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| Bulletin 10 | January 13, 2021
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Happy New Year to you all! Though this year begins with particular challenges, I find peace, hope, and direction as I dwell in the knowledge that our world, and all of creation was made by a good, wise and loving God.
Before Christmas, we mailed out a copy of the following Throughline poster to every TfT Network school:
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This image illustrates each of our Throughline characters in a collective gathering. Why hadn’t we brought these friends together before? I am struck by the image of wholeness and inclusive discipleship that is created by their little community. The image hangs by my workspace, and I find myself staring at it multiple times a day. Our Image-reflecting illustration is centered as the rest of the Throughlines are manifestations of ways we reflect our Creator God. My hope is that you are as inspired by this kingdom vision as I am during these challenging times.
As true as it was last year and the year before and the year before that, God’s world longs for these Kingdom-building ways of being: servant working, justice seeking, order discovering, idolatry discerning… The world deeply needs us to partner in the restorative work of our God. Knowing that we have our TfT network of schools actively inviting, nurturing, and empowering our students in these ways brings me Deep Hope for this upcoming year.
You can access the file for the Throughline poster and all the individual Throughline files here.
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Student work publishing opportunity: Hutch magazine
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Hutch is a “creativity magazine for kids by kids” published by Peter Reynolds, children’s book illustrator and the creator of many of our TfT visuals (including our logo and Throughline characters). The editors are inviting elementary student submissions for their next themed issue: Listening to Each other, Feeling Heard: How Compassion Makes a Difference. It is a wonderful opportunity for TfT classrooms to share and publish the important Storyline, Throughline, and FLEx work that students are participating within. Kelly Fish, 4th grade teacher at Bellevue Christian in Clyde Hill, WA, previously shared how her student’s storyline work was published. Let’s continue to share the good work of our students with audiences outside the school walls.
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Generating FLEx ideas using a Community Problem Bank
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A common challenge for our TfT teachers is generating ideas for FLEx that tightly align with the curricular standards that need to be taught. This article in Edutopia shares a practical approach in which a teacher (or, even better, a team of teachers!) can create a bank of ideas based on the needs of the community. The article reinforces ideas that start with authentic needs, connect to learning standards, evoke student voice, and scaffold the FLEx process.
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Secondary TfT Story: Secondary Math at Lansing Christian
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Back in November, CACE hosted a virtual seminar for schools that were curious about Teaching for Transformation. We have found that the best way to deepen one’s understanding of TfT is to hear the learning stories, so some of your TfT colleagues opened the door to their classrooms. The next six TfT Bulletins will include recordings of TfT teachers sharing their teaching and learning stories.
The first video in this series is from Lansing Christian School in Lansing, MI. Secondary math teacher Jamie Wernet shares how her students were invited to collect and analyze student feedback on the scheduling changes due to COVID-19.
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Getting to know our TfT Network: Mt Zion Christian School
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Mt Zion Christian School in Manchester, NH is one of our newest TfT Network schools. Whereas they are new to TfT, they are not new to Deeper Learning as they have been working with Steven Levy, one of our TfT school designers, for several years. Recently, their Head of School, Kristen Stuart, shared a video they produced that captures the Mt. Zion story and their hopes for TfT, a tool for serving God and living into their school’s mission.
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Professional Development opportunity: Christian Deeper Learning Conference
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TfT has been an important part of establishing the Christian Deeper Learning professional growth movement. Hear the echoes of TfT within the working definition of Christian deeper learning: People of God’s story engaged in real work that forms self and shapes the world. Christian Deeper Learning is once again holding its annual conference in February, this year virtually. We encourage you to register individually or as a staff for this important professional growth and learning opportunity that is offering deep dives into:
- Building Community through Crew
- Civil, Equitable, Inclusive and Just Schooling
- Assessment and Feedback
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Professional Development opportunity: CSI Bible Instruction Symposium
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Can students read their way through the biblical canon and enjoy it? See how K–12 Bible teachers are pairing read-aloud of Scripture with rich learning at the CSI Bible Instruction Symposium this February 11–12, 2021.
You will:
- Explore best-practices for cultivating Bible literacy
- Help students read through the Bible by graduation, while having rich dialogue
- Discuss best use of storybook Bibles and other read-alouds
- Hear testimonials on this approach from fellow teachers, administrators, students, and parents and … why so many denominations can come together on biblical theology.
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Speakers include
- Sally Lloyd-Jones of the Jesus Storybook Bible
- Wheaton College professors, Leland Ryken, and president, Philip Ryken
- Ken Weigel from The Bible Project’s animated YouTube videos
- Nancy Guthrie of “Help Me Teach the Bible” and Even Better than Eden
- Barna Research Group, connecting us to the needs of our rising generation
- Theologians from several denominations, coming together in agreement on richer standards for K–12 Bible instruction
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