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Volume 3 - Issue 33 - May 23, 2005
THIS WILL BE THE FINAL EDITION OF THE INSIDER
UNTIL SCHOOLS REOPEN IN AUGUST. |
Message
from Dr. Menconi
Many,
many thanks to all for a very successful, productive and
exciting year. Kyrene staff is second to none, you demonstrate
that daily.
Happy
summer to all! Take some time to rest, reflect and
rejuvenate! We look forward to seeing you full of energy
and plans for the new school year in August.
Sincerely,
Maria
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Compensation
Study Changes
At
tomorrow night's Governing Board meeting, modifications
to the Compensation Study Work Plan will be recommended.
The primary changes, if approved the Board, that would affect
teachers and support staff are as follows:
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The
timeline will be modified within the Work Plan from Year
One, Design, November 12, 2003, to November 12, 2004
(extended through December, 2004); Year Two, Pilot,
January 1, 2005, through January 1, 2006; Year Three,
Implementation, January 1, 2006, through January 1,
2007. The modification of the timeline is as follows:
Group
Design
Pilot
Implementation
Administrators
2003-2005
2005-2006 2006-2007
Teachers
2003-2006
2006-2007 2007-2008
Support
2003-2006
2006-2007 2007-2008
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Within
Board parameters the Meet and Confer Teams will be able
to examine alternative Knowledge and Skill based pay
structures to the conceptual model currently being
studied.
The
primary work of the Meet and Confer Team will be to
examine these alternative schedules, adopt rules for
transition, and determine the cell values within the
schedule and the schedule’s anticipated cost of
implementation.
Changes that impact
individual employee groups will be communicated in
further detail to each group. Click here for an outline
of the recommendations being made to the Board for their
consideration.
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Governing Board Meeting Agenda
The
Kyrene Governing Board will meet tomorrow evening at 7
p.m. Attached
is a copy of the agenda.
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SEI Endorsement Update
As of May 16, 2005, the Arizona Department of Education
released the names of university and community college
programs that have been approved by the State Board of
Education to offer the first 15 hours of SEI training.
The first 15 hours of training must be completed by
August of 2006. These approved programs include the
following:
Grand Canyon University
Ottawa University
Pima Community College
Yavapai Community College
All Kyrene individuals required to complete the first 15
hours of training should be cautious to enroll only in
programs that have been state-approved. For staff
intending to enroll in courses for this summer, only the
above four institutions have been approved to date. When
we return in the fall, additional approved training
programs will be announced. A packet of information will
be provided to each principal in July, which will
contain information to be shared with staff members at
beginning of the school year.
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KMS Teacher Wins "Teacher of the Year" Award
Congratulations
to KMS teacher, Mary Bittel, sixth grade Language
Arts, who received the Teacher of the Year award from
the Council for Exceptional Children.
Competition for the award came from the entire
East Valley. The
Council for Exceptional Children is an international
organization and bestows this award on those teachers
who have demonstrated extraordinary techniques in the
teaching of typical and special education students.
She was the recipient of this award because of
her dedication to her students and the desire to learn
which she instills in each of her students.
Mrs. Bittel's philosophy of teaching is not so
much that every child should be taught, as that every
child should be given the wish to learn.
Congratulations again to Mrs. Bittel.
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Message from Pam
Nephew
Dear
Kyrene Colleagues,
As
many of you know, I have accepted a Principalship in the
Higley Unified School District. With mixed emotions I am
leaving Kyrene to open a new school in Higley. I will
continue as Lagos Assistant Principal until mid-June. I
have thoroughly enjoyed serving the students and
communities of Kyrene. Over the past 24 years I have
watched Kyrene grow from four elementary schools when I
student taught at Waggoner in 1981 to 19 elementary
schools today. I am very proud and honored to be a part
of this wonderful school district.
So
many people have touched me professionally and
personally over the past 24 years that I wanted to send
my heartfelt appreciation to all of you.
I will always consider Kyrene to be my home and I
treasure the many friendships I have made over the
years. I am very excited about my new challenge. I will
be opening a new K-8 school that is expected to have
over 1,000 students enrolled in August. Boy do I have
lots of work ahead of me! Once again thank you for all
of the memories and that I will forever treasure from
working with such incredible people. Have a safe and
restful summer.
Warmly,
Pam Nephew
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Staff
Reminders: Benefits Open Enrollment and Kyrene Kids Club
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.
Kyrene
Kids Club will be providing free childcare to children
of Kyrene employees at its school-age programs. Please
remember to register for the program prior to leaving
for the summer. To register, call the Customer Service
Center at x4090.
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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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Pueblo
Music Tour Group Wins Festival Sweepstakes
During their April 28-May 1 tour to attend the Heritage Music
Festival in Fullerton, California, the Kyrene del Pueblo
Middle School music students received the top Festival
Sweepstakes award for their combined efforts. The
sweepstakes trophy is presented to the school that earns
the highest combined scores for their band, chorus, and
orchestra performances during the weekend festival
event. Students in the Kyrene del Pueblo 8th
Grade Band and Chorus, Show Choir, Jazz Band, and
Pueblo/Aprende MS Orchestra performed for adjudicators
who used a national rating system while providing
valuable clinics and evaluations of the groups. Each of
the Pueblo music ensembles received the superior
“Gold” award rating. The 8th Grade Band
and Pueblo/Aprende Orchestra received first place
rankings in their divisions, and the Jazz Band and
Chorus received second place honors.
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Colina
Fifth Graders Receive Red Cross Certifications
Fifth graders from Colina participated in training throughout
the spring as part of the Colina Babysitter’s Club. As
a result 37 students received their Red Cross
Adult/Child/Infant CPR with First Aid certifications,
and 34 students received their Red Cross Babysitting
certification. The training started in February and
ended May 2nd.
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Centennial
Student Participates in National Chess Competition
John
Williams, a 6A student at Centennial Middle School
participated in a chess tournament called the "Supernationals."
It was held in Nashville, TN in April. He competed with
217 children in the K-6 grades. He placed 21st! He had
placed 18th in a past year. John said that one of his
goals is to become a Master chess player, which carries
a rating of more than 2200. His rating at this time is
1577.
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Arizona
State Retirement System Newsletter
Attached
is the latest edition of the Arizona State Retirement
System newsletter.
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