TEACHERS' MESSAGES 2007

FEBRUARY 22, 2007 - Teachers' Biweekly Message

Congratulations to the eight teachers who will represent all of you in the 2007 NC Teacher of the Year competition this spring. These eight individuals (see item below) come from a variety of schools, communities, grade levels and subjects, but they have one thing in common: excellent teaching and devotion to student learning. I know that they are joined by many other outstanding teachers. It is a highlight of my year to be able to participate in naming the new NC Teacher of the Year, and I look forward to that event in May.

Regards,
June Atkinson

In this Biweekly Teachers' Message:

1. State Board to Meet Under New Committee Structure
2. Regional Meetings' Reminder
3. Regional Teachers of the Year Selected
4. Wilkes County Teacher Receives National Recognition
5. Wayne County Teacher's Script Published
6. NC Museum of History Offers Teachers Instructional Resources
7. LEARN NC February Update
8. Understanding the Holocaust Essay Contest

State Board to Meet Under New Committee Structure

Beginning with the March State Board of Education meeting, which will be held next week, members will be meeting under a new committee structure. The new organization reflects the Board's 21st century mission and goals. Committees will meet on Tuesday afternoon (Globally Competitive Students), Wednesday morning (21st Century Professionals, Leadership for Innovation) and Thursday morning (Business/Finance and Advocacy). The Board's formal meeting will be on Thursday mornings. An information session will be held for the full Board on Wednesday afternoon. To view next week's Board agenda, please go online to the State Board of Education's Web site at http://www.ncpublicschools.org/sbe_meetings/index.html and click on the appropriate link.

Regional Meetings' Reminder

Regional meetings are continuing to be held by the State Board of Education to receive public input on implementing a new high school core course framework. Remaining meetings are being held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the following locations: Feb. 26, Region 2, Southwest High School (Jacksonville, Onslow County); March 5, Region 4, E.E. Smith High School (Fayetteville, Cumberland County); March 19, Region 1, Roanoke High School (Robersonville, Martin County); March 22, Region 8, Buncombe County Schools' Central Office (Asheville); and March 29, Region 3, Fike High School, Wilson (Wilson County).

Regional Teachers of the Year Selected

Congratulations to the following teachers for being selected 2007-08 North Carolina Regional Teachers of the Year: North Central Region: Sonya Kiser, North Johnston High (Johnston County Schools); Northeast Region: James Bell, Chowan Middle (Edenton-Chowan Schools); Northwest Region: Sherrard Pearce, Mooresville Sr. High (Mooresville Graded Schools District); Southeast Region: Beth Howard, Dixon Elementary (Onslow County Schools); Southwest Region: Denise Andrews, North Belmont Elementary (Gaston County Schools); Sandhills/South Central Region: Bridget Johnson, Vass-Lakeview Elementary (Moore County Schools); Piedmont-Triad/Central Region: Shawn Watlington, Greensboro Middle College (Guilford County Schools); and West Region: Jerome Hughes, Asheville High (Asheville City Schools). These teachers will now compete for the title of 2007-08 North Carolina Teacher of the Year. The winner will succeed the 2006-07 Teacher of the Year, Diana Beasley, a biology teacher at Hickory High School, Hickory Public Schools. The announcement will be made May 1 at a dinner and awards ceremony sponsored by the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association.

Wilkes County Teacher Receives National Recognition

Congratulations to West Wilkes High School teacher James Brooks for being one of five educators nationwide to be presented with a personal gift of $10,000 from the NEA Foundation and the Horace Mann companies as a recipient of the 2007 Horace Mann-NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence. In addition, Brooks also received the NEA Member Benefits-NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence and an additional $25,000. All state nominees were honored at a reception held at the Builders Museum in Washington, DC.

Wayne County Teacher's Script Published

Congratulations to Wayne County Public Schools' teacher Gregory Brown who just had his first children's script published by Benchmark Education of New York. The play, "Johnny Appleseed - An American Legend," is part of the company's Readers Theater series, which promotes fluency and vocabulary growth. Brown currently teaches Reading Recovery, Guided Reading and Readers Theater at North Drive Elementary School in Goldsboro.

NC Museum of History Offers Teachers Instructional Resources

The North Carolina Museum of History offers outreach opportunities to teachers and their students including Distance Learning virtual field trips (access available in almost every county, History-in-a-Box, Online Teacher Workshop, Streaming Classes and Videos for loan Please go online to www.ncmuseumofhistory.org (Education/Outreach) for details, or contact Jerry Taylor at jerry.taylor@ncmail.net or 919.807.7972 for more information.

LEARN NC February Update

Learn NC's February update is now online and includes the following: Content Area Reading Comprehension K-8, LEARN NC Live: Interactive Web Broadcasts, Black History Month, Multimedia: The Ramayana, American Memory: North Carolina Educator's Guide, Get Your Character Education Act Together, Roan Mountain Highlands, The Missing Revolution, Chinese New Year, and LEARN NC 2007 Fall Conference for Coordinators. Check it out at www.learnnc.org.

Understanding the Holocaust Essay Contest

The Durham-Chapel Hill Jewish Federation is sponsoring an "Understanding the Holocaust: Why It's Important" essay contest for high school students. Student essays will be judged on several aspects including: ability to demonstrate historical knowledge of the Holocaust, depth and maturity of understanding of issues surrounding the Holocaust, evidence of thoughtful learning about the Holocaust, ability to identify lessons of the Holocaust, and ability to demonstrate how lessons of the Holocaust can be applied to modern social and political issues. Essays cannot be longer than 1,200 words. Students must use a size 14 Times Roman font and double-space text. The winner will receive a $200 prize and the runner-up will receive a $100 prize. All entries must be emailed by Feb. 28 to essaycontest@shalomdch.org.

 

If you'd like to review past Teachers' Biweekly Messages sent to the listserv group, just go online to http://www.ncpublicschools.org/teachersarchive/