NCEA News
Curriculum Aids
Professional Development/Financial Information

Frontiers of Justice-Trip to Kosovo
Each year the Secondary Schools Department of the National Catholic Educational Services and Catholic Relief Services sponsors Frontiers of Justice, a short-term firsthand experience of the developing world for Catholic high school teachers and leaders. We are pleased to announce that we are accepting applications for this year's trip to Kosovo July 10-24, 2005. A participant's sponsoring institution will be expected to cover $500.00 towards the cost of the trip. Catholic Relief Services underwrites the rest of the cost.
Click http://www.ncea.org/departments/secondary/services/foj.pdf for more detailed information about the trip, expectations of participants and the application.

The application deadline is February 25, 2005.

NCEA Annual Convention
March 29-April 1, 2005, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA
Be sure to join 15,000+ colleagues for our 102nd Annual Convention and Exposition. Check http://www.ncea.org/annual/convention/ for more information and for online registration.

Tradition & Transitions: A National Conference for Religion Teachers and Campus Ministers
June 16-19, 2005, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
Sponsored by the NCEA’s Department of Secondary Schools and the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Church Life

This conference, the only one of its kind, is for campus ministers and religion teachers in Catholic secondary schools. It is designed to be not only informative but also practical. Participants will explore the tradition of the Catholic Church in the midst of contemporary transitions and their effects on high school religious education. Participants will refine their own curricula in light of the presentations and discussions with their colleagues.

To register online visit www.ncea.org/store/ and click “register for a meeting.” To view/download the brochure online visit http://www.ncea.org/departments/secondary/

Membership Benefits – News you can use
NCEA members have the option to join as “Premier Members.” One benefit of Premier Membership is a $100 discount off the cost of the Secondary School Department’s Summer Conference – this year Tradition and Transitions. In addition to this discount, premier members receive a gift of 2 current publications, and extra copies of NCEA NOTES and Momentum for selected staff. Premier Membership is worth the investment.

Lenten Resource: Operation Rice Bowl and other CRS resources
Catholic Relief Services publishes numerous resources that can be used in the high school. Operation Rice Bowl, the popular Lenten program, comes with a detailed educators guide that can be used in a variety of ways.
http://www.catholicrelief.org/get_involved/high_school/index.cfm

Special Needs
The USCCB Department of Education is pleased to announce that the revision of the Special Needs Resource Directory is now posted on their web site. You may access this document at www.usccb.org/education/index.htm under "USCCB Publications." It lists resources available in this regard diocese by diocese.

Guidance Counselors: National Catholic College Admission Association
The National CCAA is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting the value of Catholic higher education in the United States and serving students in the transition to college. Their web site is www.catholiccollegesonline.org and contains information on most of the Catholic colleges in the United States.

Linking Arts and Education
Video Placement Worldwide helps educators make creative connections between arts and education. Some resources are free, others are not. www.vpw.com

English Teachers: Lesson plan on Thomas More’s Utopia
Utopian Visions by ARTSEDGE, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Also check http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/, a web site from Random House Publishing with resources for high school teachers

Math Teachers: Lesson plan on Investigating Linear Relationships: The Regression Line and Correlation
From the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
http://illuminations.nctm.org/index_o.aspx?id=135
Interactive computer-based tools provide students with the opportunity to investigate the relationship between a set of data points and a curve used to fit the data points.

Foreign Language Teachers: 2005 Declared the Year of Languages
In response to the declining number of languages spoken around the world and the increase in globalization, the U.S. Senate has passed a resolution pronouncing 2005 the Year of Languages in the United States. The Senate effort will help build public awareness about the value of learning languages, facilitate discussions among education leaders and policymakers, and support research on language learning. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) is spearheading the Year of Languages effort and offers sample press releases and a proclamation as well as a calendar of events. For more information on the ACTFL initiative and planning for Year of Languages activities, visit www.yearoflanguages.org.

National Endowment for the Humanities Grant
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will offer approximately thirty seminars and institutes throughout the country during the summer of 2005, allowing for intensive study of important texts and topics in the humanities. Full-time teachers in public, private, or church-affiliated schools are eligible to apply. Stipends ranging from $1,800 to $4,200 are available to help defray expenses for the 2- to 6-week sessions.

The deadline for submitting applications is March 1, 2005.

For additional information about the seminars and institutes and how to apply, visit the NEH web site at:http://illuminations.nctm.org/index_o.aspx?id=135.

Canceling/Deferring Student Loans
Teachers who serve in schools serving low-income students and those who teach in certain subject-matter shortage areas might be eligible to have their college loans deferred or forgiven. See http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/teachercancel.jsp?tab=repaying