PREL's Pacific Navigator - November 2011

November 2011 • Volume 2 • Issue 4

Giving Thanks, Looking Ahead Have you noticed that PREL’s regular communiqué is now called “The Pacific Navigator”? In keeping with the theme of way finding, I wanted to open this edition with a scan, as a navigator might, of the seas astern and ahead. As the Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific (REL Pacific) approaches the end of its current 6-year contract period, we are grateful for all the guidance and inspiration provided by our many partners, colleagues, and advisory groups. The latter include the Research and Evaluation (R&E) Cadre (featured in this issue) and the Pacific Curriculum and Instruction Council (PCIC), who are meeting just down the hall as I write this. The PCIC agenda, appropriately, focuses on 21st-century learning skills. It is so critical to enable our students to achieve success in a world that we cannot yet see, just over the horizon. The REL Pacific staff are profoundly thankful for the opportunities we have had to help guide our canoe toward this destination. Ormond Hammond, PhD Director, Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific and E Ho‘omau! Highlights of PCC Activities Short Assessment for Literacy (SAL) in Kosrae—During the month of August, a series of workshops on SAL was conducted for 1st- and 2nd-grade teachers of early childhood education (ECE). More on page 2 PREL Attends Meeting of the Pacific Heads of Education Systems From August 22nd through the 25th, Dr. Sharon Nelson-Barber and Paul Dumas, PREL’s President and Chief Programs Officer, respectively, attended the 18th consultation meeting of the Pacific Heads of Education Systems (PHES) in Koror, Palau. More on page 4 PREL Pacific Convenes a Meeting of the R&E Cadre In September 2011, PREL’s Regional Educational Laboratory Pacific convened a meeting of the Research and Evaluation Cadre. More on page 4 PREL’s E Ho‘omau! Films Shown at Regional Film Festivals PREL’s E Ho‘omau! project is wrapping up work on producing three animated films based on Hawaiian legends, as well as associated curriculum materials for 4th grade students. The program, which is called E Ho‘omau!emphasizes literacy and the scientific aspects of the legends. A field test of the project has now started in schools, and we are also sharing the completed pieces with teachers and others. More on page 3 Creative Producer of E Ho‘omau!, Michael Ceballos, speaking to elementary school students in Guam.

For the complete Pacific Navigator newsletter with more articles and the PCC news and updates, click here.