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Desert Fun!
Scott Andersen | July 14, 2010 | Comment
No, this is not a blog entry about DESSERT FUN, it is about our students’ study of the desert biome. As part of our summer program, EcoAdventures, students have spent the past two weeks studying about the desert. Below are some ph
otos of their work. Enjoy!
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People Make the Difference…The Right People That Is!
Scott Andersen | July 8, 2010 | Comment
In any organization, company, team, group, etc., the difference between being just good and being GREAT always boils down to people. In support of this, a CEO of a major company once said when asked to name the top five factors that led to his company’s success, replied with the following (as told in Jim Collins’ book Good to Great):
- “One would be people.
- Two would be people.
- Three would be people.
- Four would be people.
- And five would be people.”
As you know, our school is growing. As a result, we are going through the process of looking for the best and the brightest teachers to grow with us.
And it is not an easy task!
Because our standards and expectations are so high and our program is so unique, it takes a very talented and unique teacher for our students and our school. In the past month, we have received hundreds of resumes to review from all over the country. We are honored to have so much interest from folks wanting to be a part of our school. While that is a blessing, it is also a curse. It does take a lot of our time, both Sarah (our Education Manager) and I, to review the incoming resumes and decide who should go forward in the selection process.
I would estimate that about 20% of the applicants move forward to the next phase which is a screening interview. While I was doing my doctoral research at the University of Georgia, one of the professors I worked with published a study on hiring the right people. Unfortunately, he found that even the best predictor of whether an employee would be a good fit for your organization was only correct about 21% of the time. Starting with 100 applicants and by merging those two numbers, the 20% of applicants that move forward and the best predictor of a good fit being about 21%, that brings us to about 4 applicants out of 100 that are likely to be a good fit.
We cannot and will not settle for mediocre or average. We must have exceptional talent. For that reason, we have adopted the approach that Collins outlines in his book: “When in doubt, don’t hire and keep looking.” As we rapidly grow and the pressure to hire staff to meet the demands of our incoming families increases, this approach can be quite scary!
The corollary to that is that we may need to limit our growth based upon our ability to find enough of the right people. In a business sense, this corollary is equally scary. No business would ever want to turn away customers, especially in today’s economy. Naturally, we want every customer possible.
I am thrilled to report that our efforts and patience are paying off. We have a lot of talent in our pipeline and are getting ready to bring on board a few more wonderfully talented teachers. We anticipate our hiring to continue through the fall with our commensurate growth.
The pressure will continue to be on our leadership team to continually attract, hire and retain the right people. After all, people make all the difference…the right people that is!
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Snow in July!?
Scott Andersen | July 3, 2010 | Comment
Yes, it can snow in July. And no, it has nothing to do with global warming or cooling!
But it has everything to do with our EcoAdventures summer program. On Friday, we celebrated the end of our students’ two-week study of the arctic biome.
The students participated in a snowy Rock Penguin rock hop along with sliding down a “rock.” They also enjoyed a sled dog race with a delicious frozen treat at the end of the race along with snow globe making and other fun activities.
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Skype Hype in Our Arctic Adventure!
Scott Andersen | June 24, 2010 | Comment
We are in the middle of our second biome study as part of our summer program, EcoAdventures. Our students are currently studying about the Arctic biome. As part of that study this week, our students held a Skype session with their sister class in Plano, TX. During the skype session, the students introduced themselves and then studied various images on their respective SmartBoards. The teachers facilitated a discussion between the students.
The photos show a life-size outline of an emperor penguin and also a polar bear cave the students made from recycled materials. The video below is some raw footage from Ms. Alli’s class in Cary.
This was a fun use of technology to help the students learn more about their arctic adventure. It was also a nice way for them to make connections with other students somewhere else in the world.
As we are beginning the process of using skype during our instructional day, we are also learning about teaching the children about webcam etiquette. For instance, several of the children naturally wanted to be right in front of the camera, thus blocking the view for others. (I don’t know where they get that!)
We will be skyping more with our friends in TX and hope to find other friends as well.
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Little Rain Makers
Scott Andersen | June 21, 2010 | Comment
Our Early Preschool students (age 2) are still studying about water. Part of that study is about rain and the purpose of rain. This photo shows an activity the students did to simulate rain and what it does to replenish the earth.
I like several things about this activity. First, I like that it engages the students in hands-on learning. I also like that fact that it teaches the importance of rain. But most of all, I like that fact that this activity is likely to make a mess! Learning is messy sometimes. Finally, this activity is fun because it involves water. Our students have shown a clear love of learning (and playing) when water is involved.
Speaking of rain, I found this site that was wonderful images of rain…http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/09/07/35-brilliant-examples-of-rain-photography/. I thought you might enjoy it.
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Sea Foam and Bubbles!
Scott Andersen | June 11, 2010 | Comment
Today students in Ms. Alli’s preschool class made sea foam and bubbles as part of their “Under the Sea” EcoAdventure. The students stirred up the water to make the foam then used their wet hands to blow bubbles. Reactions were mixed as some students liked getting their hands “slimy” with the sea foam more than others.
Nonetheless, it was a fun (and wet) activity on a warm Friday afternoon!
Enjoy the photos and the video as a way to share the experience with our students.
More summer fun is on the way in next week’s Under the Sea adventures.
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Water, Water Everywhere!
Scott Andersen | June 9, 2010 | Comment
The exciting EcoAdventures have begun at The Grove School! Summer is here and summer usually comes with WATER! The first of our six biome adventures is Under The Sea. The photos here show some of the student work from the first few days of this biome. Most of the work featured here is from Ms. Sue’s amazing Pre-K classroom.
Students are shown making “raincoats” for their little furry friends. This experiment allowed the students to see if they could design a way to keep their furry friends dry. 
By the looks of the after picture, it would seem they did a great job!
Students also made a 3-D beach map showing the water and the sand. They have also designed a 
window aquarium with fish swimming around along with a wall model of a beach.
Playing in water is fun whether at the beach or in your classroom. Students this week have played with ocean toys in our water tables as well as participated in an experiment where they
predict which items would sink and which items would float.
The final photo shows one of our students peeking out of the porthole of a boat his class made with a recycled box.
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The Under the Sea fun continues through next week. The schedule for the remaining five biome adventures is as follows:
- June 21–July 2 Arctic Adventures
- July 6–July 16 Golden Sands and Desert Lands
- July 19-30 Where the Green Grass Grows
- Aug 2-13 Bees, Trees and Me
- Aug 16-27 Outside My Window
Based upon the first three days, I can’t wait to see what is in store for our students, teachers and families. This is going to be a BLAST!
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Cary to Plano…It’s All Good!
Scott Andersen | June 1, 2010 | Comment
I have the pleasure this week of working at The Grove School of PLANO while their Head of School, Wendy Despain, is on a nice family vacation in the mountains. I am amazed at how beautiful their campus is. Both the Cary and Plano campuses are wonderful.
There are similarities and differences between the two. The most important similarity is the fact that both are wonderful places for children to learn.
Watch the video below for my commentary during the tour.
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What to do on a rainy day?
Scott Andersen | May 25, 2010 | Comment
I can remember being so disappointed by rainy days as a child. I loved being outside so much that when it rained, I was devastated. The worst of all was when a scheduled baseball game was cancelled due to the rain. I would look forward to the game all day long only to have it cancelled by that dang-blasted rain!
I actually enjoy the rain now. In fact, Sunday I spent some time in the rain…at the pool of all places.
One of our parents sent me these two pictures that were taken after school. She loves photography and took advantage of our soggy weather to make two nice images. Of course, she obviously had some willing model participants in her sons! I can only imagine how much they loved
splashing around in the water…without getting in trouble! What a nice mom! Where was she when I was growing up! (Just kidding of course. I love my mom.) (I had to add the last disclaimer just in case my mom reads this blog entry!)
Thanks to our parent for sharing these photos with us!
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What’s For Lunch?
Scott Andersen | May 19, 2010 | Comment
As you know, in order to help our students develop healthy minds and healthy bodies, I am sharing with you the North Carolina lunch time nutritional requirements. Since all of the lunches are coming from home, I thought you may want to review them.
For EACH lunch, the children must have one food from each category: the Milk, Meat, Veggie/Fruit and Grains/Breads.
Food Item 1-2 yrs 3-5 yrs.
Milk ½ cup ¾ cup
Meat/Meat Alternate
Lean meat, poultry, Boneless fish 1 oz 1 ½ oz
OR, alternate protein product 1 oz 1 ½ oz
OR, cheese 1 oz 1 ½ oz
Or, egg (large) ½ egg ¾ egg
Or, Cooked dried beans/peas ¼ cup 3/8 cup
Or, Peanut butter (or similar) 2 tbsp 3 tbsp
Or, Nuts and/or seeds ½ oz ¾ oz
Or, Yogurt, plain or sweetened 4 oz 6 oz
Vegetable or fruit or 100% juice ¼ cup ½ cup
Grains/Breads (enriched or whole grain)
Bread ½ slice ½ slice
Or, Cornbread, biscuit, roll ½ serving ½ serving
Or, Cold dry cereal ¼ cup 1/3 cup
Or, Hot cooked cereal ¼ cup ¼ cup
Or, cooked pasta, noodles, or grains ¼ cup ¼ cup
Even though we have already been serving milk each day during snack time, we will be serving milk at lunch to help with these requirements. Therefore, please be mindful of the remaining requirements that will need to be included in their lunch brought from home.
I go into the classrooms almost everyday at lunch. I must tell you that I am impressed with the food our students are eating. I have never seen a school with so many children eating healthy food everyday. So…good job parents!!! Keep up the good work.
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