Annual Reports to NCTE Are Due July 15: Remember that NCTE Headquarters needs your affiliate’sannual report. The details and link to the Annual Report Survey appear on the site. Details from the annual reports guide NCTE’s efforts to help affiliates serve their members year-round.

Registration for NCTE Annual Convention Is Live: The registration formfor the NCTE Annual Convention in Minneapolis November 19-24 is now available. Remember to include a ticket for the Affiliate Roundtable Breakfast on Sunday, November 22, in your order. Find information about lodging and online reservations at NCTE’s 2015 Annual Convention Hotels. Reserve a room early to allow the best choice of location and rate.

Regional Representatives Welcome Suggestions: Your regional representative is still working with the SCOA to plan the annual leadership meeting in San Jose next month. Please send your suggestions about topics to include to your representative. Regional representatives also welcome advice about subjects for the Friday afternoon meeting of affiliate leaders at the Annual Convention. (See contact information at the end of this newsletter.)

Two Affiliates Initiate Twitter Chats: The New England Association of Teachers of English (NEATE) and the Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (PCTELA) have initiated Twitter chats. The leaders welcome browsing the numerous suggestions, opinions, and discussions. Click on the relevant links. NEATE had a strong scheduled, focused chat about mentor texts on May 21.

KATE Initiates New Electronic Anthology: The Kansas Association of Teachers of English (KATE) has launched Voices of Kansas, an online anthology of student writing. The introduction to the first issue describes its distinctive features:

Members of KATE received links to download issues for Kindle, iBooks, or their Windows or Apple computers.

An End-of-Term Pastiche: Curt Bobbitt, region 7 representative, composed the following reflection to the tune of “Suicide is Painless” (the M*A*S*H theme), original music by Johnny Mandel, original lyrics by Mike Altman.

The Job in June

Teaching school’s not painless.
The critics aren’t all brainless.
But it’s my life–I love it, if you please.

The game of lit is hard to play.
The students say to it, “No way!”
But I’ll not cheat to win the day
By praising 50 Shades of Grey.

[Refrain]

The sword of time will prick our skins.
It may not hurt when it begins.
With Shylock’s pound of flesh it twins,
Yet soon the mightier pen will win.

[Refrain]

The Harry Potter craze is done.
High fantasy, though, still is fun.
The dragons fly; the dwarves shun sun,
And Discworld’s wizards always pun.

[Refrain]

The last meal I will one day eat,
My dessert both just and sweet.
I’ll never live on Easy Street,
Nor will daVinci paint my seat.

[Refrain]