A note from Connie Carter and Americans Who Tell the Truth ….

I hope that you had a great holiday break and are relaxed and taking on the new year with your usual vigor and enthusiasm. I am excited to write to you about this year’s Samantha Smith Challenge (SSC). While the essence of the SSC remains the same, we have added some additional components that will give you and your students an opportunity to build an even stronger bridge between the classroom and the world.

Please take a look at the following additions to our website:

• introductory activities to help you and your students build a foundation of activism by incorporating Americans Who Tell the Truth into your Samantha Smith Challenge project.
• EngagEd, lesson plans created by AWTT portrait subjects based on their experience, knowledge and their everyday work as activists for social, economic, and environmental fairness
• resources that we will continue to add in the next 3 months about topics that will support you and your students as you take on this year’s challenge

I also want to share with you a few of the important dates for this year’s Samantha Smith Challenge.

February 1: Deadline for signing up for this year’s SSC (You do not need to have identified your issue by then; you only need to let us know that you plan to participate.)

April 1: Deadline for submitting the issue your students will address for the SSC

May 1: Deadline for submitting videos and progress report to AWTT

JUNE 6: Samantha Smith Challenge Celebration for ALL participants – time and

location to be announced

I hope that xxx Middle School will participate in the Samantha Smith Challenge (SSC) this year. You can register right now at

http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/the-samantha-smith-challenge#register

Please let me know if I can answer any questions or concerns you may have. As we did last year, we are hoping to visit all of the SSC schools to learn more about your projects and to offer any assistance.

Thanks so much for all you are doing for education! We look forward to working with you as part of this year’s Samantha Smith Challenge!

Contact information: Connie Carter   connie@americanswhotellthetruth.org  

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Making Middle School Memorable

Engage, Excite, Empower

For more information about registration:

http://mainemamle.org/conference/registration/

wallace_alexander@umit.maine.edu

What motivates us to work harder, be more innovative, and thus more effective in our schools?  According to Daniel Pink in his book Drive, there are three motivators that cut across cultures and professions—autonomy, mastery, and purpose.  The MAMLE Conference, Making Middle School Memorable: Engage, Excite, Empower, relates to all three of Pink’s motivators:

• The concurrent sessions reflect the outstanding work educators do when they are given autonomy to develop approaches that engage, excite, and empower their students.
• Attending the MAMLE conference provides an opportunity for middle grades educators to learn from one another and thus improve their mastery of working effectively with 10-14-year-olds.
• Joining with middle grades educators from across our great state develops a sense of purpose that extends beyond preparing students for the next test or the next grade.  Rather, we join together to build a greater common purpose of  ensuring that all of our students thrive as they move through life.

Making Middle School Memorable: Engage, Excite, Empower will rejuvenate attendees’ commitment to teaching and learning with young adolescents.  Invariably, many will be inspired to adapt new ideas to their own situation back at school. Others will be driven to reflect on their own practice and work to make it more effective. The end result? More students will experience a learning environment that is engaging, exciting, and empowering.  Their middle school years will be memorable.

Each day of the conference will begin with a keynote related to our theme:

• Thursday: Tom Burton—Magic and Motivation in the Middle
• Friday: Maine author Phillip Hoose—If Adults Wouldn’t Do It, We Would: Stories of Youth Empowerment

Over the two days, we offer 30+ concurrent sessions.  That means there are over 900 possible combinations of sessions an attendee might put together! Every attendee will be able to customize the conference to fit their interests.

Here are just a few examples of how an attendee might personalize the conference offerings:

Sessions of high interest to….

School Leaders

• Thursday’s keynote: Magic and Motivation in the Middle
• Everyone’s a Leader
• What Does Your Dash Stand For? Creating a Positive School Climate and Culture
• Teaching the Verb: Meeting Standards Through project-Based learning
• Leadership Roundtables
• Family and Community Relationships

Those seeking approaches that empower students and personalize learning

• Friday’s keynote: If Adults Wouldn’t Do It, We Would: Stories of Youth Empowerment
• Creating Curious, Curious, and Engaged Citizens
• The Power of Stories
• Spotlight on Integrated Curriculum
• Group Challenges and Problem Solving
• Teaching MCL: Putting Plans Into Practice
• Voice and Choice
• Port Clyde Fisheries Trail Map
• Bringing the Samantha Smith Challenge to Your Classroom

Attendees wishing to deepen their understanding of effective literacy instruction in the middle grades

• Let’s Unpack the Complex Text in Talking Walls: Discover Your World
• Should You Paint Before You Write or Write Before You Paint?
• Talking is Writing in the Air
• Text Sets: Using 21st Century Schools to Teach MLR Standards
• Using Meaningful Feedback to Foster a Growth Mindset

Those who are new to the middle grades classroom

• Teaming 101
• So You Think You Know Middle School?
• What’s New In the Wild World of Adolescent Brain Development Research?
• Practical Strategies for Collecting Evidence
• Everyone’s Invited: Interactive Strategies to Engage Students

Attendees looking to push their use of technology to the next level

• Getting Started with Google Classroom’
• Beyond the Basics of Google Classroom
• Social Media in the Classroom
• OMG! When Did They Do That? (MLTI)
• iPads for Giving and Receiving Feedback
• Getting Back to “It’s All About the Learning”

Join Us for Making Middle School Memorable: Engage, Excite, Empower

Point Lookout Resort and Conference Center, Northport, Maine

October 22-23, 2015

MAMLE’s Annual Conference

Making Middle School Memorable

Engage, Excite, Empower

October 22-23, 2015

Point Lookout Resort and Conference Center

Keynoters

Who Will Engage, Excite, & Empower Conference Attendees!

Thursday — Tom Burton

Magic and Motivation in the Middle

Tom, Associate Superintendent of Princeton City Schools in Ohio, is an enthusiastic advocate for the young adolescent. A past president of the Ohio Middle Level Association and former middle school principal, he is well versed in what makes 10-15 years tick and how to reach them in meaningful ways in school. Tom possesses an energetic speaking style that immediately engages his listeners.

Tom has received numerous accolades including: NASSP/MetLife Ohio Middle School Principal of the Year, the Distinguished Young Alumni Award from Slippery Rock University,   Ohio Middle Level Association’s Ohio Educator of the Year and has been inducted in both the Cleveland Heights High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame and John Carroll University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Friday — Phillip Hoose

If Adults Wouldn’t Do It, We Would: Stories of Youth Empowerment

Phil is the award-winning author of Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice. This book recounts the true story of Claudette Colvin who refused to give her seat up on a bus and then courageously faced monumental criticism from a variety of sources. You can listen to Claudette and Phillip on NPR’s Radio Diaries.

Phil and his book Claudette Colvin have been honored with numerous awards:

• National Book Award
• Newbery Honor Book
• Robert F. Sibert Award honor
• ALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist
• Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, Honor
• ALA Best Book for Young Adults

His most recent book is The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club.

Plus, 30 + concurrent sessions led by Maine’s creative and talented middle level educators. Here’s just a sample of our offerings:

• Getting Started with Google Classroom

• Practical Strategies For Collecting Evidence Towards Standards

• Using Meaningful Feedback to Foster a Growth Mindset

• #SocialMediaInTheClassroom

• Teaching MCL: Beyond the Theory

• Open Space Technology & Ed Camp

• What Does Your Dash Stand for? – Creating a Positive School Climate and Culture

• Should You Paint Before You Write or Write Before You Paint?

• Spotlight on Integrated Curriculum

• Teaching the Verb: Meeting Standards through Project-Based Teaching

• The Power of Stories

• Teaming 101: Ignite Your Team’s Fire and Keep It Burning

Conference Info

Registration

Housing

 

Last Thursday’s 16th Annual Scholar-Leader Dinner, sponsored by NELMS and MAMLE,  was a huge success once again.

The music was provided by the Mt. Ararat Middle School Jazz Band, Margie Landis conducting.  They were fabulous!

Families from all over the state came to Augusta to celebrate and honor these middle-level students.

Maine’s Secretary of State, Matthew Dunlap, congratulates the Scholar-Leaders.

The evening’s keynote was delivered by Nicholas Parker, a freshman at Hampden Academy. He reminded the Scholar-Leaders to not only to set goals and work hard, but also take the time to live life with a capital L by experiencing everyday moments to their fullest.

You can listen to Nick on MAMLE’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Maine.MAMLE

See you next year!

Here’s the link to the NELMS site related to Scholar-Leader Dinner: http://www.nelms.org/pages/awards/scholar_leader.html

Ernie Easter Photos

Ernie teaches at the New Sweden School in New Sweden, Maine.

Do you have a great picture of somewhere in Maine?  Would you like to share?

Send it MAMLE.