Volume 7 Issue 4
April 2003
The following are links to select articles from past Student Educators. Student membership provides the benefit of a FULL in-print version of the most current publications.
StWEA Members "Spruced Up" a Kimberly School
By Heather Ponschock, State Secretary and Treasurer
Approximately 180 StWEA members learned not only about academics but the importance of advocacy during the Student Wisconsin Education Association's fifth annual Outreach to Teach Project at Westside Elementary School.
Volunteering personal time, energy and talents provides a taste of what working in the field of education entails, including the need to advocate for classrooms that work, quality staff, and an involved community. Many school districts in Wisconsin have been forced to cut back on necessities because of state-imposed revenue controls. Outreach to Teach volunteers help schools fill that gap.
StWEA raised money from contributions and a grant from the National Education Association Student Program, which helps schools with basic needs that may be unmet. In the case of Wisconsin public schools, the unmet needs are the result of state-imposed revenue caps.
Collectively, StWEA members volunteered 1,800 total hours of labor to help make Westside Elementary school a Great School.
Each Outreach to Teach Project begins with applications from various schools. After evaluating school applications, StWEA’s Board of Directors chose Shelly VanDaalwyk’s application for Westside Elementary. From that point on, Shelly worked with StWEA, Westside’s staff, its PTO, and everyone in between to make this Outreach to Teach Project successful. Heather and Kim were major contacts as was Nancy Clark, our WEAC adviser. Heather organized the work that needed to be done, the volunteers, the supplies, and all of the logistics of the project. We also received help from the Bayland UniServ for cost of food for our helpful workers.
We painted walls and murals, updated coat lockers, installed white board, and shelving, to name just a few of our activities during the weekend event.
Together, we made a big difference to make this Kimberly school look more like the Great School it is and will continue to be for its community.
South Region’s PDS
Adam Knihtila, UW-Whitewater StWEA President
The South Region Spring PDS was held at UW-Whitewater on a blustery March morning. Students traveled from Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha, and all other parts of the great southern corner of the state to the small town of Whitewater. Speakers presented information on children’s literature, inclusion in the classroom, the teacher’s union, LGBT issues, and many more. Thomas Klubertanz, the 2001 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year, spoke on how to get through to kids by not being a “Wizard of OZ” type teacher where you are all smoke and mirrors, but instead by being a real person. Everyone in attendance commented on what an amazing speaker he was and thoroughly enjoyed their experience.
West Region’s PDS
Seth Breidel, State President
Despite a blizzard that attacked the state of Wisconsin, the 2003 West Region Spring Professional Development Seminar was held on March 8, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. Bringing together over 100 of the West Region chapter members, the seminar was a great way, as future educators, to come together and learn about the profession.
Seminar attendees were treated to a welcome by West Region Liaison, and State Public Relations Coordinator, Melissa Eggen, and after a light breakfast, were whisked away to three different sessions, all with five breakout choices per session. Some of the professional development issues that were addressed in the breakouts included Bullying, Interviewing for Jobs, Banned Books, and Energizing your Classroom. After lunch, Carl “The Energizer” Olson, a guidance counselor in Barron, Wisconsin, gave an amazing keynote address in which he stated how teaching is truly the greatest profession in the world. Members were extremely touched by his speech.
The seminar concluded with raffle drawings for the Student WEA’s Outreach to Teach. The Outreach raffle raised over $200 and will be used by the Westside Elementary School in Kimberly, Wisconsin, the location of this year’s fifth annual Outreach to Teach. The seminar was a huge success. Thanks go out to the West Region chapter presidents for their hard work in planning and implementing the seminar. The West Region will see you all again next spring!
East Region’s PDS
Cara Dillman, State President-Elect
The weather proved to be a bit of a problem again this year. We got a snowfall that continued for most of the day, but the majority of our participants ventured outside and weathered the storm to Ripon, Wisconsin on March 8, 2003.
East Region’s Spring Professional Development Seminar was a huge success. It included a variety of sessions, such as: Classroom Management, Project Learning Tree, 1st year teacher, Assessment, Stress, Brain Based, and Legal Issues. The overall consensus of the seminar was that it was great!
Future teachers learned a lot, and East Region provided fabulous speakers. The keynote, Ted Eischeid, is a middle school science teacher. He encouraged all of us to give our best and to be role models. He also encouraged us to make sure we thank our role models. Everyone loved hearing his words of encouragement.
All together, we had 61 participants from UW-Stevens Point, UW-Green Bay, UW-Oshkosh, St Norbert’s College, Marian College, Ripon College, and Silverlake College.
Hope to see you at next year’s PDS!!
Student Leadership Conference
By David Price/Carly Kramer , UW-Milwaukee
The first annual Student Leadership Conference at UWM went off without a hitch on Feb. 25, 2003, on the UWM campus. It had an excellent turnout of over 200 Milwaukee area high school students from seven surrounding schools. The StWEA chapter at UW-Milwaukee spearheaded a coalition of sixteen UWM student organizations, two community nonprofit groups, and four StWEA chapters in the South Region to present this conference that focused on basic leadership and organization skills through several professional development workshops and social interaction. There were campus tours and presentations from the Financial Aid Office and other student preparation offices. StWEA members at UWM assisted in the logistics and setup of the program throughout the day. What made this conference different from the rest is that the college student organizations presented the workshops to the high school students, not the staff of UWM.
The vast resources and contacts through the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association and the National Education Association (SOAR Grant), both huge contributors to this conference, helped make this conference possible as well as footing the bill for meals to all participating students.
National Education Association Student Program Coordinator President, Malcolm Staples, flew in from Washington D.C. to attend. The event was a success and provided a wonderful experience for everyone. All teacher chaperones and students said they would love to come back next year. UW-Milwaukee plans on doing this event again next year if anyone is interested in assisting next year contact your new local StWEA president.
Literacy World
By Maria Krechel, Cardinal Stritch University
The CSU StWEA is going to hold 6 sessions focused on literacy for students to attend at Windlake Elementary School. The sessions will end with a group activity. This opportunity will be available for grades 1-4 (over 200 students). This school reaches students from low-income families, so we will also be provide books for the students since some of the students are teaching their parents how to read using the books from our book drive. We are very excited! This will be held on Friday, May 2nd, at the school.
StWEA’s New Leadership Team
State President: Cara Dillman is originally from Wisconsin Rapids and is a junior at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. She is currently majoring in Elementary Education with a minor in Learning Disabilities. “Thus far, Student WEA has provided me with a wealth of opportunities that added to my growth as an educator. I have taken the numerous experiences StWEA has offered and received an enormous store of information from the various professional development, local, and state events. I'm very excited to serve as your State President next year, and I hope to lead StWEA to even greater heights next year, just as Seth has this year!!”
State President Elect: A.J. Heroux is originally from Grafton and is a sophomore at UW-Whitewater. He is currently majoring in Secondary Education Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science Education . “As State President-Elect, I hope to help promote StWEA statewide, raise membership to even new height, and plan a great Fall Conference for next year. I know we can make this next year great!”
State Vice President: Nicole Zimmerlee is originally from Beaver Dam and is a junior at UW-Eau Claire. She is currently majoring in Elementary Education with a Spanish minor. “I want to encourage everyone to get involved with state committees, so we can make this next year the best year possible.”
State Secretary/Treasurer: Brian Baker is originally from West Salem and is a sophomore at UW-Eau Claire. He is currently majoring in Biology Education with a broad field science minor. “As Secretary/Treasurer, I want to encourage more schools to apply for Outreach to Teach and then make it the best it can be.”
State PR Coordinator: Bridget Dolon is a junior at Viterbo University, La Crosse, Wisconsin. She is currently majoring in Elementary/Middle School Education with a science minor. “I hope to continue the great work Melissa has done with the website. And I will be encouraging everyone to submit articles about local events.”