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Welcome



Welcome to Mrs. Searles’ Class!
I am so excited to have you my class.  It’s going to be a fantastic year of learning and dancing.  You are about to begin a journey that you will never forget.  I went to some great training this summer and I am FIRED UP and ready for a great year!!
I am also excited to share with you some exciting news about my classroom this year.  Round Rock ISD is piloting year-two of an initiative that turns one more classroom in each RRISD school into a digital 1:1 classroom.  My classroom has been chosen to be a Phase 2 Next Generation Digital Classroom for Cedar Ridge High School. As a pilot program, our goal is to explore the unlimited possibilities of technology integration to enhance student achievement, increase engagement, transform teaching and learning, and help make decisions regarding the next steps of technology integration.  Our class will be getting a class set of iPads and a Mimio board for use IN CLASS.  These devices WILL NOT go home.  Please visit http://ngdcrrisd.blogspot.com/ for more information.
I am honored and excited to be a part of this program and can’t wait to see what we accomplish.  Parents, I hope you will be amazed at what ways technology can support and enhance the dance classroom as well as 21st century skills, and enhance the school experience in ways you may never have thought possible.  I plan on keeping you informed along the way as to what we are doing and how you can access it as well, so please keep your email up to date.  Two programs we will be using for classroom material management are Google Classroom and Edmodo. To help with the flow of information, please see below for a few helpful tips. As a pilot program, and the only NGDC dance teacher in RRISD, there will be a growth process and much that will develop as we go along.
A few items of note:
  • There will be many pictures/videos taken to document activities in class and they may be shared with the RRISD community. Also, we will kick off activities on the internet right away, so it is important to sign materials in the student handbook in regards to both of those activities if not allowing student to participate.
https://roundrockisd.org/parents/student-parent-handbooks/
  • In regards to this fabulous technology, it is privilege that will be taken very seriously. Those in violation of class procedures, Acceptable Use Policy, or practices in Digital Citizenship will have those privileges revoked. Students will be limited to sites & apps that are approved by the district, monitored by district safeguards and teacher monitoring, and will be given lessons in AUP and DC throughout the year. This will also apply when participating in BYOD activities.
  • Please take a minute to visit my teacher website.  It is very detailed and I keep it very up to date https://sites.google.com/a/roundrockisd.org/teacher-website-mrs-searles/   
  • Also, please take a minute to sign up for a fantastic service I am offering from Remind. You will
receive text messages from me about upcoming events and special reminders.  Follow the directions on the reverse to get signed up. Remind (formally Remind 101) is a text program where teachers and student/parent do not see each other’s phone numbers but you can subscribe to get messages with class reminders.  You cannot reply to text, unsubscribe when you want.  Download the free remind app!
www.remind.com/join/(insert your class code here)     OR       TEXT your class code to 81010
Ballet 1-3: @ballet12
Ballet 4: @ballet34
Jazz 4: @crjazz4
Dance 1 (Searles and Harvey): @crdance1
Dance 2: @crdance2
Dance & Media Communications: @damcom

Follow us on Twitter @CedarRidgeDance and Cedar Ridge Dance Department on Facebook

 Please read, discuss, and sign the attached Digital Citizenship Agreement and return to your teacher on your next class period or complete online HERE. 


Questions?

Please feel free to contact me at Karen_Searles@roundrockisd.org or 512-704-0295

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