Special Education - March 21, 2011

Monday Memo

March 21, 2011 

"We become stronger because we experience hard times, wiser because we’ve made mistakes, smarter because of our times of confusion, and happier because we look beyond our past."

"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength. " ~Michael Jordan   

Courageously leading a dynamic revolution in Education!

“The key to change... is to let go of fear.” ~Rosanne Cash

Time Sheets & Expense Forms WERE Due last week!
We're slipping... Many written leave requests were missing as we reviewed time sheets and 
reimbursement forms last week. We had been doing so well...

Neb-Mac Time Study... May 2nd through May 6th. The lucky participants for the ESU 4 Spring Time Study are... Ellen Cain, Audrey Graves, Joel Halpine, Diane Jergensen, Shelly Kucera, Joan Schroder, Lynn Wurtele, and Catrina Zentner. I'll be sending out packets once we receive them at the office. Luckily, the majority do not need to participate in 'pre-time study training.' Congratulations!  

**Observation (Evaluation) Schedules... Here's the schedule so far:

Tuesday, February 8th - Amy Jobe (8:45 @ LC)
Monday, February 14th - Joel Halpine (9:00 @ AHS)
Thursday, February 24th - Ellen Cain (8:45 @ LC)
Monday, February 28th - Gail Palmer (2:15 @ JB)
Wednesday, March 2nd - Diane Jergensen (9:00 @ Cook)
Monday, March 7th - Denise Buethe (8:10 @ JB)
Tuesday, March 8th - Christy Tanner (8:15 @ TR)
Monday, March 21st - Kathy Jones (12:30-ish @ Lewiston)
Thursday, March 31st - Aimee Daily (3:30-ish @ JB)
Monday, April 4th - Julinne Moore (1:00 @ H) - 


Kathy Novak: We need to schedule your observation. Please share 2 or 3 meeting dates with me ASAP. I would like those meetings to be held prior to 3/31/2011.

Go for it
Run toward it
Dive in head first
Live life with no regrets
Put your heart out there
...Don't be scared you might get hurt, but its all worth it in the end... THE BEST IS YET TO COME

Staff Development...

 - Writing Measurable Goals... WEBINAR Series, Session #1 and #2 are recorded...
Webinar #1 Address - http://esu4.na5.acrobat.com/p16028897/ 
Webinar #2 Address - http://esu4.na5.acrobat.com/p83174927/

 - Writing Measurable Goals... WEBINAR Series, Session #3! The next Webinar session is Wednesday,  April 20th... register on the ESU 4 website! The discussion about measurability continues with continued focus on goals/objectives and benchmarks, as well as talking about 'the rest of the IEP.' This discussion came up at a recent ESU 4 file review so it's becoming more crucial...

 QOE (Quality Observation and Evaluation...  
I will need the following forms and documentation from the following people.
     Self Evaluation (originally due 9/10)  - Kathy Novak
     Goals and Individual Development Plan (originally due 9/10) - Kathy Novak
     Lesson Reflection (originally due 11/19/10) - Kathy Novak, Joel Halpine

Lesson Reflection #2... due by FRIDAY, April 15th. 

End of the Year Self Evaluation... due at our "End of the Year" Conversation. 

I'll be asking to schedule our "End of the Year" Conversation, beginning April 26th. We will need approximately 1 hour for the conversation.  

Requests for Professional Development/Workshops...Send in a leave request WITH your original request to attend the training; sometimes we get your registration information but I really need that leave sheet. (This might help us in being more accurate and timely with leave forms as well.)

INFORMATION & UPDATES FROM 3/10/11 STAFF MEETING...
IEP meetings, busy schedules and technology... Please don't hesitate to work with districts using technology as you schedule IEP meetings into your busy schedules. I'd like to be able to reduce the amount of travel; it's always my goal that once you get to a district/school, you stay there throughout the day as much as possible. Skype, iChat, and Distance Learning are all great ways to participate in meetings...

End of the Year Assignments and Inventory... I would like to have all speech tests and psych tests returned to the ESU at the conclusion of the school year, for the purposes of inventory and preparing orders for the next school year. I realize that some of the speech tests will be needed throughout the summer; with your help, we will work quickly to get the inventory complete.

What does it mean to be a leader at ESU 4? (Activity: Define "Leadership" in 10 words or less.)

• It means... "Guiding and empowering with respect, understand and integrity."
• It means... "Building and empowering relationships through trust, respect and knowledge."

Self Assessment: Leadership Practices Inventory... I will be sharing the results of the assessment that you completed of my leadership behaviors. However, I have also asked those staff members who weren't at our meeting on 3/10/11 to complete the assessment. Once those are turned in and tabulated, I will share the feedback that you provided to me concerning my leadership behaviors. Up to this point, your responses are very similar to what I believe about my own leadership behaviors. Stay tuned...

A Note of Thanks was received at the ESU 4 Office from Gail Palmer. In her note, Gail wrote that she appreciated the positive words and support from everyone.

Technology Goals from 12/2010...

How are you doing???

Speech - 1) Create/begin a blog at the next meeting; 2) Possibly have Gregg and/or Kim come to the next speech meeting (Feb 15, 2011)
Life Skills - Continue to learn more about Google-Docs. We have come a LONG way and are continuing to search out more ways to incorporate technology in our class for students as well as teachers/staff.

PERSEVERANCE...

• P - persist no matter what
• E - endure discomfort
• R - request help
• S - steadfastly hold on to your beliefs and values
• E - envision triumph
• V - very consistently keep at it
• E - embrace adversity as your teacher
• R - refuse to give up
• E - enjoy and celebrate every tiny bit of progress!

According to the New York Times, there is no scientific research that proves that life is serious.
So... Lighten up!!! 

Time Management 101... In the interest of trying to support some of you who are still working on the resolution to be better organized in 2011, I found this article from the Harvard Business Review booklet by way of the "Marshall Memo" that is sent to ESUs every couple of weeks. CEO Peter Bregman recommends a 4 step-process each day... 
1) Plan for the day (5 minutes)... before you even turn on the computer! Make your list; similar to decide which "frog" you're going to eat. 
2) Calendar the day... take out your calendar and schedule your top priorities into specific time slots, putting the hardest and most important items earlier in the day. (Sound familiar, frog fans?)
3) Refocus for one minute every hour... set your phone, watch, computer to ring every hour. When it rings, stop what you're doing, take a deep breath, look at your list and ask if your last hour was productive. Then, look at your calendar and recommit yourself to how you're going to use the next hour.
4) Review (5 minutes)... At the end of the day, shut off your computer and look back on the day. What worked? Did you get distracted? What can you do better tomorrow?

Try this and see how it works... report back on all your success!!! 

(You can report back by 'commenting' on this blog page below! Try it out! Just once! Just hit 'post a comment'... come on! You know you want to!!)

HUSKER NATION: 

When is it a great day to be a Husker fan????
The correct answer is... ALWAYS!!!
Never stop playing the game!  Go BIG RED! GO Big RED! GO BIG Red! GO BIG RED  Educational Service Unit #4, Auburn, Nebraska