First Day Jitters

Posted September 11, 2009 by Tre Gonzalez. Filed under Gradebook, Lesson Planner, OnCourse.

Welcome back to school everyone!  I felt the ‘First Day’ jitters this week;  well, actually I guess you can call them the caffeine shakes.  Everyone here has been working really hard to make sure that new schools and veterans have a smooth start to the school year.  Thanks again to the teachers and admins who have chosen OnCourse this year, and I hope that those of you who have added new OnCourse tools (like the Gradebook or Discipline Tracking) are having fun so far!

~

I’ve been busy driving around New Jersey and doing training sessions for some of our new Lesson Planner + Gradebook schools – thanks Washington Township and Margate for being great hosts!

As I drove back into OnCourse HQ today, I drew a blank when I noticed that the flag was at half staff.  When I sat down at my computer,  it suddenly occurred to me what day it was when I saw those familiar digits in the corner of my screen.

When I was a kid, I always thought that days of remembrance were just a time for adults to sit around in awkward silence;  now, I recognize these days as a time to pull back from daily distractions and realign my focus on those things that are most important.  And just as important to me is resolving to do the work necessary to make positive changes.

I’m reminded of the American pride we discovered after 9/11/2001; which makes the current hyper-polarized state of the country seem bizarre in comparison.  Today seems a perfect opportunity to rediscover the grace of intelligent discourse, and to respect our brothers and sisters on the other side of an argument.  In our homes, in this country, and across the world, peace and respect require no conditions.

~

Back in OnCourse HQ, I’ve noticed that our new changes have started to trickle in.  The new Calendar system (with support for recurring events, by request) has been launched, and the updates to the Lesson Planner are on the way.  Thanks to everyone who has been sending over fantastic suggestions, and when this first round of updates is finished and solid, we are going to put these all up on a whiteboard and start planning more upgrades.

I hope everyone had a great first week!

First Day Jitters

Posted September 11, 2009 by Tre Gonzalez. Filed under Gradebook, Lesson Planner, OnCourse.

Welcome back to school everyone!  I felt the ‘First Day’ jitters this week;  well, actually I guess you can call them the caffeine shakes.  Everyone here has been working really hard to make sure that new schools and veterans have a smooth start to the school year.  Thanks again to the teachers and admins who have chosen OnCourse this year, and I hope that those of you who have added new OnCourse tools (like the Gradebook or Discipline Tracking) are having fun so far!

~

I’ve been busy driving around New Jersey and doing training sessions for some of our new Lesson Planner + Gradebook schools – thanks Washington Township and Margate for being great hosts!

As I drove back into OnCourse HQ today, I drew a blank when I noticed that the flag was at half staff.  When I sat down at my computer,  it suddenly occurred to me what day it was when I saw those familiar digits in the corner of my screen.

When I was a kid, I always thought that days of remembrance were just a time for adults to sit around in awkward silence;  now, I recognize these days as a time to pull back from daily distractions and realign my focus on those things that are most important.  And just as important to me is resolving to do the work necessary to make positive changes.

I’m reminded of the American pride we discovered after 9/11/2001; which makes the current hyper-polarized state of the country seem bizarre in comparison.  Today seems a perfect opportunity to rediscover the grace of intelligent discourse, and to respect our brothers and sisters on the other side of an argument.  In our homes, in this country, and across the world, peace and respect require no conditions.

~

Back in OnCourse HQ, I’ve noticed that our new changes have started to trickle in.  The new Calendar system (with support for recurring events, by request) has been launched, and the updates to the Lesson Planner are on the way.  Thanks to everyone who has been sending over fantastic suggestions, and when this first round of updates is finished and solid, we are going to put these all up on a whiteboard and start planning more upgrades.

I hope everyone had a great first week!