Summer 2011 Professional Development

Aside from getting some well-deserved rest, many of our teachers will be taking some time this summer to enhance their own professional development. Below is a partial list of all the wonderful things our teachers will be doing. 

• Jim Juntenen, PJA 4th grade teacher, is going with family to Europe for a month.  Destinations include Paris, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, and Venice, presenting Jim with numerous learning opportunities to bring back to his 4th graders.
• Susanna Perrin, PJA Lower School Judaic Studies teacher, is teaching two classes at PJA's Summer Discovery program and continuing to work on a series of books about the Jewish holidays. 
• Sarah Blattner, PJA's Technology Integration Specialist, is attending a summer Writing Creativity Workshop retreat at the Attic in Portland.
• Inge Hoogerhuis, PJA's Admission Director, is attending and leading workshops at the PEJE Admission Directors conference in New Jersey.
• Susan Ramirez, PJA 2nd grade teacher, is attending a seminar titled Using Brain Research to Boost Student Achievement offered through Oregon Reading Association.
• Tracy Wygant is taking two drawing classes at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology.
• Joe Minato, PJA Middle School science teacher, will be teaching 70 aspiring future teachers in the MAT program at Lewis and Clark College in a course titled "Children and Nature." He will also be developing new curriculum to go with our new microscopes donated by the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation.
• Middle School Humanities planning is underway with Elana Cohn-Rozansky, Russ Romas, Marcie Brewer, and Betsy Bailey meeting regularly.
• Marcie Brewer is also taking some classes at PCC this summer:  Wikis and Blogs, Skype 101, Writing Children's Literature, and Canning Preserves and Meats.
• Noah Mendel will be attending a PNAIS technology educators conference at the end of July. Noah is also teaching two PJA Summer Discovery classes, and taking Education classes at PSU and PCC this summer. 
• PJA PE Teacher, Christy Hitz, will be attending a PE educators conference in July to learn all kinds of cool new things to bring to her PE classes!
• Devorah Spilman, Lower School Hebrew and Preschool Jewish Studies teacher will be traveling across the country with her family doing storytelling. Follow Devorah on her journey by going to her website at http://devorahspilman.wordpress.com/storytelling-performances/.
• Safranit (Librarian) Heidi Slater is presenting at George Fox University on Dynamic Libraries, and, separately, is attending two workshops:
  • New Books to Connect with Your Curriculum
  • New Fiction For Literature Circles
• PJA's 5th grade teacher, Harriet Wingard is teaching a writing workshop at Lewis and Clark College called Writing and the Writing Process for graduate students in the secondary MAT program.  She is also taking a weekend class at Sitka called Writing on the Edge, taught by the wonderful instructor, Sarah Rabkin, who teaches in the Environmental Studies department at UC Santa Cruz.  If that wasn't enough, she will also be twirling gracefully through an adult beginning ballet workshop at Oregon Ballet Theater!