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Southwest Prairie Regional Center of Excellence: The SW/WC Service Cooperative was recently selected as one of three fiscal agents for the expansion of the Regional Centers of Excellence (RCE) initiative through the Minnesota Department of Education. The RCE in Marshall will be called Southwest Prairie RCE. We are very excited about this partnership with MDE. Amy Christensen will serve as Interim Director through the end of May, and as of June 1, Melany Wellnitz will assume the director postion. read more
Seven Critical Skills for Success: Author/Educator Tony Wagner believes a person must possess these seven skills to be successful in college, career and citizenship. Read more about these seven critical skills.
Attention Teachers (of 11-15 year old students) Interested in Science and the Environment: Honeywell is investing in the teachers of tomorrow by offering scholarships to cover the cost of hotel and air travel expenses, as well as meals for all qualifying teachers to attend the Green Boot Camp in San Diego, CA on June 22-17, 2014. At Green Boot Camp, teacher will be able to view sustainable educational methods from the perspective of their students. These hands-on, interactive lessons will provide teachers with experiences that they will be able to transfer into your own classroom. Project-based learning modules include renewable energy, water quality, solar and more. The camp's curriculum is developed by teachers for teachers. Teachers will leave with lesson plans and materials to help them teach what they have learned. Click here to read the informational brochure and/or contact Honeywell to find our more! www.honeywellinteract.com/greenbootcamp
CPR in Schools: Minnesota has recognized the importance of CPR training in helping to save the lives of those affected by cardiac arrest. Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, a new law will require schools in Minnesota to train students in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before high school graduation. The American Heart Association has developed a CPR in Schools Training Kit, specifically designed for use in the classroom. Visit www.heart.org/CPRinSchools for more information.
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Division of Administrative Services
Teach Above the Line: Are you a 1:1 school? If you are, I challenge you to take the "No Worksheet Challenge". One day next week, do not assign your students any worksheets. Instead think of ways to really integrate the technology into your classroom. There are 4 essential levels in the SAMR model: Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. The first two, Substitution and Augmentation, are below the line. Instead of doing worksheets on your device, try to shoot for a lesson that involves using the tech for creation of new tasks that were previously inconceivable - this is Teaching Above the Line. Allow your students show to you mastery in ways such as: creating a book on the device, digital storytelling, or creating an iMovie to name a few things. Tell me how you "Taught Above the Line" in your classroom -- kara.damm@swsc.org.
8th Annual Technology Conference: Registration is now open for both the pre-conference sessions and regular conference sessions, which will be held March 13 and March 14.Visit www.swsc.org/techconf2014 to see the conference brochure and to register. You won't want to miss it!
3D Printing Demonstration: On February 6th, the Technology Coordinators from our region who attended the Technology Leadership Workshop were given a special treat. Ken Peterson with Midwest Technology Products demonstrated the MakerBot
 Reeplicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer (see Ken showing the printer in the photo at left). 3D printers make true-to-life high-resolution models. These printers are available through Midwest Technology Products, a vendor with the Purchasing Connection. If you would like more information about 3D printers, please contact Shareen.Neumann@swsc.org or 507-537-2279.
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Division of Risk Management Services
Health Cost Management Program: As a reminder, requests for program activities and screenings should be submitted prior to implementing programs for the staff in your district. Requests can be submitted at any time prior to implementation and are typically reviewed within a week. If you have questions about program offerings or screenings, please contact Kari Bailey at kari.bailey@swsc.org or 507-537-2292.
Virtual Health Clinic: Use Online Care Anywhere® to talk to a doctor using video or secure text chat. No emails, no surveys, no waiting - you'll have a live conversation with a real doctor. Our U.S. board-certified doctors can answer your questions, diagnose your condition and prescribe medications. It's easy to use, confidential, and costs just $45 per visit and will coordinate with your insurance. The School Insurance Pool will provide ancillary supplies (scale, blood pressure cuff, thermometers, wipes, sharps container) for any school pool member who 'opens' a virtual clinic in their district. For more information on this, please contact Kari Bailey at kari.bailey@swsc.org.
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Division of Special Education Services
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Division of Teaching & Learning Services
Summer Principal's Summit: SW/WC SC will once again be partnering with Saint Mary's University of Winona for the Summer Principal's Summit. Scheduled dates are July 29-30. Pat Anderson will be the keynote for Day 1, presenting on meeting the needs of the under resourced learner. Day 2 will consist of breakout sessions. More information and details to be coming out soon.
Sumdog Math Continues Growth in 2013-14: So far this year, Sumdog students in southwest and west central Minnesota correctly answered over three quarters of a million questions during the free fall, holiday and winter on-line contests. Students are motivated to enjoy math and challenged by the on-line games they can play against students from all over the world. The most recent winter contest included 2,143 students from 24 school districts correctly answering over 200,000 math questions. The final contest of the school year is scheduled to begin on May 16, 2014. Register at http://www.sumdog.com/regions/mn. We expect the 2013-14 school year to be the biggest Sumdog contest year yet!
Articulated College Credit: This is a written agreement between secondary schools and post-secondary institutions which provides students the opportunity to receive advanced placement standing for selected high school courses. The linking of secondary and post-secondary institutions provides students the opportunity to make a smooth transition from one level to the next without experiencing delays, duplication of courses, or loss of credit. As a member of the MN West Carl Perkins Consortium, you are also a member of the Southern MN Articulated College Credit Certificate Request Project. The purpose of this joint project is to provide students in participating high schools the opportunity to earn college credit for classes they take in high school at no cost to the school district or student and can be redeemed at a variety of post-secondary campuses upon admission to the school. Minnesota Articulated College Credit eliminates unnecessary duplication of instruction, provides opportunities for advanced training, increases flexibility of scheduling and promotes more informed career decision making. To view the available certificates, visit http://www.lifetimeoflearning.com/techprep/. Choose "All Certificates" at the top of the page, select the Minnesota West Consortium from the dropdown box and then select your district. You may view all the certificates or filter by career field. Contact Gail Polejewski for more info at gail.polejewski@swsc.org.
Regional Spelling Bee: SW/WC SC's Regional Spelling Bee was held on Tuesday, February 11 in Redwood Falls. Twenty-eight local school winners competed against each other through a written test and three preliminary oral rounds. Seventeen students with the top scores advanced to the spell down. After fifteen intense rounds, Alyssa Boynton of MCC Jr. High was declared the champion. Other winners included 2nd - Asa Ulferts of YME Jr. High, 3rd - Cadence Dove of Dawson-Boyd, 4th - Michaela Bosveld of Marshall Middle School and alternate - Daniel Bauer of Holy Redeemer in Marshall. The top four students advance to the Multi-Region State Spelling bee on February 25 at Fergus Falls with the winner from that event going on to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC.
Senior High Knowledge Bowl (SHKB): 104 teams from 39 schools have registered for SHKB. Schools will participate in one of the two sub-regional events held in each region. Region 6: February 24 at MACCRAY Public School or March 10 at Hutchinson Public School. Region 8: March 7 at MN West in Jackson or March 11 at SMSU in Marshall. Approximately one-half of the teams from each event will advance to their regional event on March 14 at MN West in Granite Falls for Region 6 schools and March 13 at SMSU in Marshall for Region 8 schools. The top three teams at each regional event will advance to the state competition at Cragun's on April 10-11, 2014. Good Luck to all SHKB teams as they compete in the upcoming events!
Creative Writing Contest: This year, 166 students in grades 3-12 submitted 250 entries for the Creative Writing Contest sponsored by the SW/WC SC and Southwest Minnesota State University's English Department. The entries are presently being judged. The entries were first screened by SMSU creative writing students who score the submissions according to a rubric. Each submission was scored by multiple student judges. The entries with the highest scores were then submitted to the final judges, faculty in the creative Writing Program at SMSU. Finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony on Sunday, April 27.
Science & Nature Conference: Watch for the conference brochures? They will be distributed soon and also available on our website: www.swsc.org/scienceandnature. This would be a great end-of-the-year field trip for your students!
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Our Core Values: Service. Integrity. Respect.
The SW/WC Service Cooperative is a public agency dedicated to meeting the needs of our members by providing high quality programs through partnership, innovation, leadership and service.
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SW/WC Service Cooperative
Administrators for Special Education (MASE). Ms. McCarron will be honored for her commitment to students with disabilities and their families, and her active involvement in professional and community affairs at a statewide recognition ceremony to be held at the MASE/MASA Spring Conference, March 13-14, 2014, at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest in Brooklyn Park.