Rites of Passage Girls Summer Camp 2011

Kaya Retreats, Inc. would like to take this opportunity to thank all our stakeholders and members of the community who have reached out to help us get summer camp going this year.  We are encouraged by all of you that make this endeavor so effortless.  

This year's summer camp is being held at Quiet Waters Park in the campgrounds.  The tents are all very sturdy and spacious with running water and electricity. Your donations, volunteer efforts, suggestions, and well wishes have truly inspire us and has made a difference in the planning.  

This week we  continue to work towards  the launching of the summer camp program right here in Broward County.  The annual Summer Girls Rites of Passage Camp will be from July 30, 2011 through August 5, 2011 -  a full week of transformational workshops, building leadership skills, making new friends, mentoring, yoga lessons and fun with peers.  The staff of attendants and camp counselors  enable us to have one adult to every five girls participating. Thanks to all the volunteers who have signed up to be camp counselors. We have confirmed with our yoga specialist, who will lead the girls through daily lessons for exercise and relaxation.  Thanks also to Women In Distress volunteers for confirming the date-violence workshop. 

We are still recruiting  participants and reaching out to the community to pass on the information.  Please click in menu for contact information.

We continue our fundraising raffle of a 60" Plasma flat screen TV.  Raffle will be drawn on the last day of summer camp, August 6, 2011. Please contact us for tickets.   Park Lane Jewelry fundraiser started off with a buzz. T-shirt and cap along with other camp accessories can be purchased in our product store, which is yet another source of fundraising for camp. All participants will be expected to participate in fundraising events.

Once again, we want to tell you how grateful we are for your donations and volunteer efforts, and everything you do, without which  this summer camp would not be happening. We thank you. 

Kaya Retreats, Inc.

​Transform Body, Mind and Spirit

2011 Graduation Ceremony

I volunteered for the graduation team at my high school this year, and participated in the ceremony. It was simply awesome. I guess you can say that it is always awesome to me. This year the students gave such eloquent speeches. I have never heard speeches such as those bestowed upon the audience by student leaders at the graduation. The following morning, I found myself reflecting on the tone of all their speeches, and was still amazed over the depth of their various messages - seemed beyond their years. I felt that their thoughts showed an intuitive awareness of present times, and their poignantly suggested solutions to fellow students could be profoundly appreciated by everyone in the audience. Their eloquence illustrated the effect of four years of mentoring, love and support they received while attending this school; so everyone who touched their lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas should be very proud of themselves as well. Very touching indeed. Kudos to the teachers, mentors and administration for your part in shaping the lives of these young people. I was very honored to be a part of such a great experience.

SUMMER TUTORING SERVICES

Tutoring services during the summer at competitive rates. I will travel to residence or meet student at specified location in BCPS North Regional area (i.e. Coral Springs/Parkland/Tamarac,Margate/Coconut/ Pompano). Will travel further with compensation for gas and time.

I am a high school teacher with a science and engineering background, and a track record of high teaching standards and gains. I offer tutoring in Biology, Earth Science, Environmental Science, Marine Science, Reading, SAT and ACT prep. Please visit my blog at http://tutorkm.blogspot.com., email me at kayamatt@alumni.usc.edu, or call me at (954) 825-6974 for further information.

A Project Based Learning Presentation

Project based learning can be used interchangeably with inquiry-based learning. When students work independently in groups to solve problems they access higher order thinking, build on 21st Century skills such as critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. They also maintain a high degree of engagement, because their interest is peaked.

Here's a video on an example of project based learning in action.

Go Green

You can improve lab safety and protect the environment by following the simple principles in "Greening the School Science Lab," this month's free Safety Training Notes from Flinn Scientific. Click on the link below and discover easy ways to "go green" by reducing the use and generation of hazardous substances.

Going green does not mean doing fewer labs. It means being more mindful of the labs you choose and the material you use. To get started, begin with information from a source you can trust . . . Flinn Scientific. For more than 30 years, Flinn has been the pioneering leader in providing teachers with reliable and helpful information concerning the safe use of laboratory chemicals.

You can always count on Flinn for problem-solving information, quality products at low prices, fast delivery, and unbeatable service.

To print "Greening the School Science Lab," please go to:
[ http://www.flinnsci.com/Sections/Safety/Snotes/snotes.asp ]http://www.flinnsci.com/Sections/Safety/Snotes/snotes.asp

Very truly yours,

Larry Flinn
Chairman
Flinn Scientific, Inc.
P.O. Box 219
Batavia, IL 60510
1-800-452-1261
[ http://www.flinnsci.com ]www.flinnsci.com

Models for Co-teaching.

I am once again working for Broward Public Schools. My current assignment is Grade 9 Biology Honors teacher. I am co-teaching with a superb science teacher, from whom I am learning a whole lot.

I worked as a co-teacher before in this same school district, but never really looked at any model to determine how I could best work under these circumstances. Recently a page was left in my mailbox informing me of different models I could use in this co-teaching position.

After reading it, I realized that I had used two different models each time I had the opportunity to co-teach. I used the alternative teaching method, where I would take a small group of struggling students over to a teaching station and work with them one on one in the group. I have also used one model where the lead teacher did all the teaching, and I did all the grading. In this case, the students knew that he was their teacher, but they also recognized me as a teacher with the authority as such.

The models all included parity, which signifies that you are observed as equals in the classroom, and one does not have to ask the permission of the other in order to direct students to perform.

What is Co-Teaching?

Co-Teaching is two or more teachers sharing responsibility for teaching some or all of the students assigned to a classroom. It involves the distribution of responsibility for planning, instruction and evaluation of students.

Topics for Co-teachers to Discuss

One of the key factors to successfully co-teaching is the demonstration of parity, which entails alternatively engaging in the dual roles of teacher and learner, expert and novice, giver and recipient of knowledge or skills.

PARITY? HOW?

BOTH
1. Have names on board
2. Write on assignments
3. Have spa for personal belongings
4. Have lead role in classroom
5. Talk during instruction
6. Gives directions or permission without checking with the other
7. Work with all students
8. Considered teachers by students

DISCUSS

- Instructional content and expectations for students.
- Planning, including time to do it and who does which part.
- Instructional format, including who will do which part of the instructional delivery.
- Instructional routines
- Organizational routines
- The definition of "help."
- Discipline procedures for the classroom.
- Feedback, including when and how to discuss issues with each other.
- Student evaluation, including grading.
- Pet peeves.
- Other

SIX APPROACHES TO CO-TEACHING:

1. One Teach, One Observe

One of the advantages in co-teaching is that more detailed observation of students engaged in the learning process can occur. With this approach, for example, co-teachers can decide in advance what types of specific observational information to gather during instruction and can agree on a system for gathering the data. Afterward, the teachers should analyze the information together.

2. One Teach, One Assist
In a second approach to co-teaching, one person would keep primary responsibility for teaching while the other professional circulated through the room providing unibs=trusive assistance to students as needed.

3. Parallel Teaching

On occasion, student learning would be greatly facilitated if they just had more supervision by the teacher or more opportunity to respond. In parallel teaching, the teachers are both covering the same information, but they divide the class into two groups and teach simultaneously.

4. Station Teaching

In this approach, teachers divide teacher content and students. Each teacher then teaches the content to one group, and subsequently repeats the instruction for the other group. If appropriate, a third station could give students an opportunity to work independently.

5. Alternative Teaching

In most class groups, occasions arise in which several students need specialized attention. In alternative teaching, one teacher takes responsibility for the large group while the other works with a smaller group.

6. Team Teaching

In team teaching, both teachers are delivering the same instruction at the same time. Som teachers refer to this as having one brain in two bodies. Others call eam teaching. Most co-teachers consider this approach the most complex, but satisfying way to co-teach, but the approach that is most dependent on teacher's styles.

Get Your Kids to Read...More

Surround your children with books. There are zillions of books to choose from in the bookstore. Children love to go to the bookstore, the library, the museum, and other places where they can read and learn. Get your child a library card! That is a big event for a child...and exciting too. Accompany them to the library, show them around, discuss the rules, and have them check out at least one book. Take them to the bookstore on a Saturday and spend an hour or two browsing. I know that I tend to be total bookworm, everyone may not appreciate reading as much as I do.

All my readers may post ideas and innovations on this page. Let's educate our community.

Interesting Links:
http://www.browardschools.com
http://www.communityinaction.org/dia
http://www.edutopia.org
http://etc.usf.edu/flstandards/sss/index.html (Sunshine State Standards)