MELT Recap

MELT Recap
MELT 2016 has come and gone.  The weather cooperated and it was not as cold as they had thought it was going to be!  Lac qui Parle Valley was bustling with over 570 teachers attending over 100 sessions throughout the day.  Our hope is that you walked away with something that makes you a better teacher.

This day is a culmination of many months of work and could not be possible without the help of everyone.  Lac qui Parle Valley once again was an excellent host.  The janitorial staff had everything in order, the breakfast and lunch was fantastic, LQPV staff and administration did everything they could to make the day as comfortable and easy for all attendees.

Finally, the day would not run as smoothly as it does without the help of Mary Brown.  Mary is the glue that holds the day together.  She coordinates so many things for this day, one cannot begin to mention all she does.  The next time you see her, be sure to give her a big pat on the back!

If you have not filled out the evaluation yet, please do so as soon as you can.  We use the data from the evaluation to plan for future professional development.  We take the evaluation process very seriously and make adjustments based on feedback.  Please take the time to provide us with this valuable information.

Evaluation Link

Be sure and check out the MRVED website (mrved.com) as there are a number of photo galleries from the day.

NOTE:  This is Mary Brown.  Brandon gives me way too much credit.  He starts the process of finding presenters right away in the fall, taking into account licensure needs, hot topics in the education field, and what teachers are looking for based on the prior year's evaluations.  It requires hundreds of emails and phone calls trying to coordinate it all and then to lay out the schedule for the day.  It is a huge undertaking and he does an amazing job.  So kudos to him also. Lastly I would be remiss if I didn't also thank Karen Jacobson for her steadfast confidence in our ability to organize the MELT.  She gives us free reign and support throughout the process.  We make a great team.

MRVED Business

MRVED Business

MELT Information
MELT 2016 is almost upon us.  There are over 570 people registered in over 100 sessions!  It is set to be a great day.  Mary will be sending more information to all registrants next week.  Please look through this email carefully as it contains information as to where to enter, what time to be there, and other important information about the day.  We look forward to seeing you all on Monday, January 18 at Lac qui Parle Valley High School.

MRVED Meetings
January 15, 2016  Principals' Council (11:30 a.m. start time)
January 18, 2016  MELT (LQPV High School)
January 27, 2016  Superintendents' Council

February 3, 2016  MRVED Board (7 p.m.)
February 5, 2016  Title III teachers
February 17, 2016  Community Ed
February 19, 2016  Principals' Council (11:30 a.m. start time)
February 22, 2016   Science Best Practices
February 23, 2016  Teachers' Advisory Council (TAC)
February 24, 2016  Superintendents' Council

Preparing to Attend a Conference

Education world has a nice quick read about how to prepare to attend a conference.  Now the MELT is not held in a far-away tropical place, but the concepts in this article can apply to your experience at the MELT. Give it a quick rundown today!

Preparing to Attend a Conference

MELT Registration

MELT Registration Open

2016 MELT Registration is open.  There are over 120 sessions to choose from throughout the day.  You will notice in each session description it is indicated if it meets a relicensure area.  Register today to ensure you get into the sessions you want.  Sessions will close quickly as they fill up.  Registration will close Tuesday, December 22, at 3:00 p.m.

MELT Brochure

MELT Registration

MELT Information

Date: January 18, 2016

Time: 8:40-2:00

Location: Lac qui Parle Valley High School

MELT Reminders a la Mary Brown

1.  If you have a student teacher in January, please have them register by December 22, 2015 and select the district where they will be doing their student teaching.  Direct them to the MRVED website (www.mrved.com) and they can click on the MELT Registration article and it will take them to the brochure and the registration link.  If they are unable to do this by December 22, please have them contact me directly at mbrown@mrved.net or 320-269-9297.

2.  If you are presenting at the MELT, please register for your own session.  If you have already registered and haven't done this, no worries, I will register you for your own session.  Do not reregister.

3.  If you have selected to eat the catered meal, please pay your district the $6 by January 8, 2016.

4.  Lastly, if you did not receive a confirmation email at the completion of your registration, it is because you have entered your email incorrectly.  I have had about a half dozen emails come back to me because of that. I have corrected your emails in the registration but I'm not sure the program resends a confirmation.

MRVED Business

Upcoming Meetings
January 8, 2016  Title III Paraprofessionals
January 13, 2016  Community Ed
January 15, 2016  Principals' Council (11:30 a.m.)
January 18, 2016  MELT (LQPV High School)
January 27, 2016  Superintendents' Council

Happy New Year
This is the last update of 2015.  We hope you have a restful and peaceful break.  The MRVED offices will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and will be operating on a limited schedule December 28 - January 1.  If you plan to stop by the office during this week, please call to make sure someone is in the office (320-269-9297).  Happy New Year and enjoy your break.

Best Practice Meeting Updates
World Languages
The World Language teachers gathered at the MRVED on December 8th for their annual best practice meeting.  This group is always very talkative and obviously passionate about their content area.  The morning was spent participating in an activity on grading practices.  There was some awesome discussion over each scenario presented.  The group then had the opportunity to showcase an activity they use to teach vocabulary.  It was a great activity where many different activities were shared.  Lunch was spectacular as usual.  In the afternoon the group networked and had the opportunity to hear Brandon talk about lesson planning with technology.  Another great meeting with a great bunch of passionate educators!

Social Studies
Brandon's favorite group ;-) (Disclaimer: Brandon is a social studies teacher).  The social studies group started the meeting off like all other best practice meetings, with the activity on grading practices.  The discussion was deep and reflective from this group.  After talking grading, the group aligned their curriculum and courses to the current standards.  The laughter and discussion over lunch was fun to take part in.  The afternoon consisted of networking and Brandon talking lesson planning with technology.

TAC & Principal Meetings
Our December TAC and Principal meetings were cancelled and will not be rescheduled.

MELT Registration
You have less than a week to register.  See the other blog post for more information.  So far 400+ people have registered and a number of sessions are closed.

MELT Registration

MELT Registration Open

2016 MELT Registration is open.  There are over 120 sessions to choose from throughout the day.  You will notice in each session description it is indicated if it meets a relicensure area.  Register today to ensure you get into the sessions you want.  Sessions will close quickly as they fill up.  Registration will close Tuesday, December 22, at 3:00 p.m.

MELT Brochure

MELT Registration

MELT Information

Date: January 18, 2016

Time: 8:40-2:00

Location: Lac qui Parle Valley High School

MELT Reminders a la Mary Brown

1.  If you have a student teacher in January, please have them register by December 22, 2015 and select the district where they will be doing their student teaching.  Direct them to the MRVED website (www.mrved.com) and they can click on the MELT Registration article and it will take them to the brochure and the registration link.  If they are unable to do this by December 22, please have them contact me directly at mbrown@mrved.net or 320-269-9297.

2.  If you are presenting at the MELT, please register for your own session.  If you have already registered and haven't done this, no worries, I will register you for your own session.  Do not reregister.

3.  If you have selected to eat the catered meal, please pay your district the $6 by January 8, 2016.

4.  Lastly, if you did not receive a confirmation email at the completion of your registration, it is because you have entered your email incorrectly.  I have had about a half dozen emails come back to me because of that. I have corrected your emails in the registration but I'm not sure the program resends a confirmation.

MRVED Business

Upcoming Meetings
December 7, 2015  District Assessment Coordinators (DAC)
December 8, 2015  World Languages
December 11, 2015  Social Studies
December 16, 2015  Superintendents' Council
December 16, 2015  MRVED Board (7 p.m.)
December 17, 2015  Teachers' Advisory Council (TAC)
December 18, 2015  Principals' Council (11:30 a.m. start)

Best Practice Meeting Updates
Industrial Technology
The Industrial Technology best practice meeting was cancelled due to the weather.  We will meet in the Spring.

English Language Arts
The English Language Arts teachers gathered at the MRVED for their best practice meeting yesterday, December 3rd.  Like all the other best practice groups, the day started with an activity centered around grading practices.  Great discussion was had amongst the groups.  After the grading practices activity, they had the opportunity to meet as a district team and dissect data.  Pizza Ranch was amazing as usual.  In the afternoon the group networked and learned a little about integrating technology.  Another great meeting!


MELT Registration
It is that time of the year again!  Registration for the annual MELT conference will be coming to you on the morning of December 9th.  This year there are over 120 sessions to choose from.  Be sure to register early as sessions fill up.  The deadline to register will be December 22nd.  Registration is crucial to the process of the MELT, so please make a point to get it done right away.  Last year we had over 200 people register on the first day!  Let's top that number this year!  Look for the registration on December 9th from your Principal!

MRVED Business

Upcoming Meetings
November 20, 2015  Principals' Council (11:30 a.m. start)
November 25, 2015  Superintendents' Council

December 1, 2015  Industrial Technology
December 3, 2015  English Language Arts
December 4, 2015  Title III Teachers
December 7, 2015  District Assessment Coordinators (DAC)
December 8, 2015  World Languages
December 11, 2015  Social Studies

MELT Networking Facilitators - Last Chance

The MRVED is looking for facilitators of networking groups.  As a facilitator you are not expected to be the expert in the room, but rather move the discussion along.  The goal of a networking group is to share resources and ideas with people who have the same interest.  They are meant to include a give & take. Bring something to share and take something away that someone else shared.  The only networking groups that will be offered are those that have a willing facilitator.  If a networking group does not have a facilitator, it will not be held.  If you would like to sign up, please click the link below and add your name to the list next to the group you would like to facilitate.  The networking sign up will close at 3:00p.m. on Friday November 20.  If you have any questions or cannot access the form, please contact Brandon (braymo@mrved.net).


MELT NETWORKING FACILITATOR SIGN UP LINK



Best Practice Meeting Updates
Title I
The Title I teachers came to the MRVED on November 3rd.  The Title I teachers get a treat every year as Brandon and Karen both run the meeting.  In the morning the group spent some time with Karen discussing Mindset.  The conversations were awesome!  After Mindset, the group read and discussed an article on learning styles.  Lunch was amazing as usual.  In the afternoon the group networked and shared a wealth of resources.   Brandon then talked about how to search Google effectively and efficiently and the day was over.  A very productive day for all.

Phy Ed & Health
The Phy Ed and Health teachers gathered at the MRVED in early November for their annual best practice meeting.  The morning was centered around a great conversation on grading practices in the classroom.  It has been really neat to see how each content area approaches this topic.  The activity has expanded the thinking of many.  Then the group aligned their curriculum with the standards using a Google Doc.  In the afternoon, the group networked and finished the day with aligning the health standards.  It was a very productive day with some great conversation.

FACS
The MRVED meeting with the FACS teachers was combined with the Southwest West Central Service Cooperatives meeting this year.  The two meetings were scheduled so close together that it was in the best interest of the teachers to combine.  The teachers had the opportunity to hear from their state specialist as well as an introduction to the Frameworks for FACS Education.  In the afternoon we heard from Neal, who works at the U of M as a researcher in the field of food defense.  Yes, food defense!  Basically defending our food supply from any terrorist attacks, both foreign and domestic.  It was another awesome day with a great group of ladies!

Agriculture
Brandon and the Ag teachers ventured to Hutchinson on a beautiful Friday afternoon.  The morning was spent on the Ridgewater campus, touring and meeting with faculty in the manufacturing department.  In the afternoon, we toured MITGI on the Hutchinson Technology Campus.  After a short meeting with the President of MITGI as well as the HR and Safety Director, we had the opportunity to tour the building.  MITGI is a precision carbide cutting tool manufacturer.  Not only was the process amazing to watch, but the atmosphere at MITGI and the way the business is ran is awesome.  Overall it was a great day of learning about what higher ed is looking for as well as employers in the industry.

MELT Call for Presentation Proposals

MELT Call for Presentation Proposals
It is that time of the year again!  Time to start looking for teachers to present at the MELT (MRVED Educators Learning Together) Conference in January.  The past few years we have had some great presentations by our local teachers.  Hopefully this year can be better yet.  Last year, there were over 90 sessions to choose from throughout the day with about 1/4 of them being led by local teachers.  My goal is to get to 50% led by local educators.  This is a great opportunity to share some of the awesome and unique things going on in your classroom.  If you would like to present, please fill out the form (linked below).  If you know of someone that would do an awesome job, encourage them to present.
Payment:

• $100 - Present one, 1-hour session
• $150 - Present the same 1-hour session twice
• $150 - Present one, 2-hour session
• $200 - Present two different 1-hour sessions

Please Note:

• If you want to present as a team, only one proposal needs to be made.  The person that makes the proposal will be the contact person for that group.
• Submitting a proposal does not commit you to presenting.  You are only providing the MRVED with information that you are interested in presenting.
• Brandon will contact you by the end of October if your session was selected.
• You may fill out more than one proposal.

Possible Session Ideas:

• Cross-Curricular Projects
• School Readiness
• SMART Training
• CPI
• Teaching Vocabulary
• 6+1 Traits of Writing
• Writing in the Elementary
• Daily 5
• Daily 3
• STEM/STEAM
• Coding
• Technology: SMARTBoard, Tablets, Content Area, Grade Level, Apps

MELT Call for Presentation Proposal Form

MELT Call for Presentations

MELT Call for Presentation Proposals
It is that time of the year again!  Time to start looking for teachers to present at the MELT (MRVED Educators Learning Together) Conference in January.  The past few years we have had some great presentations by our local teachers.  Hopefully this year can be better yet.  Last year, there were over 90 sessions to choose from throughout the day with about 1/4 of them being led by local teachers.  My goal is to get to 50% led by local educators.  This is a great opportunity to share some of the awesome and unique things going on in your classroom.  If you would like to present, please fill out the form (linked below).  If you know of someone that would do an awesome job, encourage them to present.
Payment:

• $100 - Present one, 1-hour session
• $150 - Present the same 1-hour session twice
• $150 - Present one, 2-hour session
• $200 - Present two different 1-hour sessions

Please Note:

• If you want to present as a team, only one proposal needs to be made.  The person that makes the proposal will be the contact person for that group.
• Submitting a proposal does not commit you to presenting.  You are only providing the MRVED with information that you are interested in presenting.
• Brandon will contact you by the end of October if your session was selected.
• You may fill out more than one proposal.

Possible Session Ideas:

• Cross-Curricular Projects
• School Readiness
• SMART Training
• CPI
• Teaching Vocabulary
• 6+1 Traits of Writing
• Writing in the Elementary
• Daily 5
• Daily 3
• STEM/STEAM
• Coding
• Technology: SMARTBoard, Tablets, Content Area, Grade Level, Apps

MELT Call for Presentation Proposal Form