Thanks to the Pacific Islands Club and the NMI chapter of the American Red Cross, a week-long class was taught by a visiting instructor from California.
The participants learned advanced water safety training as well as how to teach the Red Cross “learn to swim” skill levels.
“Having all these new Red Cross trained swimming instructors will really improve the level of instruction currently available on island,” said Mary Ann Taman, health and safety administrator of the local chapter.
“The Pacific Islands Club is a great community partner by donating access to their pool and class room facilities,” said John Hirsh, executive director of the NMI chapter.
“Special thanks to Cole Pritchard, Glenn Policare and the staff and management of PIC for their generosity,” he added.
Public announcement
GUEST worker parents of children with disabilities are invited to a meeting on Wednesday, July 30, at 5 p.m. at the Kilili Pavillion in front of Ada Gym.
LISS advisory
LISS — Each month, Ladera International School of Saipan, through the ETS, offers two dates for the Internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language at the LISS facility on island.
These tests are given only on weekends and interested TOEFL iBT takers must register online at www.ets.org, select the TOEFL section and follow the steps to register.
Congressional staff delegation to visit NMI
A CONGRESSIONAL staff delegation comprised of staff members from the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on the Judiciary will be visiting the CNMI on Aug. 10, according to a media release from CNMI Resident Rep. Pete A. Tenorio.
“The House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs has requested my office to arrange meetings for the group,” he said. “My district office staff will be contacting those groups specified by the group leader, Mr. Tony Babauta, to schedule the various meetings and courtesy calls.”
The delegation will be meeting with some of the groups and individuals that met last month when staff from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security visited the CNMI.
The staff-delegation wants to make sure that the intent of Public Law 110-229 is being met and, to the greatest extent possible, minimize any adverse economic and fiscal effects as the law is implemented.
“The staff-delegation will also focus on programs that will be providing training for our local people for jobs in the private sector. They want to see what our resources are and how we are providing better opportunities for locals. Vocational training and job preparedness are vital in insuring a secure future for our people, and something that I pushed hard for in the legislation,” Tenorio said.
“I think that these meetings are important and that Congress remains engaged in the process. I am also pleased to see so many individuals and groups interested in the development of the regulations for this law. I have encouraged DHS officials as well as congressional staff to listen to the businesses community, government officials, the general public and other non-government organizations. Local input is vital to insure that the Department of Homeland Security drafts regulations that are realistic, responsive to our unique needs, and helpful in our critical effort for our economy recovery” Tenorio said.
NMC staff complete software training to enhance student services
(NMC) — Staff of Northern Marianas College recently completed a two-week training session to use software upgrade that is designed to enhance student experience as well as improve the services provided by NMC.
The software, named PowerCAMPUS Unified Digital Campus program, will afford NMC staff access to a more secure and more user-friendly database.
The upgrade is also aimed at providing students a quicker and more pleasant registration experience for the upcoming Fall ’08 semester as the software is expected to speed up the billing portion of registration. It also places NMC a step closer to providing online registration and affording students online access to grades and unofficial transcripts.
“The training is part of the college’s overall efforts to continuously build staff capacity to improve the services that we provide to our students,” said NMC President Dr. Carmen Fernandez. “This upgrade is instrumental to the college’s efforts to regain accreditation and optimizes the college’s ability to meet data and evidence requirements for program and review assessment.”
Attendees of the training finished the sessions equipped with the knowledge and skills to operate the software upgrade, which will provide for a better records management and processing and will enhance the college’s ability to keep track of students’ portfolios and alumni career patterns and changes.
“Reports that had to be produced manually before now require only the push of a button,” Fernandez said. “This is definitely a big plus for productivity.”
There were two parts of the training session, which was facilitated by software company SunGard Higher Education. SunGard’s Sue Tosh conducted training in the fields of admissions and records from July 16 to July 24, and Mary Grace Hendricks conducted training in the field of billing and cash receipts from July 22 to July 25.
Elizabeth Holland of the Sage Company was also available on July 24-26 for training and for implementing the integration of PowerCampus to MIPS, a software program which NMC uses for its financial transactions and reports.
All of the visiting consultants commended the staff and faculty who participated in the training for their enthusiasm and excitement.
Sue Tosh said the NMC participants were the friendliest and most motivated that she has ever encountered in her training career.
DEQ to hold public meetings on Saipan, Tinian and Rota
(DEQ) — The Division of Environmental Quality will hold a series of meetings about historical land use and underground storage tanks on Saipan, Tinian and Rota and urges the community to attend.
• Saipan — Monday, Aug. 4, 2008, 11 a.m., conference room, Office on Aging in Chinatown
• Tinian — Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008, 11 a.m., conference room, Office of the Mayor of Tinian
• Rota — Friday, Aug. 8, 2008, 11 a.m., conference room of the Office of the Mayor of Rota
The public meetings will provide information to the community about underground storage tanks and land use storage tanks programs as well as gather information from the community about potential underground storage tanks and land use storage tanks sites.
Information gathered from the meetings will be documented into the DEQ geographic information system database.
For more information about these meetings, contact John Paul Flores or Jim Callier at 664-8500.
