Wednesday, August 9, 2006

The C-47 Short Film Project

Georgia Public Broadcasting, Georgia Council for the Arts, the Digital Arts and Entertainment Lab at Georgia State University, and the Georgia Department of Economic Development are proud to introduce a new opportunity for independent filmmakers in Georgia, C-47: The Georgia Short Film Showcase.

The C-47 project combines broadcast and digital technology to create a Web site centered on the art and technique of filmmaking and a monthly showcase devoted to Georgia filmmakers and their short films.

C-47 is particularly relevant as filmmakers explore new directions in film, video and digital media. It is designed to foster creativity, engagement and camaraderie within Georgia's film industry and give Georgia filmmakers a broadcast goal in their home state.

With the advent of the digital film revolution, the art of the short film has once again emerged into the collective consciousness of today's culture. This program rewards filmmakers focused on quality filmmaking within the boundaries of the short film format.

Each month, two filmmakers and their films will be awarded special recognition and be featured on the C-47 television program and discussed at length on the C-47 Web site. To be featured on C-47 is to be recognized as a superior Georgia filmmaker.

At the conclusion of each year, one film will be chosen via audience and industry voting as the top short film in the state of Georgia.

To find out more about the C-47 project, please visit www.cforty7.com

What is a C-47 and what does it have to do with films?

Two websites to start your search:
Urban Dictionary

Answers.com

The 2006-2007 Irasshai School Year Begins

Irasshai, Georgia Public Broadcasting's Japanese language and culture distance learning program, will start its 11th season in August. Over the past 10 years, more than 5,000 students have traversed the Irasshai hallways with Tim Cook-sensei, the Emmy award-winning, nationally recognized distance educator. Detailed information about the program and how to register can be found on our Irasshai Web site. Click on "how to register" to locate the appropriate forms for your school.

Come visit the Irasshai booth at JapanFest in Stone Mountain September 23 and 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This annual event offers visitors an introduction to Japanese food, culture and arts. For more information, check out http://www.japanfest.org. Free tickets for your students are available on a first-come, first-served basis for those who register before September 1. We hope to see you there!

Tuesday, August 8, 2006

Celebrating Georgia's Young Writers and Illustrators

The winners for the 12th Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest have been chosen. More than 500 Georgia students, ranging from kindergarten to third grade, entered their original illustrated stories this year. At the end, 12 winners were chosen along with eight honorable mentions for writing and illustration.

A celebration honoring the winners and participants was held at Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) on May 26. Winners received gift cards from Barnes & Noble - $50 for first place, $20 for second place and $10 for third place - along with other prizes. All participants received a certificate of achievement by Lavar Burton.

Judging for the contest was a collaborative effort of art and education majors from Valdosta State University, Clark Atlanta University and the University of Georgia's Lamar Dodd School of Art. The final round of judging took place at GPB and was conducted by educators, authors and librarians from across the state. We are extremely pleased with the turnout and thank the teachers and parents who encouraged their students and children to take part in the contest.

The Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators contest is designed to encourage early elementary aged students to utilize their creative abilities in both language arts and art by developing and illustrating original stories. The Georgia regional contest was coordinated by GPB in partnership with READING RAINBOW, Barnes & Noble and Innotrac.

The winners and recipients of honorable mentions for the 12th Annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest are as follows:

Winners
Kindergarten: Madelyn Smith (First), Illina Logani (Second), Katie Kroft (Third)
First Grade: Bailey Jacks (First), Judah Means (Second), Janelle Price (Third)
Second Grade: Kristyn Jean Evans (First), Natalie Holiday (Second), Serena Mon (Third)
Third Grade: Jacob Landon Alexander Boges (First), Casey Allen (Second), Rhiannon Toney (Third)

Honorable Mentions

Illustration:
Brian Hays (Kindergarten), Slamon Ghani (First Grade), Emma Gwin (Second Grade), Eboni Goar (Third Grade)

Writing:
Rae Anna Claire Starosciak (Kindergarten), Regan Cook (First Grade), Emily Haynie (Second Grade), Lauren Curtis (Third Grade)

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

The Education division of Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB-Education) has announced that changes will be made to the satellite maintenance service this school year.

GPB-Education will now be providing a streamlined maintenance service for the satellite downlinks at educational facilities.

Changes being implemented by the streamlined maintenance service are:
- Average time to repair a "down" site has increased to five days
- Repair of the steering function of an antenna will be discontinued unless the site chooses to pay for the repair (Steerable antennae will be "fixed" on the GPB-Education signal)
- One functioning Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD - DSR 9400) will be maintained at each location instead of two

The streamlined service has allowed GPB-Education to meet its fiscal commitments while still ensuring that our signal is delivered reliably. The helpdesk service will remain unchanged.

If you have any questions about these service changes, please e-mail Patrice Weaver at pweaver@gpb.org

Monday, August 7, 2006

Attention all K-16 Georgia mathematics teachers and coaches!!!!

As you probably already know, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) annual conference is going to be in Georgia this spring. It will be held in Atlanta on March 21-24, 2007. As if that wasn't exciting enough, there's more - we want to use this opportunity to SHOWCASE EXEMPLARY WORK OF GEORGIA'S STUDENTS. Your help is needed in collecting student work from all grade levels (Pre K - 16), as well as superb work by teacher candidates. Your assistance will help to highlight the excellent work Georgia students are producing for the rest of the math world to see. Projects that are in line with the new Georgia Performance Standards may be placed on the Georgia Department of Education website. And projects that show exemplary use of technology may be placed on the Georgia Public Broadcasting website. So, as you begin your school year, please allow us to borrow student work for this exciting project.

Please share this information with teachers, mathematics coaches, mathematics coordinators, and principals. A downloadable application AND consent form can be found below. Once the application and consent form are complete, please submit it to the co-chair of the Student Exhibit Committee:

Desha L. Williams
1072 Shumard Lane
McDonough, GA 30252.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Desha L. Williams at dwilliams@gsu.edu, Peggy Pool at ppool@gctm.org, or Linda Flynn at lflynn@gpb.org. Student work samples may be retrieved on Saturday, May 19, 2007 from a central location which will be announced prior to the conference. Teachers will be contacted via e-mail with the location's address.

Thank you, and HAVE FUN creating AWESOME mathematics projects to share at the conference!!

Saturday, August 5, 2006

Arts Education Grant Available

Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) will be opening a second round of applications for its Parent Teacher Artists Grant in August. This grant has been designed to assist classroom K-5 teachers provide not only arts education programs for their students, but also to fund expensive diesel-fueled buses for field trips.

The PTA Grant enables a classroom teacher to work with local artists and non-profit arts organizations to present arts education programming to students and parents in an after-school or weekend setting. Included in the eligible activities are field trips to see plays, visit arts museums, attend dance performances, as well as participate in hands-on activities.

The PTA Grant offers up to $3,000 with only a one-third match requirement. The matching funds may come from the school's discretionary funds, from contributions, from the school's PTA or PTO or booster club, or even from cash donations made from local businesses.

Awards will be announced in early December, enabling the programming to occur before June 30. The deadline is October 13. Visit the GCA website for detailed information on the PTA Grant, as well as the other arts education grants offered.

Questions should be directed to Debora Ott at 404-685-2795 or dott@gaarts.org.

Thursday, August 3, 2006

Back to School with Achieving Excellence: Inside Georgia Schools

Parents, students, educators - everyone interested in education will not want to miss Achieving Excellence: Inside Georgia Schools. This is an engaging program that brings educational issues such as literacy, technology, arts education, higher education and student achievement in the state of Georgia to the forefront. Host Jane Robelot, former CBS news anchor and Georgia parent, talks with guests on some of the most important issues in education.

As educators and families return to classes, the topics of Achieving Excellence will be Parent - School Connection, airing in August, and Student Wellness, airing in September.

The 2006 Youth Environmental Symposium

Finalists of the Youth Environmental Symposium (YES) gathered at the Teaching Museum South in Hapeville, Ga. to present their environmental projects to judges and their peers on April 28. The finalists consisted of twelve schools or clubs around the state of Georgia.

Students received ten minutes to present their environmental projects to judges and audience members, which included creative skits, videos and PowerPoints. The student-run projects ranged from clean-up initiatives to environmental awareness and education around the state.

Winners of the 2006 YES were awarded cash prizes for their efforts in getting involved and making a difference in the quality of the environment.

The goal of YES is to develop knowledgeable, dedicated and interested students who are more aware of environmental issues.

More information

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Special Resource for First-Year Reading Teachers

WETA's Reading Rockets project offers a special resource online for first-year teachers of reading. It is an online course developed especially for new teachers of reading.

On the site, teachers can work at there own pace and access a number of useful resources, including 10 online professional development modules, a teacher toolbox and diaries from two first-year teachers. All of these resources help teachers shape students into skilled readers.

The site is an outgrowth of a pilot mentoring program undertaken between 2003 and 2005 in the Washington, D.C. area. The program taught valuable strategies to teachers of reading.

For more information about the Reading Rockets project, please visit www.readingrockets.org/firstyear