President's Report
With this issue we are looking at the downhill side of
the school year, how fast it has been going. March stated
off with a terrific State-Wide Conference, I would like to
thank the planning committee for all the hard work that they
put into the conference. I would also like to thank everyone
that attended this event; I hope that you received useful
information that you could take back with you, along with
some time to network with fellow coordinators. We had
breakout sessions that provided a good variety of
information/options for everyone to choose from, and the two
keynote speakers definitely entertained us along with
providing information to take with us. The awards winners
were announced along with presentation of their plaques,
they were well deserving of this recognition. Along with all
the networking during the day at the Center, there was an
opportunity to network and socialize Thursday evening. Look
throughout the ECHO for more articles on the conference. We
are starting to look towards the 2005 conference, and if you
are interested in helping, please contact me and I'll
forward your name. Thanks again to all those who helped
plan, presented, or attended the 2003 Making Connections
Conference and made it a success.
 Submitted
by:
Robert W. Lindgren
Work Experience Coordinator
Area High School
401 Huntsinger Avenue
Park Rapids, MN 56470
218-237-6479 &endash; office
218-237-6401 &endash; fax
rlindgren@parkrapids.k12.mn.us
http://www.mnactesnp.org.
Opening Session Keynote Tou Ger
Xiong
  
Tou Ger was our keynote speaker for the bi-annual
MnACTESNP conference in Brooklyn Center at the Earle Brown
Heritage Center. Tou electrified the audience with his
upbeat clothes, very spirited message, and his funny
jokes.
I remember Tou when he was a student at Humboldt High
School in the early 90's and a very good student at that. He
was the valedictorian and his two sisters followed in his
footsteps in also being valedictorians two years in a row.
The two sisters also played competitive Badminton at
Humboldt. I coached that team for several years and with his
two sisters on the team we were able to capture the city
championship, one year and second the next.
Tou, the summer after he graduated worked in a program in
St. Paul that I had the opportunity to coordinate. He worked
as a job coach, with a group of special needs students at
the Government Center in St. Paul. He was a great leader as
a young high school graduate as he is now. He later went on
to work for the Mayor's Office and graduated from Carleton
College.
Tou told us of his escape from Vietnam and showed us
slides of where he lived in the mountains of Laos with his
Hmong family. He told us how his parents wanted to come to
America and bring their family to the land of the free and
receive a good education. For the most part all of his
family go out of Laos and became very successful citizens.
As I sit here, watching the U.S. trying to liberate Iraq on
T.V.; I have to think that Tou and his family must have
suffered in the hills of Laos as the Iraqis are. Tou told us
how they traveled at night to leave the country and cross
rivers and fortunately his family and himself make it to
safety and then finally to the U.S. and then on to St.
Paul.
Tou has became a very successful motivated speaker who
entertained us for about 45 minutes that kept us laughing
and thinking the whole time about the Hmong customs and
American pride. He was very well received and left us withy
the message that education is ever so important in which we
should instill that concept in our students everyday.
Congratulations Tou! You've done well!
 Submitted
by:
Dean Shawbold
Transition Plus
White Bear Lake, MN
Student Successes
Amy
Imagine struggling to get up in the morning, knowing that
you need to go to classes, then work at your job, and manage
homework; all this with severe depression and anxiety.
This is what Amy has been able to rise above.
Previously she had worked for her school district helping
with maintenance. She was at that job two years. She became
interested in cosmetology and after attending the program at
Northeast Metro-Century College (which she is still in), she
was able to attain a job related to the cosmetology field.
She is now working at a hair salon close to school and
enjoying it! Her employer thinks she is a great addition to
the staff. Amy's biggest accomplishment this school year is
the fact that she was able to move into an independent
living situation. This has greatly improved her confidence
and is a goal that she has been wanting to succeed in for
some time. Amy is well on her way to graduating from
Transition Plus in White Bear Lake with a promising
future.
Jeremy
When we first met Jeremy at Transition Plus, he was in
jeopardy of graduating, and had been involved in drugs and
crime. He was depressed and had given up accomplishing
positive goals. He had recently served six months at Totem
Town (a juvenile detention center), was on probation, as
well as having financial obligations to restitute. Growing
up in a dysfunctional family had taken a toll on his life.
His trust in others and himself was limited, if not
gone.
The staff at Transition Plus-White Bear Lake sat down
with Jeremy and worked out a plan including goals to help
with his future. Jeremy did succeed in graduating. He
enrolled in computer classes at Century College and his
professor stated that Jeremy was one of the most gifted
students that they had seen come through their computer
classes; he has a real talent for the field. Jeremy decided
to hold off on continuing his post-secondary education and
work on his financial goals. He has now worked hard to pay
off restitution and has succeeded in getting off of
probation. Jeremy currently has his driver's permit and as
we are writing this, he is taking his driving test! He has a
bank account and a part-time job. He enjoys his job and has
been taking the initiative to work extra hours in the hope
of achieving full time employment. He plans to finish his
education relating to computers and his future dream is to
own and operate a computer business….we think he can do
it!
Submitted by:
Cindy Mattson
Transition Plus
White Bear Lake, MN
Membership News
At the January 9, 2003 board meeting, we approved a
change in the membership renewal process. All membership
renewals will now have a renewal date of either March or
October. This will:
- Improve record keeping
- Increase reporting capabilities
- Improve money handling
- Simplify financial requirements (such as deposits,
etc.)
- Decrease the # of volunteer hours committed to
processing renewals
- Lower mailing costs
- Blend with state MNACTE renewal process.
I have been in contact with the MNACTE and likewise
NAVESNP, so they are aware of our changes. During the
transition to a bi-annual billing, member renewal dates will
be forwarded into the next billing cycle. No member shall
lose any months on their membership, but possibly gain a
number of months during the transition.
A large number of members will be coming up for renewal
in March 2003. Once you receive notice either through e-mail
or regular mail, please renew promptly. This makes it much
easier to maintain and update the information. It also
alleviates having to send out numerous notices.
To those members who have renewed promptly, Thank
you!
If anyone has questions or concerns regarding their
membership, please feel free to contact me.
 Submitted
by:
Beverly Rath
rathb@osseo.k12.mn.us
Resources
Breakout Session on Bipolar at the MnACTE/SNP
Conference
 I
sure hope I get the job! I've pushed enough
carts.
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Closing Session Keynote Speakers
Sister Michelle Meyers and Sister Kay O'Neil with
Beth Quest
The highlight at our Friday luncheon was a presentation
from the sisters, titled, LIFE IS TOO SHORT NOT TO HAVE A
GOOD TIME: DEVELOPMING THE ART OF POSITIVE AFFIRMATION. The
base of this presentation was on the importance of positive
affirmation, taking care of oneself, and putting oneself up,
NOT DOWN! They reaffirmed the importance of accepting,
appreciating and applauding the people with whom we live and
work. They stressed that how we think about others
influences whether we appreciate or disparage them.
They had us cheering and laughing hysterically, while at
the same time their powerful message rang loudly through our
ears! This message being, "Life is definitely too short not
to have a good time." Many of us could not recall the last
time we had so much fun!
The conference evaluations were flooded with positive
remarks about the sisters. Some of these were, "The Sisters
made the conference come together in a most positive,
spiritual way." Another person said, "The nuns were a great
inspiration, they were the best!" Someone said, "They were
absolutely funny, sensible and WONDERFUL!" Many said, "The
sisters were the best part of the conference and PLEASE have
them back next time!" I guess the conference planning
committee better hurry up and see if the sisters are free in
March of 2005!
 Submitted
by:
Beth Quest
Work Experience Coordinator
Irondale High School
New Brighton, MN
Outline From Sister's Breakout Session at
MnACTE/SNP Conference
Going in Circles: Coping with Stress and
Burnout
- Laugh as well as cry
- Employ and enjoy the wisdom of wit
- Look for the lighter side
- Examine myself talk
- Note when and how I am hard on
myself
- Examine the effect of catastrophizing.
- My often-used negative message is…
- Stop negative self talk
- Change to positive self talk
- My positive message is…
- Discover the energy generated from monitoring my
thoughts and eliminating negative message
- Recall: AT THE CORE OF MY BEING, I AM GOODNESS AND
LOVE!
- Count my Blessings
- Acknowledge the best thing that has
happened to me today.
- Recognize the blessings that come from people and
situations.
- Develop an attitude of gratitude.
- Homework: coping with stress
- Lighten up: don't take myself so
seriously
- Monitor my self-talk. Change negative to realistic
positives.
- Give myself affirmations at least three times a
day
- Count my blessings. It really is good to be
ALIVE!
Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot
change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom
to know the difference.
Copyright 2003 Sisters Michelle Meyers &endash; Kay
O'Neil, 203 Swan St., LeSueur, MN 56058
Board Elections
With spring fast approaching, and at times here, the
Board started to seek nominations for next year's board
members, beginning at the conference. There will be at least
two openings, and in most cases four, for each of the
sections represented on the board. In addition, the
following officer positions are open: Treasurer/Membership
(joint trial bases &endash; this year filled), ECHO Editor,
and Webmaster. The section positions are one-year terms and
the officer positions are two-year terms, and you need to be
a member in good standing. The board members select the ad
hoc members to serve on the board. If you are interest in
being nominated, or have questions regarding serving on the
board, contact Steve Czech at Steve.Czech@anoka.k12.mn.us.
The present board and positions are listed on the home page
of the website. The term begins with the Annual Membership
Meeting in the fall. Please consider being nominated to
serve on the board.
Submitted by:
Robert W. Lindgren
Park Rapids High School
Student Grant Awards
Once again the MnACTE/SNP Board will be awarding student
grants to our special needs students, this year we will be
awarding eight grants. This award is in the amount of $250
per winner. Nominations will be taken during April and first
part of May, and the winner announced at our May board
meeting. A member in good standing must submit or sponsor
the nomination. The forms are available on our website,
www.mnactesnp.org. In addition, winners may be eligible for
nomination to state or regional awards.
Submitted by:
Robert W. Lindgren
Park Rapids High School
Work Based Coordinator Networking
Just a short note about a couple of opportunities for
coordinators of Work Based Programs to get together and
network with other coordinators. In the metro area, there
was a meeting on March 11th, at Eisenhower Community Center.
This group has had some meeting in the past, but welcomes
others to participate in the group. The board is planning to
hold its May 8th meeting in Brainerd, with a coordinators
gathering afterwards. The agenda and specifics for these
meetings will come out later. If you know of coordinators
that are not receiving information from MnACTE/SNP, please
let them know about these opportunities, along with our
website
Submitted by:
Robert W. Lindgren
Park Rapids High School
Get on Board
The students in Beth Quest's Transition Skills Class, at
Irondale High School partnered with Metro Transit to learn
the skills necessary to become independent bus riders. In
January two staff from MetroTransit came to Irondale for a
personlized bus training experience. There were
approximately 30 students who were delighted to be a part of
this unique experience because most of our students have
never used public transportation before.
The tour started off with a thirty minute bus ride to
Northtown Mall. Students learned all about bus transfers,
reading bus schedules and most importantly how to
successfully and safely get to our destination.
The two staff members then came to our classroom and
answered questions. They shared with us all the career
opportunities available at Metro Transit.
In March, Metro Transit will pick us up at Irondale High
School and take us down to the Minneapolis Dispach Hub for a
tour. This will give us a first hand look at many of the
careers within Metro Transit along with an understanding on
how their dispatch center operates.
Our final Metro Transit experience will be in May when we
willtravel to the Mall of America. Each student will be
responsible to log onto metrotransit.org and find out all
the information needed to bus from Irondale to the Mall of
America and back to Irondale.
We feel very fortunate to have this partnership with
Metro Transit because it is helping our students to become
independent transporation users.
Submitted by:
Beth Quest
Irondale High School
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