Salvete! Quid novi? |
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The fall of 2003 marked Magistra Navik's return to the classroom to teach Latin and Advanced+ Math in the Deer Path Middle School, District 67, Lake Forest, Illinois. While at Deer Path Middle School, Magistra had two summer contracts to work on the Latin Curriculum. The end result was an adaptation of Ecce Romani IA which is developmentally appropriate for middle school students and differentiated to be appropriately challenging for a diverse student population. Magistra also served on the Quest/Gifted Committee. Her particular contribution was in administering, scoring, and interpreting the results of standardized screen tests.
In 1997, Magistra developed and implemented a classical language program for the junior high at Harvest Christian School. Drawing heavily on Cambridge Latin, developed by the North American Cambridge Classics Project, HCS's Latin program led students to discover inductively principles of Latin syntax, grammar, and vocabulary. Through Socratic Dialogue, shared inquiry, and analysis, students became proficient at understanding literature written in Latin. They applied their knowledge of Latin to English grammar, syntax, and vocabulary development. The curriculum was enriched through the study of Classical Greek and Latin history, geography, and culture. A lifelong student of Latin herself, Magistra is a member of both The American Classical League and The Illinois Classical Conference. In the summer of 2002, Magistra and her daughter, a student of Latin at the University of Illinois U-C, visited Rome, Pompeii, and the surrounding area. In 1972 and 1973, Magistra lived in a suburb of Athens, Greece, and traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean.
Navik completed the Master of Education, Teacher Leadership, through North Park University with honors in 2002. In accordance with her interest in gifted issues, she has degree candidacy for Northeastern Illinois University's Master of Arts in Gifted Education (MAGE). Navik is also working toward completion of the Type-75 Supervisory Certificate through Aurora University. Summer 2002 Navik completed the Training of Trainers course for the Illinois State Gifted Institute (Kishwaukee Intermediate Delivery System).
She joined the faculty of Huntley School District #158, Huntley, Illinois, in the summer of 2001. In her position as Coordinator of the Exceptional Talent Development Program, High School and Middle School, Navik worked with math and language arts teachers in developing and implementing differentiated curricula and instruction for children of high achievement and/or aptitude. While at Huntley, Navik participated in the School Improvement, Curriculum Mapping, and Textbook Selection Committees. Navik facilitated a group studying Dimensions of Learning, by Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering of the Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL); the group was comprised of teachers from both the Middle and High Schools. She attended the State of Illinois, and Illinois Association for Gifted Children conferences in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and the National Association for Gifted Children Conference in 2001, and various county and area professional development workshops and seminars.
The year 2001 was a year of striving to learn more about the gifted middle school scholar. In the spring, the faculty of St. Mary's School in Lake Forest welcomed Navik into their Middle School Endorsement cohort, taught by Dr. Sharon McNeely and Dr. Ellen Fiedler of Northeastern Illinois University. The highlights of the summer were the Illinois Gifted Institute under the direction of Penny Choice of Lake County, Illinois, and Differentiation, taught by Mary Klos of Woodstock and Linda Lanphier of Huntley through KIDS.
The National Council of Teachers of English hosted their fall 2000 convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Navik attended middle and high school strands, especially enjoying meeting Linda Rief of Oyster River Middle School, Durham, NH, who has inspired many with her love of learning and teaching. Rief received the Edwin A. Hoey 2000 Award for excellence among middle level educators.
In June of 2000, Navik attended the Association of Illinois Middle Schools' conference at North Park University, Chicago. Among other seminars, she studied the challenge of integrating reading across the disciplines with Dr. Peg Hoskin, North Park University. The National Association of Middle Schools provides publications and supports those involved in implementing the Middle School concept.
August of 2000, Navik returned for her second season with McHenry County College Kids on Campus to publish two editions of the Kids on Campus Newspaper with gifted middle school students. In previous summers, Navik taught enrichment classes on Fibonacci, Junior Great Books, Classical Mythology, and archaeology.
The summer of 1998, Navik was a fellow of the University of Chicago's Graham School of General Studies. The University conducted a series of intensive Summer Seminars for middle school and high school teachers in the Chicago area. Navik studied the design and development of educational websites.
Navik holds a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from North Park University and a Bachelor of Arts in the Teaching of English from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She has four children and resides in Crystal Lake, Illinois.