Willow Workers 4H Club
Toss a new stuffed toy onto the court
at halftime of the Varsity Girls game.
Toys will be collected by Willow
Workers 4H Club and donated to
local Toys for Tots!
The Show Must Go On...
Friday, November 9th
Open House 6 p.m. - Play Starts at 7 p.m.
$5 admission
Westwood has recently been awarded a Rural Utilities Service Grant on behalf of 8 schools in the Western Valley Conference. The grant was awarded for $499,733 to provide classes between the schools. The money will provide a technology rich classroom that will use a cutting edge network to provide HD quality telecommunication service. For example: a teacher in one district could be providing a class to students in 8 other districts and a student could choose to take it at any part of the day.
Districts taking part:
http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/
Important Links: http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/ and http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/en/educators/media_and_technology_services/aea_online_resources/
Copied/pasted from http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/en/educators/media_and_technology_services/aea_online_resources/
Iowa AEA Online is a virtual library that provides no-cost access to 14 high-quality, web-based resources for accredited public and non-public PreK-12 schools. Students and staff have access at home and at school. The following databases are part of Iowa AEA Online:
Copied/pasted from: http://www.nwaea.k12.ia.us/en/educators/media_and_technology_services/aea_online_resources/
A collection of five interactive eBooks for elementary students. Cybersmarts is designed to teach students about staying safe online. These interactive eBooks can be projected on a whiteboard or viewed on individual student computers. Lesson plans, reproducibles and research prompts are included.
FreedomFlix™ is an online resource that converts the Cornerstones of Freedom series into enhanced eBooks. All the eBooks include related content and primary sources featuring videos, audio, images, and text. All books include an optional natural-voice read-along of all text, sidebars and captions. Educator resources include lesson plans, writing prompts and whiteboard activities. FreedomFlix™ aligns to the Common Core Standards by featuring multiple text types and a cross-curricular, nonfiction focus. FreedomFlix™is also compatible with tablets (i.e. iPads) and smartphones.
Northwest AEA has purchased eBooks for use in our schools. Mackin Via is an online portal that makes it easy to access these eBooks. Mackin Via provides users four ways to search for content: keyword search, viewing pre-selected categories, advanced search using the available filters, and browsing the collection. Mackin Via also permits students to save the e-resources they like using the Via Backpack. MackinVia eBooks can also be read on tablets, mobile devices and Smart phones by downloading the free app.
A collection of five interactive eBooks for teens. Teen Cybersmarts was designed to give teens hands-on experience in safely navigating the online environment. These interactive eBooks can be projected on a whiteboard or viewed on individual student computers. Lesson plans, reproducibles and research prompts are included.
The Visual Thesaurus is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus which creates word maps with meanings that branch to related words. Visual Thesaurus has over 145,000 English words and 115,000 meanings. Words are color-coded to indicate parts of speech. Pronunciation of words is also included.
Vocabulary.com is our newest online resource. Vocabulary,com is a tool that is used to improve vocabulary by using an adaptive learning system that offers differentiated vocabulary instruction to students at all levels. It continuously assesses each student and focuses their efforts on words they need to learn. Teachers can create classes of students, assign work to them, and monitor their progress. Teachers can assign their students one of the thousands of already created vocabulary lists made from the most popular texts taught in schools, or easily create their own lists using the Vocabgrabber list making tool. Vocabulary.com has gamified vocabulary instruction as well. Students can earn points, achievements and badges that motivate them to keep playing and to keep learning.
Bridges is a cooperative project between libraries in Iowa. Bridges is powered by OverDrive and provides access to eBooks and audiobooks. To access resources from Bridges, teachers will need an access code. Contact Kim Noteboom for that information.
Fable Learning is an eBook collection. Teachers can log in using their Iowa AEA Online building username and password. Fable Learning's collection is evenly divided between fiction and nonfiction and covers Pre-K through 8th grade content. Fable Learning also includes a Spanish Bilingual collection. Each eBook has been adapted and professionally narrated for digital streaming. The collection is multi-user so a whole class can read the same book at the same time without check-in/check-out delays. Students have the option of having the book read to them, having the book automatically play, or reading the book independently. All titles are accompanied by a Teaching Links document which matches eBook to relevant CCSS and provides suggestions for CCSS appropriate teaching activities and further inquiry. Students will be able to access this content through MackinVia.
http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/
Westwood Community Schools welcomes you to our SafeSchools Alert incident reporting system. To submit a tip, please click the link below.
