Alpha Psi.org

THE LOS ANGELES WRITING PROJECT’S 2009/2010

Saturday Seminar Series

The Los Angeles Writing Project’s Saturday Seminar Series is offered as a free public service for teachers and educators at all grade levels. No registration is required.

February 27, 2010   9:30-12:00, King Hall, Cal State LA

From 9:30-10:00  Come to the second floor of King Hall C2094A  for coffee and room

assignments. The first seminar begins promptly at 10:00 in a nearby classroom.

From 10:00-12:00       Attend one of the following workshops:

MEMOIR WRITING TO MAKE SENSE OF YOUR LIFE

Ted DeVirgilis, John Muir Middle School, Burbank Unified School District

“When I began to write, I found this was the best way to make sense out of my life.” These words by John Cheever echo the reason memoir writing is the perfect genre for middle school students: they are just discovering who they are and what their place in the world is. Using Nancie Atwell-inspired writing techniques and memoir examples from Cynthia Rylant, President Barack Obama, and diverse middle school students, this engaging workshop will take you through the writing process as you continue to make sense out of your life. Originally developed to combat the often flat, safe autobiographical incident narratives that the state requires, memoirs will invite your students to create honest, engrossing literature.

POE IS NOT THE ONLY POET: MAKING POETRY ACCESSIBLE

Shahé Mankerian, St. Gregory’s Hovsepian School

Are your students intimidated by poetry? Many students are turned off by poetry because their instructors have failed to make poetry accessible and fun. Shahé and his middle-school students will demonstrate how to make poetry interesting and exciting.

THIS I BELIEVE: DISCOVERING CHARACTER BELIEFS

Justin Riner, John Muir Middle School

Mr. Riner will share with you his lesson plan which results in students writing an essay based on the “This I Believe” series.  Using multiple types of prompts, discussions, and media, Mr. Riner’s student’s examine the beliefs of others and eventually discover their own. While this activity is used in Riner’s class as a follow up to Anne Frank, it can be connected to virtually any other strong willed person/character.

Check the LAWP website for updated info: www.calstatela.edu/lawp

Or call the LAWP office at 323-343-5901 or send email to lawp@calstatela.edu

Note: For information on our Summer Institute & Young Writers’ Camp see our website

This April, we initiated another group of members into the organization. We also had the honor of having Dr. Mary Falvey deliver the keynote speech.

On April 28, 2007, the membership gathered for our annual Spring meeting and initiation. The meeting opened with our annual luncheon and then continued with a speech by Dr. Mary Falvey, the Dean of the Charter College of Education.

We also heard about the upcoming 20th (!) annual Satellites & Education Conference that will be held at Cal State Los Angeles on August 9-11, 2007. Following the opening discussions, we initiated our 2007 nominees. Thanks to our continually increasing membership numbers and other goals we’ve met this past year, we continue to be a Pi Lambda Theta Chapter of Honor.

This summer is the PLT Bi-annual conference in Richmond, Virginia. This year, Scott Dayman (Vice President) and Paula Arvedson (Advisor) will be attending the conference, participating in organization meeting, and bringing back information to share with our chapter at an upcoming meeting.

Keep an eye on our calendar for other upcoming events and meetings. We hope to see you at the Satellites & Education Conference!

Officers at the May 15th Initiation

On May 15th, 2004 in the Golden Eagle Ballroom at CSULA new members were inducted into Alpha Psi. Students of CSULA were joined by National Board Certified Teachers in becoming the newest members of Pi lambda Theta. This was the first time our chapter held the ceremony in the new facility and everyone was pleased with the service and decor. Our Keynote Speaker was the newly installed dean of the Charter College of Education. She inspired and motivated the audience to greater commitment to educational excellence through use of state standards for professional educators.

The SoCal chapters meeting on November 6th, 2004 focused on the TEAL workshop. Our chapter will host another TEAL workshop on March 19th, 2005.

The Pencils for Peace service project is continuing. We had lots of pencils, pens, books, folders, PC monitors, keyboards and other items donated by members and friends. These will be included in the 2005 trip to Afghanistan. The work there is important and every little bit helps. Please note that they are no longer taking books, as these are very expensive to ship. The PC items will help their technology school that is up and running, training about 350 students from k-12 and beyond. Please bring items for donation to the meetings and they will be held in a storehouse until the next trip.

We will be holding a silent auction again at the November meeting, please bring any items you may have to help our representatives get to the International Bi-annual Conference in New Orleans.