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Wellsville Students Are Inspired to Level Up Their Writing

1/27/2016

Students benefit from an author visit in many ways. Not only does it bring a real person’s voice and face as the creator behind a story, but an author is able to share where ideas originate from, the research process, the writing process, and essentially let students know that they too can take part in the creative process of writing.

Wellsville’s seventhth grade ELA teacher, Amy Hunt, and school librarian, Shannon Whiteside, brought Newbery Award winning author Linda Sue Park to approximately 100 students via video conference on Friday, January 22nd. Through the Arts in Education COSER 403, author visits are affordable whether in person or online.

Hunt’s seventh graders recently read Park’s A Long Walk to Water which is based on the true story of a Sudanese boy’s experience with war and a refugee camp who eventually found solace in the Rochester, NY area. Filled with adventure and hardship, A Long Walk to Water introduces readers to one boy’s personal struggle to survive and the reality that water is a precious commodity. Not only do readers experience empathy as they read this book but experience the main character’s success when he returns to Sudan as an adult to help establish water wells for remote villages.

After Park shared her writing process, nine students were able to ask questions. One student asked, “What interested you in writing?” Park’s response was, “to see a white rectangle covered with black squiggly lines and realize how those squiggles can make someone laugh, cry, or be inspired is such power. What power to make people feel!”

When asked how difficult it was to include the details in her book, Park shared that she had re-written the story seventeen times. With a giggle, she told students, “I like to play video games so I think of writing like leveling up”.

Interested in bring an author to your school? Contact your school librarian or Mary Morris at [email protected] to learn more about Arts in Education.

By: Cece Fuoco, CA BOCES School Library Coordinator

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Miss Nelson is Missing

1/22/2016

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TheatreWorksUSA’s talented cast performed, Miss Nelson Is Missing, based on the book series by Harry Allard this week. More than 1700 second and third graders from schools across Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties learned valuable lessons for school and life. The rowdy students and the witchy substitute teacher, Miss Viola Swamp, sang and danced their way through the school day. The engaging cast even asked the student audience for help in trying to figure out how to get Miss Nelson back to school.

Bolivar-Richburg, Franklinville and Arcade Elementary opened their auditoriums to host these performances. Teachers prepared their students well by utilizing the classroom activities provided by TheatreWorks USA. The pre and post show teaching tools supplement the teachers’ curriculum goals.

Miss Nelson Is Missing marked the fourth performance of the school year contracted by BOCES. BOCES Arts-In-Education helps schools enrich the lives of their students by providing opportunities to experience the performing arts. TheatreWorks 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.

For more information about bringing TheatreWorks shows to your area, contact Student Programs at 716-376-8284.

By: Jean OIiverio, CA BOCES Student Programs

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Open Source Software that Changed a Girl’s Life

1/13/2016

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My friend Kaylyn, a student at the Olean City School District, is just like every other 12-year-old girl. She says things like “that’s the bomb” and “Wait till my mom sees this.” Kaylyn says “awesome“ a lot and she loves to draw. Specifically, she loves to draw hearts. She also has the best handwriting I’ve ever seen from any 12-year-old. But there is something you should know about Kaylyn. She does not have use of her arms and legs. This causes her life to be different.

Unable to use her arms and legs creates difficulty for her getting around school independently. She also has difficulty doing assignments, because typically there is much handwriting involved.

In September of this school year, since the Olean City School District subscribes to the Cattaraugus Allegheny BOCES Model Schools services, I went in to observe Kaylyn. This was an informal observation and I was just there to make suggestions. I was hoping these suggestions could possibly make Kaylyn’s life better. When I initially visited Kaylyn I had absolutely no suggestions whatsoever. I had nothing. I was disappointed. I was unsatisfied with not coming up with anything but I continued work on it. Later, In October, I had an epiphany. I had used a software called eViacam and recorded a video of myself using it(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7NZXNa4qbw). [lg1] eViacam is a free open source software that anyone can download to their computer but it seems to only be available for the Windows operating system (http://sourceforge.net/projects/eviacam/). I’m working on a Mac solution. How does eViacam work? Well it uses the built-in camera or an external camera and ”locks onto your eyes and nose,” which allows you to operate the mouse with your head movement.

On November 18, 2015 I was one of the first people to witness Kaylyn not having to write her name on a piece of schoolwork using her teeth. This day brought goose bumps to all the educators who were in the room. This piece of software was a game changer for Kaylyn. She was now able to do more work [lg2] independently. If you think about it, that’s really what we want from all of our students. We want them to grow up and be lifelong learners, contributing members to society and independent.

A special thank you goes out to Marcie Richmond, Olean’s Special Education Director, Amy Buckner, Kaylyn’s Support Aide and all of Olean’s Tech Department.
Kaylyn is a special girl and not because she can’t use her arms and legs. She is special because of her resilience, her stick-to-itiveness, and her ability to persevere. Kaylan is just like every other girl and that’s the way it should be. If she wants to dot her “I’s” with a heart or pass a note to another student in class when she should be paying attention, we as educators should do everything in our power to make that happen. I’m so glad to have met Kaylyn and extremely thrilled to call her my friend.

By: Rick Weinberg, CABOCES Professional Development

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Click Clack Moo

1/8/2016

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“You have to give a little to get a little.” Farmer Brown learned the value of negotiation and compromise from the most talented and funny barnyard animals around. Three smart, typing cows, three chickens and Farmer Brown’s granddaughter, Jenny, sang and danced for almost 2500 Kindergarteners and First graders from schools across Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties. TheatreWorksUSA’s talented cast performed Click Clack Moo, based on the Caldecott Honor book by Doreen Cronin this week.

Genesee Valley, Cattaraugus-Little Valley and Arcade Elementary opened their auditoriums to host these performances. For some of the audience, it was the first time viewing a live theatrical production. Teachers prepared their students well by utilizing the classroom activities provided by TheatreWorks USA. The pre and post show teaching tools supplement the teachers’ curriculum goals.

Click Clack Moo marked the third performance of the school year contracted by BOCES. BOCES Arts-In-Education helps schools enrich the lives of their students by providing opportunities to experience the performing arts. TheatreWorks 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.
For more information about bringing TheatreWorks shows to your area, contact Student Programs at 716-376-8284.

By: Jean Oliverio, CA BOCES Student Programs

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Online Learning is Growing Across Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties

1/5/2016

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Online learning has had a twenty-one percent increase in enrollment numbers since 2014 alone. The distance learning team at CA BOCES has been busy traveling to many districts helping students with their online classes. The most popular courses this year are Computer Science, Psychology, Sociology, Veterinary Science, Criminology, Game Design, German, Creative Writing, Engineering Design, Introduction to Entrepreneurship, Law and Order, and Personal Finance. Although these are the most popular, students are also learning about astronomy, sports marketing, digital art, 3D Modeling and animation, world religions, mythology and folklore, social problems facing the world, and many other diverse and remarkable things.

Every year the online enrollment numbers seem to increase due to students’ curiosity shifting and job markets broadening the skills required for employment. Students say that online courses give them a chance to try out many things that aren’t offered in their districts. As juniors try to determine where their enthusiasm lies for future college degrees, they use online courses to test out content areas and to deepen their skills in areas they are already passionate about.

By: Christina McGee, CA BOCES Learning Resources

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Innovative Teaching

Wellsville Students Are Inspired to Level Up Their Writing

Miss Nelson is Missing

Open Source Software that Changed a Girl’s Life

Click Clack Moo

Online Learning is Growing Across Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties

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Wellsville Students Are Inspired to Level Up Their Writing

Miss Nelson is Missing

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Online Learning is Growing Across Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties

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