From the Desk of the Superintendent...
OCTOBER 2014 DISTRICT DISPATCH
The fourth annual Green Hills Area Education Agency (GHAEA) 21st Century Learners Conference is scheduled to take place on Friday, October 3, 2014, at Underwood High School and on Friday, October 10, 2014, at Creston High School. Underwood will host schools from the northern part of the AEA and Creston will host schools from the southern part of the AEA. The conference will highlight Will Richardson speaking about change in schools and classrooms in the context of the diverse new learning opportunities that the Web and other technologies offer. Mr. Richardson is a dynamic and entertaining speaker with a wealth of knowledge to share about teaching and learning in the digital age. He examines questions such as the following: “As students graduate into a fast-changing world, what assumptions do we need to reconsider about how to best prepare them? What new challenges do we have to overcome to make sure the idea of school remains relevant in the networked world in which our students live?” His thought-provoking presentations reflect his strong passion for helping teachers and students learn in today’s wired world.
The focus of this conference will be to help faculty members from throughout the AEA become better-equipped to help students maximize their learning potential in our digital age. Participants will have opportunities to meet with colleagues and share insights and ideas. Numerous interactive sessions are planned for participants. Some examples of those sessions include the following: (1) getting the most out of your 1:1 computing device classroom; (2) using Twitter in the classroom; (3) differentiated instruction and assessment; (4) online resources; and (5) professional learning networks. We are excited to be hosting this conference for the northern part of the Green Hills Area Education Agency. A big “thank you” goes out to GHAEA Instructional Technology Consultant Judy Griffin and GHAEA Media Support Services Supervisor Julia Hood for all of their help in getting this conference organized. It promises to be a great event.
As I mentioned in my September District Dispatch article, we experienced a significant increase in enrollment at registration on August 4, 2014. Enough new fourth-grade students registered that the school board members voted to approve adding an additional section of fourth grade for the 2014-15 school year. In late August, several teacher candidates were interviewed and Bridget Kuhlman was hired to fill that position. Many of you probably remember Mrs. Kuhlman from the years she spent with us previously as an elementary teacher. She resigned in June of 2011 and moved to Arizona in order to accompany her husband who accepted a new position with the company for which he works. They recently returned to this area. Welcome back, Mrs. Kuhlman! It is nice to have you on board as an elementary teacher again.
Please note that there will be no school for students on Friday, October 3, 2014, because of professional development activities for all of our faculty members in conjunction with the 21st Century Learners Conference being hosted by our school district at the high school. Also, we will be having a 2:30 p.m. dismissal at the end of the first quarter on Friday, October 17, 2014. Parent-teacher conferences will be held on Monday, October 27, 2014, and on Thursday, October 30, 2014, from 4:30-8:30 p.m. There will be no school on Friday, October 31, 2014.