Students from 20 area schools experienced a brand new theatrical show last week.  Almost 2500 elementary students from Cattaraugus and Allegany counties attended the TheaterWorks USA performance of "Rosie Revere, Engineer & Friends."  A talented cast presented a lively musical revue of Andrea Beaty’s popular children’s book series.

​The fun new musical is based on the books Rosie Revere, Engineer; Iggy Peck, Architect; and Ada Twist, Scientist, which all spotlight the STEM curriculum.  Rosie, Iggy, and Ada, along with inspiration from Rosie’s great aunt, Rosie the Riveter, worked together to save the day and their teacher. 

Information about the show, as well as curriculum connections and enrichment activities are available here:  https://1s1lqm1s1b6x2bjxng3l5tmg-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/TWUSA-ROSIE-Study-Guide.pdf

TheaterWorks USA is a professional acting company based out of New York City.  It is America’s largest and most prolific professional theatre for young audiences.  Cuba-Rushford Elementary and Salamanca High opened their auditoriums to host the performances.  BOCES Arts In Education, CoSer 403, helps schools enrich the lives of their students by providing opportunities to experience the performing arts.  For more information about bringing theatrical shows to your area, contact Student Programs at 716-376-8323. 

By: Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES Student Programs

Many CA BOCES districts have been looking at Restorative Practices and have also attended many of the CA BOCES offered IIRP two-day trainings.  The CA BOCES certified trained IIRP professionals offer dates in July and August for these two-day trainings, but they can also work with districts to offer full or part time trainings for any district.  Participants in West Valley and other districts have been excited to see that Restorative Practice is ‘more than just circles’.  Schools that adopt Restorative Practices give a common language to set expectations, build positive relationships and to help set up a ‘culture of caring’ for all students in a building. 

By: Mark Carls, CA BOCES Professional Development

​In Mr. Dave Taylor’s Introduction to Engineering course, students have many experiences connected to solving real-world issues. In Mr. Taylor’s latest unit, he charged his students with designing a concrete bridge with the challenge of holding as much weight as possible while using as little material as necessary. Students were given one 80lb. bag of concrete and 8 yards of wire reinforcements.
 
The unit opened up with students researching the field of civil engineering, learning about salary, education required, and all of the sub disciplines. Mr. Taylor then had his students participate in the Question Formulation Technique (QFT). The QFT is an inquiry-based process that helps students generate many questions around a topic, or Q Focus. A Q Focus can be a statement, an image, a video, a song, or more, but it is never a question. The first time he did the QFT with students, he gave them a picture of a 19th Century aqueduct. This sparked many types of questions from students as they wondered about the construction, design, and history of the image. Once they were hooked, Mr. Taylor provided another Q Focus to get students to deeply think about their upcoming project: “We will build scale reinforced concrete bridges that accurately model real functioning bridges designed by civil engineers.” Students once again generated questions based on the statement, sparking their interest in the project at hand.

The students researched bridge design, including regulations from the Montana Department of Transportation and even the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. From there, students engaged in the engineering design process. Working in groups, they made 3D models using Fusion 360 and continued to iterate their designs until they were satisfied with the finished product. One of the key challenges was figuring out how to make a mold to design their bridge, as they had to think about their design from a different perspective to design an inverse mold. Once they were finished, they went into Mr. Farrand’s wood shop with their final designs and physically constructed their molds with wood. Students determined how much water and wire reinforcement they wanted to use, where to place that reinforcement, and also considered how to remove their bridge from the mold without it sticking to the wood and cracking or breaking. 

​After a seven day curing process, students were ready to test out their bridges! Mr. Brisky came up with a chain hoist system as a way to evenly place weights on students’ bridges. Group A used 77.5 lbs. of concrete mix while Group B used 35.5 lbs. of mix. While Group A was able to hold 335lbs. compared to Group B’s 148.5lbs., Group B ultimately won because they held more weight with a lot less material.
 
Students were fascinated by this unit and want to try additional experiments, such as playing with the amount of water and reinforcement to see if they can improve their designs. Well done, panthers! 

By: Brendan Keiser, CA BOCES Professional Development

It’s nearing the end of the school year and detailed reports on growth and achievement are a necessity. Having visibility over progress for reading lessons, books read, assessments and detailed individual student reports has now become even easier.
 
All of our schools and students have access to Reading Eggs and Math Seeds. This is something you have heard, and used, for at least 5 years. But what may not be as familiar is the Reporting tool that provides teachers and administrators with class totals and clear averages. With a few clicks, you can drill-down much further to easily identify learning gaps, achievement, effort, improvement and more.

Teachers love the Chart View. Displayed are the class totals for time on the program, reading lessons completed, end of map quizzes completed, books read, spelling lessons completed, Lexile growth, stories written and earned rewards. With the graphic snapshots, you can see how total results are spread across the months within the year as well as progress across a class.

Table view gives you the data you need to determine the next steps in teaching and learning. With this view you can view by student or by column to identify gaps in learning and progress. The initial lesson will reflect a student’s placement based on the result of the diagnostic placement test for Reading Eggs/Math Seeds. Simply select a student from this view to get the detailed individual results.
 
The reports dashboard for Reading Eggs/Math Seeds provides teachers with an opportunity to use data to drive instruction by drilling down into each section for in-depth class and individual reports. It is an easy way to analyze student growth, strengths and weaknesses.
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If you have any questions or want to find out more, please reach out!

​By:  Alexandra Freer, CA BOCES Learning Resources

​As the winter snows melt and sunshine begins to extend and warm up each day, you know Spring is in the air.  At Gail N. Chapman elementary school in Randolph, 2nd grade students ‘Catapulted into Spring’ with a STEM activity that consisted of two parts.  Each student was given a bag of various materials that could be used for each part.  In part one, students could use pieces of wood, rubber bands, tape, and a spoon to create a catapult that would fly a plastic egg into the air. In part two, students needed to create a nest type structure to catch the egg.   The structure could be made out of toothpicks, lollipop sticks, jelly beans, gumdrops, marshmallows, and grass clippings.  

​The first part of the STEM challenge focused on leverage and force, as students needed to be sure their catapults could take an egg at least 6” into the air.  They experimented with various lengths for their catapult, and how much force would be needed to get the proper height and distance they were looking for.  

​The second part of their STEM challenge required their catapulted eggs to be caught in a nest type structure and they were not to touch the ground.  Students discussed various creative ways to accomplish this and were left to explore their own engineering and design.  Conversations about what design to use, and what materials worked best were taking place all over the classroom.  Once time had elapsed for their construction and building, it was time for each student to attempt to catapult their egg into their created nest.  No matter how many students were able to launch their eggs into the nest, all students succeeded in having fun and experimenting with leverage and engineering.   

By: Rob Griffith, CA BOCES Professional Development

Our annual Scholastic Challenge competition was held at Portville Central School on April 6, 2019
​Here are the results!

Junior Division - 1st place
Scio Central School (Trivia Tigers)
​Coach - Tammy Straight, Derek Ketchner, Will Broach, Jordan White, Gregory Wesche
​

Instructional greatness is the theme in Friendship Central School.  Teachers here have dedicated time and effort into making every moment in school count.  They have worked countless hours to help all students achieve success.  One way they have accomplished this is through data driven instruction. 

Planning instruction based on assessments is hard work.  Teachers in Friendship are diligently working at unpacking standards, aligning curriculum and planning lessons using the data from CA BOCES-created benchmark assessments.  This teacher tool gives educators the knowledge and understanding of student learning.  It also provides a foundation for teacher professional development.   

​Teachers engage in collegial and collaborative conversations on a regular basis.  There are numerous benefits to these conversations such as creating professional community, learning, and a culture where knowledge and respect are highly valued.  These educators are responsible for transforming classrooms as they share ideas and expertise.  The support they receive from colleagues is inspiring.  Ultimately, these professionals develop and maintain the culture of cooperation so that teachers continue to learn and students achieve.  The work in Friendship is transformational and teachers are the heart of this work. 

​By: Michelle Rickicki, CA BOCES Professional Development

On March 11th, over 100 local educators, administrators and community leaders gathered at the Restorative Practices Symposium to explore, learn and experience from experts and practitioners in the field.  The event was organized in response to the increasing interest in restorative practices in the region.  The morning consisted of a keynote speaker and three practitioner presentations, while the afternoon allowed participants to experience different aspects of restorative practices based upon interest.  Let’s take a look at what we learned about throughout the morning!

The keynote speaker, Dr. Tom Cavanagh of Colorado State University shared evidence and research specific to restorative practice in schools.  He noted the significance of creating a culture of care using the principles and practices of restorative justice in the school environment.  Dr. Cavanagh’s work with Hinkley High School in Aurora, Colorado was a great example of the application of a “culture of care” and related positive outcomes.  Based on his research, Dr. Cavanagh concluded the implications for restorative schools include improved graduation rates, decreased discipline referrals, increased learning time and greater equity.

Deb Golley and Mollie Lapi, of CA BOCES Exceptional Education Programs spoke about the implementation process and daily practices within special education programs.  They shared the reality of the 80/20 rule with restorative practices.  The majority (80%) of practices are proactive, leaving the reactive practices happening much less of the time (20%).  Therefore, reinforcing that restorative schools are heavily invested in practices that build relationships and community.  This investment enables the responsive practices, such as conferences or corrective circles, to have greater influence and success in repairing harm and relationships when harm has occurred.

Representatives from East High School in the Rochester City School District, Dr. Lia Festenstein and Michelle Garcia offered insight into the revitalization of climate and culture in an urban school, through the implementation of restorative practices.  Garcia introduced the social discipline window and noted that the ideal restorative response is a combination of high control (limit setting, discipline) and high support (encouragement, nurturing).  Dr. Festenstein highlighted the process and stages of implementation and shared details of the journey from year one into year four.  Finally, Dr. Festenstein spoke of the noteworthy impact that restorative practices has had at EAST.  Outcomes include, a decrease in school referrals and suspensions, a decrease in the severity of school offenses and a narrowing discipline gap that disproportionately punishes students of color.
​
Finally, participants heard from local superintendent Lori DiCarlo.  DiCarlo walked participants through the three tiers of restorative practices.  She illustrated how the multi-tiered system of support aligns with the restorative practices continuum and what this looks like at Randolph Academy UFSD.  For each of the three tiers, DiCarlo gave examples of what the practice looks like, how it is implemented and what the benefits are. 
 
By: Katie Mendell, CA BOCES Community Schools Coordinator 

​When you hear the word fossils, more than likely the first thing that comes to mind are bones. Well the 3rd grade students at Bolivar-Richburg learned that there are much more to fossils than just bones. During this Environmental Science program, the students discovered the true challenges that paleontologist face in trying to search and recover these remnants. The students were able to get their hands on some tools that these scientists use. One tool that was used during the program was a toothpick and the material included a “stone” (chocolate chip cookie) that has “fossils” (chocolate chips). They used the toothpick to carefully dig out the “fossils” in the “stone”. Once finished, we had a discussion on some of the challenges that paleontologists face.

In addition to digging out fossils with special tools, the students also were able to investigate and examine different types of fossils with a magnify lens. The items vary from squid shells to petrified wood to shark’s teeth. As they investigated, we discussed the process in which remains go through to make that change from their current material to a stone fossil.

Lastly, the students were able to take clay, form it into a stone shape and take shells to make imprints of fossils in their newly formed stone. After their stone fossils were created, they were able to take them home and let them sit to harden.
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This is just one of the many Environmental Science programs that CA BOCES has to offer! For more information on this program or others available to you through Environmental Science please feel free to contact Lance Feuchter at (716) 376-8379 or lance_feuchter@caboces.org.
 
By: Lance Feuchter, CA BOCES Learning Resources

​There have been numerous activities that have occurred out in Friendship this year and a few accomplishments.  We’ll highlight a few of them as we continue to grow and learn.  At the January 25th in-service day we celebrated Friendship moving off NYSED’s watch list as they’ve shown growth through multiple layers at New York State.  That was a result of years of work to do what’s in the best interest of students.  To continue an afternoon of celebrating and teamwork the Friendship staff, led by school psychologist, Kimberly Riordan, worked in teams to complete a scavenger hunt with the Goose Chase app.  Goose Chase allows you to form teams that have to accomplish certain tasks and can take photos to show that they accomplished the task.  Those photos go to the moderators of the challenge to award the pre-determined points or not.  This was an excellent team building opportunity with many of the photos shared before the faculty left.

​The other activity that our 5th grade team took on was to run a BreakOut EDU review session to have students answer questions to review for their “Solids, Liquids and Gases” unit.  Mrs. Sleggs and Mrs. Malinowski set up teams that the students worked on to solve specific problems.  Each problem helped unlock a different lock on the box.  Once every group solved their problem they were treated to a special reward/treat.  Thank you Alex Freer from Learning Resources for showing us BreakOut EDU earlier this year!

By:  Mark Carls, CA BOCES Professional Development

School librarians within CA BOCES are having an amazing year!

Whether it’s borrowing books from other school libraries to prepare students for a multi-school reading competition, providing a maker space where grades 7-12 compete to see whose best at repurposing odds and ends, promoting OverDrive’s class sets to teachers, or using instructional strategies to engage all learners, school librarians are exploring a range of techniques for whole class and group work, guided learning, and individual activities. 
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On January 17, school librarians reviewed the new National School Library Standards which complement and strengthen content standards.  Focusing on the six Shared Foundations (Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore, and Engage) and school librarian Competencies, each librarian chose one competency of strength and one that needs strengthening and were challenged to come back to our next meeting on February  to share examples of personal growth and impact on student learning.

​Recently, librarians at Franklinville and Friendship had students write letters to Senator Catharine Young and Assemblyman Joe Giglio.  Students not only learned how to properly address an envelope (and where to place a stamp), but crafted hand-written letters expressing why their school library and librarian is important to them.   In the afternoon of the January CLC,  school librarians participated in civic engagement by meeting with Assemblyman Joe Giglio and a representative from Senator Young’s office at St. Bonaventure’s Friedham Memorial Library, where the receipt of students’ letters mentioned.

​Meeting with state representatives provided librarians from public, academic, and school libraries to share why library funding is critical.  Specifically, the need for broadband access so students can complete homework.  Although a student may have access to a cell phone, the monthly data plan is quickly exceeded when accessing databases or other sites needed for homework.  This was a meaningful experience for school librarians.  (Photos below by Danielle Newman, librarian at Fillmore Central School @FscLibraries ).

By:  Cece Fuoco, CA BOCES Learning Resources

Over the past few months, Kathryn Mendell and myself have facilitated the Mental Health Literacy forum with about 70 teachers and leaders from the region.  The purpose of the Mental Health Literacy forum is to share and provide information on mental health education provided within our community and area schools.   We shared guidance for developing effective mental health education for ALL students at all levels while embedding mental health well-being into the entire school environment.
 
The NYS Education Department expects schools to utilize the guidance documents and other resources available to adopt or develop its own district curriculum aligned with the NYS learning standards and to tailor instruction based on the school district’s identified needs at the local level.  The hope is that these changes will positively impact our student’s awareness of mental health prevention, treatment and stigma.
 
With the expansion of mental health in schools, it is expected that school personnel, students, families and communities will more openly discuss mental health well-being. 

​By:  Tessa Levitt, CA BOCES Professional Development

Area teachers have been learning about the workshop model for mathematics over the past few months.  What is the math workshop model?  It is a flexible grouping model, incorporating best practices in mathematics, coupled with differentiation based on individual student needs.  This model allows teachers to have smaller chunks of whole group instruction, allowing more time for smaller, targeted groups who work with the teacher on specific standards and concepts, while other students work in work stations.  Teachers learned how to incorporate the tenants of the workshop model based on their classroom, and the needs of the students.  Teachers who have been able to try the model out have been very enthusiastic about it, as they feel they have a much better picture of the students and their abilities and needs in mathematics, as they are able to spend more time with students in smaller groups.  This has been extremely beneficial for the students as well as for the teachers.  If you are interested in learning more about the Workshop Model in Mathematics, C-A BOCES will be holding a workshop in July.  If you’re interested, please have your district contact person register you at register you at register.caboces.org.

​By:  Kathleen Agnello, CA BOCES Professional Development

The Library CoSer provides all districts with TeachingBooks, a resource accessible to students and faculty at resources.caboces.org. 
 
A quick subject search using the term Valentine’s Day returns several resources for books, including lesson guides, worksheets, and many other resources that allow for connecting deeply with text.  For example, P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han provides an author book reading, audio name pronunciation, link to the author’s website and blog, audiobook excerpt, reading questions, and several videotaped interviews with the author. Although each featured book is not in digital format for instant reading, students and teachers can identify exceptional books that reflect diverse cultural experiences, interests, and ability levels, and obtain resources paired with book titles that further reading enjoyment, contextual knowledge, and educational relevance (TeachingBooks, 2019).  Additionally, students can practice reading fluency and voice through Reader’s Theater scripts in ready-to-print format. 
 
Stories become more meaningful when students learn the backstory, the research, and the inspiration for each book directly from the author and illustrator. Although I can read a summary of Jaquelyn Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming aloud to students in an effort to pique interest, it’s not the same as the author’s voice briefly sharing about her memoir. The same can be said for Gene Luen Yang’s book American Born Chinese.
 
TeachingBooks also provides English text of author name pronunciations and transcriptions for book readings. The following features benefit all students:

• Highlighting of the spoken word — students can now visually follow along
• Google Translate of the copy for more than 100 languages — creating accessibility for non-English speaking patrons
• Audio anchoring — activate the audio and highlighting from any location of the recording
• Transcripts for printing, previewing, and research — with MLA 8 citation

Reach out to Cece Fuoco at Cecelia_Fuoco@caboces.org or (716) 376-8206 if you would like further instruction in using this great resource with your students or would like information on the other resources available to you through library. 

Contained within this kit are books, guides that study the circulatory system and normal heart conditions, and the following models: 

• a two-part large heart conditions model with thickened walls and valves
• four segments of artery showing degrees of blockage 
• one small two-part normal heart.

For more information on this kit or others available to you through media, contact Alexandra Freer at (716) 376-8354 or alexandra_freer@caboces.org.  

​Since February is American Heart Month, why not learn about this important organ and other key organs that help us keep living and breathing via a science kit? In the kit Health Kit: Our Lungs, Heart, and Health, students will identify parts and functions of the respiratory and circulatory systems. They will examine ways to keep these two very important systems working efficiently through nutrition, exercise, and healthy habits. Special emphasis will be placed on the negative effects of tobacco.  For more information on this kit or others available to you through STEM, contact Clay Nolan at (716) 376-8354 or clay_nolan@caboces.org. 

Would you like to connect you students to an expert in your field, have your students experience something specific to your content area, or extend a topic?  What about a really cool review activity that you don't have to create or manage?  Then look no further!  For districts that participate in the Distance and Online Learning CoSer 420, you have the world at your fingertips.  We offer virtual field trips for all grade levels and content areas.  We will even take care of the tech connections for you!  Here are some examples of what is available:
 
The Constitution at Work 
Flagler's Flippers Fins and Fun Facts
Science of Seeking Snacks: Learn About Your Senses Through Mantis Research 
Homestead Act of 1862 
Ship to Shore- EarthEcho Expeditions: PlasticSeas Virtual Field Trip 
America's Signs & Symbols


For more information and other suggestions for virtual field trips, contact:

• Karen Insley: (716)376-8281 or karen_insley@caboces.org 
  
• Carrie Oliver: (716)376-8270 or carrie_oliver@caboces.org

Have you thought about connecting your class to an expert in the field, but don't know where to start?  There are plenty of FREE and bee-based trips for you to choose from.  Simply follow the easy steps below to open the doors for your class.
 

1. Navigate in your browser to our CA BOCES VFT Search site: http://caboces.org/iss/distance-learning/scheduling-virtual-field-trip-or-collaboration
   
2. Search by following the steps listed on the page.a)Contact Karen Insley at  or (716)376-8281 OR Carrie Oliver at carrie_oliver@caboces.org or (716)376-8270 to see if your school budgets money for VFTs and for help with the search process.
   
3. When you have found a VFT for your class, register here and Carrie will set up your VFT, including the tech connection.  

 
What are you waiting for?  Imagine your class interacting with a zoologist, a park ranger, or a musician…all from the comfort of your school!  

Cuba, New York – Wednesday, January 16, 2019 – Fifteen VEX Robotics teams from across Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties attended the inaugural VEX Robotics Qualifying Tournament at Cuba-Rushford Middle/High School on Wednesday, January 16, 2019. Students competed with and against teams from Pioneer, Cattaraugus-Little Valley, Franklinville, Salamanca, Scio, Wellsville, Genesee Valley, and Cuba-Rushford.  The middle and high school students executed the 2018-2019 VEX Robotics Competition game, Turning Point, which is played by stacking caps on posts, flipping caps, stacking balls on caps, toggling flags, throwing balls, and parking robots.

​This month’s spotlight as we dig a little deeper into the resources we have available to our component school districts in our warehouse is…..cardboard AR/VR viewers and iPods.

CABOCES has offered a few workshops on Augmented and Virtual reality. Due to the popularity of those and the rising interest in our schools, Learning Resources has added supplemental resources to our warehouse. The cardboard viewers and accompanying iPods bring immersive experiences to everyone in a simple and affordable way. Step into stunning environments that stretch all around you. No matter where you look, it’s as if you’re really there. Discover thousands of VR apps and games, and a variety of captivating YouTube videos made to view with cardboard viewers. Travel the world, go onstage with your favorite artists, experience thrilling simulations, and more.
 
Regardless of the content or grade level, these cardboard views and iPods can revolutionize the classroom. Today’s education environment is increasingly offering immersive experiences that help children, teens, and adults truly enjoy the process of learning. Plus, these technologies can help certain students learn more effectively than traditional classroom methods by overcoming language barriers and accommodating visual learners.
 
So what are you waiting for? Take a look at our warehouse and give our cardboard AR/VR viewers and iPods a try!

By:  Alexandra Freer, CA BOCES Learning Resources