Week 12 Update- Happy Summer! The voting is done and Future Leader Dog puppies name is Cosmo! Once again the voting was so close, Cosmo was the winner by just 7 votes!!
Week 11 Update- I cannot believe the school year is almost over! Next week is our Reverse Parade and I cannot wait to see everyone. Unfortunately, the school district is hosting all elementary parades at the same time. This means I will only be able to attend the parade at Hill. Why Hill? Teachers who work in multiple buildings are assigned a "home" building and we have been asked to attend the parade at our "home" building. I wish I could clone myself and be in two places at once but despite lots of practice, I have not mastered this skill. :-(
See the week 10 update for puppy name suggestions. I will be sending out the voting information via email later this week, so get your suggestions in now! Miss you all!
Week 10 Update - This week's big discovery is that I can change the color of the font! This week I am starting to pack up both media centers for the summer. While ending the school year is always sad, this year it comes with some added excitement as we are making some changes to the media center! I can't wait to see the finished produce when we return for the 2020-2021 school year! We can also look forward to a new puppy from Leader Dogs for the Blind! This time it is a Golden Retriever puppy. His mom's name is Everest and his dad is named Roughy. Now we need to start thinking about a name for the new little guy! Share your suggestions here.
Week 9 Update Part 2 - I just learned that FLD Archie will not be returning to Leader Dogs for the Blind until the end of August, so he will be starting the school year with us! But that is not all! I will be picking up Future Leader Dog puppy #4 in July! He is a Golden Retriever and he needs a name! If you have any suggestions, enter them here and in a week or two we will vote on his name. :-)
Week 9 Update- I have been so busy with Zoom meetings, that I almost forgot to post an update this week! Bemis Bears, it was AMAZING to see so many of you at the Specials Zoom last week. I loved it! Hill Huskies, I am enjoying round 3 of our Specials Zoom meetings. (1st graders, I am so sorry that I missed the Zoom this morning. I had a staff meeting for my other school.) Yesterday we celebrated by nephew's 7th birthday. I got him 7 things for hid 7th birthday. 1. Gummy Bears 2. Water Balloons 3. A Science Kit 4. A coupon for a night camping in the backyard. 5. A coupon to for a trip to the ice cream store. 6. A book of his choice. 7. A sleepover at my house. Tomorrow is my sister's birthday. She turns 42. I am not getting her 42 presents! ;-) Picture of my nephew and my sister, his mom.
Week 8 Update-- Wow! We have some exciting things in the works for both the Hill and the Bemis kiddos! This week the Specials Teachers at Hill will begin round 3 of Zoom sessions! Check for days and times in the email from Mrs. Pawlus. And on Wednesday, the Bemis Specials teachers will be hosting Zoom sessions for all grades! I am so excited to see all my Bemis Bears! Besides the Zoom sessions, lots of other fun events and activities are in the works for BOTH schools!
And a huge thank you to all who sent messages during Teacher Appreciation Week. I loved hearing from each and every one of you!
NO photos today as I am my WiFi is so SLOW this morning! I will try again later!
Week 7 Update- I just checked my phone to see what photos I might have to share but there was not much. Do you want to see a picture of all the shoes I gave away? No? I didn't think so! ;-) I also have a picture of my dinner from Friday. Why? I wanted my sister to see it! I also had a picture of my sofa out at the curb waiting for trash pick up. Again. not really something you want to see! LOL!
Other than those silly pictures, the only other thing on my phone from the past week was my part of the Poem In Your Pocket Day video. Did you see that? NO?!?! Well, check out the video below!
As always, reach out if you have any questions about activities or resources. Miss everyone!
Week 6 Update - FLD Archie is having a hard time with the Stay at Home order. Remember how he could walk calmly down the hall at school passing all your smiling faces? Well, not anymore! Now he stops when we see someone on the street and cries because he wants attention! So this week we put on his Future Leader Dog jacket and headed out to practice...at a safe distance! We are staying with my mom in Holland, Michigan where they have a Wizard of Oz exhibit. After watching people from a distance and waiting for it to be 'people free', we walked over and checked out sculptures. The first photo below is from October 2019 and the 2nd and 3rd photo are from this week!
In school news, I saw some great work from last week's activity. (Johnny, I loved yours!) I am also VERY excited about this week's lesson as it ties into the class I am taking online. Be sure to check it out!
Hill Huskies, the specials teachers are working on setting up another "specials teacher" zoom session in the next week or so. Keep an eye out for that info!
Bemis Bears, I hope to pop into as many classroom Zoom sessions as I can! I'm watching for those invites from teachers. :-)
Stay safe and keep reading!
Week 5 Update - I am taking a class called Thinking and Learning in a Maker-Centered Classroom and I need your help!
Task- Find a bird feeder in your backyard or your neighbors yard. Take a few minutes to look at it and record your observations. You can make a video, draw a picture, or make a list! Whatever works the best for you. Here are some questions to guide your thinking.
PARTS_ what are the various parts or pieces? If ou don't know the name, create something logical.
DESCRIPTION- What is the basic shape? Materials? Colors? Size?
PURPOSE_ What does each part do? What role does each part play?
COMPLEXITIES- How do the parts work together?
Please share your thinking with me via email! [email protected] I would love photos or videos of your work so I can share with my class. Remember, thinking can be messy! More activities to come!
Here is a video of me explaining the assignment as well as a photo of me trying to explain the video outside on a cold and windy day!
Trying to record my message outside on a windy day!
Week 4 Update- Spring Break was a chance for me to unplug. I took lots of walks, watched a little TV, and did a lot of reading. We also celebrated FLD Archie's birthday! I would love to hear how you spent your spring break! Send me an email and tell me something fun you did!
Week 3 Update- This week I added to my maker space collection by purchasing my own zipsnips! This has come in very handy as I am building my nephew his very own time machine. ;-) I have also done some reading using the wonderful databases of ebooks from Abro and Capstone! Such a treat to have access to all of these amazing books.
Two pictures from my week. FLD Archie enjoyed some sunshine in the backyard and CC the cat discovered the second hand on a clock!
Shout out to Lexi P for the great poem!
Week 2 Update I am staying with my mom right now, so I wanted to share a few pictures with all of you!
Picture 1- FLD Archie getting himself in a little trouble with toilet paper. Picture 2- My cat, CC, and FLD Archie relaxing together. Picture 3- Archie and CC excited about a food delivery! Picture 4- My childhood dollhouse. I Loved playing with it! Picture 5- Which one is me? Can you figure it out? :-) Picture 6- My 'to be read' stack of books!
Read! Play! Create! Enjoy your time with family! I miss all of you and would love to see pictures or videos of how you are spending your time! - Ms. Apol
Week 1 Update Click on the video for a short message from Ms. Apol!
Look for the lesson links on the homepage!
Author Read Alouds and Links to Learning Opportunities Online!
Note some of these might not be accessible on student iPads. Why? Some of the links are on YouTube and Facebook and these are blocked on TSD iPads.