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New England League of Middle Schools 460 Boston Street, Suite 4 Topsfield, MA 01983 Tel: (978) 887-6263 Fax: (978) 887-6504 Email: nelms@nelms.org |
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April 24, 2008 |
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Getting ready for May and June: a busy time of the year as we prepare to close out one year and begin to prepare for another. We are interested in sharing some information with you on a variety of topics. The entire NELMS family hopes that you have or will enjoy your April break and that you take the time to rejuvenate and revitalize before the closing stress. The following is reprinted from the NYSMSA Journal and is from an article written by Lea MacDonald.
Enjoy these tips and we are sure it will work for you and your students. The New England League of Middle Schools 2008 James P. Garvin Distinguished Service Award was presented to Rick Wormeli at the NELMS 27th Annual Conference in Providence, RI over March 30, 31 & April 1, 2008. The award was presented by Mary Childress, NELMS Board Chair Elect. The New England League of Middle Schools “James P. Garvin Distinguished Service Award” is presented as appropriate to one or more outstanding New England educator(s) selected by the Board of Directors. The award began in award began 1986 as a way to recognize the contributions of those few people who change professional lives and improve student learning via their professional work. It is the only award decided exclusively by the Board of Directors and is design to be the highest award given by the organization. To be eligible, individual(s) must have demonstrated the following qualities which comprise the criteria for nomination and selection for this award. They are:
“I describe him as Mr. Middle Level. He exemplifies all of the criteria for this award as he is totally committed to quality education for adolescents and he spends countless hours helping others to better understand the unique needs of early adolescents—both of which are criteria for this award. He is a caring generous educator who is always willing to send you written materials or a PowerPoint presentation. He must spend an inordinate amount of time personally answering emails that he always invites people to send him. He is a visionary for middle level learning and his thoughts and explanations about everything from summary activities to grading make us all reflect on what we do each day and how what is good for our middle level students can be even better. He is passionate about teaching and serious about how important quality education is for our adolescents but always delivers his message with a fabulous laugh, and an out loud sense of humor. Not only do we grin ear to ear but “all the way around our heads!” He is a nationally known speaker on middle level education, innovation and teacher professionalism. But most importantly, he is a practicing middle school teacher. He brings energy, validity and high standards to both his presentations and his instructional practice, which include years teaching math, science, English, and history. He is also the author of the column One Teacher to Another in NMSA’s Middle Ground magazine. He has been asked to present in over 20 states and at the White House. He is a Nationally Board Certified teacher as well as Disney’s American Teacher Awards 1996 Outstanding English Teacher of the Nation. If you wish to know what he does in his spare time; ask him about a giant squid website. He is man of many talents - indeed “a wild and crazy guy.” He knows that “When you know the notes to sing – you can sing most anything.” I am extremely happy that his song is always about kids and how best to engage each and every one of them each and every day. NELMS is so very pleased to announce The New England League of Middle Schools “James P. Garvin Distinguished Service Award” recipient for 2008; Just Jack! - Improving Student Learning Through Passion & Humor Two Whole Days with Jack Berckemeyer—May 7 & 8, 2008 Banner Presentations—Simply-A-Delight! As this time of year I have the pleasure of going to schools to present their new Spotlight School banner or “present” the renewal of effective practices to schools that continue with this designation. Each situation is different; in some it is a small group of representatives in a media center. In others, it is an all school assembly with bands, food and everyone participating and recognizing the honor. In either case, mayors or town leaders are present as are local media outlets. The experience is so terrific that I wish that all middle level schools could receive this award as the pride and commitment to young adolescent students shines brightly. Executive Director Meets with Senator Whitehouse Staff Key players and stakeholders and they are very knowledgeable and creative thinkers have been meeting took in Providence to discuss middle school reform and improvement strategies. Robert Spear Ed.D., your NELMS Executive Director was invited to speak for 15 minutes about key points and/or advice he had about effective urban middle level learners and the schools that are developed to best serve them. RI Senator Whitehouse has been passionate about middle schools since his days as state Attorney General when he worked with community groups and administrators to address truancy and after-school opportunities in middle schools. As a United States Senator he wants to use his position to advocate for the middle level, and in Rhode Island he wants to partner with a struggling urban middle school to develop the ideal middle school model and work with them to implement the necessary changes to raise student achievement. It will be important to provide a case for why middle school reform investment is critical. Our argument has been that an investment today will result in long term improvements that will expand beyond middle schools years and through a student’s experience in high schools and beyond. Sustainability and replicability are key factors to designing the model …we do not want to create a “fad”, the partner school and its community will be asked to commit to implementing the necessary improvements and strategies that are identified during a planning process. One key thing for him is that he wants to ensure that the school that we partner with will serve as an incubator of ideas and best practices so that the strategies can be replicated in other districts. Scholar Leader Awards 2008—They are closer than you think!! Plan now so that your students can participate in this wonderful event! Connecticut schools should visit cascia.org for information. NELMS sent specific information and pricing to principals in RI, ME, MA, VT and NH in February. If you have not received information by now please contact Kim at the New England League of Middle Schools at (978) 887-6263, or by e-mail at kohare@nelms.org Perpetual Plaque Offer for Scholar Leader Award! Order a Scholar Leader Perpetual Plaque for your school and proudly display each year’s award recipients! Each plaque comes with an engraved plate with the school’s name and the official state and NELMS logos. Buy the plaque once and add low cost name plates each subsequent year. Don’t wait! Order your perpetual plaque today and start displaying the names of your Scholar Leaders!
Frequently Asked Questions about Scholar Leader Dinners Photo's from the 2007 Scholar Leader Dinners Last Call for Member Involvement! May is the time for NELMS committee assignments. Mary Childress, the NELMS Board Chair Elect, will be reviewing applications and making appointments. Professional Resources Comm. creates teacher friendly products and develops ideas that help teachers with the daily tasks of teaching. Research & Assessment Comm. oversees the numerous NELMS assessment programs, the Spotlight School selection process, and it gathers and disseminates relevant helpful information to member schools. Technology Comm. advises NELMS on a variety of technology issues including internal infrastructure, web site design and content, web based professional development. A major charge is helping teachers utilize technology that improves student learning and understanding. To this end, it helps with the new “NELMS Technology to Improve Learning Conference”. Recognitions Comm. is committed to develop new and administer existing professional recognitions. Currently they oversee seven (7) awards that are given annually. Please indicate your interest now by obtaining the application and submitting it by May 5, 2008! Professional Activities this spring and summer As you begin the process of closing this school year and planning for next year, why not use NELMS to help you. We have terrific school based, school wide tools at reasonable prices. In addition, we have wonderful and effective professional experiences throughout the spring and into the summer. Check them all out at NELMS.org and we will see you there! School-Wide Tools! STEPS to Reading Literacy On the Same Page for School Wide Literacy Effectiveness Leadership Teams for the 21 Century Schools Professional Development Experiences Summer NELMS Leadership Academy Web Links to interesting information AWARD-WINNING MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAMWORK http://snipurl.com/teamwork_disney Instead, we offer a view of teaming that is grounded in the everyday experiences of working teachers who know what it means to cope with state and federal mandates, at-risk learners, and constant scheduling changes due to a rapidly growing school." Your kind of book? You can download and read (but not print) any or all of "Team Work" at no cost, by following the link above. BULLYING: STORIES OF US http://www.storiesofus.com/films/film_one.html OUR PAL BILL: INTEGRATING LA AND SS WITH WEB 2.0 http://www.edutopia.org/voicethread-interactive-multimedia-albums
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