Me last night looking for a new accessible book for my newcomer and beginner ELs for today: “Ooh, awesome YouTube channel by a Diné woman!”
“Ooh, perfect book by Anishinaabe author & illustrator!”
“Wait, did she say Ashley Fairbanks like I follow on Bluesky?!”
*checks Bluesky *
✅ @ziibiing.com 😲

My beginner ELs made “Day in My Life” slideshows comparing their life in their home country to their life here in the U.S. Yesterday they presented their projects to students in our school’s Leadership and Service class, and it was an incredible experience for all! #ELsky

Teaching is hard. But sometimes a former student you taught 10 years ago invites you to celebrate Eid with her family, and her cousins help your daughters fly kites while you all eat Bengali sweets together! 💙
Immigration enriches our communities.
Eid Mubarak to everyone who celebrates!

Today everyone at our school was encouraged to bring special foods for lunch to celebrate their culture an family. While many brought just their own lunch, others brought enough to share! In both cases, the pride and joy were so much fun to see (and I got to enjoy a delicious lunch!) #ELsky

Newcomers engaging in speaking activities with English-speaking peers from our school’s “Leadership and Service” class - a powerful partnership! Learning to negotiate linguistically, practicing English, making connections, and building empathy! #ELchat

My newcomers loved our fall hike walking field trip through the woods behind our school. Did a scavenger hunt for different types of leaves, but their favorite thing was the sycamore trees! They were all so shocked to see trees with white bark! “¡Profe, un árbol blanco!”