Transforming learning in the evolution of digital learning environments

Join us for the Tap into Tools Conference

Monday, October 29, 2012

at the Mountain View Grand Resort

Keynote by Dave Backler, Principal Milan Village School

Breakout Sessions 

• Google Search. Do More. by Allison Mollica
• Screencasting on the iPad by Jennifer Lowton
• Gmail for Beginners by Martin Castle
• Social Media Tools in the Classroom by Amy Gillam
• Introduction to Edmodo by Elaine Sherry & Pauline Corzelius
• Weebly Websites for Place-Based Learning by Jeremy Brown
• Relevance to Students: Interdisciplinary Field Experiences with iPads by Jessica Morris & Kimberly Sychterz
• Google Forms & Scripts by Allison Mollica
• Working with Google Apps on Tablets by Jennifer Lowton

Only $100 per person. Discounts for staff from SAUs 3, 7, 20, 23, 35, 36, 58, 68, 77 & 84.

Registration deadline approaching! Register by October 19th at http://bit.ly/regfortools

Addressing the CCSS in English Language Arts Instruction

Language Arts Community of Practice

ELA teachers will once again have the opportunity to join a community of professionals at NCES; this time to navigate through the rigorous expectations of the Common Core State Standards.  As a participant, you will increase your ability to apply CCSS in your classroom as we address instructional shifts that will result in deeper literacy learning.  This series of sessions will allow for learning, application, reflection, collaboration, and activities that will: 

• take your teaching to a higher level by providing rigorous content and by teaching higher level skills and strategies.
• engage students in rich discussions through effective questioning, higher level thinking, and broadening knowledge.
• encourage independence, stamina,  and accountability.
• learn metacognitive strategies for deeper reading and a stronger process for writing.
• create your own assessments for monitoring student growth and achievement.
• provide a balance of literary and informal texts.
• encourage use of a variety of texts, genres, resources, and technology.
• teach writing and reading in a variety of genres for a variety of purposes.

K-5 Group: Elizabeth Richards

Grades 6-8: Jean Mann

Meeting dates: Thursdays,  October 18, November 15, December 6, January 10, February 7, March 7, April 11 and May 9, 2013 (note, start date has been postponed until November)

Time:  4:00 to 7:00 (light refreshments provided, bring your own supper - if desired)

Cost: Full member school staff $300, Associate member school staff $325, all others $350

Location: NCES, Gorham, NH

Register: Online, email lisa@ncedservices.org or call 800-268-5437 or 603-466-5437 between 8:00 and 4:00.  Fax purchase orders to: 603-466-2907. 

Download brochure.

NH Math Teachers' Circle (Grades 5-8)

• When it comes to problem solving, have you ever become frustrated?
• Do you struggle with “How to start?"
• Would you like to learn new problem-solving strategies?
• Would you like to increase your confidence?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then come join a group of fellow mathematics teachers (grades 5 – 8).

Date: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 

Time: 4:00 – 6:00 

Location: North Country Education Services, Gorham, NH

The workshop will be facilitated by professors from Plymouth State University Larry Blaine and Natalya Vinogradova.

The focus is simply to create a friendly and fun venue for middle school math teachers to come together to learn and share in a common experience of solving challenging problems that involve insightful mathematical thinking.

Registration: Participation is free of charge, but registration is necessary by emailing Patrick Johnson at pjohnston@plymouth.edu by October 15th.

Implementing Common Core State Standards through the Lens of Response to Intervention Multi-Tiered System of Support

This workshop is offered by the New Hampshire Department of Education in conjunction with the American Institutes for Research and the Local Educational Support Center Networks facilitated by faculty from Institutes of Higher Education in New Hampshire and NH DOE staff. The workshop focuses on an introduction to the Common Core philosophy and the transition from a GLE world to this new approach to curriculum and pedagogy as facilitated by the RTI approach to assessment and differentiation.

• Participants will review the essential information on 21st Century skills, college and career readiness, and the connection to the Common Core.
• Participants will review math and ELA standards to gain understanding of the design, language, and expectations.
• Participants will review sample model lessons and activities to uncover the depth of the CCSS.Participants will discuss the components of the NH RTI implementation plan, focusing on the MTSS, and provide resources that support the MTSS framework to teach the CCSS

Participants should come with an iPad or laptop, and have the Common Core Standards and the NH GLE’s bookmarked for comparison.

Facilitators: Megan Birch & Mary Earick, Plymouth State University (morning) and NHDOE Representative (afternoon)

Date: Friday, October 26, 2012

Time: 9:00 – 3:30 

Location: NCES, Gorham, NH

Cost: $35 (light lunch provided)

Register: Email lisa@ncedservices.org or call 800-268-5437 or 603-466-5437 between 8:00 and 4:00.  Fax purchase orders to: 603-466-2907.

Funded by NHDOE Title IIA Redistribution Tunds

Common Core Strategic Planning

This session is designed to guide school and district-level instructional leaders in the work of leading the understanding and implementation of the Common Core. This session is designed to support teams of district and school personnel (e.g. superintendents, principals, content supervisors, central office leaders, and coaches) in the work of planning and carrying out the implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Presenter: Joe Miller

Who Should Attend: Teams from schools or districts that are developing Common Core State Standard implementation plans.

Level: Intermediate (some background on the standards will be shared, but the majority of the time will be spent developing a plan for implementing the standards in your system).

Date/Time: Wednesday October 24, 2012 from 9:00 to 3:00

Location: NCES, Gorham, NH

Cost: Member school staff $125, associates $135, others $140

Register: Online or by calling Lisa at 800-268-5437 or 603-466-5437 between the hours of 8:00 and 3:00.

Developing Local Assessment Aligned with CCSS

With the transition to the Common Core State Standards comes new assessments aligned with these standards. SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) assessments will be rolled out in Spring 2015. They represent a significant change in assessment approach (computer adaptive and include performance tasks) and also content (aligned with new standards). This session will address two content areas: 

• What is SBAC?How is development progressing? How are items being developed?
• Developing local assessments aligned with SBAC

Presenter: Joe Miller

Who Should Attend: Teachers, principals, and central administration staff.

Level: Intermediate (some background on the standards will be shared, but the majority of the time will be spent on assessments).

Date/Time: Wednesday October 31, 2012 from 9:00 to 3:00

Location: NCES, Gorham, NH

Cost: Member school staff $125, associates $135, others $140

Register: Online or by calling Lisa at 800-268-5437 or 603-466-5437 between the hours of 8:00 and 4:00.

Understanding the ‘Less Engaged’: Students’ and Young Adults’ Participation in Education, Recreation, and Occupation

Using data from the Carsey Institute’s 10-year Coös Youth Study, this interactive discussion session will focus on young people who are not fully engaged in age-appropriate educational, recreational, and occupational activities. What are the characteristics associated with lower engagement, and what do we know about how they manifest over time? What kinds of interventions might change their course to a more socially connected and productive adulthood?

Erin Hiley Sharp and Eleanor M. Jaffee from the Coös Youth Study team will present the information from the study and then facilitate a discussion of how these issues are experienced and how they can be addressed in the school environment by administrators, guidance staff, and educators.

Date: Thursday, November 1, 2012

Time: 1:30 to 3:00

Cost: Full member staff $10, Associate member staff $15, Others $20

Location: NCES, Gorham, NH

Register: Email lisa@ncedservices.org or call 800-268-5437 or 603-466-5437 between 8:00 and 4:00. Fax purchase orders to: 603-466-2907.

AANNH asked us to pass along...

Opening Minds to the Arts: Investing in Arts Education for a New Generation 

Arts educators, technology coordinators, teachers in all disciplines, administrators and parents are invited to register for the NH State Council on the Arts' annual arts education partnership conference, October 19 and 20 in the Upper Valley (Friday at AVA Gallery in Lebanon, Saturday at Kearsarge Regional Middle School in North Sutton). Conference highlights include a keynote by Sandra Ruppert, Executive Director, National Arts Education Partnership; a presentation on the value of games for change by Colleen Macklin, Director of PETLab at Parsons the New School for Design; a STEM to STEAM (STEM plus art and design) conversation with artists, scientists and educators; and an advocacy luncheon and celebratory launch of the NH Arts Learning Network. Hands-on workshops in art, craft, music, dance and theater are offered. Cost is $130 for two full days, with breakfast and lunch included. One-day rates are also available, and scholarships are available for teachers new to the conference; reduced rates are offered for college and high-school students. CEUs will be awarded, and graduate credit is available through Plymouth State University. For more information on attending the conference and to register, go to www.aannh.org or http://www.nh.gov/nharts.

Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire Offers Fourth Annual Arts in Early Learning Conference: "How I Go from Here to There" in Plymouth October 27

Young children love to learn about how things work in the world and about all the exciting ways we can move and travel – in our imaginations, with our bodies through space, as well as travel in cars, sleds, planes – and rockets! This day-long gathering Saturday, October 27 (9 am to 3 pm, registration at 8:30) at Plymouth Elementary School introduces a rich array of creative movement, music, creative drama and visual arts activities participants can use with children in classrooms, child-care settings, libraries and other community sites and at home to explore the many learning possibilities centered around this theme. The conference is designed for educators (preK-grade 2), after-school and preschool care providers, librarians, and family members. Particular attention will be given to meeting the needs of children with developmental and learning differences. Participants will take away sample lessons as well as many user-friendly ways to link the arts and learning. We'll be creating 3D "vehicles," learning songs and dancing! Presented as part of the Alliance's Arts in Early Learning collaboration with VSA New Hampshire. Go to www.aannh.org to learn more and to register, or call 323-7302.

Anticipated Opening: Shared Curriculum Coordinator for SAUs 3, 7 & 58

This Common Core State Standards Curriculum Implementation Coordinator position will serve the School Administrative Units 3, 7 & 58 as part of the grant funded Rural School Educator Effectiveness Collaborative project. With the goal of increasing the academic achievement of all students, this coordinator will be instrumental in guiding the districts in their transition to full implementation of the Common Core State Standards within New Hampshire's Response to Instruction Framework. Full description is available here: http://www.ncedservices.org/currcoor/index.html

North Country Middle School Film Festival

The films must relate to the theme, Our World, Our Fate, at a local, national or global level. The festival will take place at the Rialto Theatre in March.

Eligibility: Open to New Hampshire students in grades 6, 7 & 8 from schools in SAUs 3, 7, 9, 20, 23, 35, 36, 58, 68, 77 & 84 and Vermont schools in SUs 19 & 21. For K‐6 schools, you may include grade 5 students on the team if necessary. The film entry deadline is Thursday, December 13, 2012. Stipends available for adult team supervisor (must be an employee of the school). Please contact lori@ncedservices.org for more details.

ncedservices.org

More information about upcoming professional development at NCES:http://www.ncedservices.org/profdev.htm 

North Country Education Services - 300 Gorham Hill Road, Gorham, NH 03581

800-268-5437    603-466-5437

nces@ncedservices.org

The mid-month micro is a periodic supplement to the monthly NCES News.