Create & Connect

Each issue is packed with fresh ideas for bringing our district priorities—student learning experiences, Portrait of a Graduate, evidence of learning, and continuous improvement—into your daily teaching. Whether you’re looking to spark curiosity, amplify student voice, or make the most of your classroom iPads, Create & Connect is here to help you turn tech tools into learning powerhouses.

Our 2025 edition of 12 Days of Creativity offers fun, winter-themed activities that let students express their imagination during this busy season. From festive design challenges to creative storytelling prompts, these quick, engaging tasks bring joy and originality to the classroom while supporting our focus on student voice and choice. Unwrap a new idea each day and let creativity snowball into something magical!

Make sketching and drawing fun, easy, and interactive for your students. Logitech Crayons are perfect for creative activities that spark imagination and engagement.

📅 Sign out a set today and start creating!

Canva has introduced exciting updates this year with new tools, templates, and resources designed to support educators. But Canva isn’t just for teachers—it’s also a creative, collaborative, and reflective space where students can design, learn, and express their ideas in meaningful ways.

📩 Reach out to the ITC team to learn more about integrating Canva into your classroom.

• Where N/A is needed: Only in the Reporting Standard (parent) column.

• Why it’s needed: Parents at all grade levels have the ability to track their child’s progress throughout the trimester via Parent Portal. If a Standard isn’t linked to any assignments in the gradebook, it won’t calculate a grade automatically. Entering N/A signals to parents that that Reporting Standard has not been assessed during this trimester.

• When N/A is not needed: If the Reporting Standard is auto-calculating a grade based on tagged assignments, the system already has the data it needs. Do not enter N/A in the individual gradebook standards.

Key point: N/A is only for Reporting Standards (aka Parent Standards...aka the ones on the report card). Everything else will calculate automatically.

Reminders:

• Each trimester starts fresh! Grades do not roll over from one trimester to the next.
• The gradebook reflects students’ current progress and learning at this moment in time, therefore:
• Some Reporting Standards that were addressed this trimester may have an N/A next trimester if no assignments are tagged to those gradebook standards.
• For instance, you might address Writing Informational in Trimester 1 and give a student a 2+. If it’s not addressed in Trimester 2, the Reporting Standard will show N/A.

Don't forget these important dates and reminders!

As part of our AI Pilot, Magic School has invited WCASD to participate in their 12 Days of Magic School celebration! Each Magic School tool offers quick, creative ways to design tasks that make student thinking more visible. You don’t need to be part of the pilot to join—everyone has a chance to win some Magic School swag.

👇Simply click the image to explore a collection of tools, including several featured in our AI Pilot.

NotebookLM Studio can instantly turn any teacher-uploaded resource into an engaging audio or video introduction. It offers a simple way to refine and elevate how we deliver content, helping us continuously improve the learning experience without adding extra work. Students get a fresh, high-interest preview of new learning—without any recording, editing, or production on your end.

1. How NotebookLM Studio Works

1. Upload a resource
   – A lesson plan
   – Slides or screenshots
   – A short article
   – A unit overview
   – Anchor charts or notes
   – Vocabulary lists

2. Open the Studio tab.

3. Select Audio or Video.

4. NotebookLM automatically creates a polished introduction based on the content you uploaded.

The result: A clear, student-friendly preview of the key ideas in your lesson or unit.

Using the Notebook LM Audio/Video generation you can quickly and easily:

• Play at the start of a new topic to launch a new lesson/topic.
• Let students preview content before independent work in centers/stations or during workshop.
• Introduce weekly themes or units during Morning Meeting.

ELA

• Upload your reading strategy notes → get a short video preview for students.

• Upload a nonfiction article → generate an audio introduction that sets the purpose before reading.

Math

• Upload a unit overview → NotebookLM creates a clear explanation of the new concept.

• Upload problem-solving steps → get a video that outlines the big idea for centers.

Science & Social Studies

• Upload your unit guide → let Studio produce a student-friendly introduction to the topic.

• Upload vocabulary or diagrams → quickly generate an explainer video for new terms.

SEL & Routines

• Upload behavior expectations or procedures → create a calm, consistent audio reminder for students.

👉 According to its Terms of Service, NotebookLM is not intended for use with elementary‑aged students.

Don’t panic yet! The resources below are for anyone ready to start practicing Teams with their students. December is the perfect month to host a practice meeting in class—refresh your students’ (and your own) memory on how to use Teams before a Flexible Instruction Day.

Our FID resources aren’t just about keeping learning going—they’re an opportunity to nurture the very qualities in our Portrait of a Graduate. When students work independently at home, they practice responsibility and time management. Engaging with digital tools fosters adaptability and tech fluency, while completing creative tasks encourages critical thinking and problem-solving. These days show that learning can happen anywhere, and our graduates are prepared to thrive in any environment.

The resources below will help you facilitate a practice meeting in class to acclimate students to Teams. Additional resources will be provided as we get closer to a potential FID.

Supporting learning doesn’t stop at school! We’ve got tutorials you can share directly with parents, plus the Elementary Tech Handbook, a one-stop guide to everything WCASD technology. From navigating apps to understanding digital tools, these resources help parents stay informed, support their children’s learning at home, and feel confident with district technology. From navigating apps to understanding digital tools, these resources help parents stay informed, support their children’s learning at home, and feel confident with district technology—including instructions for logging into Clever from home, so accessing apps like IXL and Happy Numbers is simple for both parents and students.

👉 Parent Portal Resources - Standards-Based Grading Edition

Take the stress out of standards-based grading! We’ve put together a handy collection of quick start guides and step-by-step tutorials to help you master grading in PowerSchool and Schoology. You’ll find:

• Printable gradebook standards by grade level

• Guides for creating and grading assignments

• Creating an Assignment

• Grading an Assignment

• Delete old categories in PS

These resources make it simple to track student progress, keep accurate records, and showcase meaningful evidence of learning—so you can focus on what matters most: helping students grow.

Did you know every teacher in the county gets a $10 monthly allowance to use at the CCIU Teacher Resource Center? From lamination to classroom materials, this service helps you save time and stretch your resources. You can even design posters in Canva and send them to the CCIU for full-size poster printing—check out these great examples from Hillsdale’s Design Lab! It’s absolutely worth exploring to see how they can support your classroom.