May 25 - Mrs. Martinez, Fifth Grade

                                  Tough Love: Too Much or Just Right? 

My 5th grade students have been creating their end of year slides for our graduation ceremony. While I was looking through and editing the slides, I started thinking... Why do these kids like me so much? I'm constantly told I'm so strict and yet... Several of the students stated how much they wanted to thank me for everything I did to help them succeed this school year. This made me reflect on the impact I make on my students everyday. Most of the time, I think to my self...stop being so intense... Am I being too hard on these kids? I tend to forget that they aren't my biological kids, but man, they sure do pull at my heart strings. What is it that I give them that makes them WANT to keep coming back to me everyday? The no excuses allowed in my classroom? The "solve your problem" mantra? The " I love you too much to argue" statement I use 1,000 times a day? 

Then, it dawned on me. My biggest challenge, my hardest student... Needs my strict, consistent environment the most. He needs to know exactly what is expected. He needs a firm voice and someone who shows passion. He needs me. Everyday. I believe the structure of my classroom allows my students to feel safe, needed and wanted. It is just so mind boggling sometimes... These kiddos like to come into a very strict teacher's classroom because it shows I care? 

That's what makes sense to them, so that makes sense to me. Who knew that my biggest challenge, my hardest student, would be the one to write the sweetest note about me. Thanking me for pushing him to his limits. Interesting enough... He was the one who pushed me to my limits... Everyday. 

All of this sounds a little like...parenting. That  must be it. I'm mama bear to these students. And the added bonus... I get to teach them at the same time. Life is good.

Mrs. Kelley Martinez

May 24 - Mrs. Stapleton, Kindergarten

                                                   The Power of Volunteers

I have seen first hand how powerful having volunteers interacting with my students has been. My own mom spends a couple mornings a week pulling my kids one at a time not only to help them practice their High Frequency Words but also building a relationship with each student. They look forward to those few precious minutes with her and are highly motivated to practice their 4 words for the next visit so they can make her proud and earn that next certificate they all work so hard for.

I have had multiple parents tell me that those certificates are hung proudly in their child's room and that they won't let them take them down! They work hard for something as simple as a piece of paper, all because of the relationship they have built with Mrs. Skoba. 

Other volunteers have also impacted my students, like our Sunshine Reader. What a beautiful relationship for students to have with a grandparent figure. I know this relationship is feeding their souls just as much as the students. Each week Miss. Patty comes and listens as the students read to her one on one. For a 5 year old to be in the spotlight like that with someone's full attention builds such confidence.

Volunteers are powerful people that have impacted my students and helped them grow in many ways this year. These people belong in our classrooms and have the power to change a year for the better and impact a child forever!

Mrs. Jenn Stapleton

May 23 - Mrs. Vickers, Kindergarten

                                     My Little Loves, My Family

It is the end of the school year, and as I reflect on this year, I am filled with pride at what my class has accomplished. In August, we walked into a room of mostly little strangers who had very different life experiences. I wondered if I could reach them, if I could love them like they deserved to be loved. Throughout the year, we talked and got to know each other. I went home and shared their lives with my family as they went and shared my life with theirs. We played and learned how to share, to win and to loose. We read. We wrote. We built. We explored. We manipulated. We did all these things together and as we did them we grew to become a family. I love my family. They inspire me every day to become better than I am. I know that they are ready to move on and as I pass them on to a new teacher, it is my most passionate hope that together they will be as close as we are now.

Mrs. Monica Vickers

May 20 - Miss Glasscock, Fourth Grade

Coming Out in G-Force

Real life learning happened on Friday at Morton Ranch Elementary, and experiencing this was daunting and beautiful, all at the same time. It wasn’t part of the curriculum or in the lesson plans, but it quite possibly might be the most important lesson both my 4^th graders and I learned this year.

The moment I picked up my Little Gs (my term of endearment for them) from lunch in the cafeteria, I could sense something was off, something was wrong. They walked solemnly towards me, not bouncing with energy like usual, several students had tears in their eyes. As I walked down the line to gain a better understanding of what might be going on, I took a moment to look into the eyes of the kids who were and weren’t crying. They all looked similar with varying degrees of despair and sadness. “This can’t be happening,” I thought to myself. I quickly thought of a recent TED talk I watched on Twitter about emotional stress in young students and thought of the dabbling I had been doing in studying mindfulness (thank you Kate Henninger) and decided going back to the classroom to “check off a lesson” would be counterproductive to these kiddos’ well-being. We exited the cafeteria and headed for the front porch of the school. Looking back, maybe this decision was just second nature for me, as so many problems have been solved in my life by talking them out with trusting folks, on a beautiful day, on a porch.

We all sat in a circle, some wanting to be close, others trying to not to be part of the group. “Thumbs up if this is a class issue, or thumbs down if this is an issue concerning a few people?” I asked. All 19 kiddos put their thumbs up. As luck or divine intervention would have it, our Zoe had a koosh ball with her. “Zoe, can I borrow your koosh ball?” Zoe tossed it to me. “Nobody can talk unless this is in their hand.” I instructed. What followed was a respectful, purposeful REAL conversation among all of us. It began with students saying there were arguments among them in a previous class, something I was unaware of. Before the conversation could turn into a “he said, she said”, the kiddos were reminded to only speak on THEIR actions, not those of others. This began with apologies to each other for their actions towards their peers. Students were taking pride in apologizing, taking ownership, and asking for forgiveness. They were doing this without trying to make excuses for their actions. I witnessed students who, at first, I could tell were not going to admit wrongdoing. These are my tough as nails boys, but then as they heard others apologizing to them, their faces softened, their hearts opened, and these tough as nails boys couldn’t get the koosh ball in their hands fast enough to ask for forgiveness of those they had wronged. This was powerful and beautiful, yet I knew we had to get to the root of the issue. These kids hadn’t been mean or petty all year long. What was causing this? And then it was said…the smallest student in our class vocalized for the other 18 the “WHY” behind all of this. “I don’t know why this is happening, why I am acting like this, Miss Glasscock. I’m stressed and I just don’t want to lose these friends I’ve made. I just got them and some are leaving.” Almost in unison students burst into tears and/or begin fiercely nodding their heads in agreement. There it was…19 students looking at me for answers on how to face…their fear of change.

As students continued to talk it out, I began ferociously texting Ms. Harrison and Mrs. Carr. “They will know how to handle this better than I,” I thought. No one wrote back. No one answered the phone. No one came. Funny thing is, I knew they were in meetings in the conference room that had a window looking out to where we were sitting. I wondered if this was the way it was supposed to be. That together, these 19 beautiful souls and I could figure out how to conquer this fear, a fear I, myself have struggled with throughout my 33 years. I asked one student to go grab a book off of my small group table, while the others were talking, listening, validating each other’s thoughts and feelings. “Why is Katy doing this to us?” one student looked at me and asked. I tried my best to explain that change was part of life and that Katy ISD wasn’t doing this to them, they were doing this to help all students have exactly what they needed to best learn, that we were getting too big, so more schools needed to be built. I even told them about how the same thing happened to me as a little girl, in Katy ISD, with the building of Fielder Elementary and Beck Junior High…how my friends and I were separated, not once, but twice…how it made for a special bond between the Katy High and Taylor High classes of 2001. Some took comfort in knowing that we were alike, others weren’t having it. “Channel your inner Julie Harrison, your inner Kelley Carr, your inner Christina Dismuke, what would they say or do? How can we turn this negative into a positive?” was my inner dialogue.

 Julie, Kelley, Christina

After letting them talk it out, I asked them if I could read them a book. They agreed and so I began reading the picture book, “We Shall Overcome: The Story of a Song” by  Debbie Levy and Vanessa Brantley-Newton. It was a long shot, but I was going to try and make a connection and turn this situation into an empowering one for these kiddos. If you are not familiar with this book, let me give you a quick summary. It is all about slavery, race relations, and the journey of equality and doing the right thing between blacks and whites. The book walks the reader through history, showing the reader that even in times of struggle, strife and pain…there was a reason to sing, to celebrate, to believe that “we will overcome” this obstacle in front of us.

As I read, the faces of my precious babies softened, their tears weren’t falling as hard, and one by one I saw them move closer, hold hands and lean on one another. The message of the book was healing not only their hearts, but mine as well. What these precious children don’t know is that I have been struggling with this change too, knowing that MRE staff members are embarking on a new journey to open a new school, worrying about losing friends and part of my support system. I wondered how many adults in our building are dealing with the exact same feelings these 4^th graders are dealing with, even the ones that are excited to go, don’t want to leave others behind. I kept reading, trying not to think about the power of this exact moment too much, knowing I would turn into a puddle of emotion, if I did. My voice quivered a bit, but I knew it was okay for these 4^th graders to hear me being real. I looked up and a few students were getting up and went to stand on a line, a crack in the cement. At first I thought, “What are they doing,” but before I could make sense of it, they made sense of it for me. In the most genuine, quiet, orderly fashion, the rest of the students followed. They all stood as one, side by side, on that line, arms around each other, now swaying as I sat on the concrete finishing up the book, “We Shall Overcome”. When the book ended they all clapped and as if it were scripted, the biggest group hug in the entire world happened.

There was no more sadness, there was hope. We went back to the classroom and brainstormed ways we, this class of the most beautiful souls put together for such a time as this, could communicate and stay in touch. Email? Texting? Apps? Websites?  We don’t have it all set in stone yet, but together, 19 4^th graders and one humbled teacher, are building a plan to keep the lines of communication open and OVERCOME our fear of change. Yesterday, REAL LIFE happened at Morton Ranch Elementary, and it was the most beautiful lesson I have ever witnessed. 19 empowered 4^th graders supported each other, worked through a tough growing pain and TAUGHT the teacher something so much bigger than anything in the curriculum.

Miss Renee Glasscock

May 9 - Mrs. McKelvey, Second Grade

I was inspired last week by this student's face when he "harvested" our radishes we grew in the garden outside!  He made such a great connection to what we are learning in Science; touching each part of the real plant in his hand and describing it to me.  The power of hands-on learning is incredible.  He's promised to bring me the recipe for his vegetable stew!

Mrs. Tonya McKelvey

April 19 - Ms. Wilmore, Special Education

Passion Awakened in the Midst of the Storm

As I awoke this morning on day two of being home-bound due to the hazardous storms that have swept through the Houston/Katy area over the past several days, I felt a bit of sadness that today I would not be going to school AGAIN!

Video

Yes, like most people, I was really grateful for the unexpected “three-day” weekend and used my time off to relax, catch up on some work assignments, and watch documentaries (my favorite past time…weird I know)! But oddly enough, after that first day off, my heart began to yearn for the classroom, to teach and mold the minds of my young learners.

Without a doubt, this extended weekend has once again rekindled my purpose and passion for being an educator. I think being an educator is not just a “job” it is a CALLING. Teaching is something you wake up thinking about and go to bed thinking about. It’s what causes us to spend our “vacations” researching new topics, watching YouTube videos on how to set up a classroom, attending professional development courses, and creating innovative lessons with household items with high hopes that the project will go as well in “real-life” as it did in our heads when we created it!

I wonder if I am the only one who is missing the classroom and the excitement of being an educator at MRE?

Ms. Tiffany Wilmore

April 12 - Ms. Silva, Third Grade

#PositivePostIt Day

After attending the #WGEDD Conference on April 8-9, 2016, I returned back to school with so many exciting ideas and inspired to continue making this school year as great as possible for my students! One of the presenters was Todd Nesloney @TechNinjaTodd, and he encouraged all educators to participate in #PositivePostIt Day on Tuesday, April 12. 

We did a condensed version in our classroom, yet it was amazing for our third graders to write a post-it to celebrate the “awesome” in a classmate and themselves. They quickly finished their post-it about a classmate- from “You are my best friend because you are kind” to “You are great at soccer,” but I think the most powerful part of this experience was the time they took to reflect about themselves. One of the students wrote “I love my handsomeness,” and it was wonderful to see this student who had struggled with self-confidence in the past years write that about himself! Another student, a very quiet girl, wrote that she was awesome at dancing! Imagine our surprise and the encouragement from everyone to soon show us what she knew how to do. Another student wrote about loving her glasses, and this was so important in a classroom where we had a couple of students not wear their glasses because of the insecurity of what others would say about them. “I’m awesome at drawing!” was what another student wrote, and yes he is! Every single post-it they wrote about themselves went on our “Dot Door” where we taped their dots after reading The Dot by Peter Reynolds earlier in the school year.

           

Every day we work on building a classroom where students believe in themselves, and this exercise demonstrated how far we have come this year. I loved #PositivePostIt Day, and it is definitely something that I will continue to celebrate with my students in the future!

Ms. Erika Silva

December 17 - Ms. Tran, Academic Support

‘Tis the season of joy and gratitude. What are you grateful for? What causes your heart to overflow? For me, this includes my Maverick family. Collaboration is huge on the ranch. During this season (and throughout the school year), we team up to make your child’s learning an AMAZING journey! Here are a few captured moments:

Mrs. Marlowe visiting Mrs. Luna's class to share about traditions and holidays around the world!

Mrs. Nilson and Mrs. Henninger team up for a wonderful read aloud.

Mr. French partners with YCAP for a fun cooking lab!

Here I am visiting a 2^nd grade class and working with a small group of fabulous readers!

They say it takes a village to raise a child. At Morton Ranch Elementary, we work as a community of educators to provide the best learning experience for your little heartbeats. We are ALL in!

Ms. Donna Tran

December 12 - Mrs. Carr, Assistant Principal

Have you ever wondered what is really possible? As an Assistant Principal, I have been thinking about that quite a bit lately. I wonder if we are giving each and every student exactly what he/she needs at the exact moment he/she needs it in the learning process. I know our teachers are amazing and are planning night and day for exceptional thinking tasks for our learners. How can we make sure we are meeting all our students’ various needs? It’s called COLLABORATION!

Just a couple of things you might not know about our educators at Morton Ranch Elementary:

1. Our educators meet with their instructional teams and our Instructional Coaches at least once a week for EACH subject taught. These sessions are amazing to watch! Discussions happen around HOW and WHAT we are using to cement concepts with all learners. That means teachers who teach multiple subjects (math, science, reading, language arts, and social studies) meet at least three/four times a week with these various subjects. 

2. Our MRE educators are constantly on Twitter chats involved in learning with other educators around the world. Did you know that most of those chats happen during the evening hours (after a full day of work with your students) and on Saturday and Sunday? Your child’s teacher wants to make sure if a new idea is out there, she/he is using it! Our educators are building our MRE story at #mreALLin on Twitter. Why not login and follow/join the conversation!

3. Many of our educators attend each and every after school event just to chat with our families. Yes, they have families they are leaving at home and stating they will “see them a little bit later” on that evening. Our educators can’t wait to cheer on your family at events such as: grade level musicals, Glow Run, Art Night, Book Fair evening events, Math Night, Breakfast with Santa, PTA Meetings…and this is only a partial list. We love it when our students’ families show up at these events. Thank you!

4. Did you know that our MRE educators think about your learner and family around the clock? These dedicated people are constantly striving to serve YOU. That really is our passion! How can we help all our learners at Morton Ranch Elementary? This is asked on a daily basis in our hallways and meeting rooms.

Is it possible for educators to care this much? Yes, it is and it’s happening in our learning community at Morton Ranch Elementary. Thank you for allowing us to share the magic of learning with your students on a daily basis. It really is possible to make sure that each and every student feels that he/she matters in our learning environment!

Thank you to the educators at MRE for making it happen on a daily basis. It is noticed and appreciated by our families (not to mention our administrators).

Mrs. Kelley Carr

December 10 - Coach Bonin, Physical Education

Glowing Mavericks keep the tradition going!!! 8th Annual Glow Run is another HUGE success!!

When I came to MRE in 2008, our opening year, I came with an idea that I just hadn't had the opportunity to try yet. I had wanted to organize a Glow Run for our students and their family where we run at night wearing glow sticks to light our way! Not only was it going to be a cool new experience that you don't always see, but it was a fun way to get people out and ACTIVE!

As a P.E. teacher I am constantly promoting the importance of living a healthy and active lifestyle. Many of our parents aren't aware of how easy it is to eat healthy or how a simple activity such as evening walks with the family are effective ways to stay active. We teach our students about good nutrition with the hopes that they will then teach their parents what they have learned. We talk about how important dinner conversations among family members are and how nutritional facts is always something they can share. They can also share ideas on how their family can stay active while having fun!

The Glow Run always makes for a memorable night and I don't think people always realize how many calories they are burning because they get lost in the fun they are having. The planning can be overwhelming at times, but when the event comes it makes everything worth it. Just to see families decked out in glow sticks and sporting one of our bright Glow Run shirts. I get chill bumps just thinking about it. One of my favorite pictures from the night, are of a family all wearing Glow Run shirts and the little Mav just staring at his glow stick.

I wish I could truly describe how amazing it is to see, but honestly it's just something you have to witness yourself.

Over the years, the Glow Run has changed quite a bit, but I think the past 2 years have been the most successful as far as the wow factor. We kicked off registration with upbeat music in the background so students and their families can dance while they get their glow sticks ready. Once more people have arrived we turn on Just Dance; however this year was a little different since we were outside. Thanks to one of our amazing parents, we were able to set up a screen and project Just Dance for Mavericks (and their families) to dance to. We had saved the dances ahead of time so we were able to just change from dance to dance without wasting much time. I knew our Mavericks had moves, but seeing all ages dancing along was quite amazing! The other cool thing about dancing outside, was the projector, speakers and sound box was part of a $13,000 Dance System we purchased with the money we raised from Box Tops. Hard work pays off and every little bit DOES make a difference!

Before we started the race, we brought everyone in to explain our Glow Run was going to work, but honestly I don't think many people were listening because they were just too excited. We released the kiddos by grade, starting with our 5th graders and ending with PK, K and PPCD. The route we ran was glowing from the gallon jugs we filled with water and glow sticks. For the next 30 minutes, we had people running, walking, dancing, watching, and just enjoying the night. It's pretty cool to see the expression on people's faces who have never experienced our MRE Glow Run. The hard work pays off when you see families together with big smiles on their face as they're WORKING OUT! Yes, not many people realized you can have so much fun while working out.

The Glow Run wouldn't be possible without all the support from our Maverick Community. From teachers sending home flyers and talking it up with their students, to some teachers even working the registration and refreshment table; the HS students who came to help to get volunteer hours (probably the most fun they've ever had getting service hours) and then finally the students and their parents coming out to enjoy the Glow Run. The money we raise goes to the P.E. program so we can purchase more equipment to use in class. P.E. equipment can be very expensive and with our school growing so much, we are constantly in need of more equipment. On top of that, every year they continue to come out with new Nutrition games and activities that our students really seem to enjoy.

Overall, we are still on cloud 9 from the Glow Run. Our buckets were truly overflowing that night and we can't wait for our 9th Annual Glow Run next year!! MRE is a special place to work and our turnout for events like this are proof that our Maverick families are one of a kind!

Miss Renee Bonin

November 11 - Ms. Wilson's Challenge Classes

I love technology in the classroom and my students always amaze me with the skills they showcase. The students have been studying geological forces for ten weeks and are creating their final projects for the unit. My students have learned how to use Pic Collage to create an informative poster, take a picture of it on their tablet, log into their Google Drive on the tablet and then upload the photo into their Google Drive. Once the photo is in Google Drive they move it into Google Slides. The students are able write about their poster and create a presentation. With this being my first year as a Challenge teacher and my first year in Katy ISD, I have used technology in the classroom but not like this. I have not had access to tablets before, so I am learning about Apps that I can use that allow creativity in the classroom. I am having so much fun learning alongside the kids. I can’t wait to explore more Apps so I can share them with the students. Technology is a huge resource in our classroom!

Ms. Sue Wilson

November 6 - Mr. Moreno's Third Grade

I was a little nervous about this, but I had to trust my kids and my ability to structure the lesson to avoid a huge mess. The kids would be making homemade dough for a science project. A project done for the very first time in MRE third grade history. “Can they handle this,” I thought. “What about clean up?” I envisioned my room being the battleground of an intense dough ball fight and immersed in a cloud of flour. We talk about taking risks in the classroom, and maybe this was it.

The kids had explored pictures of different landforms, had prior experience sculpting them with Play Doh and drawing them individually. They analyzed, compared and discussed the differences between them. In science, we discussed their theories about how each landform may have been formed. A great topic to topic connection….  They know matter is constantly changing: sometimes fast, sometimes gradual or slow.

So this was the culminating project. It could be a huge success or a complete disaster. I would categorize it as an elaborate activity in the Science 5E instructional model because students were applying and synthesizing prior knowledge and experiences related to landforms. Each table group created a “landform village,” (their own personal paradise) complete with hills, valleys, mountains, plateaus, canyons, plains, islands, rivers and some even discovered they could do waterfalls. Yes, it got a little messy. Yes, clean up was quite the chore, but it was worth it. The kids really shined. They sculpted and identified the landforms beautifully. They discussed, for example, how canyons and valleys formed. Some even used their knowledge of cardinal directions to place and locate their landforms. “That canyon is northeast of the valley!”

One student even called one of her landforms, “Hill Everest,” because she said over time Mount Everest weathered away and was the victim of many massive landslides. Not sure how realistic this is, but  I appreciate her imagination, while trying to connect her learning to other concepts.

A few carpet stains, specks of dough, and some powder did fill the room, but so did smiles, a collective vibe of pride and excitement and a sense of accomplishment among our kiddos. There’s no better feeling. It was a success!

Mr. Jeremy Moreno

October 17 - Mrs. Malfitano's Fourth Grade

Today, I had the privilege of spending time with these wonderful children and their families, fishing together. An experience that cannot be found within the walls of a classroom.

We have all heard the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words." This picture represents all the times I heard, "FISH ON!!" Sharing in the excitement of these children catching their first fish. Watching families spending time outdoors, encouraging each other, laughing and squealing. Arms were tired from reeling in eight pound catfish. Moms and Dads were waiting with the net. There were even a couple of bass in the mix. We had a constant trail of fish being hauled to be weighed and measured. We captured these moments with many pictures.  Nobody wanted our time to end. One parent said, "This helps families bond."

Thank you teachers and Area Chief Angler Educators from Texas Parks and Wildlife who came out to share their love and knowledge of fishing. Everybody is "hooked" and is asking, "When can we do this again?"

Mrs. Lynne Malfitano

October 16 - Miss Suenkel's Art Studio

My sweet Mavericks have started the year off with a "Bang!" I am so proud of all the hard work each grade level has put into their first art projects. We just finished up a unit on uncovering the Element of Art, Line. Ask your students if they can show you different kinds of line. I am sure they would love to share their knowledge with you!

We used many different pieces to prepare ourselves for creating different types of line. Our manipulative box though was perhaps the favorite among K-2 littles. Look at their discovery of Line through these tools!  Amazing I tell you!!!

In closing our unit on line grades 2-5 began to write reflections about their projects in their art journals. Did you know that we create a special art journal for your students (grades 2-5) that they will be able to take home at the end of the year? It will be full of all the wonderful artists and art methods we discover throughout the school year.  

I am beyond impressed with the written reflections students had while analyzing their artwork.They rocked this assignment and are really beginning to understand how to plan, evaluate, and reflect on their work. It was a beautiful thing to witness in our art studio this week.

Miss Kimberly Suenkel

September 22 - Mrs. Miller's Fourth Grade

What a huge blessing it is to rub shoulders with my 4^th grade angels each day!  In our morning meetings, we talk a lot about what it means to be a “good” person.  We talk about manners, kindness, respect, and all those other things that we know are qualities of a good person. However, the proof is in our actions.  I tear up almost daily as I listen to the kind words that are shared between class members.  It warms my heart when I see another student stop what they are doing to help a classmate who appears to be struggling. No one asks them to do it. They just see the need and take action. 

In our class, every Thursday is “Thoughtful Thursday.”  That is when we take a few minutes to write a note of appreciation or kindness and give it to someone.   My angels, however, have taken this day to heart and have decided we should be thoughtful EVERY day.  We decided as a class to “choose KIND” in all we do.  That means, we leave things better than we find them, we greet others with a smile and eye contact, we choose to not take offense, we look for the good in others, and we look for opportunities to help and include others. We have taken the challenge to be our best and to bring out the best in others.

When it comes to academic learning, my Scientists and Mathematicians are ready and willing to take on any challenge I give them.  They love discovering how their world works and how addicting learning is when you make connections.  This morning, I couldn’t contain my joy when I heard some of my students on their way to class saying, “I wonder what we’re going to be learning in science today? Science is so much fun! I can’t wait to do another experiment.”  Be still my heart!  We, of course, had a blast testing what happens when you add heat to matter (chocolate chips, gummy bears, marshmallows, glue sticks, ice…)  

As if that wasn’t enough, my heart leapt again during math work shop when another group of students silently took the hand of a classmate who was obviously struggling with the activity. They went to a corner of the room and sang our Decimal Place Value song complete with the movements!  Again, they saw a friend in need and took action. Awesome!

So, yeah, you can say it was another amazing day mingling with some really special people.  I often wonder who is teaching who! I sure love my job!

Mrs. Julie Miller

September 11 - Mrs. Vasquez's Third Grade

What comes first the chicken or the egg? That may also be asked when thinking about our classroom environment and developing a sense of being a team. This year I decided to explore my classroom environment by gathering ideas from fellow educators. Prior to setting up our classroom, I asked some friends where they purchased their carpets, balls, wiggly seats, and alternative seating.

The journey began by submitting my Donor’s Choose application two weeks prior to the first day of school. I sent texts to my family and friends asking to help fund this adventure. I couldn’t believe it when I received my email from Donor’s Choose that my project was funded in THREE days. I was beyond excited! Step two, bins and stability balls submitted to Donor’s Choose one week prior to August 24^th. Project was funded in FOUR days. The students were beyond ecstatic when our materials arrived. 

We received ten stability balls and the students quickly brainstormed that our “class number” system would work for alternative seating, too! Student number 10 has access to the ball on even calendar dates. Student number 11 has access to that same ball on odd calendar dates. This idea was born from a class discussion…even better!

The students quickly suggested that we needed to enhance our room by adding wiggle seats. I was familiar with this because of the classrooms I visited. I decided that I would order these myself.  What an investment! The wiggle seats are amazing. One final touch was recently added - tractor seat chairs. 

The classroom environment truly has become a team now. This is evident on a daily basis. The students have flexible seating daily.  Every day the students are sitting at a different table and collaborating with different students. Our team developed a way to allow everyone the opportunity for each student to sit on a stability ball, wiggly seat, and tractor chair on a weekly basis.

The icing on the cake was demonstrated on Friday. We had a runt (smaller) stability ball that was defective. Two students decided to use it to lean on while working on FASTT Math. Next, I witnessed a third student wanting to lean on it and then there was the fourth student who joined them.  No words were said, the students just moved to allow the other students to join. Finally, two other students gathered, looked at each other, and the students moved to let the final two students join. Words cannot express how proud I was of our team. Simply amazing. What started as an adventure to allow more seating options has quickly enabled our classroom to truly function as a collaborative team! 

Mrs. Linda Vasquez

September 10 - Ms. Mitchell's Kindergarten

Family is a word that often comes to mind when I think about Morton Ranch Elementary. Whether it is about the amazing staff we have at our school or the students, it truly is a family at the ranch. Nothing makes my heart more full than seeing my students reflecting that same attitude just three weeks into the school year.

At the end of our second week of school, we found out that one of our classmates was moving to another school. When it was time for him to leave us, the kids began saying goodbye and hugging our friend L. What was originally individual hugs, turned into one big group hug without hesitation! These little Mavericks acted as if they were one large family of siblings.

During week three, we welcomed a new friend to our class and this same attitude carried through as he got settled into a new routine. Every child wanted to share their crayons, show him around, and assist him in any way possible. We also welcomed some friends from Mrs. Luna’s class into our room to learn how to comment on a KidBlog post. Not only did we teach our new friends, but our new friends taught us.

I think that Lilo said it best, “’Ohana’ means family. Family means no one gets left behind.” Five and six year olds exemplify the meaning of family. I can’t wait to see what adventures are in store for our family this year!

Ms. Katie Mitchell

September 9 - Mrs. Casillas in our Library

The Magic of Checkers

My goal this year is to provide new experiences in the library. I sent out a plea to the MRE staff for a variety of items. Mrs. Spiares donated a checkers game to the library and little did I realize the magic this game contained. The game board sat quietly the first week of school even though intermediate grades came in for a quick check outs (the books outshined the game). It did attract the interest from a few students who asked about it, but due to the quick schedule students were not able to experience its magic. That is until the second week of school.

At first a student quietly asked about the game, could he play? Could he play now? Could he play when he came to the library? At that moment I know this game was going to be something special! Oh the conversation that has taken place around this table. Its talk of rules, strategy, suggestions, teaching, sharing stories about playing with family, collaboration, oh I could go on and on.

Yes, I have had to approach the table when needed but mostly as the “official” to decide if a particular move can be done. The version played in the library is what I labeled “Classic Checkers” no solders, no bomb movements, no bounce or swing across moves only Classic Checkers moves. Once we discussed good sportsmanship but overall what I have witnesses is teamwork, sharing and learning. For instance, after a highly competitive game one group shook hands and said well done all without being reminded or told to do that! That’s the magic of this game!

Some students have never played checkers and in these instances a classmate quickly comes forward saying “I’ll teach them!” We have a Watch Dog Grandpa who has really enjoyed sitting/standing around this table to play, listen, observe and pass along guidance. I suggested helping to monitor the game table to another volunteer Dad who quickly looked up rules to our classic game. He enjoyed learning & teaching kids that day!

Sometimes it’s a quiet game sometimes it louder. One teacher asked what my rules at this table were: only 4 students at a time? What was the expected voice level? I glanced over to the lively conversation at the game table. I looked back to her and responded “Let’s just see what happens”. The magic of checkers; it’s in the MRE library.

Mrs. Nidia Casillas

September 4, 2015 - Mrs. Dismuke's Second Grade

No matter what grade I have taught, I have always placed upmost importance in developing a school family. As part of any "family" there are various roles - the bottom line being that everyone contributes to make it all work. That's why I have always made classroom jobs an integral part of our classroom. 

Frequently when introducing new activities, my littles and I talk about their job and my job. I cannot do my job if they aren't doing theirs. They cannot do their job of becoming the best learners they can be if I'm not doing my job. We need each other. We make each other better. We make life even more rich by doing it with each other.

I shared the various jobs the first week of school, but when I announced on Monday that we were beginning our own jobs the excitement was unreal. Immediately students were calling dibs on the job of their choice, knowing that they would eventually rotate through them all. For me, it makes the classroom run much more smoothly, taking the "little things" off my plate. For them, it gives them the buy-in to take their part in the school family.

For them, they love assuming the role of an electrician, SmartBoard manager, door holder, calendar helper, horticulturist, office manager, meteorologist, photographer, Twitter manager, veterinarian, personal assistant, lunch helper, among many others. They never see it as a chore, joyfully doing all of these things, perhaps never genuinely knowing how much they really are helping.

For me, I never have to turn off the lights, hold a door, check the weather, water the plant, feed Alvin the fish, answer a telephone call, pick up red folders, keep up with our Go Bag, worry about the lunches making it down, or sharpening pencils. 

For us, we might have only spent ten days together, but this group of 22 individuals has quickly become a family.

Mrs. Christina Dismuke