Most of us are familiar with student codes of conduct which, depending on the school, can range from essential agreements on how students treat one another to prescriptive rules for behavior and dress. At Mackintosh Academy, some rules are written into our handbook, but many of these key agreements are worked out at the beginning of the year in collaboration between students and teachers.

This year, a faculty team took a look at the code of conduct for Mack faculty and decided that a similar process would benefit our team of educators. We asked two of the committee members who took on this task to share the story of how they worked towards a new faculty code of conduct.

We are principled
We do what is asked of us to the best of our ability with regard to the community
We are people of integrity and our words and actions are congruent with the mission of Mackintosh Academy
We take responsibility and work toward resolution
We respect confidentiality and boundaries

 

We are open-minded
We include all stakeholders and viewpoints in conversation and assume positive intent
We listen for strengths and assets
We receive feedback gracefully
We question our assumptions. We think again 🙂

 

We are inquirers
We seek information with a sense of curiosity rather than with the goal of being right.
We allow our answers to lead us to deeper questions
We will join students and colleagues on their quests for understanding
We show curiosity outside our comfort zone

On a warm day this past August, as the staff was returning to campus and starting to plan out the new year, we had our annual faculty retreat. As part of this first day together, each staff member joined a committee to take on different responsibilities for the school. A number of us choose to work on the Faculty Advisory Committee. After joining a committee, one of our first activities as staff was to reflect on how we collectively demonstrate the International Baccalaureate (IB) Learner Profile – a distinctive set of attributes valued by IB schools.

This process involved working in small groups, and each group brainstormed how we demonstrate one to two attributes of the Learner Profile. At the conclusion of this activity, the administration challenged the Faculty Advisory Committee to take these brainstormed ideas, and use them to redevelop our Staff Code of Conduct. The newly minted Faculty Advisory Committee responded with a collective “you bet!”

We are knowledgeable
We know, explore, and share our content
Our goal is connection: within, between, and among
We celebrate our individual and collective knowledge base
We engage in ongoing professional development and continue to hone our craft

 

We are thinkers
We intentionally embrace creative and thoughtful problem solving
We reflectively listen and process before acting

 

We are risk takers
We view mistakes as part of the process of learning and an opportunity for growth
We strive to receive feedback in a constructive manner
We rethink our teaching craft so that we innovate to best meet the needs of students
We are open to having hard conversations even if we may hear something that may scare us or make us uncomfortable

The committee began by reviewing the old Code of Conduct. It was full of top-down language that seemed not to assume that the teaching staff was clear on the basics of professionalism. There were directives to dress professionally, arrive before 8:00 am, and respond to emails in a timely fashion. It felt as outdated as a ten-year-old computer. As we began to re-envision the Code of Conduct, we agreed to write it in language that came from us and that asserted our professionalism by addressing each of the Learner Profiles using the first person.

We are balanced
We ask for help when have a need and offer help when we see a need
We think in terms of “our students” versus “my students”
We are present and efficient in ways that value the time of others

 

We are communicators
We model positive talk about ourselves and others
We listen and speak from a place of curiosity and empathy
We value and explore different ways of communicating

We met several times in August and September. We would connect at the end of the day, after carline, work diligently for 30 minutes, and make plans for our next work session. Each of these sessions was tinged with a sense of commitment to the completion of the task but also to the exploration of who we were collectively as as staff. Many times we ran across a way that we might embody the one attribute of the Learner Profile that fit better in another attribute or even was duplicated in another one. We explored the poetry of the language, seeking out just the right active verb and getting rid of unnecessary adjectives.

We are caring
We demonstrate care and respect for all members of our school community
We use caring words and actions
We actively seek opportunities to improve ourselves and serve our community
We promote diverse perspectives
We create a safe environment to be vulnerable and share needs

 

We are reflective
We hold space for reflection and model the IB Action Cycle for students
We think about the “how” and “why” in order to build meaning
We use both data and reflection to improve our teaching

 

We are resilient
We lean into challenges with our students and encourage them to engage in productive struggle
We explicitly teach and model growth mindset
We celebrate effort and focus on learning as a process
We take care of ourselves in order to care for others

The process felt very empowering and validating. It was fun to work together and to reimagine this piece of our staff protocols. The result was a fresh new take on who we are as a staff that better represents the voices and identities of the teachers. Looking it over, the Staff Code of Conduct written in the language of the teachers is ultimately transportable, and could be written to describe the code of conduct for a classroom full of elementary school students or the Parent Council. One new teacher came to the staff after reading it and related how she had shared it with her husband and remarked in tears, “I get to work with these people! This is what this school is about!”

Joe Pausback, veteran Mack teacher of more than two decades who is a member of the Faculty Advisory team, commented, “Most other documents I have experienced like this were generated by a group of administrators in a smoky room with a shut door, who assumed that teachers were only slightly more sophisticated than the students. The codes of conduct they generated were top down and wound up in binders that never were opened. In contrast, I hope that this code is empowering and provides a clear set of guidelines for how teachers conduct themselves. And in doing this, I hope it helps to promote a consistent view across the school of what our values are.”

Roger Chow, a 5th and 6th grade teacher new to Mackintosh this year, was another member of the team who worked on this code of conduct. He shared that “The thoughtful and earnest team were incredibly dedicated to getting this right. We wanted to model what we ask of our students and during the process, it felt wonderful to see that adults who work at Mack live by those statements. I believe this code will reinforce the commitment by teachers and staff to embrace and live the philosophy and actions we hold students accountable to.”

We believe that this code of conduct will bring clarity, direction, and empowerment to our entire team of educators. As Diane Dunne, Head of School, remarked, “This was a beautiful process. It reinforced the power of a collaborative effort in order to draw from our collective wisdom and promote our collective commitment to doing our very best as educators.”

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Intro to Gifted

We’re hosting a free talk, open to all parents who’ve ever wondered what this “gifted” thing is all about!

Sometimes the children who make up the top 2% of intellectual potential are quite a mystery. They can be very sensitive, but other times defiantly proclaiming a need for justice. They understand everything possible about dinosaurs, but refuse to do homework about colonial life. They converse like wise elders, but they are still just children.

When: Nov. 6, 2019,  6-7 pm
Where: Mackintosh Academy, 7018 S. Prince St., Littleton, 80120
Who: Any parent who’s ever been intrigued, perplexed, frustrated, or amazed by their bright, quirky, creative, sensitive kid’s behavior!
The Scoop: We have answers for you! Mackintosh 5th and 6th grade teacher Tari St.Marie has studied giftedness for 20+ years, and has a M.Ed in Gifted Education, as well as being the mother of three (young adult) gifted children of her own. She will talk about many aspects of giftedness, from theories and neuroscience to characteristics that frequently occur among gifted students (and adults), common challenges that affect gifted students at school, and some strategies to help ease them. Don’t miss this chance to experience Tari’s wit and wisdom firsthand, and come away with a greater understanding of your own wonderful, mysterious, delightful, sometimes frustrating gifted children! RSVP’s requested via email to frontoffice (at) mackintoshacademy (dot) com!

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Global Action. This phrase is embedded into the heart of our mission statement at Mackintosh Academy. As an International Baccalaureate World school, global action is a key part of our educational program. We hope that our students will continue to take action to make an impact on the world long after they leave Mack.

Reid Anderson, a Mackintosh Littleton alum, University of Colorado grad, and son of longtime Mack educator Stacey Anderson, is one of those students who took the global action message to heart. He is currently serving in the Peace Corps in Liberia, and recently shared his story with us.

When I came to Liberia I came intentionally with no expectations. I didn’t want the experience to be tainted by any of my possible preconceived notions. I did come with two goals: to learn and to serve. Those two goals were the reason I decided after graduating from the University of Colorado to join the Peace Corps and teach abroad for two years. Rather than jump into the workforce or rush into graduate school, I would take time to pursue two of my deepest values: learning and serving. As I reflect, it’s natural for me to draw a direct line from my time at Mackintosh Academy to who I am today.

The Joy of Inquiry

Mackintosh ignited and kindled my desire to learn, inside and outside of the classroom. It was the place where the joy of inquiry was fostered by so many wonderful teachers – teachers whose impact continues to reverberate ten years later. Mr. Kelley was unrelenting in his quest to improve his students’ writing, to be creative, to retool and rework drafts. Mrs. Muench demonstrated that education was about asking questions, and not settling for the easy or clearly  apparent answers. Mr. Pausback made math come alive in his enthusiasm, something I try to emulate everyday in my own math classes. Ms. Mundt believed in my ability to be a real scientist, even as a 6th grade biology novice, and gave me the confidence to pursue different and exciting experiments. All of these teachers started me on the path of inquiry and lifelong learning.

To Learn and To Serve

From my parents I learned the value of service and the gratification that can arise from giving of yourself. And so these two meaningful verbs: to learn, to serve, acted as my motivations as I moved to Liberia. I’ve now lived in my community for nearly two years, a small farming and mining village along the Cestos River. Attempting to teach Jr. High for the first time inevitably leads me to reflect on my own experience as a student. I’m pulled towards trying to understand what factors led me to become who I am today, and how I can try to instill some of the same motivations into my impressionable Liberian students that were impressed upon me at Mackintosh Academy.

It’s a constant struggle here, especially with the limited available resources and support, and with students pulled in many different directions (often away from their studies.) I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on my choices, and I still feel as though teaching here is valuable, is worth the effort. I’m not so naive as to think that I’m making a major impact here, but “major” really isn’t the goal. “Positive,” “sustainable,” “esteem-building,” these are the types of impacts and interactions I try to bring more and more as my service dwindles to the last few months.

Teachers play such a pivotal role in who their students become. It’s why ten, twenty years later most students can still remember one of their favorite teachers. What the teacher did for them. How the teacher made them feel. That’s the impact that many of my Mackintosh teachers had on me. That’s what I attempt in my own small way to emulate here in Liberia.

Bringing Global Action Back to Mack

Last Friday I spoke over Skype with some of the Mack 8th grade students for their World Affairs Challenge. One of my ninth graders, Sam, helped me to answer questions about Liberia, our community in Rivercess, and the challenges faced by our school system. Most of my time here I spend working in the school. Between lessons, planning, working to improve the school campus, and working with students outside of class, it keeps me busy.

Beyond school, I love hanging out with neighbors, visiting other volunteers, and working on secondary projects. My largest project to date is currently in progress. Following two devastating civil wars, Liberia’s infrastructure and educational system was decimated, leaving schools, especially those in rural areas, entirely lacking the resources needed to educate their young students. My school, not dissimilar to many rural Liberian schools, doesn’t have even the most fundamental of literary materials.

My cohort and I wanted to do something to change this reality in our schools. Many volunteers have been working with their communities to renovate areas for use as libraries and reading rooms. Now, through an organization called Books for Africa, we’re looking to ship over 20,000 books across the Atlantic, then to distribute the books to 22 schools across Liberia, including my recently renovated (but still empty) school library. The books will be school-specific, tailored to the needs of the students. Each school administration will hold a library sustainability training with the help of their PC volunteer. Even the container in which the books are shipped will be put to use: repurposed for use as a reading room at a local high school.

Would You Like to Help?

The books are donated, but the shipment, clearance, and transport of the book container is not. That’s why we’re looking for help to raise the funds for this project, and we’ve almost reached our goal. If you’d like to help us find this project, donations are accepted at https://www.peacecorps.gov/donate/projects/literacy-to-liberia-pp-19-669-004/

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On February 13 and 14, you may notice some new faces on our Littleton campus. These visitors will be part of the International Baccalaureate site visit team – trained evaluators whose task will be assessing how our Mackintosh staff implement the International Baccalaureate curriculum.

What is the International Baccalaureate? The IB is a “worldwide community of schools, educators and students with a shared vision and mission to empower young people with the skills, values and knowledge to create a better and more peaceful world.”

At Mackintosh, we have chosen to be part of the IB because its philosophy lines up so well with our school’s mission to educate and nurture gifted children to contribute to a world that needs their skills and talents.

Every five years, our school must be re-evaluated by the International Baccalaureate Organization in order to retain our official IB authorization. In preparing for this visit our Curriculum Coordinator Sharon Muench and our entire admin and teaching team create an extensive self-study, a 100 page report for each program (Primary Years Programme and Middle Years Programme) which includes:

• feedback from all stakeholders (a survey of faculty, staff, parents, board members, and fifth through eighth graders, conducted last school year) asking for their understanding of and opinions about the IB implementation at Mackintosh
• curriculum documents known as IB “planners” for each class which allow the evaluators to assess how our planning and teaching align with IB practices
• a selection of graded student work samples, to help the evaluators see how our assessments line up with worldwide IB grading standards

Taken together, all of these documents allow the IB evaluation team to gauge how well Mackintosh Academy aligns with the practices and standards of the IB organization.

The evaluation team consists of experienced IB educators from New York, Nevada, British Columbia, and Michigan. While the team is here, they will be observing in classrooms and interviewing teachers, students, administrators, board members and parents.

Having successfully hosted four prior IB site visits at Littleton, we are excited to welcome this evaluation team and showcase the dedication, creativity, and competence our teachers put towards implementing the IB framework at Mack. If you happen to be on campus Feb. 13 and 14, please join us in warmly welcoming our visitors!

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The post “The X”: The Primary Years Exhibition Turns Students into “Xperts” appeared first on Mackintosh Academy.

Mrs. Alison Weems, the team’s teacher, has been guiding the student’s work through the tenets of our IB curriculum – which means the students are questioning, researching, and developing their design through trial and error.

Did you know?  Per Quinn Yates: “squishability is a scientific term!”

The Colorado Rockies , 9NEWS (KUSA) Steve Spangler Science and Colorado State University have teamed up to launch the 7th Annual Weather and Science Day at Coors Field on May 11, 2016. We will update this post with results!

Please join Mackintosh Academy Littleton, Colorado State University’s Extension program, America’s Science Teacher – Steve Spangler and the 9News Weather Team for this educational event that incorporates physics, math and meteorology into unique science experiments.

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“World Leadership School seeks to empower young leaders to find innovative solutions to the world’s pressing problems.” This philosophy tied in well with Mack’s IB approach to learning. The Mack-Boulder sixth graders spent the week making new friends and getting to know about the cultures (Native, Spanish, and Mexican) at the Cochiti school. They spent time learning and working on service projects with students at the school but also had a great time playing games and just enjoying each other, as well. Keira said, “It was cool to see what their school was like. I liked the weeding and the dirt spreading. The coolest was when we found the toad!”

“To preserve their Pueblo traditions and cultural practices, including the Keres language, the people of Pueblo de Cochiti have instituted programs dedicated to teaching and educating the younger generations. They continue to work the land honoring a core agricultural tradition and connection to the earth. Bread making, dances and feast days continue as they have for hundreds of years.” The community was welcoming and friendly to the students. One evening a storyteller from the Pueblo joined the students at the campsite to share stories with the children. Another evening they were invited to Cochiti Pueblo proper. One of the women of the Pueblo opened her home and taught them how to make traditional fry bread. Some of the local children gave the students a tour of the Pueblo and taught our students some of their favorite games. Alden said, “It was really fun to see all the people selling their handmade jewelry and other products. I enjoyed meeting the vendors and talking to them.” Another evening a local jewelry maker spent time with the sixth graders.

The trip was initially intended to be primarily a service trip, but it evolved into being a cultural exchange trip, as well. It also ended up being a great experience in independence: the sixth graders set up and took down their own tents at the reservation camp site, and they took turns helping with meal prep and cleanup. “It was cool to help with some service projects and to get to know about different cultures, but overall it was just awesome to get to know some new kids who we actually had a lot in common with. They were all really nice,” said Toby.

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The Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented (CAGT) will hold its annual state conference on October 20 and 21. The conference features local and international experts in the field of gifted education who will share their knowledge and expertise in all things gifted.

On Monday night, October 20, the CAGT conference offers a unique opportunity for parents of gifted children by offering a CAGT Parent Institute which takes advantage of the wonderful gifted expertise gathered in Denver for the CAGT conference. This is a great opportunity to hear from leading speakers in giftedness. It is also a great opportunity to meet and network with other parents of gifted children, share experiences, ideas and your own expertise.  It will be held 6:30-9:00 p.m. in the Evergreen Ballroom of the Denver Tech Marriott, 4900 S. Syracuse Street, Denver, CO.

The Parent Institute will feature an expert panel with Dr. Rosina Gallagher and Lisa Van Gemert who are also conference keynote speakers. Dr. Gallagher is an educational consultant and lead author of Diversity and Equity in Illinois: Responding to Differences within the Gifted Population. She brings her expertise as a psychologist and past President of SENG (Supporting the Emotional Needs of the Gifted). Lisa Van Gemert is Mensa’s Education Liaison and works with teachers on best practices in gifted education. Also on the panel will be Dr. George Betts with his special focus on the social/emotional area for gifted. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Northern Colorado, President-elect of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), and author of several books. Dr. Beverly Trail, who will also be on the panel, is a professor at Regis University, past Chair of the NAGC Special Population Network and author of Twice-Exceptional Gifted Children. After the panel discussion, there will be time for questions to the panel.   Parent Institute registration is available on the CAGT website. The fee is $20 per person or for two adults from the same household. Light refreshments will be served.

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Who:  Mary Smid Newman, MA

What:  Taming the Holidays (Parent Education Workshop)

When: October 22, 7:00-8:00 (tour offered 6:00-7:00)

Where:  Mackintosh Littleton, 7018 S Prince St

Holiday spirits begin to soar just before Halloween arrives and the fever pitch escalates just before the winter break. Families can easily be swept from one festive event to another dismantling the regular routine and rhythms that provide consistency and structure on a daily basis. This holiday season strategize your events with your children and calendar. Help them negotiate the highs and lows of parties, goodies, late nights and frenzied shopping trips. Keep in mind that while the holidays are about receiving, one of the best recipes for heartfelt appreciation is through being of service and giving to those in need. Creating gift baskets of gently used books, clothing, toys, or sports equipment for others, singing for seniors, or writing letters to our armed forces overseas are all activiites that can help children give of themselves. The holidays are a great excuse for interactive cooperative games, art projects, special reading assignments and beautiful music. If routines and rituals that are common to a family’s daily schedule are honored throughout the entire holiday season, everyone will greet the New Year fresh, rested and full of renewed ambition.

Mary Smid Newman, MA, is an educational consultant working with families in the Greater Metro Denver area for over twenty-five years. Mary specializes in helping families discover the strengths, gifts and potential in students who demonstrate diverse, unique and exceptional processing issues. Mary incorporates foundation horsemanship to help students improve their overall physical condition, memory, attention, visual-spatial awareness, social skills and interpersonal relationships. For information regarding parent workshops, social groups, or individual tutoring please feel free to call Mary at 303-808-4160, or drop her an email at marysmid@mac.com.

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My daughter began her education in our local public school. She had been identified gifted in kindergarten, but there was little that they did for younger students. After advocating for her to have advanced math and reading, we thought she was having her needs met; however, she didn’t seem to be thriving. She would complete assignments and then quietly entertain herself in class or read. She was a good student, but not a passionate student. When she came home and we would ask her about school, on most days she would just shrug her shoulders and say it was “o.k.” At the age of seven, even with gifted services, she had come to see school as a place to take in information and answer questions rather than as a place to wonder and grow.

We soon realized that, in order to support our daughter and her gifts, we needed to bring her to Mackintosh. I knew that Mackintosh was what she needed, because I was not only her mother, but also a teacher at the school. I had worked with girls who came to Mackintosh because they hadn’t been thriving in other school settings. I had worked with girls who were used to giving what was expected and not more. Girls whose gifts weren’t nurtured and whose voices had already began to quiet.

I had seen these same girls thrive at Mackintosh because they were encouraged, challenged, and engaged. I had heard their voices grow stronger as teachers took an interest in their ideas and questions. I had seen them at graduation proudly sharing their passions and displaying keen insight into who they were as learners. They were able to speak confidently and knowledgeably about the next steps on their journey and seemed so excited to continue learning and growing and shining. I wanted my daughter to be seen and cherished and nurtured in the same way so that she could not just “do well” in school, but thrive.

This is my daughter’s fifth year at Mackintosh. Here are a few highlights from our last few weeks:

• She helped me make dinner and began making connections to how the zucchini was releasing water as it cooked because the cell walls were breaking down when they were heated. She excitedly said how “fascinating” cells were and began talking about the organelles and what they do for the cells.
• She was asked by someone if she was nervous about the transition to high school and she replied, “No, I make friends easily.”
• She called a legislator to invite her to our school’s solar celebration. The celebration is happening because of a State Farm solar energy grant that my daughter collaboratively wrote last year during her sixth grade exhibition project.
• We purchased tickets to go see one of her favorite authors speak and she was literally jumping for joy.

I share these highlights, not only as a proud parent, but as a proud educator. Proud to work at a school where gifted girls are seen and heard and valued. Where their wonder is encouraged and their questions are taken seriously. I am intensely proud of who my daughter is and who she is becoming, and I am proud of and grateful to Mackintosh for helping her on her journey.

For more on identifying and supporting gifted girls, please explore:

http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10171.aspx – An article explaining some challenges and indicators of gifted girls

A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children – by Webb, Gore, Amend, & DeVries – A parent handbook on supporting gifted children

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