Some things are funnier when you're older.

Update for Nov 30-Dec 4

I wrote this post 3 years ago for a blog we were doing at Horizon Elementary.  I reread it this weekend after finding an awesome solution to putting up Christmas lights.  
Hope you enjoy!

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My family and I have lived in our house for 3 years now and each year I'm expected to put up lights outside during the holiday season.

I don't really have a say.  When I complain, I get a reminder that our daughters (the bosses) won't be young much longer.  After my guilt trip, I usually get going.

Usually decorating consists of me throwing a few strands of lights that still work from last season around the tree in the front yard a couple of times and calling it a day.

That wasn't going to cut it this year.

For the past few weeks, my four year old (the manipulator) looks out the window at the neighbor's house lighted up in all it's glory and says, "Can we make our house look like that?".

The neighbor's house: success.

This time I took holiday decorating as a challenge.  I made a plan for how I'll get things done and start early on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  By the end of the day, only half of what I wanted to complete was done because I didn't account for two things:

1. The ladder didn't reach the rooftop.

2. I still haven't conquered my fear of falling off ladders that don't reach rooftops.

Our house: fail.

The day ended with me trying to grab onto some shingles for leverage while I kick my leg up onto the gutter.  What was I thinking?  I stopped and actually said, "What am I doing?  I'm going to end up like Clark Griswold."

And that's when it hit me.  The scene in the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, where Clark is hanging on his gutter trying not to fall from the roof, got 10 times funnier in that moment.  I used to think it was just a funny scene, but now I get it.
I guess somethings are funnier when your older.

2015 Follow-up -- 

This year, I wised up (Thank you inventors of "Star Shower"!)

Holiday Lights Part 2 from Herb Higginbotham on Vimeo.

Articles Worth Reading - -

“The Maker Movement is about Making Meaning” by @wakeupsilver https://medium.com/@wakeupsilver/the-maker-movement-is-about-freedom-25ef8a323022#.8xqfxtnv2

"Passion or Passive?" 
http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/5824 via @gcouros

It's not just about skills & content - we also have to think about the teacher qualities that matter to students. pic.twitter.com/JFkZnjj5jp

— Quaglia Institute (@QISAtweets) November 24, 2015

Upcoming Dates -- 

Dec 1 - BIT Meeting -- Please have your wish list items submitted by Dec 1 to be considered by PTO.

Dec 2 - Yearbook Picture Day; ADE Staff Meeting, 8:00 AM - Media Center

Dec 3 - Admin Meeting (Herb)

Dec 7 - PTO Meeting, 7PM

Dec 8 - 3rd Grade ELA State Assessment; Steering Committee Meeting, 3:45 - ADE Media Center

Dec 9 - 3rd Grade ELA State Assessment; Ed Team Meeting, 12:30; IAT Meeting, 3:45

Dec 10 - PD Series by Donna - "Dealing with Challenging Children", 3:45 ADE Media Center

Dec 11 - KG Toys for Tots Fire Station Visit

Dec 16 - ADCC Staff Meeting, 3:40 - ADE Media Center 

Partners In Personalization

Update for Sept 8-11

Photo Credit: Kelly Ramm/Hilliard City Schools

The graphic above that was shared with everyone during our first staff meeting of the year helped to generate great conversation about what it means to personalize education.  We discussed some of the approaches that we are doing that support personalizing education and ones that we need to strengthen.  

One point we shared during this time was that we are all at different points on this journey towards personalizing education, but that it is important that we are all on this journey together.  We also agreed that we will never "arrive" - Education constantly changes.  Taking steps towards personalizing are important because as we discussed, the world is becoming personalized place.  

Some are worried about the challenge of personalizing education for 25-30 students and I agree this is a challenge. However, something we need to remember is that we don't have to do personalize education alone. We have partners out there that will help us personalize education for kids and these partners are parents. 

Parents want to be able to help their child have access to an excellent learning experience. In order for us to do that we have to be able to meet parents where they are and to do that we need to find out what they need. I am proud that our community has responded to this need and recognized an opportunity to connect with parents through a re-imagining of a traditional school event.

On September 16th, we will be hosting our 1st Parent EdCamp/Curriculum Night, a night where parents get to choose a learning experience that fits their needs as a family to better support their child. For us educators, this night is a prime opportunity to build partnerships with families that, if sustained throughout the school year, can help us get closer to achieving a personalized learning experience for each of our students. We have the chance to go beyond bullet points and Powerpoint presentations and truly provide parents with what they need to know more about to better help their child.

I am excited about this opportunity to take our partnerships with parents and our efforts to personalize education to a new level!

Have a great week!

--Herb

Articles worth reading

"From Possibilities to Priorities: Inspiring a Vision for Learning" http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/11834

"3 Hacks that Solve Big School Problems" via @cultofpedagogy http://www.cultofpedagogy.com/hacking-education/

"For Back to School, Reimagine Classroom Design" http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/08/07/for-back-to-school-reimagine-classroom-design/

Videos worth viewing

Upcoming Events

Sept 14 - PTO General Meeting -- Staff: Don’t forget to sign-up to host a snack and join us for the PTO Meeting!  See Jillian for more information.

Sept 16 -- Parent EdCamp/Curriculum Night! 5:30-7:00pm;  see Heather or Herb for more details.

Sept 17 -- Admin Meeting (Herb)

Sept 21 -- Staff Development Day - No Students; Agenda to come…

Sept 23 -- ADCC Staff Meeting, 3:45 ADE Media Center

Sept 24 -- Picture Day

Sept 30 -- Staff Meeting, 8:00am; Mumkin Pickup 4-7pm

Oct 5-9 -- Fall Conference Week, Conference Night is Oct 7.

Oct 5 -- PTO General Meeting, 7pm

Oct 6 -- Building Improvement Team meeting

Oct 10 -- Community Cardboard Challenge, ILC/Scioto Darby Campus, 9-12pm

A School's Social Media Account Can Be More Than A Newsletter. #edad688

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This year Hilliard Horizon Elementary established a Twitter account (@HZNElemenary) for our school because we wanted to utilize this social media tool so that we could better communicate with our students, families and our community about the great things that are happening at our school each day.

Many schools use social media platforms such as Twitter to share information about important dates and events. This is a great way to communicate important information, but more can be done with this powerful communication tool.

We have been using our school Twitter account to share information, student learning in action, reflections from staff members and articles for parents that can help them help their child learn.




The point is that there can be many uses for Twitter that can help you not only get your message out there, but also share the great things you are learning about in your building. Just think of what that shows the community - That you value learning something new every single day, and that learning never stops!

Check out what some of our students and staff members have been learning about over Winter Break:

https://twitter.com/HZNElementary/timelines/420635157607886848

What are some ways your school uses Twitter to engage the community?