​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

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

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!  

​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

​It’s a new year and CA BOCES’ is releasing its new online course catalog for electives and core courses for the Spring 2019 semester, bringing updated information and an easy guide to signing your students up for online courses. 

The online department has been growing and perfecting its offerings for over a decade. Through that process, the distance learning team has searched for the best possible classes to offer students residing throughout Allegany and Cattaraugus counties. The team is constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to make sure that students in this region can compete with college-ready students across the nation, including having the technological skills and online interactions necessary to compete in today’s world.

Literacy is an invaluable tool, and digital literacies are a vital part of that. Educators are responsible for teaching this aspect of education as much as any other both ethically and as emphasized through the ESSA guidelines and funding opportunities for school districts. According to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology, “Technology can be a powerful tool for transforming learning” and “can help […] reinvent our approaches to learning and collaboration, shrink long-standing equity and accessibility gaps, and adapt learning experiences to meet the needs of all learners.” Accordingly, students who have opportunities in online education learn how to participate in discussion forums, online collaboration, and digital assignment submission. Further, students receive feedback in a digital format (video responses, interactive comments, and email to name a few), develop self-advocacy skills, and experience giving online presentations and conducting online research. Through all these experiences, they become adept and fluent contributors and collaborators in a digital learning environment.

Looking into our students’ futures, online courses are part of most college and university programs. As educators, we have an obligation to make sure that students are ready to navigate all types of course content and structures, learn to communicate in a fully digital realm, and have a firm grasp of online etiquette in order to be prepared for their future college classes in an ever-expanding digital world. Offering online classes to our students in high school, means that they will have a guided experience with a mentor, have the flexibility to develop their own online learning style, and have the safety of someone to assist if the need arises, unlike in many college environments where students are on their own to figure out the details AND to succeed in an online environment with often costly outcomes if they are unsuccessful.

Knowledge gained in online classes is essential both from the experience of learning in an online environment and from the strategies acquired to learn in a different. These skillsets are broad and range from practicing collaboration needed work with a team in most occupational environments to knowing online platforms enough to attend Harvard’s next online business course. Students will be ready to compete for college acceptance letters and job markets because they have had a chance to experience online learning in a high school setting. 
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For more information about online learning, video conference courses, or credit recovery options, please contact Distance Learning at 716-376-8270.

​By:  Christina McGee, CA BOCES Learning Resources

Imagine, if you can, a world where teachers are given choice in their professional development, where they lead their own research and collaborate with others to hone their craft.  You wouldn’t have to imagine too much if you are familiar with the Collaborative Research and Development Professional Development instituted by the administrative team at the Wellsville Secondary School of Mary Ellen O’Connell (Secondary Principal), Jason Mank (Assistant Principal) and Rick Bull (Assistant Principal).

After some initial planning and collaboration by the administrative team, Mary Ellen contacted me with the idea and from there we created a Moodle course on Poverty around Poor Students, Rich Teaching by Eric Jensen, a FlipGrid component (thanks to Mark Beckwith for this idea and support) for reflection and as an instructional classroom tool.  The team’s vision was to create opportunities for teachers to select to collaborate with others in their building around their four main initiatives for the year poverty, assessment, PBL and positive relationships with students and families.   

Teachers may be researching and collaborating around something they saw at a BOCES workshop, or a conference or that they read about and want to dig into deeper.   Mary Ellen created the opportunity for that research to happen for them by replacing three faculty meetings with three hours of collaborative research and development with a requirement to use FlipGrid to share their learning and reflect on their practice.  Teachers have four checkpoints (30-60 second videos) along the way where they get to share their learning and how they apply new knowledge their classroom practice.

To date, the administrative team has seen an increase in general collaboration among colleagues, an increase in FlipGrid use as an instructional tool by teachers in their classrooms and a deeper dive by teachers into areas of interest based on instruction or content.  Mary Ellen stated “The engagement and interaction on FlipGrid has been unbelievable! We have only completed two of the four “checkpoints” and already my faculty has accumulated 3,500 views and over 21 hours of time online learning from each other’s research. It is clear they enjoy learning from each other’s experiences and research. I’m also very sure they love not attending traditional faculty meetings and they are having fun with the flipGrid format.”
   
If you had a chance to read the ASCD Educational Leadership journal When Teachers Lead their Own Learning in November 2018 you can note some of the same elements (choice, flexibility, personalization) from those articles in the work that the administrative team from the Wellsville Secondary School has created for their building.  Change can be good!

By:  Karen Insley, CA BOCES Learning Resources

On October 18th, school librarians honed instructional strategies in recognizing news bias, gained insight into what influences human reasoning, and left with ideas and activities for student instruction when collaborating with teachers or teaching information literacy. Two great tools that facilitate the teaching of news bias and is provided to all CA BOCES’ districts are Newsbank’s Access World News and America’s Historical Newspapers.

With links to primary sources, students can explore global perspectives and differing viewpoints on important issues and events.   Articles from newspapers, magazines, and other news media can be easily cited, saved, emailed, or printed.  Access World News provides current information from over 200 countries including Spanish languages sources, and everyday a list of about 12 headlines in news from countries around the world include activities that tie into common core standards.  A monthly list of hot topics in the news provide suggested search terms and critical questions to guide students in effecting searching.  Topics such as Business and Economics, Health, Literature, Performing and Fine Arts, Politics and Government, STEM, and Technology are linked to primary news sources relevant to what students are learning in the classroom.

America’s Historical Newspapers makes collaboration across disciplines amazingly easy!  Organized by eras from the late 1600’s to 2000, primary sources are divided within each era by the following topics:  Government, Military & Political Events; Social & Cultural Issues; and Discoveries, Inventions & Firsts.  While students are learning about the Civil War in social studies, the art teacher can introduce the Impressionist Movement with news and reviews on artists and their work.  Complementing the Vietnam War are links to primary news sources on music: Bob Dylan & folk music; Beatles and British music; literature: Maya Angelou, Steven King, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ken Kesey; PE/Health: DDT banned, Bobby Riggs vs. Billy Jean King, first Super Bowl; Technology: Pong; moon landing.  Students can become more engaged with an era when provided with topics that appeal to their interests. 

Students can learn perspective through original newspapers printed during the Civil War (north versus south) and Westward Expansion (east coast versus west coast/American Indians). 
Please contact me at Cecelia_Fuoco@caboces for personalized training in your district.

By: Cece Fuoco, CA BOCES School Library System Coordinator

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…..our Real Care Baby Simulators!
 
RealCare Baby® 3 (formerly known as Baby Think It Over® or BTIO®) is the world’s most advanced infant simulator. Educators around the world use this unique learning aid to add meaning and accountability to teach early childhood, parenting, infant health lessons and sex education. This smart baby uses wireless programming to track and report on caregiver behaviors, including care events, mishandling actions, time in a car seat and clothing changes. Baby includes four sets of curriculum and activities to help instructors create learning experiences that are relevant and career-driven. 

The RealCare curriculum sections are: 
Basic Infant Care – covers child safety, emergency procedures, child abuse prevention, and infant/toddler development.
Life Skills and Healthy Choices for Middle School Students - an abstinence-plus, comprehensive curriculum focused on sexual education and pregnancy prevention for youth 12-14 years of age.
 
Parenting: A Guide to Parenting Skills for Life – focuses on the stages of child development, parenting styles/impact, the costs involved in raising a child, and much more.
 
Healthy Choices: Relationships, Sexuality, and Family Planning – an abstinence-based, comprehensive curriculum focusing on teen pregnancy prevention. It covers relationships, self-esteem, refusal skills, adolescent health, and reproductive issues, among many other topics.
 
All sections are aligned to the National FACS standards and include Crosswalk documents.

So what are you waiting for? Take a look at our warehouse and give our RealCare Babies a try!

By:  Alexandra Freer, CA BOCES Learning Resources

The distance learning team at CA BOCES, including Christina McGee, Justine Lombardi, and Karen Insley, have been busy traveling all over the region getting students enrolled in credit accrual and credit recovery courses. Students have a chance to increase the breadth of their transcripts, develop interests, try out vocational fields, and develop skillsets that can’t be offered within their districts. Further, if students are on medical leave or injured, they can keep up with their curriculum, and even with gym classes, in an online setting. Students also have opportunities to recover lessons, units, quarters, and semesters through the CA BOCES credit recovery program, meaning that students can catch up before they need further interventions. The CA BOCES team offers courses through seven different providers, including courses taught by our own teachers, Christina McGee and Justine Lombardi.

The most popular courses this year are Sociology, Health, Forensic Science, Marine Science, Physical Education, Spanish, Careers in Criminal Justice, English 10, Introduction to Military Careers, Physics, and Psychology. 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 notable studies.

For more information please contact Distance Learning at 716-376-8270.

​By:  Christina McGee, CA BOCES Learning Resources

Deselecting books, also referred to as weeding, is necessary for maintaining a school’s library collection of resources. The process of deselecting includes removing damaged, outdated, or books no longer relevant to the curriculum.  Prior to deciding what should be removed from the library, librarians often use Titlewise by Follett to analyze the collection’s strengths and weaknesses based on industry standards. For example, a book on computers with a copyright date of 2000 will likely be outdated, (perhaps not if the focus is on the historical aspect), and books on robotics, forensics, and artificial intelligence may be recommended for strengthening the sciences.  

​When recently asked to help a librarian ‘weed’ the elementary library, I found a book on New York City with a copyright date of 1998.  Although it appeared to be in new condition, the Twin Towers were pictured, and Governor Pataki has since been replaced.  Some other examples of weeded books include The Lincoln Library of Sports Champions featuring Terry Bradshaw, Peggy Fleming, and other popular athletes at the time this text was printed; and The Chinese in America with a copyright date of 1959.  

When a library has not been ‘weeded’ for many years, the process can be overwhelming. Making room for new materials offers an additional opportunity to make the library attractive and inviting. Similar to marketing strategies used by retailers, displaying products often piques the interests of those who may be visiting for another purpose.

Research studies have shown college students prefer to read materials in print rather than in electronic format (Baron, 2016; Foasberg, 2014; Mizrachi, 2015), and a large percentage of students ages 4-15 enjoy reading print books (Kleeman, 2016).  Although the popularity of Amazon Kindle and Apple’s iPhone beginning in 2007 made reading books electronically convenient, print publishers have remained constant for the past ten years ( Mcilroy, 2017).  Balancing the library collection with print and electronic resources is a necessary duty that not all librarians have time to do. 

Schools needing assistance with the deselection process may contact the school library system coordinator: Cecelia_Fuoco@caboces.org

By:  Cece Fuoco, CA BOCES Learning Resources 
 
 
 
Baron, N. (2015). Words onscreen: The fate of reading in a digital world. New York, NY: Oxford University Press,
Foasberg, N. (2014). Student reading practices in print and electronic media. College & Research Libraries, 75(5), 705-723.
Kleeman, D. (2016). Books and reading are powerful with kids, but content discovery is     challenging. Publishing Research Quarterly, 32(1), 38-43. 
Mizrachi, D. (2015). Undergraduates' academic reading format preferences and behaviors.  Journal of Academic Librarianship, 41(3) 301-311
Mcilroy, T. (2017). Startups within the U.S. book publishing industry. Publishing Research           Quarterly, 33(1), 1-9. 

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…..our Leveled Reader Kits!
 
Bring science to life with these engaging, colorful science readers! Elementary students will be able to understand new scientific content with the help of easy-to-read informational text, vibrant images, and examples of scientific practices. Each reader in this kit includes instructions for a fun science activity and related practice problems to provide additional support and a hands-on learning experience. Support STEM education with these 5E lessons that are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and incorporate writing to increase overall comprehension and concept development.

Science Reader Kits include:

• Leveled books to support differentiation strategies (16 - 24 titles, 6 copies of each, 24 pages per book)
• A Big Book
• Teacher's Guide with before-, during-, and after-reading strategies, introductory and lab activities to develop academic vocabulary, and strategies to authentically assess student learning formatively and summatively
• Posters, reproducible student activity pages, and audio recordings

​So what are you waiting for? Take a look at our warehouse and give Leveled Readers a try!

By:  Alexandra Freer, CA BOCES Learning Resources

The second Southern Tier Annual Film Festival (S.T.A.F.F.) was held at the Cuba-Rushford Central School District auditorium on Friday, May 18.  Participating schools included Allegany-Limestone, Belfast, Cattaraugus-Little Valley, Cuba Rushford, Fillmore, Olean, and Whitesville.
Administrators, teachers, parents, and students gathered together to watch and vote on student productions to see which district would take home the trophy.
 
Leading up to the event, Courtney Brisky, a student at Olean High school, created the artwork for posters to be distributed throughout districts across Allegany and Cattaraugus counties to advertise and promote the festival. Student submissions for the festival were due in mid-April and the finalists for the event were decided by graduate students at the University at Buffalo.

Audience members watched forty-three films, voting in a mere six films as finalists. 

Finally, the moment came for the audience to choose the winning film and they selected a parody of the popular television sitcom, “The Office.”  Students DeAndre Ahrens, Gabby Dutton, Hannah Erwin, Cody Findlay, Dana Hatch, Colston Saulter, Jonah Williamson, and Trenon Zeager took home the trophy for Cuba-Rushford. The trophy was previously housed at Fillmore Central School District and will now spend the year at Cuba-Rushford until next year’s festival.

​Teachers have been preparing for this festival throughout the year by attending ongoing professional development offered by Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES and presented by Dr. David Bruce at the University at Buffalo and Dr. Sunshine Sullivan at Houghton College. At the ongoing events, teachers hone their skills, brainstorm, and develop curriculum for teaching students to craft narratives, investigate the correlation between images and narrative, develop writing and media skills, and tap into creativity. 

​The first film festival developed out of a week-long summer professional development opportunity offered to English teachers through the region through a partnership by Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES, Houghton College, and the University at Buffalo. This opportunity culminated with the creation of the Southern Tier Annual Film Festival by teachers because they wanted to offer their students the same kind of enriching experience in the classroom and give students the chance to present their work to a live audience.
 
“Writing with Video: Rural Voices” is going to be offered this coming year to teachers in every discipline to hone their skills, collaborate, and plan future film festivals.  If you have interest in bringing this unique opportunity to your students, look out for the upcoming summer institute as well as for future film festivals.
 
By: Christina McGee, CA BOCES Learning Resources

Barb Busack is an Olean native whose parents nurtured an appreciation for nature. Whether it be traversing through the jungles in Costa Rica, hiking the west coast of Greenland, or walking in Spain, Barb enjoys nature and learning about different habitats.  With digital camera in hand, she captures a variety of images from her adventures and readily shares with others. It is no surprise that Barb’s experiences and energy for life have allowed her to successfully grow CA BOCES’ Environmental Science program, CoSer 416.
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Barb meets with approximately 5000 students each year, engaging them hands-on activities that complement classroom curriculum such as studying habitats (see photo), or creating a molecular model of a snowflake (see photo).  

Barb is state certified in geology, biology, and elementary education.  Every summer, she takes 7th graders from Cuba-Rushford to a three-day camp where they take guided nature walks, learn about snake hunts, identify edible plants, and observe insects and amphibians in the Allegany State Park.  She especially likes providing instruction on animals and plants in the region, and the Three Great Cycles (water, soil and air) that sustain our life.   
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In this photo, Barb is speaking to students about ladybugs.  Ladybugs are highly beneficial to gardens since they eat aphids and are an important part of our ecosystem. 

​Although most of Barb’s interactions are with elementary students, Science on the Seneca is a research program sponsored by Hobart-William Smith College that provides high school students an opportunity to be on a research boat and participate in a plankton drag.  Students view plankton under a microscope, conduct a chemical analysis of water, and dredge up soil to analyze its contents (see photo).  The results are then added to the college’s findings to assist in ongoing research.

Barb’s creativity and enthusiasm for nature is a true passion and contagious!  If you would like to know more about the Environmental Science Program, please contact Amy_Windus@caboces.org at Learning Resources.

By:  Cece Fuoco, School Library Coordinator for CA BOCES

Take your students on a trip...without leaving the classroom.  Virtual field trips are a great way to connect your students with experts from around the world.  Download our May Virtual Field Trip guide.  

Schedule a trip:  
Carrie Oliver, 716-376-8270, carrie_oliver@caboces.org
Karen Insley, 716-376-8281, karen_insley@caboces.org