Mono Matters

• Are you a PK, TK or K teacher or interested in becoming one? MCOE has grant funds available to support individuals pursuing a teaching credential or working on units towards the TK standards. Earn $1,000.00 per nine course units. The funding is available for the next three years and there are opportunities locally and remotely to earn credits. Contact Tammy Nguyen or Ana Danielson for more information or to share ideas and thoughts with us about how we may be able to support your academic pursuits.
• CSU Sacramento is accepting applications in their Child and Adolescent Development Program, an online BA program. This program allows students to finish their upper division coursework and graduate from Sacramento State within three years’ time. The program was created to meet the needs of working adults and students living in rural areas who seek to complete their first Bachelor’s Degree. Courses will be held synchronously two evenings a week from approximately 6:30pm-9:20pm. Click here for more information.

Mono and Inyo County educators in grades K-8 are invited to participate in a one day workshop focusing on environmental literacy in Science. Participants will learn to use their school sites as outdoor campuses, identify local environmental phenomena and garner strategies for partnering with other educators and the community. Register here!

As educators, we all strive to make meaningful connections with our students and the relationships we build and the supports we provide are akin to mentoring. Research indicates that the following aspects of mentoring are essential in building strong and supportive relationships with you:

• Provide emotional support and empathy
• Practice cultural humility
• Make room for fun and play
• Communicate effectively
• Build critical consciousness and youth activism
• Intentionally support students to set goals
• Help students expand their networks of support
• Help students build self-esteem

For a more comprehensive read about how to strengthen your ability to support youth, check out "Becoming a Better Mentor: Strategies to Be There for Young People" edited by Dr. Carla Herrera and Michael Garringer.

Adult Education ESL class has two parts. The first part is the class meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 17:30 to 19:30, either in the Mammoth Lakes Library are on Zoom. The second part is an online class that teaches English while learning more about your current job or a job you want to learn about. The second part can be done any time on your cell phone, tablet, or laptop. We can loan you a laptop if you need one.

To register, use this link: https://forms.gle/eSxNtZfWJAyVVhjG8 or call Adult Education at 760.914.0225

La clase de ESL de educación para adultos tiene dos partes. La primera parte son las reuniones de clase los martes y jueves, de 17:30 a 19:30, ya sea en la Biblioteca de Mammoth Lakes o por Zoom. La segunda parte es una clase en línea que enseña inglés mientras aprende más sobre su trabajo actual o sobre un trabajo que desea aprender. La segunda parte la puedes realizar en cualquier momento desde tu teléfono celular, tableta o computadora portátil. Podemos prestarle una computadora portátil si la necesita.
Para registrarse, utilice este enlace: https://forms.gle/eSxNtZfWJAyVVhjG8 o llame a Educación para Adultos al 760.914.0225

What risk does A.I. pose to the future of American Culture? That is a question we may all be asking ourselves and the question of the year for the National Lions Club Speaker's Contest. The regional contest will be Wednesday, February 14th in Mammoth Lakes at 12:30 PM with lunch to follow. Students in grades 9-12 are eligible to participate. For more information contact Lion Juliana Olinka at julolinka@yahoo.com, please reference Lions Club Student Speaker Contest in the subject line

Each year the Mono County Office of Educations offer County-wide student events, including Science Fair, Mock Trial, Spelling Bee and MathCounts. Winners from each event qualify to compete at regional and state competitions. IN previous years, one promising scholar competed at the International Science Fair in Atlanta, GA after competing and winning at the county, regional and state Science Fairs. We were honored to have her share her experience and knowledge as a judge at this year's Science Fair. Thank you, Ellery McQuilkin, former Lee Vining High School student, for your participation in this new role and congratulations to Finn Calhoun for his award winning research on plants. This year's fair has passed, but it is never too early to begin researching for next year's Science Fair. The annual Spelling Bee will be held on March 11th at the Lee Vining Elementary School. Students in grades 4-6 (elementary level) and 7-9 (junior high level) are welcome to participate. The two top winners from each level are eligible to compete in the California State Spelling Bee on April 27 2024 in San Jose, CA. For more information on the Spelling Bee contact Ana Danielson or for some spelling fun, check out these resources.

Did you know that Spanish only has five (5) vowel sounds/phonemes compared to nineteen (19) in the English language! This is just one of the beautiful aspects of learning Spanish. The Spanish alphabet includes 27 letters, the same 26 as English with the addition of the letter ñ. The ñ is pronounced as an "ny" combination. Think of how you would pronounce mañana. Other items to note about letter pronunciation in Spanish, the letter "h" is ALWAYS silent, regardless of whether it is the first letter of a word or in the middle of a word. Hence the words hola (hello) and ola (wave) are homophones in Spanish, same pronunciation, different spellings and meaning. The pronunciation of "ll" sounds like the letter "y", in most Spanish language dialects, think of how you would pronounce "tortilla" versus "willful" in English. Some regions of Spain and Argentina pronounce the "ll" like a "sha" or "ja" sound. Click on the video below to practice the Spanish vowel sounds. If you would like to practice more Spanish you can join Ana Danielson Tuesday evening from 5:30 to 7 PM on Zoom for a Mono County Adult Education Class. To register click here.

A study by the National Student Support Accelerator from January 2024 indicates that "bite-sized" tutoring sessions, just 5 to 10 minutes a daily with a trained tutor increases oral reading fluency. The study focused on Kindergarten and first graders, but evidence suggests that the program would be effective for second , third and fourth graders. Read more about the study here.