St. Louis Suburban Council of the International Reading Association

MISSOURI EARLY LEARNING CONFERENCE

Sarah Valter

Early childhood and primary educators from across the state gathered at Tan-tar-a on November 1st and 2nd for the 2012 Missouri Early Learning Conference. The conference, co-sponsored by Missouri State Council of the IRA (MSC-IRA), featured such well-known speakers as Susan Zimmermann, Matt Glover, Debbie Diller, Jerry Pallotta,  Brod Bagert, and Jill Molli.

Susan Zimmermann, co-author of Mosaic of Thought and 7 Keys to Comprehension, opened the conference with a keynote address on Thursday. This keynote, entitled "The Joy of Reading," emphasized ways to engage young learners and teach them to be passionate about reading. Zimmermann then shared strategies for reading comprehension in several breakout sessions, highlighting the significance of modeling each of the seven key comprehension strategies: using schema, visualizing, inferring, questioning, summarizing, determining, importance, and monitoring.

Matt Glover switched the focus from reading to writing on the second day of the conference with his keynote speech, "Nurturing Young Writers." In his discussion of writing in the primary grades, Glover outlined methods for making the youngest learners excited about writing independently in Writer's Workshop. Through video clips and writing samples, Glover engaged, entertained and enlightened the audience with examples of proficient young writers who are passionate about writing.

 Another highlight of this year's conference was two author luncheons sponsored by MSC-IRA. On Thursday, Jerry Pallotta, author of nonfiction children's books, presented strategies for getting students to read and write nonfiction in his session entitled "Writing a Tidal Wave." Friday's luncheon featured children's poet Brod Bagert, who shared ideas for getting kids excited about poetry in "The Poetry Revolution and the Classroom Teacher."

St. Louis Suburban IRA was represented at the Missouri Early Learning Conference with break-out sessions led by two of our board members. Dr. Betty Porter Walls, President 2010-11, shared strategies for integrating math and literacy. Sarah Valter, current President-Elect, spoke about content-area literacy. Other break-out sessions during the conference featured topics such as math and literacy stations, the Common Core State Standards, science, classroom management, and the social-emotional development of young learners.                                 

The 2012 Missouri Early Learning Conference provided a wealth of new knowledge for primary and early childhood teachers in Missouri. Make sure to look for information this summer for the 2013 conference!

ST. LOUIS SUBURBAN

COUNCIL BOARD COMMITTEES

Sandy Kettelkamp, Committee Chair

If you are interested in being on St. Louis Suburban Council Board’s Committees in 2013-2014, please contact Sandy Kettelkamp by email: skettelkamp@affton.k12.mo.us .  Your email will need to list your committee interest, and brief description.  As the 2013-2014 year begins in August, the Board of Directors will be looking for members interested in being active in the Board’s Committees. 

See you at the Spring Banquet 2013!

 Community & Family Literacy

Responsibilities:

1. Research community projects

2. Facilitate Poster Contest, Habitat for Humanity book

    drive, and Newspapers in Education,

3. Facilitate Tab Tops & Penny-a-Page, Philippines  

    Project & Haiti Library Project.

Communications Committee

Newsletter Responsibilities:

1. Format and print newsletters

2. Mail and email newsletters,

3. Identify writers and articles for newsletters.

Website Responsibilities:

Assist Website Masters, Mitzi Brammer and Dan Rocchio

Membership Committee

Responsibilities:

1.     Brochure and newsletter articles promoting membership

2.     General meeting registration tables

3.     Recruiting university students

4.     Membership records

5.     Attendance certificates for general meetings

6.     Mailing labels for newsletters

Spring 2014 Banquet Committee

Responsibilities:

1.     Find location for spring banquet

2.     Select dinner menu and present cost to board for approval

3.     Inform facility of layout for banquet

4.     Plan table center pieces, giveaways, entertainment if necessary

5.     Responsible for set-up and take down of banquet

Awards Committee

Responsibilities:

1.     Complete the Honor Council & Show-Me binders

2.     Decide Mini-Grant winners

Budget Committee

Responsibilities:

1.     Monitor expenditures, reimbursements, and account,

2.     Present budget reports to the board each month

3.     Present final budget report from past year and proposal for new year to the board

Nominating Committee

Responsibilities:

1.     Identify board members for officer positions

2.     Identify council members for Board of Directors openings

3.     Identify Executive and Board of Directors for committee chairs

4.     Promote the benefits of being on the Executive and Board of Directors

2013-2014 Program Committee

Responsibilities:

1.     Identifies a program theme or direction

2.     Contacts speakers and schedules 2014-2015 program

3.     Decides on location of general meetings and board meetings

4.     Plans for follow-up staff development programs

ST. LOUIS SUBURBAN COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP

Jody Rozbicki

St. Louis Suburban Council of International Reading Association has 267 members as of January 2013.  Membership forms will be available in the February 2013 newsletter for 2013-1014.  If your membership is updated in February, your membership dues will cover from February 2013 to August 2014.  St. Louis Suburban Council is a true Professional Learning Community with 34 literacy teams. Congratulations to each of you for recognizing the educational benefits of belonging to our collegial organization and understanding the importance of reaching out to other educators in your districts to encourage them to join us in a year full of professional opportunities.

Remember that if you join as part of a team of five or more from your school, you will be considered a Literacy Team and pay only $12.00 per person.  Single membership is $18.00.  If you are a full-time student or retired, you may join for $8.00.  In addition, your local council membership gives you automatic membership in the Missouri State Council of International Reading Association.  You will receive their benefits of website newsletters and state journal, The Missouri Reader.  The advantage of professional networking will allow you to meet and share ideas with educators from all over the St. Louis Suburban area, while developing lasting and valued friendships.

Please take a minute (right now) and send in your 2013-2014, membership form.  Also, membership forms may be printed from the council’s website, www.STLSuburbanReading.org.  If you have questions, please contact Jody Rozbicki at: jrozbicki@ladueschools.net

St. Louis Suburban Council is asking that checks mailed in for membership are for membership only.  Please write separate checks for membership and payment for RSVP general meeting dinners.  Separate checks help with detailed record keeping.  Thanks so much.

NEWS FROM THE STATE

Mitzi Brammer, PhD

State Coordinator, MSC-IRA

 I hope many of you were able to attend the Missouri Early Learning Conference in early November (check out Sarah Valter’s article about this event) at Tan-Tar-A. As you may or may not know, this event is co-sponsored by the Missouri State Council of the IRA. We take pride in helping to bring in nationally known speakers who can speak to the ever changing world of literacy.

 Have you “liked” MSC-IRA’s Facebook page yet? If not, please go to our page and “like” us in order to get updates about MSC-IRA, IRA (at the national level), information, tips, and resources for literacy. We also have links to other great literacy websites in which you might also be interested.

 The Write to Learn Conference at Tan-Tar-A (also co-sponsored by MSC-IRA) is coming SOON! Mark your calendars for February 28-March 2, 2013. Featured speakers you will not want to miss are:  Cris Tovani, Jeff Anderson, Donalyn Miller, Michael Salinger and many more!  To register for this conference, go to the MU

Conference website: 

http://muconf.missouri.edu/writetolearn/. 

The deadline for a room block at Tan-Tar-A is Wednesday, January 30^th. Have you made your room reservations yet?  If so, great!  If not, the number for reservations at Tan-Tar-A is 800-826-8272 or 573-348-3131.  The hotel will still honor the conference special room rate after this date if you tell them you’re with Write to Learn, but after the 30^th, they will release any unsold rooms from our block to the general public.  So, don’t take a chance by waiting until the last minute.  Call and make your room reservations today.  Also, MSC-IRA is planning a drop-in reception during the weekend. We hope you’ll come by for a visit! See you at the conference.

ST. LOUIS SUBURBAN COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP

Jody Rozbicki Membership Chair

St. Louis Suburban Council of International Reading Association is a true Professional Learning Community with 309 members and 29 literacy teams in 2011-2012.  We are off to a great start this year with 46 members and counting.  Congratulations to each of you who sent your renewal membership forms this summer, recognizing the professional benefits of our collegial and professional organization. 

Remember that if you join as part of a team of five or more from your school, you will be considered a Literacy Team and pay only $12.00 per person.  Single membership is $18.00.  If you are a full time student or retired, you may join for $8.00.  In addition, your local council membership gives you automatic membership in the Missouri State Council of International Reading Association.  You will receive their benefits of website newsletters and state journal, The Missouri Reader.  The advantage of professional networking will allow you to meet and share ideas with educators from all over the St. Louis Suburban area, while developing lasting and valued friendships.  

Membership forms for 2012-2013 are in the September 2012 newsletter. Please consider mailing your form in today.   Our new membership year begins August 2012.   Also, membership forms may be printed from the council’s website, (www.STLSuburbanReading.org) or contact Jody at: (jrozbicki@ladueschools.net).

If you are interested in being on St. Louis Suburban Council Executive Board‘s Committees in 2012-2013, please contact Sandy Kettelkamp, Community Service Chairperson, through email (skettelkamp@afton.k12.mo.us) or Jody Rozbicki, Membership Chair.  Your email will need to list your committee interest and brief description of your experience. As the 2012-2013 year begins, the Board of Directors will be looking for members interested in being active in the Board‘s Committees. See you at our September 27 meeting!

Membership Chairs: Jody Rozbicki and Marjy Schneider

ST. LOUIS SUBURBAN COUNCIL SUPPORTS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

St. Louis Suburban Council of IRA donated 600 books and two new bookcases to Habitat for Humanity on Thursday, May 31, 2012.   In 2010-2011, our council donated 225 books.  This is a 375 increase for 2011-2012.  The books and bookcases will be given to families receiving new homes in the summer of 2012. Thanks to our St. Louis Suburban Council members for donating the gift of literacy.

Our council gives a special thanks to Beth Knoedelseder, Communication Arts teacher, from Ladue Middle School in Ladue School District, and Katherine Hankins, Reading Interventionist, from Crestwood School in Lindbergh School District.  Beth sponsored a sixth grade book drive, and Katherine sponsored a book drive during the week of her school’s book fair for St. Louis Suburban Council’s Community Service Project.  Altogether, their schools donated 400 books.

GLOBAL/INTERNATIONAL LITERACY

Supporting worldwide literacy efforts continues to be an area of interest for our council, and we are excited to bring updates on each of our international projects.  We are pleased to announce our new international outreach project to Haiti.  We are working with the American Library Association (ALA) to dedicate funds for use in rebuilding libraries destroyed by the 2010 earthquake.  We will be collecting donations at the council meetings.

We are also very proud to participate in the Philippines Project, an outreach project that provides professional development to members of the Philippines Council of the IRA.  The funds raised through collections at our general meetings are donated to this project to help teachers on many Philippine Islands have access to high quality PD opportunities. 

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?

Our Community and Family Literacy Projects are the public face of St. Louis Suburban IRA, and it is only through the efforts of our many members that we are able to have such a positive impact!  Here are some of the many ways that you can get involved:

1.    Bring your aluminum can tabs to donate to Ronald McDonald House

2.    IMPORTANT!  Donate new and/or gently used books to benefit Habitat for Humanity.  We present our St. Louis Suburban Council book donation to the family receiving the new home in January 2012.

3.   Make a monetary contribution to our collections that benefit our international  projects (Haiti libraries and the  Philippines Project.

GETTING READY FOR PENNY-A-PAGE

Betty Porter Walls, Ph.D.

 During the 2012-2013 academic year, St. Louis Suburban IRA will continue its support of Penny-A-Page, a First-Book St. Louis project to encourage reading and help raise funds for new books for low-income children.  We are supportive of these efforts because research has shown that by the time children from low-income families enter kindergarten they are 12 to 14 months below national norms in language and pre-reading skills.  Children in middle-class homes own an average of 13 books; while in low-income families, there is only one book for every 300 children.  Funds from the Penny-A-Page project help address this critical issue by providing access to books, one of the most important factors affecting literacy.

Our effort will be two-fold.  First, our council has donated $500.00 to First Book-St. Louis.  Our name will be included as a sponsor organization on their printed materials and it will appear on t-shirts awarded to participating students in a Penny-A-Page week activity. 

Second, our council will share Penny-A-Page information and encourage our members and other educators to actively participate in fund raising during Penny-A-Page weeks.  Teachers and their students can participate in two Penny-A-Page weeks this year, October 29-November 4, 2012 and February 25-March 3, 2013.  Information and guidelines, flyers, and participant sign-up forms are available on our website.  Penny-A-Page sign-up information will also be available at our September council meeting.  Please consider having your class, any grade level, participate in the Penny-A-Page project.

Board member Betty Porter Walls will serve as our liaison with First Book-St. Louis.   Contact her, drbpwalls@earthlink.net, for Penny-A-Page information and forms.

Message from the President

On behalf of the St. Louis Suburban Council of the IRA, it is my pleasure to welcome all of you to the start of another school year.  Our theme for this year is “Literacy – The Power for Change.”  As educators, we all strive to help our students realize the power of literacy and education.  Literacy is the vehicle in which our students can literally power the change in their lives. As educators, it is exciting to know that we help our students realize the power of literacy and the great rewards it can provide.

Please encourage your colleagues to become members and to join our mission for improving literacy. Our program this year will showcase the many facets of literacy and our first meeting on September 27 will focus on many new and exciting books, courtesy of Booksource. And, don’t miss the October 6, “Literacy for All” Conference at Harris Stowe State University, where many national and local experts will present. Our December 6 meeting will focus on making literacy rigorous in the era of Common Core State Standards, courtesy of Zaner-Bloser.  Our February meeting will focus on media literacy – a growing and important facet to literacy today. Don’t forget about the Write to Learn Conference as noted in our brochure. Our spring banquet speaker will be announced later. 

I believe that we have a program this year that will meet many of your needs. Remember, our website is www.stlsuburbanreading.org. Be sure and visit the website if you have not lately. We thank all of our sponsors for their generous support of speakers for our programs. Again, welcome to a new school year and let us help you realize the power for change in literacy by renewing or becoming a member today.   

President

Thomas Cornell, Ed.D.