Professional Growth Activities

1. Statewide Professional Development

· A Statewide Professional Development was held during the beginning of the SY 07-08. August 9 and 10 were set aside to provide trainings to faculty and staff. A general assembly was held at Marians High School and the rest of the workshops were assigned at Oleai and William S. Reyes Elementary School. I was able to attend the following workshops at both schools respectively: “What Great Teachers Do Differently”, K-3^rd Math, and the 4-12^th Writer’s Workshop.

2. School-Level Professional Development

· These monthly PDs are conducted by the learning community participants of OES. I was able to attend the following workshops during the school-level PDs: Easy Grade Pro, Read-Alouds, Content Vocabulary, Accelerated Reader, and Letters & Sounds Workshop.

· This picture was taken during one of the energizers in our school-level PD.

3. Turtle Learning Community/Staff Meetings

· Every other Wednesdays, teachers and staffs of the Turtle Learning Community are required to attend these meetings. Discussions during these meetings include administration reports, upcoming events and activities, and other important matters that need to be discussed. At the end of the meetings, a sharing of ideas about a specific article takes place and has been called the “fishbowl”. During this part of the meeting, representatives from different groups move into the center of the room to share their groups’ insights about the topic.

4. In-Service Meetings

· These meetings alternate with the Staff Meetings and are held in the school cafeteria from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. The topics that have been discussed during these meetings include Differentiated Instruction, Accommodation of Students with Special Needs, and Accreditation.

5. Open Court Training (K-3)

· I was able to attend this training at Saipan Southern High School. The first part of the workshop was a general assembly at the school’s cafeteria where presentations about reading and fluency were given. The next part of the workshop required each school to move to a different room where a presentation about their school’s reading program was discussed in depth. OES happened to be using the Open Court Program and more books were handed to our school that day.

6. K-3^rd Math Workshop

· I was able to attend this workshop with my Master Teacher in Oleai Elementary School. I was able to work with different Math activities such as the “Leaping Frog” (Measurement, Data & Statistics); “What’s In the Bag?” (Probability).

7. SPARK Training

· On November 9, I was able to attend a SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids) at Garapan Elementary School. I learned a lot of new ways to get kids actively involved in Physical Education.

8. Health & Wellness Workshop

· This workshop was held at Pacific Islands Club. The whole group that attended this workshop actively participated in conversations regarding personal issues and concerns about their health and their students’ health. The workshop also involved high school students sharing their experiences and expectations about their health.