May 9, 2012

Dear Bollinger Community,

It is time to celebrate! The Ed Fund Board and I would like to announce that with your ongoing generosity throughout this entire year, including the last two weeks, we are able to continue our Ed Fund programs.   Art with Miss Tess, computers, library, and performing arts have been restored to their full extent. I am touched by the heartfelt messages heard from many of our Bollinger community, especially the children themselves about how much these programs mean to them. We are shy of our target for Rainbow and iPads, however, your generosity has made a huge dent towards maintaining Rainbow at their current level of support and making progress towards the acquisition of iPads for our students.   Donations continue to come in on a daily basis and I will keep you informed of our progress.  FAQ about these programs have been posted on our website and I encourage you to take a moment to review this information.  Once again, thank you all so very much! What an incredibly supportive community.

On to other fun news!  I want to acknowledge a couple of very special staff members.  First of all, one of Bollinger’s favorites, Lindy Sable, has formally announced her retirement for the end of this school year.  Lindy is truly a one of a kind treasure.  In over twenty years of my being in education, I have honestly NEVER met another Lindy.  There is not a day in the week that she doesn’t bounce in, with her huge smile, telling the whole world that she LOVES her job!!  She has influenced more students to enter the teaching world than anyone I have ever met.  She has her finger on the pulse of the entire community and generations around them.  I will miss Lindy more than words can say and I hope that if you have been touched by her smile and her presence that you will take a few minutes over the next few weeks to wish her a happy and healthy retirement.

I also want to acknowledge Betty Ann Craven.  She has been nominated for Bollinger Canyon’s Rotary Teacher of the Year award.  Here is an excerpt of what I wrote on behalf of Betty Ann.  “When all is said and done, Betty Ann always recognizes the unique strengths of all children.  She develops a partnership with her students and helps them develop the skills necessary to take ownership of their learning.   Personally I saw her take a child who would hide under her desk each day and develop her into one who smiles and now “bounces” around school filled with confidence and self-esteem.  As a teacher, Betty Ann is intelligent and kind, she is genuine, patient and gentle, she is perceptive and she uses humor to guide those lucky students who walk through her classroom door every day.”  Once again, if you have been fortunate enough to have been touched by Betty Ann’s wonderful sense of humor and her “Cravenisms” please take a moment to congratulate her for receiving this honor.

And finally, I want to thank all of the Boy Scout troops and their families, under the guidance of Becky O’Brien who redid the planter boxes and plant sections in the center of our school!  It is absolutely gorgeous and lends to the warmth and welcoming learning environment of Bollinger.

I look forward to seeing many of you soon at Open House and our Performing Arts Performance on June 4.

Sincerely,

Shawn Wells

Principal

MAY

7-16 STAR TESTING

16: Breakfast Book Club

17: PTA Meeting (9:30am)

28: Memorial Day Holiday--No School

30: Talent Show Evening Performance

31: Open House 6:30-7:30pm

June

4: "Music Moves Me" 2-5 Performing Arts Performance

7:  Lunch on the Green

14: 5th Grade Promotion 11-12 in MPR

Frequently Asked Questions regarding Support our Programs Donations

Why the cut in our Ed Fund budget?

This is a simplified version of the story.  What is important to understand is that the donations raised this current school year go to encumbrances and obligations for this current school year.  Therefore, if there are not enough funds raised to match those commitments we go into reserves (or deficit spending) to meet those obligations.  We then have to budget accordingly for the following year keeping in mind that donations may be low again and there are not enough reserves left for deficit spending.

Will donations made now impact donations for the Ed Fund during registration next August?

I certainly hope not.  If you look at my above explanation it is important to understand that the donations we receive now will help establish a budget for next year that we will once again be obligated to meet.  One of the benefits I have noticed already in responses to my request are multiple new ideas on fund raising or ways to accomplish our goals next year that won’t put us in such a last minute panic.  I will share those ideas with our Ed Fund board as we look at next year’s budget and planning once again.  

Why the shift towards technology and iPads?

Our children are growing up as digital natives and they are excited and engaged through the use of digital tools.   Staff members recognize these changes and realize that these tools can enhance their teaching strategies and engage our students, and support student success.

The state of California has adopted a new set of teaching and learning standards.  These are known as the Common Core Standards.  The California Common Core State Standards (Ca CCSS) provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers.  Feel free to check out the following website for more detailed information on the development of these standards and implementation.

http://www.scoe.net/castandards/multimedia/common_core_faq.pdf

These standards are adopted by the state of California and are expected to be fully implemented by 2014.  Here are some excerpts from those standards that require the use of technology.  In addition, explicit within many of the standards is the ability for students to access technology for the use of research, and development of 21^st century skills of Creativity, Collaboration, Communication, Curiosity and Critical Thinking. 

Speaking and Listening Standards

Kinder - Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

1^st - Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

2^nd - Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

3^rd grade - Create engaging audio recordings of stories or poems that demonstrate fluid reading at an understandable pace; add visual displays when appropriate to emphasize or enhance certain facts or details.

4^th grade - Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

5^th grade - Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Writing Standards

3^rd - With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

4^th - With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.

5^th - With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting.

Here is an interesting video from Sir Ken Robinson, Author, Speaker, and Advisor, on Education, Creativity and Innovation at a 2010 Ted Talks presentation.  It is about 17 minutes long but provides some interesting insight.

http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html

Finally, in a recent symposium I attended, I was introduced to some of the piloted assessments that will be rolled out with the new Common Core Standards.  These assessments will be more performance based on utilizing digital tools.  For instance 4th grade students may be asked to do a mini presentation to demonstrate understanding of certain concepts.  These performance assessments will be partially skill based because of the requirement to do a presentation utilizing 1:1 technology, i.e. laptop computer or iPad.  If we do not move forward in this area, we will be doing our children a serious injustice.  This leads to the next couple of questions.

What is the SRVUSD iPad initiative?

Under the direction of Superintendant Enoch, a committee of district administrators, site administrators and teachers from various schools and grade levels developed a plan that would establish criteria for a 1:1 initiative compelling schools at all levels to have 1:1 technology available to every student in the form of iPads or laptop computers within the next three years.  Elementary schools will provide 1:1 for 5^th grade, and middle schools and high schools will determine whether it will be grade level or department level.  I believe Iron Horse Middle School is aiming for 1:1 in 8^th grade core and 7^th grade science.  Schools that commit to this initiative will receive iPads for every teacher on site, (so that they can be comfortable with the operation of the iPads and how they can enhance their instruction and have an opportunity to explore applications that can be shared with their students in all classrooms,) and will be given priority placement on the queue to have an upgraded infrastructure to support the increased demand on the wireless network.  The district has established a week long institute that 5^th grade teachers would attend as a team during the summer and optional staff development opportunities throughout the summer will exist for teachers at all other grade levels.

What does the 1:1 initiative mean to Bollinger?

Bollinger staff has agreed to commit to a modified version of this initiative.  It is our strong believe that to provide the appropriate instructional strategies and opportunities for learning for our students, we need to embrace this change in our learning environment.   The challenges are many, including obtaining the funding for equipment, staff development, and having the appropriate infrastructure in place.  During the 2012-2013 school year we have a bubble of approximately 120 5^th grade students.  Our goal is to lease 60 iPads for students and approximately 24 iPads for teachers, and purchase covers and storage carts (this will provide a minimum of 2:1 student use for 5^th grade.)  The following year we will fully commit to the 1:1 initiative in which we will need 30 more student iPads.  At that time because of our full commitment, the district will purchase the iPads for teachers and those previously leased iPads will move into the hands of the students.  We will only need to lease a few more in order to complete our 1:1 commitment for 5^th grade with a full contingent of 90 iPads.  The staff and I have discussed the feasibility of 1:1 for 5^th grade students and recognize that there will be many times throughout the day that the iPads will not be in full use, and that there may be more opportunities for group use than 1:1, so we fully intend to develop a system in which those iPads will be shared throughout the school for other student use.

How do we fund the Bollinger Canyon iPad initiative?

In order to fund our plan, it is necessary for us to raise approximately $14,000 for year one, $12,000 year two, $12,000 year three and $1,000 year four.  Apple has quoted us a price of approximately $375 for iPad 2s.   These annual costs take into consideration carts, covers, and the 5^th grade teacher institute this summer.  All other staff development opportunities are paid for by the district.   We have received $5,000 this year from the San Ramon Educational Foundation grant therefore leaving us with $9,000 to raise to implement our program.  Here is a link to the YouTube video that shows a portion of our presentation to the SRVEF.  I believe student voices are much stronger than adults!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CteJu75f4bo  We will look at fund raising efforts separate from the Ed Fund to continue to support this initiative.

How else can we acquire iPads?  Can families donate used iPads?

Teachers and I are looking for other grant opportunities in order to purchase iPads.  Families are welcome to donate used iPads and we have support to clean them up and make them useful for students.

Where does the technology portion of our classroom donations and ed fund donations go to?

Ed Fund covers a lease for the computers in the computer lab (two years remaining), and hours for the computer technologist that provides instructional support for 30 minutes a week K-2 and 45 minutes a week grades 3-5.  There are additional hours built in to the tech time to maintain the lab.   The lab itself is open and available for classes to go in when there are time slots available, but this doesn’t allow for the spontaneous ability of our students to go online, research topics, and engage in the beneficial opportunities afforded to them through having iPads or additional classroom computers.  The technology donation that is included in classroom donations funds a lease for teacher computer stations and miscellaneous hardware and software items to support our equipment to enhance teacher instruction.

What is Rainbow, how is it funded, and how does it support students that are not directly involved in the program?

The Rainbow Program is funded in part through a grant from the Early Mental Health Initiative (EMHI), cookie dough sales and our Ed Fund.  The program helps students develop self-esteem, self-confidence, stronger social skills, and a positive attitude toward school using Steps to Respect and Second Step, our adopted Character Education program.  Approximately 75 students a year receive individual or small group direct services through the program.  

In addition to the small group and 1:1 services, our rainbow staff provides playground supervision in which they encourage children to play and interact with each other, help with conflict resolution, and provides monthly literature based lessons to improve overall school climate for all K-3 students.  Lessons on friendship, cultural diversity, social skills, and anti-bullying messages result in a ripple effect benefitting all students.

Aportion of funding for rainbow is state funded through grants that we are required to match through the collection of donations such as cookie dough and other sources (Ed Fund contributes $3,000 towards that amount.)  This 2012-2013 school year we are “off grant” meaning we have no state funds coming in.  For the 2013-2014 school year we may be able to receive state money again, and we stand a better chance of receiving that funding if we demonstrate a commitment towards raising funds to cover hours during our off grant years.  (Kind of a catch 22.)  With the loss of our grant money we will need to cut our Rainbow program in half, and we do not stand as big a chance of getting grant monies the following year.  The more we sustain our program at or close to the current number of hours the better off we are in not only servicing our children next year but sustaining the program in ongoing years if the state continues to fund.  We are approximately $14,000 short of being able to support the same number of Rainbow hours next school year.  Hopefully EMHI will be able to continue the grants and that we will be eligible for that funding for the 2014 – 2015  school year.

Do the Support our Program Donations qualify for matching funds?

Yes, this certainly does qualify so all matching funds would go directly to our Ed Fund unless otherwise directed.  They have a spreadsheet indicating who employers are and who is eligible for matching funds.  Don O’Brien on our ed fund board has been managing that aspect.  Please submit the appropriate paperwork to your employer indicating Bollinger Canyon Ed Fund as the recipient and utilizing our donation sheet and your cancelled check as proof of your donation.  Go to our school website under the Ed Fund, Corporate Match, for additional information. 

What is happening with Performing Arts this year?

Our new performing arts instructor is planning some wonderful musical performances for all students.  K-1 will perform on May 2 in our MPR and 2^nd through 5^th grade students will perform in the Cal High Gym on Monday, June 4^th.  I believe these performances will speak for themselves as far as the quality of the instruction and the program that we have.