December 2018
The Professional Development & Resource Center (PD&RC) Pride is a monthly email communication celebrating the work facilitated by BT BOCES PD&RC to advance teaching and learning. This will also be an opportunity to highlight resources available for loan as well as upcoming regional events. We hope you find this communication helpful and welcome your feedback.  
Safe Dates: Adolescent Dating Abuse Prevention Curriculum
On December 4 th , BT BOCES PD&RC hosted a regional training for Safe Dates: An Adolescent Dating Abuse Prevention Curriculum , led by Desiree Voorhies from the (NYS) Student Support Services Center. Safe Dates is a research-based curriculum that is designed to assist middle school and high school students with recognizing the difference between healthy, caring relationships and unhealthy, controlling or abusive dating relationships. The lessons also equip students with the skills and resources to develop healthy relationships, including positive communication and anger management.

Participating districts received the Safe Dates curriculum and all supporting materials as part of the training. During the session, teachers from around the region were introduced to the lessons and had an opportunity to practice their teaching with the group. The feedback about the training was very positive, and the teachers all left excited to implement the lessons in their classrooms. One participant said, “I just wanted to let you know that I thought the training yesterday was fantastic! I appreciated being given curriculum and also getting to see each of the lessons.” 

Educators understand the importance of teaching the skills of relationship management and communication that are taught in the curriculum, and now session participants have proven tools to do so. These skills are not only important for the prevention of dating abuse, but also transfer to the development of healthy relationships and other essential social emotional learning skills. The curriculum is nicely aligned to the new NYS social and emotional learning benchmarks and mental health guidance. As schools are looking to include more evidence-based practices in these areas, the Safe Dates curriculum is a great resource.

If you have questions about the curriculum or training, please feel free to contact Kerri Bullock .
Small Group & Station Work in the General Education Classroom
How do I manage implementing stations and centers in my classroom? What is the difference between a station and center? How might I make work in stations and centers curriculum-driven and engaging? These questions and more were addressed as an interdisciplinary group of middle-level teachers from area districts came together on December 7 in the session: Sm all Group & Station Work in the Classroom (ELA, Math, Science): Grades 6-8 .  

In a nutshell, this take on small groups simultaneously incorporates best-practice instructional strategies including explicit objectives and feedback, differentiation, cooperative learning, and engagement. Applicable to any grade level, any content area, and any time frame, this method of instruction allows teachers to address both whole group curriculum goals as well as the varied needs of multiple levels of learners. With well-planned management, rotation paths, content, and materials, stations and centers are an excellent addition to a toolbox of instructional strategies.

Throughout the day, teachers engaged in a variety of activities around the facets of station and center work as well as considerations for practical classroom possibilities. These features included logistics such as materials, classroom set-up, and path rotations. Another angle explored was routines and procedures, from coaching into effective group collaboration to using music to support efficient transitions. Finally, designing purposeful and explicit content was discussed, giving time for teachers to bring everything together into practical planning. 

Teachers left the session with clarity about possibilities for implementing this effective strategy, and will return for Day 2 on March 6, 2019 to share experiences and troubleshoot for next steps.  
Educational Board Games
Would you like to spend 10 Days in the USA , save humanity from a Pandemic or build one of the 7 Wonders ?   Your students will be able to do all of this and more with our collection of educational board games. 
 
Currently we have 20 different educational board games for children. While most are meant for children ages 8+, we do have a few for younger children including Robot Turtles and Rory’s Story Cubes
 
Purchased to encourage critical thinking, math and literacy skills, these games are sure to be a hit with your students. Most of our games have a short playing time so your students will be able to play during class or study hall. Also, these games would be great to use with an after school club or enrichment group.
 
You can browse our selection of educational games online at https://btboces.insigniails.com by searching for Call No ‘EG’.

  If you would like explore more focused work around educational board games, you are welcome to attend our Media Library Mini Session #4: Using Educational Board Games to Teach Core Concepts on Tuesday January 29 from 12:00 – 3:00.  Participants will engage in an intensive half-day session that introduces Media Library resources and provides opportunities to design lessons that effectively embed these resources and instruction. Register today in My Learning Plan!  
 
As always, please contact Kristina Garcia at kgarcia@btboces.org if you need assistance ordering any of our Media Library Resources. 
Arts-In-Education provides cooperative performance scheduling of professional artists in the areas of dance, media arts, music, theater and the visual arts for component school districts. Performances occur in participating schools or at a performing arts center. Residencies in the arts are an integral part of this service and can be custom designed to fit district curriculum needs. All performances serve to enhance the regular curriculum and to integrate the New York State Learning Standards for the Arts.
Broadway Theatre League presents :

A true New York City institution, CHICAGO has everything that makes Broadway great: a universal tale of fame, fortune and all that jazz; one show-stopping song after another; and the most astonishing dancing you've ever seen. No wonder CHICAGO has been honored with 6 Tony Awards, 2 Olivier Awards, a Grammy® and thousands of standing ovations. 


WHEN: January 27, 2019
TIME: 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: The Forum


Meets NYS Arts Standard:
Music: Responding and Connecting
Theater: Responding and Connecting
Dance: Responding and Connecting
The Anderson Center
presents :

The orchestra performs the masterpieces of the world’s historical composers such as Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Mahler, Dvorak, Shostakovich, Liszt, Sibelius, and Brahms. As well, Shanghai Opera Symphony orchestra plays a lot of work of the famous Chinese composers, for example, Xian Xinghai’s and He Zhanhao & Chen Gang.. The orchestra also presents numerous overtures and music of operas and ballets.

WHEN: February 12, 2019
TIME: 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: The Anderson Center

Meets NYS Arts Standard:
Music: Responding and Connecting
For more information,
please select links above, view the Arts-In-Education website HERE ,
or contact Kathy Harasta at kharasta@btboces.org .
  Learn ~ Collaborate ~ Explore ~ Register Today!
Looking for more Professional Development opportunities?
Check out the PD&RC calendar here !