Smile

I found an interesting article about a photographer named Ruth Kaiser. She has a website/photo project that I love. Her goal is to find "smilies" in everyday objects and situations. Most of the pictures make you smile, and I would suspect that is the very simple and brilliant point to this project. I say several dozen pictures that made me smile and I needed that. I think some of you might need that as well. Check out her site http://www.spontaneoussmiley.com/. Maybe we should do this at school. I think this project would work for all age groups. This might even make a good idea for the theme for the yearbook. Thoughts?

Bring on the funny

I have seen posts from this site in the past and decided it was time to share the funny.
This site specializes in posting awkwardly funny family pictures (sent in by the families themselves). It is worth a look when you need a smile.
Awkward Family Photos.

Veteran's Day

This year we will have a day off from school on Wednesday. This is unusual since days off normally happen on Friday or Monday, but this is one of the most important Federal Holidays of all. It is a time we set aside to recognize all those who served in the armed forces. For more information about the holiday click HERE.
A special section of the VA website has been created just for younger students and can be accessed HERE.
Take a moment Wednesday to remember all the Veterans and all those who are presently serving in the armed forces.

Box Tops

Time once again for Box Tops for Education. This is a ridiculously competitive fundraiser that pits classes against each other. Student Council sponsors the event that raises a lot of money each year for the school. You can learn more about how this fundraiser works by clicking HERE. This year's competition starts on November 9th and will end on January 8th. Get busy clipping your box tops. Good luck to all the classes.

Now Hear This - She & Him

I was asked recently for some music recommendations so I decided to recommend one my favorite CDs - She & Him. The "him" is M. Ward and the "she" is Zooey Deschanel. You may know her from the movie "Elf" or "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey. The music sounds like something straight out of the 60's girl groups. The reviews for this are hit and miss from others but I love the sound of her voice and I love the simplicity of the arrangements. It is peaceful and relaxing to me even when the songs are upbeat. There is a concert I found on NPR that is just as satisfying to me as the CD. There are also a few songs from her on the soundtrack to (500) Days of Summer (which I have not seen yet, but I will). This may not work for all of you so try a sample on iTunes or amazon.com. I am anxiously waiting for their next CD. Let me know if you pick it up.

Getting Organized

I just bought a new scanner for school with some grant money. It is called ScanSnap. It can turn papers into pdf files at a rate of about 20 double sided sheets of paper in one minute. It does a nice job on virtually all types and sizes of papers. You can turn the scanned papers into word files (the OCR ability is pretty good), excel files, jpegs and more. I love this little toy. The problem I think I may have is that I am trusting it and my ability to backup files because once I scan something for archival purposes I am recycling the paper. No more hard copy is tough for me and I am pretty technologically adept. I am also trying to turn more of my life over to the computer. I already do not print out pictures, I listen to all my music via iPod and I almost never write anything down with pen and paper. This all means that when the power is out I am in trouble. When the software no longer works I may be in trouble. When the computer crashes I may be out of luck.
All this organization means I need to get more organized. I know in the old days people lost documents and memories due to fires, floods and more, but today we have the capability to back up files and store a copy of your "life" on a hard drive somewhere else.
My plan is to keep scanning, keep ripping CDs and keep putting pictures on my computer, but I know now more than ever that leaving a more organized record of my life will make things a bit easier for someone to sort through when the time comes.
Funny the things that will get you motivated. Between the loss of a loved one and the acquisition of a new toy I have become even more stressed about organization, and I was pretty good before (I think). What sorts of tips do you have for getting and staying organized? Can you locate a phone number in a hurry in an emergency? Can you locate important papers at the drop of a hat?
This applies to school as well as your personal life. When I am in the building I need few plans. I can make a day happen with little preparation if I need to. But when I was away I was not able to put anything meaningful together. This meant I let down the students and the school. Yet another wake up call to get things organized. But this is how we all learn. We make a mistake.
So I got all this rambling from a scanner. I suppose I should have used this time to get some things done. But I do want to know what you do to get and keep organized.

A CCS Video

A new teacher at CCS put together a music video with his 8th grade general music class. I posted it on the school website, but I thought this was another good place to publicize it a bit. Great job Mr. Scheiber! Great job students!