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May 12, 2008
"If you find yourself saying 'But I can't speak English...', try adding the
word '...yet' - Jane Revell & Susan Norman
Adult: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in
the middle.
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 Washington Middle School Grand Reopening
A city-wide Pre-Kindergarten Allowance Program is available to assist low-income families with paying for quality childcare or preschool programs that will help children get ready for Kindergarten. Children must be 3 or 4-years-old on or before September 1 of the current year when enrolling in childcare or a preschool program.
The St. Paul Early Childhood Scholarship Program is also available to assist children from low-income families in the North End and Frogtown areas with childcare or preschool. The program will help pay for full- or part-time, center or family-based childcare and preschool services starting when a child is 3-years-old. The Saint Paul Public Schools’ Pre-Kindergarten Program is approved to receive the Allowance or Scholarship funds from families. Funds will be used to increase programming for families.
You are encouraged to apply for these programs by calling the Saint Paul Public Schools’ Student Placement Center at 651-632-3760.
The English and Spanish fliers are attached below:
English Flyer
Spanish Flyer
Click on image to see a larger version
Washington Middle School Grand Reopening
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Grand Reopening
Program 10:00AM to 10:30AM
Tours at 10:30AM
You
are cordially invited to our Grand Reopening. Please join us as we
celebrate the completion of our $17 million renovation. A landmark in
Saint Paul’s North End neighborhood, Washington Technology Magnet
Middle School proudly continues a tradition of academic excellence,
inclusive and welcoming programs, and outstanding opportunities to the
students and families of Saint Paul with the new BioSMART initiative.
Come meet our students and staff! Come enjoy the architectural
creativity in the space and light of our new design! Come experience
Washington!!!
We look forward to seeing you!
HPAC Field Trip
The Hmong Parents Advisory Council went on a family fieldtrip to the Science Museum on May 8, 2008. As part of the goal to connect Hmong parents and their families to the resources and activities available in St. Paul, HPAC took 117 parents and children to the Science Museum to explore the exhibits. At the end of the field trip, one parent said, "I never knew such a place existed. If you hadn't brought me here, I would not have known to visit and see this place." It was a wonderful time for all!
 PreLAS Kits and DVRs
If you have
more than one preLAS kit at your school, please keep one for your
building and return all additional kits to the ELL Department at 360
Colborne. Please attach a note to any returned kits if there are
damaged or missing materials from the kits. Extra kits will be made
available for checkout for the fall testing window, which is from
August 20th through September 24th.
We would really appreciate
any feedback on the use of the digital voice recorders (DVRs) for the
preLAS assessment or for instructional purposes, so please send them to
Anh via school mail or email (anh.tran@spps.org). The DVR kits will
need to be returned to the ELL Department by the end of the school year
and may be checked out again in the fall. If you have any questions
about any of this information, please contact your TOSA.
Kindergarten Students Recommended for First Grade Language Academy
Principals and preLAS Coordinators should already have received information about kindergarten students who would most benefit from enrolling in a first grade Language Academy. Recommendations from schools are due Friday, May 16th as requested. If you have any questions or concerns about this process, please contact your TOSA.
 A Topic for Discussion: 10 Myths about Learning to Read by Sebastian Wren
Michael Pressley, in his excellent book, Reading Instruction that Works,
concluded with a discussion of what he considered to be "Ten Dumb and
Dangerous Claims About Reading Instruction." All of the points he made
were quite compelling, but one wonders if these are his "top ten" picks
for the most dangerous myths about reading instruction.
Some might at least argue that the list should be re-ordered
(placing some higher on the list than Pressley did), and certainly some
would argue that there are a few myths that should have made the cut
that he never mentioned. Curious readers are directed to his book to
review his "top ten" list (the book is well written and highly
informative), but here we will examine a second perspective of the most
damaging myths and misconceptions about reading instruction. Let us
begin with a myth that Pressley did not mention, but which is arguably
the most pernicious myth currently influencing reading instruction read rest of article
MN GRAD Writing Prompts
During the fall of 2008, there will be a field test for
GRAD written composition. We will be beginning prompt development
shortly. We are inviting high school teachers to submit writing prompts
that could be used for the GRAD written composition. The prompts will
be reviewed with a panel of Minnesota teachers during a Prompt Review
this August. Prompts must pass a review of bias and sensitivity as well
as a review of field test performance data before being used with
students in an operational test. Prompts must be brief, allow all
populations of students to access the prompt with common background
knowledge, and be appropriate for all student populations (e.g.,
English language learners). Previously-used prompts can be found online.
Please encourage your high school English teachers to submit their
prompts to mde.testing@state.mn.us with “Writing Prompts” in the
subject line. The deadline for submitting prompts is June 16th.
Health Fair
Sacred Heart Church Health Fair
840 East 6th Street, St. Paul, MN 55106
Sunday, May 18th
10:00 am – 1:30 pm
Free for the whole family
- Health Screenings (blood pressure, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, cholesterol)
- Cancer Awareness Information and Sign-Up for Tests (Pap, mammogram, colon and prostate)
- Health Insurance Information and Enrollment
- Quitting Smoking Program
- Nutrition
- Community Health Resources Information
- Gifts and More…..
Event sponsored by Salud Integral/HealthEast, St. Mary’s Health Clinics and Sacred Heart Church.
For questions or for more information, please contact Cristina Flood-Urdangarin at
(651) 690-7017 or urdan001@umn.edu
Refugee Journey Experience
Imagine
that your home and everything you have was destroyed and you decided to
flee. You are one of the estimated 33 million refugees in the world
today. You are invited to walk in the shoes of a refugee.
Saturday, May 17
1-6pm
First Covenant Church
810 S. 7th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55415
(free parking)
$12 per person – includes Somali lunch
Ages 12+ are welcome.
RSVP by Friday, May 9
(763) 420-9155 or sarah.miller@iteams.org
www.worldreliefmn.org
Puppet Making Class
In
partnership with the Ordway Center for Performing Arts, CHAT will be
offering a PUPPET MAKING CLASS where participants will make larger than
life sized puppets in Hmong clothing to walk in the International
Children’s Parade on May 31, 2008 in downtown Saint Paul!
This is a GREAT opportunity! Classes will happen at CHAT: 995 University Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55104
for more info, call 651-603-6971
Please
tell and encourage every young person you know to participate! And, the
BEST part of all… CHAT will own these puppets and use them forever!
University of Minnesota Course Offering in Multicultural Literacy
Course offering Summer 2008:
Teaching Multicultural Literature in Secondary School
July 7-18, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Instructor: Jill Ewing Flynn, flyn0103@umn.edu
CI
5410 section 2 is a three credit course that provides a theoretical and
practical foundation for secondary teachers to increase effectiveness
in the instruction of literature from diverse cultures. Students will
address
pedagogical and curricular issues as well as explore
complications surrounding the use of such texts, learning effective
skills and strategies for working with multicultural literature in the
secondary classroom.
Class activities will revolve around
several academic texts and articles designed to provoke thought and
discussion about issues of teaching diverse literature in the secondary
classroom. Students will then incorporate new ideas and philosophies
learned through reading and discussion into practical designs for
teaching specific pieces of diverse literature. In participating in
these activities students will also be asked to carefully examine their
own philosophies and cultural beliefs as they relate to their
pedagogical practices.
Objectives: In this course, students
will *reflect on their own cultural backgrounds and beliefs as related
to their teaching. *reflect on how students' cultural backgrounds may
influence their interactions with literature. *examine methods of
integrating multicultural literature into the curriculum. *develop
effective strategies for teaching specific works of multicultural
literature.
Guiding questions:
1. How can teachers
successfully and critically engage students in diverse works of
literature? How can teachers incorporate new texts and rethink old
texts? What pedagogical practices can teachers learn to more
effectively teach these texts?
2. What can we learn from
students' responses to multicultural literature? In what ways do
students' cultural and social stances and assumptions
affect their readings of multicultural literature?
3.
How might differences and/or similarities between the cultures of
teachers and of students come into play during the instruction of
diverse types of literature? In what ways might classroom, school, and
community contexts affect how teachers approach the teaching of
multicultural literature?
Major assignments for the course will
likely include a dialogue journal, group presntation/model lesson, and
a personal "philosophy" paper (due
approximately one week after
the final class period) in which students examine some of the questions
listed above and discuss how they will use this knowledge to teach a
piece of literature in the future.
Assignments, readings, and
class activities will be tailored to the needs of the students who
register for the course. Please email Jill (flyn0103@umn.edu) with any
questions! Thank you.
2008 Summer Institutes at the University of Minnesota
Medieval Film: Exploring European Culture through Time and Place
June 23 - 27, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
Ray Wakefield, Department of German, Scandinavian and Dutch, University
of Minnesota
Immigrant Dreams & Contemporary African Diasporic Literatures
June 23-27, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
Njeri Githire, Department of African-American and African Studies,
University of Minnesota
Transitional Justice: Seeking Truth and Accountability for Systematic
Human Rights Violations
July 7 - 11, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
Barbara Frey, Human Rights Program, and Martha Bigelow, Department of
Curriculum and Instruction, University of Minnesota
Documenting the Hmong Diaspora: Literary, Cinematic, and Oral Historical
Approaches to Diaspora
July 14 - 18, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
Mitch Ogden, Department of English, University of Minnesota
Contemporary European Politics and Society
July 28 - August 1, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
Carl-Gustaf Scott, Department of Political Science, Hamline University
The Worlds of Islam
August 4 - 8, 2008 - class meets 9:00am - 4:00pm daily
G.S. Sahota, Department of Asian Languages and Literatures, University
of Minnesota
*About the Institutes*
*Registration Fees
***Summer Institute fees are $75/institute and include 30 CEUs,
readings, field trips, and lunch for each day of the institute.
*Location
*All institutes will be held on the University of Minnesota's
Minneapolis campus. Details about room and building locations will be
mailed out with your readings prior to the start of the institute.
*Academic Credit*
If you wish to register for undergraduate or graduate credit, you will be assessed tuition at the current rates and if you are not a current U of M student, you may register through the College of Continuing Education at the reduced departmental masters rate of $388/credit. Each
institute is a 2 credit course. Contact your home department to see if these courses will count towards your degree or licensure programs.
*Housing*
Teachers from outside the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area are eligible to stay in on-campus housing in single rooms. Each institute has a
limited number of housing scholarships available to teachers on a first-come, first-served basis. After the housing scholarship funds are
depleted, you may still pay for a room at the rate of $50/night. Visit
http://igs.cla.umn.edu/outreach to download an application.
<http://igs.cla.umn.edu/pdf/HousingApplication.pdf>
*Travel Stipends*
To encourage teachers from outside the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area to attend our *week-long summer institutes*, we have a limited number of
travel stipends available. Teachers may apply for stipends up to $250 and they may be used to defray the costs of airfare or mileage. Visit
http://igs.cla.umn.edu/outreach to download an application.
*Register Online*
To register, visit http://igs.cla.umn.edu/outreach/registration.html
Detailed descriptions about each institute are online at
http://igs.cla.umn.edu/outreach/profdev.html.
Questions? Contact Molly McCoy at outreach@umn.edu or 612-624-7346.
The summer institutes for teachers are developed and administered by the Institute for Global Studies at the University of Minnesota through the support of a Title VI grant from the US Department of Education.
Michelle Carter, MA, JD
Interim Director of Research and Sponsored Programs
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Wigley Administration Building 325
507-389-2322 office
507-389-5459 fax
2008 International Essay Contest for Young People - Creating a Culture of Peace
International Essay Contest organized by UNESCO and the Goi Peace Foundation
with the sponsorship of the Earthrise Society.
The theme for this year's contest is "My project to create positive change
in my environment. How can I foster sustainable development in my
community." The deadline for entry is June 30, 2008. First prize winners
will receive a cash award and a trip to Japan.
Please see the complete guidelines below. The same information can be
found on the Goi Peace Foundation website:
http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/0801_00.htm
To read winning essays from last year's contest, go to
http://www.goipeace.or.jp/english/activities/programs/0702.htm
Please spread the information about the essay contest to young people in
your network.
May Peace Prevail on Earth!
The Goi Peace Foundation
National TPR Conference
The
national TPRS® Conference will be held at the University of Minnesota,
July 21-25, 2008. TPR Storytelling is a method for teaching languages
that was invented by Blaine Ray, in 1990 and is based on the work of
James Asher and Stephen Krashen. Check out the website to get more
information - http://ntprs2008.eventbrite.com/
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