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Beginning of the school year conversations frequently include—wow, this summer flew by fast.  End of the year conversations often sound similar—wow, this school year flew by fast.  I typically chalk this up to casual conversation.  This past weekend I found myself uttering such a phrase to a friend…given that we speak every day, I wouldn’t consider this small talk. I entered this year with ambitous goals and objectives—some were attained, others were not, and a portion remain a work in progress.  Ultimately, not everything goes according to plan…yet the phrase I heard repeatedly growing up resonates with me— A failure to plan is planning to fail.

With summer in reach, what do you plan to do with your time? While I hope the forecast includes copious relaxation and family fun, I’m a proponent of continued learning during downtime.  As educators, we often talk about remaining lifelong learners—should we get summer vacation from those aspirations?  I don’t think so.  During the past few years, much of my free time has been dedicated to school work.  Now, after recently completing my masters program, I have the opportunity to dedicate more time to reading.  While summer movies, Phillies baseball, BBQs, wedding planning, and trips to the NJ shore are a big part of my summer blueprint…I wholeheartedly anticipate reading at least three books…maybe more.

Catching up on my Twitter feed last week, I came across this post from Jill Gough—Summer Reading 2013 – Flyer and Choices. The theme of Trinity’s summer reading program is The Art of Questioning.  Inquiry is a core value in education—learning how to ask quality questions, while engaging students by encouraging and teaching them how to ask appropriate questions is a fundamental aspect of first-class teaching and learning.  Click this link to view the reading choices available for Trinity faculty members.  Although it’s a bit late in the year to fully coordinate this type of all school initiative, this could be an amazing opportunity for a group of SCH faculty members to collaborate with one another with differentiated learning opportunities.  If  you are interested in taking part, please fill out this Google form – #SCHacademy Summer Reading Choices

Jill encourages faculty members to use the 4 “A”s Text Protocol to collect and organize notes.  I will follow this recommendation, using this protocol to share my notes over the summer via periodical blog postings.  As we continue to evaluate blog platforms towards a school wide solution for next hear; we would certainly love to have guest SCHift bloggers to carry on these conversations.  If you have your own blog, feel free to partake using whichever platform you subscribe to.  If your a tweeter, please use the #SCHacademy hash tag to help crowd source notes.

I look forward to reading with you!  Feel free to add comments below with any questions you might have.