CAIS Regional Meeting at Head Royce

The California Association of Independent Schools held the Northern Regional Meeting at Head-Royce School yesterday. Attending from TBS were Sima Misra, Mike Sinclaire, Kim Headlee, Kate Klaire, Mitch Bostian and myself, along with around 2000 other teachers and administrators from independent schools throughout northern California. This year we linked attending the event to submitting a proposal to present, and all four of the faculty presented the following workshops at the conference:

Using Visual Patterns and Thinking Routines to Deepen Mathematical Understanding (Mike and Sima) : Math has been described as the science of pattern-finding and relationships. Visual pattern finding and manipulatives allow students entry points into deep thinking and mathematical conversation. We will describe patterns with the language of mathematics (equations, order of operations, variables), and connect to upper elementary concepts like factors, multiples, and growth patterns. We will offer thinking routines the presenters learned from Harvard Project Zero that provide a framework for developing student understanding. 

Affinity Group: Student Council (Kate): Student councils are a wonderful opportunity for your school to develop service learning, community building, and establishing a voice for all students. This affinity group meeting is intended for those currently facilitating a student council and/or for those interest in how to get started. This will be a generative workshop focusing on a range of ideas and possibilities for overseeing student councils, including common constraints, and how to problem solve. Please come share your wisdom and curiosities.

Affinity Group: Performing Arts in Elementary School (Kim): Attention K-6 music, dance, theater teachers! Are you in need of new ideas to implement in your program? Do you have successful activities you love in your own classroom and would like to share? Come join us to share, learn and get inspired from fellow teachers. Bring at least three activities to share: movement, games, songs, etc., and be prepared to describe or lead each one. Fel free to bring handouts or activity instruction copies to distribute.

A sample of the workshops the six of us attended includes, by title:

Books, Rehearsal, Action!: Tools for Disrupting Gender Role Stereotyping in Elementary School

Building a Positive School Culture

Head's Session with CAIS Executive Director Jim McManus

Never Enough Time! Creating a Comprehensive, Effective, and Engaging Math Program

Ukelele - Strum and Sing

What are Little Boys Made of?

Heart to Heart & Hand to Hand: Singing and Movement Games from Many Cultures

As the Administration representative on the committee that helped plan the event, I spent the morning at the presenter check-in table, helping people get their name tags, figure out where  they would be presenting, and problem-solving the various issues that arise in any convention (signage, room changes and cancellations, etc). I greatly enjoyed doing this, to the point that I took an extra long shift at the table! I was also responsible for cultivating the selection of workshops specifically for administrators from among the submitted proposals, which was very enjoyable and also informational -- especially because I have begun to submit proposals to present at various conferences lately.

Stay tuned for a write up and newsletter with pieces and perspectives from each of the TBS attendees  coming out soon!