Partners in Education News

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PENCIL’s mission: Linking community resources with Nashville public schools PENCIL’s mission: Linking community resources with Nashville public schools PENCIL’s mission: Linking community resources with Nashville public schools PENCIL’s mission: Linking community resources with Nashville public schools

to help young people achieve academic success and prepare for life to help young people achieve academic success and prepare for life to help young people achieve academic success and prepare for life to help young people achieve academic success and prepare for life

Partners in Education News

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PENCIL Foundation’s volunteer edation’s volunteer edation’s volunteer edation’s volunteer e----newsletternewsletternewsletternewsletter

PENCIL Foundation PENCIL FoundationPENCIL Foundation

PENCIL Foundation Volume No. 2Volume No. 2 Volume No. 2Volume No. 2 Issue Issue No.5Issue No.5 Issue No.5No.5 April April 2003April 2003 April 20032003 Welcome to the April issue of Partners in Education News, PENCIL Foundation’s volunteer e-newsletter.

Help us spread the news! Please distribute this e-newsletter to your employees, colleagues, friends and neighbors. And encourage them to get involved as a volunteer. Education is, after all,

everyone’s business.

Welcome New PENCIL Partners! Bellevue Center, Hillwood High

The Mall at Green Hills & Julia Green Elementary The Mall at Green Hills & Hillsboro High Wal-Mart, Hermitage & Stanford Montessori

Final Request for Volunteers for Mayor’s Healthy Kids Event

Volunteers are still needed on Wednesday, April 16 and Thursday, April 17 for the Healthy Kids Kickoff, an event sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Children and Youth. Volunteers are needed to greet children and parents, staff a welcome table, escort children to health screening and vaccination stations, or help children with "make and take" activities.

Shift times are 2:30-5:30 P.M. and 5:00-8:00 P.M. The following elementary schools still need volunteers:

Hattie Cotton

Fall-Hamilton Enhanced Option Napier Enhanced Option

Park Avenue Enhanced Option (Wed 5-8 shift only) Paragon Mills (Wed. 5-8 shift only)

Whitsitt

If you are interested in volunteering, please e-mail Hanna Compton at hcompton@pencilfd.org or Suzanne Warner at swarner@pencilfd.org. Please share this request with your co-workers, too! Thanks to those of you who have signed up to volunteer!

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to help young people achieve academic success and prepare for life to help young people achieve academic success and prepare for life to help young people achieve academic success and prepare for life to help young people achieve academic success and prepare for life PENCIL Volunteer of the Month Award Recognizes Robert Yoke

PENCIL is proud to announce that the recipient of April’s Volunteer of the Month Award is Robert Yoke. A volunteer at Old Center Elementary School, Mr. Yoke was nominated by Teresa Sloan, a second- grade teacher at Old Center. Below are excerpts from her nomination:

Mr. Yoke has volunteered as a tutor and helper for my classroom for the past three years. He comes every Tuesday and Thursday for two hours. He listens to students read, helps them with their weekly spelling words, and tutors in all subjects. He also runs copies, helps with school events, and chaperones field trips. Mr. Yoke is dedicated to my students and our school. He is an outstanding role model for the students. He is dependable and his help has been invaluable to my classroom.

Mr. Yoke’s son attended Old Center several years ago and was tragically killed in a car accident. Mr. Yoke volunteers at our school in honor of his son. He has not missed one day of his volunteer work. He has been a blessing to my classroom and I feel honored to work with him on a weekly basis.

Presented throughout the school year, this award recognizes outstanding volunteers in Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools who have distinguished themselves through their contributions to schools, teachers and students. Award recipients will receive a certificate of recognition, listing in PENCIL newsletters, on its website, and in the Spring Celebration 2003 program. They will also receive gift certificates provided by local restaurants and retailers.

Nomination Information

• Nominations may be made by educators, parents, students, partnership coordinators, volunteers, and other persons who know about a nominee’s volunteer service.

• Individuals may nominate themselves. • Nominations can be submitted at any time.

• For nominees to be eligible for the upcoming month, nominations must be submitted by the first day of that month.

• Incomplete forms will not be accepted. • Award recipients will be notified by phone. Nomination Form

See Attachment (bottom of e-newsletter)

Get Ready. National Volunteer Week is April 27 - May 3.

Start planning now for ways to commemorate the volunteers who devote themselves to your school or partnership. "Celebrate Volunteers - The Spirit of America!" is the theme for this year’s National Volunteer Week, intended to recognize and celebrate the efforts of volunteers. The following are ideas that both school and partner coordinators can use to recognize their volunteers:

▪ Showcase volunteer photos in a display or on a bulletin board.

▪ Highlight volunteers in your school or business newsletter.

▪ Plan a volunteer appreciation breakfast, luncheon, or reception.

▪ Send a letter of thanks and appreciation from students.

▪ Nominate your volunteers for community volunteer awards.

▪ Send letters commending your volunteers to their supervisors.

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News about Spring Celebration 2003

Spring Celebration 2003 is only a month away. You should be receiving your invitation this week. This year’s event will take place at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel on Wednesday, May 7 from 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. Mayor Bill Purcell will be the featured speaker. The program will also include entertainment by MNPS students, special recognition of school partnerships and volunteers, and the presentation of the Mayor’s Award for Outstanding School Partner (see below).

Please note that the reservation deadline is Friday, April 25. Join us in celebrating school partnerships and volunteers!

2002-2003 Mayor’s Award for Outstanding School Partner

PENCIL Partners are invited to submit a nomination for this year’s Mayor’s Award for Outstanding School Partner. Mayor Bill Purcell will present this award at Spring Celebration 2003 on May 7. Last year, Creative Artists Agency, Inc. received the award in recognition of its partnership with Whitsitt Elementary. Honorable Mention went to HCA for its work with Brookmeade Elementary, Caterpillar Financial for its involvement with Wharton Arts Magnet Middle, and Sony Music Publishing for its partnership with Stokes Middle.

An independent panel of community leaders will judge each nomination based on volunteer and tutoring participation, in-kind and monetary contributions, support for student achievement, and the encouragement of family and community involvement in schools. To be considered for the Mayor’s Award for Outstanding School Partner, please submit an application to PENCIL Foundation by Tuesday, April 22, 2003, that includes the information requested below:

1. Include your name, your company/organization name, and your phone number at the top of the application.

2. Describe any volunteer efforts in your partner school, including the number of volunteers, total volunteer hours, and a description of volunteer activities.

3. List any contributions made to your school other than volunteer time, such as monetary donations, equipment or supply donations, or provision of services. Include the estimated dollar value of these contributions.

4. Describe any partnership efforts that support student achievement, such as tutoring, teacher support, program support, or connection with system or school goals.

5. Describe any partnership efforts that encourage parental involvement in schools, such as PTO support, parental communication, or First Day participation.

Please send your entry by mail, fax or email to: PENCIL Foundation, 421 Great Circle Road, Suite 100, Nashville, TN 37228. FAX: (615) 254-6748 EMAIL: conniewi@pencilfd.org

Tennessee Association of Partners in Education Conference You are invited to attend the 11th_{Annual Conference of the Tennessee Association of Partners in} Education (TnAPE). The conference will be held from April 30 to May 2 at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville. PENCIL will be conducting several workshops on topics including Math Partners, Reading Partners and Volunteer Tracking. Other workshop sessions may include: Mentoring Programs, Service Learning Programs, What Businesses Expect, Sustaining Partnerships and Job Shadowing.

For conference and registration information, contact Sandra Robert, TnAPE Consultant, at robertsand@comcast.net.

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Math Partners Tips and Tidbits

Congratulations to Amber Wallin, a student at Vanderbilt, for being named a finalist for the Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer of the Year Award. PENCIL’s relationship with Amber began in the fall of 2001 when she became a Math Partners volunteer at Head Middle Magnet. As president Vanderbilt’s Pencil Project, a student advocacy organization for at-risk children, she has recruited nearly 30 fellow students to serve as Math Partners and Reading Partners volunteers. Amber recently helped PENCIL establish a

partnership with several campus service-learning classes, which we hope will provide volunteers for Nashville public schools for years to come. Amber will be recognized at an awards luncheon on Friday, April 25. Congratulations, Amber!

Attention, Math Partners volunteers! Please don’t forget to complete and submit your pre- and post- tests and program evaluation forms. Thank you for your dedication to Math Partners this year!

Reading Partners Tips and Tidbits

Celebrate National Poetry Month with the works of Shel Silverstein. Some great ideas for sharing poetry with students can be found at www.harperchildrens.com/hch/fiction/features/poetry/shel/. This

site contains suggestions for sharing Silverstein’s poetry with students and includes print-outs that can be used for fun classroom activities. Also, any books by Jack Prelutsky are great fun to share with young children. They are sure to put a smile on every face! Find some of this poetry

at www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?45442B7C000C000C.

April 22 is Earth Day. This is a great time to read books that express the value of our environment and how to preserve our planet. April 25 is Arbor Day. Give children an understanding of the crucial role plants play in our lives by sharing a book about planting a tree or sowing a spring garden.

Special Thanks

Funding for Math Partners is provided in part by Dell, Nortel Networks, BellSouth, The UPS Foundation, Aspect Community Commitment Fund and Community Foundation Silicon Valley, Deutsche Bank, GEAR UP- U.S. Department of Education, The Lance A. Schulters Foundation, and Visteon-Nashville Glass Plant.

Funding for Reading Partners is provided in part by The Memorial Foundation, Gannett Foundation/The

Tennessean, Martha and Bronson Ingram Foundation, Marsh, Cummins Engine Foundation, Comcast Foundation, Bank of America, The Alcoa Foundation, Dollar General Corporation, FedEx Ground, Rogers Group, Inc., and Tennessee Trust.

Community Calendar Friday, April 18 – Student Holiday

Monday, April 7- Friday, April 11 – TCAP testing

Tuesday, April 22 – Student Writers Showcase, High School Awards Ceremony

Wednesday, April 23 – Caterpillar Student Writers Showcase, Grades 3-8 Awards Ceremony Wednesday, May 7 – Spring Celebration 2003

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SPECIAL ATTACHMENT

PENCIL

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH AWARD

NOMINATION FORM

Nominee: _________________________________________________________________________________ Company/Volunteer Organization (if applicable): ___________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________ ______ City, State, Zip: _______________________________ Phone (work): __________________________ ______ Phone (home): ________________________________

Nominator: ________________________________________________________________________________ School/Company (if applicable): ________________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________ ______ City, State, Zip: _______________________________ Phone (work): ________________________________ Fax: ________________________________________ Please provide the following:

1. Capacity in which the volunteer serves and length of service.

2. Why this person should be recognized as a PENCIL Volunteer of the Month.

Submit nomination form to: Hanna Compton PENCIL

421 Great Circle Road Nashville, TN 37228 FAX: (615) 254-6748