Thursday, September 27, 2012

Chinese Festival


Please join in the celebration of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival on Monday, October 1st at 7:00 p.m. 
 
The event will begin in Murphy Hall 224 with a presentation and performance. Mooncakes, Chinese tea, and other mid-autumn foods will be available to sample. The celebration will culminate in the releasing of sky lanterns outdoors. In the Chinese tradition, participants will write wishes on the lanterns and release them together. 
 


The event is Free, and everyone is welcome to attend!

August Accomplishments


Jane Frick, retired English Professor and former Prairie Lands Director, Heidi Mick, Platte County High School communication arts teacher and PLWP In-services Director, Michele Irby, Lathrop High School mathematics teacher, Jennifer Vermillion, Mid-Buchanan Spanish teacher, and Valorie Stokes, Platte County High School media specialist participated in the National Writing Project Resource Development Retreat in Golden, CO, July 30-August 3. The NWP invited Prairie Lands to develop an online institute, Content Area Literacy Practices in the Common Core Era.

Michael Charlton published his article "Performing Gender in the Studio and Postmodern Musical" in the journal Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media.  

Michael Charlton published his article "The Swiss Army Knife Approach: The Challenges of the ePortfolio as a Multidisciplinary Assessment Instrument" in the journal Programmatic Perspectives

Jeanie Crain Served on AQIP Systems Portfolio review as a member of the team and as editor for the completed review.

Tom Pankiewicz, English Instructor and Prairie Lands Writing Project Director, Terri McAvoy, PLWP Teacher Consultant, and Joy Bettis, Pershing Elementary School Grade 6 teacher, attended the SEED Elementary Professional Development and Evaluation Launch Institute in Chicago, July 30-August 2. In June, Prairie Lands was awarded a $20,000 SEED Grant from the National Writing Project to conduct a minimum of 45-hours of professional development in argumentative/opinion writing for teachers, grades 3, 4, and 5, at Pershing. The in-service series began on August 27.



Monday, September 24, 2012

Banned Books Reading


The Sixteenth Annual Reading of Challenged and Banned Books in recognition of the American Library Association’s Banned Book Week.

Date:  Tuesday, October 2, 2012.
Time:  7 pm - 8 pm.
Location:  214/216 Spratt Hall (Enright Room), Missouri Western State University
Sponsors:  The Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Journalism; The Department of Education; The Missouri Western State University Library; Prairie Lands Writing Project, SNCTE.

MWSU students, faculty as well as members of the St. Joseph community will hold a reading of books that have been either banned or challenged in U.S. schools in recent years.  Refreshments will be served following the readings. 

This event is free and open to the public.



Tuesday, September 18, 2012

EFLJ Athletes Wear Laurels


Dana smiles over title
Bill collects the hardware
Dana "Kill Shot" Andrews (right) has his second racquetball crown. In March of 2009, we reported his Kansas State Racquetball Class B Mixed Doubles title. To this he adds a victory in the Ghost of Georgetown IRT-Pro Tier 1 tournament in Overland Park, KS. He won the Men's "B" Doubles Division.

Bill "Broken Bones" Church (left) finished first in the Performance Plus / Southside Fall Festival 5K with a winning time of 19:08, which is a six minute, ten second mile pace (roughly 9.8 mph on a treadmill, for 3.1 miles for those of us who only run in place in air-conditioned rooms).

Dana and Bill will be happy to regale you with stories of their respective performances. They are people with creative writing degrees, mind you, so don't demand too much veracity.

Congrats, Guys! We bask in your reflected glory!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Faculty Picnic to Launch New Year

The dessert line forms behind Tom
In a desperate attempt to cling to what remained of summer, faculty met at Kaye and Jim Adkins' home the weekend before classes began to share some good food and conversation.

Lies were told about what we'd accomplished over the summer. Regrets were shared for what we admitted hadn't been done. Over plates of chicken we shared that other thing with feathers (hope, that is) that the year would be a good one.
C.J. and Michael compare lies about summer exploits

In attendance were our faculty visitors from Germany, Spain, and China, who all had a chance to size us up and wonder about what sort of year they might have among us. A week later finds them still on board.

The evening saw some bursts of rain, leading Betty Sawin to quip that our department might have spared the region some drought had we planned more department picnics over the summer.


Foreign Language faculty tell jokes about the English faculty sitting nearby



Ed Hennessy argues about real estate with young Simon

Bill Church sits on the periphery assessing the short story potential of the gathering
The semester is a week old. Most classrooms have been located, rosters have changed for the third time, and the photocopier and the coffee maker have each broken down under the stress of all the new work. Let's hope for better regarding faculty and students.

 Week Two surprises await.