January 19, 2004

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

1.    Central Ohio Writers of Literature for Children:  A conference for teachers, parents, librarians, writers, and illustrators will be held on April 24th at the Fawcett Conference Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, Columbus.  This conference is a unique public-private partnership between St. Joseph Montessori School and Second Avenue Elementary School.   Since 1997, the conference has promoted both schools by inviting members of the wider community to participate in quality educational programming for children's writing.
        Anyone having further questions about the conference should call Jim Mengel at 614-291-8644 or e-mail cowriters@mail.com.
        CEU credit may be earned by those attending the conference.

2.    Inspiring Literacy Excellence:  A literacy workshop for teachers of grades 5 through 9 will be held in Columbus,  May 7, 2004.   At this workshop you will discover how you can put the latest research to work to help your students improve their abilities to read, write, and even think!  Acclaimed educational author and speaker, Rick Wormeli, will show you how to break the rules of convention to boost achievement, increase motivation, and support well-reasoned thought in any subject area.
        The workshop will be held at the Adams Mark Hotel in downtown Columbus.   (Parking at the hotel is $12.00).
        Register online at www.SDE.com/register/32.
        CEU credit may be earned by those attending the workshop.

3.    Weekly Religion Ideas:   GCS Objective 2: F - World Religion Day-January 18 - Christian Unity Week-January 18-24
        Teachers
        1.    The Sourcebook of the World's Religions is a prime example of a wonderful source of information on religions of the world.  The text portrays over twenty    
                religions and explores the ways in which community can be built with this type of diversity.  Also included is hundreds of prayers, articles and quotations.
                    New World Library:  www.nwlib.com
        2.    Do you every wonder why the Star of David became the Jewish symbol?  How the diamond ring became a standard?  How Hindu thinkers arrived at their
                concept of reincarnation?  Sacred Origins of Profound Things by Charles Panati, covers the many questions you and your students may have about
                traditions and ritual of world religions.
                    Penguin Publishing:   www.penguin.com

        Classroom
        1.    A wonderful little novel to be read by junior high students or used by primary teachers in a lesson is the book, Faith's Journey.  Christine Verney Isaac writes
                about a delightful cat-led tour through the many religions of the world.  It gives an exciting blend of education and adventure.
                    Advocate House:  www.acappela.com
        2.    A poster entitled, The Golden Rule, has been designed to help educate people on the different religions of the world.   It is published by the Scarboro
                Missions in Canada.  The design includes a sacred symbol for the faith and a belief statement.  In addition to the poster, you can also access a free lesson plan
                for the poster by visiting the website below.  A resource not to be missed!
                        Scarboro Missions:   www.web.net/~sfms.
                ** A poster was given to every principal and any parish leader who attended the January 13th meeting.
       
        Resources
        1.    Religions of the World:  VC 7170
                This is a video series that covers the traditions, sacred texts, and rituals of Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam.  This series is
                an excellent resource for adults and high school students in the area of world religions.  Segments may be able to be extracted from the video for visuals in
                the primary grades.
        2.    Lighting the Way:  VC 6971
                This multi-cultural video features four young people and their family celebrations of  Kwanzaa, La Posada, Hanukkah and Christmas.  It is a great video for
                the primary grades through adulthood, because it gives a very practical look at traditions of other faiths.

4.    Concordance: 

        http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible
        An excellent concordance, allowing you to quickly search for all scripture passages containing a specific word that you are looking for.  This sight also allows you to
        quickly find a specific scripture passage by its name, chapter and verse.

        http://bible.crosswalk.com/
        To use the concordance feature, go to the front page of the Bible Study Tools, enter your query (the specific work that you wish to find), choose the New
        American Standard Bible, and click "Find."

        Search the New American Bible by book, chapter and verse using the USCCB website  http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/index.htm.

        Do you need to know the specific readings for the day?  Using the USCCB website, you can search by calendar day.  http://www.usccb.org/nab/index.htm.

5.    Reminder:  Requests of OSU spring quarter fee waivers must be submitted on-line by January 23, 2004.

6.    New Exchange of Services Agreement:  The Diocesan Department of Education has recently signed an Exchange of Services Agreement with Nazarene University (Mt. Vernon).  The University may now place field experience students and student teachers in Diocesan schools.

Comments to office@cdeducation.org

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