MRVED Business

MRVED Meetings:
November 10, 2015  Counselors
November 11, 2015  Community Ed
November 12, 2015  FACS (meet in Marshall with Gail Polejewski)
November 13, 2015  Ag (Hutchinson tour)
November 20, 2015  Principals' Council (11:30 a.m. start time)
November 25, 2015  Superintendents' Council


MELT Update
The Call for Proposals has closed.  If you submitted a proposal, but did not receive an email either confirming or rejecting your proposal, please let Brandon know (braymo@mrved.net).  If you have any ideas for MELT, the planning stages are winding down.  Contact Brandon and let him know of your idea.  MELT registration information will be coming out the 2nd week of December.

Also, the MELT Networking Group facilitator sign-up is located in this update.  If you feel the need for your group to network, please sign-up as a facilitator or urge someone to.  If your group does not have a facilitator, your group will not network.  You can network as a content area, grade level, or even around a topic.

Best Practice Meeting Updates
Art Meeting
The Art teachers embarked on a special day on October 22.  The teachers had the opportunity to meet with local artists throughout the day.  The first stop was to AtoZ Letterpress in downtown Montevideo.  After hearing about the letterpress process, the group ventured to Milan to visit Celeste Suter's Fiber Arts studio.  Then the group spent the rest of the morning at Tokheim Stoneware learning new tricks and watching a true artist create clay pots.  Over lunch, the group made their way to Granite Falls to meet with David Hall and talk more letterpress and see different ways to do that process.  The last stop was to the Peterson's to see scrimshaw art.  The day was nicknamed the "MiniMeander".

Math Meeting
The Math teachers gathered at the MRVED on October 27.  The morning was spent in conversation and thought about grading practices.  After a great conversation, the group then split into district teams and tackled the process of vertically and horizontally aligning to the the math standards.  After a catered meal, the group then split into grade alike groups and networked and the day ended with Brandon talking about integration of technology.  Overall it was a great day.

Business Meeting
The Business teachers met at the MRVED on October 29 with Karen.  Much like the math group they had the opportunity to talk about grading practices within the business classroom.  Karen then took the group through a formative assessment activity and discussion.  Gail Polejewski met with the group over lunch and discussed Perkins updates.  The group networked in the afternoon and shared ideas.

MRVED Business

Business Meeting Recap
The Business teachers met at the MRVED on Thursday.  The day started with a presentation from Julie Redepenning from DEED on business trends in Southwest Minnesota.  After the presentation the group had an opportunity to digest some of the information from DEED and network.  Lunch was great as usual.  In the afternoon the group had the opportunity to meet with Gail Polejewski to talk Perkins.  The day ended with a little curriculum work.  Overall it was a great informational day.


Upcoming Meetings
March 13, 2015  Community Ed
March 17, 2015  Guidance Counselors
March 19, 2015  Social Workers
March 20, 2015  Title III Paraprofessionals
March 24, 2015  FACS (Willmar field trip)
March 25, 2015  Superintendents' Council

Communication Briefing

Home in vs. hone in.  Home in means "to direct attention toward an objective."  Hone means to "to sharpen with a hard stone."  Note:  If you have trouble remembering which is correct, think of a homing pigeon who is flying toward a specific place or said another way, toward an objective.

Fall Conference Dates

Fall Conferences
Art Educators of Minnesota - November 7 & 8 in Rochester
Minnesota Business Educators - November 6 & 7 in Bloomington
Minnesota Association of Health/PE - November 3 & 4 in Wayzata
Minnesota Council of Teachers of English - Fall Workshop October 27 in Brooklyn Park
Education Minnesota - October 16 & 17 in St. Paul

MRVED Business

MRVED on the Hunt

We are still on the prowl for people willing to present at the MELT in January.  If you or a team is at all remotely interested in presenting, please contact Brandon (braymo@mrved.net).  We have many "outside" presenters coming in, but are lacking on the amount of local talent willing to present.  If you know of someone in your school that has something to present, please encourage them to contact Brandon.

Meeting Updates

Business

The Business teachers assembled at the MRVED on Wednesday October 23 for their annual best practice meeting.  The teachers were in for a treat as their state specialist Jean Kyle was in attendance for the morning.  Jean is a wealth of knowledge in the world of education and more specifically a real asset to the business teachers.  She brought everyone up to speed on the state of business education in Minnesota as well as trends in business education.  The afternoon was spent with Gail Polejewski talking Perkins and sharing resources.  It was a great experience for all to work with both Jean and Gail.

Math

The Math teachers came to the MRVED on Tuesday October 29 for their best practice meeting.  There were many comments from people that this was one of the best best practice meetings they have ever had.  The morning was spent discussing and working with 21st century skills and applying them to the classrooms.  After a deep discussion on the P21 Framework, the teachers jumped into their curriculum work for the day.  They spent a good deal of time watching a video on effective feedback and then working with the content of the video within their groups.  Many deep educational conversations ensued.  Lunch was a good break from all the deep thinking that was happening and the afternoon was spent sharing resources and Brandon's technology.

UPCOMING MEETINGS

November 5, 2013 - FACS (meeting will be held in Marshall)
November 6, 2013 - Principals' Council
November 14, 2013 - Guidance Counselors
November 15, 2013 - Social Workers
November 21, 2013 - Industrial Technology (Will be touring K & M Manufacturing, Renville MN)
November 26, 2013 - Superintendents' Council (NOTE CHANGE OF DATE)