February+2009

=Congratulations ! = ===Keri Bath and Sandy Bonsall Michigan Reading Association's Literacy Award Winners for 2009.===

Adam Gray, Abby Standerford, and Sara Beauchamp all received Future Faculty Fellowship Awards from NMU.
=February TC Spotlight = Click on the link to read more about Ragene Henry, our TC Spotlight for February. Thank you to Ann Chappel for interviewing Ragene.

=Summer Institute Recruitment =  The application process is being updated on the website and you will receive more information in the mail, but it's not too early to recruit colleagues for this summer's institute. Reminder that there is a slight change in the fellowship award: Fellows pay for 2 credits with the UPWP paying for up to an additional 5 credits.

=Summer Plans for TCs =  The UPWP Leadership Team met on Monday, February 2, to finalize plans for this coming summer's activities. We hope to offer tuition stipends for the Advanced Institutes but must wait until NWP mini-grants are awarded in March. You can check the website http://www.upwp.net for updated information as we get it. You also will be getting a letter in the mail with some details by the end of February and the March newsletter will have more too.

=Help Needed = Both the National Writing Project and UP Writing Project need your help. Please contact NMU President Wong at NMUPres@nmu.edu to inform him of the importance of NMU's support of UPWP. Without it, the UPWP would not be viable. Also, our Washington legislators need to hear from you as NWP is funded by an earmark and those are being scrutinized closely. Please use your writing skills to share your NWP/UPWP experience(s) and the importance of NWP to you as a teacher.

=<span style="display: block; color: rgb(159, 20, 215); text-align: center; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Saturday Session: February 14, 9-Noon = <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">There's still time to enroll in the Saturday Sessions for 1 directed-study credit. You will need to come to the February 14, April 11 and May 16 sessions. And, of course, you're always welcomed to join even if you aren't enrolling for credit!

=<span style="display: block; color: rgb(159, 20, 215); text-align: center; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">National Writing Project Opportunities = WITH MACARTHUR FOUNDATION SUPPORT, NWP LAUNCHES "DIGITAL IS" PROJECT –– NWP has received a MacArthur grant to fund "Digital is," a project that will create and disseminate resources and opportunities to support teachers as they develop effective practices for teaching digital writing and new media literacies. [|http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2801]

NEW PROJECT INVITES STUDENTS TO CREATE VIDEOS FOR NEW ADMINISTRATION –– NWP has partnered with the Pearson Foundation to launch Letters to the Next President: The Video Campaign, an extension of last fall's popular letter-writing campaign. The project encourages teens to express their views with digital videos about issues they want the new administration to address. [|http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2802]

DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR NATIONAL READING INITIATIVE ONLINE EVENT –– Experienced site leaders (individuals also welcome) are invited to register for an online discussion, Recruiting and Supporting Content-Area Teachers in Writing Project Sites, February 23-March 8. Site leaders who plan and facilitate summer institutes, high school professional development series, or continuity programs will discuss the challenges and possibilities of inviting content-area colleagues to participate in writing project work. NEW DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 8. [|http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/events/369]

PROFESSIONAL WRITING RETREAT APPLICATION NOW ONLINE –– Apply now for Professional Writing Retreats A and B, July 16-19, in Tubac, Arizona. The retreats, which run concurrently, give teachers a chance to write about the profession of teaching, literacy and learning, their own practice, policy and school reform, and more. DEADLINE: MARCH 16. [|http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/events/373]

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