Happy New Year from our partner, Mastery Coding!
New Year, New Engaging Curriculum

Laugh More • On your worst days, find something funny Work On Your Patience • Yes, people can be trying. Try To Be Optimistic • Now, more than ever, schools need voices of hope Ask Your Admin If You Can Go To An NB - Never Boring Conference • If you don't A.S.K. you don't G.E.T. Do Something Nice For Your Staff • Remember, our support system starts with each other Eat Oreos During Passing Period • And smile at kids with cookies in your teeth. Ask them if you have anything in your teeth Give More Hugs and Offer Kindness Symposiums in Hawaii, Michigan, and Oklahoma Registration is now open! Contact for more info and custom pricing Register Now Copyright © 2023 Berckemeyer Consulting Group, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Berckemeyer Consulting Group 200 Quebec St., #300-111 Denver, CO 80230

Getting fit is a common New Year’s resolution and probably a goal for many of your employees. But what about helping them get financially fit? Financial fitness can help lower your employees’ stress by knowing they’re on their way to a healthy financial future.

Horace Mann is a long-time corporate supporter, and they can help your employees with their financial fitness with no-cost financial wellness education.

For more information on how they can help, contact your local Horace Mann representative today or visit us at horacemann.com.

Horace Mann Service Corporation and certain of its affiliates (Horace Mann) enter into agreements with educational associations where Horace Mann pays the association to provide services aimed at familiarizing association members with the Horace Mann brand, products or services. For more information, email your inquiry to association.relations@horacemann.com.

EMM-00493 (1-23)

Bruce, this is the first of a series of emails sharing the great school communities that make up the thriving National Schools to Watch network.  If you spot a school near you with interesting programs, why not contact the principal to arrange a visit? Exchanging informal Schools to Watch tours offers one of the best ways for accomplished educators to keep learning and growing…and you’ll always find great ideas to replicate at your own site! Today’s highlighted school is… Elizabeth Forward Middle School Elizabeth Forward Middle School is a vibrant, suburban campus located in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, with an enrollment of 450 students. Their top three programs include: Personalized Learning iPads and MacBooks allow teachers to personalize learning for all students. Students learn at their own pace along a personalized, adaptive pathway. Teachers use eSpark Learning to assign leveled resources that target standards and skills. They also use Canvas to build learning playlists and create mastery paths so students can engage with resources based on personal interests and ability levels.  Enhancing Lessons with Technology Augmented and virtual reality are used to bring lessons to life. Google Expeditions is integrated into all content areas, and students visit local senior citizen centers to lead residents through a variety of virtual reality expeditions. In terms of media, iMovie, GrageBand, and ChromeLab are tapped to create animated films and songs. One group of teachers even created a fun tutorial video for students demonstrating different cinematography techniques! Innovative Spaces The school also contains unique learning spaces. The Dream Factory combines three classes (art, technology education, and computer programming) into one cohesive, hands-on learning experience. In iCreate Studio, students craft videos using green-screen, recording, and editing technology. The SMALLab features a 3-D, mixed-reality learning environment where students engage body and mind to learn new, challenging subjects. Finally, the Energy Lab contains an interactive globe, augmented-reality elevation tables, and games that center on renewable energies. Thanks to the educators at Elizabeth Forward Middle School for sharing the amazing learning environments they’ve built for their students! Follow this school on Twitter Attend the National Schools to Watch Conference, July 22-24, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

Having trouble viewing this email? View it in your web browser NAMI Keystone Pennsylvania is now accepting essay submissions for our 2023 Youth Mental Health Leadership Award. The award recognizes the passion and courage of young leaders, ages 13-21, who are committed to fighting the stigma of mental health conditions, providing a safe community for peers to share their own mental health experiences, and empowering peers through education. Winner receives a $500 scholarship and commemorative award! The award, along with all essays submitted, will be presented during NAMI Keystone PA’s Child, Adolescent, and Transition Age Youth Mental Health Conference, Pursuit of Perfection and the Impact on Youth Mental Health, on Friday, February 10, 2023, at the Westin Pittsburgh. The award recipient will be asked to give brief remarks during the event. If the recipient cannot make it in person, NKPA will record a video message. The submission deadline is Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.  Essay Criteria & Submission Guidelines Visit the Conference Website  NAMIKeystonePA.org | Email | Give Now Follow Us NAMI Keystone Pennsylvania is here for you. If you have questions about mental health resources, call our HelpLine at 1-888-264-7972 or email info@namikeystonepa.org. To find the NAMI affiliate in Pennsylvania closest to you, visit our Find Your Local NAMI page. If you or someone you know is in immediate distress or is thinking about hurting themselves, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. About NAMI Keystone Pennsylvania NAMI Keystone Pennsylvania is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children, adolescents, adults, and families affected by mental illness through recovery-focused support, education, and advocacy. Located in Pittsburgh, NAMI Keystone Pennsylvania is the state organization in Pennsylvania for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization.  105 Braunlich Drive Suite 200 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15237 Phone: 412-366-3788 | HelpLine: 1-888-264-7972 | info@namikeystonepa.org

Symposiums in Hawaii, Michigan, and Oklahoma Registration is now open!

Contact for more info and custom pricing

Hilo, HI June 7, 2023  Ready to Lead – A Conference for Middle Level Leaders June 8-9, 2023  The Never Boring Conference for Educators Grades 2-10

Stillwater, Oklahoma June 19-20, 2023  Ready to Lead – A Conference for Middle Level Leaders June 21, 2023  Pre-Conference with Kim Campbell June 22-23, 2023  The Never Boring Conference for Educators Grades 2-10

Farmington, Michigan June 26-27, 2023  The Never Boring Conference for Educators Grades 2-10 June 28, 2023  Ready to Lead – A Conference for Middle Level Leaders

Register Now

At Lincoln Investment we are here to serve your retirement and financial needs. As partners of the Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education, we want to provide educators with a source to increase their knowledge and their overall financial wellness. This year, we are providing you the opportunity to register for the following Educational Webinars. Feel free to register for multiple sessions!

Click here to register for the webinars

Hey #ICANHELP Family - Today I was able to support a lawyer who is representing the Minek family that had 3 families murdered from a catfish case in Riverside, CA. Story Here This is why our program is important so we can keep educating and empowering students and adults about our online activity. AMLE is hosting a webinar next Tue, Dec 6th to go over our Social Media Emergency Plan.

Here are a few events and opportunities we have in store! Feel free to share these announcements with your connections and school community. 

Mark your calendars! In observance of Human Rights Month, #ICANHELP will be hosting a webinar focusing on the power of giving on Sunday, December 4, at 4 PM PT / 6 PM CT / 7 PM ET. Sign up for free, invite your students to be panelists, and view all of our upcoming events here!

Easy for you to copy and paste the above into your newsletter. See below for more:

• AMLE hosting Social Media Emergency Plan Webinar - Tuesday, December 6th 3pmPT / 4pmCT / 5pmET Register Here for Free

• Student Resume Builder Webinar - On December 21 at 5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET, students will get the opportunity to create and/or polish their resumes with advice from four leading experts. Participants will learn tips and tricks to showcase their leadership skills and stand out in a sea of candidates. Invite your students to register for free here!

• Students4Good: The Power of Giving - “Feeling grateful or appreciative of something or someone in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.” Join us on December 4 as we celebrate the power of giving and appreciation. Student speakers will have the opportunity to share how they appreciate those around them and discuss the significance of Human Rights Month. Sign up and encourage your students to apply to be a speaker here!

• Get your Christmas shopping done while you support #ICANHELP! 

• • Donate spare “change” to #ICANHELP when you shop on Walmart.com or the Walmart app! Visit this link for more details.

  • Use Amazon Smiles for all of your normal purchases, and Amazon will donate a percentage of your order every time! It’s free! Click Here to get started today!

Thanks for being a part of the #ICANHELP family!

#YouRock,

Kim Karr

Successful Middle School Teaming

A new book from Jack C. Berckemeyer

Get it Now

Using his signature style, Jack identifies the 16 essential elements of teaming, exploring the what, why, and how of each. Complete with a wealth of resources, templates, and examples, Successful Middle School Teaming is an essential guide for both veteran teams looking to expand on their success and educators just starting their teaming journey.

Get it Now

"I have read all of the books Jack has authored and this is the best yet!!!  LOVE the format, which is so user-friendly, easy to read, covers everything in succinct text with great examples, and the resources at the end are amazing. It comes at a time when it seems many middle schools are tending to move away from teaming and this will show them how to reimagine it! " - Linda Hopping State Director of Georgia Schools to Watch AMLE Distinguished Service Award Recipient

Nuts and Bolts Symposiums- Stillwater, OK

Registration open soon Contact for more info and custom pricing

June 19-20, 2023  Ready to Lead – A Conference for Middle Level Leaders June 21, 2023  Pre-Conference with Kim Campbell June 22-23, 2023  The Never Boring Conference for Educators Grades 2-10

Learn more about Nuts and Bolts

❄️Are you in the giving spirit this holiday season, yet also looking for a way to do so without having it cost you more money and more time?

We have a great idea for you - share a resource you’ve created or you use often in your classroom on Education Blueprint so that other teachers can learn about it too - and use it for their classroom management, classroom instruction, or their own personal professional development. 

⏳It takes less that 60 seconds to share and tag a tool that could help thousands of other educators teach better, and, most importantly, the more resources we know about as educators, the greater the opportunities we will have to present to learners in our classrooms without spending countless hours scouring the internet for what can serve us and our students well.

Login and create your free account today. This platform is created for teachers, by teachers, and is funded through generous donations as a nonprofit organization. 

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