Pre+Academy+Activity+1


 * Sharing our expectations (to be completed by Monday 28 May)**

On the top right hand corner of this page, next to the Edit button you will see the button for discussions where you will each need to start a "new post" to share your answers to the following questions:

1. What are your expectations for this Academy?

2. What are you bringing to the role of site visitor/workshop leader?

**EXPECTATIONS **  || ** WHAT ARE YOU BRINGING TO THE ROLE OF WORKSHOP LEADER AND SITE VISITOR? **   || I hope to connect and collaborate with educators who have a similar passion and curiosity to improve and share their work. I also think this is a beginning for ongoing collaboration that can continue after the academy is over. I hope to gain an even more in-depth understanding of PYP philosophies, principals, and practices and share my knowledge with fellow IB educators. I expect to learn a lot, meet a great group of people and become informed and fired up about IB. I expect to gain knowledge required in the role of PYP workshop leader as well as insights into the IB PYP authorization and evaluation process. I am excited at the prospect of collaborating with others who share experience and commitment to the IB PYP. My hope will be to bring back a deeper understanding of how to move the PYP forward in our district and school.  I am really looking forward to learning more about the PYP and how it is integrated into schools all over the continent. It will also be a great opportunity to meet new educators who are just as passionate and enthusiastic about IB as I am. I would like to stay in contact with the people that I meet to have an extended network of 'colleagues'. I expect to be deeply engaged as a member of a learning community aiming to develop a deeper common understanding of the comprehensive elements of the IB (PYP). I hope the academy will help me with my understanding and confidence of the implementation of IB/PYP principles and concepts. I also hope to benefit from the varied perspectives surely to be expressed in this venue. I'm looking forward to meeting new members of the IB community. I have my perspective as to how the PYP works, but I'm excited to hear other educators' perspectives.  I am excited to leave the academy with a deeper understanding of the IB/PYP program. I hope to gain more knowledge that will allow me to better support my colleagues at Lexington and those I will meet in the future. (As a site visitor/workshop leader) I am also looking forward to making connections with other PYP passionate people. I am anticipating a gathering of inquirers who will be lead to resources, tools, and exchange with which to strengthen our home schools as well as facilitate other schools that are beginning to integrate and fully subscribe to IB PYP philosophies and Programmes.  I have high expectations for this academy. As someone who is passionate about the PYP, I am looking forward to learning new things about the program and looking at it through a new "lense." I look forward to meeting new people and learning through other peoples' perspective. I hope to gain information and knowledge about the IB PYP authorization process. I also look forward to interacting with educators in various roles within the IB community.  hope to gain a broader perspective of what PYP is, to be able to make connections with those wanting to know more not just about PYP but about our roles in the IB Programme, and how we can collaboratively work together to become assets for each other and for the Academy as a whole. I'm looking forward to coming away with an indepth understanding of the components that make up a strong and viable IB/PYP program and a better understanding of how to share and support other educators as they implement IB in the elementary school setting. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I am expecting to gain insight into the IB PYP authorization and evaluation process and the role of the workshop leader. I also value the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with motivated individuals who are committed to the IB PYP. Adopting the IB PYP is a transformational change in a school so I am looking forward to gaining additional insight into providing support to school administrators and teachers in my school and other PYP schools. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">At the Academy, I hope to build long-lasting relationships with others that will carry over into a continuous collaboration throughout the school year. I plan to bring back the knowledge I will gain from this experience to my own school and colleagues so that we may continue to enrich the educational experience of our students. Also, I am excited for the opportunities to learn from and collaborate with others from around the world as I become more active in the IBO organization through site visits, consultations, or workshops. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I expect the academy will broaden my understanding of implementation of IB programmes at schools. I am excited to increase contact with other IB schools. I also hope to improve my own role as a Coordinator and teacher at my site. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> I am hoping to gain a broader knowledge and understanding of the PYP in order to support educators at my own school and around the world through their IB journey. || <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I bring an administrative perspective and experience with a wide variety of stakeholders, teachers, parents, students, district personnel and school boards. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I can share my approaches in the area of ICT. I infuse technology and information resources into Units of Inquiry by working with teachers and students as it relates to the implementation of the IBPYP. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I have been a part of our PYP program since 2003 and have been through authorization as well as reevaluation. My position as technology coordinator allows me to work with all grade levels of the PYP. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I bring experience as my schools IB coordinator, experience as a classroom teacher in an IB school, experience in launching an IB school from the beginning and through authorization. I am also very passionate about curriculum and instruction and just completed my PhD in curriculum and instruction. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">As an administrator in a school with a high percentage of low SES students, I bring experience and insights into ways that the PYP can both support and challenge the transformation of a school in need. I have worked to move the PYP forward in the face of standardized testing expectations and can attest to "lessons learned" with an increasing diverse population of learners.
 * SOME INTERESTING READING BEFORE WE MEET UP TOMORROW! **
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I expect to gain a deeper understanding of the PYP and the important factors of successful program implementation.

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I bring the inspiration of my teachers, parents and students who have been transformed as learners through our shared journey. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I am coming to the academy with a lot of desire to broaden my learning and teaching. I hope to share lots of ideas that I have (and listen carefully to the ideas of others). I have experience as a classroom teacher (grade 3 & 5 in IB and grade 1 non-IB) in the PYP, with a goal of moving into administration. I am really excited to be training to go to other schools to share my knowledge, experience and ideas. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"> I bring 30 years of experience as the Head of seven elementary schools. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I bring to the academy a reflection on the process of accreditation and implementation of the PYP program as a teacher and a great interest in helping students find the cross curriculum connections that are fostered by the IB. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Balance. I am currently a full time teacher and the IB Coordinator. It has not been an easy combination. In addition, I am a parent at our school site. I have the privilege of seeing things from many perspectives. I keep grounded by studying dance. Hula is my "get away."

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Enthusiasm: I have been teaching for 20 years in the CA public school system. I was working as a PE teacher at Lex as they began exploring IB. I was hooked. I transferred there four years ago and I have found myself surrounded by like-minded educators. I believe in IB wholeheartedly. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">As a PYP Art Specialist for several years, it is my hope that I can share from my experiences in making valid Art connections that enhance units of inquiry at various grade levels. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I think I will be a great site visitor and workshop leader. As an IB Coordinator, I am able to see IB differently than an administrator or teacher. However, I still consider myself a teacher, so I feel like I am able to relate to struggles that teachers face every day. I also have had the opportunity to work very closely with my administration throughout my years here. Through this experience, I am knowledgeable about the administrative side of schools, which will help in site visits. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I am bringing an excited, open mind - eager to learn and enhance my knowledge base as a PYP teacher. I am enthusiastic and passionate about the IB programme and willing to share my experience. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I am hoping to bring enthusiasm, an open mind, and creativity to be able to take in great ideas and be able to share those with others. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I'll bring an administrative perspective of the challenges and successes of IB/ PYP implementation. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I am looking forward to fulfilling the role of site visitor/workshop leader. As a PYP coordinator, I meet with teachers once a cycle and hear their successes and challenges. As a music specialist who understands some of the concerns of specialist teachers (phys. Ed, dance, French, etc.) I can share some of the ideas we have implemented for collaboration between staff. I am also eager to hear how others have addressed collaboration. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Completing my doctoral dissertation on the lived experiences of teachers who have adopted the PYP, I have gained some knowledge on the factors that assisted teachers in adopting the PYP and factors that inhibited the acceptance of the PYP. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I have held a variety of roles throughout my school’s implementation of the IB program—special education teacher, general education teacher and, currently, the PYP consultant, as well as a parent. This has allowed me to see students and teachers through multiple lenses and gain a deep understanding of the impact the IB program has on students, teachers, and families. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Having experienced authorization and currently evaluation as both a coordinator and teacher at my site I feel pretty knowledgeable about the program. I also grew up in a foreign country (Mexico) and have a variety of experience which relates to the aims and philosophy of the IB programme. <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">As a classroom teacher, I bring enthusiasm for the program as a whole and a desire to learn and grow within the PYP as an educator and life long learner. I also bring the perspective of a parent within the IB education model. It is exciting to have your own children participating in an IB setting along with you. ||