GHAEA Voice

   On October 24, Green Hills AEA swore in two new board members, Connie Maxson and John Gambs.   Connie comes to us with a diverse educational background, having been a teacher, media specialist, curriculum specialist, superintendent, chief administrator, and DE bureau chief. She will be serving District 2 as Director, a position previously held by Julie Wilken. Connie grew up in Coon Rapids, Iowa. She enjoys traveling, reading and scrapbooking. Connie earned three degrees from Iowa State, which contributed to her deep rooted love for Cyclone Nation. She warns, "I can withstand working in Cornhusker country!" Connie and her husband, Leon, have one son, Larren, who lives in Denver with his wife. Connie has always had a love of knowledge and a desire to learn something new with each and every day. She finds personal alignment with the efforts Green Hills displays in uniting a diverse group of students and adults throughout rural Iowa. Ensuring that all students continue to h

Our agency United Way campaign will be ending on November 30th. If you would like to donate, you can use this one-time link   or fill out a designation form  (for payroll deduction and designation options) and return it to Devin Laughlin at the Halverson Center or e-mail me  What your dollars can do: $1/Paycheck (one vending machine snack/drink) = 2 field trips for a youth group, one pediatric oral exam, provide a drivers' license, state ID, or birth certificate to someone that needs employment, one student to take the ACT $2/Paycheck (one Redbox rental) = 2 round trips of wheelchair van medical transportation, school supplies for one student for the academic year, childcare for a mother participating in ESL classes for 8 weeks $4/Paycheck (one large coffee) = 5 hours of interpretation services for a client in need of services, medical help, or legal counseling, Prevent a utility shut off for a family during the cold winter months, 10 clients with a support group session $2

The Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) presented the 2016-17 annual Better Boardsmanship Awards on Nov. 16 during the IASB Convention at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. The awards are given each year to individual board members, board teams and administrators who dedicate time and work to learning, advocacy, leadership and service projects to expand their knowledge and skills for better governance. Better Boardsmanship Awards highlight commitment to professional growth. To receive an award, recipients have earned credits through participation in IASB learning opportunities and have shown a desire to take on leadership roles and engagement in service and advocacy. Karen Thomsen, Green Hills AEA board member, was recognized for earning a Better Boardsmanship Award every year for the past 30 years.

The Communications Committee met via zoom on November 1st. Click here   to read the Talking Points from this meeting. If you have any questions, please contact a committee member (David VanHorn, Casey Abler, Devin Laughlin, Brooke Dornack, Carissa Otto, Laurine Price, Angie Williams, Beth Torneten   or Rana Thomsen)

If you are currently taking advantage of the FLEX plan opportunity available to you, or would like to participate for the year 2018, please read this memo . ALL 2018 participants, regardless of previous enrollment status, will need to complete an enrollment form for the upcoming year. Please open the form and make a copy (see instructions below) before making any changes. Enrollment forms will need to be returned to Lori Kinyon no later than December 5th. Make a Copy in DocHub: Click on the upper right hand "File" button > Actions > Make a Copy Make a Copy in Google Docs: Click on "File" in the upper left hand corner > Make a Copy

Green Hills AEA has an opening for a full-time Instructional Materials Assistant II at the Halverson office. This position is a Grade 5 on the classified salary schedule. If you are interested in applying for this opening, please submit a completed application via Teach Iowa no later than November 16, 2017. Contact Lori Kinyon, lkinyon @ghaea.org with any questions you may have. A complete list of current openings can be viewed  here .

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and what better time to let your coworkers know you appreciate them? Maybe that starts with getting to know them a little bit better. Take a look at the Green Hills AEA  Gettting To Know You  publication and do just that! Plus, you may learn something about one of our 41 new employees! The publication can be reached throughout the year in the staff portal > Communications/Media/Logos > Getting to Know You

All agency offices will close at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22, for Thanksgiving break. We wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and safe travels. We'll see you back on Monday, Nov. 27.

Did you know there is a Google Calendar that holds all of our agency board meeting dates, expense report due dates, trainings/meetings for AEA staff, holidays, etc.? This is a new feature this year, so check it out! If there are any additional dates you would like added, contact Debbie Hayes .

As an agency, we cover a vast geographical area. It is easy for us feel disconnected. We love to hear from you! Here are a few ways we can help bridge the miles that separate us: 1. Have a suggestion, comment, question, concern, or compliment? Submit them here  and we will direct them to the appropriate GHAEA personnel. 2. Do you have something to celebrate?  Submit them to the Voice   3. Is there news to share about your district, building, or classroom? (awards, success stories, opportunities)  Share them in our In Touch 4. Planning a conference, workshop, training etc. and need some help with promotion?  Submit your request here

Saturday, November 11, is Veterans Day. Honor those who have served by attending a Veterans Day program near you. Many districts and communities have such events planned to take place today as well as this weekend. Words cannot fully capture our appreciation, but thank you, veterans.