Please note: TE2 ~ How to Use a Flatbed Scanner - workshop date has been changed to Jan 10, 2007

 

LANGUAGE ARTS

Join other administrators for a professional learning circle about current research, trends and developments.

Time: 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.

PDP’s: 15

Dates: 10/17, 11/28, 1/23, 2/27,  3/26

Limit:  10

Explore how your personal writing life impacts your writing instruction.  Share your personal writing and conference with other writers.  Writers may work on a longer piece, or several short pieces.  Bring enough copies of your writing piece(s) for all group members.

Time: 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

PDP’s: 14

Dates: 1/9, 1/16, 1/30, and 2/6

Limit:  10

Share classroom strategies with other writing teachers/staff.  Find new favorites – poetry, mentor texts, and non-fiction.  We will learn from Donald Graves, use our personal writing practice in the classroom, and talk about notebooks and journals.  Be prepared to share your writing.  You will select one finished piece for a final project.

Time: 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

PDP’s: 14

Dates: 4/16, 5/7, 5/14, and 5/28

Limit:  10

GENERAL EDUCATION

Participants will gain knowledge about the importance of teaching fluency as part of their reading instruction.  They will participate in activities which model fluency practices. They will receive materials that they can use in their daily instructional time.

Time: 3:15 – 6:30 p.m.

PDP’s: 10

Dates: 12/4, 12/11, and 12/18

Limit:  12

Brain Gym is a system of quick and enjoyable physical activities that enhance brain function.  These simple physical movements can bring automatic improvements in such skills as memory, math, reading, writing, concentration and communication.  There are also noticeable gains in creativity, energy levels and athletic performance.  The premise is based on how children learn in the world they encounter.  Children learn as they move through life.  Intelligence demands the ability to move easily between generalization and specification, a whole brain/body state.  You will learn the procedures that “switch on” the frontal-hemispheres for learning.  Organizational skills will help students make rational decisions and maintain self-control.  Students will be able to concentrate his or her attention and see the bigger picture at the same time.  MCAS testing puts stress on our students.  Brain Gym helps them test in a “switch on” way.  Teachers will find after the two-hour session they are both energized, as well as relaxed, a combination teachers will enjoy.

Time: 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

PDP’s: 4

Dates: 11/28 and 12/10/2007

Limit:  20

The act of being a critical friend can have a huge impact in helping a colleague understand more clearly their own work, thinking, goals, and problems.  Most importantly, a good critical friend can bring solutions within easier reach.  Educators have so little time to reflect on their practice.  This workshop would provide interested teachers the opportunity to participate in a collaborative setting to share ideas/strategies through various structured protocols.  Possible topics of collaborative discussion could include: effective teaching practices, classroom management, assessment methods, parent communication, and many others.  This workshop is targeted for teachers in their beginning years as a follow-up to our Mentoring Program, yet all staff would be welcome to reflect and share their knowledge!

Time: *3:00 – 5:30 p.m.

(Please feel free to come if your schedule does not allow you to get there at 3:00 pm)

PDP’s: 4

Dates: Nov 29, Dec 13, 2007, Jan 24, Feb 28, and March 27, 2008,

Limit:  No Limit

The Massachusetts Department of Education’s regulations state that professional development points will not be awarded for participation in a self-directed study group.  Yet, the Department of Education further states that self-directed activities that result in a professional product are eligible for professional development points.  Following is a list of guidelines that define a self-directed activity:

• The activity enhances an educator’s subject content knowledge

• The activity enhances the educator’s pedagogical skills

• The activity is innovative and based on current research

• The activity is shared with other educators

• The activity is used in the classroom to improve student learning

• The activity is based upon the improvement goals of the school and district

The product that results from the self-directed activity is the key to the process.  It must fit the criteria listed above to be eligible for PDPs in the North Attleborough Public Schools.  A minimum of one PDP and maximum of fifteen PDPs could be awarded for each individual self-directed activity based on the total clock hours of the activity.  If you are interested in submitting a proposal, complete the following form and first submit it to the Assistant Superintendent’s office for final approval.  Once the activity is completed, please forward a copy of the proposal along with the product to the Assistant Superintendent’s office so that PDPs can be awarded.
               Self Directed Activity Form (PDF format) or  Self Directed Activity Form (Word format)

SPECIAL EDUCATION

The principles and techniques taught in the non-violent crisis intervention program have proven effective in resolving potentially violent situations.  By participating in this program, you will gain the confidence necessary to handle crisis situations with minimal anxiety and maximum security.  The training will help you intervene more safely when behavior becomes dangerous.

Time: 2:30/3:00 – 6:30 p.m.

PDP’s: 16

Limit:  12

This workshop will apply to those working with children on the autism spectrum and those who are working with children who demonstrate behavioral issues.  The format will be a “Make and Take” session so implementation of visual strategies can be immediate.  An introduction of Mayer-Johnson’s Boardmaker will be included.

Time: 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

PDP’s: 2

Date: Jan 23, 2008

Limit:  15

TECHNOLOGY

Learn the Ins and Outs of Grade Quick from a teacher's perspective with student information - email lists, etc. - using print outs of sheets instead of the bound grade book. If you want to know some of the other things you can get Grade Quick to do for you beside store grades and do averages for report cards, this is the workshop for you.

Audience: High School and Middle School Staff

Time: 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm

PDP’s: 2

Date: Thurs Oct 25, 2007

Limit:  12

Learn the basics of a flatbed scanner and its applications into other software programs.

Time: 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

PDP’s: 2

Date: Thurs Jan 10, 2007

Limit:  15

Is your home computer not running as fast as it used to?  We will explore the reasons that your computer may not be running as efficiently as when you bought it, explore issues such as viruses, Adware, Spyware, and Malware.  So you don’t know what these terms mean…join us and find out. We’ll go over how you can get rid of unwanted software and show you maintenance programs that you can run to return your computer to its peak performance.

Time: 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm.

PDP’s: 4

Dates: Wed Dec 5 and Thurs Dec 6

Limit:  15

The Technology Department has developed a SharePoint template for each high school /middle school teacher. This template can be used “as is” or modified to meet your classroom needs. As the site administrator, you can add more web parts or delete ones that you will not need. Your students will have permission to read and download documents, and contribute to the Digital Drop Box. Students will be required to log in with their name and password. Time will be available for you to customize your website and have it ready for immediate use.

Time: 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Limit:  15

 

Dates: Tues Nov 6, 13

The Technology Department has developed a SharePoint template website for each teacher and staff member. This template can be used “as is” or modified to meet your needs. As the site administrator, you can add more web parts or delete ones that you will not need. Time will be available for you to customize your website and have it ready for immediate use.

Time: 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Dates: Tues Dec 4, 11

PDP’s: 4 (10 PDPs if web is maintained until June)

Need more help customizing your site? Do you want to setup discussion boards, RSS Feeds and a digital drop box for students? Learn how to conduct a survey. Add your PowerPoint files, sound and video files to your site. Setup permissions for limited access to parts of your site for specific users. Time will be available for you to customize your site.

Time: 3:30 – 5:30 pm

PDP’s: 4

Dates: Tues Jan 15, 22

Limit:  15

The Digital Imaging Workshop will be broken down into several sections. First, each participant will become oriented with a digital camera, and will learn how to take better pictures through proper technique, and through the use of various in-camera features and settings. This portion of the workshop will also explain how to download the pictures to a computer.  Next, each participant will learn how best to scan pictures into a computer using a flatbed scanner.  Finally, each participant will learn how to edit and enhance these pictures using Adobe PhotoElements .  Each participant will create a final project using the skills taught. 

Time: 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm

PDP’s: 10

Dates: Wed Jan 9, 23, 30, Feb 6, 13 

 Limit:  15

Spreadsheet basics (moving around the worksheet, entering data, adjusting columns and row width, formatting text), creating simple formulas and graphing data will be covered. This is an excellent tool for capturing data (i.e. mathematical statistics or scientific data).

Time: 3:30 – 5:30 pm

PDP’s: 6

Dates: Thurs Jan 31, Feb 7, 14        

Limit:  15

This is an introductory workshop to setting up a database using Microsoft Access2000. Participants will learn how to work with data, locate and sort records, create a query and produce a variety of reports using the information in your database. Setting up a new database, creating a table, adding and deleting records and checking the spelling will be covered as well as converting data from Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

Time: 3:30 – 5:30 pm

PDP’s: 6

Dates: Thurs Feb 28, Mar 6, 13      

Limit:  15

Is your home computer not running as fast as it used to?  We will explore the reasons that your computer may not be running as efficiently as when you bought it, explore issues such as viruses, Adware, Spyware, and Malware.  So you don’t know what these terms mean…join us and find out. We’ll go over how you can get rid of unwanted software and show you maintenance programs that you can run to return your computer to its peak performance.

Time: 3:30 – 5:30 pm

PDP’s: 4

Dates: Wed Mar 5, 12  

Limit:  15

This course is for the Beginner.  This course will cover the following: Creating, saving, opening and manipulating a document, Page set up, Font (style, size, bold, italics), Copy/Cut/paste function, Bulleted List, Numbered List, Tabs and minimizing, maximizing, and working with multiple documents.

Time: 3:30 – 5:30 pm

PDP’s: 4

Dates: Tues Mar 11, 18  

Limit:  15

This workshop is for the intermediate Access users who have mastered the basics of database management and want to learn to use the more powerful features of this program. Some of the features covered include: (1)Queries: create a query in design view, use the Query wizard, find duplicates queries and delete queries; (2) Mailing Labels: create Mail Merge Mailing Labels and custom labels; (3) Sorting and Filters: Filter by selection, Filter by form, saving and removing a filter; (4) Reports: Using the wizard, creating and editing your own report in design View and printing reports; (5) Forms: Create a form using the Form Wizard and one in Design View, adding and deleting records using a form and Editing forms; (6) Conversion of data to/from Excel spreadsheets

Time: 3:30 – 5:30 pm

PDP’s: 6

In this workshop, we will explore the varied uses of the Discovery Education streaming video website.  Topics will include downloading and archiving videos and video clips, embedding video into Power Point presentations and other creative uses of video clips in the classroom.

Time: 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm

PDP’s: 4

Dates: Wed Mar 19 and Thurs Mar 20

Limit:  15