26 teams of 5th and 6th grade students from across Granite School District converged on Rosecrest Elementary last Thursday, April 19, for the 2018 Battle of the Books District Competition.
[Read more…] about Highlights from Granite’s Battle of the Books 2018 Competition
The Granite School District Battle of of the Books Competition will take place on the evening of Thursday, April 19, 2018, at Rosecrest Elementary School. [Read more…] about Upcoming Event: Battle of the Books District Competition (Grades 5-6)
Earlier this week Olympus Jr. High hosted a Literacy Night open to all students, parents, and staff in Granite School District. Jennifer Peirce, District Educational Technology Specialist, shared the following snapshots with us from the event.
Five visiting authors were in attendance,
as well as representatives from Granite school libraries and Educational Technology staff, Salt Lake County Library System, UEN, and other educational and literacy-promoting organizations.
Many thanks to Jessica Moody, Library Media Educational Technology Specialist at Olympus Jr. High, and everyone at Olympus Jr. High, the authors, and these other organizations for putting this event together for our community.
Granite School District is hosting an informational meeting for parents and students on the Code to Success summer coding camp. Code to Success is a free 9-week coding bootcamp open to all students grades 8-12 in Granite School District. The camp runs from June 11-August 9 on Mondays through Thursdays.
Code to Success
Parent Student Information Night
Thursday, March 1, 2018
5:30 P.M.
Granite Education Center
Room D-102 (1st Floor of 5-Story Building)
2500 South State Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
[Read more…] about Update: Code to Success Parent/Student Information Night
On Saturday, February 3, 2018, over 300 students from elementary and junior high schools across Granite School District, 44 coaches, 67 volunteers, and bleacher-filling numbers of supportive family and friends came together at Granger High School for Granite’s FIRST LEGO League 2018 Qualifier. Student teams were judged on their robot design, project presentations (researched, innovative solutions to real-world problems), core values, and performance in the robot games.
Overdue congrats to GSD First Lego League. 44 coaches, 67 volunteers, 300+ kids came together Feb 3rd to show CRAZY design/ programming skills. Teams advancing to state, Arcadia El (2 teams), Stansbury, Westlake Jr., Eastwood, Moss, Monroe, Fremont, Jefferson Jr. #GSDEdTech pic.twitter.com/YibYCbYnsp
— Cherie Anderson (@cheriemecque) February 12, 2018
These teams advanced to the state competition, held the following week at Weber State University:
Many thanks to the coaches, volunteers, and parents who made this experience possible for our students. [Read more…] about Highlights from Granite’s FIRST LEGO League 2018 Qualifier
High school students in Utah are invited to submit innovative business ideas to the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge for a chance to win $20,000 in cash and scholarship prizes. [Read more…] about Now Registering: High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge
Granite School District is once again hosting Code to Success in the summer of 2018! This is an absolutely free summer coding camp open to all junior high and high school students in Granite School District. [Read more…] about Now Registering: Code to Success Summer Coding Camp
Come join many of our amazing Granite School District students, teachers, and numerous other volunteers in some LEGO robotic fun! [Read more…] about Upcoming Event: Granite FIRST LEGO League Competition 2018
Breaking news! All Salt Lake City news reporters and anchors just may have their job security challenged due to some up and coming talent…hungry for reporting the news. That’s right! Truman News Network, or TNN, is currently taking up residence at Truman Elementary in Taylorsville. Student council members as well as guest reporters tell it like it is every week. Their well-received news cast is filled with information about the weather, sports, holidays, special events, book of the week, word of the day, staff and employee interviews, and the habit of the week. What is the habit of the week, you may ask? Well, on top of all the other awesome things going on at Truman Elementary, they are also a “Seven Habits of Happy Kids” school, wherein they review key ingredients of being successful in life!
TNN is organized by Tiffany Pontius, the School Technology Specialist for Truman Elementary. What could be an overwhelming and daunting task is smooth sailing due to Tiffany’s awesome organization and procedural planning. The best thing about this is that Tiffany prepares her students to be in charge of the news programs. This includes choosing the stories, writing the scripts, and deciding what props and backgrounds to use in place of the green screen when filming and editing. It is purely a situation of a student-led activity. No “sage on the stage” for Tiffany! 
She simply facilitates this well-oiled machine of news and information. She has used her skills as a top-notch educator to empower her 6th grade TNN members so that they gain confidence in running the news segments.
How do they do it? It all begins with a storyboard. Students choose what assignments they will have for the upcoming news cast during “staff meetings.” Reporters are then on the hunt for the news that will enlighten and inform the students. The student anchors create the script and film the leads. As soon as all of the elements are completed, one of the students edits the footage at home using WeVideo.
When asked the most challenging aspects of this project, the students replied, “…being able to film without laughing…getting everyone on the same page…and finding a time when all are able to meet.” What a terrific way to teach students how to collaborate in an authentic setting!
They also commented that the best thing about TNN is “…being on camera…writing the scripts…editing…hanging out with their friends…and working with Miss Pontius.” We would like to thank Tiffany for being a vital part of Granite School District. Her willingness to go the extra mile with her students and allow them to experience project-based learning, collaboration, problem solving, and creativity in the classroom should be celebrated.
Be sure to visit Truman TNN on YouTube!
Spotlight Created by Pam Moeai, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader.
On April 13, 2017, over 50 student teams from 18 different elementary schools in Granite School District converged on Gearld Wright Elementary for the first annual Granite District Battle of the Books competition. Student teams went head-to-head in this “Family Feud”-style game, in which their knowledge of the 15 books on the official 2016-2017 reading lists was put to the test.
We congratulate all of the students who read and participated in the battles, whether in their school or at the district competition. We thank all of the media clerks, teachers, administrators, parent volunteers, and others who tirelessly supported this program and inspired our students to find excitement in reading.
Check out the winners of our 2016-2017 competitions!
Any who are interested in learning how their school can participate in next year’s Battle of the Books program are invited to one of two informational meetings which will be held on Friday, May 12, 2017, at your choice of 12:00-12:30 PM and 2:00-2:30 PM. These meetings will be held at the Educational Technology Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) at 5300 West Cherrywood Lane, West Valley City, UT 84120.
If you have any questions about Battle of the Books, please contact Nikki Gregerson, District Elementary Library Supervisor in the Educational Technology department.
