CCIRA February Newsletter 2021

A Message from CCIRA President,
Jessica Rickert

Planning 

Unfortunately the 2021 Conference had to be cancelled....but there is hope for next year and we are looking forward to seeing all of you in person, more than ever! But how do we get you there? Let’s make a plan! 

Money, money, monneeey, monnn-ney! Can you name that band? 

Don’t let money hold you back from attending next year. How, you ask? Here’s the plan!
*Talk to your building administration or district leaders to budget funds for next year now because they will be setting the budget soon.
*Talk to your PTO/PTA about setting funds aside for teachers to attend the conference.
*Make your own savings plan. You have 8 months to save on your own. 

Keep in mind that pricing for the conference will look similar to the 2020 conference and not our virtual conference pricing. So, stay tuned for the 2022 pricing that will be coming soon. 

We look forward to seeing all of you on our continued conference journey in 2022!
More Information You Need to Know....
A Notice to our CCIRA Membership
Executive Committee Election Update
It is important to know that we didn't forget about elections for Vice-President/2023 Conference Chair! Due to our postponement of the 2021 Conference on Literacy, our current Conference Chair will be continuing her role in executing next year's (2022) conference. As a result, Christi Walker will continue as Vice-President/2023 Conference Chair. Therefore a need to vote for the 2023 Conference Chair is not necessary. We also want you to know that some structure and bylaw changes are on the horizon for CCIRA. We will keep you informed, and a vote about those changes is forthcoming.
Meet the Executive Committee!
Every month we will introduce you to one of the leaders on the Executive Committee to help you get to know this part of the CCIRA leadership better.
Corina Kaskey
Corina is currently serving on the EC as the secretary. She was the president of the Ten Mile local council and also served on the conference committee since 2012. In her professional life, Corina has taught for 15 years through various roles that include: literacy resource teacher, Reading Recovery teacher, and Title One teacher.  

She has her masters degree in literacy and a second dual masters degree in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse ED/Special Education. Outside of work, Corina enjoys camping and fishing with her husband Curt and Border Collie Max. She was born in New York and is a huge NY Yankees and Giants fan, and loves watching NASCAR.
Remember to check out the CCIRA Blog!

Reading CCIRA.blog every week—perhaps over lunch or a cup of coffee—builds a quick dose of professional learning into your routine. Who knows what ideas or inspiration this might spark!

CCIRA.blog features a wide variety of nationally renowned literacy experts, as well as talented practitioners from across Colorado. Check out the posts on https://ccira.blog/


If you might be interested in submitting a guest post to CCIRA.blog, please contact Hollyanna Bates (hollyannabates@gmail.com).
CCIRA and the local councils have resources, podcasts, and events for you to access!
https://cciraliteracyconversations.simplecast.com/  
Click on....CCIRA Reads to find out how you can get involved in an amazing book study!
Shop Year Round!
Make sure you check out the Shop With Scrip website and do some shopping online for a gift card.... and benefit CCIRA at the same time! *
Do you buy gift cards for your friends and family? Give a card to Starbucks or Amazon as a thank you to your favorite aunt? What if at the same time you could support CCIRA without spending an extra cent? That’s what you can do now by participating with Shop with Scrip, an online fundraising site. Since 1994, ShopWithScrip has been supporting schools and other non-profits in this unique way to fundraise. Just buy a gift card at one of the 750 retailers and know that a percentage is sent to CCIRA. It’s an easy way to support our work with literacy while you shop. For more information, visit https://www.shopwithscrip.com/ and then sign up to become a supporter of our organization.

When you are ready to make your purchase please use this enrollment number:
 A34A3B6D69223  

*CCIRA endorse this fundraising activity.
Building Educational Partnerships
Attention 5th-8th grade educators!
It's a new semester and we still have room for 5th- 8th grade subject area teachers that may be interested in participating in the FREE Panasonic Student Eco Citizenship Project with their students.  http://ecocitizenship.org/

This exciting FREE project will guide 5th-8th-grade across Colorado as they:
1. Define environmental issues
2. Create actions to help solve the issue
3. Apply actions in their community to help solve the problem
4. Evaluate actions conducted and share the results
Student teams will be able to submit an Eco Diary into the Colorado competition. Winners and their teachers will receive recognition and prizes provided by Panasonic. 

CCIRA Executive Committee

Jessica Rickert, President: jessrccira@gmail.com
Pam Minard, President-Elect: pam.minard@gmail.com
Christi Walker, Vice President: christimwalker@gmail.com
Anne Cook, Immediate Past President: annecook59@gmail.com
Michele Warner, State Coordinator:
warnermichele4@gmail.com
Corina Kaskey, Secretary: Corina.Kaskey@summitk12.org
Jessie Meeks, State Membership Coordinator: jessie.meeks@jeffco.k12.co.us
Emily Bradley, Marketing Coordinator: emily.bradley@weldre4.org
Stevi Quate, Partnership Chair: steviq@gmail.com
Cathy Lynskey, Treasurer: clynskey2000@gmail.com
Lisa Kahn, Administrative Assistant: lisakahnccira@gmail.com
Is your local council, state committee, school, or community doing something extraordinary for literacy in Colorado? Do you have a great idea to share with other educators on how to enhance literacy in the classroom? Do you know of a conference or event that CCIRA members might be interested in attending? If so, please contact Anne Cook (annecook59@gmail.com) to submit information for publication.