May 2003

Dan Mooney - Gisèle Winger - Ric Woltz

| Organize your Documents | Templates | Brochure | SlideShow | Newsletter |

Getting Ready for Next September September is always such a busy time of the year. Why not use some of your summer holiday to make your life much easier next fall. Consider taking on one of the following projects.

Organize your Documents Think about how you organize your filing cabinet. Do you have a drawer for each subject? Inside that drawer do you have a file for each month? or activity? or unit? Think about organizing your computer files the same way. To create folders: WINDOWS Open the My documents folder on your desktop. Go to File > New Folder on the menu bar or Right click on the open space in that window click New Folder Now type in the name of your folder. If you wish to place a folder within that folder then open that folder and create another folder. MAC Open your documents folder Go to File > New Folder Now type in the name of your folder. Tip: Create your monthly or unit folders as a main folder, then create subfolders in your monthly folder for: newsletters, lesson plan, notes to parents, rubrics, permission slips, etc. Now click and drag (or cut and paste) all of your documents to the correct folder so you will always know where they are located. ^

AppleWorks Templates Class Database Have your student information at your fingertips with this database. AppleWorks database. Also, you can create a database for your classroom library . Name your fields: Title, Authour, Illustrator, Theme, Genre, Location and anything else you feel may be important. It can be customized to suit your own personal needs. Ask you CAIT should you need assistance Create a Class/Mark Lists To create your own class list use the Spreadsheet maker in AppleWorks. AppleWorks Class list Week at a Glance To assist you with your weekly planning use the Spreadsheet maker to create your weekly template. AppleWorks file ^

Create an ALL ABOUT ME brochure. Impress parents and let them know their child is in the best of hands for the upcoming school year. Use Apple Works or Microsoft Publisher to create a brochure. Sketch out what you want to put in. Remember that there can be 6 sections. The front fold could have your picture, your name, school, address and phone number. Inside begin with information that you want to give to parents about you - perhaps some personal information to make you more approachable. Inside an easy to read summary of your expectations and specials events that you are planning ex. special filed trips. On the back you can include suggestions for parents on how to be involved in their child's education. Have this ready for Open House or include it with your first newsletter of the year. ^

Create a "WELCOME TO OUR CLASSROOM" slide show Do you take pictures in your classroom of daily and special activities? Perfect! Using KidPix or Hyperstudio you can create a slide show to present on the first day of school. Showcase activities from last year's class, so that students can look forward to participating in them throughout the year. or In September, take pictures of your students during the day and create a slide show for Open House. Loop the slide show so that it can continuously play, while parents walk around your classroom. ^

Create a Newsletter Template Put together your first newsletter of the year now. In September you will probably not have the time to be creative. Try out your artistic abilities over the summer. Consider including a section for curriculum topics, on upcoming events, maybe the monthly birthdays, perhaps a "Tips and Tricks" sections for your parents. Keeping your parents informed opens the gate of communication. Try using AppleWorks or MS Publisher to create your template. ^

Enjoy your summer holidays! See you all in September.