LAD Fair

Hey, everyone. I hope your years are going well!

It's LAD Fair time again, and I've pledged to help rustle up some judges this year. Here are the details if you'd be interested in judging:

March 15th, 2008
8-ish to Noon
Free Lunch (There is such a thing apparently)
Contact number (if interested): 724-3643

Thanks,

Zak

Making Headlines...

Read about our beloved OWP online:

Eleven new sites join NWP network and New NWP Site at Missouri State University.

Yippee! :)

Summer Workshops for HS teachers from NEH

Here's a list of workshops for high school history and English teachers sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Deadlines to apply are March 17, and fellows chosen can apply for grants through NEH to attend, but are awarded $500 for participating. There are a lot of interesting workshops this year...and in some enjoyable places. :) Make it a vacation!

Four TC's present at Write to Learn

Hey everyone...another SNOW DAY (or as my students put it "a SN'ICE Day") in the Ozarks. Well, I should clarify...for everyone but SPS? :)

I just wanted to post a few pics from Write to Learn, held last weekend at Tan-Tar-A. Liz presented "Bringing the Magic Back to Writing." (Remember Smokey Mtn. Rose??:) Barb presented information about safety with her online community; and Zak presented his Readers' Theatre information. I presented on Senior Projects, something I can't stop talking about.

The MWPN/MATE reception was held at 4:30 and we couldn't resist a little Writing Project fun. Seems our newest MWPN site (the OZARKS WRITING PROJECT) was out making waves with conference participants. Joe, Liz, and Larry spent a lot of their time
recruiting and talking to everyone they could grab about the WP. And when I say "grab", I mean GRAB! They were pulling people into the booth left and right. I think they had a system: Liz would grab and hug and pass to Larry; Larry would talk "heart to heart/teacher to teacher" that the WP would change your life and then he'd pass off to Joe, who amazingly enough, stuffed pens, flyers, brochures, and other handouts into their already full arms. So for their love and dedication, we awarded the three of them with small tokens of appreciation and the MWPN Spirit Awards! (Thank God for construction paper and markers!) :)

Also, Julie, Larry, and Joe read at open mic...which I hear was a wonderous success.

New Site Visit from NWP

Wow!

What a weekend!

Thank you so much for all of the fellows, friends, and MSU folks for joining us for the reception with two special guests from the National Office.

We were so lucky to have these guests. Not only for their tremendous feedback and suggestions, but also because of their own amazing work.

Dr. Sandmann is a professor from the Kent State University and director of the Kent State Writing Project. Her work with authors of adolescent literature was phenominal and I learned so much from talking with her about our new site and her work. She is the author of several books...if you get a chance punch her name into Amazon...(go ahead...I'll let the dog out while you look............pretty impressive, huh?)

Dr. Linebarger, also visited with us. She is a third grade teacher and in-service director of the Northern California Writing Project. She authored "Tensing Up: From Fluency to Flair" http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/190 As inservice coordinator, she gave us many great ideas!

I hope that you had a chance to chat with both of these amazing women during the reception at Missouri State University!!!

Have a great week at school!

Laura Burdette

New Site Visitors

Oh, wow, I just checked my email and saw that Springfield Public Schools is cancelled for Friday!!! Yes! (picture me leaping off the couch, fist raised in the air, nearly toppling the laptop). Snow days remind me of skipping assemblies in high school, adrenalin pumping as we dodged the security guard, the motor of my Ford Mercury (that easily held seven people) clearing out the infrequently used cylinders as we raced to the lake to soak up the sun through a firm barrier of SPF15. Ah, I love snowdays and don't care if we have to make them up later.

Hopefully Friday's sun will clear the streets so that everyone can travel safely to Saturday's meeting.

I'm looking forward to exchanging stories and hearing how everyone's year is going. See you there!!

Laura