Flag Day - June 14, 2013

Just a few facts:

On May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation establishing a national Flag Day on June 14th.

On June 14, 1977, at a meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia John Adams spoke about the flag, "Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field representing a new constellation."

There have been 27 official versions of the flag so far; stars have been added to the flag as states have entered the Union. 

The current version of the flag dates to July 4, 1960 when Hawaii be came the 50th state.

6 American flags were planted on the moon by crews from Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17.

$301.5 million is the annual dollar value of shipments of fabricated flags, banners and similar emblems by the nation's manufactures.

95% of U.S. flags are manufactured in the United States.

For more information and for activities about Flag Day, visit these sites:

Flag Day Activities for Kids
Flag Day Lesson Plans and Activities
The National Flag Day Foundation
The American Flag and its Protocol
America's Story from America's Library
Flag Day (United States) - Wikipedia

Webinar on Infant Hearing Loss

Family Centered Practice: What have virtual home visits taught us about coaching and family centered early intervention? June 5, 2013 12 noon EST

 

Don't miss this free webinar on infant hearing loss hosted by Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech and CREC-Soundbridge. Join us for an enriching seminar presented by early intervention experts Jan Gatty, Ed.D (Clarke Northampton), Barbara Hecht, Ph.D. (Clarke Boston), Elizabeth Cole, Ed.D (CREC-Soundbridge), and special guest Tracy Osbahr, MA, CCC-SLP (Office of Specialty Services, MA Department of Public Health). The talk will cover issues related to virtual intervention (tele-intervention) and family coaching. Certificates of participation will be available for those who attend the live event and remote captioning services will be available free of charge. Don't miss this great seminar - register now! More information is available at: http://clarkeschools.org/webinars

Facts about Memorial Day

Did you know --- I know I did not --- that in 2000 Congress established a National Moment of Remembrance which asks Americans to pause for one minute at 3 p.m. in an act of national unity.  The time was chosen because 3 p.m. "is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday."

Please help spread the word about this little known fact about Memorial Day and remember to remember those who defended our country and are no longer with us and those who are currently defending our country.


Now some additional facts courtesy of CNN.com:

It started with the Civil War.
General Logan made it official.
It was first known as Decoration Day.
The holiday is a franchise.
It was James Garfield's finest hour - or maybe hour-and-a-half.
Not even the Unknown Solider can avoid media scrutiny these days.
Vietnam vets go whole hog.
Memorial Day has its customs.
There is still a grey Memorial Day.
Each Memorial Day is a little different.

For more information and explanation about these facts, see Ten facts about Memorial Day on CNN.com., History Channel's Memorial Day page, and TIME NewsFeed's 7 things you didn't know about Memorial Day.

Webinar - Revising Curriculum and Teaching: The purpose of common core-aligned assessments - FREE!

Join, Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs, on Thursday, May 16 for a webinar I'm presenting in conjunction with School Improvement Network where I'll share best practices for examining student work in strategic grouping patterns in order to inform and improve curriculum and teaching approaches. The focus will be particularly on assessments aligned to the Common Core.

Takeaways:

• Approaches to evaluating student learning and using evaluation results to improve student performance
• Strategies for strategic grouping of staff to respond to student work
• Methods for unpacking assessments
• Collaborative inquiry protocols for reviewing work
• Examples of revision methods for improving maps

This webinar is free and open to all who register.

Revising Curriculum and Teaching: The Purpose of Common Core-Aligned Assessments Presented by Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs Thursday, May 16 3:00 PM EDT | 2:00 PM CDT | 1:00 PM MDT | 12:00 PM PDT (Please note the later time) Click here to save your seat!

National Teacher Day - Teacher Appreciation Week!

Happy National Teacher Day, May 7th and Happy Teacher Appreciation Week, May 6th-10th!

Check out NEA's website for National Teacher Day info!

Check out neatoday's blog for Teacher Appreciation Week and National Teacher Day info!

Check out PTA's website for Teacher Appreciation Week info!

If nothing else, say THANK YOU to your Teachers and let them know you APPRECIATE them!

Exceptional Children's Week - May 5-11, 2013

This week is Exceptional Children's Week celebrating children and youth with exceptionalities and the educators who serve them! 

CEC has designed a special website in honor of Exceptional Children's Week.

Check out the website for resources (Tim Lewis and Chad Rose of the University of Missouri produced an anti-bullying guide entitled "Addressing bullying behavior through school-wide positive behavior support", which includes a list of resources and a School-wide PBIS Bully Prevention/Intervention Action Plan and a tutorial podcast is also available for the action plan), recognize achievements of your students for a Yes I Can! Award, CEC's Exceptional Children and ways to celebrate.