Thursday, October 6, 2011

BRAZIL TEAM NEWS - OCTOBER 6, 2011


BRAZIL PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL LEADERS
From the ‘virtual’ desk of Dr. Orozco
Brazil Team 2012,
Oi! from Brazil. I was in Uberlandia, Brazil for an international education conference presentation, and will spend a few days in Rio de Janeiro before I return to Los Angeles. I'd like to welcome our newest team members- Wadean Van Ruler (Turlock USD) & Karen Green (LAUSD)! A full list of members (awaiting your bios/pics) is online at: http://leadership-innovation.org/alumni2012BR.html
And please encourage others interested in the program to contact me. Space is getting limited.

PROGRAM SYLLABUS AND KEY WORKING DOCUMENTS
All candidates (with paid deposit) will be sent the syllabus and key documents THIS MONTH to begin preparation of your Professional Portfolio. The earlier you begin, the more time you will have on the ground to enjoy Rio. So if you've paid your deposit, thanks. If not, please do so soon... We will be discussing aspects of the work in Rio during our next conference call.

SUBMIT CANDIDATE BIOGRAPHY & PHOTO
PLEASE submit your bio and pic. Candidate Biography Paragraph - Write a biography paragraph about yourself. These will be posted as part of our website exactly as YOU write it. Also email a picture with your bio. It should be typed and perfect (free of errors) Follow last year’s example below- and more examples are online:

Format to Follow:
[line 1] Name, email address
[line 2] Job Title, Organization/District
[paragraph] (125 words maximum- USE word count for this paragraph only): Brief highlights of formal education, professional experience & interest, and something fun &/or personal.

[example]
Linda Orozco, Ph.D. Lorozco14@yahoo.com
Founder & President, Leadership Innovation
Dr. Orozco received her Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Minnesota; her M.A. from Calif. State University, Long Beach; and her B.A. from Whittier College. She is Past Director of the Professional Administration Credential Program and Professor of Educational Leadership at California State University , Fullerton . Her experience includes 26 years in educational leadership including both public and private educational settings, district and county offices of education, and higher education administration. Major research and publication endeavors include technology in education and administration, educating diverse populations, as well as effective interagency collaboration. She continues to conduct research internationally including Brazil, Thailand and Vietnam. She is an avid surfer and runner.


I welcome your questions and comments ANYTIME. Even when I am in Brazil you can easily reach me via email, Skype or the 562 telephone number below.

Warm regards!
Linda
Dr. Linda Orozco
Leadership Innovation
Telephone: 562-368-4844

Friday, April 22, 2011

ICON OF RIO


SUNDAY, April 17, 2011
This began as an early morning for us. We left at 7:15 and hopped on a bus
to Corcovado. The heavens aligned and the bus was on time, so we arrived at
8:00, purchased our cog train ticket for the first ascent of the day. We
traveled upward through beautiful forest to the 704.6m-2310ft summit. We
arrived in a cloud - literally. As we watched, the mist burned away
gradually and we were treated to the etherial emergence of Cristo Redentor
(Christ the Redeemer). Slowly the clouds lifted on Ipanema, then the rest
of Cidade Maravilhosa was revealed below us. We enjoyed refreshments and
had a work session in this inspiring setting. As we began our return to
home base, we saw many residents carrying palm fronds and remembered that
it was Palm Sunday.

Back at Rene's and Janine's, most of us had another work session and
interesting discussion while a few of us headed to a soccer stadium to
enjoy an afternoon game.

In the evening, we walked to Garota de Ipanema (or Veloso Cafe), where the famous song "The Girl
from Ipanema" was written. A Wikipedia article describes the famous story:
The song was inspired by Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto (now Helô
Pinheiro), a fifteen-year-old girl living on Montenegro Street in the
fashionable Ipanema district in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Daily she would
stroll past the popular Veloso bar-café, not just to the beach ("each day
when she walks to the sea"), but in the everyday course of her life. She
would sometimes enter the bar to buy cigarettes for her mother and leave to
the sound of wolf-whistles. In the winter of 1962 the composers watched the
girl pass by the bar, and it is easy to imagine why they noticed her — Helô
was a 173-cm (five-foot eight-inch) brunette, and she attracted the
attention of many of the bar patrons. Since the song became popular, she
has become a celebrity.

The last hold-outs walked across the street and listened to Bossa Nova
music at Vinicius Show Bar.

Another great day!

- Paula

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Whole Cohort Combines!


SATURDAY SUMMARY
The Whole Cohort Combines!

Tier II Brazil had a great Saturday. The early arriving group (who started on Tuesday) had the morning off to see the city or work on portfolios while the later arriving group kicked off the program with an orientation from Linda, including a walking tour of our immediate neighborhood in Ipanema. And then or the first time, the whole group came together for a tasty “por kilo” lunch at Broth. Beverly, principal at Far West High School in Oakland, had her ticket drawn from the hat and won a free lunch. The early group taught the later arrivals the lyrics to “Cidade Maravilhosa” over our desserts, and we belted it out as best we could to an appreciative lunch crowd. The group reassembled about 45 minutes later near Posto 8 on Praia de Ipanema, where Fatima found space for us in the teaming Saturday beach crowd and set us up with beach chairs, umbrellas, and coconuts.

After pairs reviewed few of each other’s portfolio documents, Linda led us in a discussion of where each of us is on the continuum from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism, couching the concept of intercultural development within the larger context of global leadership. Then we took a swim.

We capped off the class with another halting performance of Cidade Maravilhosa. Linda saved us by recruiting a couple of cariocas (Rio locals) to model the melody and pace, and the group responded with a rousing effort that brought applause from the surrounding thongs.

After dinner on our own, we traveled by Metro to the Lapa district (home of the famous white arches), where Paolo met us for the walk to the local music scene. We ate, sampled the local drinks and beer, and listened to samba music under the waxing moon.

-by Nancy & Leo

Saturday, April 16, 2011

VIN DIESEL SIGHTING IN RIO


Bom dia de Ipanema!

This morning started off with 5 'Californian Cariocas' taking a run along Ipanema from Posto 8 to Posto 12 in Leblon and back. After failing to do any pushups or pullups, the ocean cooled us off before getting to 'General Orozco's' SHARPLY at 8:30where we sang 'Cidade Maravilhosa' as a group in preparation for our ensemble for the children in the favela on Monday. After harmonization, we escaped for a change of venue to Dilma's apartment where we enhaled her air conditioning while everyone focused intently on their documents... while humming 'See-dah-gee mar-a-veal-oh-zaw'... In the afternoon, we decided to divide and conquer, with some going to the Urca - SugarLoaf area to work and some of us riding the wave in Ipanema to get the two biggest portfolio docs complete. A fine middle eastern feast 'Rio style' was a well earned reward!

PS: Kim is still blushing from our encounter with Vin Diesel and 'the Rock' on top of Sugar Loaf in preparation for their movie premier of 'The Fast and the Furious 3' set in Rio...

-Kim and Corbett

Thursday, April 14, 2011

ENJOYING RIO HISTORY BETWEEN WORK SESSIONS


Today, Corbett, Jesus, Kim and Leo started the day off bright and early with a run on Ipanema Beach while the others enjoyed a couple more hours of sleep. It’s amazing to start the day at 6:30 in the morning seeing the beach and streets bustling with people and energy.

We all met at Linda’s apartment at 8:30 am (sharp!... Linda likes us to be punctual) and got to work. We started reviewing our CAPSEL’s principal analysis assignment and that evolved into an enticing conversation about teacher and administrative credentialing programs, job descriptions vs. evaluation processes, the economic state of California today, the magnitude of the current jobs of school leaders, tenure systems etc. Linda had to finally refocus the group of burgeoning philosophers and critics in the room. After our morning work session, we hopped on the metro, guided by the expertise and experience of Linda and Amira, to our afternoon destination in the area of Flamengo. We went to an amazing “by the kilo” restaurant called Oklahoma. This is perhaps the 4th per kilo restaurant Linda has introduced to the group because she realizes they are our favorite!!! Chicken, shrimp, risotto, fresh fruits and veggies, sushi and… don’t forget the amazing dessert bar! David got to have his favorite… gelato!

As Rio can’t be all food and fun, we continued with our work over lunch, reviewing several self-reflections, providing and receiving feedback from members of our team. Next, we ventured on foot to the Museu da Republica (Presidential Palace). The architecture was amazing! Can anyone create those hardwood floors for our homes back in the States? The historical tour of the palace was impressive, yet somewhat daunting due to our lack of knowledge of the Portuguese language. Good thing we knew “meh-t-row” (metro) and found our way safely back home… Most of the gang is currently enjoying some sun and sand on Ipanema Beach, while Kim and David “blog”. Your turn tomorrow team… “too-doo bone”… everything’s good!

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS 'HIT THE BOOKS' ON IPANEMA BEACH!

The first wave of California school administrators arrived in Rio de Janeiro yesterday for the international professional development program & Tier II, too! They will be visiting the 'marvelous city' and working on their California Professional Administrative Credential.
The first day included an orientation and walking tour of their 'new classroom' - IPANEMA! The walking tour included locations of restaurants, post office, music, metro, markets, pharmacies, office supplies, beach kiosks and even ice cream! The team lunched at Broth Restaurant, a 'por quilo' place that allows you to load up with a wide variety of food, you pay by the weight of the plate. Amira even won a free lunch lottery for our team, courtesy of the owner, Andrea.
Their afternoon work session was conducted 'on the sand' at Ipanema Beach at Fatima's barraca, of course! Several even took a swim during a 10min. classbreak- ah, learning is sweet. Did they work? You bet, until 5pm! They have a 25-document portfolio to complete while in Rio- so their noses are to the grindstone, even in swimwear! Then the school bell rang and they were FREE to return to their various apartments in the surrounding area of Ipanema for rest, homework, or evening play.