GHAEA Voice

This week two newspapers -- The Daily Nonpareil and Missouri Valley Times News -- published articles related to GHAEA.  A feature story on GHAEA graduation coaches serving students at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs.  School based interventionist Ashley Denton commended for serving as TeamMates Mentoring Program coordinator at Missouri Valley CSD.  Editor's note: Thanks to Jenny Barnett and Steve McPhillips for these news alerts. If you see something in your local newspaper about the work of our agency or a staff member, please forward to me for inclusion in agency newsletters and/or social media. 

Jenna Hoesing at Celebrating Iowa's Success. GHAEA was selected to present at the second annual Celebrating Iowa's Success, Jan. 23, Des Moines. Early childhood consultants Jenna Hoesing and Ami Leath , along with Lesley Ehlers , literacy consultant, presented on Tier 2 literacy. Celebrating Iowa's Success is sponsored by  Collaborating for Iowa’s Kids (C4K), a collaborative comprised of the AEAs, Iowa Dept. of Ed. and Iowa school districts. 

This little guy is showing off his acrobatic skills while filling his tummy with suet from a bird feeder! The feeder is located just outside the Copy Center at Halverson Center. Elena Anson and Sheryl Bald have named him Benny. 

Walk down the halls of Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs and there's a good chance you'll smell something sweet. Each week, Alison Kennedy's special education class bakes cookies and other treats for the boys basketball team. Beth Torneten's son, Landon, is featured in a KETV news clip on this story ( view here ). Kennedy says the project is helping students to learn independent living skills and to feel a part of the team and school spirit. Beth is an early childhood specialist, Glenwood, and  Landon, #5, is a senior who recently signed to play basketball for Briar Cliff College in Sioux City.  

Dewaele with a piece entitled Helen Marie, in honor of his mother, at a show at Hot Shops, Omaha.   Robert Dewaele, husband of Diana Dewaele (instructional materials assistant) presented at the GHAEA Autism Institute. His presentation was part of a Strategies for High Functioning Autism workshop, January 11 at the Creston Regional Office. He spoke on his painful journey to an eventual, somewhat liberating, diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome as an adult. Robert's powerful insight helped educators to look at how they work with children with autism. The same workshop was also offered on Jan. 25 in Avoca. Robert is a local artist who is well known for his three-dimensional pieces using wood. 

Time's running out. Do you know someone who has made outstanding contributions to education and to the Iowa AEA system? If so, please nominate this person for recognition by Iowa’s AEAs. Three awards will honor candidates for their contributions to education and the Iowa AEA system.  To submit a nomination, complete  this application  by  Feb. 3 , 2017 . Anyone is welcome to submit a nomination. The nominations will be reviewed by a selected group of AEA personnel. T he awards will be presented at the Iowa AEA Boards of Directors’ Conference on  March 30-31, 2017 .  More information can be found on the  Iowa AEA website .

According to a Feng shui master, February 2017 won't come in our lifetime again. This February has four Sundays, four Mondays, four Tuesdays, four Wednesdays, four Thursdays, four Fridays and four Saturdays. This only happens once every 823 years and is referred to as money bags! 

The UNI Theatre is bringing Palette of Possibility to the Wilson Performing Arts Center in Red Oak on Feb. 14, and at Southwestern Community College in Creston on Feb. 17. This low-language, sensory friendly play is developed for those on the Autism Spectrum and other developmental delays. Six actors and an assortment of objects will take the audience on a journey that moves from a playground, to the sea, to the sky and back again. Along the way, audiences will have a chance to participate, engage and interact with the actors as they are given opportunities to watch, listen, touch, respond and join in the fun. Tickets are free, but they would like to know how many plan to attend due to limited seating. Contact Kara Sherman at 712-623-3135. 

On Jan. 19 the Iowa Department of Education released the latest edition of the annual Condition of Education report. The report provides a wide range of state-level data, including shifts in student populations and demographics, teacher salaries and characteristics, student achievement results and school financial information. You can read the full report here or peruse some of the highlights below. Students in Public Schools 483,451:  The number of students enrolled in Iowa’s public schools during the 2015-16 school year, up from 480,772 the year before. This represents the fifth enrollment increase in as many years, following a 17-year decline in enrollment. 22.6%:  The percent of minority student enrollment in 2015-16, up from 21.8 percent the year before. 5.7%:  The percent of public school students whose primary language is not English (English Language Learners) in the 2015-16 school year. This represents no change from the year before. 71%:  The percent of students from th

The Live Healthy Iowa Challenge is offering incentives to join a 10-week wellness challenge by offering a chance to win a trip to Florida, among other prizes.  Live Healthy Iowa brings together friends, families, businesses and communities in team-based wellness challenges designed to promote positive lifestyle change.  Registration will stay open until Feb. 6, 2017.  Read more here !

Marsha Guttau  1/28 Carrie Powders  1/29 Laurine Price  1/29 Jennifer Adams-Potter  1/30 Sarah Girres  1/30 Dan Kenkel  1/30 Denise Young  1/31 Janis Wanke  2/1 Kerry Aistrope  2/3 Ami Leath  2/3 Christel Nelson  2/3 Wendy Rodriguez  2/4 Harva Paul  2/8 Kristi Minnick  2/9 Caitlin Boyer  2/11 Stephanie Dredge  2/15 Mary McLaren  2/15 Denise Fricke  2/16 Amber Brancaleon  2/19 Julie Honan  2/21 Steve Martin  2/23 Jody  Madsen  2/24 Amber Zimmer  2/24 Amber Johnson  2/26 Cheryl Mulligan  2/26 Mary Carstens  2/27 Debra Schwiesow  2/28

Do you know someone who has made outstanding contributions to education and to the Iowa AEA system? If so, please nominate this person for recognition by Iowa’s AEAs. Three awards will honor candidates for their contributions to education and the Iowa AEA system.      To submit a nomination, complete  this application  by  Feb. 3 , 2017 . Anyone is welcome to submit a nomination. The nominations will be reviewed by a selected group of AEA personnel. Both the nominating individual and those who are selected to be recognized will be notified by  March 1 and t he awards will be presented at the Iowa AEA Boards of Directors’ Conference on  March 30-31, 2017 .      The three awards and criteria can be found on the Iowa AEA website .

Rick and Nancy didn't make it on stage, but still had fun attending The Price is Right. Here’s one thing  Nancy Nelson can check off her bucket list -- seeing The Price is Right and Drew Carey!       When Nancy (accounting associate, Halverson) and husband Rick were invited to a cousin’s wedding in Los  Angeles, one of the first things Nancy did was go online and request tickets to a show. The couple  received two tickets for guaranteed seating for a Valentine’s Day special taped on Dec. 11 that will air  Feb. 14.      Nancy and Rick arrived at Bob Barker Studio (CBS Studios in Hollywood) at 7 a.m. along with hundreds of other eager  contestants. They had no idea they would be waiting eight hours just to get inside the studio! Come to  find out, host Drew Carey was late returning from an out-of- town soccer tournament (he is the owner of  the Seattle Sounders).      While waiting for hours, the crowd entertained and visited among themselves, purchased food  from a vendor,

Missouri Valley Regional Office staff got to play Santa's elves as they went shopping for gifts for two families they adopted for the holidays. The gifts were wrapped brightly with ribbons  and delivered before holiday break. The office held a late holiday party on Jan. 6. 

Congratulations to Lori Lynn Ahrends (early childhood consultant, Glenwood) who was featured as the Face of the Day in the Jan. 7 The Daily Nonpareil .  Read the article here . 

Paula Vincent, chief administrator at Heartland AEA in Johnston, has announced her retirement effective June 30, 2017. In a letter to staff Vincent wrote, " My husband, Steve, and I are very much looking forward to having more time together and with our family to pursue new interests and activities. For the next several months; however, I will be focused on contributing in whatever ways I can to assure a smooth transition. I am confident the Board will establish a well-considered process for hiring a new administrator."

Olive Alaina Young Judy Griffin (instructional technology consultant, Avoca Regional Office) and husband, Steve, are pleased to announce the arrival of their granddaughter, Olive Alaina Young. Olive was born on Dec. 6, weighing 6 lbs., 10 oz. and 17 inches long. Judy and Steve were in Colorado Springs for her birth and returned again to help out during Christmas break. 

I have several plastic and metal bobbins for a Singer sewing machine. They do not fit in any other sewing machine. Free to anyone who can use them. Contact Sheryl Bald , Halverson Center. 

Kim Wise  1/4 Casey Abler  1/4 Susan Himes  1/6 Nancy Boswell  1/8 Janice Hughes  1/8 Eunice Bohanan  1/9 Leah Olson  1/9 Michael Peters  1/10 Jennifer Reed  1/10 Amy Mendoza  1/13 Lori Durand  1/14 Karen Meiers  1/14 Amy Kading  1/17 Amy Rommel  1/17 Connie Hiatt  1/18 Connie Fenn  1/20 Emily Schwartz  1/24 Marsha Guttau  1/28 Carrie Powders  1/29 Laurine Price  1/29 Jennifer Adams-Potter  1/30 Sarah Girres  1/30 Dan Kenkel  1/30 Denise Young  1/31