MCIU CONNECTION - Montgomery County Intermediate Unit

The bi-weekly newsletter of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit
MCIU CONNECTION
Integrity
M
•
Excellence
•
www.mciu.org
Accountability • Dedication
MCIU Celebrates the Commencement of
Construction at its New Home
ore than 110 MCIU staff, board members, county officials, superintendents, and the facility project team attended a reception to
celebrate the beginning of construction at the MCIU’s new home and
conference center at 2 West Lafayette Street in Norristown. During the
reception on March 20, the staff and community toured the facility and
viewed renderings of the building renovations, which provided a snapshot
of the future layout and design of the administrative offices, special
education program areas, and conference facilities. Food and beverage
donations were provided by area businesses and caterers.
“You are standing in the lobby of a dream we have had for six years,” said
Dr. Jerry W. Shiveley, MCIU Executive Director/CEO. “This building will
be a conference center and administrative home for the MCIU that our 22
school districts, Montgomery County and Norristown can be proud of.”
Remarks were also provided by MCIU Board Members Joe Chmielewski and
Burunda Prince-Jones, Montgomery County Commissioner Josh Shapiro,
D’Huy Engineering Project Manager Arif Fazil, and President of Norristown
Borough Council Bill Caldwell. Also attending were State Representative Matt
Bradford, Norristown Chief of Police Mark Talbot, Sheriff Russell J. Bono
and SEPTA Senior Operations Planner Mark Cassell.
Renovations are anticipated to be done by the end of December 2014
with a move in date of January 2015.
Celebrating at the reception left to right: Montgomery County Commissioner Leslie
Richards, County Treasurer Jason Salus, County Commissioner Josh Shapiro, MCIU
Executive Director/CEO Dr. Jerry W. Shiveley, MCIU Board President Burunda
Prince-Jones, Board Secretary Maura Buri, Board Past President Joe Chmielewski,
Board Member James Butt and Former Board President Marc Lieberson. More photos
on pages 2 and 3.
March 25, 2014
• Respect
MCIU Staff Attend SPIRITed Events
T
he MCIU SPIRIT Committee recently hosted
two events. On March 11th, 25 employees and
family members came out for Bowling Night at
Facenda-Whitaker Lanes in Norristown. On March
17th - St. Patrick’s Day - 30 staff attended the
annual Salad Bar Day.
Pictured left to right, top row: Dr. Dorie Martin, Tina
Viletto, Sandy Colelli, Mary Dougherty, JR Renna, Kristen
Rawlings, Joanne Buchanan; Bottom row: Mike Tantillo,
Gail Katch, Kari Kessler, Jacki Lyster, Jeanne O’Brien.
Several other staff attended, including Jack Hurd, Tammy
Henrick and Patrice Semicek. The children of Ms. Rawlings,
Ms. O’Brien, Ms. Henrick and Ms. Kessler also enjoyed
bowling.
The annual Salad Bar Day is one of the most popular
SPIRIT activities. Participating staff each contribute an
item to create an impressive array of salad bar options,
enjoy each other’s company and a healthy lunch. This year,
30 staff attended the event. Top photo standing, left to
right: Mary Dougherty, Caitlin Navarro, Jackie Krail,
Bonnie Neiman and Anne Draus; Seated: Nancy Myers
and Dr. Mary Rita Cleary.
Construction Kick Off Reception for the MCIU’s New Facility
More than 110 people attended a reception on March 20 to celebrate the
beginning of construction at the MCIU’s new home and conference center.
Left to right: MCIU Board Secretary
Maura Buri, County Sheriff Russell
Bono and MCIU Legislative Services
and Grants Development Director Tina
Viletto.
Left to right: MCIU Physical Therapist/Evaluator Julie Lisowski,
Belinda Wright, Monarch Staffing, and Human Resources Assistant
Director Caitlin Navarro view renderings of the future lobby and
conference facilities.
Left to right: MCIU staff Catherine Miller, Sandy
Heidel, Jeff Miller and Sally Jeffries look at samples of
the interior finishes of the renovated facility.
Left to right: MCIU Education Foundation Board
member and former MCIU Executive Director
Dr. Dennis Harken, ExplorationsPHP Board
Member Dr. Charlie Amuso, Management Services
Director/CFO Stan Wisler and Assistant to the
Executive Director Mary Dougherty.
MCIU construction hats were provided to board
and administrative team members. Pictured left to
right: Board Past President Joe Chmielewski, Board
President Burunda Prince-Jones, and Assistant
Executive Director of Instruction Dr. Bradley C.
Landis.
Thanks to the following businesses for their
donations of food and beverages: Amadeos
Too, Jack Francis Catering, O’Neill’s
Catering, Rocco’s Brick Oven Pizzeria
Italian Restaurant and Semplice Catering.
The MCIU’s Management Services team
toured the facility, including (left to right)
Belinda Wright, Jamie Jacobs, Mary
Davidheiser, Kelly Aschenbach, Tanvi Desai,
Sandy Edling and Denise Homan.
A Glimpse into Our Future Home
Rendering of Lobby Area
Rendering of First Floor Conference Facility
The architectural firm, RHJ Associates, provided renderings of
the facility’s renovated lobby, conference facilities and a typical
office area as pictured. An overview of the planned office
locations and features of each floor are as follows:
Rendering of Typical Office Area
First Floor: A state-of-the-art conference center will be
developed on the 1st floor, including flexible conference room
space to accommodate small and large groups. The main
entrance to the new facility will be located adjacent to the
parking lot. The entryway that is currently located on Lafayette
Street will be an exit only due to anticipated widening of
Lafayette Street. A new staircase to the second floor will be
constructed from the center of the lobby. The mailroom and
copy center will also be located on this floor.
Second Floor: The Early Intervention and PACE Lab and
Apartment Program, Training and Consulting (TaC) staff, and
the Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development
Division will be housed on the 2nd floor.
Third Floor: The Technology and Information Services
Division, a computer lab and Nonpublic School Services
Division will be located on this floor. Staff will also enjoy a
large lunch/multi-purpose room and fitness room.
Fourth Floor: The Special Education Division staff will
be located on the 4th floor, including a work area for the
school-age itinerant staff, a Transition Program work area, the
Assistive Technology Resource Center, and a file room.
The project management will be overseen by the engineering and
architectural firms of D’Huy Engineering and RHJ Associates.
Contractors completing the general construction, mechanical, plumbing and
electrical work include E.R. Stuebner, Inc., Silas Bolef Company, Worth
and Company, Inc. and Vision Mechanical, Inc. Pictured left to right are:
Arif Fazil and Chris Haller from D’Huy Engineering and President of
Norristown Borough Council Bill Caldwell.
Fifth Floor: The Administration, Management Services,
Legislative Services and Grants Development, and
Communications divisions will have offices on the 5th floor.
Additionally, the Human Resources Division will have a
separated area on this floor to assure privacy and confidentiality.
Every floor features a work/copier room, small break room,
small group conference rooms, and restroom facilities.
Registration Now Open for
the 6th Annual Montco
Fitness Challenge
R
egistration for the 6th Annual
Montgomery County Schools
Fitness Challenge is now open. Get
into shape! Step up your fitness goals!
The Fitness Challenge, organized by the
MCIU, is a fun and motivational way to
track your exercise and compete against
your co-workers and school employees
countywide. This year, the MCIU will
be competing against 8 public school
districts, 5 nonpublic schools and 1
career technical center.
During the Challenge, participants
accept the challenge of tracking their
exercise progress between April 1
and May 20 via the Fitness Challenge
website. Throughout the competition,
participants can view their personal
activity log as well as compare it to the
top 10 performing districts, individuals
in their school district and countywide.
At the end of the Challenge, a prize
will be awarded to the top three
“Montgomery County Schools Fitness
Challenge Winners” (the district
with the highest percentage of staff
participation). The top individual
challengers in each of the three fitness
tiers also receive a prize.
To register, log on to
http://fitnesschallenge.mciu.org
Tech Tip: March Dell Deals
for MCIU Employees
M
CIU
employees
are eligible
for great
deals from Dell this month, as well
as 17% off the online price of any
purchase made March 21-28. Some
of the discounted items include the
Dell Venue 11 Pro tablet and the new
Inspiron M531R Non-Touch laptop.
For more details, please refer to
the email sent by Jackie Krail on
Thursday, March 6th.
Learning is Leading
Teachings from the Jorgensen Learning Center
D
r. Ray Jorgensen teaches us that learning is the key to remaining adaptable and
flexible in times of change; those who are bound by certainty eventually become
obsolete. Leaders should be those who remain ahead of the tides of change; they
should, by definition, be learners. Leaders should raise others to be adaptable and
flexible, so they must encourage learning in those whom they lead.
15th Annual Reading Olympics Underway
T
hree down and seven to go! The 15th Annual Reading Olympics kicked off on
March 10 with three of the ten competitions completed. Hundreds of MCIU
staff, parents, district and nonpublic school staff and local librarians volunteered to
support the event. Nearly 7,000 on 506 teams are competing this year. Channel 6 Action
News covered the opening event and The Lansdale Reporter featured a story of the
competition on March 12 - Read the full story
Pictured top left: MCIU staff volunteers,
including Mary Sheets, Dr. Mary Rita Cleary,
Wendy Block and Sue McCoy.
Top right: Channel 6 at the kick off event
Bottom Photo: The Keith Valley Middle School
“Royal Readers” got into the competitive spirit
with matching crowns and jeweled t-shirts for
their team.
Apartment Program Students Receive Financial Planning Lesson from
Wells Fargo
H
aving an understanding of banking and
finances is an essential part of being
able to live independently. That’s why the
MCIU Transition Program staff developed a
relationship with Wells Fargo Bank to support
students in the Apartment Program. On March
14th, Larry Schade and Shannon Basile from
the East Norriton Wells Fargo branch (pictured
standing) provided an interactive presentation
with students to help them understand the full
cycle of working, getting paid, depositing their check and determining how much
to spend and save. The students reviewed the components on a check and learned it
was actually a contract. They also learned about fraud and identity theft as it applies
to banking, buying and social networks.

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