NYS-MEP Migrant Educator Newsletter

Scholarships | Health | Vocab | Math | OSY | ELLs | EC | Consulates | Guest Words of Wisdom!

BRAND NEW as of May 10th!! Fruits of Labor Scholarship - Multiple awards may be given. The due date is June 15th! This scholarship is not only for students in High School, but also those who were eligible at any time in their past for NYS-MEP services. Check out the details here!

NYS scholarship applications are due June 15!

• Pat Crowley Homeless
• Robert Apicella Good Samaritan
• Friends of Senator Jack Perry)

Parent Involvement applications are due to your METS office in June. METS Directors need to sign the application and submit by June 24, 2022.

Applications for the Baccalaureate Scholarship are due July 1!

Check out the regional scholarships available also.

The NYS OFFICE OF MENTAL HEALTH (OMH) has a Program Directory on their website which allows you to:

• Search for mental health programs by county, program category or subcategory, and more.
• View program details including name, address, and phone number.

Choose “Basic Search” for a map of the counties in New York State. Then click on your county of interest, and it will show the list. Expect a pause while it generates the county information.

Understanding that many of the programs go through an individual's health care insurance and may or may not have bilingual services, there are other resources available as well. NY Project HOPE has free mental health resources, including an online wellness group in Spanish, related to coping with the ongoing stress and challenges of the continuing changes of COVID and moving forward with hope. The NY Project Hope website has nine language choices, including Spanish (Español) and Haitian Creole (Kreyol ayisyen). Read more:

• Home page
• Online wellness groups (scroll down for the Spanish groups meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays)

ELA with Kathleen, Teaching Tip contributed by Kathleen M. Lord, Ph.D.

Build vocabulary by using synonyms and antonyms of words that students already know. For instance, introduce the words delighted, pleased, and other interesting words alongside the word happy. Watch a brief video on the NYS-MEP website demonstrating how to integrate "semantic gradients" into lessons.

5-minute game that students in grades K-12 can play at the same time. The only supplies you need are paper, pencil, and the handy-dandy list of numbers you can find here on the NYS-MEP Website.

• Tell students the target number (12), then give them 1 minute to “represent” the number.
• Different is Good! Students share their various methods. Celebrate the different ways students represent the number and encourage discussion.

The Simply Speaking book and answer key were updated April 1, 2022. Recruiters give this to new Out-of-School Youth (OSY) they identify, and it contains 18 basic ENL lessons tailored for everyday life in New York. Many Migrant Educators like to use these lessons with their students who are learning English.

BRAND NEW! Travis Williamson and Jenna Vaccarelli created eight NEW extension worksheets to use alongside the Simply Speaking book lessons. The fillable worksheets go with the most commonly used topics. On the NYS-MEP website, you can find the Simply Speaking book and the new worksheets in the Staff library of Instructional Resources.

Travis also created a Google site that houses the worksheets that you can send to students.

Are you working with high school students, families, and guidance counselors to sort out their credits and any COVID exemptions?

The NYS Statewide Language RBERN website has family resources to help students and families understand New York’s Diploma and Graduation requirements. Languages available include Arabic, English, Haitian, Karen, and Spanish.

Scroll down to the High School Information section to find

• Understanding Current Diploma Requirements
• Understanding Exemptions due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

Identify Numerals or Letters ~ Summer is a good time for the messy, outdoor math projects from the PreKinders’ website. Use glitter, glue, sand, stamps, toothpicks, yarn, and more glue to provide active ways for children to identify numerals or letter names. Find pictures and descriptions here!

"Almost anything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

~Anne Lamott

I have a hard time doing nothing. Perhaps it is a reflection of my upbringing – values in my family of working hard, contributing, and helping others? Perhaps it is a reflection of the roles in my life that I occupy at that moment – mother, daughter to aging parents, spouse, puppy-mama? Or perhaps it is a reflection of my baseline anxious personality – a need to distract, tic things off a list, feel a sense of control? I imagine that it may be a function of all three! And maybe, just maybe, you recognize some of your own experience in mine.

I do know in my core that rest, real rest, leads to restoration. So why does it raise such tension and discomfort inside? In the work that I am privileged to do, I have the opportunity to give voice to ideas, strategies, and insights. It is part of my values to walk the walk, not just talk that talk. How can I speak with others about this basic tenet of staying healthy in the work if I don’t take that step forward in my own life?

I recently made a promise to myself, to get curious about my own well-being. For me, the challenge looks this way… What would happen and what would I learn about myself if I spend 5 minutes a day doing nothing? This means putting my phone and email aside, not turning on the TV, not washing dishes or sending a text or putting a load of laundry in. Just being. I breathe. I might close my eyes or step outside. I’ve even been known to lay down on the floor with a 5-minute guided meditation. And what do I notice? Even this small commitment has given me space to restore my generosity, restore my ability to be patient, and restore my creativity.

What might you try? And what might you learn if you unplug for just a few minutes every day?

A Minute with Amy, contributed by Amy Scheel-Jones, MS Ed

Mexican Mobile Consulate

Click here to make an APPOINTMENT [REQUIRED]

• Ithaca - June 15-17
• Geneseo - July 27-29
• Syracuse - August 17-19
• Brockport - Sept. 14-16

Guatemalan Mobile Consulate

APPOINTMENT REQUIRED - See the flyer below for how to sign up.

• Lansing, NY- Friday, June 10
• Geneseo, NY- Saturday, June 11

The required documents, prices, and payment method (clients to have money orders with them) are detailed on Cornell Farmworker's Spanish-language website here.

Jennifer Verdugo

jennifer.verdugo@oneonta.edu | 585-739-2821

Mary Anne Diaz

maryanne.diaz@oneonta.edu | 607-345-3421