Kappa Phi News

Kappa Phi Chapter, No. 261, Area 9

Carrollton-Farmers Branch, TX
The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International
Texas State Organization
Vol. 40, Issue 3 October/November 2018
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DKG Mission Statement: The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International promotes professional and personal
growth of women educators and excellence in education.
DKG Vision Statement: Leading Women Educators Impacting Education Worldwide

From the President’s Pen

On Saturday, September 15, Kappa Phi was represented by nine of our members at the
Area IX Workshop in Little Elm. Jo Murpy, DKG State President, and Patti Belknap, DKG
State VP, presented energizing messages and information. All attending went to helpful
breakout sessions and a number served as facilitators in those sessions. The next time you
see them, please take the opportunity to thank the following attendees for giving of their
time on a Saturday for the betterment of Kappa Phi: Pat Bielamowicz, Celeste Craig, Vicky
Herr, Marilyn Marsh, Marci Matlock, Debbie Moss, Lee Nitcholas, Susan Price, and Nancy
Shaheen. I know you appreciate their work on our behalf.

Our next meeting promises to be a lot of fun; we are meeting at Carol Hull’s home for a lesson in cast iron cook-
ing. As many of you already know, I am a true foodie, so I, for one, am really excited about learning new ways to
use my cast iron pieces. And after the program, we get to eat the food. . . What a wonderful program idea! Thanks,
Marilyn!

Looking forward to seeing everyone in October—and remember: we are building

bridges between past, present, and future this year.

Lee Nitcholas, President 1

Stretch your mind! Wrack your brain! Do you have any Kappa Phi papers, minutes, treasurers’
reports, folders, photos or scrapbooks lurking around in storage closets, boxes or file cabi-
nets? If you find ANYTHING, I’ll take it off your hands and determine if it is ARCHIVE-worthy. If it is it, will
be stored at the TWU Library.

Susan Price, Archive Chair

Editor: Celeste Craig, 6210 White Rose Trail, Dallas, TX 75248 celrob2@sbcglobal.net
Website: kappaphitexas.weebly.com
3 $$ Money Matters $$
Thirteen members have paid their dues. Thank you. Dues are due October 31st, and there is
only one meeting before then. If you haven’t paid your dues, you can give them to me at the
October meeting. Otherwise, you will have to mail them to me:
Pat Bielamowicz 2101 Columbia Dr. Richardson, TX 75081.
Make your check for $90 payable to Delta Kappa Gamma, please.

Eight members paid registration fees and attended the Area IX Workshop in Little Elm on September 15th.

As you know, our big fundraiser for our Early Educator fund is the Christmas Auction. Please be planning to at-
tend! This means deciding what you will contribute to be auctioned and who you will invite/bring to the event.
Below is some information about last year’s Grant-In-Aid recipient. It lets us know us efforts are appreciated and
that our new Early Educator Grants are a worthy cause!

Let’s Cook!
Pat Bielamowicz, Treasurer

Hello! 6

My name is Mary Rose Kidson, and I was a recipient of the Kappa Phi Grant for Future Teachers April 16, 2017. I am writing
this message as a massive thank you to you and your organization for all that you did to aid me during my freshman year in
college.

During this past year, I had the opportunity to visit several music classrooms in local elementary, middle, and high schools, as
well as teach some middle school band kids in my first year!

I also had the opportunity to march in the Rose Bowl Parade with the marching band, and I visited a French horn player
named Peter who had just started high school and was diagnosed with brain cancer. He was a major Sooner fan, and was
unbelievably happy when a portion of our marching band drove out to Fayetteville, AR to give him his own personal pep gig.
The OU Horn Studio visited Vienna, Austria as well, and there I had a solo recital at the Haydn Conservatory of Music. The
Studio was also granted the opportunity to play a concert with the Vienna Horns, a world renowned performance group.

I know that if it weren’t for the grant that I received, I would not have been privy to as many opportunities as I was, and for
that I am eternally grateful for what you and your organization has provided for me. These experiences will not only enrich
my education, but they will also create memories that will last a lifetime.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,

Mary Rose Kidson

P.S. I included a couple pictures of me in uniform and having fun! The first is a picture of some of the Studio (and myself)
playing with the Vienna Horns (I’m on the first row on the right), the second is a selfie of my best friend and me before the
Rose Bowl Parade started (I’m on the right), and the last is a picture of the pep band that visited Peter, with Peter in the mid-
dle (I’m on the front row, 3rd from the left).
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Program Notes

Just a reminder of our next meeting and program on Cast Iron Cooking at the home of Carol
Kull, 10205 Perkins Dr., Irving, TX 75063. She lives in Valley Ranch, close to the former
Cowboys Headquarters. Her phone number is 214-202-0998. Since she is providing dinner for
us from her demonstration, she would appreciate a $5 donation from each of us to defray her costs. Also, please
respond to the Evite so that we can have an accurate count to give her.

Marilyn Marsh, Second Vice President

October Meeting
Date: Thursday, October 4, 2018 Time: 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Place: Home of Carol Kull Program: Cast Iron Cooking
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10205 Perkins Dr. (Valley Ranch) Inspiration: Barbara Gilbert
Irving 75063
Carol’s Phone Number: 214-202-0998

To help defray the costs of the food, please plan to donate $5.00 to Carol.

December Meeting
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Date: Thursday, December 6, 2018 Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Place: TBD Program: Auction for Early Educators Grants
Inspiration: Debbie Moss

Purpose: To Unite To Advance To Initiate, Endorse, Support To Endow

Note: We do not have a location for the December meeting. Please contact Marilyn Marsh if you would be
willing to have the auction and Christmas social in your home.

Be Thinking About This Auction Item: VIP Package for Repertory Company Theatre’s production of White
Christmas, Sunday, December 16, at 2:00 p.m. Package includes 8 seats in the VIP Box and complimentary
snacks and beverages (includes wine).

Future Meetings
December 6, 2018: Christmas Party and Auction for Early Educators Grants, Location TBD—6:00-8:00
January 10, 2019: ASTEF Emphasis and Kappa Phi Birthday, Sweet Basil’s—5:30-7:30
February 7, 2019: Federal Highway Adm/Tribal Consultation: A Primer, Church of the Apostles, Coppell—5:30
April 4, 2019: Historical Tour, Farmers Branch Museum and Park, Dinner following at Nuevo Leon—5:30
May 9, 2019: Founders’ and Presidents’ Celebration, Initiation, Marshall’s BBQ—5:30-7:30

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 Grant-In-Aid News
There are twelve eligible teachers at Strickland this year who meet the criteria for an early educator . . . less than 5
years experience. All have been notified of the availability and requirements of the grant. We met personally and
through email messages with the teachers. Debbie created an electronic version of the application so the teachers
can apply via Google Docs.

The bridge has been built . . .This is a good relationship-builder for possible new members.

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Vicky Herr and Debbie Moss

Techno-Bits

Do you like to listen to music at night but do not want to wake up hours later with music playing?
3 You can easily set the timer on your IPhone so the music will stop playing automatically!

1. Start your music playing

2. Open the “Timer” window on your clock app and set the amount of time that you want the music to play.
3. Select (touch) “When Timer Ends.” This will take you to a window where you can select the sound that you
want to play to indicate the timer has ended.
4. You don’t want a sound to play, however. You want the music to stop playing.
5. So, select “Stop Playing”. You will see a check mark on the left side of “Stop Playing.” When you have com-
pleted this last step, be sure to select “Set” (top right-hand corner), and you are all set!!

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Celeste Craig, Communications Chairman

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Getting to Know You
We are so happy to finally welcome Linda Anderson to membership in Delta Kappa Gamma
and Kappa Phi Chapter! A long-time visitor, Linda was initiated in September.

Linda was born in Wichita, Kansas, but moved to Midland at the age of 3 and lived there un-
til she moved to Dallas. She graduated from Texas Tech in 1973 with a BS in Elementary
Education and a minor in sociology. Linda taught first grade in DISD for two years, but re-
turned to Tech for graduate school where she earned her master’s degree in Elementary Edu-
cation and a Reading Teacher Certification for grades K-12. She continued teaching first
grade while in graduate school.

While working on her master’s degree at Tech, Linda met her husband Wally, and they married and moved to
Dallas in 1976. She taught third and fourth grades at Carrollton Elementary from 1976-1980, and then spent the
next six and a half year staying home with her two children, Luke and Kathryn. Linda then returned to teaching
and taught third grade at Lee Elementary in Coppell ISD, and opened Austin Elementary the following year. She
taught there for 23 years—four years at third grade and nineteen years at fourth.

Fifteen student teachers were fortunate to have Linda as their supervising teacher through the years. In fact, one of
her students teachers, Kim Tripi (her name at the time), was a member of Kappa Phi Chapter for a period of time
before she married and moved to the Houston area!

Linda was chosen as a Region 10 representative in the early 1990s to write activities for the new Science TEKS.
She met in Lubbock for one week in the summer with other Texas district representatives. In the early 1990s she
was nominated for National Outstanding Elementary Science Teacher! Linda was the Science Specialist at Austin
Elementary for ten years while also teaching fourth grade.

Linda retired in 2009 and enjoys the freedom to do her favorite things: gardening, cooking, reading, hiking, social-
izing, etc. She loves gardening, especially growing herbs and flowers. She loves cooking (and is an outstanding
cook) and going into her garden to snip fresh herbs for various recipes. Reading is also a passion, especially mys-
teries.

Wally, Linda’s husband of 42 years, and Linda enjoy traveling, and especially enjoy their fall hiking trips to Colo-
rado and river/ocean cruises to Europe. Besides hiking in Colorado, she and Wally have hiked in Big Bend, Gua-
dalupe Mountains National Park, the highest point in Texas three times (that hike went from an elevation of 3000
feet to 8,750 feet!), Alaska, Kauai, Norway, and Switzerland. No wonder she is so trim!!

When she is not traveling, gardening, or cooking, Linda is active in the CFB-RSPA where she has been a member
of the “Lunch Bunch” (the group that helps set up and serve lunch) for nine years. She also enjoys getting together
for monthly lunches with the ART group—Austin Retired Teachers!

Welcome to Delta Kappa Gamma and Kappa Phi Chapter, Linda! We are glad that you are a part of our group.

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 Membership and Recruitment
An elevator speech is a short explanation of a topic that can be provided in the time it takes to ride an elevator
from one floor to another (15-30 seconds). For example, the following is a response to “What is Delta Kappa
Gamma?”, a question that might be asked in elevator encounters, in a school teachers’ lounge, or at a get-together
with friends.

“We are an international honor society that recognizes and supports outstanding women in education. We have
more than 75,000 members in 17 countries, including nearly 244 chapters with nearly 7500 members here in
Texas. Our members can apply for scholarships and grants, attend professional workshops and conferences, and
enjoy the opportunity to network with women who share their commitment to excellence in their profession.”

Try using the above elevator speech when telling coworkers and friends about Delta Kappa Gamma.

Do you know an outstanding female educator who would be a perfect fit for Kappa Phi Chapter and Delta Kappa
Gamma? If so, fill in the “Prospect Card” below, cut it out, and bring it to a meeting, or mail it to Marci Matlock.

Prospect Card
Name
Address
Email
Employer
Position
Phone
Sponsor

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 Happy Birthday to You!
Celeste Craig October 6
Ann Troyer October 12
3 Susan Marchus October 19
Susan Pharr October 23
Vicky Herr November 9

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Sammie and Barbara at the Marilyn and Roberta at the September Vicky and Laura are taking care of
September meeting. meeting. some very serious business.

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Linda and Debbie at the Linda’s initiation

September meeting. Our special guest, Patti
Belknap, and Lee.

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Roberta and Debbie at the Septem- ASTEF Presentation at Area IX Building Bridges Presentation at
ber meeting. Workshop Area IX Workshop

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ASTEF Update

ASTEF (Alpha State Texas Educational Foundation) awarded $38,030 in stipends to 22 TSO chapters at the Waco
Convention on June 15. All projects support ASTEF’s mission to promote educational excellence for Texas stu-
dents. The 2018-2019 ASTEF Project Stipends exemplify the desire of members to provide real, concrete assis-
tance for students and/or teachers in Texas.

In 2012, when ASTEF was in its early stages, $1,000 was awarded. In six years time, that amount has grown to
$38,030! We all support ASTEF through our dues and contributions.

Plans are being made for the third annual ASTEF Weekender trip to be held April 5-7 in Bryan, College Station,
and Brenham. Highlights include: First Friday in Bryan; The George H. W. Bush Presidential Library; Messina
Hoff Winery; and, the Texas A & M campus.

The total cost of the trip is $275.00. Information and registration forms can be found on the ASTEF website at
www.astef.org. Explore Texas with ASTEF!

Lone Star News, Fall 2018, Vol. 72, No. 1

Leadership Seminar
Join the crew of “riveting” women at Leadership Seminar February 22-24, 2019, in Frisco. The application and
reference forms are available on the Leadership Seminar page of dkgtexas.org. Submit both forms together via
email to kimberlybrumley@yahoo.com.

The application deadline is October 15, 2018. Applicants will be notified December 1, 2018.

Lone Star News, Fall 2018, Vol. 72, No. 1

The deadline for the December/January newsletter is Monday, November 19. If

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you would like to submit an article for that edition, please send it to Celeste
(celrob2@sbcglobal.net) by that date.

1, 2.,4 Graphics courtesy of dkgtexas.org/graphics 3. Photos courtesy of Kappa Phi Members 5. Free Illustration: period-481478_960_720.jpg
6. Free Illustration: The World of Mommie O’: May 2012 7. Public Domain Image, https://pixabay.com/en/cast-iron-cast-iron-pan-carbon-steel-2969649/
8. Photos courtesy of Mary Rose Kidson

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 DELTA KAPPA GAMMA INTERNATIONAL
KAPPA PHI CHAPTER
MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 6, 2018
MEETING HELD AT STATE HEADQUARTERS

PRESENT: Patti Belknap, Bat Belamowicz, Linda Anderson, Celeste Craig, Lee Nitcholas, Marilyn Marsh,
Roberta Gould, Laura Harbin, Vicky Herr, Barbara Taylor, Sammie Perry, Mary Funk, Susan Price, Debbie
Moss,Nancy Shaheen, Betty Shaw

WELCOME: President Lee Nitcholas opened the meeting with a thank-you to all who braved the hard rain and
street flooding to make it to our meeting at the State Headquarters. She welcomed DKG Texas Second VP, Patty
Belknap, Roberta Gould who is transferring from another chapter, and our initiate Linda Anderson.

INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE: Barbara Taylor’s message was “An Homage to You”. Afterwards, we went
around the table and introduced ourselves. Each of us told how many years we have taught and our teaching
fields.

SECRETARY’S REPORT: Debbie Moss is taking minutes for Chris Littletemporarily. A committee consisting
of Barbara Taylor and Tina Flatt reviewed the minutes from the previous meeting and approved the minutes. It
was requested that the final date for turning in our dues be changed from October 1 st to October 31st, 2018.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Pat Bielamowicz said that the Treasurer’s Report was in the newsletter. She will take
dues any time up to October 31st. She will hold our check until the due date if needed. The membership card that
we will get when we pay our dues is now a permanent card and will not be replaced each year.

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT: Marilyn Marsh announced a change in the January meeting from Janu-
ary 3rd to January 10th at Sweet Basil.

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT: Marci Matlock was absent.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

COMMUNICATIONS: Celeste Craig made new DKG/Kappa Phi business cards for us to use as we talk
to others about our organization. Nancy Shaheen gave us copies of an Elevator Speech that had been requested by
Marci Matlock at the last meeting.

LEGISLATIVE: Roberta Gould mentioned Tim Lee’s Inside Line. She encouraged us to read his reports
that come through email. She gave us a hand-out with some highlights regarding the healthcare legislation and
voting.

GLOBAL AWARENESS: Debbie Moss passed around a basket for donations for Schools for Africa.
Donations were $33.05.

ARCHIVES: Susan Price has made a spreadsheet for keeping track of all of our Kappa Phi materials.
Members were asked to locate some of the items.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Vicky Herr and Debbie Moss gave an update on the Early Educator Grant Program.
A meeting with the eligible teachers at Strickland Elementary will be on September 19th to introduce the grant

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opportunity. At a later time, we will choose a committee to review the applications for the grants.

NEW BUSINESS: Laura Harbin reported that the proposed budget had been completed with the help of Pat
Bielamowicz. A motion was made by Vicky Herr to accept the proposed budget; Barbara Taylor seconded the
motion. The budget was adopted.

It was reported that Dorothy Carroll and Myrtle Watkins dropped their memberships.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Lee Nitcholas mentioned that our chapter is in charge of finding entertainment for the Spring Luncheon. She sug-
gested that we might be able to get the Dallas Police Choir. She will look into that.
Fall Area Workshop is Saturday, September 15, 2018 beginning at 8:30 AM in Little Elm. A suggestion was
made to carpool and to eat at the Hula Hut after the workshop.

SPEAKER: Patti Belknap, Second VP of DKG Texas. Patti gave a shortened version of the Membership Recruit-
ment Plan. She will send us a copy of the Recruitment Plan.

INITIATION / RECOMMITTMENT: Celeste Craig and Nancy Shaheen conducted the ceremony. Linda Ander-
son was initiated. Roberta Gould transferred from another chapter.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 PM after singing the Delta Kappa Gamma Song.
We had dinner at Café de France.

_______________________________ ________________________________
President- Lee Nitcholas Secretary- Chris Little
Minutes recorded by Debbie Moss

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 Delta Kappa Gamma
Kappa Phi Chapter

Treasurer’s Report

Balance July 31, 2018 $10,160.16 *

Deposits
13-Aug. Dues: Pharr, Shaheen, Troyer, Herr, Bielamowicz $450.00
8-Aug. Workshop: Biemalowicz, Nitcholas, Shaheen, Craig, Marsh, Moss $ 72.00
27-Aug. Dues: Craig $ 90.00

Withdrawals

#1166 Susan Price (Convention Expenses) $256.43

# MuMu Chapter (Marci Matlock Workshop Fee) $ 12.00
#1169 Celeste Craig Convention Expense $ 50.00

August 31, 2018 $10,453.73

*Includes $5,786.68 designated for scholarship money

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