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January 2010

Director's Notes

North Country Professional Development Day 2010
Thank you to all who completed the survey in November regarding North Country Professional Development Day. Over 300 people responded and we appreciate that level of interest. A decision has been made to continue the conference with some restructuring of the format. Stay tuned for more details. We expect SAUs 3, 7, 35, 36, 58 & 84 to participate for 2010.
 
Executive Director Search
NCES will be posting the opening for a new Executive Director near the end of January. Interested individuals can watch for the posting on the NCES website.
 
Happy New Year!
The NCES staff and I wish you all the best in the new year.
 
Lori Langlois
Interim Executive Director

Informational Session: SLP Assistant Program

At NCES on Monday, January 25 at 3:30, Barney Keenan from Granite State College will hold an informational session about a two-year program for paraprofessionals interested in the speech and language pathology assistant training. A committment must be made by the district in order for paraprofessionals to participate in the two-year program. Interested individuals may therefore want to contact their Director of Special Services about their potential support.

Registration: This is a free informational session. Please RSVP if you plan to attend by calling 800-268-5437 or emailing
becky@ncedservices.org.

Upcoming Professional Development

Individual Differences: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Grades K-3

This session will address that wide span of development you have in your classrooms each year so that you can meet each student where they are. We’ll follow the predictable, sequential path of your students physically, cognitively, socially and in the area of language and look at the classroom implications.  You’ll learn how to integrate all that you are required to teach into developmentally-appropriate practices for your wide range of learners.
 
 
Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 
Time: 4:00 to 7:30 
Presenter: Jean Mann

Cost: Member school staff $50, Associate Members $55, Others $60 
Deadline: Please register by 12:00, Friday, Jan 8th with Becky Ring, 603-466-5437, 1-800-268-5437 or becky@ncedservices.org
 

Get SMART about Smart (Senteo) Student Response Systems

This half day workshop covers what you need to know to use the Smart Response System student “clickers” and the Senteo assessment software.  Suitable for those who already use student response systems or those interested in learning how these systems work. Topics covered will include:
  • setting up a class and importing a roster of students
  • creating three types of questions: an assessment, an instant question and questions in PowerPoint slides.
  • setting feedback options
  • exporting results to Excel
Participants are asked to bring their laptop, a student roster in Excel (Student ID, First Name, Last Name), some sample questions (both T/F, Y/N, multiple choice and numeric answers) in a Word document or other electronic format and, if possible, two response units and the Senteo receiver.
 
Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 from 1:00 to 5:00
Presenter: Paula Churchill
Cost: Member School Staff $25, Associate Member School Staff $30, Non-Member $40
Location: NCES Conference Room, Gorham, NH
Registration: Please register by calling NCES at 800-268-5437 or 603-466-5437. Purchase orders should be faxed to 603-466-2907. 
 
Did you know? "Clickers" can be used without interactive whiteboards. That's right, you can simply use them with a projector.

Language Arts Professional Development

It's a long winter ahead! Come gather with Jean Mann and colleagues at NCES for a variety of evening workshops which will address areas that teachers have expressed a need to strengthen and improve.
 
Making Sense of Writing Traits: Teach to Your Students Not to the Test 
(for Grades 1-6)
From this session you'll return to your classroom able to engage students in discovering weak areas in their writing, understanding why they occur, and knowing how to improve them and the quality of a whole piece. We'll integrate contexts such as 6-Traits, standards, and scoring rubrics, and translate them into real-life language for young writers instead of points. You'll improve daily writing practices and at the same time guarantee higher test scores.
Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 
Time: 4:00 to 7:30 
Cost: Member school staff $50, Associate Members $55, Others $60
 
 
Non-Fiction Reading Strategy Instruction
(for Grades 3-6)
Did you know that cockroaches can predict earthquakes? Come and see what you can learn in this session that helps students make sense of a text. Explicit strategy instruction, transfer of learning, student application and ownership are the keys to enjoyment and comprehension for young readers.
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Time: 4:00 to 7:30 
Cost: Member school staff $50, Associate Members $55, Others $60 
 
Increase Vocabulary Understanding and Use
(for Grades 3-6)
Isolated memorizing and practicing of vocabulary words doesn't carry over into successful application. This session will offer explicit instruction on how to help students take ownership of their reading and writing vocabulary. They'll gain higher-level achievement through key strategies, reinforcing practice, and independent application.
Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 from 4:00 to 7:30
Cost: Member school staff $50, Associate Members $55, Others $60
 
Optimal Spelling Instruction
(for K-4)
Why do students get 100 on their Friday spelling tests then spell so many things wrong in their Monday writing? This session will cover everything you need to know about teaching spelling effectively: developmental stages of spelling; authentic assessment of spelling needs; strategies and mini-lessons for phonetic, visual, and semantic patterns; sight words; word-sorting for higher-level thinking and forming generalizations; student accountability to use, proofread and edit what they know in spelling.
Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 from 4:00 to 7:30
Cost: Member school staff $50, Associate Members $55, Others $60
 
 
Registration: Please register by calling NCES at 800-268-5437 or 603-466-5437 or by emailing becky@ncedservices.org. Purchase orders may be faxed to 603-466-2907. 

Families in Conflict: When Education is the Battleground

This three-hour interactive seminar gives educators the tools they need to navigate between the law of divided parenting and the educational needs of children. Lawyers Margaret-Ann Moran, Marilyn McNamara, and Maureen Soraghan of the law offices of Upton & Hatfield bring their collective experience in education and family law together with real-life scenarios that demonstrate the challenges of educating children living in high conflict families. Topics will include: parenting law, how the law impacts parental decision-making, parental authority, child protection, special education matters, and related child-rearing and educational issues.
 
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 from 12:30-3:30
Location: NCES, Gorham, NH
Cost: $60
Registration: Please register by calling NCES at 800-268-5437 or 603-466-5437. Purchase orders may be faxed to 603-466-2907. 

GLOBE Seasonal Change (Grade K-4 teachers)

Bring science into your literacy and math programs with Elementary GLOBE by using the seasons!  Introduce your K-4 students to Earth System Science through storybooks and learning activities appropriate for them.  The five Elementary GLOBE books, designed for elementary readers, and their activities, are based around the topics of weather, hydrology, seasons, and soils but also include skills such as writing math sentences, measuring and estimating, writing results of observations, using media and the library, storytelling, and even acting out a play.  We will be covering only the seasons book and activities in the evening session but each participant will receive a set of storybooks and activities, along with a CD of all the materials for reproduction purposes ($40 value).  Elementary GLOBE materials also include extensive teacher's notes and have been correlated to the NH Science Curriculum Frameworks.  The activities include the use of technology and inquiry.
 
Instructor: Jennifer Bourgeault
Dates/Times: Friday, March 5 from 4:00 to 7:30 and Saturday, March 6 from 9:00 to 12:30
Meals: Friday March, 5 a light dinner will be provided.  Saturday, lunch provided.
Stipend: Each participant will receive a $100 Stipend
Location: NCES: Gorham, NH
Registration: Please register by calling NCES at 800-268-5437 or 603-466-5437.
Questions: matt@ncedservices.org

GLOBE Seasonal Change (Grade 5-12 teachers)

Get your students REALLY excited about the changes that are happening in the spring and fall and bring relevance to weather and soil data you may already be collecting or thinking about collecting.  What causes the trees to burst out and green-up?  What causes green-down?  Is it the warmer or colder air temperature, warmer or colder soil temperature or availability of water?  When does it happen in your area?  Are there differences between northern NH and southern NH times of budburst and green-down?  Do different species of trees “burst” at different times?  In this workshop, you will become prepared to collect spring budburst and green-up data just in time to gather it, and practice entering it onto the GLOBE International database and using GLOBE data from around the world to look at trends.  This workshop will also discuss how you can also collect green-down data when the fall approaches.  In addition, there are some great background learning activities on seasons which will complete your unit so your students can become ‘real’ scientists studying phenology.  All the data collection protocols and activities are correlated to the NH Science Curriculum Frameworks. 
 
Instructor: Jennifer Bourgeault
Date/Time: Saturday, March 6, 2010 from 9:00 to 3:30
Meals: Lunch provided.
Stipend: Each participant will receive a $100 stipend
Location: NCES, Gorham, NH
Registration: Please register by calling NCES at 800-268-5437 or 603-466-5437.
Questions: matt@ncedservices.org

Performance Tracker: Beginner

This session is designed for educators who have not used the Performance Tracker tool and would like a hands-on introduction and practice experience.  Beginner level topics include an overview of navigation, data available, generating reports on individuals and groups of students.
 
Date/Time: February 9, 2010 from 8:30 to 11:30
Presenter: Paula Churchill
Sponsored by: NH Department of Education
Cost: Free
Registration: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KCPNYRY 
(Please note that this registration form includes sessions at other locations and dates.)

Performance Tracker: Advanced

The advanced session is designed for educators familiar with the tool and can generate basic Proficiency level reports, and have basic understanding of the data available in P+. Topics will include: Comparison Reports, Assessment Scores Report and Excel conditional formatting, Item Analysis, using multiple filters to find answers, looking at local assessments with Performance Tracker, and Content Library for generating standards based in-class activities.  In addition, the trainer can help you to use Performance Tracker toward your own data goals.
 
Date/Time: February 9, 2010 from 12:00 to 3:00
Presenter: Paula Churchill
Sponsored by: NH Department of Education
Cost: Free
Registration: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KCPNYRY 
(Please note that this registration form includes sessions at other locations and dates.)

In This Issue

Director's Notes

Informational Session: SLP Assistant Program

Upcoming Professional Development

Get SMART about Smart (Senteo) Student Response Systems

Language Arts Professional Development

Families in Conflict: When Education is the Battleground

GLOBE Seasonal Change (Grade K-4 teachers)

GLOBE Seasonal Change (Grade 5-12 teachers)

Performance Tracker: Beginner

Performance Tracker: Advanced

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Follow NorthCountryEd on Twitter
NHSDC Book Talks
Join your NHSDC colleagues for a lively discussion of Charlotte Danielson's Talk About Teaching at one of five book talks in various regions across the state. Learn more...
 
21st Century Learner Conference
The Local Education Support Center Network (LESCN) will be holding its annual spring conference on April 1, 2010 in Meredith, NH. Save the date! Details to follow soon at lescn.org.
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Contact Info
For more information, contact Becky Ring at becky@ncedservices.org
800-268-5437
603-466-5437
www.ncedservices.org
 
Directions to NCES
North Country Education Services • 300 Gorham Hill Road • Gorham • NH • 03581