Pylons It’s a new year in the Kansas City Public Schools Pylons Department. The Pylons Department has been out in the schools getting re-acquainted with students and staff at the various elementary schools in the district. The Pylons Department has also been busy adding new classes and actitivites in Moodle, our online classroom.

Pylons Rock!

Meet Us On Twitter

KANSAS CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS FALL NEWSLETTER 2014

Two Pylons teachers, Ms. Hopper and Ms. Hubbard have Twitter accounts and through these accounts you can learn what is going on in Pylons. You can get activities announcements, upcoming neighborhood events and new student learning opportunities. To follow us on Twitter open your existing Twitter account or sign up and search for us. Ms. Hopper can be found at DhopperD, and Ms. Hubbard can be found at ChubbardC. Join us and stay in touch this year. Twitter is a free source for parents and the Pylons department encourages all parents to get involved in their child’s education. Along with following Pylon teachers, there are tons of posts from other gifted organizations to explore. So go online and follow the Pylon

Edmodo, Moodle and More

This year has gotten off to a great start with new laptops for students and new opportunities to explore technology with fun, but safe online sources. The Pylons department will continue to serve the gifted student population through pull-out programs but students are also expected to use online lessons. These lessons cover a wide range of topics and can be accessed with a student username and password. Students should know their username and password, if not it can be obtained by contacting the student’s Pylons teacher. Edmodo is a safe and secure social site

that Kansas City Public Schools will be using this year. The Pylons

teachers hope this site gives students across the district a chance to interact with

THE LOREM IPSUMS FALL 2016

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Our Focus for 2014-2015 This year the Pylons Department will be focusing on writing and literature. The Pylons department will be using it in the classroom and online lessons to help students step up their writing abilities. The Pylons teachers will be using 6+1 Writing Traits in their efforts. Students will be writing conventional essays and using technology to write and respond with their views.

Newsela.com Newsela.com has news articles that have current and appropriate information for young readers. The Pylons department will be using Newsela this year to encourage students to read and discuss current events as they happen. Newsela has topics ranging from history, to science and sports so everyone is sure to find something to spark their reading.

VMath Live.com The Pylons Department has been working on establishing VMath for our students this year. The online math program allows students to improve math skills and learn new concepts as they work toward weekly goals and gain new avatars. Students enjoy VMath and as an online program students can access VMath anywhere.

Parents Corner Moodle has a Parent’s Corner. Interested in learning more about Moodle and online lessons for our gifted students? Check out the Parent’s Corner in Moodle. To access Moodle just use your child’s log in name and password. The Parent’s Corner is on the main page and contains information about your child’s gifted program.

Fall 2014