The end of the year is always a busy time here at Mount Aloysius College. The last few weeks have been full of excitement in our department with Student Teacher Mock Interviews, Student Teacher Portfolio Presentations, and the grading of culminating projects, papers and final exams in our undergraduate courses. Additionally, I observed an awesome student teacher last week who utilized the Smartboard technology in his classroom in a very creative way. It is exciting to see our students passing their Praxis exams and accepting teaching positions before they have even graduated. In relation to college-wide events, I enjoyed attending the Academic Honors and Pinning Ceremony on May 2nd and it was an absolute pleasure to mentor a student at the Undergraduate Research Symposium on April 22nd. I also had the honor of meeting many members of the Mount Aloysius College Board of Trustees at the Board Retreat on April 11th where many faculty and staff presented their Work Group Strategies, many of which will be reflected in the new MAC Strategic Plan. In the upcoming week we can all look forward to the Baccalaureate Liturgy, Brunch, and Commencement Ceremony. During the next few weeks I will be completing additional research on some great upcoming fall projects including a service learning project for SO 301: Multicultural Issues in Education and Society, the development of a hybrid course for the fall, the development of the Digital Teaching Portfolio Project in our department, and the creation of a Curriculum Resource Room for our Early Childhood and Elementary Education pre-service teachers. And, please remember, if you see faculty and staff walking around campus with little clicking pedometers, it is because many of us (including me) have decided to make a commitment to enjoy a more active lifestyle by participating in the 10,000 Step Challenge. This is a great program that has been started by our new Director of Human Resources, Tonia Gordon.

Have a great summer! Click, Click, Click…