January 2020
Arts Learning Communities
For the 2019-2020 school year, PLIC has kicked off some exciting professional learning opportunities for Music and Art Educators! This year fine arts educators have begun meeting as four learning communities. The four groups are Elementary Art, Elementary Music, Secondary Art and Secondary Music. 

In December and January the groups met and defined the goals that will focus their learning community. Both elementary groups worked with Erin Wilday and Cathleen Stewart developing strategies to enhance vocabulary skills in order to create stronger artists and musicians. The Secondary Art group spent time diving into the Media Arts standards. They identified ways in which they can incorporate more Media Arts into their curriculum. The Secondary Music community worked with Dustin Andrus on ways to use Schoology as a platform for recording-based assessments. All four groups will meet again in April.

In addition to the Learning Communities, there are more exciting professional learning opportunities on the horizon for Fine Arts Educators. On February 3rd PLIC is offering a session titled Survival Strategies for the New(ish) Music Educator .   During this session, participants will create tips and tricks for managing student behavior, enhancing student connections, communicating with parents, engaging students, etc. On February 19th, Erin Wilday is teaming up with Alicia Sherman to offer Green Screen for the Art Educator .  During this session participants will learn how to incorporate Green Screen into their classroom in order to create Art, as well as use Green Screen as a tool to assess student learning.

On March 12th Chenango Valley CSD will serve as host to our 3rd annual Fine Arts Day! There will be a variety of breakout sessions for both Music and Art Educators, time to meet as a Learning Community, along with hands-on learning sessions. Also, in partnership with NYSBDA Paula Holcomb, from Fredonia, will speak to regional band directors about rehearsal technique. Registration HERE today!

For information about these or future Fine Arts offerings, please contact Erin Wilday at ewilday@btboces.org . 
School Library System Council
The School Library System Council meets quarterly to discuss school library initiatives and emerging trends, engage in cross-district conversations, and make recommendations for School Library System programs. Council members are nominated by their district for three year terms, and the Council meets four times a year.
In recent years, the Council has expanded their membership to include representatives from SUNY Broome and Binghamton University, the South Central Regional Library Council, and the Four County Public Library System, enabling the group to connect to a variety of library types to co-plan programs and expand regional resource access.

The Council also aims to develop the leadership capacity of its members. Council members engage in professional book studies (most recently: Engaging the Rewired Brain by Dr. David Sousa and The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath), participate in webinars and mini-workshops, review mandated state-level School Library System reports, and discuss local, state, and national initiatives related to a range of literacies. If you are interested in attending a Council meeting, please reach out to Nicole Laura at nwaskiel@btboces.org . We would love to have you join us!
  Learn ~ Collaborate ~ Explore ~ Register Today!
Looking for more Professional Learning opportunities?
Check out the PLIC catalog and calendar here !