With summer ending and a new school year beginning, the change of pace and lifestyle can be pretty jarring. However, with some mindfulness and personal commitment, you don’t have to say goodbye to summer entirely just because school has started.

Here are my top 12 tips to keep that positive summer feeling alive all school year long!

Just got word that Kaplan is giving away free iBooks through Monday. Visit Kaplan\’s page on iTunes and download away. www.kaplanpublishing.com/iTunes

One of my facebook friends confirmed that it works so enjoy!

Are the pressures from administrators, parents and life outside of school hurting your teaching?

I’ve spent my career working with highly demanding urban turnaround and selective enrollment high schools. There is no shortage of challenge and negative energy in these environments, yet I’ve seen that all my successful teachers share this idea of positive thoughts and a positive demeanor when working with students.

Staying positive is no easy task, but these five positivity strategies will give you the tools to maintain an outlook that leads you and your students to perform your best.

Adding a little tick tock to your teaching may be just the thing your students need to learn time management.

One of the challenges many teachers and parents face is keeping children on task while doing their class work or homework. Time management on small tasks, such as spelling homework or a math assignment, can be very difficult for young children. The task is repetitive and they tend to let their mind wander.

Here are my tips to making time management lessons effective and fun for students

There is a shift afoot in education. The wind is changing. This new digital wind is haling from a virtual world.

Students today need to be immersed in what they are learning – not dealing only with static things like pictures, books, and to some degree even movies. An immersive world allows the student to move, talk, build, and connect with the very information that they are learning – they can be surrounded by it and then they can contribute to it.

3-5: Letters to Survivors
What would you say to someone who lost a loved one on 9/11? Write a letter expressing your concern.

6-8: Remembering 9/11
Do you remember where you were on September 11? Describe your experience.