Bay-Arenac ISD

Mike's Monday Memo for the week of August 28, 2006

08/29/2006

Here’s what’s up for the week of August 28, 2006:

1.	Special Thanks -	On behalf of the Bay-Arenac ISD Board of Education, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our custodial and maintenance staff for all their hard work this summer. The buildings and grounds look fantastic! Many of our rooms have fresh new paint, the Educational Service Center has a repaired and expanded parking lot, and some offices have been added to our Educational Service Center. These are only a few of the many things our staff has done to prepare for the new school year.

		Too often, we take these hard working individuals for granted. I call on each of you to thank the following people the next time you see them for all their hard work this past summer.
		Jacob Daniel Joe Idalski Gary Gibbon Mike Legner Ted Lind Ed Michalski	Dave Rochow Dave Bourdon Larry Smith, Sr. Larry Smith, Jr. Karen Torrey Bill Wisniewski

2.	Special Thanks–	Also goes out to the dedicated individuals who work endless hours every day throughout the calendar year to help make our instructional programs the best they can be.

		These hardworking individuals have titles like Director, Administrator, Special Education Supervisor, Office Professional, Computer Technician, Video Technician, School Nurse, Printing Technician, Receptionist, System/Communication Coordinator, Instructor, Physical Therapist, Student Support Specialist, Instructional Support Staff to Occupational Therapist just to name a few.

		Once again, when you need a computer repaired or need that special something printed, thank your fellow ISD employees for the work they do. It takes many “hands” to hold up a great organization like Bay-Arenac ISD.

3.	Welcome back –	To our returning staff members. I trust that you are looking forward to a very exciting year. After 28 years in public education, I still get a chill when I see students arriving to school for their first day. August is a NEW beginning for many of our students and for us as educators.

		So throw out the old and bring in the new. I don’t care if this is your first year as a custodian or your thirtieth year as a teacher consultant, you have the power within you to be the very best that you can be. Think about how wonderful this year will be when we all focus on achieving our very best. Remember, working together we all can help each other find success!

4.	Baby News –	Sherri and Andy Bacigalupo brought a beautiful baby girl into the world on August 19th named Sophia Leigh. Baby Sophia weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 18 inches long! Congratulations Sherri and Andy!

5.	New Hires –	Please see the new hire list attached. We would like to welcome all of our new employees to our ISD family and I am confident that you will agree in a very short time that this is a wonderful place to work. We wish you all the best for this school year.

6.	Annual Updates –	The following list of items will no longer be printed and distributed on opening day: holiday schedule, payroll/timesheet/pay schedule, accounts payable due/check dates, and the Board meeting schedule. These items are now available on the Bay-Arenac ISD website. Click on the Employment tab and then click Annual Updates.

7.	SVSU Credit –	For the past two years, Saginaw Valley State University and Bay-Arenac ISD have worked together to prepare quality teachers. As a result, SVSU has awarded BAISD credits for our staff to utilize for their personal continuing education. We currently have two credits. We would like to offer staff members the opportunity to use up to one credit per employee to help pay for a course that they may be taking at SVSU. This is a first-come, first-served basis and the request must be submitted in writing to Dave Sevener. After we receive the written requests, a form will be given to the individuals who apply. The credit awarded must be used within three years. Deadline to submit your request is Friday, September 22, 2006. If you were a recipient of SVSU credit last year, you are ineligible this year.

8.	Inside Story –	Once again, we will be asking our staff to provide us with information and articles for our district publication. We will be sharing with you a list of contact people for your department or program. If you are interested in assisting us in the collection of material and articles, please contact one of the following individuals: · Educational Service Center: Brenda Peppel ext. 3281 or Mary Sullivan ext. 3343 · Living & Learning Center – Bay Campus: Pat Barkell ext. 3501 · Living & Learning Center – Arenac Campus: Gloria Anderson #846-9510 · Career Center: Linda Engelhardt ext. 3419, Katie Vargo ext. 3426, or Amy Muempfer ext. 3267

9.	Coffee, Hot Chocolate & Tea –	Just a reminder that if you choose to drink these ISD items this year, please send your monthly fee of $2.00 or your annual fee of $24.00 for full-year employees to Connie Frank in the Business Office.

10.	Board of Education –	This July, our Board of Education elected the following officers for the 2006-2007 school year. · President - William Karbowski · Vice-President – Frank Davenport · Treasurer - W. Thomas Burdick · Secretary - Penny Page · Trustees - Robert Baker, William Jordan, and Louis Stange I would like to personally thank these hard working and dedicated individuals for all their support this past year. I look forward to working with each of these great people this year.

11.	Strategic Planning –	As many of you will remember, two years ago we began a strategic planning process. We had many accomplishments over the last two years; yet we still have many more to achieve over the next three years. If you were on a committee last year I would like to thank you and ask that you once again continue to be involved this coming year. If you were not on a committee last year but are interested in helping make a positive change in our organization and for our future, I challenge you to get involved this year. Please volunteer! Your input is so important. If you are interested in participating on one of the strategies, please contact the administrator that is responsible for that strategy as listed below:
		Strategy 1:	Develop parent involvement and early childhood services in collaboration with community services for children ages 0-6. Mary Ellen Bluem, Chair.
		Strategy 2:	Sustain and enhance comprehensive professional development to serve all staff. Dave Sevener, Chair.
		Strategy 3:	Sustain and enhance comprehensive system of curriculum support services. Mary Ellen Bluem, Chair.
		Strategy 3B:	Develop a written curriculum for all special education instructional programs. Maurine Trombley and Eric Kunisch, Chair
		Strategy 4:	Integrate technology resources into educational programs and services by implementing the district technology plan. Craig Loree, Chair.
		Strategy 5:	Develop a support service to assist local school districts in responding to state and federal mandates. No Longer a Strategy
		Strategy 6:	Facilitate the development of cooperative business, information, and resource leveraging services among LEAs within the BAISD. Bruce Curtiss, Chair.
		Strategy 7:	Enhance communication and collaboration within the ISD and among the local school districts to increase public awareness. Michael Dewey, Chair.
		Strategy 8:	Enhance and improve special education programs and services for students with disabilities. Randy Schantz, Chair.
		Strategy 8B:	Evaluate quality of special education programs and services. Randy Schantz and Beth Jarve, Chairs.
		Strategy 9A:	Enhance the career-technical skills and career preparation opportunities for students. Increase program area, staff and student certifications. Mike Rivard and Linda Engelhardt, Chairs.
		Strategy 9B:	Enhance the career-technical skills and career preparation opportunities for students-student success. Mike Rivard, Chair.
		Strategy 9C:	Enhance the career-technical skills and career preparation opportunities for students. Increase placement opportunities for Career Center students. Mike Rivard, Chair.
		Strategy 10:	Sustain and enhance education opportunities for adult students. Amy Muempfer, Chair.
		Strategy 11:	Survey current facility and grounds for utilization. Conduct a complete facility and grounds evaluation. Dave Bourdon, Chair.

12.	Opening Day at John Glenn –	Opening Day will be held on Wednesday, August 30, 2006. Just as a reminder our Opening Day Staff meeting will be held a John Glenn High School Auditorium starting with Continental Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. in the cafeteria.

13.	Technology/Phone Issues –	All technology and phone work orders are to be called into the following people: Educational Service Center – Bev Hauk at x3221 Career Center – Sally Marion x3405 Special Education – Bonnie Ott x3215
		If you have a question regarding the phones or you are experiencing a technical problem with your computer, GroupWise, etc., please call the person listed above that pertains to your building or program area. In the case of an emergency, please call Craig Loree at x3250 or Mary Ellen Bluem at x3224. Please do not call a technician directly. A work order for the repair, etc., will be completed and sent to a technician. For telephone (fax) assistance, please call Bev Hauk. If it is an emergency and Bev is not available, then please call Craig Loree or Mary Ellen Bluem.

14.	Donations -	In our zero-five programs, often times we are asked if we can help our parents with baby cribs, beds, washers or possibly even dryers. If you have one or more of these items and you would be interested in donating it please contact Brenda Peppel at x3281 or Mike Dewey at x3273 and we can make some arrangement to collect the items.

Finally, welcome! We missed you!!!!!

Words to live by this week!		Be kind. Every person you meet is fighting a hard battle.