EdVisions NOVEMBER 2015 Newsletter

EdVisions Cooperative Issue #3, November 2015

COOP COLUMNS Jane Goodall

Environmental Sciences Academy

Issue #3, November 2015

Upcoming Events:

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

NOW!

• March 11th 2016 – Spring Conference & Annual Meeting

• May 6th & 13th 2016 – Project Fairs at the Ney Center in Henderson

News Wanted!! The Coop Columns is looking for

Spotlight Schools and news articles to keep us all informed on what’s happening at our schools. Please add me to your mailing list or send

articles to me! [email protected]

We are a tuition free, public charter school in Maple Lake, MN for students in grades 6 – 12 aligned with the Minnesota State Standards With a maximum enrollment of 114 students (our first year), each learner thrives in a highly personalized setting where they are treated as an individual. Students have the opportunity to engage in daily project-‐based experiences that inspire a love of learning. Our model encourages students to approach their education in a manner and at a pace that works for them. Through individualized, student-‐driven projects, students are able to investigate topics that are of interest to them. With the help of advisors, students ultimately become responsible for their own learning. This promotes a climate of engagement and accountability. It also requires that students take ownership and initiative for their own learning.

MEDICA Rewards for You!

Have you enrolled in mymedica.com yet? Check it out today to take advantage of the rewards available to you!


2

The Mission & Vision Behind JGESA

The mission of Jane Goodall Environmental Sciences Academy is to provide a unique and personal experience for each student that allows their passion and interests to guide their learning while promoting action toward environmental sustainability. The vision of JGESA is to provide students with a diverse, rural landscape where they will be supported in pursuing their passions and grow to address the challenges of protecting our land, water and resources. By working with staff, families, and the larger community, students will gain the skills they need to be flexible problem-‐‑solvers, effective leaders and responsible citizens.

Soap Box Derby at JGESA

Students designed and built soap box cars for a race. Students also arranged and advertised a soap box car derby race. Tickets were sold to attend the race and the funds raised went to benefit a local humane society. In addition, it was

arranged that those who brought in a non-‐‑perishable food item also received a ticket and all food items were given to a local food shelf.

MEET THE STAFF OF JGESA written by Jess Paulson Our staff at JGESA has a varied background, but we all have a common love for the outdoors and nature. We are excited to have 2 science advisors, Jess Paulson and Patrick Ross. They both have backgrounds in environmental education and are wildland firefighter certified. We are lucky to have 2 fantastic English advisors, Eric Lynne and Billy Luetzen. In his last school, Billy brought both the speech and theatre teams to state in North Dakota. Eric has a passion for classic writers (such as Aldo Leopold) and brings a fresh view to our school. Our social studies advisor, Craig Wignes, has been helping get the school started over the last four years and has 10+ years experience in alternative learning classrooms. Our math advisor, Jodi Raisanen, is from the U.P. of Michigan and has a talent in finding math in most projects. We have 3 Special Education advisors, Anne Brakob, Chris Bot, and Katie Kohn. We are fortunate to have such talented and knowledgeable staff who work with our SPED kids. We have several paras who all are an integral part of our school and we are thankful to have such wonderful support staff for our students. Most of our paras have an education degree and bring an additional set of skills and experiences to our JGESA team. Our first block is going great and we are looking forward to what the rest of the school year will bring.


3

The Voice’s Blind Joe visits Northern Lights By Nathan Bergstedt Herald-Review Life’s been a little busier than usual for Blind Joe, what with his instant fame after being on NBC’s The Voice a couple weeks ago. In some ways, things have been more or less normal; he’s still touring around playing gigs. But in addition to the normal touring circuit, the Grand Rapids musician has used his newfound celebrity to expand his performances to a new demographic: students. Blind Joe spent some time on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 6, talking and playing music for the student body of Northern Lights Community School (NLCS) in Warba. As a blind man, Joe has spent much of his life being reminded of his supposed limitations. So part of the purpose of his visit with the kids at NLCS was to remind them that limitations are only true if you accept them. One story that he told the students was about when he was growing up on a farm near Fargo, when he wanted to ride a motorcycle. And by “ride,” he didn’t mean as a passenger. He wanted to drive it. “So I memorized every bump and every row and every little sidewalk and everything like that,” said Joe of a field where he grew up. “And I kept going and going and going until finally I was rip-roaring around that farm at 40 to 50 miles per hour.” And only once did he ever crash, and that was because a new rut was made by a farmhand that he didn’t know about. “But you know, that happens to anybody. I mean, it had a little bit to do with being blind, obviously. I probably would’ve avoided the rut.” Much of the students’ time with Blind Joe was devoted to questions. Not only was this an opportunity for them to learn more about some of the inner workings of a major television show, but it was a chance to learn more about what it’s like for someone to navigate the world as a blind man. Questions ranged from “How did you get on The Voice?” to “When you dream, do you imagine images?” The answer to the second question is, naturally, no. Without the point of reference, his mind doesn’t create things that would otherwise be “seen.” Though, he confessed, he dreams about the smell of food quite a bit. As for how he got on The Voice, the short version is that it’s a long process that can’t be entirely explained due to network privacy policies he has to uphold. But he did his first audition months before the blind audition before the show’s judges. A visit from Blind Joe wouldn’t be complete without a little bit of music. As someone who has been vocal in his criticism of “manufactured music” that lacks heart and soul, Joe explained his thoughts on the music industry to the students before playing a song of his entitled “Music City USA,” a song that lampoons the corporate music culture that had the flavor of Elvis Costello’s early career country music.

LCS Pre-Kindergarten Receives Thrivent Choice Dollars® Lafayette Charter School has received a Choice Dollars® grant in the sum of $5,442.00 from Thrivent Financial. The grant was used to purchase a SMARTBOARD and curriculum for the Pre-Kindergarten Program. The instructional program is under the authority of the Minnesota Department of Education and has a 4-Star Parent Aware Rating, which allows for families to receive tuition free scholarships depending on eligibility related to income.


4

CEU Committee Announces Meeting Dates The EdVisions CEU committee will be meeting this year to approve relicensure submittals on March 11th and May 17th. Please be sure to submit your relicensure packets by these deadlines if you’d like to renew without the late fee of $100. Remember to check the EdVisions Website for needed documents on how to complete your relicensure, www.edvisionscooperative.org and then click on Teacher Relicensure. New this year is the ELL Requirement. You must include in your reflection how you’ve grown professionally in teaching ELL students or participated in professional development in this area.

CHOICE TAM students thinking outside the box!

Students at CHOICE Technical Academies of Minnesota, located in Owatonna, took advantage of the many boxes on hand from recent CSP grant purchases and had a little fun creating new workspaces for themselves.

DREAMS TO REALITY By, Evie Bartlett, Dreamstudent.wordpress.com

DREAM Technical Academy had its first Dreams to Reality Presentation night on Thursday October 8th. Dream Technical Academy puts on four presentation nights during the year. Dreams to Reality Night is a wonderful way for everyone to see what projects the students are working on. Students are required to exhibit and present once on their projects at the school while teachers, parents, and friends can come ask questions about them. One student exhibited on his project about Legos. He loves cars and he made cars out of Legos. It was very cool to see what kind of cars he made out of them. There were people who, as a project, made white chili and gave samples to the guests when they came. According to staff and parents the chili was delicious. One parent said, “I have to get that recipe right now.” Three students presented on sign language and why they wanted to do it. That was very cool and inspiring to watch. Someone presented on comedy. She is really good at making people laugh and wants to be a comedian, so she did a project and has been working on it since forever. She had everyone laughing that night. The community really love coming to these presentation nights because of all the fun exhibits and presentations.

Check out this DREAM TAM’s student, Evie Bartlett’s, blog:

Dreamstudent.wordpress.com

BOXTROLLS @ CHOICE


5

EdVisions Cooperative Board

Members:

Keven Kroehler – President, EdVisions Schools

Chris Lepper – Vice President, EdVisions Off Campus

Kristen Strauss – Eden Prairie School District

Dean Lind – Treasurer, Minnesota New Country School

Jim Timmerman, Secretary, Kato Public Charter School

Ryan Bajan, Northern Lights Community School

Ryan Krominga, Shakopee School District

Doug Knick, DREAM Technical Academies

Krissy Wright, Academic Arts

Andrea Harder, EdVisions Cooperative, Administrator

Pat Grapentine, EdVisions Cooperative, CFO

www.edvisionscooperative.org

WOLF RIDGE Student Engagement Opportunity The EdVisions Cooperative Wolf Ridge trip is planned for March 30th – April 1st, arriving on a Wednesday and returning on a Friday. MNCS has committed to taking students on the trip, but it is the hope of the Coop, that other schools may be interested in joining in on the fun! This is a great opportunity for students to interact with other coop students and enjoy an outdoor learning environment. If you’d like more information on this trip, please contact Dean Lind at MNCS, [email protected].

News from the Coop Office: Pat and I hope that everyone is settling into their school year routines and enjoying this beautiful fall weather!

A huge thank you goes out to all of those attendees at HR Day on the 8th of October, we had a great turnout and a terrific day of sharing knowledge with one another. Pat and I are always here to assist with your payroll & HR needs, so don’t hesitate to contact us.

Pat Grapentine = [email protected] or 507-‐‑248-‐‑3738

Andrea Harder = [email protected] or 507-‐‑276-‐‑5830

As we look ahead at the calendar, we’d like to ask everyone to do us a favor. Please look at your advice of deposit or paycheck and be sure that all your information is accurate. As W-‐‑2 time will be right around the corner, we’d like to make sure we have everything accurate for all our employees.

Thanks & have a terrific November!

Documents

EdVisions NOVEMBER 2015 Newsletter