December 2008

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Wishes for a relaxing break from school and that you have a joyful and fun filled time of visiting friends and family and time to pamper yourself by doing activities that are renewing!


UPDATE:

Reading and Writing Skills Emphasized in Latest Newsletter
Gene Bottoms has announced the availability of another online Best Practices newsletter. This third newsletter in the series focuses on the importance of reading and writing skills in all educational and career pathways. The newsletter includes a variety of strategies for integrating reading and writing skills across the curriculum - in academic, career/ technical and fine arts courses - in ways that improve student achievement in reading and writing and in the content area.

To access this newsletter, click on this link: http://www.sreb.org/publications/2008/newsletters/08SummerConferenceNewsletter.asp

You can also find the newsletter by going to the SREB Web site at http://www.sreb.org/. Click on the High Schools That Work tab at the top of the page and then click on Publications and Materials in the side panel. When that page appears, click on the heading, "Newsletters of Best Practices from the 2008 HSTW Staff Development Conference."

As you examine practices other schools are implementing, I hope you will work with your staff to identify a practice your school has implemented to successfully integrate reading and writing into all subject areas. Please think about having your school share that activity at the 2009 HSTW Staff Development Conference
If you would like to add anyone to our announcement list about the newsletters, please send names, titles, schools, locations and e-mail addresses to Leonard Gatungo at leonard.gatungo@sreb.org. If you do not want to receive further announcements, please notify Leonard.
Coming Soon—Online Newsletter #4: Middle Grades Schools Take Their Role Seriously in Preparing Students for Rigorous High School Studies


RESOURCE

Emphasis on Reviewing Subject Area Skills or Feeding the Hungry
Check out http://www.freerice.com/ . Here's a fantastic website that all teachers can use. All you have to decide is how to use it! Over the holidays you can even have your children or grandchildren experiment with it.

Are you wanting students to review information in math, geography, chemistry or English or even art or foreign languages? Do you want them to increase their skills? The level of difficulty of the questions can be changed. Or are you interested in having students contribute to a charity that feeds the hungry?

All these goals can be met by assigning students to go to this website. English vocabulary automatically comes up. (The subject can be changed.) For every vocabulary definition you get correct, FreeRice donates 20 grains of rice to starving people in other parts of the world. It is in conjunction with the World Hunger Association. FreeRice has already provided rice for hundreds of thousands of hungry people. Just check out the website and the video and then start playing.

FreeRice has two goals: Provide education to everyone for free. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free. This is made possible by the generosity of the sponsors who advertise on this site. Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your education can improve your life. It is a great investment in yourself. Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide.


CONGRATULATIONS

To Jorja Jacobs, Innovation Support Service Liaison, Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, who is retiring from her career in education after 37 years of service – 17 of them at ODCTE. Her last day will be January 9, 2009.

Here’s a note from her:

Dear Fellow Educators:

I will miss the friends I made in education and helping schools in Oklahoma improve experiences they provide for students. I have been privileged to have a career filled with ever expanding learning experiences and opportunities to assist school districts.

I feel lucky to have worked with such dedicated school staff. I believe we have greatly contributed to students’ lives and enabled them to become happy and productive individuals who are contributing members of society. I enjoyed being part of your team as we improved the schools in Oklahoma.

While I will miss all of you and working with your schools, I look forward to being able to spend more time gardening, taking photographs, traveling, visiting with friends and relatives, and volunteering. I will enjoy hearing from you. Please stay in touch! Best wishes to you all, as you continue your adventures in learning and helping students!

Jorja Jacobs 918/836-9191 JorjaJacobs@gmail.com