Prairie Lands Writing Project (PLWP) site has received a matching grant of $46,000 in federal funds from the National Writing Project (NWP) to support its Invitational Institute and core program for teachers, for the year beginning June 1, 2009. Prairie Lands will also receive additional NWP $5,000 Technology grant and an $8,000 National Evaluation Study grant.
Eighteen teacher leaders from throughout Northwest Missouri have accepted invitations to participate in the 2009 Prairie Lands Writing Project Invitational Institute. The 2009 institute participants include: Carol Bunse, Savannah High School English teacher; Gina Calvin, St. Joseph Middle School instructional coach; Tyler Carlson, Savannah High School English teacher; Jacqueline Conn, Maryville High School English teacher; Chandler Cooper, St. Joseph Spring Garden Middle School language arts teacher; Diana Deatherage, St. Joseph Neely Elementary School grade four teacher; Brandon Haskey, St. Joseph Central High School English teacher; Elizabeth Hendrix, Missouri Western education professor; Valerie Hutton, Cameron Middle School reading and language arts teacher; Lynn Laipple, Benton High School communication arts teacher; Rachael Monroe, St. Joseph Humboldt Elementary School grade three teacher; Kati Reid, Pattonsburg High School English teacher; Yvonne Sexton, North Kansas City Winnetonka High School English teacher; Stacia Slagle, Cameron Middle School language arts teacher; K’Lea Snyder, Benton High School English teacher; Kira Thaler, Savannah Middle School social studies and English teacher; Libery Usera, Platte County High School English teacher; and Renee Wilson, Smithville Elementary School grade six teacher. Tom Pankiewicz, MWSU English instructor, will lead the Invitational. Co-leaders are Jane Frick, MWSU English professor, and Christie Hofmeister, St. Joseph Skaith Elementary School grade two teacher. Mary Lee Meyer, PLWP technology liaison, and Amy Miller, PLWP technology cadre member and Benton High School talented and gifted teacher, will provide educational technology support for the Invitational.
Dr. Kaye Adkins, Associate Professor of English, presented at the7th Regional Society for Technical Communication Student Conference, "Poster Sessions for Technical Communicators," Missouri State University, Springfield, MO.
Dr. Jane Frick, Professor of English, co-facilitated and presented at the Shoot and Write Marathon/Fun with Flickr Workshop, Prairie Lands Writing Project, Missouri Western state University. (April 25, 2009).
Dr. Cynthia Jeney, Assistant Professor of English, presented "Teaching/Practicing Rhetoric-Centered Web Writing" at the Workshop for Teachers of Technical Writing, Society for Technical Communication, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO. (April 17, 2009).
Dr. Cynthia Jeney, Assistant Professor of English, presented "Study Away, England 2009: In Search of King Arthur" as part of the EFLJ seminar series. (April 2, MWSU)
Dr. Elizabeth Latosi-Sawin, Professor of English, and graduating technical communications major Kathryn Strasser have edited a publication for the National Collegiate Honors Council. This collection includes essays written by participants at the Experiential Teaching/Learning Faculty Institute called PRAIRIE ATTITUDES AND URBAN REALITIES that took place in Lincoln, Nebraska. Sawin and Strasser also selected, arranged and designed three collages of photos taken by Sawin and other institute participants.
Dr. Susan Hennessy, Professor of French, was Guest Speaker at Career Day at Spring Garden Middle School, St. Joseph, MO. (April 9, 2009). Dr. Hennessy spoke to five middle school classes about careers with foreign languages.
Foreign Language faculty met with high school teachers from Northwest Missouri to collaborate on Missouri Western's Foreign Language Day. In attendance were teachers from Central High School, Benton High School, Cameron High School, and Oak Park High School in Kansas City.
Dr. Karina Vazquez, Assistant Professor of Spanish, presented the paper "Desplazamientos y cambios de signo: La reescritura de El juguete rabioso (1926), de Roberto Arlt, en Si yo muero primero (1991), de Susana Silvestre y La nueva rabia (2008), de Marcelo Eckhardt.” At the
62nd. Annual Kentucky Foreign Language Conference" on April 16/17.
The "New Lit Out Loud" reading series, organized by English Instructors Dana Andrews, Bill Church, and Meg Thompson" met at Foster's in downtown St. Joseph on April 15. Nearly twenty MWSU students joined community members and alumni to read their original poetry and prose.
Creative writing student staff members of Canvas the MWSU Literary and Arts Magazine, held a public reception and reading on April 25 in Hearnes 102 to celebrate the 2009 edition of the journal, an applied learning project.
One day in the fall of 2000, President Jim Scanlon called Dr. Jeanie Crain in her office. "Come on over. I want to talk to you about something." Nine years later, she's back, like the character in many fairy stories who is lured into the fairy mound only to emerge years later, disoriented but not aged more than a few days. So it is with Jeanie. So if she asks for people long retired or asks you "who the heck are you?" please understand.
