Archived email messages may be found at http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/lmcindex.htm

Total 8 messages

1.  The Fall 2006 CONNECTIONS (MASL Newsletter) is available online as of Tuesday afternoon - November 21!  -- http://www.maslonline.org   "Unleash the Power @ your library" information for Spring Conference 2007 will be one of many items of interest to you!  Registration information, workshop proposal forms, etc. are all available in this issue!

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2.  After 10 years as a consultant for the Missouri State Library, Nancee Dahms-Stinson will be leaving her position on November 28 to become the Youth Services Coordinator for Springfield-Greene County Library. Nancee joined the State Library staff in 1997 as the Youth and Senior Services Consultant. In her tenure at the State Library, Nancee has successfully coordinated training for library staff, grant programs supporting youth and senior services and the statewide summer reading program. Congratulations, Nancee!
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3.  New online products available for National Library Week 2007 New online materials and products are now available to help libraries reach out to their communities during National Library Week (April 15-21, 2007). The online materials, available in both English and Spanish, focus on the National Library Week "Come together @ your library®" theme. They include a proclamation, sample press release, sample radio PSAs and sample letter-to-the-editor. All documents can be customized for local use. Libraries can download the tools on the National Library Week Web site.

New ALA Graphics products support the National Library Week theme as well. In addition to the traditional poster and bookmark, libraries can also purchase a mini poster, key chains and banner. To order, see the current ALA Graphics Catalog, call 1-866-SHOP-ALA, send a fax to 770-280-4155 or visit the ALA Online Store.

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4.  The MO Attorney General's Office has a high crime and technology unit that will send speakers to your school for FREE to discuss internet safety with students.  When they visited the school, they spoke with middle school students during the day and did a wonderful job!, they did a community presentation that evening and spoke with high school students the next day.  I was very impressed and hope that others will take advantage of this wonderful service our state is providing.  The contact information is Justin Glick, Missouri Attorney General's Office High Technology and Computer Crimes Unit, telephone #573-751-8978, Email: justin.glick@ago.mo.gov    Thanks to Amy Hertzberg from Nevada Middle School for the information.

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5.  Opening Hana's Suitcase Metro Theater Company in St. Louis, MO and the Edison Theatre at Washington University will present the U.S.premiere of the play, Hana’s Suitcase by Emil Sher, adapted from the book, Hana's Suitcase, by Karen Levine, originally published by Second Story. In conjunction with these performances, Inside the Artist's Studio is proud to sponsor three student videoconferences.  The first 10 minutes of every program will be used as "meet and greet" time for the students involved. Then, at 9:10 or 10:10 the program begins. The program will occur live at both 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.; please enroll for the videoconference time that works best for your schedule. All times are Central Time. To sign up, contact Rebecca Polityka at rpolityka@csd.org and let her know the date and time you want.  A Parent and Educator Guide is available for download at: http://www.metrotheatercompany.org/PDF/HANA%20GUIDE%20-%20emailable.pdf.   These programs are FREE. 

Student Program 1: Taking A Stand
Date: December 1, 2006   Time: 9:00 a.m. OR 10:00 a.m.
Building on the important lessons from the story of Hana's Suitcase, students will explore the roles of bystanders, victims, and perpetrators and the role they play not only in the Holocaust but also in issues of intolerance and discrimination today. Working with Emily Petkewich, Education Director of
Metro Theater Company, students will be asked to contemplate: how does one move from being a bystander to an activist?

Student Program 2: How Do You Tell the Story?
Date: December 14, 2006  Time: 9:00 a.m. OR 10:00 a.m.
Join us for a look at the story of Hana's Suitcase from a language arts perspective as we explore the question: how does the medium affect the message? We'll look at the important themes of Hana's story and how they have been conveyed in different ways through the different tellings of the story. Have your young writers interact with the creators of the story--Fumiko Ishioka and her students in Japan, the documentarian and book author, Karen Levine, and then with playwright, Emil Sher.

Student Program 3: A Production Comes to Life
Date: January 9, 2007   Time: 9:00 a.m. OR 10:00 a.m.
How does a theatre production come together? How do you decide what the set will look like, how the actors will perform, and how the costumes will be made? We'll explore these questions and more as we look at Metro Theater Company's United States premiere of Hana's Suitcase. We'll be joined by Metro's artistic director, Carol North as well as actors, technical staff, and personnel from Metro Theater Company and the Edison Theatre at Washington University where the play will be performed. Go backstage and ask your production questions of theater professionals.

The book's story: A child's suitcase arrives from Auschwitz at the Tokyo Holocaust Education Resource Center. The suitcase bears the name and birth date of Hana Brady. Painted across the battered piece of luggage is the German word “waisenkind,” or “orphan.” Who was Hana? What happened to her? The Japanese children at the Tokyo Holocaust Center demand to know. With only these few clues in hand, their teacher, Fumiko Ishioka, sets off to uncover Hana’s identity. Ishioka’s determined pursuit leads her first to Prague and ultimately to Canada, where at last she learns the story of Hana and her family under the Nazi regime. For more information, go to: http://www.hanassuitcase.ca/ 

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6.  Information about Scott Mccloskey Gold, Manager for Gumdrop Books of Bethany, Missouri. Died on Wed., Nov. 8, 2006 http://php.news-leader.com/Announcements/ObitView.php?NoticeID=36452

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7.  Prelutsky Is First Children's Poet Laureate. By: Pinkowski, Jennifer. School Library Journal, Nov2006, Vol. 52 Issue 11, p17-17, 2/3p, 1c; (AN 23114710) http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=15&sid=40445080-6448-442a-9154-cc96ae49985f%40SRCSM1 (EBSCOHost web link)

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8.  An article presents questions and answers related to offensive language contained in books in school and public libraries. One individual questions whether to add a book with an offensive word in it, and the best way to go about doing so. Another questions how to help a student whose parents do not want her learning about the American Civil Rights Movement. A reader questions how to handle a request from a parent to move a book to a restricted shelf School Library Journal; Nov2006, Vol. 52 Issue 11, p30-30, 1p, 1c http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=116&sid=5b30b84c-80d6-4685-bdd4-095b059f981e%40sessionmgr108 (EBSCOHost web link)