Dear Catholic Secondary School Educator:

     This edition of E-News features:  

 NCEA Updates

• Special Learning Needs Conference, January 17-19, 2010, Anaheim
• Smart Choices & Bold Designs for High School Leaders, February 4-6, 2010, New Orleans
• Regional NCEA Meetings: When are the leaders in your region meeting?
• Employment Opportunity: NCEA Executive Director of Secondary Schools
• LAST CALL to nominate a Catholic school educator for national recognition
• Call for regional associate application and renewals

• The November CAPE (Council for American Private Education) newsletter
• Title II-A funding for NCEA Conferences

• Toyota International Teacher Program 2010: Free Trip to Costa Rica
• International Travel Grants for U.S. Teachers and Principals
• Catholic High School Teacher Exchange Launched by Education for Justice

• Dr. Darling-Hammond Offers Webinars on Student Assessment and International Standards
• Finding Grace in Bereavement, Thursday, November 19, 2009
• School of Sacred Storytelling: Learning the Technique and Spirituality of Sharing Stories

• Moody’s Mega Math Challenge Competition
• Junior Engineering Technical Society wants YOUR CATHOLIC SCHOOL to participate today
• 600 Full Scholarships Available to U.S. High School Students to Study Abroad and Learn Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Russian, and Turkish
• Maryknoll 2009 Essay Contest

 Educational Resources

• New Film “As Seen Through These Eyes,” Addresses the Holocaust From an Artist’s Lens—Discounted Price and Free Online Resources for Catholic Schools
• The Principal Story, a PBS Documentary Film on School Leadership
• The International Confederation of Principals (ICP) website, linking best practices across the globe

  NCEA Updates    

Special Learning Needs Conference:  Join NCEA at its fourth annual Special Learning Needs Conference and engage nationally recognized experts on the topic.  As our Catholic schools fulfill their mission to serve all children and families, this conference brings together new research, case studies and practices for schools to move forward knowledgeably.  View the full program here.    

Smart Choices and Bold Designs, the annual winter leadership conference February 4 to 6, 2010, New Orleans---For Current and Aspiring Catholic High School Leaders: This conference explores leadership entrepreneurship for leaders at Catholic high schools and explores how to resource and link bold strategic planning, smart choices, and critical relationships.  The conference provides a national networking conversation that acknowledges leadership challenges during economic downturns as well as looks beyond at how leaders can move forward to sustain the Catholic high school mission. BONUS: For an extraordinary rate of $109, stay at the four-star Marriott Renaissance Arts Hotel, available through the weekend.  Enjoy early Mardi Gras parades and discounted tickets to Hornet’s basketball games!  This conference qualifies for Title II-A funds.  Click here for: 

• Conference Brochure 
• Register Online 
• Conference Agenda 
• Book Your Hotel 
• Purchase Discounted Hornets Tickets    

Regional NCEA Meetings: Where are the leaders in your region meeting?:  Every fall, Sr. Mary Frances Taymans, SND, EdD, visits Catholic high school administrators and teachers at regional meetings held across the country.  This is a splendid time to meet with colleagues from across the country as well as hear Sr. Mary Frances offer a national perspective on Catholic education.  View the regional meeting schedule here and if you are not already in touch with your region’s executive committee member, email him or her today!  

Employment Opportunity with the Secondary Schools Department of NCEA:  The Executive Committee of the Secondary Schools Department in collaboration with the President of NCEA has established a Search Committee to recruit and recommend candidates for the position of Executive Director of the Secondary Schools Department.  If you are interested, or know of qualified candidates, please follow the guidelines here: /departments/secondary/executivedirectorposition.asp.  

LAST CALL to nominate an outstanding Catholic school educator for national recognition:  Every year at the NCEA Convention & Exposition, the Secondary Schools Department honors a select group of outstanding Catholic secondary school educators who are worthy of national recognition and reflect the richness and diversity of American Catholic education. This year’s awards will be presented on April 7, 2010 in Minneapolis, MN. You are encouraged to consider nominating a member of your school community who has made significant contributions in the area of Catholic secondary education.  Completed nominations must be received by Thursday, November 19, 2009 to be considered.  More information including criteria, a printable nomination form, and an online nomination form can be found here: /departments/secondary/secondaryawardees.asp              

Call for regional associate application and renewals:  The Department requests members to consider submitting an application to become a regional associate, or renewing current regional associate status.  The deadline is January 5, 2010.  Regional associate position is critical to the NCEA’s mission to provide a clear and audible voice for Catholic education.  Regional associates help the Department function in so many ways and their involvement in turn keeps them in tune with national Catholic education concerns.  Apply or renew online today!    

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Public Policy Updates    

Get the latest about non-public education from the CAPE (Council for American Private Education) newsletter:  The latest newsletter from CAPE includes a call for equity in discretionary grant programs, the low rates of school violence at private schools, the DC Opportunity Scholarship, and more.  CAPE November Newsletter available here  

Securing Title II-A funding for NCEA conferences, Some Tips: From Sr. Dale McDonald, PBVM, PhD, Director of Public Policy and Research, NCEA:  This is the time to be proactive! Private school officials, at the diocesan level or from an individual school, who negotiate for these programs on behalf of students should:

• be persistent in requesting that consultation take place as required,
• ask questions about formulas and distribution of funds—these are public records,
• insist that the services focus on the needs of the students not the convenience of the LEA,
• inquire as to how the students will be assessed and how the results of the assessment will be used to improve services,
• request a third-party provider if traditional providers are ineffective, and
• make available accurate and complete data required by the LEA.

Pursuing the benefits provided by the federal programs can provide many additional resources to serve Catholic school students and their teachers. Private and religious school students are in the counts that generate these funds and they should be the ones to benefit from them.    

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Professional Development Opportunities    

Toyota International Teacher Program 2010 Now Available: The 2010 Toyota International Teacher Program to Costa Rica is now available online. Fully funded by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., and administered by the Institute of International Education, this professional development opportunity for educators aims to advance environmental stewardship and global connectedness in U.S. schools and communities.  The program will take place June 18 - July 3, 2010 and the deadline to apply is January 6, 2010.  Please visit www.toyota4education.com for eligibility requirements, application instructions, and FAQs. Please feel free to forward this information along to your colleagues as we value diversity and encourage educators of all subjects and school types to apply for this unique opportunity.    

International Travel Grants for U.S. Teachers and Principals:  Are you interested in short-term travel abroad?  Are you interested in hosting an international teacher or principal in your school or community?  Apply for an Educational Seminar for 2010-2011 with a large selection of countries.  Visit http://www.americancouncils.org/es, or contact Tim Hair at thair@americancouncils.org, 202.833.7522.  Deadline to host an international principal or teacher is December 7, 2009.  Deadline for all other applications is January 4, 2010.    

Updated Resources from Education for Justice: Education for Justice has upgraded its web site to include a teacher exchange program for Catholic high school educators. Modeled after NING, the exchange will allow Catholic high school educators from all disciplines to share lesson plans, ideas and pose-and-answer questions. Check it out at http://www.educationforjustice.org/.      

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Learning Opportunities    

Darling-Hammond to Offer Two Webinars on Student Assessment and international standards:  On Tuesday, November 17, Linda Darling-Hammond will discuss her latest research on international standards and assessments through two unique webinar events.  The first webinar, scheduled for 11:30am EST/8:30am PST, is titled, "What Would It Mean to Be Internationally Competitive? How the United States Can Learn from Standards and Assessments in High-Achieving Nations." To register for this event, click here.  The second session, scheduled for 6:30pm EST/3:30pm PST, is titled "Lessons from Abroad: International Standards and Assessments." To register for this event, click here.  .    

Finding Grace in Bereavement, Thursday, November 19, 2009:  At  3:00-4:00 pm EST, November 19, 2009, the Paulist National Catholic Evangelization Association's Catholic Speakers Online (CSO) series features Dr. Geraldine Fialkowski, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Counseling at Loyola University Maryland on the topic of Finding Grace in Bereavement.  Dr.  Fialkowski will speak to those who are struggling with loss and bereavement as well as to those who walk with the grieving on their journey. Don't miss out on this timely topic!  As a theologian and counselor, Dr. Fialkowski specializes in loss and bereavement issues, couples' counseling and the integration of spirituality and psychology. All you need to participate is a connection to the internet for viewing the slides and either computer headset/speakers or a telephone connection (toll-free) for the audio. The entire event is free, but registration is required.  Click here to sign-up today!    

School of Sacred Storytelling: Learning the Technique and Spirituality of Sharing Stories: How do we tell stories for a new world? 400 years ago, in the Old World of Spain, Cervantes wrote the last medieval knight's quest, Don Quixote.  But in the New World, in the Valley of Mexico in 1531, there was another tale to be told.  Listen to the story of the Indian Virgin of Tepeyac.  Robert Béla Wilhelm, Th.D., founder and director of the project, offers online instruction, resources and courses.  Check it out at http://schoolofsacredstorytelling.info/.    

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Student & School Challenges  

Moody’s Mega Math Challenge competition:  Registration is now open for this unique challenge: teams of students are given 14 hours to solve an open-ended, realistic, applied math-modeling problem focused on real-world issues, and are able to use any free, publicly available, and inanimate sources of information to help them. Each team must have a teacher-coach from its school complete and submit the online registration form. The teacher-coach is responsible for registering the team correctly and for ensuring that all parts of the registration process are accurate and complete. Registration information is available at http://m3challenge.siam.org/participate/.  

Junior Engineering Technical Society wants YOUR CATHOLIC SCHOOL to participate today:   JETS is a national non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting engineering and technology careers to our nation's young people. If your school’s engineering and/or robotics teams don’t know about JETS, they should.  Catholic high schools have excelled in JETS local and national competition nationwide.  December 9 is the deadline to register for its national engineering design competition at which last year, three of the five finalist were Catholic high schools! Visit http://www.jets.org/ and bring national recognition to your school.  

600 full scholarships available to U.S. high school students to study abroad and learn Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Russian, and Turkish:  The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) is offering more than 600 scholarships to programs that begin in Summer 2010.  The Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in cooperation with American Councils for International Education, AFS-USA, iEARN-USA, and Concordia Language Villages, is awarding U.S. government funding to high school and just-graduated students (ages 15 – 18) to participate in summer, one-semester and full-year language programs in countries where these languages are widely spoken. Past participants of the NSLI-Y program are eligible to apply again.  Programs immerse participants in the cultural and political life of their host country, giving them invaluable formal and informal language practice and sparking a lifetime interest in foreign languages and cultures. While abroad, students will have the opportunity to possibly live with a host family, attend intensive language classes or enroll in a local high school, and participate in cultural and community service programs.  Deadline for application is December 4, 2009. For more information on the NSLI-Y program and to apply, please visit www.NSLIforYouth.org.    

Maryknoll 2009 Essay Contest:  Every year, Maryknoll distributes nearly $3,000 in scholarship money related to the annual essay contest as well as coverage in its magazine.  This year’s theme is "It's all about me" is a popular slogan for many young people today. But Jesus tells us, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:28). Students are asked to explain how a person can follow Jesus' words in today's self-centered culture.  Students in grades 6–8 (Division I) and grades 9–12 (Division II) qualify. Please specify the division to which the entry is being submitted. The essay should be 500–750 words, and pages should be typed and double-spaced or neatly handwritten in ink and stapled. Entries must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, December 1, 2009. Winning entries will be published in the May/June 2010 MARYKNOLL magazine and online at www.maryknoll.org/winners. For more information, click here, or call 1·888·627·9566, and ask for Student Essay Contest, ext. 2368.    

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Educational Resources    

New Film “As Seen Through These Eyes,” Addresses the Holocaust From an Artist’s Lens—Discounted DVDs and Free Online Resources Available to Catholic Schools: “As Seen Through These Eyes” is a riveting journal of the Holocaust as seen through the eyes of the artist, through the eyes of people who by the very act of creating, rebelled and risked their lives by doing what they were forbidden to do.  Through interviews compiled from survivors throughout the world, the film makes a compelling statement about the human spirit, enduring against unimaginable odds.  It features Simon Wiesenthal, the children of Terezin and Dina Gottliebova Babbit, personal artist to Dr. Mengele.  These are the stories of people whose drive was to preserve their sense of self worth despite being stripped of all dignity, leaving us with an undiluted record.  The film releases December 22, 2009.  Contact Heidi heidio@menemshafilms.com.    

The Principal Story, a PBS Documentary Film on School Leadership:  THE PRINCIPAL STORY portrays the challenges principals face in turning around low-performing public schools and raising student achievement. This intimate, emotional one-year journey is seen through the eyes of two dynamic principals, and although the film takes place in an elementary school setting, the documented challenges are universal.  Clips of the film are available online and can serve as excellent in-service for teachers, administrators, or for personal reassurance. The documentary can also be ordered online at: http://www.wallacefoundation.org/principal-story/Pages/default.aspx.     

The International Confederation of Principals (ICP) website, linking best practices across the globe: NCEA members receive reports and research collected by ICP on (1) education systems, (2) general education research, (3) learning and teaching practices and (4) Leadership.   Type in username NCEA and password washington to access these free resources and feel connected to leaders from across the globe. http://www.icponline.org/    

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