KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Rev. William P. Yonker

When he's not enjoying his family or pastoring his congregation, Immanuel Lutheran Church of East Dundee, Illinois, Rev. William Yonker loves to travel around the country talking to people about the Lord Jesus. Presently he lives in Illinois, and though he was born in Milwaukee and raised in Grand Haven, Michigan , he is a true blue “cheese-head”, devoted to his birth state of Wisconsin and the Green Bay Packers. Pastor Yonker attended Valparaiso University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. He then attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis where he received his Masters of Divinity. This year Pastor Yonker will travel from Orlando, Florida, to Minneapolis, Minnessota, and from San Diego, California to Boston, Massachusetts, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus. Pastor Yonker is married and besides spending time with his wife, Joanne and three children, Rebecca, Abigail and Joshua, and speaking, you can usually find Pastor Yonker reading, or writing, which are his other passions.

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SESSIONS
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Monday, October 13 -- 10:15-11:45
Session A1 – Room A3
Title:   Personal Fitness Trainer
Target:   ECE/Teachers
Presenter:  Granger Lofton
Description:   This is your opportunity to learn what you can do to lead, teach and motivate anyone, including yourself to get and stay fit.  What better motivation is there for our children to exercise then seeing you do it and doing it with you.  Learn how to motivate the little ones who will, in turn, motivate you to stay fit.
Presenter Bio:   Granger Lofton has been a Personal Trainer with 10 years of experience training people 4-88 years of age.  Granger welcomes the opportunity to work with people at all fitness levels and promotes fitness as a means to achieve wellness for the masses.  Fitness can be achieved through a variety of techniques tailored to the individual whether a competitive athlete or someone transitioning from a sedentary to an active lifestyle.

Session A2 – Room A2
Title:  Team Ministry--Serving God Together--Really!
Target: DCEs
Description:   Feel like you're working all alone at your church/school?  Don't feel support from others on staff?  Together we'll take a look at some elements of a healthy team and how to foster an environment of open communication as a teammate.  We'll have discussion and prayer as we care for and encourage one another to use our gifts as a part of the team where God has called you to serve.
Presenter Names:   Redeemer/Olathe Team--Pastor Calvin Reinke, Pastor Perry Sukstorf, and DCE David Willingham
Presenters Bios :  Pr. Calvin Reinke was born and grew up in Lincoln , Nebraska .  After graduating from high school, he attended St. John's College in Winfield, Kansas in the Pre-ministerial program.  After graduating from St. John 's he enrolled at Concordia Teachers College (now Concordia University) in Seward, Nebraska.  In 1975, he graduated with a BS in Elementary Education.  In 1975 he enrolled at Concordia Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri.  In 1979 he graduated from Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.  He has served congregations in Kansas , Nebraska, Missouri and Michigan.  He is currently the Administrative Pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Olathe, Kansas.  He and his wife Pam were married in 1979 and have two children, Emily who is a registered nurse in Lincoln, Nebraska and Simon who is attending Grand Valley State in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
     Pr. Perry Sukstorf, though happy to be in Kansas, is a Cornhusker through and through (UNL '90) and is thrilled that the MYE on Redeemer's staff has at least attended Concordia University in Nebraska to compensate for his Sooner upbringing.  Perry is a second-career pastor after 11 years in the meat packing business.  He earned a degree from Colorado State (MBA '00) before attending Concordia Seminary in St. Louis (M.Div. '06).  He is the Associate Minister of Family Life at Redeemer Lutheran Church , is married to Susan and they have 3 children.  Some current responsibilities include facilitating and starting Small Group Ministries, expanding outreach to children through the "God and Country" program -- Scouts, and finding ways to increasingly integrate all generations and life-stages into the mission life of Redeemer.  He is also currently the Pastoral Counselor for the LWML KC Crossroads Zone and is a trained Guest Leader for LCEF's Consecrated Stewards program.
     David Willingham is a born and raised Oklahoman with a heart for youth.  That's why he was a camp counselor at Camp Lutherhoma for 3 summers (1997-1999).  In 2001 after finishing his internship in California , he received his DCE certification from Concordia University, Seward.  Since then he's served congregations in Oklahoma, Texas and currently Kansas.  He is married to Kristen and has a 2-year old, Kalyn.  He has served on several District Youth Gathering committees and is involved in an annual youth retreat planning team for LVR (Kansas City area churches).

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Session A3 – Lobby Boardroom
Title:   School Administrators Network
Target:   Principals
Presenter:  Jim Bradshaw
Description:   School administrators are invited to gather for mutual sharing, networking, planning, and prayer.
Presenter Bio:   Jim Bradshaw has served as the Executive Director of Educational Services in the Kansas District since March, 2005. Prior to this, Jim served as a parish DCE in three locations spanning 23 years. Jim is a 1982 Elementary Education/DCE graduate of Concordia, Seward, Nebraska where he also completed a Master's in Family Life Science in 2001. Jim provides oversight for the following ministries: elementary and early childhood education; children, youth, family life and singles ministries; and, adult education. Jim supports and encourages the lay and professional workers in our schools and parishes to develop and employ servant-leader practices. Jim and Joanna have been married 27 years and have been blessed with three children and a daughter-in-law.

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Session A4 – Room B
Title:  Effective Strategies for Teaching Boys
Target:   Teachers
Presenter:   Julia Barnard
Description:  This presentation will give you ideas to use in a classroom full of boys or a few boys.  Boys need to have structure as well as movement and hopeful you will leave this presentation with ideas to help not only the boys in your class, but the girls as well.
Presenter Bio:   Julia Barnard has taught for 13 years--six years were spent in special education before moving on to regular education.  This is her 6th year at St. Paul Lutheran School, Cheney.  Julia teaches in a 7th and 8th grade, all-inclusive classroom.  She has worked as a special education teacher with inclusion and a regular education teacher with inclusion and has taught every grade from kindergarten to seniors in special education.  Julia has also had the opportunity to teach a class of 12 boys and one girl, and 10 boys and 3 girls.  She states that "this doesn't make me an expert on teaching boys, but I have been able to experiment with what works and what definitely doesn't in a classroom of mostly boys."

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Session A5 – Room A1
Title:  Why the Visual Arts are Necessary in the Curriculum
Target: Teachers
Presenter:   Tracy Leonard
Description:   The visual arts help to develop parts of the child's brain and thinking process that the strictly academic courses do not.  Basic artistic ability is not talent so much as it is opportunity and direction.  In our visual culture, we have a responsibility to help children develop skills to discern what they see as well as to use their talents to glorify the Lord that gives them their talents.
Presenter Bio: Tracy Leonard graduated in 1983 with a Bachelors degree in K-12 Art Education for Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska.  She took her first Call to teach at Martin Luther High School in Maspeth, Queens where she taught for 4 1/2 years before attending The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan where she received an Associates degree in Textile and Surface Design.  Tracy then received a call to teach art at Luther West High School, Cleveland, Ohio staying two years, before receiving a call to teach 6-12th grade Art at Baltimore Lutheran School .  She stayed until 1996 when she "retired" to start a family.  At each school,  Tracy developed new curriculums and worked with the other Fine Arts teachers to promote the arts in the schools through murals, play production, art exhibits, competitions, and art clubs for the students.  In the past, she has done some workshops for Lutheran elementary teachers to help them develop art curriculums and projects for their classes.  Most recently, she taught 6th and 7th grade art at Topeka Lutheran.  She is currently teaching some art classes in Topeka for home school co-ops. Tracy and her husband Scott met at Baltimore and were married in 1994.  After Scott finished his masters in Library Science, they moved to Lansing , Michigan where he worked as an archivist for the State.  They have two children--Nathan 9 and Toki 7.  In 2001 the family moved to Topeka where Scott works as the Electronic Records Specialist for the State of Kansas.  Although they have home schooled their children from birth and feel strongly about this, they also have a great heart for Lutheran education as they are both graduates from Concordia, Seward and have taught in Lutheran schools.

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Session A6 – Room A3
CANCELLED
Title:  Social Studies (KSDE)
Target:  Teachers
REPLACED WITH
Title:  Do You Really Understand Your Benefit Plans
Target:  All
Presenter: Ralph Simon from CPS (Concordia Plan Services)
Description:

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Monday, October 13 -- 2:15-3:45
Session B1 – Room A2
Title:   Nutrition in the Classroom
Target:   ECE
Presenters:   Kim Sparling and Alenna Hash 
Description:   Learn from a trained Master Food Volunteer how to teach preschools about health, safety, and nutrition.  Kim and Alenna will prepare food (with samples!), discuss healthy choices, alternatives to sugary drinks, and include some activities you can use in the classroom to make learning fun for preschoolers.
Presenter Bio:   Kim Sparling worked in large advertising agencies for 15 years in Kansas City and St. Louis before quitting to be a full-time mom eight years ago.  She has a BS in Marketing from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State U) in Springfield, Missouri.  In 2003, Kim went through 40 hours of classroom training to become a Master Food Volunteer, a program of the Johnson County K-State Research & Extension office.  She is not currently active as an MFV, but has taught classes to preschoolers, the elderly, and even appeared on the local CBS affiliate in Kansas City to prepare holiday food recipes as a representative of Master Food Volunteers.

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Session B2 – Room A1
Title:   Balance, Burden, Blessing
Target:   DCEs
Presenters:   Audrey Duensing-Werner
Description:   Women in ministry are constantly juggling the balls of balance, burden and being a blessing and when those balls begin to fall, the one ball left in hand is burnout.  It can be so overwhelming at times that it feels easier to bail.  Let's spend some girl time together with a cup of coffee and chocolate (or diet coke if you prefer) and chat about pulling those pieces of brokenness together and sitting in the lap of Christ Jesus.
Presenter Bio:   Audrey Duensing-Werner was raise din Council Bluffs, Iowa.  She is a graduate of Simpson College Indianola, Iowa with a Bachelor of Music Education and Performance.  She taught 4 years in a public school system in southeast Iowa and then went on to receive her DCE Certification in 1993 from Concordia College, St. Paul.  Audrey has enjoyed serving at congregations in Michigan , Minnesota and currently serves as the DCE at Faith Lutheran, Topeka, Kansas.  Additional areas of service include: Several District and Synodical youth gatherings and youth boards/advocacy teams, KINDLE DCE facilitator,  chair and co-chair of National DCEnet, gifted presenter (local and national LCMS conferences and conventions), singer, and has written youth and children's material for CPH and for the LCMS Children and Family Ministry Department.

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Session B 3 – Lobby Boardroom
Title:   DCE Christ Care and Dinner
Target:   DCEs
Presenter:  Jim Bradshaw
Description:   DCEs are invited to gather for Christ Care and mutual sharing of ministry ideas and topics. Additional networking will follow over dinner at a restaurant to be determined by the group.
Presenter Bio:   Jim Bradshaw has served as the Executive Director of Educational Services in the Kansas District since March, 2005. Prior to this, Jim served as a parish DCE in three locations spanning 23 years. Jim is a 1982 Elementary Education/DCE graduate of Concordia, Seward, Nebraska where he also completed a Master's in Family Life Science in 2001. Jim provides oversight for the following ministries: elementary and early childhood education; children, youth, family life and singles ministries; and, adult education. Jim supports and encourages the lay and professional workers in our schools and parishes to develop and employ servant-leader practices. Jim and Joanna have been married 27 years and have been blessed with three children and a daughter-in-law.

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Session B4 – Room A3
CANCELLED
Title:  Social Studies (KSDE)
Target:  Teachers
REPLACED WITH
Title:  Do You Really Understand Your Benefit Plans
Target:  All
Presenter: Ralph Simon from CPS (Concordia Plan Services)
Description:


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Session B5 – Room B
Title: How to Reach Your Special Education Students
Target: Teachers
Presenter: Julie Barnard
Description: This presentation will give you many ideas on how to help your special education students be successful in an inclusion setting. They can and will learn in the mainstream setting with a little modification to the assignments you give the rest of the class. This presentation will provide you with ideas and teaching strategies that have worked on a variety of students.
Presenter Bio:   Julia Barnard has taught for 13 years--six years were spent in special education before moving on to regular education.  This is her 6th year at St. Paul Lutheran School, Cheney.  Julia teaches in a 7th and 8th grade, all-inclusive classroom.  She has worked as a special education teacher with inclusion and a regular education teacher with inclusion and has taught every grade from kindergarten to seniors in special education.  Julia has also had the opportunity to teach a class of 12 boys and one girl, and 10 boys and 3 girls.  She states that "this doesn't make me an expert on teaching boys, but I have been able to experiment with what works and what definitely doesn't in a classroom of mostly boys."

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Session B6 – Room C
Title: Working Out an Art Curriculum that Works for Your Classroom and School
Target: Teachers
Presenter: Tracy Leonard
Description: Tracy will give some practical direction to teachers to take back to their classrooms and schools that can be used with students. There are many ways to encourage the artistic talents of children and plenty of resources out there that can help.
Presenter Bio: Tracy Leonard graduated in 1983 with a Bachelors degree in K-12 Art Education for Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska.  She took her first Call to teach at Martin Luther High School in Maspeth, Queens where she taught for 4 1/2 years before attending The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan where she received an Associates degree in Textile and Surface Design.  Tracy then received a call to teach art at Luther West High School, Cleveland, Ohio staying two years, before receiving a call to teach 6-12th grade Art at Baltimore Lutheran School .  She stayed until 1996 when she "retired" to start a family.  At each school,  Tracy developed new curriculums and worked with the other Fine Arts teachers to promote the arts in the schools through murals, play production, art exhibits, competitions, and art clubs for the students.  In the past, she has done some workshops for Lutheran elementary teachers to help them develop art curriculums and projects for their classes.  Most recently, she taught 6th and 7th grade art at Topeka Lutheran.  She is currently teaching some art classes in Topeka for home school co-ops. Tracy and her husband Scott met at Baltimore and were married in 1994.  After Scott finished his masters in Library Science, they moved to Lansing , Michigan where he worked as an archivist for the State.  They have two children--Nathan 9 and Toki 7.  In 2001 the family moved to Topeka where Scott works as the Electronic Records Specialist for the State of Kansas.  Although they have home schooled their children from birth and feel strongly about this, they also have a great heart for Lutheran education as they are both graduates from Concordia, Seward and have taught in Lutheran schools.

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Tuesday, October 14 -- 11:15-12:15
Session C1 – Room C
Title: Understanding State Childcare Regulations
Target: ECE – 1 ECE clock hour
Presenter: Leigh Ann Montoy
Description: State childcare and preschool regulations are not easilyl understood. During this session participants will help each other make sense of and implement the state regulations.
Presenter Bio: Leighann Montoy is the Supervising Child Care Facility Surveyor for the Saline County Health Department


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Session C2 – Room A3
Title: Small Group Ministry -- Creating Round Holes for Round Pegs and Square Holes for Square Pegs
Target: DCEs
Presenter: William Prann
Description: This is presentation is an interactive discussion of a “small group” ministry model and its use in the churches represented (yes, you will get to share!); a brief presentation/discussion of small group ministry principles; a participatory, brainstorming exercise in identifying potential small group ministry opportunities within your church and creative ways to make them successful.
Presenter Bio: William Prann has spent his life trying to experience as much of God's creation as possible. He loves being outside doing everything from yard work to racing his bicycle in local and regional races. William received his undergraduate degree from the University of South Dakota on a track scholarship and spent eight years as a Commercial Lending Officer in the Kansas City area. In 2001, he was name one of People Magazine's “100 Most Eligible Bachelors.” Following that experience, he quit the bank and returned to school to prepare to serve as a Youth Minister. According to William, “investing in people has a much better return.” He is now a certified Director of Christian Education with the Lutheran Church and serves as the Director of Youth Ministries at Bethany Lutheran Church with mission sites in Overland Park and Stillwell, Kansas. He is currently working on a Master's degree through Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. William lives in Lenexa, Kansas with his wife, Tricia and everyone else's kids.

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Session C3 – Room B
Title: Connecting Teachers Together
Target: Teachers
Presenter: Jim Bradshaw
Description: All day school teachers are invited to gather for mutual sharing and networking. Each worker is invited to bring a “great classroom practice” to be shared in small groups based on grade level(s) taught. (20 copies of your idea are requested for distribution.)
Presenter Bio:   Jim Bradshaw has served as the Executive Director of Educational Services in the Kansas District since March, 2005. Prior to this, Jim served as a parish DCE in three locations spanning 23 years. Jim is a 1982 Elementary Education/DCE graduate of Concordia, Seward, Nebraska where he also completed a Master's in Family Life Science in 2001. Jim provides oversight for the following ministries: elementary and early childhood education; children, youth, family life and singles ministries; and, adult education. Jim supports and encourages the lay and professional workers in our schools and parishes to develop and employ servant-leader practices. Jim and Joanna have been married 27 years and have been blessed with three children and a daughter-in-law.

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Session C4 – Room A2
Title: Let's Write!
Target: Teachers (grades 3-8)
Presenter: Terri Vanwey
Description: This workshop will include practical and fun ideas and strategies for use in writing, evaluating, and presenting using the 6+1 traits method. Handouts of ideas and samples of students' writing will be included.
Presenter Bio: Terri Vanwey is a graduate of St. John's College and Emporia State University, where she received a Master's in Library Science in 1980. She received her colloquy from Concordia, Seward, Nebraska in August 2007. Terri has been a teacher at Holy Cross Lutheran School, Wichita, Kansas for over thirty years teaching middle school English, working as the librarian, and coaching volleyball. She has written state assessment tests, worked on National Lutheran School Accreditation (NLSA) teams, and has had the honor of being slected as a KAIRS teacher of the year.

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Session C5 – Lobby Board Room
Title: Connecting Kids and Books
Target: Teachers
Presenter: Sandy Nelson
Description: Not available at this time.
Presenter Bio: Not available at this time.

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Session C6 – Room A1
Title: Pt.1—Tackling, Teaching and Testing Text Structure
Target: Teachers
Presenter: Nancy Fierbaugh
Description: Let's put our heads together and tackle text structure. This session will examine text structure and how it is taught and tested in expository text. We will look at many materials that can be used to teach text structure and will begin to look at specific strategies that can be used to teach each of the five text structures.
Presenter Bio: Nancy Fierbaugh has been the Language Arts Consultant for the Service Center in Clearwater , Kansas since 2004. She presents Language Arts workshops as well as consults for individual schools and districts. Nancy is a DIBELS trainer and is working on certification for NWEA. This year she serves as a consultant for schools writing their state anti-bullying policy. She has a Bachelors Degree from Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio and a Master's Degree from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. Nancy taught in Ohio and Arkansas before she moved to Derby, Kansas where she taught second grade for twenty-five years. And she loves working with teachers!

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Tuesday, October 14 -- 1:30-2:30
Session D1 – Room C
Title: Puppet Potpourri – Quick and Easy Storytelling Adis and How to Use Them
Target: ECE
Presenter: Anita Reith Stohs
Description: This presentation will be a “make and do” workshop in which the participants divide into small groups that will both make and use puppets in storytelling situations.
Presenter Bio: Anita Reith Stohs has academic backgrounds in art, music, education, and literature. She has taught mainly preschool- and primary-age children in Sunday, midweek, and parochial schools. In addition, she has served as a curriculum librarian at Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska and as a public library children's librarian. She has written children's books, as well as a variety of curriculum materials, teacher books, and articles. Her current interests are in developing art and religious curriculum for the developmentally delayed, reflecting the needs of her daughter with Down syndrome and her friends.

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Session D2 – Room A3
Title: Making the Church Whole Again
Target: DCEs
Presenter: Henry Blickhahn
Description: LOGOS – Transforming lives and congregations through a midweek cross-generational ministry by bringing children and adults into caring relationships with one another.
Presenter Bio: Henry Blickhahn is a nation LOGOS Ministry presenter and has served Our Redeemer Lutheran, Hutchinson for the last 14 years as Minister to Children, Youth and Outreach. He and Marla have one son, Adam (20). Henry is a 1989 graduate of Concordia, Irvine, California.

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Session D3 – Lobby Boardroom
Title: New Church Worker Orientation
Target: New Workers
Presenter: Jim Bradshaw
Description: All new educators to the Kansas District are encouraged to attend this information sharing session. Special emphasis will be placed on the importance of finding a mentor and the establishment of support networks for teachers and DCEs.
Presenter Bio:   Jim Bradshaw has served as the Executive Director of Educational Services in the Kansas District since March, 2005. Prior to this, Jim served as a parish DCE in three locations spanning 23 years. Jim is a 1982 Elementary Education/DCE graduate of Concordia, Seward, Nebraska where he also completed a Master's in Family Life Science in 2001. Jim provides oversight for the following ministries: elementary and early childhood education; children, youth, family life and singles ministries; and, adult education. Jim supports and encourages the lay and professional workers in our schools and parishes to develop and employ servant-leader practices. Jim and Joanna have been married 27 years and have been blessed with three children and a daughter-in-law.

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Session D4 – Room A2
Title: Let's Write!
Target: Teachers (grades 3-8)
Presenter: Terri Vanwey
Description: This workshop will include practical and fun ideas and strategies for use in writing, evaluating, and presenting using the 6+1 traits method. Handouts of ideas and samples of students' writing will be included.
Presenter Bio: Terri Vanwey is a graduate of St. John's College and Emporia State University , where she received a Master's in Library Science in 1980. She received her colloquy from Concordia, Seward , Nebraska in August 2007. Terri has been a teacher at Holy Cross Lutheran School , Wichita , Kansas for over thirty years teaching middle school English, working as the librarian, and coaching volleyball. She has written state assessment tests, worked on National Lutheran School Accreditation (NLSA) teams, and has had the honor of being slected as a KAIRS teacher of the year.

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Session D5 – Room B
Title: Connecting Kids and Books
Target: Teachers
Presenter: Sandy Nelson
Description: Not available at this time.
Presenter Bio: Not available at this time.

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Session D6 – Room A1
Title: Pt. 2 – Tackling, Teaching and Testing Text Structure
Target: Teachers
Presenter: Nancy Fierbaugh
Description: Let's put our heads together and tackle text structure. This session will examine text structure and how it is taught and tested in expository text. We will look at many materials that can be used to teach text structure and will begin to look at specific strategies that can be used to teach each of the five text structures.
Presenter Bio: Nancy Fierbaugh has been the Language Arts Consultant for the Service Center in Clearwater , Kansas since 2004. She presents Language Arts workshops as well as consults for individual schools and districts. Nancy is a DIBELS trainer and is working on certification for NWEA. This year she serves as a consultant for schools writing their state anti-bullying policy. She has a Bachelors Degree from Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio and a Master's Degree from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas. Nancy taught in Ohio and Arkansas before she moved to Derby, Kansas where she taught second grade for twenty-five years. And she loves working with teachers!