[CALIBK12] one of us is in the news again !!!

[barbdon]

what a good idea--"cultivating a relationship with the local  
newspaper"....looks like Grace has put up a challenge to the rest of  
us to do likewise!!

....barb scheifler
NS newsletter editor
On Dec 2, 2007, at 6:42 AM, Grace Murphy-Jenkins wrote:

> We need to let everyone know what we do.  I have grown bolder in  
> publicizing the benefits of  school libraries.  I have let our  
> school board and superintendent know as well.  People truly do not  
> understand what we do.  They think we check out books all day long  
> and that's it!  That's why they think of cutting libraries when  
> there is a budget crunch.  We can't allow this to happen.
> I am also a former school teacher (credentialed), so I understand  
> what goes on in the classroom.  I am also an English major, BA and  
> MA, who wanted to make students more aware of the beauty of poetry.   
> And, I have lots of materials to support my project.
> Of course, having legislative action on our side will help.   When  
> the call goes out, contact your legislators about pending action.   
> I  have done so!
> Thank you again, Barb, for making others aware. I know there is so  
> much good that we do.  In the meantime I am cultivating a  
> relationship with the local newspaper.  It is happy to promote the  
> good works in our school district.  The public needs to have a good  
> image of us.
> You strike me as being a very dedicated and  talented LMT yourself.
> Regards,
> Grace Murphy-Jenkins, LMT
> Lovonya DeJean Middle, Richmond, California
> 510.231.1430
> West Contra Costa Unified School District
>
>
>
> barbdon <diversity1211 at comcast.net> wrote:
> congrats to Grace Murphy-Jenkins, lmt, DeJean Middle School,  
> Richmond, for receiving an EdFund grant for her poetry workshop AND  
> for having her be the main focus of the news article (see  
> below).....we're always saying we need to be more vocal and visible  
> and "out there"....grace did this both by her poetry project AND by  
> letting others know about it....
>
> hurray, grace.....
>
> ...barb scheifler
> NS newsletter editor
>
>> Grant to boost writing skills: Ed Fund distributed $39,000 among 60  
>> West Contra Costa programs
>> By Kimberly S. Wetzel,
>> Oakland Tribune     11/27/2007
>>
>>  In formats ranging from free verse to rap, they voice their feelings
>> on world events, discuss their goals and dreams, and profess their
>> middle school love for each other. The poems' topics and styles  
>> don't matter to DeJean Middle School  librarian Grace Murphy- 
>> Jenkins, as long as students at the central  Richmond school get  
>> their thoughts on paper and refrain from vulgar language.
>>  "The idea is really to provide more opportunity for students to   
>> explore poetry as a viable literacy tool," said Murphy-Jenkins, who  
>> came up with the idea to hold poetry workshops last year to help  
>> students develop better writing skills. "It's to really provide an  
>> avenue of self-expression."
>>  Grant to boost writing skills is one of more than 60 West Contra  
>> Costa school district teaching and learning programs chosen this  
>> year to receive money from the nonprofit West Contra Costa Public  
>> Education Fund, which provides grants and scholarships to help  
>> facilitate learning and succeeding.
>>  Teachers, principals and schools throughout the district received
>> money ranging from $50 to $1,000 for everything from garden projects
>> to field trips. This year, 129 applicants competed for the $39,000 in
>> available grant money, said Ed Fund Executive Director Jennifer  
>> Henry.
>> Murphy-Jenkins received $452.
>>  Henry said the Ed Fund board agreed that Murphy-Jenkins' poetry  
>> project, as well as Ohlone Elementary teachers Danelle Dibble and  
>> Craig Hammock's idea to transform the classrooms at their Hercules  
>> school into restaurants to help students understand money, were  
>> especially creative. ...
>>  "I was really impressed," Henry said. "There was a lot of thought  
>> put
>> into the applications." In addition to the grant Murphy-Jenkins  
>> received, DeJean received school-wide grants to start both a mobile  
>> demonstration garden for use in different classrooms and a  
>> personalized yearbook.
>> Murphy-Jenkins said she could not have initiated the poetry project  
>> without a startup grant she received from the Ed Fund in 2006 that  
>> helped pay for reference books and other materials, and she could  
>> not keep it going without the most recent cash infusion. "I'm  
>> appreciative of the Ed Fund," Murphy-Jenkins said. "This not only  
>> exposes the children to poetry, but exposes to the faculty that  
>> this can be an important tool for learning."
>
>
>
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> Try it now.

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