Murrieta Online Learning Community

If you are interested in learning about mindfulness practices and trauma-senstive stragegies for your classroom, Mindful Schools is providing scholarships for its educator preparation courses. Learn more at the link below:

Scholarships for Educators - Mindful Schools Education is a calling that draws some of the most giving, hard-working, and dedicated people on the planet. Thanks to our donors, we are deeply grateful and so pleased to fund scholarships for educators!

Thank you to VMHS social studies teacher Chrissy Thomas-Kelley for sharing these excellent before school checklist as reminders of some key essentials to have in place.

Exit Tickets/Ticket-out-the-Door have long been used by teachers as a great way to hold students accountable for their learning and to check for understanding. Circle Maps make for great exit tickets and can be very easy to quickly peruse to check for student learning. They can be completed by individual students, or done in pairs, triads or larger groups. In the sample below, students brainstormed key academic vocabulary associated with chapter 10 from a Probability and Statistics unit:

Using Tree Maps to help students with number skills.

The latest Teaching Tales podcast by Brent Coley is out, and it features my friend and colleague Mary Vongsavanh. If you've never heard her story, then this is a must listen! Most people in our school district know Mary as our math guru, who does an amazing job doing lesson study and math trainings when she's not busy as the E.Hale Curran Assistant Principal. But few know how her experiences coming to this country as a refugee from "The Secret War" in Laos has informed both her passion for and understanding of the importance of equity, culturally responsive pedagogy, and trauma-informed practices. Please give this a listen to learn more!

‎Teaching Tales w/ Brent Coley: E90: Mary Vongsavanh & The Stories We Don’t See on Apple Podcasts ‎Show Teaching Tales w/ Brent Coley, Ep E90: Mary Vongsavanh & The Stories We Don’t See - Feb 6, 2021

Using Flow Maps to help students with Number Talks in order to promote thinking and speaking like mathematicians:

Here is a great blog post on how Thinking Maps can be integrated into MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) to promote equity and provide scaffolds for struggling students:

MTSS and Thinking Maps: Helping All Students Succeed - Thinking Maps MTSS provides targeted supports that encompasses both academic and behavioral interventions. Thinking Maps supports both branches of the MTSS framework.

Had the amazing opportunity to share the story of my personal journey into mindfulness practice, and how I’ve been able to share it with our district staff members as part of our emotional well-being programs.

‎Teaching Tales w/ Brent Coley: E88: Sean McCarthy & The Importance of Mindfulness and Self Care on Apple Podcasts ‎Show Teaching Tales w/ Brent Coley, Ep E88: Sean McCarthy & The Importance of Mindfulness and Self Care - Jan 18, 2021

"Give families the benefit of the doubt. When communication attempts fail, avoid jumping to the conclusion that families do not care." During this pandemic, relationship-focused communication with student families may be more important than ever. This article provides some excellent strategies and approaches.

7 Ways for Teachers to Truly Connect With Parents (Opinion) For some parents, the most relevant question is, "How is your family doing," according to researchers working in an Oregon school district.

How to Help Students Focus on What They’re Learning, Not the Grade Work that emphasizes students’ developing skills instead of a graded product reminds them to see learning as their goal.

Feeling stressed? Anxious? Distracted? Burned out? Join our Wednesday Wellness sessions for some midweek mindfulness practice to recharge, reset, and refocus. These brief, 15-20 minute gatherings will reintroduce a strategy from our introduction to mindfulness training, and then we will spend 10 minutes practicing. It's a great opportunity to regain some balance and get back on track with a practice that research has demonstrated has a positive impact on our physical and mental well-being. If you can't join a live session, they will be recorded.

For more info or to join, sign into Canvas and access the PD Calendar at the link below, or send me as message. Each session will begin at 12:15 every Wednesday except during holidays/vacations.

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