Marketing Class's Christmas Tree

I am so proud of my Marketing class and the terrific job they did making ornaments to go on our Christmas tree. I took the best female student and the best male student from my Marketing class to the Senior Center to decorate the tree. They did an amazing job. They fluffed the tree, put the lights on the ornaments and the bow at the top. Then they decided to add iridescent snow that we used on the snowflake ornaments to the tree. Boy, did it add to the tree and make it really sparkle! They were so proud of what they did and amazed that they could create such a beautiful tree. It sold at the auction for $45.00 and of course I bought it! This is the special thing about teaching...when you find something that students like to do and have never had the opportunity to do and it is a success!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted at 07:48PM Nov 23, 2008 by Loretta in General | Comments[0]

Too Busy!!!!

    I just realized I haven't posted in 2 weeks! I have been really busy with keeping up with my other graduate class that I am writing a strategic plan in, working on my podcasts, (which I have finished all 4!), working on my final project for this class, writing lesson plans that meet all the modifications of my ESL and EC students since both of my classes have over half the students are labeled either EC or ESL and have many, many modifications. So I really give all students in my class graphic organizers, copies of notes, study guides, read aloud, and extended time!! Wow! This is becoming really challenging and time consuming but the IEP's and ESL plans are legal and modifications must be given to these students all the time.

    On a happier, more motivating note... my Marketing class has assembled penguin and snowflake ornaments and are going to decorate a Christmas Tree at the Council on Aging Center tomorrow.   I am doing this assignment to complete the objective in Marketing that deals with creating a display. The Christmas Tree will be sold at an auction on Friday night, in which all proceeds will benefit Council on Aging Programs.

    My hope is that the students will learn to do good things for their community and the agencies in the community....Give Back to their own!!!

    They really enjoyed assembling the ornaments and being creative with the penguins and snowflakes. I will let you know how putting the tree together goes.

Posted at 09:21PM Nov 17, 2008 by Loretta in General | Comments[0]

Surviving Mid-Semster

Isn't it amazing how fast time passes? I can hardly beleive that this class is over half way over and so id the 2008-2009 school year! I am amazed at the teechnology we have at our disposal and how fast technology is entering the educational environment. I just got an Elmo projector in my classroom. It is not set up yet (this will happen Tuesday), I am learning how to use United Streaming in my curriculums, all of the teachers at SAGE are to have webpages and we have our grades online (thanks to Easy Grade Pro) so that parents, guardians, students and administration can access a students progress in their classes 24 hours a day 7 days a week if they have the student's username and password.

My students are really becoming more efficient at researching the internet to find information they need for projects and love the new technology I am using in my classes. This includes podcasts, recorded lectures using the smartboard, blogs, and streaming video.

It is hard as an educator to keep ahead and learn about all the new gadgets and technology available, but in order to prepare our students for the demanding 21st century workforce, I must keep learning and using the new stuff.

More to come later......

Posted at 05:55PM Nov 02, 2008 by Loretta in General | Comments[2]

Some Interesting News

As I had stated in previous postings, we are looking at credit recovery software. I just found out that Credit Recovery Courses are going to be offered through North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS)starting in the Spring, 2009. That is next semester!!!! Wow! I hope these go well. It has a pre-test so that the instructor can gauge how many modules/units must be done in order to regain credit for the course. The student will have a Live Person (Instructor) that will be in charge of the course. This in my opinion is a step in the right direction!! This is a free online service for students enrolled in a NC Public School. I hope that this is the solution to all the software searching!!! Let me know if any of you have heard of this too!!!

Posted at 11:04AM Oct 27, 2008 by Loretta in General | Comments[1]

New Credit Recovery/Acceleration Software

Welecome back to the middle of a week. Things have been so hectic with the ending of the first six weeks in the fall semester to committee meetings, parent conferences, faculaty meetings, School Improvement Plan, Technology Plan, new students, graduate school, lesson plans and I am suppose to teach too?!
Anyway, my Principal has asked me to look at the software on the following site and see what I think. This would be used to allow students to accelerate and also used for credit recovery. It is for grades K-12. It has almost all the courses you could imagine and seems to go along curriculum lines alot better than NovaNet which we had previously and DESPISED!!!!

Let me know what you think! have any of you used this software before?

I look forward to your comments!

https://ple.platoweb.com/

Posted at 11:08AM Oct 15, 2008 by Loretta in General | Comments[1]

Another Week at SAGE

Oh well, so much for plans for the week...why bother.
I had a really challenging day on Monday. I had to excuse two students out of the room for cursing and was repremanded for not excusing another student for instigating the situation. It is difficult for teachers to explain to adminstration how they make decisions based on what happened in the classroom especially since they are not in that classroom three 90 minute periods a day, five days a week.
Let me get off of my soap box and reflect on the good things that happened this week. I was not able to attend the credit recovery software workshop because of a 504 committee meeting I was elected to go to instead. I will however get the info and share it on my blog.

I did however have a great end to the week. Two students told me experiences in their past that has led them to SAGE, make them have the positive attitude they have shown and the determination to do their best despite their circumstances. This is why I am at SAGE and I after a frustrating week, these stories remind me of why I am one of the chosen ones to work with these very special and creative students.

More to come......stay tuned!

Posted at 08:31PM Oct 05, 2008 by Loretta in General | Comments[1]

Week #5 in the Year 2008-2009

Well I just finished week 5 of this school year. Some of my students are showing progress and learning a lot and others are just falling farther behind and have no motivation.

My DCS class did a great job on formatting and keying unbound business reports. Most of them really applying themselves and learning a lot.

My Marketing class really got the hang of basic economics. I am really proud of them. This coming week they will finish up the unit and have a big project to complete where they compare 2 competitive stores. ie: Lowes Hardware vs. Home Depot, Burger King vs. Wendys, Wal-mart vs. Target and Bath and Body Works vs. The Body Shop. They will compare the Marketing Mix of each store and the target market along with why they are competitors. I hope for them to be able to apply all they have learned thus far and illustrate it in a display. We shall see....

Looking toward 21st Century Learning and Technology, I am scheduled to go with my Principal to hear presentations of credit recovery software programs and other remediation software that our county is looking to purchase. I go with him to see one on Tuesday morning and two additional on Tuesday afternoon and evening. I hope to see some challenging useful programs that can help our students recover course credits and remediation software that can help them "catch up" and build their skills!

I will submit my findings next week!

Everyone have a wonderful week!

Posted at 06:38PM Sep 27, 2008 by Loretta in General | Comments[3]

This Past Week

I just have to post a few comments on my classes last week. My Digital Communications Class had to compose a memo explaining our new behavior contracts. WOW! They did really well with using complete sentences and proper terminology to explain how the process works! Later in the week, they were asked to write/key a letter in proper block format to a college/university of their choice requesting information. I can't believe how well these turned out and how excited my students were to complete this assignment! Kudos to them!!!

My Marketing class has had a difficult week understanding economics. I have tried several strategies such as graphic organizers, short videos from You Tube, powerpoints, handouts and textbook reading. I also created a matching game for them to complete. They finally have a gist of what it is about. We are going to continue to work on this topic at the beginning of this week. Cross your fingers!!!

Posted at 08:58AM Sep 22, 2008 by Loretta in General | Comments[2]

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. I am the Career and Technical Education teacher at SAGE Academy, Chatham County Schools Alternative School. Here I will blog the happenings in my Marketing and Digital Communications Classes. I am trying to incorporate 21st century skills into my classes.
Check back and see whats going on!

Posted at 10:14PM Sep 17, 2008 by Loretta in General | Comments[0]

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