Hola

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~ Cynthia Ozick

I recently had the opportunity to spend two weeks traveling with my family in Nicaragua, the second poorest country in Central America.  Similar to past travel experiences, we came home very grateful for what we have, reminded of what we take for granted, yet amazed at how happy the people are with the standard of living they have.

We toured a coffee plantation at Selva Negra and learned about the process from plant to cup.  We tried our hand at picking a few of the coffee berries and concluded we didn’t have the special technique to pick what the average worker managed in a day.  In the picture left, you can see the workers with their sacks of berries getting measured for their pay.  We were told that a picker could pick an average of 10 boxes (25 pounds per box) per day during peak season, and depending on the farm, would be paid approximately $1.25 US per box.  We have a new appreciation for our cup of coffee every morning and the lifestyle we have become accustomed to.

Click here for a video clip of the workers in action.

We made friends with a Nicaraguan fellow who took us to his home of 15 people that he, his wife and daughter share with his parents, sister’s family, sick nephew etc.  When we arrived, his mother (who has a small tortilla business) was making tortillas with his sister that were about to be cooked over the fire.  After this visit, we appreciate all space and amenities we have in our own homes.  

We visited a preschool and elementary school, and while some things are similar, the rooms were quite bare compared to our classrooms.  There were few obvious manipulatvies, resources or storybooks in the classroom, and the playgrounds had little equipment.  It was our understanding that only the high schools have internet access with a computer lab.  We learned that some families try to save extra money to send their children to private school to help them learn English from a young age to help give them more opportunities when they are finished school.  Private school only cost $10 per month, but was out of reach for most families.  Once again, I felt very fortunate as a teacher and for my students to have so many supplies and resources available.

Our two weeks were packed with many experiences.  We climbed active and inactive volcanoes, sand boarded down the Cerro Negro volcano, learned about the history and political instability, admired the beautiful architecture, kayaked around isletas, ziplined through the canopy, visited a cacao factory, scuba dived, watched pottery being made, fished, enjoyed the beautiful weather… just to name a few!  After returning home and reflecting on our trip, we felt that despite how poor the people we came in contact with, they seemed content and happy with what they had.  What a great lesson for my family to have!

     

Share a travel experience that has made an impact on you!

Stop Bullying

February 25 was Pink Shirt Day to promote anti-bullying.  

We were going to make this post last week, however we decided to post about our Google experience while we were at the conference. 

NBCDES staff all wore pink t-shirts on February 25 to recognize and support this cause.  

Bullying comes in many different forms such as physical, emotional and cyber.  Anyone can be a victim of bullying.  It is important to take action if you are a bystander.

Erasebullying.ca states that "Research shows that bystanders can effectively stop bullying within 10 seconds of an intervention - so, what are you waiting for?"

Ways to take action if you are a bystander:
- make it clear to your friends that you will not participate in bullying behavior
- never stand by and watch or encourage someone being bullied
- don't harass tease or gossip about others (this includes on internet and social media)
- never forward or respond to message of photos that may be offensive or hurtful
- support the person who is being bullied to ask for help (find a trusted adult)
- be a friend
- report bullying to someone you trust

View To This Day Project - Shane Koyczan 

Achieving Together: Becoming Google Goorus

Achieving Together: Becoming Google Goorus



http://www.redjumper.net/bookcreator/



https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/touchcounts/id897302197?mt=8

Becoming Google Goorus

Google Summit Conference 2015

Many of our NBCDES Staff are attending the Google Summit Conference in Edmonton this week. The conference is tailored for using Google in Education. 

As a staff, we are bringing our own experiences into the learning sessions and increasing our knowledge in order to enhance our instructional practices. We are participating in a variety of useful sessions, as we continue to hear the importance of integrating technology into educaiton 

(as a learning tool, along with promoting collaboration), digital citizenship, students demonstrating their understanding in a variety of ways, teaching others, and so forth.

Your Digital Footprint

Digitial Citizenship

...students learn to use technology in a responsible manner

...students learn that they are in control of their message

One session by K. Smith highlighted the benefits of students, parents, 

and teachers blogging together.

Tomorrow is a new day and even more sessions. 

We are looking forward to continuing to learn!!

The More Places You'll Go ~ Read Today!

Why Your Child Should Read 

for 20 minutes Every Day

“Why can’t I skip my 20 minutes of reading tonight?”

Let’s figure it out – mathematically!

Student A reads 20 minutes five nights of every week;

Student B reads only 4 minutes a night… or not at all!

Step 1: Multiply minutes a night x 5 times each week.

Student A reads 20 minutes x 5 times a week = 100 minutes/week.

Student B reads 4 minutes x 5 times a week = 20 minutes/week.

Step 2: Multiply minutes a week x 4 weeks each month.

Student A reads 400 minutes a month.

Student B reads 80 minutes a month.

Step 3: Multiply minutes a month x 9 months/school year.

Student A reads 3600 minutes in a school year.

Student B reads 720 minutes in a school year.

Student A practices reading the equivalent of 10 whole school days a year.

Student B gets the equivalent of 2 school days of reading practice.

By the end of 6^th grade, if Student A and Student B maintain these same reading habits,

• Student A will have read the equivalent of 60 whole school days.
• Student B will have read the equivalent of only 12 school days.

Some questions to ponder:

Which student would you expect to read better?  Which student would you expect to know more?

Which student would you expect to write better?  Which student would you expect to have a better vocabulary?  Which student would you expect to be more successful in school… and in life?

Why read to your child 30 minutes a day?

*If daily reading begins in infancy, by the time the child is five years old, he or she has been fed roughly 900 hours of brain food!

*Reduce that experience to just 30 minutes a week, and the child’s hungry mind loses 770 hours of nursery rhymes, fairy tales and stories.

*A kindergarten student who has not been read aloud to could enter school with less than 60 hours of literacy nutrition.  No teacher, no matter how talented, can make up for those lost hours of mental nourishment.

PLEASE READ TO YOUR CHILD AND HAVE YOUR CHILD READ TO YOU TODAY

Recommend a good book or series that you have read lately.

Tales From Our Family Day

In British Columbia, Family Day was last Monday, February 9th. 
For many others, Family Day is celebrated today, February 16th.

Family Day is a time to stop and spend time with your loved ones. It is great to take a break from the everyday routines and share in special activities that we sometimes don't have the time for, such as: playing games, watching movies, tobogganing, skiing, going for walks, and so much more.

Family can mean different things to many people. Family isn't always blood relatives. It can be the people in your life, who share their life with you; the ones who would do anything to see you smile and love you no matter what...

What does family mean to you and your loved ones?

Share something special that you and your family have done to celebrate this occasion. 

Learning Through Life Experiences

As we go through life, we come across a variety of experiences; daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and so forth. With these experiences, we have a number of opportunities to learn something new. We can stop and reflect on what happened during the experience, what we have learned, how it has changed our life, and what we can do with this knowledge to make future decisions.

Share an experience that has some impact on your life. 

An experience that you stopped and reflected on, or had an "Ahha" moment because of.

Activate Your Mathematical Mind

Here is a fun little Math problem...

Our goal for our students is to engage in critical thinking. There are essential compontents we encourage students to be touching on, to develop higher level of thinking: analyzing, connecting, problem solving, reasoning, visualizing, applying, and communicating.

Share your thoughts on this problem. 

Solve it and explain your thinking to us.

Internet Safety

Our world is changing rapidly with the advancement of technology, which we utilize in our every day lives. 

Through our own NBCDES school program, we have now incorporated online lessons, online texts, and email is one of our main forms of communications. With our own teaching practices and strategies, we appreciate and cherish the internet for our collaboration with our students. With this in mind, we need to always remind ourselves of the importance of internet safety. We want to encourage our students to see the value in our internet use, but to also remember that safety is very important.

What do you do to practice safety on the internet?

Do you have any questions in regards to internet safety?

Shout it Out!

Take a moment to think about your success: 

in school, at home, in extra curricular activities, and so forth.

"Shout Out" something that you are proud of!

Blog and tell us about your success and how it made you feel.

Anything is Possible

Don't be bound by limits you impose on yourself. 

Anything is possible.

Is there anything that you have tried that you didn't think was possible? Describe this situation to us...

New Year's Resolution

A New Year's Resolution is a promise to yourself or decision to do something, especially to improve one's behaviour or lifestyle in some way, during the year ahead.


So many of us start the year with good intentions: to be healthier, to save more money, or to take more holidays. But how do we maintain our resolutions successfully?

• You need a plan...that is the key to succeeding at keeping your New Year's Resolution.
• You need to reflect on whether or not you are achieving your resolution and make adjustments if necessary.

Do you think New Year's Resolutions are beneficial?

Do you set New Year's Resolution for yourself? If so, we would love for you to share your New Year's Resolution for 2015.