Inside:
Writing Contests
- Maine Student Writing Contest. Open for submissions. Deadline 12/22/23
- Educators Writing Contest from Townsend Press. Cash prizes! Deadline March 2024
MCELA Programs
- Conference March 2024: Ignite Joy–Tending the Spaces Between with Keynote Penny Kittle!
- The Educator’s Balancing Act:
Enhancing Teacher Workflow with AI
11/28/23 (recording available for registered participants) Free - Writing Toward the Future: Digital Storytelling in the Classroom w/ author Brett Pierce, 12/12/23 (free for MCELA members, $10 non-members, FREE book to the first 10 to register)
Northwords Academic Journal
- Creating Space
- Engaging Purpose
- Supporting Advocacy
Message from the MCELA President:
Sometimes things happen that remind us to slow down and pay attention to what matters most. In September, I broke my arm. That really slowed me down. It’s the reason I haven’t included a president’s message in the newsletter lately. Today is the first day I’ve been able to use two hands to type, and it is still very slow.
We were all forced to slow down with the tragedy in Lewiston as our state banded together to support the communities impacted so heavily. Many of us personally were reminded to invest our time in those we love when faced with the reality that loved ones can be taken from us so quickly.
As an educator, it has reminded me to focus more on touchstone moments with each student rather than assignments and grading. Last week with the end of the quarter looming, I held grading conferences and recognized that I needed to use the conferences to connect with my students rather than just determine if they’d met learning criteria. The conferences took longer than I had planned but the joyful moments that emerged from asking how the deer season was going, checking in about the excitement of an upcoming play performance, and digging deeper into what kinds of books were engaging this year mattered so much more.
November is a quick school month with parent conferences and Thanksgiving break, but it also provides an opportunity for all of us to slow down and spend time with our loved ones. November also brings our third online AI chat. I’m personally very excited to learn some AI tools to enhance my teacher workflow so I can spend more quality time with my students. We hope you’ll join us for this free event on Tuesday, November 28th to learn from Kate Meyer, M.Ed, NBCT, Uncharted AI Fellow, Executive Board Member MCELA, 2020 Hancock County Teacher of the Year, and Mt. Desert Island High School English and Design Thinking teacher.
In December, we’ll offer one more online event for 2023. This one will be about digital storytelling with Brett Pierce, Maine author of Expanding Literacy: Bringing Digital Storytelling into Your Classroom and founder of Meridian Stories, a digital storytelling nonprofit for teachers and their students. I have Brett’s book and have already applied ideas from this text in my classroom as my students and I explore digital storytelling. This event will be free to MCELA members and $10 for non-members. Plus, we’ll be donating Brett’s book to the first 10 registered participants for this event.
Learn more and find registration links for both events in this newsletter. There will also be a recording sent for both events to registered participants.
I do hope you can find moments to pause and determine what matters most for you, your family, and your students. After reflecting, I encourage you to support a colleague who has made a difference to you, other educators, students, and our learning community by nominating them for our Claudette & John Brassil Distinguished Educator Award (more info. In this newsletter). You can cheer them on at our March 2024 MCELA Conference when we reveal the winner.
Wishing you more kairos* time,
Patti Forster
MCELA President
*Most people look at time as the calendar and the clock, looking at time chronologically, with the Greek word CHRONOS for time. Instead, Stephen Covey (author of First Things First, 2017)
maine.ela@gmail.com
MCELA website: mainecela.org
