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Volume 3 - Issue 32 - May 16, 2005 |
Reminder
-- Employee Appreciation Event
Kyrene’s Annual Employee Recognition Event will take place
this Wednesday, May 18, from 4-5:30 p.m. in the MPR at
Manitas. We will be recognizing valued employees who are either retiring or reaching a milestone year of
15, 20, 25, or 30 years with the District.
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Larry Callahan (Norte 4th Grade Teacher)
Sadly, Larry Callahan, a 4th grade teacher at Kyrene del
Norte, lost his mom this past weekend. The visitation
for Larry's mom will be this Thursday, May 19th form 6-8
p.m. at Resthaven Park Mortuary. Funeral Services will
be at the same location on May 20th at 10 a.m. Resthaven
is located at 4310 E. Southern Ave. in Phoenix.
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Reception Honoring Peggy Warren
Peggy
Warren, a longtime Kyrene employee and principal at
Kyrene de las Brisas, will be leaving the District at
the conclusion of the school year. To honor Peggy, a
cake and punch reception will be held Thursday, May 19,
from 4:30-6 p.m. in the Library Lounge at Brisas/Aprende.
All staff are invited to attend. Thank you to the Brisas
PTSO for hosting this reception.
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American
Stars of Teaching
The U.S. Department of Education is focusing attention on
exemplary classroom teachers who are successful in using
innovative teaching strategies and raising student
academic achievement for all of their students by
recognizing them as American Stars of Teaching. These
teachers will be highlighted as representatives of the
thousands of teachers who are making a difference in the
lives of their students. The next group of American
Stars of Teaching will be identified in each state and
the District of Columbia and will represent all grade
levels and disciplines. Officials from the U.S.
Department of Education will again be visiting the
classes of each American Star of Teaching to
congratulate them on their success.
Elementary
Reading Adoption -- Harcourt Publishers
There have been some questions during the Harcourt 2-hour
Overview Trainings regarding the use of the Language
Arts materials. Elementary teachers will receive
blackline masters of Language Arts and Spelling
materials. They are included as part of the Arizona
Teacher’s Package. These materials are considered
supplemental and have not been adopted as the primary
Language Arts and Spelling materials. Rebecca Sitton
Spelling, Everyday Spelling, and Write Source continue
to be our adopted Language Arts resources. A review of
Language Arts materials will take place next year.
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Benefits Open
Enrollment
Open Enrollment is well underway and concludes May 31st.
Every employee who has a Kyrene e-mail address should
have received a link to an electronic enrollment form
for their benefit elections. Also, new this year,
employees should have received an open enrollment packet
of information at their home address. Kyrene is
obligated to make important benefit information
available to both the employee and any eligible
dependent. The KEBT Trust agreed that mailing the
packet to the home address ensures that dependents
have an opportunity to receive it. Kyrene is
committed to providing members (employees and eligible
dependents) covered under the medical plan and
other benefit plans with the most recent
information regarding their plan choices. For your
convenience and to reduce other benefits-related costs,
the medical summary plan document and the medical
provider directories are now available online
for your reference.
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New
Employee Benefits
Kyrene will be extending another
new employee benefit for next year. The 20 percent
employee discount currently available for Kyrene Kids
Club infant, toddler, and preschool programs will also
be available to employees who have children enrollment
in the All-Day Kindergarten and Montessori kindergarten
programs.
Last week, the Tempe City Council
approved the proposal brought forward from Kid Zone to
offer free childcare to Kyrene employees whose children
attend our Tempe schools. Additionally, the
Ahwatukee YMCA will offer free childcare to employees
who have children attending Sierra. Coupled with a
similar benefit announcement by Kyrene Kids Club earlier
this year, all Kyrene employees with children attending
Kyrene schools with a Kids Club, Kid Zone or Ahwatukee
YMCA program will have access to free after-school
childcare.
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Report Card
Changes for Language Arts
Teachers are to use the new Kyrene Writing Curriculum for the
2005-2006 school year. Teachers were to receive training
in May on the new curriculum. Due to the changes in the
Kyrene Writing Curriculum, it will be necessary to make
some changes to the elementary and middle school report
cards. The Curriculum and Assessment Department is
working with the Curriculum and Assessment Council
to revise the elementary and middle school report cards
as they relate to Language Arts. Once changes have been
finalized, teachers and administrators will be notified.
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Rio
Salado Vouchers Available for Teachers
There are still vouchers available through Rio Salado College
for individuals who need to become Highly Qualified,
certified in their content area, or for individuals
needing a middle school endorsement. If you are
interested in enrolling in an online class through Rio
Salado, contact Margie Lombardi
at x4128 in the Curriculum and Assessment Department.
These vouchers will be distributed on a first-come,
first-served basis. There is a maximum limit of 6 credit
hours per person. Vouchers will be available in 1 credit
hour increments.
If you have already contacted the Curriculum and Assessment
Department, you will be notified as soon as the vouchers
are ready for distribution. You will need a copy of your
teaching certificate to register for classes. For more
information regarding these courses, please click
here.
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Summer
Opportunities Through Curriculum and Assessment and
Technology
There are some wonderful summer opportunities that you
won’t want to miss. There are still seats left for the
June workshops presented by Robert Marzano, Vickie
Spandel and Nancy Lyle from MAX Teaching. Nancy Lyle
will be sharing effective content area reading and
writing strategies for use in the classroom. Click on
the links below to access summer classes offered by the
Technology and the Curriculum and Assessment
Departments.
Technology Classes: http://www.kyrene.org/edtech/classes/sum_05/index.htm
Curriculum Classes: http://www.kyrene.org/edtech/classes/sum_05/sum_05_curric/
Note: The three-hour June and July planning with Harcourt or
Holt classes are different trainings than the 2-hour
overview classes in May. There are still seats left for
summer reading trainings.
Register for classes at https://pgo.kyrene.org/.
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ASSET
Online Summer Professional Development Opportunities
Registration
is now underway for ASSET’s summer 2005 courses. To
access the ASSET Summer 2005 course catalog, click
here.
To
register for an ASSET online course:
If you have questions regarding registration, contact Challis
Ireland at x4102.
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ASU
Language and Literacy Cohort
ASU is
continuing to offer a masters cohort program in
Curriculum and Instruction and a Reading Endorsement.
These classes are taught at various school sites in
Kyrene. This cohort is a "rolling cohort"
meaning that an individual can begin the programs any
time a new course is offered. Click
here to access information regarding summer classes
for ASU’s Language and Literacy Cohort.
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Native
American Recognition and Student Talent Event
Kyrene
Indian Education and the Native American Parent Advisory
Committee co-sponsored a Native American Recognition and
Student Talent Event on May 7 at Kyrene de las Manitas.
Listed are the grade level overall winners:
Pre-kindergarten
Native American Student of the Year: Dylan Sekayumptewa,
Hopi, Navajo and Sac and Fox, Preschool & Kids Club,
Manitas
Kindergarten
Native American Student of the Year: Nizhoni Franklin,
Navajo, Mirada
1st
Grade Native American Student of the Year: Brittany
Kinlicheenie, Navajo and African American, Manitas
2nd
Grade Native American Student of the Year: Tristan Hill,
Apache, Niños
3rd
Grade Native American Student of the Year: Kaylon
Kinlicheenie, Navajo and African American, Manitas
4th
Grade Native American Student of the Year: Jennifer
Jones, Navajo, Niños
5th
Grade Native American Student of the Year: Juan Reyes,
Tohono O'odham, Niños
6th
Grade Native American Student of the Year: Cheyenne
Walker, Lakota, KMS
7th
Grade Native American Student of the Year: Everette
Martin, Navajo, Aprende
8th
Grade Native American Student of the Year: Brittney
Cook, Tuscarora/Six Nations, Altadeña
Overall
Native American Student of the Year: Brittney Cook,
Tuscarora/Six Nations, Altadeña
Native
American Spirit Award: Juan Reyes, Tohono O'odham, Niños
Native
American Family of the Year Award: The Kinlicheenie
Family (Laverne K., Aaron K., Paulette H., and Valentina
Martin)
Native
American Staff of the Year Award: Maggie Schuyler, 5th
Grade Teacher, Ninos
We
would also like to thank our guest speakers, Lieutenant
Governor Mary Thomas of the Gila River Indian Community
and Vice Principal Kelvin Inouye of Manitas/Colina.
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