Are we in NYC?

Upon entering Oak Ridge Middle School, you may think that you have entered a subway station in New York City instead of a middle school building.  Mrs. Hale-Keuseman and Mr. Hynek have been working with a group of Oak Ridge students druing FLEX to create the foyer into art based on NYC street artist Keith Haring.  What a way to enter the building with so much color and creativity!

 
 

GoFormative in the Classroom!

Last week in Janelle Hurkett's room, I observed her student's using GoFormative for an assessment.  Each student was working their way through the assessment at their own pace. After completion, Mrs. Hurkett could decide to use the formative results instantly with the class, or look at it later. GoFormative scores multiple choice and short answer for you so can be a great time saver. Wanna check out GoFormative, come see it in action with Mrs. Hurkett, Mrs. Henricksen, or Mr. Koenen at Excelsior.

Oakridge Library

I had the opportunity to go meet Sue Kraus and visit the Oak Ridge library.  I loved to see that they are doing many of the same things we do here at Excelsior!  Thanks Sue for letting me come visit!

Mrs. Glew using Yournextread.com!

Mrs. Glew brought in her iExcel class to try out the website yournextread.com. It was fun to see kids try the mapping page and jot down titles they may be interested in.  Several found books we didn't have and filled out a recommendation form!

The Dash & Dot

Come to the library and check out the new Dash and Dot robot we checked out from GWAEA this month!

Super Slow cars with Mr. Ortiz!

Mr. Whitson rocking the "Lean on Me" program!

So awesome to have high school students meet with our students!

Teamwork, Giving, 7th Graders, Baby Blankets????

How do you make it a warm holiday for newborns in the Cedar Rapids area when they need to spend some extra time in the hospital?  Of course, a warm fleece tie blanket made by 7th graders at Excelsior!  Teamwork at its' finest, the floors of the 7th Grade hallway at Excelsior were covered with fleece, scissors, and students who have all come together in their OCM classes to make blankets for newborns in our local hospitals.  It is hard enough to be a new parent, but having to spend extra time in the hospital with your new little one is stressful and exhausting.  The students and teachers have found a way to ease this with the blankets.  Students donated all the materials and have spent the last 2 weeks assembling the blankets.  This is the 3rd year for Excelsior donating blankets for the holidays and with this teamwork, I imagine many more!  Great Job!