It's MADNESS......

March School Madness

I'm not just talking about bracketology, my friends.  This is the time of the year when I feel like I need an extra shot of espresso in the morning (I don't even drink coffee) and wheels on my feet, and I am not the only one.  Everyone is counting down to spring break and needs a pick me up! So, here is what I am doing to keep the spirit alive for the next 15 days until our abbreviated (thank you SNOW) Spring break occurs.

TEACHERS

Do you remember my Easter egg hunt from last year?  It is back and better than ever thanks to my principal coming through with some delicious treats.  I am still including my funny and inspirational quotes (e.g. Ryan Gosling among others) and hope to spread some cheer the week before break.

We are also doing our own March Madness brackets for bragging rights (and maybe a small gag gift) with staff.  The brackets were due today and points will be updated after each round in our staff mailroom.  I'm hoping to get my College Madness bulletin board back up like last year with the team mascots, but did I mention my "to do list" has its own madness going on right now?! (#nopromises)

STUDENTS

Ever since attending a session at the November NCSCA conference with the entertaining Mr. Kip Jones (Tweet him at @AuthorMrJ), I have had my heart set on coming up with a school pledge and school theme song.  Back in December I proposed an essay contest for any students who wanted to answer the following questions:

       1- What does it mean to you to be a Cleveland STAR?

       2- What is special about being a Cleveland STAR?

I got great answers from a group of third and fourth graders who have amazing school spirit. We have been working the last couple of months to summarize their essays into a concrete and succinct school pledge.  After it was complete, our art club decorated the pledges (pic coming soon), which were then laminated and handed out to each classroom to be posted.

Next was the more difficult part. One of our third graders picked the perfect tune for our theme song, and we got to work writing lyrics.  We used Audacity (free download) on the computer to record and edit our vocals.  Then, we imported the track into the iMovie app and added video clips of the performers.  Fifth grade students applied to be dancers in the video and added the perfect dance moves to give our video some extra flair.  It was a lot of work with the limited technology available, but I hope you will enjoy  our final product. The kids worked really hard, and I am super proud of
them!   Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ Angela