVP

Morningside junior Jessica Tietz was named Most Valuable Player of the NAIA National Basketball Tournament. Morningside won the National Tournament.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

District Speech Results

Bancroft-Rosalie earns District Speech Championship State qualifiers Humorous - Suzanne Ras 2nd Informative - Suzanne Ras 1st and Kylita Gomez 2nd Extemporaneous - Aaron Ras 3rd Serious - Brianna Wegner 1st Persuasive - Kylita Gomez 1st and Brianna Wegner 2nd Duet - Austin Bruning and Ian Nottlemann 2nd OID - Austin Bruning, Ian Nottlemann, Jerrica Tietz, Chase Bonsall, Kylee Cole Other Medalists Entertainment - Wyatt Hennig 6th Serious - Jaelisa. SwitzeR Duet -Tess Nottlemann and Wyatt Hennig 6th OID - Jaelisa Switzer, Kennedy Schuttler, Anna Currier, Derek Ahlers, Teagan Steinmeyer 5th

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Poet Desmond Egan- Sunday March 15 at Neihardt Site

Just in time to kick off St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, Irish poet Desmond Egan will return to entertain us with poetry and story. Egan lives in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland and visits the United States annually for a tour of readings and workshops. He appeared at the Neihardt Site in 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2014, and will be here once more on March 15 to share some of his new works. Egan is recognized as one of Ireland’s most distinguished poets, teaching literature and serving as poet-in-residence at University College in Dublin and creative director of the annual Gerard Manley Hopkins International Summer School. He certainly has universal appeal, with over twenty collections of poetry and prose translated into a more than a dozen languages; one example is an anti-apartheid poem which graces Desmond Tutu’s bedroom wall. His most recent publication September Dandelion is a dual-language (English/Chinese) collection of poems published in China this past March. His work has been the subject of two documentary films, he holds an honorary doctorate from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, and he continues to garner awards, such as the 2004 Macedonian Poetry Award. His poetry is often humorous but more likely to be observations on the painful realities of poverty and war, such as his poem “Peace.” Greatly influenced by American Jazz music, in the 1970s he used to come to New York to “starve about the place,” while absorbing the rhythms and nuances which color many of his works. Of his lighter pieces, among the most popular is his set of “Hokums,” an Irish blarney parody of Japanese Haiku poetry, a style he greatly admires for its simplicity and deep feeling. The presentation will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Neihardt State Historic Site. General programs are free and open to the public with a reception following.

Bancroft-Rosalie Board votes to coop high school sports with Lyons-Decatur

Last night the boards of both schools unanimously voted to coop high school sports beginning in 2016-17. The schools will continue to operate as separate school systems, sharing some classes such as agriculture and industrial technology. The athletic directors at both schools will work at the details and let people know how the coop will operate as soon as possible.

Monday, March 9, 2015

State Basketball Sportsmanship Criteria

We are planning on winning the Sportsmanship Award this weekend and want the support of the parents and fans to make this happen. Here are the criteria for the award.

No School Friday- School Daycare is an option

Bancroft-Rosalie School will be dismissed Friday for the State Boys Basketball Tournament. One of the Bancroft daycare providers will be closed that day, so our After-school Program staff volunteered to offer something to parents this Friday.

The Friday After-school program will run from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm in the Bancroft-Rosalie School building. We ask that parents sign up ahead of time if they plan to have their student attend.

There will be breakfast from 7:30- 8:15, Lunch at Noon, and a snack at 4:15 pm.

Mrs. Frisch has a variety of activities planned for the students. 

Friday, March 6, 2015

Blue Ribbon Award- The school's arts, physical education/health/nutrition, foreign language, technology, and other curriculum programs.




Arts

The goal of the fine arts curriculum is to provide opportunities for all elementary students to participate in music and art and to develop and refine their skills as they mature. Students in grades K-6 receive a sequential program of instruction in music, which includes basic concepts, listening and performance skills, and appreciation. All K-6 students have music class twice a week. Students who wish to play an instrument may participate in band beginning in grade 5.

The art curriculum in grades K-6 includes instruction in the visual art disciplines of art production, art criticism, and aesthetics. The program is sequential and comprehensive in the experiences offered to students. All K-6 students have Art class two periods a week.

Physical Education

Physical education provides students with opportunities to learn motor skills, develop fitness, and gain understanding about the importance of physical activity and healthy bodies. Students are provided a developmentally appropriate and personally challenging instructional program that advances the knowledge, confidence, skills, and motivation needed to engage in a lifelong, healthy, active lifestyle.
Students in grades K-1 have PE class every day, grades 2-4 have PE class four times a week, and grades 5-6 have PE class twice a week.

All elementary students have two twenty minute recesses each day. Recess allows students the time for unstructured play.

Foreign Language

Spanish language instruction is proficiency-oriented with the teacher placing greater emphasis on meaningful communication than grammatical structure. Teacher and students use the target language as much as possible with the goal of student’s first understanding and then producing in the language. The curriculum has a spiral design, so that greater detail, rigor, and breadth are added to similar themes of study each subsequent school year. Students in grades 2-6 have Spanish Language class twice each week.

Technology

Elementary students engage in curriculum-related computer activities designed by their classroom teacher, the computer supervisor, and/or the technology coordinator. Students become engaged in a number of developmentally appropriate computer activities. Computers are used for problem-solving activities, creating simple publishing projects, remedial math and reading software programs or apps, and slide-show presentations. Examples of programs include PBS Kids, National Geographic For Kids, Discovery Education, and Math Playground. All K-6 students have computer class four periods each week.

Bancroft-Rosalie Elementary School uses the Net Smartz Kids curriculum to educate students on how to avoid dangerous, inappropriate, or unlawful online behavior. Typing Web.com is the program used for keyboarding instruction.

There are seven IPads for student use in each elementary classroom. The after school program has ten IPads for students. The classroom teachers have access to the computer lab for writing projects.  Upper elementary students use Google Drive to store their assignments.




Career Guidance

The Career Guidance program addresses student development in academic achievement, career development, and personal and social skills. The school counselor supports students in experiencing school success. The counselor works with students individually, in small groups, and in the classrooms. Each classroom receives developmental school counseling lessons during the course of the school year. The counselor helps students develop coping skills, solve problems, learn study skills, and build friendships. All students in grades K-6 have Career Guidance class once each week.

Library/Media

The goal of the Bancroft-Rosalie Elementary School library program is to provide our students, staff, and community with outstanding resources that will enable each to flourish in their lifelong education. As supporting the curriculum and student needs is the main purpose of the school library, the library provides a current, cross-curricular, cross-cultural collection of text and non-text resources, which reflects the school community. To best support the student curricular needs, books and materials represent all literacy levels and are arranged according to readability levels.

Students have access to interactive web-based multi-media digital resources such as the World Book web site, which offers an encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, homework help, and study aids. Over 1,000 high interest e-library books are available for student checkout through a school cooperative administered by Educational Service Unit #2.

The library/media program stimulates interest in reading, viewing, and using information and ideas. Students learn to locate and evaluate resources and appreciate literature and life long learning. All students in grades K-4 have library class once each week.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Team finishes 3rd at Conference Speech

East Husker Conference Speech Results

Team - 3rd place



Extemporaneous

            7th--Aaron Ras

Persuasive

            4th—Kylita Gomez

            1st—Brianna Wegner

Informative

            4th—Suzanne Ras

            2nd—Kylita Gomez

Humorous

            6th-Suzanne Ras

Duet Acting

            5th—Wyatt Hennig & Tess Nottlemann

            1st—Ian Nottlemann & Austin Bruning

OID

            3rd—Jerrica Tietz, Ian Nottlemann, Austin Bruning, Chase Bonsall,

                        & Kylee Cole