MRVED Business

Music Teachers Meet
The Music teachers gathered at the MRVED on Wednesday, October 7 for their annual best practice meeting.  As usual the day was filled with great discussion and awesome ideas were shared all around.  The morning was centered around grading practices and a "standards audit".  The afternoon consisted of lots of sharing and planning for MELT.  Overall, it was a great day with a great bunch of educators!

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

Upcoming Meetings
October 14, 2015  MRVED Common Date
October 22, 2015  Art Best Practices
October 23, 2015  Principals' Council
October 27, 2015  Math Best Practices
October 28, 2015  Superintendents' Council
October 29, 2015  Business Best Practices

Please note:  There will be no update next week due to MEA break.  Have a great break!

MRVED Business

Best Practice Meeting Updates
Agriculture
The Agriculture teachers kicked off the 2014-2015 best practices meetings on September 30 with a tour of Ralco Agnition in Balaton and ADM in Marshall. Agnition develops cutting-edge technologies that improve the quality of soil and the health of crops. The Agnition tour was amazing with the day starting with an overview of the company and then a tour of building. The business is located in the old school in Balaton. They modernized the building and gave it more of a business feel. It was neat to see how an old abandon school could still be utilized in a small community. In the afternoon we stopped by ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) in Marshall on our way home. This company converts corn, oilseeds, wheat, and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, industrial and energy uses. Again, another amazing experience to see what actually happens in that place and to see the volume of corn products that pass through every day.

Music
The music teachers came to the MRVED on Thursday, October 2 for their annual best practice meeting. The day was filled with visiting and idea gathering. The day started with an activity about parent and community involvement and groups brainstormed possible ways in which they can include both into their classrooms. Before lunch the group spent some time looking at the new National Common Core Arts Standards. Pizza Ranch was filled with more stories and laughter. After lunch the group had the opportunity to network and create a plan for the MELT. The group was energetic as always and it was a great meeting for all.


Upcoming Meetings
October 7, 2014 Science
October 10, 2014 Art (Ben Lecy Farm, Echo) NEW DATE
October 10, 2014 Title III Paraprofessionals
October 15, 2014 MRVED Professional Development Day
October 21, 2014 Math
October 22, 2014 Community Ed
October 23, 2014 Business

Perpich Center Music Summer Professional Development

Perpich Center Summer Offerings
The Perpich Center for Arts Education has released their summer professional development information for music instructors.  There are plenty of opportunities for all educators interested in music education.  There are a variety of selections to choose from, such as:

• SmartMusic
• SMARTBoard
• Music Law
• Finale
• Moving Matters
• Cultural Context
• Many more!

You can access the registration documents below.

Registration Materials

If you have questions, or need more information contact:
Suzanne Bursh - suzanne.bursh@pcae.k12.mn.us or 763-279-4182

MRVED Business

Last Week for the Call for MELT Presentations & Session Ideas

The call for presentations will close on November 1st.  The MRVED is once again looking for people to present at the annual MELT conference in January.  The 2014 installment of the MELT will be held at Lac Qui Parle Valley High School on January 20.  This is a great day to showcase some of the great things you are doing in your classrooms.  Presenters will be paid a small stipend for their efforts.  If you are interested in providing a session, please click on the link below and fill out the form.  Filling out the form does not guarantee or bind you to providing a session.  If you don't want to present, but have great ideas for possible sessions, please click on the correct link below to provide the MRVED with your suggestions.

If you are willing to present and provide a session click HERE

If you do not want to present, but have ideas for sessions, click HERE

Meeting Updates
Title I
The Title I teachers came to the MRVED for their 2nd ever best practice meeting on October 8.  Brandon and Karen facilitated the learning around effective feedback and depth of knowledge.  The afternoon was spent networking and sharing ideas.  Overall it was a great day of learning and networking.

Music
The music instructors gathered at the MRVED for their annual best practice meeting on Wednesday, October 9.  The day was full of conversation and sharing.  Part of the morning was spent networking in job-alike groups, with all instructors coming well-prepared for their networking.  21st Century Skills was also a focus of the morning and the teachers really got into discussing and learning about what it looks like in their classrooms.  During the afternoon, Jessica Leibfried from the Perpich Center met with the teachers to discuss what the Perpich Center can do for them professionally.  Jessica will be continuing to work with the teachers during MELT in January.  Overall a great day was had!

Art
The art teachers met at the MRVED on Thursday, October 10 for their best practice meeting.  The day started off with a presentation and discussion from OSHA on safety in the art classroom.  After the OSHA presentation, Jeremy Holien from the Perpich Center met with the teachers and discussed and facilitated 21st Century Skills and curriculum alignment with the instructors.  The rest of the afternoon was spent networking and discussing possible MELT sessions for the art teachers.

MRVED UPCOMING MEETINGS:
October 29, 2013 - Math
October 30, 2013 - Superintendents' Council
November 5, 2013 - FACS (meeting will be in Marshall)
November 6, 2013 - Principals' Council
November 14, 2013 - Guidance Counselors

MRVED Business

Week Ahead
We will have a busy week at the MRVED next week as the Teacher Advisory Council will be in on Tuesday, the Superintendents on Wednesday, and agriculture instructors will be touring K&M Manufacturing on Thursday.  Please be sure to check the MRVED calendar for all the meeting dates this upcoming school year. We look forward to working with all of you.

Meet the MRVED

Meet Mary Brown. Mary is the Administrative Assistant for the MRVED. She is originally from the Iron Range, spent several years in the Twin Cities area, and moved to Montevideo in 1992. She joined the MRVED in 1993 and has seen many changes over the years. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Northern Michigan University and in a former life worked as a probation officer (who knew???). She and her husband have a daughter, Lana, who is an athletic trainer in northern Minnesota, and a son, Matthew, who owns Prairieland Builders in Montevideo and is married with two “beautiful” daughters with a third baby on the way. Mary enjoys playing with her grandbabies, cooking, baking bread, and spending time 320 miles north at their cabin on Lake Vermilion.