Anna Borwege
STEM/Technology Teacher
New Prague Middle School

Room A000 | Grades 3-12 | Instructional Technology
Discover how digital tools can revolutionize your lesson planning, resource organization, and assessment strategies for greater efficiency and impact. Please bring your fully-charged laptop.

Amy Waldspurger
Director of Special Services
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | Grades PreK-12 | Special Education
In this session, you will gain knowledge and understanding of due process compliance standards for IEP development as well as essential components of required paperwork that need to accompany an IEP and evaluation report.  This session is geared towards new special education staff who have been in the field 5 years or less, or if you want an overview to continue to improve your due process skills and procedures.

Lynette Galchutt
ECFE/Preschool Teacher
NPAS Early Learning

Room A000 | Preschool | Early Learning
Are you looking for ideas on how to implement LETRS into your classroom? Or perhaps you're in need of tips and tricks for using Heggerty to enhance phonemic awareness? Maybe you're searching for creative classroom ideas for COR Advantage or need some quick and engaging Brain-Break Songs or 5-minute fillers to keep students energized? Look no further! We’ve got a wealth of strategies, activities, and resources ready to share, ensuring you have everything you need to make your classroom dynamic and effective. Whether you're a new teacher or seasoned educator, there's something here for everyone to help make learning fun and impactful!

Blythe Bowlus
School Psychologist
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | Grades PreK-12 | Re-licensure Requirement
Got a student who is difficult to work with? Frustrated with a particular group or class hour? Join us for tips to promote positive behaviors when working with difficult/disruptive students. This presentation will be a blend of strategies from various sources to aid the diverse types of disruptions we encounter!

Note: This session meets the PELSB "Positive Behavioral Intervention Strategies" re-licensure requirements.

Cari Krenik
Human Services
Le Sueur County

Room A-112 | Paraprofessionals | Requirement
If you are a professional who works with children and families, you are in a key position to help protect children from harm.  Minnesota law requires professionals and their delegates who work with children to make a child protection report if they know or have reason to believe:

• A child has been neglected or abused within the preceding 3 years

• A child is being neglected or abused

Learn about the responsibilities and requirements of this law.

Tony Buthe & Melissa Kartak
Human Resources
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | Paraprofessionals | Required
Session description.

Samantha McDonald
Information Systems Specialist
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | Clerical Staff & Administrators | Infinite Campus
Infinite Campus has a new look! Learn how to navigate the new site as well as some tips and tricks to be more efficient with the system. Please bring your fully-charged laptop.

Rachelle Balfe
FACS Teacher
New Prague High School

Room A000 | Grades PreK-12 | Instructional Technology
Canva is a creative design website and app that has recently added AI capabilities for users. In this presentation, we will walk through the basics of Canva, explore AI features using their Magic Studio Design Lab, and learn how to build effective technology resources to use in the classroom. We will cover how to make calendars, posters, and other organizational items, as well as how students can use elements on Canva as a learning and assessment tool. Specifically, we will focus on adapting templates or creating designs from scratch, uploading and inserting images, QR codes, and interactive links, and how to download and use designs after creation. Attendees will leave with the knowledge and confidence to use Canva in their classrooms!

Samantha McDonald
Information Systems Specialist
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | PreK-12, Admin, & Clerical | Technology
An introduction to advanced tools in Google Sheets! Learn how to use advanced formulas, pivot tables, and charts.

Jeremy Engebretson, Raven Stream Principal
Jenny Hartmann, Raven Stream 3rd Grade Teacher
Jenn Larson, Raven Stream Kindergarten Teacher

Room A000 | Grades PreK-12 | Re-licensure Requirement
Join us in this session to experience a variety of strategies to encourage and ensure whole-class engagement and participation. Total Participation Techniques (TPTs) are teaching techniques that allow for all students to demonstrate, at the same time, active participation and cognitive engagement in the topic being studied. TPTs can be used in classrooms for students of all ages to offer various ways to engage. The classroom-ready techniques to be shared are categorized in the following ways: on-the spot, hold-ups, movement, guided note-taking with concept analysis, and wrap-ups

Note: This session meets the PELSB "Accommodations and Modifications" re-licensure requirements.

Paula Juffer, EL Teacher
Leah Wacek, EL Teacher
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | PreK-12 | Re-licensure Requirement

Cari Krenik
Human Services
Le Sueur County

Room A-112 | Paraprofessionals | Requirement
If you are a professional who works with children and families, you are in a key position to help protect children from harm.  Minnesota law requires professionals and their delegates who work with children to make a child protection report if they know or have reason to believe:

• A child has been neglected or abused within the preceding 3 years

• A child is being neglected or abused

Learn about the responsibilities and requirements of this law.

Tony Buthe & Melissa Kartak
Human Resources
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | Paraprofessionals | Required
Session description.

Shawn Brandt
Director of Instructional Technology
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | Grades 2-12 | Instructional Technology
You may think you need to print that PDF worksheet for your students, but have you considered engaging them with Kami? Using the free version of Kami with Google Classroom, you can transform your existing PDFs into interactive, color-rich digital worksheets. Students can annotate and highlight in color, enhancing engagement and understanding. Easily distribute and collect assignments through Google Classroom, and create collaborative, interactive activities that make learning more dynamic.

Adam Dittberner
Elementary Principal
Eagle View Elementary School

Room A000 | PreK-12, Admin, & Paras | Best Practices
A look into our beliefs about discipline and how to best support students and classrooms to be successful.

James Holden
Cognitive Behavioral Therapist
Scott County Mental Health Center

Room A000 | PreK-12, Admin, & Paras | Best Practices
This session will provide you with a definition of trauma and how it can affect brain development. This session will also include an overview of specific diagnoses that can affect a student's ability to learn during a school day. Examples will be given, and specific strategies will be shared that can be helpful when working with children who have experienced clinical trauma.

Dr. Erin Martin
Mental Health Supervisor
Scott County Mental Health Center

Room A000 | Grades PreK-12 & Paras | Best Practices
This session is specific to how you manage your own self-care and wellness. Working in education and supporting a variety of students and their individual needs is a rewarding experience, and it can also be challenging at times. In education, we can experience not only the stress of our daily lives, but we feel the stress that our students and families experience. It can be difficult to balance all of these stressors and it makes self-care and wellness more essential. "You cannot give from an empty cup." This session will provide an opportunity for reflection, education, and strategies that you can apply right away.

Sarah Olson
Language Arts Teacher
Compass Learning Center

Room A000 | Grades 6-12 | Re-licensure Requirement
Learn more about ways to engage and extend the learners in your classroom.

Note: This session meets the PELSB “Reading Preparation” re-licensure requirements.

Tony Buthe & Melissa Kartak
Human Resources
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | Clerical Staff | Required
Session description.

Shawn Brandt
Director of Instructional Technology
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | Grades PreK-12 & Admin | Instructional Technology
Start the new school year by exploring the latest updates from Google Gemini, NotebookLM, BriskTeaching, and MagicSchool. This session is designed for both beginners and frequent users of AI in education. The world of AI is evolving rapidly, making it difficult to keep track of all the updates that will be available after this summer. Don’t worry!... I'll stay updated on the latest changes to help you leverage AI for a more efficient, interactive, and inspiring 25-26 school year!

Katie Challberg
Special Education Supervisor
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | All Staff | Special Education
Session description.

James Holden
Cognitive Behavioral Therapist
Scott County Mental Health Center

Room A000 | All Staff | Best Practices
In Part I, we reviewed the definition of trauma and how it can affect brain development. Part II will focus on applying trauma-informed classroom interventions for students with specific diagnoses. Examples will be given, and specific strategies will be shared that can be helpful when working with children who have experienced clinical trauma.

Dr. Erin Martin
Mental Health Supervisor
Scott County Mental Health Center

Room A000 | Grades PreK-12 | Re-licensure Requirement
This session will provide you with an overview of mental health risk factors and mental health symptoms you could see in an educational setting.  This session will also include a general overview of more commonly occurring mental health conditions for students, as well as introduce specific strategies that could provide support to students during the school day.

Note: This session meets the PELSB “Early Onset Mental Illness” re-licensure requirements.

Tony Buthe & Amanda Koloc
Director of Ed Services & Human Resources
New Prague Area Schools

Room A00 | Substitute Teachers | Skills for Success
Substitute Teachers... This class is designed just for you! Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for the New Prague Area Schools. This session is designed with you in mind. We will discuss topics such as student behavior, academics, relationships, and overall expectations of buildings. We will also have a principal panel with a Q&A period. Last but not least, your input for the principals' panel and other administrators will be sought out so we can hear how we can do better for you and our students. Again, we would love to have you in attendance not only for this class, but the entire day. -- CEUs will be available.

Shawn Brandt
Director of Instructional Technology
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | Grades PreK-12 & Admin | Instructional Technology
Did you discover a new edtech tool today? This hands-on session offers teachers dedicated time to explore new tools, create classroom materials, and apply skills learned in one of the instructional technology sessions. Get personalized support and quick answers to your questions in a collaborative environment designed to build confidence. Perfect for educators ready to put learning into practice.

Katie Challberg
Special Education Supervisor
New Prague Area Schools

Room A000 | All Staff | Special Education
Session description.

Heather Vikla
Foreign Language Teacher
New Prague High School

Room A000 | Grades 6-12 & Paras | Best Practices
This session is designed to help you learn to recognize what ableism looks like in the classroom and how to keep your eyes and ears alert to prevent students from losing out on learning opportunities due to it. This session invites participants to brainstorm ideas of ways to work around or change the ways we think in the classroom.

Dave Giesen, Rick Bell, Julie Meier, & Tom Wetschka
Elementary Principal & Assistant Principals
Falcon Ridge, Middle School, & High School

Room A000 | Grades K-12 | Best Practices
When you are setting up your expectations for the students every year, do you plan ahead for the tough times? Setting your students up to succeed with their behavior has a lot to do with your classroom management and the relationships you build with your students. Communicating all this with the families of your students is a critical component to building positive relationships and trust with your students. We will walk you through some ways to set yourself up for a great school year.

Nikki Hachfeld & Aliina Peterson
School Social Workers
New Prague High & Middle Schools

Room A-104 | All Staff | Re-licensure
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 10 and 17. The Minnesota Legislature passed a law in 2016 requiring all teachers to take one hour of evidence-based suicide prevention training as part of renewing their teacher's license. Changes in teacher licensure in 2017 kept this requirement for all Tier IV and V licenses. Properly trained teachers can play an invaluable role in engaging youth with mental illnesses and reducing the risk of suicide. The purpose of the suicide prevention training will help staff better recognize the symptoms of mental distress, encourage meaningful conversation about suicide with their students, and know when it's time to refer the student for additional support. In addition to providing staff with evidence-based techniques to interact with their students, national and local mental health resources will be reviewed.

Note: This session meets the PELSB “Suicide Prevention” re-licensure requirements.