The Roughneck Tech Club spent time this week coding with Santa at Google’s Santa Tracker Village. The students coded reindeer at play, dancing elves and snowflakes.  They even learned how to say Santa Claus in a variety of languages at the Santa Learning Center. Catch up on all the fun by viewing the video below.

White Oak Middle School is recognized as a

Common Sense Certified School:
Digital Citizenship

Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of digital media and technology, has recognized White Oak Middle School as a Common Sense Certified School: Digital Citizenship.

White Oak Middle School has demonstrated its commitment to taking a whole-community approach to preparing its students to use the immense power of digital media to explore, create, connect, and learn, while limiting the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying.

“We applaud the faculty and staff of White Oak Middle School for embracing digital citizenship as an important part of their students’ education,” said Jessica Lindl, Head of Common Sense Education. “White Oak Middle School deserves high praise for giving its students the foundational skills they need to compete and succeed in the 21st-century workplace and participate ethically in society at large.”

White Oak Middle School has been using Common Sense Education’s innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were created in collaboration with Dr. Howard Gardner of the GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The resources teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to Internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy, managing online relationships, and respecting creative copyright. The free resources are currently used in more than 90,000 classrooms nationwide.

To learn more about the criteria White Oak Middle School met to become certified as a Common Sense Certified School, visit http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/certification.

The WOMS Student Council Pride and Patriotism Committee held a mock election in the media center on Tuesday, November 8, 2016.

Students registered to vote the week prior to the election in order to be eligible to cast their vote.

Please click on each graph below to see the results!

Donald J. Trump received the most votes for President.

Help! Steve Minecraft has been reported missing from the White Oak Middle School Media Canter. Mrs. Cooper cannot find him anywhere. We need your help! Please examine the crime scene and video evidence below for clues. Please report any findings to Mrs. Cooper as soon as possible.

On Monday, October 31st, Steve jumped into the tent to camp out with a good book in the library.  He stayed all day and read a mystery book by the fire. He even roasted some marshmallows and made s’mores.  He seemed happy and content as Mrs. Cooper locked the library for the night.  

On Tuesday, November 1st at 7:45 am, Mrs. Cooper opened up the library for a new day. As she was tidying the library, she noticed Steve was gone. Where could Steve be?  She checked in the fiction section, but Steve was not there. She checked in the nonfiction section to see if he was reading a book about gaming. Steve was not there.  Then, Mrs. Cooper thought maybe he could be in the green screen room making a video! Nope, no Steve.  What if he went to the think lab to share his great ideas? Nope, no Steve.  Where can Steve be? He loved the library, and Mrs. Cooper knew he would never leave.

Mrs. Cooper decided to call the White Oak Police Department at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 1st and report Steve missing.  The police have examined the library and searched for clues. Can you help Mrs. Cooper find Steve?

Global Maker Day is a twenty-four hour event to celebrate makers around the world.  Jamie Donally is the brains and inspiration behind #GlobalMakerDay.  She  invites students and classes across the globe to share their inventions and creations.  The White Oak Middle School Tech Club was honored to participate this year.  In the video below, you can view our #GlobalMakerDay activities.

Check out all the amazing presentations below!

This past week, I had the honor of attending the National Center for Families Learning Summit in Detroit, Michigan.  As a Wonder Lead Ambassador for Wonderopolis, I have the opportunity to participate in amazing events, but this was by far one of the best.  The National Center for Families Learning focuses on programs to encourage families learning together. Today, learning is not confined to the classroom, but can happen anywhere. Starting in the home, parents are the first and most important teachers a child will ever have. NCFL emphasizes a two-generation approach to family learning that centers on the whole family.

NCFL’s longest and most dedicated partner is Toyota Family Learning.Toyota has made a 46 million dollar investment in families across the United States. Focusing on a multi-generational solution to educational challenges which emphasize families learning and achieving together,  Toyota has and continues to make a visible impact on family literacy.

One of the highlights of the summit for me was presenting on Camp Wonderopolis with the fabulous Nicole Robinson, Deputy Assistant Director of the Houston Public Library. Camp Wonderopolis promotes inquiry-based learning and fosters the natural curiosity young people possess. Camp Wonderopolis 2017 will begin in June with a construction/building theme. Previous camps can always be accessed on the Camp Wonderopolis page.   Have you wondered today? At the Toyota Families Learning Banquet , Sonia Manzano, Maria from Sesame Street, spoke about her life and the joy of first learning to read as her Puerto Rican family struggled to find their way in America.  Her powerful and moving story can be found in her new book Sonia Manzano Becoming Maria, A Memoir.

Attending the NCFL Summit was an honor and a privilege. Please  take the opportunity to check out all the wonderful programs NCFL offers.

Our book club friends in Medina, Tennessee were nice enough to send us a video introducing themselves. We love getting to know these wonderful students who live in the Great Smokey Mountains.

Below is our video response to the Medina Hornets! We are so excited to meet you and share ideas!

White Oak Middle School students had the opportunity to attend the Students in Technology Conference at Region 7 Education Service Center on Wednesday, September 28, 2016.  Students were able to create interactive posters using Poster My Wall and Thinglink in addition to coding Spheros and Ozobots.  Check out all the fun and creativity our students displayed in the video below.

Recently, the Roughneck Book Club began reading The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm with Medina Middle School in Medina, Tennessee.  Our students started by introducing themselves and asking the Medina students questions about the first few chapters.

A special thanks to Krista Grace, Medina Middle School Library Media Specialist, who is coordinating with us.  Stay tuned for more news about this book club partnership!