One of the new features of our interactive Connection blog is the comments section. This allows every employee to post a comment, question or suggestion to any Connection article. This section is moderated. So what does that mean? When a comment is posted, it goes through an approval process that looks for profane language, slanderous or overtly negative comments or anything that would not legally be appropriate for the Web. Otherwise it goes up. What doesn’t happen is editing or altering of the comment. When a comment is made, everyone can read it.
This will allow for others to voice their opinion as well, make an additional comment or answer a question. It is a great tool for two-way communication. You have the option of using your name or posting anonymously. We hope you find the comments feature of the blog beneficial to achieving our mutual goals.
To make a comment, click on the title of a specific article and scroll to the bottom of it, where you will find a link named Post Comment. You can then type your comment and choose whether or not you use your name or whether you leave an anonymous comment. If you have any questions about the comments section, please contact Brenda Gustafson at bgustafson@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Investing 101 and Dependent Care Enrollment for 2009—Catch Two Important Meetings at Once
Investing 101
Have you planned for retirement or are you depending on IPERS and social security to be enough for your “golden years”? Come to the two Investing 101 seminars that will give you basic investment information to help you determine things such as: - Should I be investing during this turbulent financial market? - How do I choose wise investments? - How do I find an agent who can help me? These seminars are for every Heartland employee who would one day like to retire! Robbie Stoecker from the State of Iowa 403(b) plan will speak at two locations.
Dependent Care Enrollment for 2009
After the Investing 101 seminar on October 24, Larry Morgan of Kabel Business Services will be on hand to explain how to flex your dependent care expenses and to answer any questions on this subject. This meeting will start approximately 10 minutes after the end of the Investing 101 seminar, so the time of the meeting is not exact. Plan to attend both meetings!
Ames High School
Carroll High School
Knoxville High School
Newton High School
Norwalk High School
Waukee High School
Dependent care enrollment materials will be available on the Intranet under the Human Resources tab after November 1.
Any questions should be directed to Kathy Martin, benefits specialist, at kmartin@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Have you planned for retirement or are you depending on IPERS and social security to be enough for your “golden years”? Come to the two Investing 101 seminars that will give you basic investment information to help you determine things such as: - Should I be investing during this turbulent financial market? - How do I choose wise investments? - How do I find an agent who can help me? These seminars are for every Heartland employee who would one day like to retire! Robbie Stoecker from the State of Iowa 403(b) plan will speak at two locations.
- October 10 – 2:00-3:30 p.m., Woodside office (live)
- October 24 – 2:00-3:30 p.m., Johnston office, ICN Room & Conference Rooms 3 & 4 (live)
Dependent Care Enrollment for 2009
After the Investing 101 seminar on October 24, Larry Morgan of Kabel Business Services will be on hand to explain how to flex your dependent care expenses and to answer any questions on this subject. This meeting will start approximately 10 minutes after the end of the Investing 101 seminar, so the time of the meeting is not exact. Plan to attend both meetings!
- October 24 – 3:30-4:00 p.m., Johnston office, ICN Room & Conference Rooms 3 & 4 (live)
Ames High School
Carroll High School
Knoxville High School
Newton High School
Norwalk High School
Waukee High School
Dependent care enrollment materials will be available on the Intranet under the Human Resources tab after November 1.
Any questions should be directed to Kathy Martin, benefits specialist, at kmartin@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Instructional Decision Making Evaluation Update
At the end of the 2007-08 school year, Heartland collected implementation data from 46 school buildings that participate in Instructional Decision Making (IDM). The purpose of collecting implementation data is to examine whether the participating schools have in place the key features of IDM. Within the next two weeks, each of the 46 buildings will be sent their own building’s results on a CD. The data were also aggregated and analyzed for all 46 buildings to gain insight into how our schools were implementing IDM across the agency.
The CD also will contain a brief summary of the agency-wide results. The identity of individual school performance was kept confidential in the reporting of the agency-wide results. The 2007-08 agency-wide implementation results will be posted by the end of October at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/idm. Please note that the data disseminated is the implementation data only. In the coming months, we will notify you once the 2007-08 student achievement data are analyzed. If you have any questions about the IDM evaluation results, please contact Alecia Rahn-Blakeslee at arahn@aea11.k12.ia.us or Brad Niebling at bniebling@aea11.k12.ia.us.
The CD also will contain a brief summary of the agency-wide results. The identity of individual school performance was kept confidential in the reporting of the agency-wide results. The 2007-08 agency-wide implementation results will be posted by the end of October at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/idm. Please note that the data disseminated is the implementation data only. In the coming months, we will notify you once the 2007-08 student achievement data are analyzed. If you have any questions about the IDM evaluation results, please contact Alecia Rahn-Blakeslee at arahn@aea11.k12.ia.us or Brad Niebling at bniebling@aea11.k12.ia.us.
2008-2009 Alternate Assessment
The alternate assessment has changed very little from last year, and the process will be the same. To help teachers who are unfamiliar with the rating scale procedure, the Department of Education has put together a PowerPoint presentation on the steps in the process. This PowerPoint can be found on the DE Web site at http://www.iowa.gov/educate/content/view/461/926/1/5/, and Pam Childers will also be conducting a two-hour workshop entitled “Alternate Assessment 2008: Steps in the Process” in multiple regions this year for teachers who would like a face-to-face tutorial. Those classes can be found in the Professional Development catalog at https://prodev.aea11.k12.ia.us/4DCGI/YYYYYYYYYYYYYYSRCH, and they are listed here for your convenience.
- October 13, 2008, Adel, Adel AEA Office
- October 13, 2008, Guthrie Center, Guthrie Center Public Library
- October 29, 2008, Des Moines, Zion Lutheran Church
- October 31, 2008, Indianola, Indianola AEA Office
- November 6, 2008, Ames, Ames AEA Office
- November 21, 2008, Des Moines, Zion Lutheran Church
- November 21, 2008, Newton, Newton AEA Office
Revised Business Card Order Form Available
A revised business card order form has been posted on the Intranet under Communication Assets under the Critical Communication tab. Please mail or e-mail business card requests to Jay Johnson (jjohnson@aea11.k12.ia.us) in the Johnston office.
October 2008 School Leader Update Link
Click here for the October 2008 School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education.
Technology Update
Server Support
As of October 1, 2008, primary support for the servers listed below has been shifted from Tuan Dao to Jim Lagnese. Any and all support questions about these servers should be sent to Jim Lagnese at the Johnston office at ext. 14462 or at jlagnese@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Kerio Server - This is the e-mail server that we use at Heartland.
Heartland Server - This is the file server that we use at Heartland. This server is being transitioned to the new file server, AEASERVER.
AEASERVER - This is the new file server that we are transitioning from the Heartland Server. Your login will work on either server.
LSTA/PD360 – This server provides professional development resources on demand.
FileMaker Pro Server - A database server that hosts databases that are used with certain pages on the agency Web site such as Professional Development Course Evaluation and Book and Lesson database for 6+1 TRAIT.
Training 2 - Development server for Training 3 server.
Training 3 – This server hosts training courses such as bloodborne pathogens, asbestos awareness and mandatory reporting, etc.
Moodle - Online classroom.
Backups - Servers that back up all the data that resides on our networked servers.
As of October 1, 2008, primary support for the servers listed below has been shifted from Tuan Dao to Jim Lagnese. Any and all support questions about these servers should be sent to Jim Lagnese at the Johnston office at ext. 14462 or at jlagnese@aea11.k12.ia.us.
Kerio Server - This is the e-mail server that we use at Heartland.
Heartland Server - This is the file server that we use at Heartland. This server is being transitioned to the new file server, AEASERVER.
AEASERVER - This is the new file server that we are transitioning from the Heartland Server. Your login will work on either server.
LSTA/PD360 – This server provides professional development resources on demand.
FileMaker Pro Server - A database server that hosts databases that are used with certain pages on the agency Web site such as Professional Development Course Evaluation and Book and Lesson database for 6+1 TRAIT.
Training 2 - Development server for Training 3 server.
Training 3 – This server hosts training courses such as bloodborne pathogens, asbestos awareness and mandatory reporting, etc.
Moodle - Online classroom.
Backups - Servers that back up all the data that resides on our networked servers.
“Go Green” Tip of the Week
Green Shopping Tips
A family of four can save thousands of dollars a year simply by buying products in the largest size they can use and by buying long lasting reusable items. Think about the effect of your purchases on the environment when you shop. Items with excess packaging and products that need to be discarded after only a few uses cost more money, use up valuable resources and create more waste. A family of four can save $2,000 a year in the supermarket by choosing large sizes instead of individual serving sizes. Remember, 10 cents of every shopping dollar is used to pay for packaging.
Small sizes use more packaging for each ounce of product than larger sizes. So, if you buy large sizes, you save money, reduce waste and help the environment. Here are a few good examples; look for others the next time you shop.
• Buy cereal in a large box instead of in individual serving sizes.
• Buy juice in concentrates and use reusable containers instead of single serving packages.
• Buy large packages of sugar and flour.
• Avoid the small boxes of raisins and buy the same amount in the 24-ounce box.
A family of four can save thousands of dollars a year simply by buying products in the largest size they can use and by buying long lasting reusable items. Think about the effect of your purchases on the environment when you shop. Items with excess packaging and products that need to be discarded after only a few uses cost more money, use up valuable resources and create more waste. A family of four can save $2,000 a year in the supermarket by choosing large sizes instead of individual serving sizes. Remember, 10 cents of every shopping dollar is used to pay for packaging.
Small sizes use more packaging for each ounce of product than larger sizes. So, if you buy large sizes, you save money, reduce waste and help the environment. Here are a few good examples; look for others the next time you shop.
• Buy cereal in a large box instead of in individual serving sizes.
• Buy juice in concentrates and use reusable containers instead of single serving packages.
• Buy large packages of sugar and flour.
• Avoid the small boxes of raisins and buy the same amount in the 24-ounce box.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Did You Know? Heartland’s Web site is ADA Compliant
Heartland’s Web presence is provided to support all learners. To reach this goal, the agency makes every effort to ensure that our site is ADA compliant. Most sections of Heartland's Web site comply with ADA standards, and we are constantly working to transition our non-compliant areas. Heartland strives to provide services through multiple channels to diverse populations and having an ADA compliant Web site is just one way that Heartland continues to extend your reach.
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