October 15, 2009
Dear adjunct faculty,
Can you believe the 7th week of class is nearly over?! Students are busily preparing for mid-terms, which are just around the corner! Here are a few reminders as we approach the half-way point in the semester:
Mid-term grades are due (post them through Banner) by October 26, however Banner will not be accessible from midnight on 10/23- 10/26. This means that you can post mid-term grades until 11:59 pm on October 22 or wait until October 27 to post them.
Participation in one of the Success Strategies modules is due no later than November 2. If you have questions about this please let me know. This requirement replaces the orientation requirement many of you accomplished in previous semesters.
Please clean up your classroom when you are finished teaching. This includes erasing the board, moving chairs back to where they were and moving equipment so the room is ready for the next instructor. Information written on the board will not be saved.
Rosters and S.O.S. referrals: please remember to check your rosters for students who are not showing up or who may have dropped your course. Try to make contact with students who are not submitting work and follow up with an S.O.S. referral if the student is not responding.
B102 is ready for your use! If the adjunct office in B104 is busy or you need some space to spread out, try out B102! The key code on the door is the same as it is for B104. There are 4 computers, a printer, a white board and a work table in there along with additional resources for you to access!
Teri Dwyer wins the election to serve as the Adjunct Rep for the Academic Senate! A huge thank you to those of you who voted and to Teri for stepping up to the plate!
Adjunct Spotlight: For each newsletter, I’ll be asking for an adjunct to volunteer to write something to share with other adjuncts about their experience. (If you’d like to be in the spotlight for next month’s newsletter please let me know- I’m looking for someone to share something!). You could write about a related to your classroom experience, survival how-to’s, etc… This month, Renata Birkenbuel, an adjunct from the English Department, has agreed to share with us:
By Renata Birkenbuel
Adjunct Instructor, Writing 080
No matter what, students of all ages and stripes usually like to write about themselves. On the first day of teaching Writing 080, my first-ever class at MSU – Great Falls this Fall Semester, I asked my students to write a rough draft about themselves. Without hesitation, and after they practiced some quick brainstorming techniques such as timed clustering and list-making, they dug right in. They used these prompts to kick off what will be a semester-long autobiographical assignment: what are your career aspirations? What are your passions outside the classroom? How do you describe yourself? Almost immediately, I learned valuable information about my students and their lives. Some are single parents, some are military veterans, some are passionate about caring for others in a health-care industry, some have disabilities, and some either struggled through their senior year of high school or have had a tough time letting go of their safe high school experiences. But without a doubt, all expressed a desire to share something meaningful and personal. So I’m pleased to say that an autobiography continues to be a fantastic way to break the ice early in the year. I’m anxious to see how my students continue to grow on paper and in life as the semester rolls on.
Thanks again to all of you for the quality you bring to our students, our courses and our campus! Please feel free to stop by, call or email me at any time!
Kim Schrenk
Director of Adjunct Instruction
406-771-4422
kschrenk@msugf.edu