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Friday, July 31, 2009

Looking for First Day of School Activities?

First day of school activities can be found here!

More Information on the Institute Speaker

The institute speaker's book, Drumming to the Beat of Different Marchers: Finding the Rhythm for Teaching Differentiated Learning, has just been updated and re-released by Incentive Publications. Songs she co-wrote with Monte Selby are featured on his cds. She is married to Dr. Lawrence Silver, and together they have 5 sons.

Audiences everywhere respond to her use of humor and sensitivity to remind them of how important teachers are in the lives of children. Through research-based theory, poignant stories, and hilarious characterizations she connects with the souls of all who are involved in education.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

$10,000.00 DRAWDOWN


Talladega High School's football team is proud to announce the TIGER PRIDE FOOTBALL BOOSTER CLUB $10,000.00 DRAWDOWN! The event will occur on Saturday, August 15th, 2009 at 6:30 pm. in the THS lunchroom.

Those donating $100 will receive 2 dinners and a chance to win $10,000.00. For more information, contact Julie Bailey at 256-493-2038, Angela Harvell at 256-493-5769, or Les Stephens at 256-223-0426.


Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Postcards for New Students

There are many ways to set a positive tone for a great school year with students and parents. One way to do this is by sending a postcard to your class inviting them to open house or any school event. STI Office allows the office to quickly print a demographic sheet complete with the child's home address. For a printable postcard, Click here!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Staples to host Teacher Appreciation Day in August

Staples will be hosting a "Staples Teacher Appreciation Day" on Saturday, August 1, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. noon and will include a reusable "eco easy" bag filled with all sorts of special values to help educators in the classroom.

The first 100 teachers will receive a free gift bag, while supplies last. Teachers will also be able to take advantage of Staples Teachers Rewards Bonus Season-every dollar you spend in product purchases will count as two dollars toward earning rewards.

The nearest Staples store can be found by clicking here.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Still Looking for Organizational Training?

Do you still need to get organizational and time management training this summer before a new school year begins? Dr. Frank Buck is offering several workshops through the University of Montevallo.
Check out the offerings and get all the details here, here, and here!

Friday, July 24, 2009

If You Give a Teacher a Mouse...

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

New Teacher Orientation-August 4th

All NEW Talladega City School teachers will report to Talladega High School lunchroom for a "New Teacher" Orientation on August 4th beginning at 9:00 am.


Teacher Institute will be on August 5th, beginning at 8:00 am. in Harwell Auditorium. You will need to sign in between 8:00 and 8:30 am.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Talladega High School...Where Futures Begin

Would you like to know what is happening at the High School? Principal Darren Anglin has created a new website just for that purpose. Click here to see this classy new addition to Talladega City School efforts to keep parents and students informed! A link to the side of the blog has also been added for your convenience. Great job, Mr. Anglin!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Motivation from Ralph Marston

One of my favorite websites is full of motivation (http://www.dailymotivator.com/) In fact,this site offers a new one every day, but Sunday. Here is the inspirational post for this past Wednesday. It seemed to be written just for our district.

Keep Moving Forward

Raise yourself up just a little bit. Then see how very good it feels.
Make a small positive change for the better. And you'll know without a doubt that you can successfully make even greater, more profound changes.


Lift the spirits of someone close to you. Experience how it feels to truly change the world.
Make a modest amount of progress. You'll be learning how to make much, much more.


Take one step toward your goal. And suddenly you're positioned to take the next step.
The smallest positive action can overcome the biggest negative doubt. Even if it's just a little bit, there's always a way to keep moving forward.



Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Figured Out the Institute Speaker?

Our institute speaker has been an invited author for several educational journals and has given keynotes at state, national, and international conferences in 49 states, Canada, Europe, and Asia. This talented person has been a featured teacher for the PBS OnLine Teacher Chat and for KDS Knowledge Delivery Systems.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Teacher Tube...a great resource!

Looking to include more technology into your classroom this year? Check out teachertube.com. Unlike youtube, it is not blocked inside the system and has wonderful videos on all kinds of topics.
Click here for an example of a video premade about the rainforest...

First Day: Laying the Groundwork

By Emma McDonald

The first day of school is absolutely one of the most important days of the year. It's the day you set the tone for your classroom for the entire year. Every teacher wants to have a smoothly running classroom, but that's difficult to achieve when you don't know where to start. As a new teacher, you might be feeling as though you're groping around half blindfolded, with only bits and pieces of information, rather than the whole picture. What you need is a vision of what you want your classroom to look like as a positive learning environment. Then you need to take that vision and use the first day of school to lay the groundwork for making it a reality.


Read Emma McDonald's complete article here.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

In a Million Words or Less...

One of my favorite beginning of the school year activities while in the classroom was actually a parent assignment. This voluntary task was done willingly by parents and gave food for thought for the entire school year. The biggest thing it gave was an inside view into the life of my students through the eyes of their first teacher...the parent.

The idea was discovered while taking a college course at the University of Montevallo. It was called, "In a million words or less" and consisted of parents being encouraged to write an essay (no longer than a million words) to tell the teacher anything they wanted them to know. What one might share about their child if you had the leisure of sitting with a cup of coffee and chatting.

The only preparation for the activity is constructing a letter of instructions to give to parents at Open House or at the early beginning of school. It is important to stress that this is an ungraded assignment and the content is more important than their writing expertise. To see a sample letter to parents, click here.

You can read the entire article here.

Excerpts from the article:
"Any teacher who is not currently doing this activity, or something similar, is really missing out," said Matt Dickendesher, who teaches at Sandusky (Michigan) Middle School. "It's a terrific way to learn about our students at the beginning of the year."

"I thought the activity was worthwhile for all involved -- parents, students, and myself. In fact, I even recommended it to other teachers," said Kate Geisen, who taught last year at Whiteside Middle School in Belleville, Illinois, and will start a new job this month as a kindergarten teacher at Whiteside Elementary. "I will definitely have use for this activity in kindergarten. It might be an even more valuable tool at that level."

Final note...
I recently ran into a parent of a former student and we discussed the essay he wrote about his daughter when she was in first grade. He said it was certainly a keepsake because he was able to record his thoughts and feelings about his child at that stage in her life. She is now going in the six grade and he plans to pass these words onto her. What validation to a child to see the thoughts of their parent.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Welcome To a New School Year-2009-2010

To Faculty and Staff:
Welcome back to a new year that hopefully will be filled with joy, excitment,
and passion for a new beginning. I am posting the events for the first three
days of Institute on this blog. Hope that this will be helpful for you as we
strive to get off to an effective start.
August 5, 2009 System Institute 8:00 - 11:00 A.M. Harwell Auditorium
Lunch 11:30 - 12:30
Faculty Meeting 12:30 - 1:30
BBSST 1:30 - 3:00
August 6, 2009 AMSTI (PLT's) 8:00 - 11:00 Houston Library
Lunch 11:00 - 12:30
Work In Classrooms 12:30 - 3:00
August 7, 2009 Work In Classrooms 8:00 - 11:00
Lunch 11:00 - 12:30
"Open House" 1:00 - 3:00

Talladega City School Employees Return August 5!


Our institute speaker is an award-winning educator with 30 years experience as a classroom teacher, staff development instructor, and university professor. This person has received numerous recognitions including being named the Louisiana State Teacher of the Year. Along the way our guest has taught almost every grade level and most every kind of student.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Classrooms that Spark!

Trying to get "psyched" up for a brand new school year? Click here, to view sample pages from the book, "Classrooms that Spark...Recharge and Revive Your Teaching." This book caught my eye with its easy to digest format and organization.

Book Description

Written by teachers for teachers, this 352 page practical user-friendly book is perfect for busy teachers who are looking for new ideas or to be reminded of "oldies-but-goodies" that really work. Spark that fire of learning in your classroom and be inspired! Don't get burned-out, get FIRED UP with Classrooms that Spark!

Classrooms that SPARK! Is a complete resource with ideas, instructions, and reproducible pages that will help you:

Create a positive classroom environment where a love of learning is fostered

Develop a learner-centered classroom

Teach motivating lessons that engage students throughout the class period

Manage the classroom more effectively

Written in an easy-to-read conversational style

Guides teachers through practical advice and real-life scenarios

Utilizes research-based strategies

Winner of the 2006 Teacher's Choice Award!

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

CONGRATULATIONS!



Congratulations, Mr. Douglas Campbell!

Begunning July 1, 2009, Mr. Campbell will lead our system as Superintendent. We are proud to have Mr. Campbell's wealth of experience to continue moving our system forward.

Mr. Campbell has served as Assistant Superintendent for five years. Mr. Campell was principal of Dixon Middle School for three years. He was director of fedral programs and special education for twenty-two years. He was also technology coordinator until Mr. Locklin came on board at the Central Office. Mr. Campbell has been a loyal, valuable, dedicted team member of Talladega City Schools for twenty-three years.

Mr. Campbell's knowledge of the community, students, continuous positive interaction with employees, and experience with the many programs will continue to raise the bar and create a positive working environment. His professionalism and willlingness to work with people at all levels will be an asset to our system, the community, and our employees.

We look forward to a wonderful 2009-2010 school year.

You Want Heroes?

By Frosty Troy
You want heroes? For millions of kids, the hug they get from a teacher is the only hug they will get that day because the nation is living through the worst parenting in history. Many have never been taken to church or synagogue in their lives.

A Michigan principal moved me to tears with the story of her attempt to rescue a badly abused little boy who doted on a stuffed animal on her desk - one that said, "I love you!" He said he'd never been told that at home.

This is a constant in today's society - two million unwanted, unloved, abused children in public schools, the only institution that takes them all in. Teacher strive to find the best in their students, even where some see little hope.

No other American bestows a finer gift than teaching - reaching out to the brilliant and the retarded, the gifted and the average.Teachers leave the world a little bit better than they found it... They are America's unsung heroes.
To read the whole article, click here.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Selena Nelson...Pilot Club Teacher of the Year

CONGRATULATIONS to Raymond L. Young fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Selena Nelson. She was recently selected as the Talladega Pilot Club's Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Nelson is an excellent choice because she is always trying new things to make learning fun and exciting. We are so proud of you!