“I am still learning.” Michelangelo, at age 87 Happy February Alpha Upsilon Sisters! Thank you, Betsy, for once again gracious-ly hosting our informative January meeting in your lovely home. Also, a big thank you to Irene and the Refreshment Committee for providing all the delicious goodies for us to enjoy during our pre-meeting social gath-ering. Emulating Michelangelo, we are an organi-zation of lifelong learners! In January we had the opportunity to learn more about how to protect ourselves and our families. Thanks to Willy Crouse for arranging to have Mike Birkholm, a representative from the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, speak about “Watching Out for the Latest Scams.” Our many members and guests that were in attendance learned tips and techniques for spotting scams. Invaluable! The Area XIII Conference was another wonderful opportunity for learning. We were treated to an enlightening and inspir-ing presentation by Nancy Hastings

Sehested. We learned about her experience as a chaplain in men’s and women’s prisons. Her stories revealed what life is like for incar-cerated individuals and their hopes for the fu-ture. What a unique opportunity to hear a truly inspiring speaker. And it was a delight to honor Robin Williams as our chapter’s Outstanding Member of 2018. Gracious as always, Robin represented Alpha Upsilon perfectly! Thank you for all you do, Robin. At our next meeting, Thursday, February 15, we will learn about Little Free Libraries from Mary Lou Langedyke and tutoring opportuni-ties through the Reading Partners program sponsored by the Pasadena USD. We are very much looking forward to these two great programs.

Like Michelangelo… We are still learning! See you all at Marion’s! Pat Rabe and Mary Linda Vandevelde Co-Presidents

Presidents’ Message

Next Meeting 2

DKG California Convention 2

THAT 3

Jared Boxes 3

National Legislative Seminar 4

Global Awareness 4

Going Green 7

Multi Chapter Dinner 8

A Few Articles in This Issue:

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Volume 7 Issue 6

February 2018

DKG Vision: Leading women educators

impacting education worldwide.

Co-

Pre

side

nt: M

ary

Lind

a V

And

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de

Pat

Rab

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New

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Jud

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DKG California

2017-2019 Theme:

Women Educators on the Move

Making it Happen Together!

DKG California

Educational, Professional,

Making an Impact

DKG Mission Statement:

The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International promotes professional and personal growth of women edu-

cators and excellence in education.

8

DATE: Thursday, February 15, 2018

TIME: 4:00 PM

LOCATION: Home of Marion Darling

5236 Stardust Rd., La Cañada

PROGRAM: Little Free Libraries

Mary Lou Langedyke, Presenter

Don’t forget to bring books for Buck-a-Book!!

Page 2

Next Meeting Little Free Libraries

A LPHA U PSI LON NEWS

DKG California Convention: May 4-6, 2018

It’s Time to Register for the 2018 DKG California Convention

May 4-6, 2018

Irvine Marriott

Outstanding Speakers

Professional Development Sessions

Personal Growth Sessions

Workshops

Registration is now open at dkgca.org

REMEMBER: Alpha Upsilon will pay the full registration for any member who attends the convention

BE THERE TO SUPPORT OUR OWN ANA HASKINS AS SHE PRESENTS A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSION!

V OLU ME 7 ISS U E 6 Page 3

Jared Boxes

February 4—Harriet Furuya 7—Norma Russel 10—Mary Jane Hufstedler 11—Peggy West 19—Betsy Bazdarich 23—Laura Strametz

Happy Birthday to….

THAT hours reporting deadline is fast approaching! Please rec-

ord your THAT hours online as soon as possible. It is important

to our chapter that all of your volunteer THAT hours are count-

ed. Find a method that works for you - - Either record hours on

an ongoing basis as soon as you provide a THAT service, or

record your hours on a calendar or on your phone, and transfer

them to the website at the end of the month. All THAT hours

must be recorded on line by April 1, 2018 by following the

link below. If you are unsure whether an activity qualifies,

please check the THAT Guidelines.

Karen Wilcoxen

THAT Liaison

THAT Hours

Future Meeting Info

Mark your calendars!

February 15: (Thursday) Location: Marion Darling’s home (4:00)Program: Little Free Libraries, Reading Partners PUSD

March 10: (Saturday) Garber Olive House Tour, Ontario, CA

March 29: (Thursday) Annual Multi Chapter Dinner Women’s City Club, Pasadena ($37.50 is the cost of the dinner, however Alpha Upsilon Chapter members will pay $35.00) April 12: (Thursday) Annual Friendship Tea Election of New Officers May 17: (Thursday) Final Meeting of the Year Grant Recipients

Remember to bring your filled City of Hope Jared

Boxes to the February 15 meeting.

If you are unable to attend that meeting, please ar-

range to leave your box on Gale Caswell’s front

porch (4604 El Camino Corto, La Cañada) some

time between February 16 and 20.

Thank you for helping bring smiles to the faces of

chronically ill children!

Gale Caswell Jared Box Chairman

V OLU ME 7 ISS U E 6 Page 4

A LPHA U PSI LON NEWS

Save the Date!!

Global Awareness

Thank you everyone for your dona-

tion of assorted hygiene products.

We have collected close to 60

pounds of shampoo, conditioner,

soaps, oral hygiene products, lo-

tions. Due to the cost of shipping and having lost our contact in

Haiti, we are no longer sending these items to Haiti. In turn, we

will not be collecting any more hygiene products at this time. We

are looking for suggestions as to whom we can give these items

to. We have a couple of ideas, but if you know of a group or asso-

ciation who could use these items, please email me. The Board

will discuss them and share them with the membership at large to

help decide what we should do with all these products and if we

would like to continue collecting them for a different, local group.

Thank you!

Wendy Renfrew, Global Awareness Committee

National Legislative Seminar

Women Poised for Action

Want to be part of the DKG Women who will be visiting Capi-

tol Hill in March?

Are you ready to advocate for women and education?

Do you want to explore issues such as Women’s Healthcare,

Violence against women, Youth Suicide Awareness and Pre-

vention with other strong DKG Women?

Visit the DKG California website for registration forms and semi-

nar information.

March 18-20, 2018

Washington, D.C.

Minutes: January 17, 2018

Page 5 A LPHA U PSI LON NEWS

Welcome Introduction of Guests: -Mary Linda Vandevelde introduced her friend Sue Fuelling, from La Cañada Elementary School. -Pat Rabe introduced her friend who visited in September, Sheila Feuchtinger

-Willy Crouse introduced our program speaker, Mike Birkholm who voluntarily works with DA’s Scam Office. Mike is an active member of Rotary Club Intl 5280 out of Los Angeles. One of his responsibilities in Rotary Club is working with the DA’s scam office and reach out to others about becoming knowledgeable and protecting oneself and loved ones against being scammed.

Topic: Watching Out for the Latest Scams Meeting Called to Order: 5:20

Inspiration: Donna Larson shared part of a speech given by one of Dr. Martin Luther King’s nephews when MLK Day was first en-acted. His point was that MLK day is a day to help someone else in need through an act of kindness.

Unfinished Business: Applications for Recruitment Grants were emailed to all members.

New Business: Announcements Emails have changed for Norma Russell, Marion Darling, and Mandy Redfern. Deb Harris is no longer a member of DKG. Please remove her name from group emails that are sent out to the entire chapter.

THAT Hours- Karen Wilcoxen- Hours due by April 1st.

Buck a Book- Mary Lou Langedyke-The chapter is over half way to our $100 goal.

Jared Boxes- Gale Caswell- Boxes were distributed. Contact Gale if you weren’t able to pick one up. Boxes are due at the February 15th meeting. Reminder, no stuffed animals.

BNEF Grants and Scholarships-Members of the committee reminded us about some of the qualifications for Grant and Scholarship recipients. -Recipients must be attending a local school and/or teach in a school that is in the area of our chapter -Recruitment Grant recipients must be a full time student (female or male) planning to go into education and working to-ward a teaching credential.

Holiday Party Auction- CASA Marcelyn Bible-Checks will be delivered to CASA this year. Over $800 was made at the auction.

Hillsides Decorating- Susie Vernand-Ten volunteers helped with the decorating. The children/young adults were very hap-py with the outcome (as were the volunteers).

Nominations for next Biennium- Mary Lou Landgedyke- At the time of the meeting, all positions were filled except Presi-dent. Mary Lou shared a heartfelt motivational message about the position of President and that being the president is more of a facilitator for the chapter because all of the work everyone does. Membership- Mary Linda Vandevelde- an informational meeting for those who are interested (and qualify) in becoming members will be held in March. The initiation ceremony will be at the April 12 Friendship Tea. (cont’d on page 6)

Page 6 A LPHA U PSI LON NEWS

January Meeting Memories

Minutes (cont’d)

Financial Report- Mary Jane Hufstedler- No report at this time.

Upcoming Programs: February 3- Area XIII Conference (Pasadena)-Robin Williams,Honoree -February 15- Meeting at the Home of Marion Darling (4:00)-Programs: Little Free Libraries- Mary Lou Langedyke.

We’ll also hear about Reading Partners -Donna Stassel along with PUSD Representative (an opportunity for THAT hours). -March 10- Chapter Outing- Willy Crouse- Graeber Olive House in Claremont. The tour begins at 10:00 am. Alt-hough olive season has passed, we’ll see how they pick, cure, and can olives. The tour lasts 30-45 minutes. Wear flat shoes. Afterwards, perhaps the group would like to go out to lunch.

-March 29- Annual Multi Chapter Dinner (Pasadena)

Adjourned: 5:50 Respectfully submitted, Wendy Renfrew, Secretary

Mike Birkholm, a Rotarian who voluntarily assists the DA’s

office in spreading information about fraud to seniors, pro-

vided an informative presentation at our January meeting.

Page 7 A LPHA U PSI LON NEWS

Going Green

Sadly our 2000 Subaru had mechanical problems after 142,000 miles but the bodywork was in great condition. The estimated cost to fix it was more than the value of the car. We called the Sierra Club at 1-844-674-3772. It was easy to arrange for the car to be picked up from our house. It will be auctioned and the Sierra Club will get the proceeds

while we will get the tax deduction.

Reduce your junk mail in 2018:

Are there items in your mail that you put straight into the paper recycling? If so, resolve to stop their delivery in 2018. It is even possible to stop delivery of the weekly supermarket sheets. There is a website that has many useful links

to get you started: http://www.awakeningblog.com/stop-junk-mail.html

If you are getting junk mail and offers from your bank or car insurance company or anything for which you have an

online account, you can log on and go into "privacy settings" to stop this.

If you get unsolicited requests from charities, then charities to which you have donated are selling names and ad-dresses, including yours. I found charity mailings greatly reduced when I chose about 4 charities to which I donate

automatically each month via my credit card.

After some effort and a few weeks your mail will become less. At this point you will need to make some phone calls to stop the remainder - such as those brochures from the travel company you used three years ago. Much better to

subscribe to the company's email if you really want to see the offers.

We have reduced our mail to just a few pieces each day which means we can be away for several days and our

lockable mail box will not get full. I even managed to stop the Pasadena Quarterly glossy magazine by calling.

Jill Waters Patty Compeau Going Green Chairmen

Page 8 A LPHA U PSI LON NEWS

Multi Chapter Dinner

Annual Multiple Chapter Dinner

Thursday, March 29, 2018

6:00 p.m.

Women’s City Club

Desiree Zamorano, author of the critically acclaimed book The Amado Woman will be the guest speaker at this year’s Multi Chapter Dinner. Desiree taught in the Pasadena Unified School District for fifteen years. She currently teaches linguistics and Cultural Diversity to pre-service teachers at Cal State University Long Beach.

TIME: 6:00 Tour of the Blinn House (Women’s City Club)

6:30 No Host bar

7:00 Dinner

7:45 Speaker

LOCATION: Women’s City Club 160 N. Oakland, enter from Madison for parking COST: $35.00

Bring a check payable to DKG—Alpha Upsilon to the February meeting. Please write Multi Chapter Dinner in the memo line

If you are unable to attend the meeting, mail your check to: Mary Jane Hufstedler 12622 Amboy Ave.

Sylmar CA 91342

Page 9 A LPHA U PSI LON NEWS

Mini Grant Recipient Shares

Young students need to learn about the range of purposes that text can serve (Duke, 2003). By filling the classroom with books on animals, weather, the oceans, transportation, reptiles, the earth, and space, as well as other topics that fascinate young children, I can demonstrate to my students that reading can help them obtain

valuable information.

All children benefit from a variety of opportunities to practice their literacy skills in purposeful contexts and a range of au-thentic activities. The informational text that I have been able to purchase because of the Beebe Nuetzman Endowment Fund will give my student reading opportunities that address their individual interests, foster active comprehension and engage my young readers. The students will spend more time reading and this will directly contribute to an improvement in

their comprehension skills.

Like every other teacher, I want students to understand the value and wonder of reading. Traditionally, the route to a love of reading has been attained through fiction. Nonfiction text adds a new dimension of reading material that is tied to the personal interests of students. Many of my struggling readers are motivated to read texts that respond to their own natural

inquisitiveness around a particular topic, issue, or concept.

Informational text will also provide opportunities to extend the range of topics explored in my classroom, tapping into con-nections to prior experiences and building new understanding of unfamiliar topics. Students will be able to build back-ground knowledge on topics that span the curriculum. One reason reading nonfiction may be so important is that it helps students develop their background knowledge, which in itself accounts for as much as 33 percent of the variance in stu-

dent achievement

The students have shown great excitement in exploring the new books. Many of my students that in the past spent silent reading time looking for a book, are now spending the time reading. One activity the class is doing with the new books, is reading them to younger students. All my students, especially my struggling students, love the chance to read with first grade students. Sharing and passing on the love of reading is an added bonus I was not expecting when I applied for the

grant, but am very pleased with the outcome.

Jane Wells

Dunsmore Elementary

Glendale USD

Page 10 A LPHA U PSI LON NEWS

Mini Grant Recipient Shares

My class was fortunate enough to be recipients of a mini grant from Alpha Upsilon's Beebe Nuetzman Endowment Fund. With

the moneys received, I was able to purchase a class set of individual book/binder holders, as well as three Kore Active Chairs.

As our classroom transitions to more flexible seating, the book/binder holders are now being used to store student's classroom supplies in a central location. Students are no longer tied down to a single desk during their time in class, and have the free-dom to be able to move about, interact, and collaborate in a variety of grouping opportunities, while still being able to easily

access their materials whenever they wish.

The Kore Active Chairs were an immediate and unanimous hit. Students are able to wiggle and wobble on the chairs, and yet remain focused on their work. When asked their thoughts about the new chairs, a student simply stated, "People need to move

when they think."

California's Department of Education states, "A flexible classroom is fundamental to an instructor’s ability to adapt to various

needs." Thanks to this grant, I feel that I have moved closer to achieving those goals.

Book/binder holders for a class of 32.

Supplies kept neat and organized.

Kore Active Chairs

"Everybody likes to wobble in their seats."

Focused!

Concentration.

Linda Hayek

5th Grade

Camino Grove

Arcadia USD

Me First v. 2 wireless buzzer system Thanks to your generous grant, I was able to secure 5 more of the student buzzer P.A.D. I was at a 4:1 ratio with 4 students for every buzzer. Now I have a 3:1 ratio! The student who buzzes in first will see their P.A.D. blink green, signaling that he or she has the go-ahead to answer the question. All other participant P.A.D.s will light up red to signify that their P.A.D.s are deactivated..

Total Engagement —Daniel Martinez

Sierra Madre Middle School Math

Area XIII Conference

Congratulations and a huge hug for Pat! Our own Pat Rabe was chairman of this year’s Area XIII Conference. We are so proud of you. Everything about the Conference was wonderful. The new venue is great. There was lots of room to move around. Our chapter had tables where we

could see and hear!! Well done, Pat!

Robin Williams received her award from Area XIII Director Linda Srulveitch, DKG Califor-

nia 2nd VP Toni Cook and DKG California Treasurer Ellen Owens.

Jean. Dorie, Karen, Susie, Jill and Betty

Robin and Norma

Kathy, Betsy, Pat, Mary Linda

Laura, Pat, Judy, Robin, Penny, Marion, Mary Jane

Pat, Mary Linda, and the Speaker Nancy Hastings Sehested