Educators Activity

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to work with several Monarch parents and students at the monthly parent education meeting. We focused on finding information online, using familiar tools like Google and Wikipedia but also lesser-known resources available through the Houston Public Library, HISD, and other providers. The students participated enthusiastically in our discussion of internet search engines, social networking programs (like MySpace), and subscription databases. I was very impressed and pleased by their thoughtful contributions to the conversation, and I hope the Educators will have more opportunities like this soon! (Don't you all want to join us now?)

By the way, one of the most interesting things the students mentioned was the Monarch Wikipedia page. I hope they'll work on improving the page and share their expert knowledge of Monarch with the world!

A Tisket, a Tasket...

...a Monarch Life Academy basket--on sale!

We are excited to announce our Spring Sale. The Monarch Life Academy students have worked hard to create a huge variety of wonderful baskets and gifts this spring. Please take some time to come by a browse for those gifts on your list.

Posted on behalf of Tessa Sandlin.

Pr/Marketing News

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE! SHANNON WOODRUFF is Monarch's new PR/Marketing Team Leader! Shannon's BA is in business administration with a major in marketing. She also holds an MA degree in general business. Shannon loves wearing multiple hats as Monarch's Director of Development, and admits that she "thrives on having lots on my plate". She will take our team to new heights as our school continues to thrive!

Our internal PR/Marketing Team was formed two years ago, as we grew larger and had the need for better coordination of all publicity and marketing. The team members are:

John Barone, Learning Center Director
Linda Caruso, Life Academy
Jenny Ferguson, Capital Campaign Assistant
Debrah Hall, Apprentice Program Director
Kyle Nguyen, Technology Director
Emily Reiter, Learning Center/Summer Program Assistant
Neal Sarahan, Challenger Program Director
Bryant Shaw, Diagnostic Clinic
Jessica Stoner, Events Coordinator
Jennalee Taylor, Admissions Director
Marty Webb, Head of School
Shannon Woodruff, Development Director

Having Shannon as the PR/Marketing Team Leader will also give Movers and Shapers who have projects involving publicity or marketing a "go to" person for help and advice!

Thanks, Shannon! We are SO glad you are on board!

Search by Category and Other Blog News

I'm happy to announce the debut of a new blog feature: categories! As you can see, all posts now include one or more descriptive labels, and a menu on the right side of the page allows you to select a category to view. Please start using labels when you add new posts (you can apply as many labels as you'd like to a post, and you are welcome to create new labels if needed).

Other blog news....

If you have been asked to upgrade your Blogger account to a Google account when logging in, please go ahead and do it. Let me know if this causes any problems.

Upgrading the blog caused the email alert functions to disappear. I put Blogarithm back (at the very bottom of the page), but since Blog Alert wasn't working well, anyway, I'm going to leave it off. IMPORTANT: If you use the email option and are not receiving new posts that way, please use the Blogarithm box to sign up (again).

One cool thing about sorting all the posts into categories is that it makes very clear what exciting things our group has done and is doing!

Thanks,
Miranda

Builders Minutes - Thursday, March 8, 2007

Builders Minutes: Thursday, March 8, 2007

Present: John Barone, Marty Webb, Penny Weiss, StephanieWheatley

Ideas for the Builders were discussed and planned;

Landscaping – Marty Webb reported that Janet Roberts from Home and Habitat has generously donated her landscaping expertise. She will provide the design and planting for the new campus.

Monarch Scrapbook – It was agreed that compiling a Monarch Scrapbook in readiness for the opening of the new campus, should be started without delay. Retrospective albums as well as current ones will be compiled. The scrapbooks will include photographs and stories from students, staff and parents. Penny Weiss and Stephanie Wheatley will begin working on the current album. Stephanie will contact Monarch parents for their stories. Marty will provide photographs from past years. Marty also suggested the possibility of having a simultaneous, online version of the scrapbook (specifically focusing on the stories.)

Citrus Trees – Marty reported that Richard Klein plans to incorporate citrus trees in the Monarch garden at the new campus. An herb garden is also planned.

Stepping Stones – The idea of each Monarch student making their own stepping stone to be placed in the Monarch garden was discussed. Marty suggested that this project be put on hold until we know how much space is available.

Inscribed Bricks – Marty reported that this project is ‘in the works!’ Donors will have the opportunity to have their name inscribed on a brick that will be featured at the new campus.

Bird Houses/Feeders – The possibility of students designing, building and painting bird houses/feeders during the Monarch Summer Program was discussed. The finished items would be used at the new campus. Marty asked Stephanie to contact Debrah Hall to see if this project could be incorporated into the Summer Program.

School Supplies/Library Books/Teacher Wish-Lists – The importance of compiling a master wish-list for items needed at the new campus was discussed. It was decided that staff would work from the current wish-list posted on the Monarch website and continue adding to it. Marty requested that Penny Weiss remind her to email staff regarding wish-lists. The four Movers and Shapers committee groups will work together to solicit items from the wish-list.

Interior Paint Colors – Marty requested that a Builder’s sub committee be involved in the consultation with architects regarding color choices at the new campus. Marty will inform those involved, when the next meeting with the architects will be held.

Audio-Visual System – John Barone has asked the Builders to help research the best audio-visual system for the new Monarch Learning Center auditorium. Information on projectors, surround sound systems, screens, etc. is required.

Potential Life Academy Project – Stephanie Wheatley suggested a potential LA project. The company, TerraCycle invites organizations to donate empty soda bottles, in order to package their plant food. There are no shipping charges and the company donates 5c per bottle to a charity/non-profit organization of your choice ie. Monarch! Marty suggested that this would be a great business project for a Monarch student next year in addition to involving the whole Monarch community. For more information go to www.terracycle.net/bb

"The Monarch Hour" on KPFT Radio, FM 90.1

On Thursday, April 5th, from 12 noon to 1 p.m., KPFT Radio, FM 90.1, will host its first program entitled "The Monarch Hour." The first program will feature Monarch staff, parents, volunteers and students informing the public about The Monarch School in a unique format.

This radio program, featuring The Monarch School, was facilitated through the superb initiative of our very own Marion Defalco, Movers and Shapers Facilitator of The Heralds Committee. Thanks so much, Marion! Please stay tuned for more information!

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR!

Congratulations to Justin Fox,
Chairman of the Monarch Movers & Shapers!

Justin was recently chosen to be one of 9 people out of many nominated to receive the 2007 Mayor’s Volunteer Houston Award! Now everyone in the city will know what we’ve known all along: Justin Fox has gone above and beyond in his support of the Monarch School since day one! City of Houston Mayor Bill White will personally present the award to Justin during a ceremony at the Houston Intercontinental Hotel.

This is the second time a Monarch volunteer has won this award. Justin shares the honor with another great Mover and Shaper, Ms. Penny Weiss, who received this award in 2005! Hooray!

Monarch parent on the news tonight!

Monarch parent Jonathan Etterbeek's interview with Fox News will air tonight at 9:30pm! Jonathan is a fabulous advocate for Monarch, and he's working with Marion DeFalco on a project to help many military families who have children with special needs.

We're in the News!

Monarch parent Jonathan Etterbeek was interviewed regarding special education in Texas. The interview will air this Thursday at 9:30pm on Channel 9 (Fox News). Jonathan is an articulate spokesperson and advocate for families whose children's needs cannot be met by the public schools.

We appreciate you, Jonathan!

Marty

Special Friends Day

You are special to us…

All Movers & Shapers are cordially invited to
The Monarch School’s 6th annual

Grandparents & Special Friends Day!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007
You may join us for all or any portion of the day. Programs will be held at
Apprentice and Challenger Campuses.

Apprentice Campus Challenger Campus
10:00am – 12:00pm 12:00pm -2:30pm
1231 Wirt Road 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Houston, TX 77055 1014 Wirt Road, Suite 210
Houston, TX 77055

Please RSVP to Jessica Stoner, Events Coordinator, at 713.479.0800 or mailto:jstoner@monarchschool.org by Feb. 10.

Opportunity to Help with Symposium

I have an opportunity for anyone who would like to help make our symposium with Dr. Ross Greene a success. We are in need of approximately 1000 bottles of water to be served to our guests at the symposium and we would like to try to get them donated. Is anyone interested in helping to solicit local businesses in their area for donations of bottled water? Some businesses like Sam's Club and HEB are pretty good about giving $25 - $35 gift cards which can be used to purchase bottled water. Let me know if you are willing to help and I will provide you with a copy of the schools tax exempt letter which you will need. You can email me at jmeaux1@houston.rr.com if you are willing to help.

Hey Heralds!

I have a project idea/request for you. I'm working on recruiting new volunteers from local universities, and it would be really helpful to have a simple, one-page brochure or flyer about Movers & Shapers (who we are, what we do, etc.). We have the Monarch packets, of course, which are great, but I think a piece of introductory literature about our group would be very handy for situations like this. Any chance one or more of you could work on this soon? It certainly doesn't have to be anything fancy, just short and sweet.

Thanks!

Minutes from the Herald's Committee Meeting on 1/25/07

Present: Cathy Graham, Kyle Nguyen, Dennis Woods, and Emily Reiter

- The marketing of the Monarch Learning Center’s upcoming symposium entitled “The Explosive Child” was discussed at great length. Cathy Graham was able to give Monarch Learning Canter Assistant Emily Reiter some names of media contacts and suggestions of how to best promote this event. Some ideas discussed were: the importance of promoting the event before it occurs, promoting the event while it’s occurring (a television station interviewing Dr. Greene during the day of the event) and promoting the event after it is over, Ms. Graham also suggested emailing an article submission to all editors in Houston as well as a media alert.
- The Monarch Web site was also discussed. Monarch Director of Technology spoke about his recent project of posting previous news clippings about Monarch on the Web site for visitors to access. The group spoke about the electronic newsletter and the importance of making sure it’s not sent out before it’s completely ready.
- John Barone visited the group and brought up the idea of sending out monographs as a way of promoting Monarch.

Developer's Minutes

Attendees: Marion Defalco, Justin Fox, Sharlene Fox, Judith Garnil, John Hardesty, Susan Meek, Julie Meaux, Jessica Stoner, Carolyn Trozzo, Stephanie Wheatley, Shannon Woodruff

• New members: Judith Garnil, John Hardesty

• Realtor involvement: Marion Defalco reported that she had contacted Myra Jolvit, Managing Editor of the Houston Realtor and Communications Chief. She is extremely interested and receptive to the idea of distributing information about Monarch to her clients.

• Success of follow-up phone calls to breakfast attendees: Jessica Stoner stated that she had received mainly positive responses. Julie Meaux remarked that she had to leave voicemails and nobody returned her calls. Effective ways to thank breakfast attendees were discussed. Follow-up thank you notes/letters could be one method.

• 'The Gifts' movie Feb. 13: Group reiterated that the movie would be an excellent opportunity to educate others about Monarch. The '12 gifts' are closely alligned with Monarch's philosophy. When inviting others we need to make sure that people are aware that the venue is St. Thomas University.

• Contact with PBS: Marion Defalco contacted PBS due to Dr. Eric Braverman's upcoming appearance on March 29. He is a neuro surgeon and heads up a research foundation specializing in learning disorders in children. She suggested that it would be a good idea to have Monarch staff or parents be in the audience when he gives his presentation. Marion left Monarch packets at PBS.

Educators Minutes

Like Ranger, I was a committee of one yesterday, but here are a few items I discussed with others at the meeting:

• We've been having trouble recruiting "mentors" to come to Monarch and speak to students about topics of shared interest. Since I suspect part of the problem is that "mentor" implies a greater time commitment than many people are able to make, we are going to continue this recruitment effort but look for "guest speakers," instead. Neal provided the list of course offerings for 2006-07, which I will try to turn into a "wish list" for guest speakers. This will be a wonderful opportunity to use your connections in the community for Monarch's benefit!
• Ranger had very good idea about working with local college student volunteer programs to recruit new M&S members. I'll follow up with this at UH and possibly at Rice, St. Thomas, and/or other Houston-area schools.
• Neal told us about plans for a student talent show in May. The Educators' co-facilitator, Kay Kahl, is already involved with this project, and it may present us with new volunteer opportunities. If nothing else, maybe we can all get invitations to attend!
• Neal and I discussed another volunteer organization, Houston Heifers, a local group supporting the work of Heifer Project International. Monarch students use Heifer-related materials in some of their classes, and I look forward to learning more about this program.

Builders Minutes 1/25/07

Just back from another Movers and Shapers meeting. I was the only Builder present so the discussions I had were with various Monarch administrators and other Movers and Shapers members.

*I asked John and Marty for a conduit. Monarch staff have begun discussing projects for the new buildings and grounds but they aren't reaching our group.

*John, Miranda and I discussed having the Heralds recruit members for both the Builders and Educators groups.

*Miranda and I met with new Movers and Shapers members John and Judith to fill them in on what the Educators and Builders are all about.

*Neil told us about some fabulous developments. Landscaping for the new campus will be donated, we will have fruit trees, and two private residences near the new campus have been donated for residence and life skills development.

"Today's Man" on April 8

As part of its "Margaret Mead Festival," the Rice Media Center will show the documentary "Today's Man" on Sunday, April 8 (yes, Easter Sunday) at 9:00 pm.

Description from the Rice Media Center website:

"Filmmaker Lizzie Gottlieb looks at her brother Nicky, a young man struggling to leave the comfort and safety of his parents' home and find his place in the world. While he can calculate the square root of any number in the blink of an eye, he has trouble reading the simplest of facial expressions, making social interaction difficult. At the age of 21, he is diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism."

The film is the second half of a double feature, but the first movie, "A Map With Gaps," is only 26 minutes long, and "Today's Man" is 55 minutes, so even the 9:00 start time won't make for too late a night.

MONARCH SYMPOSIUM!

Calling all Movers & Shapers!

On March 3, 2007, Monarch will welcome Dr. Ross Greene, author of The Explosive Child, as presenter for our symposium. This topic is relevant for all parents, teachers, and anyone who works with children. To save a bundle, sign up for EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION!

We also need your help in spreading the word about Monarch's Symposium. At our next meeting we will have cards that you can present as gifts to friends, family, colleagues, etc. They can also be left for people to pick up at pediatrician's offices, schools, and any other place frequented by parents, teachers, or others who work with young people.

Thanks for helping make our first annual symposium a SOLD OUT SUCCESS!

College Living Experience

I came across an interesting article in the "Chronicle of Higher Education" about College Living Experience, a support program for special needs students pursuing college education. It looks like something that might interest Monarch students, so I thought I'd pass along the link to the CLE website, which provides access to the article.

"The Ultimate Gift" on February 13

News from Linda Caruso:

The Monarch School will host the Houston premiere of the film "The Ultimate Gift" on Tuesday, February 13, with proceeds to benefit the school. For more information or to purchase tickets, check out the event announcement on the Monarch website. Spread the word and treat yourself and your family and friends to an early Valentine's Day present!