Monday Musings

October 25, 2004

1.    Strengthening Math Computation and Problem Solving Skills Workshop:  This workshop offers practical, hands-on activities, lessons and manipulatives that will strengthen your students' understanding and retention of whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, integers, and basic algebraic concepts.  The workshop is aimed at teachers of grades 4-8.  It will be held in Columbus on January 6 at the Grand Host East (Reynoldsburg).  If you have further questions, call the Bureau of Education and Research (1-800-735-3503) or visit online at www.ber.org.

2.    Afghanistan and Iraq in the Post 9/11 Era, a Teach-in moderated by Jerry Revish:  Monday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 pm, Mershon Center, 1501 Neil Ave., Columbus, Ohio.  Jerry is well known for his coverage of social issues and international events, and has been an award-winning reporter for channel 10 since June 1980.  The panel members for this event will be Margaret Mills, Richard Herrmann, John Quigley, and Alam Payind.  The Teach-in will last about 2 hours, consisting of 15 minute presentations by the panel members, followed by a 45 minute Q&A session.  Contact Melinda Wightman,  wightman.16@osu.edu.

3.    Global School Bus is ready to visit your school:  Do you need a presenter on a country or culture of the world?  Send requests to Jenny Spolnik-Greathouse, spolnik.1@ose.edu, 614-292-6053.  Our volunteers are eager to share their knowledge to students of all ages!

4.    SSCO:  School Study Council of Ohio presents "Yours, Mine, and Ours," communicating and collaborating to meet the needs of learners.  Presenters are Robert Gentes, Beth Wyandt, and Eric Pickering.  Target audience for this presentation:  intervention and support teachers, inclusion and prospective inclusion teachers, general and special education classroom teachers.  The workshop will be held on November 10 from 9 am to 2:30 pm at the SSCO office, Suite 300, 4807 Evanswood Drive, Columbus.  For further information contact Marie Weller, 614-785-1163 (mweller@ssco.org).

5.    Technology Workshops:  Tuesday Workshop Schedule
    Date            Title                                    Presenter
    Oct. 26        Electronic Note taking        Ken Collura
    Nov. 2          No class (Election Day)
    Nov. 9          Internet Connectivity            Time Warner
    Nov. 16        Grade Wizard                      Janet Anthony
    Nov. 23        No Class (Thanksgiving Week)
    Nov. 30        Web Page Design                Vandelay 

All Workshops are between 4 and 6 pm and are held in the Lecture Hall at Bishop Hartley High School.  Please tell your building tech coordinator so that they can pass along your interest.  Light refreshments will be available and CEUs are available for those attending multiple workshops.  Please park in the rear parking lot for easy access to the lecture hall.

6.    Math/Science Day at Kings Island:  You don't want to miss King's Island's math and science day 2005.  This event will be held on May 13 or 18 from 9 am to 6 pm.  Cost is $21.50 per students.  (One free chaperone admission with every 15 tickets purchased)  For online registration or for more information, visit the following website:  www.pki.com or call 1-800-333-8080.

 7.    Adult Center:  The Adult Center for Education, Zanesville, Ohio, is now offering certification testing and/or training for Teacher Assistants, Classroom Aides, Classroom Assistants, Teacher's Aides, Instructional Aides, or Instructional Assistants.
    Paraprofessionals can demonstrate their proficiency skills and qualifications by passing ACT Work Keys® Assessments.  The Work Keys Program, developed by ACT (American College Testing) is a legally defensible, U.S. Department of Labor Testing System, recognized, endorsed by the state of Ohio and meets the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Legislation.  A letter of endorsement from The Ohio Department of Education is attached for proof of acceptance for Ohio Certification.
    Work Keys® Testing is available daily at the Adult Center for Education by appointment.  The Teacher Assistant Certification is affordable and scoring is instant. 
    For more information or scheduling for Paraprofessional Certification, contact Patti Hardcastle, CBS Coordinator, at the Adult Center for Education,
1-740-455-3111 ext. 189.

8.    Lessons That Change Writers, Grades 5-9:  a one-day workshop presented by Nancie Atwell - Readers of Nancie Atwell's bestseller In the Middle know that her students are famous for exceptional writing - literary, skillful, passionate memoirs, stories, poems, reviews, and essays.  That's no accident.  Good writing can be taught and learned.
    In this workshop, conducted in conjunction with the publication of her latest book, Lessons that Change Writers, Nancie will focus on the mini-lesson:  the powerful, whole-group meeting that begins each day's writing workshop and has much to do with the quality of the student writing produced there.  Nancie will share dozens of the lessons that her students cited as those that changed them as writers - advice, models, activities, and language that kids can understand and put to work in their writing.  These relevant, practical approaches helped her students become more engaged, more productive, and more purposeful writers, not to mention achieve publication and recognition beyond their classroom and school.
    When large class size makes daily, individual writing conferences an impossibility, Nancie will also show how to view and use mini-lessons as whole-group writing conferences.
    As with all of Nancie's work, the emphasis of the day is on practicality.  She is a classroom teacher, and the workshop is packed with examples, methods, and ideas developed over twenty years of teaching writing in a workshop.
    This workshop is designed for teachers of grades 5-9 but will also be of value to administrators, reading and language arts teachers, and curriculum coordinators.  The workshop will be held in Cincinnati on February 25, 2005.  For further information, call 1-800-541-2086 ext. 1151.

9.    TESOL Fall Conference:  This year's Ohio TESOL Fall Conference in conjunction with the Lau Resource Center will be held November 12 & 13 at the Hilton Hotel at Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio.  The theme for this conference is Empowering Students to Succeed.  The conference will be a great opportunity for professional development, featuring a variety of presentations, speakers, displays, and networking options.
    Featured speakers are Micheline Chalhoub-Deville and William Hart.  Dr. Chalhoub-Deville, Associate Professor, Foreign Language and ESL Education Program, University of Iowa, is a nationally recognized expert in assessment of the English language proficiency of non-native speakers of English at all levels.  Dr. William Hart, who holds a doctorate in English from the University of Southern California, teaches college writing courses in Los Angeles and writes novels, stories, and poetry collections.  He also scripts feature films for PBS.  They will be presenting featured sessions as well as concurrent sessions on both days of the conference; scheduling details and complete biographies may be found in the Conference Program. 
    In addition to the featured presentations, conference attendees will have over 80 concurrent sessions to choose from, including a panel presentation introducing the SIOP Model of sheltered instruction for students as they study content areas while learning English.  Representatives from the Ohio Department of Education will be on hand to offer sessions explaining current government policies and requirements.  Teachers also have a chance to hear leading practitioners in the field discuss current issues in ESOL in  Ohio; note especially the opportunity to hear about the State of the Profession on Friday morning.  As in years past, there will be a Swap Shop, which will provide teachers with an opportunity to share handouts of practical ideas, and Poster Sessions, which offer teacher ideas at a glance.   New this year are two graduate panels, which give higher education students a chance to present their research.
    Additional conference information and opportunities to volunteer may be found at www.ohiotesol.org.

10.    Religious Education Certification Hours Available:  Do you need to renew your advanced certification this year?  An easy and fun way to religious education certification hours is coming November 13.  Attend the Faith Formation Congress at the Fawcett Center and earn 4 hours enrichment or method credit.  CEU credit is also available through the Department of Education.
    Early Bird Registrations ($30 fee) need to be postmarked by October 29.  After that the cost is $35.
    If you need a brochure, please contact Sue Reihing at 614-221-4633 or sreihing@cdeducation.org or visit our webpage at www.cdeducation.org/dre and click on FFC.

11.    Weekly Religion Ideas:
    For Teachers - Since the elections are so close, perhaps you would like to have some resources regarding political responsibility.  The Social Concerns Department sent every pastor the packet called "Faithful Citizenship, A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility" which was developed in collaboration with several offices of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops.  In it are found the Bishops' Statement on Faithful Citizenship:  A Catholic Call to Political Responsibility, A summary brochure of this statement which includes the key themes of Catholic Social Teaching, A Family Guide, Ideas for Catholic School Principals and Teachers, Youth Ministers and Directors of Religious Education and Catechists, Ideas for Liturgists and Prayer Leaders and Tips for Conducting Candidate Forums.  Here is a excerpt from the above statement:  "We need a new kind of politics - focused on moral principles, not on polls; on the needs of the vulnerable, not the contributions of the powerful; and on the pursuit of the common good, not the demands of special interests." p 3.

    For the Classroom -
VC     2408     Faithful Citizenship:  Politics for the Common Good     JH-A
A 9 minute video with good discussion questions.  The Department of Religious Education has 3 copies.

Teach about the key themes from Catholic Social Teaching:
    1)    Life and Dignity of the Human Person
    2)    Call to Family, Community and Participation
    3)    Rights and Responsibilities
    4)    Option for the Poor and the Vulnerable
    5)    Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
    6)    Solidarity
    7)    Caring for God's Creation
Go to www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialteaching/excerpt.htm.  Have students identify a public issue being discussed in the campaigns or on the news and have them draw a picture illustrating how Catholics might respond to it in light of our faith.  There are more examples in the packet.  Call the Dept. of Social Concerns, 241-2540, if you need one.  The Dept. of Religious Education has one in the Resource Center.

Resources:  Other websites you might want to use for more ideas and resources are
    www.votingcatholic.org
    www.cafeteriacatholics.com

    www.ohiocathconf.org
    www.usccb.org
There are also many videos on social issues in the Dept. of Religious Education Resource Center.  Call Sue Reihing at 221-4633 or the AV line, 1-800-688-4641 and make your reservations.

 12.    Job Opening:  The pastor and principal of Saint Mary Magdalene School, Columbus will begin a search for an administrative aide.  Interested applicants should contact Principal Rocco Fumi at 614-279-9575.  The start date is November 8.  Salary in negotiable.  Catholic preferred.

Send comments to office@cdeducation.org

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