Tragic News about Lila Malmborg

For those of you who have been employed with LEM for some time, you will remember our LSSU leader, Lila Malmborg.

Lila died tragically in a car accident this past Friday 12/11/09. She will be missed dearly by anyone fortunate enough to have worked closely with her.

Visitation will be from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at the Peterson Funeral Home, 205 E. Cass Street, Cadillac, MI. A prayer service will also be held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. at the St. Agnes Catholic Church, 603 E. Main Street, Marion, MI on Wednesday, December 16, 2009. It has been requested that memorial donations in memory of Lila malmborg be given to the Downs Syndrome Association of Northern Michigan and forwarded to the Peterson Funeral Home in Cadillac.

Happy Thanksgiving!

LEM wants to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for everything you do for your students and school community. You are making a difference every day!

LEM Offices Closed November 11-19

The Lakeshore Educational Management offices will be closed beginning next week. The office will reopen on Friday, November 20th. Please see your school's business manager with any questions during this time.
Thank you!

H1N1 Flu

East Jordan public schools announced today that they will be closed for the next two days due to widespread flu like illness. It's the first closing in Charlevoix county, and the first I've heard about in our area. How are things in your school? Anyone starting to see suspected cases of H1N1?

Char-Em Professional Development Day

Char-Em will be hosting it's annual Professional Development Day on Wedneday, November 4th. Will your school be attending? Leave a comment and let us know which break out sessions you plan to participate. This may be a great chance to hook up with fellow Concord teachers!

The 25 Funniest Analogies

For all of you who teach English (and even if you don't)....these are great!

http://writingenglish.wordpress.com/2006/09/12/the-25-funniest-analogies-collected-by-high-school-english-teachers/

More School: Obama Would Curtail Summer Vacation

Check out this link, and tell us what you think as an educator? Parent? Tax payer?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090927/ap_on_re_us/us_more_school

Google News - Concord

I just added a new feature to the blog. I'll be tracking via Google News anytime the name of a Concord school is mentioned in a news source. This will be a great tool for you too see what is being published out there about your school! Check it out.... scroll to the lower right hand corner to My Blog List and click on the latest article.

MEAP testing is coming soon!

MEAP testing is right around the corner for grades 3-8. Tell others what you are doing in your classroom to help your students prepare...

Blog Followers!

Congrats to Charlie Bono of CMCS for being LEM's first Blog Follower! Add our site to your Blog List to get instant access to new posts and comments.

2009-2010 School Year Begins!

Good luck to everyone on the first day of school this week. Let each other know what innovative strategies you are using to help students adjust to the new school year...

How is everyone's count compared to last year? Better? Worse? I just wonder how the poor economy is affecting families in the region. I hear of many people moving for jobs.

Free Financial Education Seminars Available

LEM's banker, Jennifer Griggs of Huntington Bank, is offering 45 min. workshops on the following topics:

1. Credit reports - go over what is on them in general, how the score is calculated, what impacts scoring, recent changes, etc.

2. How to repair credit - contact info for the bureaus, best practices on how to fix errors and how to bring the score up

3. Own your own home/ refinancing - A mortgage partner to discuss recent/ upcoming changes to the mortgage arena and the impacts they have had on customers and the banks. The process has gotten longer and more detailed than ever before.

4. Investments - Simple IRA's, individual investing, 529 plans, etc. Give employees an understanding of what they are and what options they have.

If you are interested in any of the above, please let me know and we'll arrange a workshop at your school.

LEM visit to Inservice Day

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday, September 2nd. Please remember to bring a voided check if you are providing new checking account info for direct deposit. Also, any new employees will need to complete an I-9 form which requires a copy of your passport OR drivers licesense and social security card.

See you all soon!

Graduate Courses through Learner's Edge

I'm currently taking a great course through Learner's Edge to renew my teaching certificate. The course selection is great and the course I chose is challenging and interesting. The best part is these 3 credit graduate level classes only cost around $350. So, if you are looking for an inexpensive and useful course for certification renewal, I suggest checking out www.LeanersEdgeInc.com.

hello!

Hello! Got the hang of this I hope. I did not have a gmail account, but the kids and I made a facebook for the dog, so I used his e-mail account!

I think this will be a great comunication tool since we all almost never get to see each other and we all could use help in any way shape or form being charter schools! Steve spoke to someone yesterday whose specialty was PR work and they discussed a northern charter school consortium for PR and marketing. Any interest?

LEM launches it's first Weblog

Thanks for joining the blog! I'm hoping this site opens the lines of communication between LEM and each of it's schools as well as among each other. Please tell me your thoughts and how you would like to see this blog used.

Preparing for the MEAP

MEAP testing is just around the corner! Only 5 short weeks from the beginning of the new school year. Share your ideas on how you will be preparing your students for the upcoming tests.

Important Upcoming Dates

Week of August 31, 2009 - Inservice Week. See your school for specific dates and times

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 - First payday of new contract period

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - Payday

October 13 - 29 - MEAP testing grades 3 through 9