LAMBDA SIGMA NEWS

The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Texas State Organization Lambda Sigma Chapter Missouri City, Texas Volume 30, Number 7 May, 2012 Area IV, Number 282 President: Cathie Ritchie
critchie43@comcast.net

Editor: Barb Hansen

bjhansen@windstream.net

President's Message

Dear Lambda Sigma Sisters, The wonderful memories of the past two years will stay with me always. I count myself blessed to have been able to serve as your president. I have always valued my membership in Delta Kappa Gamma, but serving as president has made me all the more aware of the values of our society. The outstanding, caring, motivated, and dedicated women who make up Lambda Sigma represent the thousands of members of our international society. The officers and committee chairpersons deserve all the credit. They have served our group tirelessly and have been such a joy with whom to work. By all accounts, the April 14th outing to Brookwood was a tremendous success. I was sad to have missed it. Our members dined on a scrumptious lunch, enjoyed shopping, and were given a fascinating tour of the facilities. Plans are under way for a repeat outing next year. I certainly wont miss that one. The chairman of the Cinderella/Cinderfella Project has been singing our praises. She was thrilled with our $300 contribution. The money has paid for the rental of tuxedos for many deserving young men. We should all feel proud of our successful projects: the Juvenile Detention Center supplies, Dress for Success, and Cinderella/Cinderfella Project. We do make a difference for our students, schools, and community. Saturday, May 19, is our Founders Day Luncheon, installation of officers, and introduction of our grant-in-aid recipient. We will also have a signup sheet to attend our Area IV Workshop to be held on Saturday, August 11. I hope you all will be able to attend this special, fun and delicious meeting. Thank you again for allowing me to serve as President of Lambda Sigma for the past two years. It has been an honor. With love, Cathie Ritchie

The Delta Kappa Gamma Mission Statement The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International promotes professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education.

Visit our chapter website

http://lambdasigma.weebly.com/

May Founders Day Luncheon

Saturday, May 19 10:00 a.m. Christi Chrismans home 3511 Bassett Ct. Missouri City, TX Tel: 281-778-8898 Program: Meet your prospective members and our Grant-in-Aid recipient Please bring new or gently used books to be used for our Alpha State project. Hostesses: Shari Lim, Abby Grobe, Ocie Whitaker All members attending are asked to bring a salad or dessert to share.

Birthday Girls!
Karen Paulus Patsy Borochoff Judy Wallis Marylaura Merritt Rita Drabek Frances Courville Barbara Hansen Mary Crochet Debbie Reynolds Shari Lim Jean Gardner Peggy Norman Mary Mills Willis Linda Russell Carolyn Zaskoda 4/3 5/3

5/7 5/8
5/16 5/31 6/7 6/10 6/11 6/27 6/27 7/1 7/3 7/18 7/21

Committees
Show your leadership skills volunteer to be a Committee Chair! We need a new Communications Chair. Barb Hansen has offered to assist initially with the Newsletter. Your transition into this important position will be easy. Sign up at our May 19 Luncheon to become the chairperson of a committee or a member of your committee of choice. Every member serves on a committee.

Chapter News

Lambda Sigma sister took a January cruise to Cozumel and Progresso

AREA IV WORKSHOP August 11, 2012 Sign up at May 19 Luncheon Each chapter has been asked to bring a gift basket or bag for the raffle and one $15 - $25 door prize. Please bring any item (such as an unused gift you have received) that would be appropriate for a raffle basket. Hopefully we can put the raffle together this summer without having to ask members for anything else. If you have a nice basket or decorator bag, that would be appreciated.

Christi Chrisman, Joan Eubanks, Mary Ann Dolezal, Linda Russell

Liz Ellis and her husband took a few days off in April to go to Disneyland where they celebrated their granddaughters birthday. Parker, who turned 3, got to be the princess she was meant to be.

Mary Crochet, Joan Eubanks, Mary Ann Dolezal, Carla Meuth, Linda Russell With DeLouis Stolusky Alpha Tau Chapter

Mary Ann Dolezal, Mary Crochet, and Carla Meuth attended the Sugar Land Skeeters baseball game and got to meet Skeeter

Cathie Ritchie has received The Texas State Organization (TSO) Adult Education Scholarship for $500! In October Cathie and Margaret Larson will drive to Charleston, South Carolina, to participate in the Road Scholar Adventures in Lifelong Learning Historic Plantations and Stately Homes of Charleston and the Lowcountry. They also plan to visit Karen McGovern, a Lambda Sigma sister who has moved to that area. The tour of plantations sounds fascinating and Cathie and Margaret are very excited about the trip. Delta Kappa Gamma grants many scholarships. Look on the website for information. You must have been a member for 10 years to receive one, though. Margaret will have her 10 years next year. I'm sure we will be applying again for future trips.

In March, Barbara Hansen completed the 55 mile route of the Schlumberger Education Expedition bike ride benefitting the Fort Bend Education Foundation. The following day she ran the Sugar Land Half Marathon starting and ending in Sugar Land Town Square. Melissa Milligan is engaged! She and her fianc, Charles, will be married next September 20.

Health Tip #2
* Regular exercise can prevent and reverse agerelated decreases in muscle mass and strength, improve balance, flexibility, and endurance, and decrease the risk of falls in the elderly.

Carolyn and Corky Madden will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on June 10th.

* Thirty minutes of modest exercise (walking or hand weights) at least three to five days a week is recommended, but the greatest health benefits come from exercising most days of the week. It can even be broken up into 10 minute segments. * Start slowly and progress gradually to avoid injury or excessive soreness or fatigue. Over time,

build up to 30 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous exercise every day.

Minutes from the March business meeting follow:

Earn the Right

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock , did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks. 'Ms. Cothren, where're our desks?' She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.' They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.' 'No,' she said. 'Maybe it's our behavior.' She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior.' And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period; still no desks in the classroom. By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms. Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room. The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the desk less classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he or she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.' At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.. Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'

By the way, this is a true story. And this teacher was awarded Teacher of the Year for the state of Arkansas in 2006.

Delta Kappa Gamma

Lambda Sigma Chapter Minutes Friday, March 2, 2012 At the home of Mary Ann Dolezal

President Cathie Ritchie called the meeting to order at 5:20. OFFICER REPORTS Recording Secretary Lana Petrizzo read the minutes of the last meeting. There was one correction made and the minutes were approved. Treasurer Dale Araujo reported the balance in the treasury is $3,415.13. First Vice President Linda Russell discussed the upcoming trip to The Brookwood Community on Saturday, April 14. Brookwood is a community for adults with special needs. While there, members will view a film to see how the community functions and see the community members at work, eat lunch, and have an opportunity to shop in the gift store. Members planning to travel to Brookwood will meet at Sams Club parking lot, Hwy 90 and Hwy 6, (near the gas station) at 10:00. Lunch is at 12:30. Visit brookwood.com to view the menu and see an overview of the community. Please email Linda any changes as to reservations at the latest by April 12, so she can notify Brookwood. A discussion was held on inviting the Alief Chapter to join us on our trip to Brookwood. o Our May luncheon is planned at Christi Chrismans home. Second Vice President Sally Cain reported 24 members were in attendance. o Prospective members biographies were reviewed and the prospective members were discussed. o President Cathie Ritchie read guidelines from the International Membership Committee clarifying membership eligibility into Delta Kappa Gamma. An active member shall be a woman who is employed as a professional educator at the time of her election or has been retired from an educational position (International Constitution) WHO? Traditional educational positions? (CHECK QUALIFICATIONS) Educational co-workers from all levels of educational positions: classroom teachers, supervisors, administrators, superintendents, college adjunct professors, professors, department heads, administrators, educational program administrators, etc. EMPLOYED is defined as currently hired by an employer and/or paid a salary or fee for specific educational services. PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR is interpreted to include one-to-one and/or group instruction. The chapter decides if a prospective member is classified as a professional educator. CERTIFICATION or LICENSURE is not required. It is the chapters decision as to who is invited to membership.

School counselors, librarians, media specialists, school nurses, local/state/national departments of education employees who provide educational services, and paraprofessionals and instructional aides. Educators associated with private/charter/trade schools. Non-Traditional educational positions? (CHECK QUALIFICATIONS) Private tutors (educational/dance/drama/music/painting, health program trainers), public librarians, church-school education department leaders, corporate trainers, registered nurses who present educational programs, district/state/national teacher training educators, consultants, seminar leaders, etc o A vote was taken and all prospective members were accepted to join our chapter. o Barbie Herrington, a former Lambda Sigma member, is rejoining. o Debra Ford is dropping her membership in the Richmond/Rosenberg group and plans to join Lambda Sigma. o A vote was taken for the 2012-2013 officers, and the slate of officers was accepted. Congratulations to : President: Linda Russell 1st VP: Debbie Reynolds 2ND VP: Julie Gehring Recording Secretary: Harriet Mantini Corr. Secretary: Ocie Whitaker Treasure: Dale Araujo Parliamentarian: Cathie Ritchie

OLD BUSINESS A date needs to be set to view the American Teacher documentary. Upcoming Conventions: Alpha State, June 21 23, 2012, in Las Colinas and International in New York, July 24-28. Cathie Ritchie has registration forms. Cathie Ritchie made a motion that $1200 be set aside for the chapter to pay for the hotel at the Alpha State convention. Peggy Norman seconded the motion. The motion was voted on and approved. Congratulations to Scottie Bass. She was the winner of the Rodeo Raffle Tickets to see Reba, March 9th. Dawn Westfall won the Colorado house. NEW BUSINESS A discussion on the chapter setting aside money for the International convention was tabled and will be on the May agenda. ANNOUNCEMENTS Judy Wallis announced that Pat Schroyers son and his wife had twins eight weeks early. The twins are now home from the hospital. Gift cards are being collected for Mary Laura Merritt. See Cathie, Carla, or Jeanette if you would like to contribute. The meeting was adjourned at 6:15.