Dear colleagues-

The year is quickly winding down and it is time for the May MASCA Matters, the monthly e-publication of the Massachusetts School Counselors Association.

In this Issue:

* MASCA ELECTION RESULTS
* TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR NEEDED
* GRADUATE STUDENT LIAISON POSITION OPEN
* MASCA COLLEGE FAIR CLEARINGHOUSE
* NEACAC ANNUAL CONFERENCE
* NEACAC ADVANCED SUMMER INSTITUTE
* NEACAC INSTITUTE FOR NEW COUNSELORS
* COMMITTEE CHAIR PROFILE – MARTY AMMER

MASCA ELECTION RESULTS
President-Elect – Jan Chiaradonna
VP Elementary – Amannda Bartram
VP Middle/Jr High (1 year term) – Celeste Cianfrani
VP Secondary – Matt Coleman
VP Post Secondary – Jay Leiendecker
VP Administrators (1 year term) – Thom Hughart

Unfortunately Jan will be unable to fulfill the duties of President-Elect due to unexpected family responsibilities and has stepped down. As a result, Karen D’Amour, a write-in candidate for President-Elect, has agreed to accept the position. Congratulations to all of the winners.

TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR NEEDED
The Governing Board approved a new position at the May Governing Board meeting. The coordinator should have experience with web development software, a basic understanding of the internet and experience with FTP. A job description is available on the MASCA website. The position carries with it a $2500 stipend. If interested, please submit an application to Cynthia Tang (Cynthia.tang@santiagobar.com), Technology Chair, by June 1, 2007.

GRADUATE STUDENT LIAISON POSITION OPEN
We are searching for graduate students who will complete their graduate work no sooner than the spring of 2008. Applicants should be willing to travel to five or six meetings throughout the state, including the summer Leadership Development Institute, which will be held on August 5 and 6 in Franklin. In addition, the graduate student liaison should be willing to write articles for the Counselor’s Notebook and help plan graduate student events in conjunction with other professional development activities, including the fall and spring conferences. The graduate student liaison has a critical voice on the Governing Board, representing the hundreds of school counseling graduate students in the state professional organization for school counselors. If you are interested in serving in this capacity for the 2007-08 school year, submit a resume and letter of interest to Jennifer Just, President-elect, c/o Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School, 220 Sandwich Road, Bourne, MA 02532 by May 15. Materials may also be submitted via email to jjust@uppercapetech.org. Any questions should be directed to Jennifer at 508.759.7711x247.

MASCA COLLEGE FAIR CLEARINGHOUSE
The MASCA Clearinghouse for Fall- 2007 college days, nights, mini-fairs is now accepting requests for your proposed dates. Our goal is help publicize fall college fairs, and to minimize the number of programs that may conflict on the same dates. MASCA can help you, if you contact Jay Leiendecker, MASCA VP for Postsecondary Ed., at 508-541-1509 or jleiendecker@dean.edu

NEACAC ANNUAL CONFERENCE
It's More Than a Game! The NEACAC Annual Conference & Meeting will be held June 6 - June 8, 2007 at Endicott College, Beverly, MA. The pre-conference diversity workshop will be held on Tuesday June 5, 2007. Registration materials should be mailed to you within the coming week and will soon also be available online. An e-mail blast will be sent when the registration form is available online for your convenience! You can preview anticipated sessions, a schedule of events and registration fees here: http://www.neacac.org/am.cfm. We’ll see you in June!

NEACAC ADVANCED SUMMER INSTITUTE
NEACAC’s second Advanced Secondary School Counselor Summer Institute (ASSCSI) will be held July 17-19, 2007 at Salve Regina University, Newport, RI. The institute, designed for experienced secondary school counselors, will provide participants three days of professional revitalization, collaboration, and in-depth consideration of current topics facing our profession. The intent of the program is to allow for meaningful dialogue among participants and to stimulate provocative ideas and creative problem solving, especially with regard to working with parents throughout the college selection process. Participants will be asked to read ''The Pressured Child'' by Michael Thompson to prepare for the institute. There will be free time to share with new acquaintances and friends and wide access to the vibrant and dynamic city of Newport. Our keynote speaker for the Institute is MIT Dean of Admissions Marilee Jones. As a national spokesperson on the changes in today’s college admissions climate, she has been featured on CBS, ABC and National Public Radio and profiled in print publications such as USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The application for the 2007 ASSCSI can be found on the NEACAC website: www.neacac.org/fd.cfm. The application deadline is May 1, 2007. Questions about the institute can be directed to Co-Chairs Webster Trenchard (860-687-6133; webster_trenchard@loomis.org) or Mary DeAngelo (413-748-3136; mary_deangelo@spfldcol.edu).

NEACAC INSTITUTE FOR NEW COUNSELORS
The 32nd Annual NEACAC Summer Institute for new (or nearly new) Guidance or Admission Counselors will take place at Champlain College in lovely Burlington, VT, from Monday, July 30-Thursday, August 2, 2007. Guidance counselors, college counselors, and college admission professionals with two or fewer years of experience are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to learn from seasoned, respected professionals from “both sides of the desk.” While the Institute offers a core of traditional instruction on the technical and organizational aspects of the profession, you will find that the hands-on activities, small group discussions, and abundant opportunities for interaction with other professionals will be the highlights of the week. The cost of attendance is $495; scholarships are available. On-line registration, available in April, can be found at www.neacac.org/pdo_si_signup.cfm. The scholarship application is available at www.neacac.org/pdo_si_scholarship_app.cfm.

COMMITTEE CHAIR PROFILE - Meet Marty Ammer
Marty Ammer is the Chairman of the Fiscal Oversight Committee. He is a Past President of the MASCA. He has been a Trustee and/or served on the Boards of the Catholic School Counselors Association, the Northeast Counselor Association and the North Shore Guidance Directors Association. He has also been a member of the West Suburban Guidance Association and the Greater Boston Guidance Association. He has been honored as Counselor of the Year by the GBGA and the NSGDA and has been awarded a Certificate of Appreciation by the United State Military Academy. Marty has been on college tours in more than twenty-five states. He has been a conference presenter many times. He has done guest lecturing and adjunct teaching. He presently serves on the Massachusetts Educational Financial Association (MEFA) Board.

Marty was born and raised on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. He continues to be a Chicago sports fan that of course makes him a Cubs fan. One of his fond memories is working on the sideline at Wrigley Field for the National Football Championship game that the Bears won against Y.A. Title and the New York Giants. Marty graduated from Loyola University. His early jobs included bartending on the Gold Coast, social work and being one of the first high school teachers of psychology in the State of Illinois.

His background in Massachusetts includes earning a Masters Degree, working in hospital psychiatric services, doing psychiatric emergency room evaluations, being a halfway - house parent and doing private counseling during this thirty year period of time. He is presently Guidance Director at Malden Catholic High School where he has taught and counseled since 1979, with the exception of 1995 when he worked at Wakefield High School. Wakefield has been the focus of much of his volunteer work. He has helped in various capacities with his parish, with youth soccer, with the Little League where he was a coach and the treasurer for twenty-five years and wrote the fifty-year history of the league. Marty is presently the Grand Knight for the Wakefield Knights of Columbus.

Marty has a married daughter and three granddaughters in Austin, Texas, a son in Alexandria, Virginia and a son in Cincinnati, Ohio. His most important present highlights include the pending marriage of his eldest son and his upcoming fortieth wedding anniversary.

Bob Bardwell
School Counselor & Director of Guidance & Student Support Services
President, Massachusetts School Counselors Association
Monson High School
55 Margaret Street
Monson, MA 01057
413.267.4589x1107
413.267.4157 (fax)
bardwellr@monsonschools.com

www.monsonschools.com/guidance
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