September 2002 Newsletter

A FREE newsletter edited by teacher, speaker and author Marjan Glavac.

Labour Day (U.S. and Canada) September 2
Rosh Hashanah Begins at Sundown September 6
Yom Kippur Begins at Sundown September 15
Sukkot Begins at Sundown September 20
First Day of Autumn September 23
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BACK TO SCHOOL SPECIAL

Orders of 10 copies or more of The Busy Educator’s Guide To The World
Wide Web 2nd Edition are eligible for a 30% discount.  We are offering
10 books for $104.65 US/ $139.96 CDN

Call toll free: 1-877-244-3156 or send an e-mail to: mailto:marjan@glavac.com

For information on my keynote "Burn Bright or Burn Out- Motivating Teachers
for Life" on how teachers can attain their goals, manage information overload
and do what it takes to be a great teacher, an information package is available by
calling toll free: 1-877-244-3156 or send an e-mail to: mailto:marjan@glavac.com

Thank you for your continued support.
***********************************************************************
Mr. Marjan Glavac author "The Busy Educator's Guide To The World Wide Web"
Completely Revised and Updated 2ND Edition (Foreword by Dr. Harry Wong)
LONDON, Ontario Canada ISBN 0-9683310-1-7 200 pages
mailto:marjan@glavac.com
FREE subscription to The Busy Educator's Newsletter http://www.thebusyeducator.com/
"There are no boundaries for the journeys of the mind."
***********************************************************************
To subscribe (FREE) to The Busy Educator's Newsletter please e-mail me
at: marjan@glavac.com with subscribe in the subject line. To unsubscribe please e-mail me at: marjan@glavac.com with unsubscribe in the subject line.

Forward this FREE newsletter! Please include my sig file. If this newsletter
was forwarded to you and you would like to receive your own copy, please
sign up at: http://www.thebusyeducator.com/ Reciprocal links to the web site are
much appreciated! Thank you for your support.
***********************************************************************
In This Issue:
* PRESS RELEASE  FROM "STATE KID"
* BRAINSAREFUN
* SCHOOLFIEDLTRIP.COM
* ENGLISHINK
* ARIEL'S HOMEPAGE
* SCOTT L. WALDMAN'S TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP
* YAHK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
* WELCOME TO MRS. DINGMAN'S THIRD GRADE
* KNOWLEDGE COLLEGE TUTORS
* MS. TRUEHEART'S 3RD GRADE
* MRS. BECKY GUFFIN GRADE 5
* BUSY EDUCATOR’S AWARD

The school year has begun for another year.  This is my 21st year teaching, and it
amazes me that the butterflies from my very first day of my very first year are still
with me every year!  I hope all of you had a great opening week wherever you
teach!
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PRESS RELEASE  FROM "STATE KID"
http://www.statekid.com"

CONTACT: Barbara Pollock
Tel.: 508-757-6821
E-mail: geopollock@aol.com

Reading and Writing his Way out of Juvenile Prison

Worcester, Mass., Aug. 6.  When authorities  put career foster kid Billy Stone in a cell (for something he didn't do), they think  their troubles with him are over.  They are just beginning. What they don't know is that the kid can read and write up a storm.  And he's not shy about using the media to whip up support -- which his adult adversaries find very, very scary.

"State Kid" by George Pollock is being published in short weekly installments
on  http://www.statekid.com.  A new chapter goes up every Friday, with 
thirty-four chapters published (of  sixty short chapters).  It's perfect for young
readers who like a fast-paced, easily-digestible story that comes in regular
installments.  The novel contains no language inappropriate for young readers.

The author, a former teacher of English and a writer, is the oldest of five siblings who were brought up in separate foster homes. He and  his two brothers and two sisters  built successful lives and the siblings are very close today.  (See "Sibling Revelry http://www.statekid.com/author.html) But Pollock says that their success is  unusual.  "All but a very few career foster children end up seething their way through dismal, alienated lives; many end up in prison," he said.

Part memoir, part adventure story, part excursions in English, part literary journey, "State Kid" presents a new kind of young hero: literate, a quick study, unwilling to be a victim, and too smart to  challenge adult power in the usual self-defeating ways. His main weapons? Literacy and communication skills.   Instead of another action hero, Billy Stone is a hero of literacy. "I think that's a nice change," the author says.

Weekly installments of http://www.statekid.com will continue through February, 2003 and then be available online -- free.

P.S.  "State Kid" is about a foster kid's quest for freedom and family. But it is also about the power of reading and writing in a setting about as far away from a traditional classroom as one can get: a juvenile prison.  More than anything else,  by means of a realistic and compelling story (with about a fifth-grade reading level), "State Kid" demonstrates perhaps the one best way out for at-risk youth -- literacy.  It can be a valuable resource for the Busy Educator.  Statekid.com is a member of the Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) of the U.S. Office of Education and is ardently
non-commercial.
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BRAINSAREFUN
http://www.brainsarefun.com/index.html

Rory Donaldson’s philosophy of education is as follows: “our children must
master many skills, but always essential are the fundamentals: reading, writing,
listening, speaking, information organization and math -- without these basic
skills there is very little room at the table. Our children must also learn the
three essential behaviors of success: how to start on time, stay on task, complete
their assignments. Mastering these skills and behaviors, unifying parents and
children, making the right choices, this is what Brainsarefun is all about.
I will not ask you to sign up for anything. Everything on this site is free. You
will never need to contact me or pay me a dime. I have put it all right here for
the taking.”

I highly recommend taking the time to look at this site and picking up some ideas that might work with your teaching style and students.
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SCHOOLFIEDLTRIP.COM
http://schoolfieldtrip.com/

Busy Educator subscriber Cathy Mullen from St. Francis School in Clearfield, Pennsylvania USA sent in this wonderful site. 

This website was created so that elementary and middle school students and
their teachers could use the internet to easily locate information about Air and
Space, Earth Science, Life Science, and the History and Government of the
United States.  Check it out!
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ENGLISHINK
http://www.englishink.net

EnglishInk is designed to integrate online technology into the 6-8th grade
language arts classroom.  The site provides parents and students with helpful
information and links, showcases students' writings and projects, and provides
downloads of classroom materials.  Discussion boards are integrated into the
website for novel discussions or Socratic seminars, and a chat room will be
added for book talks and online tutorials during the school year. An additional
teacher section provides helpful handouts, lesson plans, links, and a variety of
helpful information for educators. 
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ARIEL'S HOMEPAGE
http://www.autismsupport.org

Ariel's Homepage  was created so that we can share our story about autism
and it's affect on our family.  In it we share our experiences in parenting a
special needs child.  It is our hope that when parents of newly diagnosed
children view our site they will find comfort in knowing that they are not
alone in dealing with this complex disorder.  We also provide support as
well as informational links for those who are seeking information about autism. 
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SCOTT L. WALDMAN'S TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP
http://www.scottwaldman.com

Scott L. Waldman is a technology staff developer who has designed  this site
with the teacher in mind. Over a three year period he has gathered resources
that would be useful in assisting technology classroom integration. Included is
 a list of tutorials he wrote for various software. Also included for either the
teacher or student are numerous Flash games he has created himself. Games
such as Waldman's Math Interactive or Waldman's Wacky Web Tales can be
used by teachers as examples of what Macromedia Flash can do or by students
looking to reinforce basic math skills.
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YAHK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
http://www.yahk.homestead.com/yes.html

Yahk Elementary School is a small rural K to 7 school in Yahk, British Columbia,
Canada.  Y.E.S. serves the villages of Ryan, Yahk, Curzon, Glenlily and
Kingsgate, approximately 400 people situated along Highways 3 and 95 in
south eastern BC.  

The nine member staff of this great little school consists of a full time principal/
teacher, a part-time teacher, a teacher assistant/child-care worker, a secretary,
a library assistant, a noon hour supervisor, a meal coordinator, a bus driver
and a custodian.

Yahk Elementary belongs to School District #8 Kootenay Lake. The design,
maintenance and hosting of our school website is courtesy of Nicola Finch &
Design Modules. There are Student Pages of writing and artwork, drama club
projects and lots of photos and a weekly school newsletter. You'll find
Yahk School history pages with memories and photos from a few of the local
pioneers.  Read the Rules for Teachers from a hundred years ago.  Visit the
Parent Advisory Council page and follow the link to our District PAC website! 
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WELCOME TO MRS. DINGMAN'S THIRD GRADE
www.mrsdingman.homestead.com/home.html

Mrs. Dingman's classroom website, Welcome to Mrs. Dingman's Third Grade,
provides parents, educators, and students with a wide variety of resources. The
site includes a welcome letter, classroom and school policy information, sample
student writing, helpful links for skill practice, enrichment, or remediation,
online project information, and much more. Visit soon to see what third graders
in Northeast Pennsylvania are doing.
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KNOWLEDGE COLLEGE TUTORS
http://www.knowledgecollegetutors.com

This site originally was directed towards students and teachers at the secondary
level when it began as an elibrary.  It has now expanded to include computers for
beginners, web design,  graphics made with paint shop pro, generators, CSS,
java scripts and an award program.
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MS. TRUEHEART'S 3RD GRADE
http://myschoolonline.com/PA/Ms_Trueheart

Ms. Trueheart's 3rd Grade is a website which is used primarily to keep students
and parents of Room 216 up-to-date on classroom news and homework.  It also
provides Internet resources which reinforce units of study.  Student work and
accomplishments are celebrated by being published.  Teachers may also find ideas
for their own classrooms here.
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MRS. BECKY GUFFIN GRADE 5
http://www.teachers.k12.sd.us/bg016

Becky Guffin is a fifth grade teacher in Aberdeen, South Dakota USA. This year
she has been utilizing her classroom web page as an instructional and
communication tool for her students and parents. The website includes a
calendar of events, lunch menu, books read, schedules, and the school handbook. 
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BUSY EDUCATOR’S AWARD
If you have a website or know of one that you feel merits the Busy Educator’s
Award, please feel free to send me your suggestions.
The award is given out to websites that contain excellent content for busy educators.
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Send us those tips, insights or websites that have helped you with your class
and students. We will share these in future updates. Please send to:
marjan@glavac.com
***********************************************************************
Forward this FREE newsletter! Please include my sig file. If this newsletter
was forwarded to you and you would like to receive your own copy, please
sign up at: http://www.thebusyeducator.com/ Reciprocal links to the website are much
appreciated! Thank you for your support.
***********************************************************************
Mr. Marjan Glavac author “The Busy Educator’s Guide To The World Wide Web”
Completely Revised and Updated 2ND Edition (Foreword by Dr.Harry Wong)
LONDON, Ontario Canada ISBN 0-9683310-1-7 200 pages
mailto:marjan@glavac.com
FREE subscription to The Busy Educator’s Newsletter http://www.thebusyeducator.com/
"There are no boundaries for the journeys of the mind.”
************************************************************************

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