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Fall 2007 - Welcome Back to School |
| Timing is Everything |
At The BizWorld Foundation office, we often have teachers ask: "When is the best time to implement BizWorld and BizWiz?" In an ideal world the answer would be "anytime!" However, we understand the juggling act that teachers perform trying to incorporate both mandated and supplementary project based materials in the classroom. So in an attempt to narrow down the options, we polled our teacher advocates (the BizWorld and BizWiz experts), and asked them when is the best time to use the BizWorld and BizWiz programs. Here are the results:
• September – The first day or week of school is a great way to get to know your students and informally assess their academic, social and cognitive abilities while they work in a small group setting.
• December – For many teachers, the holiday season is a time to teach students about the importance of giving back to the community. Teachers recommend starting the BizWorld program two weeks before winter break and using the Sales Bazaar as the culminating fundraising event where students donate the profits to a worthy cause.
• February – FEBRUARY 23 - MARCH 1, 2008 is the 2nd Annual National Entrepreneurship Week. The teachers who taught BizWorld during the first Entrepreneurship Week in February 2007 loved introducing the entrepreneurial concepts to their students while linking the ideas to a concurrent national event.
• April – Many teachers take advantage of Financial Literacy Month by teaching students the importance of saving and investing through the BizWiz program. BizWiz also breaks up the monotony of test preparations.
• May / June – The last two months of school are a perfect time to incorporate both BizWorld and BizWiz in the classroom. The project based programs reinforce the Math, ELA, S.S. and Economics concepts taught throughout the year, and are a fun way for students and teachers alike to celebrate the end of the school
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Teacher Spotlight: Mary Arnold |
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Teacher Mary Arnold |
Mary Arnold, currently a fifth grade teacher at Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School in Joplin, Missouri, has been an educator for the past twenty-one years. Mary started her career as a 7th & 8th grade Math teacher, and then moved on to become an assistant principal, a principal, a division head of lower school and early childhood, and is now back in the classroom. For the past five years, Mary has used BizWorld with her 5th grade students, who say that the program is the highlight of their year.
This past school year Mary taught BizWorld during the First National Entrepreneurship Week. She says that it was perfect timing as BizWorld teaches real world experiences and is not just a program run in school. "BizWorld teaches students about economics, and that supply and demand does mean something". Every year Mary discusses with her students the importance of creating quality products, but inevitably one group just wants to produce, produce, produce. This year, like clockwork, the "company" that followed their prototype and were mindful of making quality products were the most profitable; whereas the group that was only concerned with manufacturing bracelets was left with tons and tons of bracelets. Mary loves the life lessons that BizWorld reinforces.
The students at Thomas Jefferson love how different the BizWorld curriculum is from their usual daily routine. As Mary explains, "They like that they actually get to make something during class and engage in discussions pertaining to the business world." Mary goes on to say that her students don’t even realize that they are using their Math and Reading skills because they are so involved with their companies. "Can we stay in at recess to work on BizWorld", is a request that Mary often hears. Mary will definitely teach BizWorld again next year, if only to hear those words. |
Check out our new Spanish and Chinese Parent / Guardian Letter! |
One of the joys of using The BizWorld Foundation programs in the classroom is that it provides an opportunity to extend the entrepreneurship learning experience to the home. It gives caretakers an alternative to more traditional ways of volunteering at their child’s school, by inviting them into the classroom to teach a lesson or to share with the kids their unique business experiences.
Part of our mission at The BizWorld Foundation is to utilize our experiential learning programs to engage students across the cultural and economic spectrum. Many of our students come from varied cultures whose parents are English Language Learners. Therefore, we now offer the Parent/Guardian Letter translation in Chinese and Spanish. The letter informs the guardian that their child is participating in BizWorld and suggests that they get involved.
The translation letters were graciously provided by the San Francisco Unified School District Translation Department and are now available for downloading on our Web site, free of charge, under the Resources tab. |
| Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce honors BizWorld students! |
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Bling Bling Bracelet Company presenting to SLC Chamber of Commerce |
On Friday March 2nd, 2007, in the halls of the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce, two BizWorld Businesses were invited to participate in the celebration of EntrepreneurshipWeekUSA. Mrs. Power and Mr. Clay, who teach at Beacon Heights Elementary School and Glendale Middle School respectively, took EntrepreneurshipWeekUSA - Utah a step further. They each held a competition in their classroom to determine the "company" with the best commercial. The Beacon Heights BizCats! Company from Mrs. Power’s sixth grade class and Bling Bling Bracelets Company from Mr. Clay’s eighth grade class were chosen to represent their classmates at the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce where they presented their 30-second commercial to local business leaders. Craig Peterson, SL Chamber Vice President interviewed the students, asking questions that pertained to starting and running a company. The companies were named honorary members of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, the youngest group ever recognized in the history of the organization! |
Foundation News |
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Kristen Mjoseth in action at the Differentiated Instruction Conference in Las Vegas |
The BizWorld Foundation is excited to announce the addition of two new staff members to the team: V.P. Director of Programs Ana Blanco and Program Coordinator Kristen Mjoseth.
We are excited to announce the appointment of Ana Blanco, our new Vice President Director of Programs. As Director of Programs, Ana will expand the network of BizWorld classes, building bridges between the Foundation and educators, and reaching more students around the country. “I am very excited about increasing the awareness of The BizWorld Foundation, by building upon and fostering new relationships with educators and education organizations across the country and internationally,” said Ana.
Ana brings an experienced background in non-profit and for profit marketing.
She began her career in the financial services industry, covering over nine years of experience with Morgan Stanley and then Northern Trust. She currently serves as the Past President on the board of the Bay Area Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and on the board of the Bluewater Foundation. Ana holds a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois.
Program Coordinator Kristen Mjoseth joined the BizWorld team in March, 2007 after spending two month in New Orleans working on an education grant-making effort on behalf of a private donor in response to Hurricane Katrina. Prior to New Orleans, Kristen worked in Provider Support for Google, Inc. However, her passion for education directed her talents to the non-profit sector. When she’s not at work thinking about how to expand The BizWorld Foundation volunteer outreach and marketing initiatives, Kristen enjoys exploring the San Francisco dining scene. She is also an avid traveler and loves meeting teachers at various education conferences around the country. Kristen holds a B.A. in Art History from Santa Clara University. |
| Visit the BizWorld Foundation Today |
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Join the conversation about BizWorld
Due to popular demand, The BizWorld Foundation created BizBuzz, a blog where educators and non-educators alike can post questions and comments on topics pertaining to The BizWorld Foundation’s programs. BizBuzz will showcase current pictures of students using The BizWorld Foundation programs in their classrooms, and tell about the most recent BizWorld Foundation events. The blog provides a way for teachers across the country to share ideas and suggestions with each other about when and how to implement the BizWorld programs in their classroom, as well as a place to recall BizWorld success stories and favorite student quotes.
Visit www.bizworld.org and click on BLOG to join the conversation today!
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Ann Jayne
5th grade GATE Teacher
South/West Park Elementary Tracy, CA
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“I liked how you learned to build a business and keep it moving, and don’t slow down.”
4th grade student from Brittan Acres Elementary
San Carlos, CA
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National Association for the Gifted and Talented Conference
Minneapolis, MN
November 7-11, 2007
National Middle School Association Conference
Houston, TX
November 8-10, 2007
California Association for the Gifted
Anaheim, CA
February 15-17, 2008
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Conference
New Orleans, LA
March 13-17, 2008
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Conference
Salt Lake City, UT
April 9-12, 2008
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Stay tuned for the Spring 2008 Educator Newsletter highlighting National Entrepreneurship Week February 23 – March 3, 2008
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