Cooperative Purchasing Update  

New Partnership:  SW/WC Cooperative Purchasing is excited to announce a new partnership with BUCKS Parking Lines and Signs LLC.  This is a local family owned business that will provide special pricing to our members for your parking lot striping and signage needs.  Parking lot striping provides a safe environment, increases efficiency and flow of your parking lot, and improves aesthetics.  Free estimates are available.  For more information, contact Shareen.Neumann@swsc.org or Christine.Schmitt@swsc.org.  

 

An Amazing Deal on Adobe Creative Cloud:  Adobe and the Cooperative Purchasing Connection are partnering to provide our member school districts with the lowest price available on Creative Cloud programming. This offer includes:  

$24/FTE*/school district, which allows for installation on every computer in the district; 

 

Access to current and future updates for Adobe creative desktop applications;  

 

One annual payment with a three year lock on pricing.

*FTE = FT Faculty + (PT Faculty/3) + FT Staff + (PT Staff/2). FTE does not include custodial, maintenance, food service, or bus drivers.

The buying window is June 15, 2015 through July 17, 2015. The program must reach 5,000 FTE combined across all members. This offer will not be available outside the buying window. If you are interested in purchasing the Creative Cloud through this program, please contact Oleg Krylov at CDW-G by email: olegkry@cdwg.com or phone: 866-770-0358.  Click here to read the flyer.  More information about this offer is available online at www.purchasingconnection.org/adobe.

 

Planning for Capital Projects?  Purchasing Connection can help! The following contracts are formally bid and satisfy Minnesota bid law requirements. (MN Stat. 471.345, subd. 15) 

Daktronics - An industry leader in scoreboards, marquees, and electronic displays;

Field Turf - Synthetic field turf, track resurfacing, and tennis court resurfacing and construction;

Fisher Tracks - Rubberized track surfacing and MONDO track products;

Leasing Specialists - National rate comparisons to bring members the best rates for leasing and financing;

Midwest Playscapes - Sales and installation of playgrounds, splash pads, outdoor stadium seating, bleachers, fences, and playground surfaces;

Techline Sports Lighting - Sport facility lighting that now offers LED options;

Tremco Education Solutions - Roofing specialists. Options to repair and re-warranty your existing roof or perform full roof replacements; andUBU - Indoor and outdoor synthetic turf surfaces for: football, baseball, field hockey, soccer, rugby and lacrosse.

 

For more information about any of these contracts, please visit www.purchasingconnection.org or call 1-888-739-3289.

View our Photo Gallery of Knowledge Bowl Winners!

Behavior Conference - Meeting the Challenge, Uniting Behavior Analysts & Educators:  Join us in Brookings, SD on Monday, May 13th ... or Tuesday, May 14th in Redwood Falls ... for a day with Keynote Speaker Dr. Merrill Winston and breakout sessions focused on Early Childhood Pyramid Data, Discipline in Schools, Classroom Management, Evidence Based Intervention, Working with Parents, Establishing Rules, Experimental Analysis in Schools and Behavior Changes Across Classrooms.  Register at www.swsc.org/workshops.

Summer Workshops for Kids and Teachers at the Southwest Research and Outreach Center, Lamberton  

University on the Prairie:  This is offered for students entering grades 7-12.  The three-day program will explore science-related careers close to home - July 28-30.  Learning is fun at the University on the Prairie Program!  Again this summer, students in our region can have an adventure in science and career exploration that is closer to home than may be realized.  The Southwest Research and Outreach Center (SWROC) along with SW/WC SC is offering this popular program for the ninth year.  University of Minnesota faculty from the Twin Cities campus and local professionals will join teachers from our region and SWROC scientists to guide students through hands-on exploration of science in five career areas important to the life and future of southwestern Minnesota: health science, food science, agriculture & environmental science, engineering, and chemistry. The program is unique in the state and offers students an opportunity to open doors to many career paths and will perhaps result in a future soil scientist, pharmacist, food safety inspector, or chemist.  For more information for students and associate teachers visit our website or click here for PDF.   

 

Minnesota Valley History Learning Center Curriculum Training --June 16-17. This two-day training immerses teachers in Minnesota history through the following curriculum themes: Gneiss Rock, Glacial River Warren, Immigration & Settlement, Prairie to Production, and Pioneer Life. The curriculum for these themes is developed to exceed Minnesota Department of Education academic standards in Science and Social Studies. Curriculum is structured for grades 5-9, but is adaptable across all grade levels. Sessions include hands-on trainings with curriculum writers at the University of Minnesota - Southwest Research and Outreach Center (SWROC). Participating teachers receive CEUs, an honorarium for attending training, lunches, notebooks, lesson plans, and other resources to support classroom implementation of the curriculum themes.  For more information visit our website or click here for PDF. 

 

Composting: Building A Laboratory Worm Home -- Improving Teacher Quality  2015 -- June 8-11, June 23-25 and July 7-9.  Filled with hands-on learning, this 10-day graduate course at the University of Minnesota - Southwest Research and Outreach Center (SWROC) explores science concepts relevant to agricultural science and helps K-12 teachers better prepare students for science assessments. Teachers learn how to establish a lab and receive supplies and resources to bring back to their own classrooms. Other benefits that participating teachers receive include CEUs, a stipend, follow-up visits to participants' classrooms, mileage, meals and snacks.  For more information visit our website or click here for PDF.