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What's New?  September 2010
  Staff Changes

Kanrina Puas left us after two years to finish college in the US.

Ramond Soumwei has joined Kevin Cronin and Sepio Joseph on our media staff, where he has already done work on three different videos.

  Textbook on FSM History

Tim smit, a former Jesuit Volunteer who worked at Pohnpei Catholic school and PICS high school for more than three years, has completed his work on a high school textbook on FSM history. For nearly a year and a half he has been working with materials collected by others to integrate them into a cohesive text. The book has been published and expected to be available this fall of 2010.

Speaking of textbooks, the 300-page high school text that Josh Levy did last year-Micronesian Government: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow-is still available for purchase at MicSem for $16 a copy, with postage added.

  Videos

First Class: Excellence in Public Schools
What makes a school good? Not so much the teachers’ degrees or the quality of the textbooks as the principal and a supportive community, this documentary shows.
A Walk Through The Past (Part II)

The historical photo albums on MicSem’s website done with motion and voice narration. This second disc covers World War II through the establishment of the new nations.

A Walk Through The Past (Part I)
The historical photo albums on MicSem’s website spruced up with movement and sound. This first disc offers nine albums from early contact through the end of the Japanese era.

  Micronesian Counselor

Make Me Be Good   (Issue #82, June 2010)
How can reform of the failing education system be carried out in an island group where pressures abound to keep good teachers and bad teachers alike? There are tried and tested methods that will help, the author suggests.

Swimming with the Tide   (Issue #81, April 2010)
Island development today could learn from the past: the importance of trading partnerships and self-enforced contracts.

Path to Heaven   (Issue #80, Febrauary 2010)
Personal reflection on how the church and its mission has changed during a lifetime.

  Current Projects


For those interested, MicSem maintains a list of current projects on its website. Click here for more information.