Month: June 2019

July 5, 2019

I know it doesn’t seem like it, but summer is almost half-way over for some of you! Isn’t that crazy? Summer break always goes by so fast, but that just means we get to tackle another school year!

While preparing for the school year, if you’re a teacher who manages school dances and events, you might want to start coming up with good fundraising ideas for your fall events now! Most schools use candy bars or popcorn sales as their fundraisers, but My School Dance is here to provide you with some fresh, new ideas! Check them out:

1. School Apparel: High schoolers have the most pride in their school. Why not create some school apparel for the students/parents to purchase. Not only are you promoting your school, but you’re also going to be able to make a decent amount of money from this fundraiser.
2. Coffee Bar: Who needs coffee more than high schoolers and teachers? Have a coffee bar right away in the morning when students walk in. 
3. No Uniform Day: If your school requires school uniforms, allow the students to pay a certain amount of money to get to wear normal clothes for that day. Most students will be eager for a change!
4. Pie In The Face: Students love fun ways to get back at their teachers or administration. Have teachers/faculty volunteer to be pied in the face. Charge students a few dollars to get to pie whatever teacher they want.
5. Principal Challenge: Get your Principal to agree to a specific challenge they will do if students raise a certain amount of money. This challenge could be dying their hair, cutting their hair, getting dunked in a dunk tank, doing something silly, etc. 
6. Dance Off: Host a dance off in the gym or cafeteria and charge students a few dollars to participate. Have a prize or something that the winner gets at the end.
7. Host A Run: Charge participants money to run a 5K or 10K. Make it a fun theme to get more people involved like a Color Run, Hot Chocolate Run, Bubble Run, etc. 
8. Parent Night Out: Have a night out for parents by partnering with a local restaurant and get a percentage of profits for everyone that eats there from the school. This is a great way to get the parents involved and to have a fun night out!
9. Video Game Tournament: Most students will enjoy competing with one another at a video game tournament. Choose the most popular game and create a tournament night where students can watch and participate. 
10. Teachers vs Students: Choose a sport like basketball and host a teachers vs students game. Charge people to come in to watch the game and to participate. This is a popular idea that a lot of students enjoy. 

There are so many fundraisers that schools can use to raise money for activities. It’s important to choose a few of these things and try to get as much money as you can. This way you can use it for school dances, field trips, and other events.

While your school is fundraising, create your school’s event on My School Dance so you can begin managing right away! If your school isn’t signed up for My School Dance, sign up here for free!

If you liked reading these tips check out these blog posts next: 4 Time-Saving Tips for Teachers, Top 5 Ways to get Students Engaged in the Classroom, and 4 Biggest Event Managing Mistakes People Make!

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Contact:

Stephanie Hamilton

833-336-8656

June 28th, 2019

Teachers have numerous amounts of tasks that they have to complete all throughout the week. It’s exhausting just thinking about all of the work they have to do, but how do they even begin managing their time better? My School Dance believes time-management is key to successfully getting work accomplished and staying sane at the same time. We included some awesome time-saving tips that teachers all over can use:

• Plan Your Day: This may seem like a basic task that isn’t really important, but it definitely is! As a teacher all of your time is precious. Create a daily schedule of everything that you want to get accomplished from the hour you start work to the hour you leave. By having a set schedule, you can make sure you’re staying on top of your work and not forgetting to complete any tasks.
• Manage Papers: Imagine how many papers teachers receive? How are you even supposed to keep all of them organized and not loose any assignments? Create a filing system where you color-code/label everything. This way it’s easy to go back and find an assignment when needed. 
• One-Touch Rule: Use the One-Touch rule where if you touch something like a stack of papers, grade them. If you click on your email, respond to all messages. If you grab your calendar, plan out your week. 
• Unintentional Breaks: Try to take out a few additional breaks like checking social media, conversing with a coworker, or watching TV. You can use this time to  focus on getting something else accomplished. 

Staying organized and being on top of your game is crucial as a teacher. My School Dance is always trying to find new ways to help teachers with time-management since we know how busy teachers are! If you’re a teacher that manages any school events, we’ve got you covered with saving time! Try out our software today for free! 

If you enjoyed reading this blog post, be sure to check out these ones next: How To Create A Positive Classroom Community, How To Prepare For The Next School Year Once School Is Out, and Top 5 Ways To Get Students Engaged In The Classroom!

Follow us on social media as well: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Contact:

Stephanie Hamilton

833-336-8656

June 21st, 2019

Creating a thriving learning environment is crucial in student development. Many teachers seek to have a positive classroom area so students can learn and grow. It can be difficult at first to figure out different ways to make this possible, but it definitely is a possible thing to do. After all, teachers can do anything! 

My School Dance collected different teacher tips on ways to create a positive classroom community for you and your students.

• Build Relationships– It’s important to show that you are seen as someone students can go to when they need to talk to someone or when they need help. Don’t feel the need to rush right into new content. Take time to create these relationships. After all, you’ll inspire a lot of students by doing this.
• Let Students Make Decisions– Even at young ages, it’s important to allow students to make their own decisions and learn from them. It gives them a positive feeling and makes them feel like they contributed to something. 
• Decor– Allow your students to help decorate your classroom. After all, they’ll be spending most of their year in this room. It will help make them feel more at home by having their own artwork/decorations displayed. 
• Newsletter– A great way to create good communication and fun in the classroom is by creating a monthly newsletter with your class. Have a few fun topics like a star student where you feature a short paragraph about them, fun quote of the week, and an educational fact. This will allow them to work together to create this and it builds a better culture in the classroom. 
• Qualities– Every once in awhile think of some of the best qualities for each student. Write them down on a piece of paper and place it on their desks. This way the first thing they read that morning will be positive qualities about themselves. Their moods will be positive and they’ll feel good about themselves. 

There are plenty other ways to create a positive classroom community, but just select a few of your favorite and start there. You want your students to feel welcome and comfortable in the classroom. Plus, by having a good learning environment, you’ll come in with just as much positivity as the students!

If this blog helped you out at all read these blogs too: Top 5 Ways To Get Students Engaged In The Classroom, 4 Rainy Day Classroom Activities, and Bonding In And Out Of The Classroom.

Follow us on social media as well: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Contact:

Stephanie Hamilton

833-336-8656

June 14, 2019

Anyone who has ever planned or helped out with a school dance knows how much work is actually involved in it. It may seem like a fun and easy process, but it’s much more time consuming than you think. Schools began cutting dances out of their school year because nobody had the time to organize them. We noticed more and more issues with schools not having school dances and how they put a toll on student’s development and affect their social interactions as they got older.

On average, high schoolers spend up to 9 hours a day connected to digital media ranging from social apps (like Facebook or Snapchat) to computers and televisions. With all of this screen time, students have less opportunity for face-to-face interaction. During school hours, students spend time learning and studying, sometimes also behind a screen. At home, between extracurricular activities and homework, they are checking Instagram stories and streaming their favorite TV shows. We’ve learned that social interaction is one of the most important things students can take from schools. So what could we do to solve these issues?

We realized helping out our teachers/administrators with this insane dance process was our answer. We wanted to create a solution to host more dances because of how beneficial they are to student development. We designed My School Dance to address a solution to a problem that teachers and administrators had with running the dances. The old way to manage a dance is ridiculous: paper forms, selling tickets at lunch, cash boxes, and spreadsheets. How is anyone supposed to keep track of all of that?

My School Dance’s software allows schools to avoid all of these difficult elements. The platform lets schools sell tickets online, use digital permission slips, check students in with a QR code scanner, and be in constant communication with anyone involved in the party. There’s some new features out now too that will change the way you manage dances. My favorite new feature is the Day of the Dance Dashboard that lets you view all the data in one place. You’re able to do different actions such as place a ticket on hold or view which students haven’t filled out their agreements.

While the school year is over for a lot of you, it’s the perfect time to request a My School Dance demo and get signed up for free in time for Homecoming in the fall. Trust me, you’ll want to start managing your events with My School Dance! Sign your school up now!

If you benefitted from this blog post, be sure to read these ones next: How My School Dance Provides Extra Safety For School Events, 3 Useful Tips For My School Dance Users, and How To Solve The #1 Challenge To Dance Planning & Managing!

Follow us on social media as well: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Contact:

Stephanie Hamilton

833-336-8656

June 7, 2019

We know the school year is coming to an end and you’re eager for your summer break to finally start. However, we all know most teachers don’t just jump into their summer break right away. After all, you have a teacher’s mindset! We know you’re constantly thinking of new ways to better your teaching lessons or fun things you can do for your students. You always want to prepare in advance and get ahead on some of your tasks for next school year. Why not prepare now while you’re still in the same school year mindset? Here’s a few ways you can begin preparing for the next school year:

• School Supplies: While school is ending, try to stock up on all of the school supplies that are on sale. Gradually buy a few things you’ll need every week so you don’t have to purchase them full price at the start of the school year.
• Bulletin Boards: Take down your old bulletin boards and set up your new ones for next year. Create something fun for “Back to School” time and have that set up and ready to go.
• Lesson Plans & Activities: Come up with “Back to School” lesson plans and activities where you can get to know your students right away. Pinterest has some fun ice-breakers that you can use!
• Take-Home Papers: Create a folder for each student with the typical “take-home papers” that you pass out during the first week of school. Organize them in a folder to hand to each student on the first day so they don’t lose them.
• Year Long Outline: Reflect on the good’s and bad’s of last year and plan out a year long outline of things you want to cover throughout the year. This will help you when you create a detailed lesson plan.
• Substitute Packets: Create a folder with activities/lesson plans for your substitute to do if you’re sick or absent one day. This way you aren’t coming up with something on the fly. 
• Homecoming Planning: If you’re in charge of managing your school’s Homecoming dance, begin now by selecting the basic information. Start creating your dance on My School Dance’s website to be ready for the first few weeks of school.

Planning months in advance is always the best thing to do if you want to stay organized and be in control for your school year. I’m not saying to give up your entire summer plans, but every once in awhile set aside some time to figure certain things out and get some tasks done so you’re not rushed in the fall.

Once your planning is accomplished, take a break and enjoy your much needed summer off knowing that you are all set for next school year!

If you benefitted from this blog post, be sure to check out these: Top 5 Ways To Get Students Engaged In The Classroom, How To End The School Year And Set Goals, and Homecoming Is About Community!

Follow us on social media as well: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Contact:

Stephanie Hamilton

833-336-8656

MERRILLVILLE, Ind., June 3, 2019/EducationDive/

My School Dance, located in Merrillville, IN, is determined to increase the safety measures on school functions, such as dances, with their features. Not only does the platform make dance managing easier for the teachers in charge, but it adds an extra level of safety for the event.

My School Dance was established over a year ago in Merrillville, Indiana by their parent company, Think Tank NTG. The mission behind My School Dance is to make the lives of everyone involved in a school dance easier than before. For many years, schools have been planning dances the old-fashion way: cash boxes during lunch, handing out and collecting all permission slips, and flipping through packets of names to check each student in.

With everything going on in the world today, schools need to be more cautious and safe when it comes to hosting events for their students. The money from the cash box could get stolen, students can forge their parent’s signatures, and basically anyone can sneak into a dance without being seen. It’s time for schools to change their dance managing method to not only help them, but encourage more safety within our schools.

Taylor Buckley, Chief Operations Officer, said, “My School Dance is committed to helping schools have safer events.”

All ticket sales are done online through the most secure payment processor and the money goes straight into the school’s account. Digital agreements require the parent/guest parent/guest administrator to create their own account to sign all permission slips on behalf of the student.

Schools now actually have the ability to use a QR code scanner to check students in and out of the dance. They can integrate text notifications sent to the student’s parents letting them know when their child arrives and leaves the dance.

Buckley said, “For one of our schools, that meant that parents knew their child arrived safely to the Prom that was 30 miles away while it was pouring rain. For another school, it meant the teacher could call the parent of a student who hadn’t shown up to the dance to let them know.”

Being able to access emergency contact information quickly is extremely beneficial for the schools.

“It allows school teachers and administrators to ensure that parents can be notified quickly if anything were to happen at a school event,” said Buckley.

Since launching My School Dance last year, there are over 11,000 users, almost 10,000 tickets sold, and 15,000 agreements that have been signed by parents, guest parents, and guest administrators. More features are being created to enhance our measures of safety for our students and make the dance managing process easier for our teachers.