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| Plano ISD Staff Newsletter • Volume 37, number 3 • October 8, 2009 |
 Plano East theatre director takes center stage
Story by Mary Gorden; Photos by John Pippard |
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Around the district
 "Season of Harmony" is the theme for Plano ISD's 2009 Holiday Greeting Card Art Contest sponsored by Webb&Webb attorneys and the Plano ISD Education Foundation. All students are invited to enter the contest. |
A presentation video filmed at the October 5 public hearing of the Feeder School Alignment Committee is now available for viewing on the committee website, along with links to related information.
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Master's degree program meetings
Teachers who have completed, or will have completed, two current and consecutive years of teaching in the district and do not already hold a Master's Degree, may elect to apply for the Plano ISD Master's Degree Program.
Informational meetings will be held from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21, and Wednesday, November 18, in the first floor board room of the Plano ISD Administration Building, 2700 W. 15th Street. Discussion will include an overview of options, procedures for taking the GRE and time lines for applying to a university.
Attendance at one of the meetings is required prior to program participation.
Board briefs
School trustees conducted the following business on October 6:
- Recognized the human resources department (read article) for a second high performance rating from the Texas Department of Insurance and the Division of Workers' Compensation;
- Announced the appointment of Jennifer Methvin, Hedgcoxe Elementary School third grade team leader, to the position of Weatherford Elementary School assistant principal;
- Approved the Consent Agenda, which includes several bids and routine business items;
- Denied a parent grievance heard in an earlier closed session, upholding the level three decision;
- Nominated Dr. Leo Fitzgerald to serve on the Central Appraisal District Board of Directors for Collin County for another two-year term;
- Heard a report from Linda Madon, executive director for financial services, about the district's "superior" rating regarding Schools FIRST (Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas). Trustees also held an accompanying public hearing;
- Adopted the parameters order authorizing the issuance of Unlimited Tax School Building Bonds, Series 2009A, as introduced by Richard Matkin, associate superintendent for business services. Representatives of First Southwest Company and Fulbright & Jaworski, L.L.P., were present to support the presentation.
- The board adopted the parameters order authorizing the issuance of Unlimited Tax Qualified School Construction Bonds, Series 2009B (Tax Credit Bonds), as introduced by Mr. Matkin.
- Heard a report on campus enrollment data, as presented by Mr. Matkin, for both current and projected enrollment for 2009-2010 as well as year-end enrollment for the 2008-2009 school year. Currently, the total enrollment for the district exceeds the enrollment projected for 2009-10. East and west clusters have continued to show increased growth. Discussions and public meetings will be held this school year to accommodate this growth along with the design of a realigned feeder school system to incorporate Otto Middle School in 2010 and McMillen High School in 2011.
- Adopted four district policies as presented by Karla Oliver, executive director for government and community relations.
The agenda, including supporting documents, is posted on BoardBook
.
The meeting video 
(1:08:22) can be viewed on the district website.
Read Notable Notes here, or select the button at the top right of this page.
 World geography teacher earns national accolades Story by Mary Gorden Nicole teaches students in Pre-Advanced Placement World Geography and serves as founder/sponsor of Clark's World Affairs Council. Since 2002, she has served on Plano ISD's World Geography Curriculum Initiative Committee responsible for overhauling the curriculum with a focus on Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and long term comprehension. As a forerunner in geography education, Nicole was selected as one of seven teachers to revise the state standards for World Geography education. She also created Plano ISD's eSchool online geography course "from scratch."
Nicole Vickerman started the Clark High School Junior World Affairs Council, whose members met the ambassador of South Africa and attended a Save Darfur event last year. Digest: Where did you nurture your love of teaching? Nicole: As a product of Plano schools, I am one of many teachers in the district that returned to teach where we learned. The one thing that all my favorite teachers had in common was their enthusiasm. They were fascinated by their subject and found joy in sharing it with their students, and this is something that cannot be faked. Teaching is not a job; it is a personality trait, and I hope I am to my students what my best teachers were to me. Digest: Where have you traveled? Nicole: I've been fortunate to travel on teacher study tours to Japan, Turkey and Germany. I've also enjoyed Aruba, Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Grand Cayman, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, and I've explored 20 states in the United States. 
© 2009 Plano Independent School District Contact Us |
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