Friday, July1, 2016

Wow!  It's July and the last day of the Summer Institute!

Brigid shared a heartwarming video from Story Corps that tells a tale of how a book mobile transformed a young girl's life.

During Teach Me Tech, Chris introduced us to en.savefrom.net, a free online video downloading program.  If a school, home, or other venue's network is unreliable, having the video downloaded on a device is a handy way to avoid having to go to Plan B.  Keepvid is another platform that will also allow users to import a video into iMovie for editing.

Rebecca, Denise, and Tim met with groups to share options for life after ISFI.  Monthly writing groups, led by Leah Siviski, meet at a variety of places on different days of the week.  They require no commitment and feed our writing souls.  Professional Development opportunities include the annual fall conference, ISFI presentations, and professional learning groups, to name a few.  The Young Authors Camps are a great way to experiment new teaching ideas or work with students who represent different grade levels from the students you typically work with.  Of course, it is a treasure to work with YAC campers, students who chose to join a writing camp!

Our final mentor meeting of the summer focussed on discussing each Fellow's idea for the path he/she is leaning toward.   Several Fellows have already signed up for the fall workshop presentation slots.

After an outstanding pizza selection from Otto's, everyone shared a passage, poem, or piece of prose to read aloud followed by a quiet reading of the portfolios.  The variety of genres, voices, humor, surprises, and emotions revealed were heartening.  Your passion and talent are absolutely inspiring, and it is exciting to have you in the SMWP family.

Closing Moment:  Happy People Dancing On Planet Earth