It’s been a busy year for ETAI! In order to be able to offer a flexible gmul (PD credit) plan, we partnered with the
Ministry programs – Let’s Talk and Keep Talking, with the non-stop support of our chief inspector, Dr. Tziona Levi. Perhaps a bit confusing at times, but it allowed us to offer the most individualized program ever. Teachers can choose to attend 10 hours of one of the Ministry programs and 20 hours of ETAI conferences, or any variation to get to the 30 hours required for gmul.

AMAL agreed to sponsor our plan, once again, and ran into bureaucratic difficulties due to the changes in the organization that runs all of the Ministry’s gmul programs. The gmul finally came in! It should appear on your Ministry file with all of the other PD credits. We appreciate the patience that most of you have shown in this matter.

The first ETAI conference of this school year was held in Or Yehuda, convened by Raviv Schwartz. It was an interesting and lively day, very much enjoyed by all who attended. On February 12th, we held a SIG (Special Interest Group) Day for teacher trainers, college lecturers, and anyone interested in the latest in English teaching in Israel. Tziona Levi, Batia Laufer, Elisheva Barkon, and other well-known teacher educators gave presentations. It was a very interesting day for those who attended. We look forward to more events like this.

Coming up next is the mini conference in Bet Hanina on February 24th, following last year’s success at the same venue. Like last year, this conference will be convened by Nihad Aweida, and we will be honored by Tziona Levi’s plenary talk, as well as many other interesting sessions. If you are interested in joining the chartered bus from Jerusalem, please call the ETAI office to make a reservation – 02-5001844. Please call the office to pre-register to help us know what to organize in terms of refreshments and seating, and also, of course, to receive a considerable discount!

This year our Spring Conference will be held at the lovely Kfar Silver campus, on April 15th, and convened by Ella Ben Emanuel. The call for presenters is already up (click HERE) and we’d be delighted to consider your proposal for a presentation. A full day is planned, including a light dairy lunch, as well as coffee on tap!

All of this is leading up to our very special 40th anniversary conference at Ramat Rachel in early July (July 3rd and 4th, 2019). We have many attractions planned including a festive birthday celebration, an evening reception at the American Center, a number of international guest speakers, a trip down memory lane with past ETAI Chairs, and much more. Last minute proposals will be considered if you submit asap.

Two weeks ago, you received the survey we sent out in order to update our records about who and where our members are. I was delighted at the quick response of more than 100 of you in the first 24 hours! Thanks so much for answering. If you haven’t submitted your response yet, please do so now. It only takes a minute or so, and will help us to make decisions about logical venues, and the types of presentations (elementary, junior high, high school or adult education) we should choose.

In the space for comments, a number of you wrote that you would be happy to make a presentation at a conference. If that was you, please submit a proposal for your presentation so we can consider it for the conferences.

I was also delighted to see that so far 35 of you indicated that you would be happy to be on a conference convening committee. We welcome your participation and will surely be in touch!

We are proud to be continuing in the 40 year tradition of planning and holding engaging and inspiring conferences. As you know, every member of ETAI’s board is a volunteer – busy, and teaching as you are. Without these dedicated volunteers over the years, there would have been no ETAI, and without a steady influx of volunteers, ETAI will not be able to continue. Consider how you would like to contribute to ETAI’s continued success, and let us know.

Looking forward to seeing you at the upcoming ETAI events!

Mitzi Geffen

ETAI Chair