Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to our Shepard family and friends! We will meet again in 2017!  School resumes Januart 4th.  

MyON for All

Our kindergarteners are being introduced to MyON reader this week. This program is available through the Shepard website, and it has many, many books for students to choose from. They can read the books to themselves, or have the books read aloud to the them. 

MyON is a wonderful resource for our emerging readers, and for ALL our students! Take time over the holiday break to check it out !

December Days

Students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades are working on Dance Mat Typing, MyON, and ST Math programs when they come to the computer lab. They also took a short survey called Bright Bytes which will help CPS determine what technology is needed in our schools.

2nd graders work on Dance Mat Typing and ST Math programs in computer lab. 1st graders were introduced to Dance Mat Typing, so they are learning the location of the alphabet on the computer keyboard. Kindergarteners are practicing logging onto the computer and working on ST Math.

Busy winter days!

Exciting Days for Kindergarten!

Our 5th grade friends came in to help kindergarten students learn to log into computers this past week. The kindergarteners have been learning how to use a mouse and navigate to various sites on the computer since August, but they have been logged on to the computers by someone else. Now they can log in all by themselves, and they are so proud! They are true computer students!

Learning to Code

Image from Code.org

We will be working on Code.org and Learning.com websites to practice computer coding during the month of November. This is a fun and basic way to teach students computer science. Computer science nurtures problem-solving skills and encourages skills building in logic and creativity.  By starting early, students will form a foundation for any 21st-century career path 😊.  Be sure to check out the Code.org website with your student sometime!

It's All About the Keyboarding

Our classes are starting to learn and practice keyboard typing using Dance Mat Typing.  This typing program gives students instructions on how to touch type using fun characters and music.  The second and first grades are working in word processing as well, and kindergarten continue to develop mouse and keyboard skills as they work on reading and math games.

Mashups, Sharks, and a Zoo

Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes are playing Mix-in-Mash, a program designed to show students how to properly credit photos, music, and other copyright material in digital work. They have also played Search Shark, a game that teaches students how to choose keywords when doing online research.

Our 2nd and 1st graders are learning about opening tabs and Windows on the Internet. They also are beginning to work on keyboarding by playing Keyboard Zoo 😀

Share and Evolve

This week our 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students evaluated examples of online messages to determine what information is good and appropriate to share. They did this in Digital Passport in the game "Share Jumper".  They then played "Evolve" - a game which helped them make choices about what to do if they or their friends are being cyber bullied. The object is to "evolve" into an "Upstander" - someone who takes action to stop cyber bullying instead of just standing by.

Our second graders worked again in ST Math, and our first graders learned about the parts of the computer systems at their desks and how they are connected:  the CPU, mouse, keyboard, and headphones.  Our kindergarten friends discovered ABCYa!

Digital Passport

This week we are introducing the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders to Digital Passport. This program, set up by Common Sense Media, is designed to help students learn about cyber safety through games. 

This week we learned that as wonderful a tool as cell phones can be, you have to be sure to use it properly. Do not text while walking or driving in traffic. Do not stay on social media all night. Do not text while having a face to face conversation with someone - that may be rude!

Our second graders worked on ST Math this week, and our first graders took the STAR Early Literature assessment in the lab this week.  Our kindergarten friends are learning how to maneuver around the Shepard website. They are discovering a variety of reading games!

With Great Technology Comes ...

Great responsibility! 

We talked this week about the wonderful opportunities technology brings us. We also talked about how easy it is to fall victim to bullies online, and even to be a bully.  

If someone threatens you online or pretends to be someone else online, that is cyber bullying. You can report this behavior to a trusted adult.

If something online makes you uncomfortable, tell a trusted adult. You do not have to be a victim. 

Technology can bring us amazing things! We need to use that information safely and wisely.

Be a Good Digital Citizen

This week we talked about how to be a good digital citizen: someone who using technology safely and responsibly. We focused on safety while using the Internet: never give out your full name, address, phone number, or password when you are online. You cannot tell who someone is if you cannot see them!

Most importantly, be sure there is a trusted adult nearby when you are on the Internet. If you see something that makes you uncomfortable, you can ask for their help.

We will continue our topic of good digital citizenship for the next week or two. Please be sure to continue the discussion with your student at home. It is important that our students learn early how to navigate technology safely, respectfully, and responsibly.🙂

Here We Are!

I Our 2016-17 school year has begun!

It so good to be with our friends again!  The theme for this week is "How to Be a Good Digital Citizen". We began by going over the behavior expectations in the computer lab, and we talked about the importance of keeping your password safe.  The third, fourth, and fifth graders created their own passwords for computer log in.  We then enjoyed some free time on the computers, using approved websites like ABC Ya and PBSKids.

Pssst: the surprise? New monitors for our desks! They are beautiful and looonnnggg!

We're Back!! 2016-17 Shepard Computer Lab

The computer lab is all ready for the new school year, and it holds a nice surprise for the students! They will hear about that surprise when they come to class this week. This year, everything is AWESOME!

This Was a Fun Week!

Testing is over, and the school celebrated by hosting a week of dressing up and creativity!  Students dressed as their favorite book character one day and as their dream career another day. They had time to read interesting books one day and play new games on Field Day.

Friday was a day devoted to combining art and math projects. We joined in the fun in the computer lab by using Excel to create pixel pictures 😀.

Jazz Time

Our students are learning safe researching techniques this month using the acronym RADCAB:  Relevancy, Appropriateness, Detail, Currency, Authority, and Bias.  They are using these techniques to learn about legendary Jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington.  Our music teacher, Ms Felder, will be introducing the students to Jazz music this month, and asked if we could coordinate our efforts - YES!

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students are also taking short practice MAP tests in our class. We are doing this to make sure they are comfortable using the various tools in the MAP test.

Growing Learners

Our Kindergarten friends are learning how to now log in to MyON!  MyON has hundreds of book titles that our students can read or have read to them. It can be found on the Shepard school homepage.

Kindergarten students are doing a fabulous job in the computer lab, learning how to do things that the older Shepard students can do! They are proud of that!

The 1st - 5th grade classes are practicing keyboarding skills. 1st and 2nd graders are using Dance Mat Typing, and 3rd-5th are transitioning from Dance Mat Typing to Typing Club, a more sophisticated keyboarding program.  Some students are sad to leave the singing goats and dancing sheep behind, though! 😉

Busy Days!

Our kindergarten students are proud of the fact that they can log into the computers now using their own usernames and passwords. They practice reading skills, counting skills, and mouse skills while on the computer.

Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are finishing the diagnostic tests this week. The 2nd graders are exploring what they can do in Word, and the 1st graders are using keyboarding skills with Dance Mat Typing.

Our 3rd, 2nd, and 1st graders are also listening to books nominated for the 2015-16 Show Me Readers Award. They will vote for their favorite book later in March. Will students throughout Missouri choose the same favorite book as Shepard students? We let you know :)

Kids At Work

Yes, the sign on our door says it all! 

Our third, fourth, and fifth grade classes are working on classroom diagnostic tests this week, while the  second and first grade students explore life in the San Diego Zoo.  They are using the San Diego Zoo website which is full of information and games.

And our kindergarten classes? They are learning how to log into the computers using their own special user name and password. They are rock in' it!

Art and Champions!

Our 5th grade students made this colorful art project by creating their initials in ASCII code in a 16 block box:

The scattered boxes on the right side are "just for fun" boxes 😊

The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students have been working on keyboarding skills using the Dance Mat Typing program. This fun program uses singing goats, hippos, yaks and cats to teach touch typing. Students who complete all 12 levels get to sign their name in gold pen on the Dance Mat Champions board:

On to February!