Essay Contest for Students

Teachers:

EnergyNet is hosting the Dear Governor Quinn Essay Contest. Students will be asked to write a Persuasive Essay to the Governor sharing their ideas of how Illinois Can Save Energy By Involving Students. Essays are due by April 10.

The Grand Prize Winner and a friend will to to Springfield to tour the Governor's Mansion and Springfield sites.

Visit the EnergyNet Web Site for details.

Valentines for the Earth

Teachers:

Back by popular demand - EnergyNet will again host the Valentines for the Earth contest. EnergyNet students are invited to create a special Valentine's Day surprise for the Earth. You might choose to:

• Make a card (either an electronic card or one made of reused or recycled material)
• Write a song or a poem
• Offer a gift of service to the Earth

Please send your Valentines Day Gifts electronically to EnergyNet by February 6th. We may share them with some very important people!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing all of you a Peaceful, Happy and Beautiful holiday.

Professional Development Grant Available

NEA Foundation Accepting Applications for Student Achievement and Learning & Leadership Grants Programs

Grants of $2,000 for individuals and $5,000 for groups are available as follows:

The Learning & Leadership Grants program provides opportunities for teachers, education support professionals, and higher education faculty and staff to engage in high-quality professional development and lead their colleagues in professional growth. Grants to individuals fund participation in professional development experiences such as summer institutes and action research. Grants to groups fund collegial study, including study groups, action research, lesson study, and mentoring experiences for faculty or staff new to an assignment.

The Student Achievement Grants program provides grants of $5,000 each to improve the academic achievement of students by engaging in critical thinking and problem solving that deepen knowledge of standards-based subject matter. The work should also improve students' habits of inquiry, self-directed learning, and critical reflection. Proposals for work resulting in low-income and minority student success with honors, advanced placement, and other challenging curricula are particularly encouraged. Grant funds may be used for resource materials, supplies, equipment, transportation, software, and scholars-in-residence.

Deadlines: February 1, 2009 ; June 1, 2009; and October 15, 2009

The Best and The Brightest

I had the opportunity to attend a Leadership Seminar led by Dr. Robert Cooper and John Wright. Dr. Cooper told a story of a teacher who kept asking her administrator to give her all the gifted children. She was certain that if she had gifted students she could do great things with them. One year it happened.

I was surprised that the teacher's educational strategy for these gifted students was to implement project-based learning - the same thing we're doing with EnergyNet. The students were motivated and on task. As the teacher predicted, they excelled on the standardized tests. The teacher reminded her administrator that she'd said all along if she was given the gifted students she knew she could really increase their natural abilities.

Now it was the teacher's turn to be surprised. "Gifted, those students aren't gifted." she replied. "Well of course they are, I saw their IQ scores."

"Those weren't their IQ scores, they were their locker numbers" replied the administrator.

According to Dr. Cooper, the teacher was so embarrassed that she reverted back to her original style of teaching. What a heartbreaking story.

Are your students the best and the brightest?

Who Would You Like to See in Person?

What speakers would you like to hear? What topics are of the most interest to you?

I am considering putting together a program where a series of regional presentations by national speakers could be made available to teachers at no cost. The first step is to hear from you about the topics and speakers that most interest you.

EnergyNet Featured in Illinois Country Living

EnergyNet and the work of the team at GCMS High School in Gibson City is featured in this month's Illinois Country Living magazine. Illinois Country Living is published by the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives. Check it out!