Doodle for Google

Google hosts an online design competition every year when they ask students across the country to design a new Google logo pertaining to a topic. Before there was an airplane, there were doodles of cool flying machines. And before there was a submarine, there were doodles of magical underwater sea explorers. Since the beginning of time, ideas big and small, practical and playful, have started out as doodles. This year's theme was "If I could make the world a better place, I would invent..." Students (grades K-12)  across the nation competed for the ultimate prize...to see his or her artwork on the Google homepage, a $30,000 college scholarship, and $50,000 grant worth for technology for their school.  

The fifth grade students at the Tech Academy participated in this year's competition. Although our doodles were not selected as finalists we are very proud of the effort and time our fifth graders put into their submissions. We invite you to visit our gallery in the main office or online (link below) and vote for your favorite doodle. Voting closes on May 30th.

VISIT OUR STUDENTS' GALLERY ONLINE AT
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124817547@N06/sets/72157644781909344/

VOTE ONLINE AT THE LINK BELOW OR BY SCANNING THE QR CODE 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y23PJKK

To view the national finalists click below.
http://www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html

2011 National Winner

2012 National Winner

 

2013 National Winner

 

Researching and Access to Resources

One benefit of providing personal devices for all of our students is the opportunity the Internet provides them with as far as unlimited access to resources for reading and research. No longer are our students limited to the encyclopedias on their teacher's shelves or the books at our school library. The Internet opens up a world of options to our students when we do research in our classrooms.

Frequently students are asked to use their computer to complete research. Over time our students have worked on their digital literacy skills to improve their ability to research most effectively. This includes browsing for credible sources, sorting through expert information when compared to novice opinions, and using print, images, and videos to increase their depth of understanding.

In the photo below, Mr. Dill's sixth grade social studies class is conducting research online about the Olympics.

Turnaround Award Presented to Angelo Hardimon

Angelo Hardimon, 6^th grade student at the Technology Academy at Bon Air, recently received a very prestigious honor and was awarded the middle school Turnaround Award. Surrounded by his family, principal, and teachers he received this award Thursday morning May 8^th. A banquet ceremony was held at the Kokomo Country Club to honor the recipients of the Turnaround Award. Also in attendance were Mayor Greg Goodnight, Judge Menges, Judge Murray, members of the Mayor's Board, superintendents and principals from the Kokomo area.

 

Angelo was nominated for his desire to improve his work ethic, effort, and overall attitude while at school. He has improved his grades to all A’s and B’s and has quit being a behavior problem in his classrooms. Congratulations Angelo!

Follow us on Twitter!

Are you following the Technology Academy on Twitter? You should be!

Reasons you should follow us:
1. Check out the exciting things happening daily at the Technology Academy @ Bon Air.
2. Perhaps your child will be the star of the Twitter feed that day!
3. Keep in touch with upcoming events.
4. Easily get updates to your smartphone.
5. Tweet to US when you catch your Tech student doing something wonderful outside of school like reading, doing homework, studying, practicing using an app or website online, helping a neighbor, being a good citizen, etc.

Start following us today!

@academy_ba

Living History Museum

Our fifth grade classrooms staged a Living History Museum for our school and many visitors from the community. Among the Living Museum you could find Neil Armstrong, Anne Frank, King Tut, Dr. Seuss, Helen Keller, and many, many more!

Students took on the role of their famous person by dressing up in costumes, using makeup, and even talking like that person during their presentations. They shared an online timeline of their life, a digital 3D popup book with information, and many other props with their visitors.

These links will lead you to examples of our Zooburst 3D popup books.

http://www.zooburst.com/book/zb01_5333078581ea7 -Albert Einstein by Destiny

http://www.zooburst.com/book/zb01_5333086a78884- Jim Henson by Coleman

 

http://www.zooburst.com/book/zb01_53397a66d4458-Ben Franklin by Jonah    

Trend Alert: 6 Messaging Apps That Let Teens Share (Iffy) Secrets-From Common Sense Media

This article was recently published on the Common Sense Media website. Parents should be aware there are more ways of sharing information online besides Facebook and Instagram. New messaging and chat apps are constantly popping up all the time. Parents should be aware what apps their child is using and most importantly what they are sharing with others.

(Excerpt from article)
Snapchat: A messaging app that lets users put a time limit on the pictures and videos they send before they disappear.
Burn Note: A texting-only app that erases messages after a set period of time. Messages are stored until first view and then deleted.
Whisper: A social "confessional" app that allows users to post whatever's on their mind. Users type a confession, add a background image, and share it with the Whisper community. It’s intended for users age 17 and older.
Secret - Speak Freely: A social-media app that's designed to let people voice whatever's on their minds anonymously.
Ask.fm: A social site that lets kids ask questions and answer those posted by other users -- sometimes anonymously.
Omegle: An anonymous chat client through which users discuss anything they'd like. Its conversations are filled with lewd language and references to sexual content, drugs and alcohol, and violence.


Check out this article from Common Sense Media to learn more about what you should be cautious of your child is using one of these apps.
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/trend-alert-6-messaging-apps-that-let-teens-share-iffy-secrets?utm_source=2014_04_08_Educator_Newsletter_1&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly

MyOn Reader March Challenge

Our elementary students have been hard at work, reading their digital libraries on My On Reader. My On Reader is a new program at Bon Air this year that allows our students to access high-interest books digitally on their device. Teachers can also suggest books for students based on their appropriate reading level. Students see which books their friends are reading and the top-ranked books in the school. My On Reader includes books on a variety of topics and genres including graphic novels, science and math topics, sports, health and fiction and nonfiction texts. Students can listen to all the books in audio version or choose to read the book silently on their own.

You can access My On Reader at www.myon.com and enter your child's username and password. Books are available for any student who has WiFi access.

During the month of March the elementary students challenged each other to spend the most time reading on My On. Students in the class who read the most overall time earned a popcorn party and a Bon Air bumper sticker. The top 5 readers in grades K-5 earned a set of Bon Air earbuds. Congratulations to the top classes and readers below!

Top Classes

WINNER!! Mrs. Enoch's class with over 61 hours spent reading!  

First Runner Up- Ms. Woodring's class with over 48 hours  spent reading! 

Second Runner Up- Mrs. Keck's class with over 35 hours spent reading!  

 

Top 5 Students

Greyson W. 11 hours and 31 minutes!

Abbigail C. 10 hours and 8 minutes

Isaac P. 9 hours and 54 minutes

Jonah F. 9 hours and 33 minutes

Tristen R. 8 hours and 13 minutes

 

Top Class-Time Spent Reading

Mrs. Enoch's Second Grade Class