The Quill

Newport News Reading Council – Serving Newport News, Poquoson, York, Gloucester, and Mathews
 

November-January 2008

 

President’s Message

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for a wonderful start to the school year. We had a great night of food for the body and mind at our annual Fall Conference. Approximately 90 people were in attendance. 

 

The board has been hard at work planning for our Spring Conference, which is scheduled for Tuesday, February 19, 2008, at Tabb Elementary School. To maximize your opportunity for adding more to your “bag of tricks”, we plan to offer several sessions.  In addition, I look forward to seeing you all in March at the VSRA Conference in Richmond.  Our Council is hosting the Elementary Author’s Breakfast with Betsy Lewin on Friday, March 14, 2008.  Purchase a meal ticket and join us for breakfast.

 

With the expansion of our Council to include Gloucester and Mathews, we need our name reflect our population.  Send ideas and suggestions to your building rep or any Board member.  The deadline for proposed names is March 31, 2008.

 

Thank all of you all for your work within your respective schools and surrounding community. If the Board can be of any assistance to your efforts, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Sincerely,
Chynita Turner, President


2007-2008 NNRC Executive Board

 

Chynita Turner - President

Christina Head – President-Elect

Sherry Edbauer - Vice President

Kelly Cartwright– Corresponding Secretary

Verdis Knight – Recording Secretary

Ken Schmidt – Treasurer, Membership Chair

Beth Guthrie  – Historian

Call for Proposals

 

The Spring Conference will be held on Tuesday, February 19, 2008, at Tabb Elementary School from 4:30-6:30.  We plan to offer two rotations.  You may choose to present one 11/2-hour presentation or two 45-minute presentations. If you are interested, please send your information to Sherry Edbauer at sedbauer@ycsd.york.va.us by January 31, 2008. Light hors d'oeuvres will be served.

 

Legislative News

January 2008

 

Congress approved an appropriations bill for FY 2008 that changes funding for education programs.  Most of the NCLB programs have an increase in funding, while the literacy programs had funding cuts.

 

No Child Left Behind had increases in all the programs except Title V.  The breakdown is as follows:

 

Up…

Title I will be allotted 9.7% more than the previous year.

Title II (Teacher Quality) will have an increase of 2.5%.

Title II (English Language Acquisition Grants) has an increase of 4.7%.

After School Programs received a 10% increase.

School improvement funds went up 293%.

Special Education – IDEA Part B Grants increased by 2.4%. This brings the federal share of special education funding to 17.3%.

 

Down…

Title V has $0 allotted for FY 2008, $99 million below FY 2007.

 

Literacy Programs

The funding for all literacy programs except Striving Readers has been cut.  The following shows the changes.

 

Down…

Reading First will have a 61% cut in funds.

Early Reading First budget will decrease by 4.3%.

Even Start loses 19% of its federal funding.

Literacy through School Libraries is cut by 1.7%.

 

Up…

Striving Readers budget goes up by 11%.

 

Remember to contact your representative with your ideas about education. 

 

Marilyn Schempf

 

 

SAVE THE DATE

International Reading Association

2008 Government Relations Workshop

February 21 - 22, 2008

Washington, DC

 

 

The 2008 Government Relations Workshop hosted by the International Reading Association on February 21-22, 2008, in Washington, D.C., will help you strengthen your advocacy efforts and actively impact legislation such as the reauthorization of NCLB. You will learn about federal and state legislative issues and have the opportunity to directly communicate with your congressional leaders or their staffs.

This is a no cost workshop for IRA members hosted by IRA’s Washington Office and the Government Relations Committee. There is a fully refundable $50.00 registration fee. This fee is refunded upon notification of cancellation or when attending the conference. This policy is to provide an accurate meal count to IRA. We will provide a breakfast and working lunch on Friday. All other related expenses (transportation, lodging, food, and entertainment) are the responsibility of the workshop attendees. Many participants receive funding from their state councils to help pay for costs.

Feel free to call the IRA Washington office with questions regarding the workshop at 202-624-8800 or irawash@reading.org. Updates for the Workshop will be posted on the website at:www.reading.org. We look forward to seeing you in February 2008.

 

 

Marilyn Schempf

Legislative Representative

Newport News Reading Council

 

 

Committees

 

 

The Newport News Reading Council needs your help!  We have several committee positions to fill.  If you are interested in helping out on any of these committees, please email Chynita Turner at cturner@ycsd.york.va.us.

 

Young Authors – Plans and organizes the Young Authors Contest held in April.

Merit and Honor Council- Documents Council activities and helps the president organize the binder to be sent to VSRA and IRA.

Hospitality – Organizes and assists in providing food during NNRC events including the spring banquet.

Quill-Helps organize, publish, and distribute the Quill newsletter.

Web page- Helps the webmaster upload information onto the web site.

 

 

Teachers as Readers

 

The schools and leaders are listed below.

 

Ann Campas - Mount Vernon Elementary School

Jennifer Clemons - Nelson Elementary School

Cathy Huemer - Jenkins Elementary School

Karen Lucas - Waller Mill Elementary School

Shelly Zimbro - Hilton Elementary School

 

Membership Update

 

The following schools were awarded the incentives for an increase in membership:

 

Dutrow Elementary School

Poquoson Primary School

Waller Mill Elementary School

 

The random number generator selected five among our new members to receive a Barnes & Noble Gift Card.  The recipients are:

 

Pamela Hedge, Nelson Elementary School

Deborah Eggers, Nelson Elementary School

Catina Billups, Carver Elementary School

Susan Spratt, Waller Mill Elementary School

Stepen Murray, Magruder Primary School


 

Children’s Book Review


 Purplicious  


By Victoria Kann & Elizabeth Kann

Submitted by Shelly Zimbro

 

 

This is a sequel to Pinkalicious.  Everyone knows how much Pinkalicious loves the color pink.  One day though, the girls at school make fun of Pinkalicious because everything always has to be pink.  What about the other colors?  This makes Pinkalicious quite sad and puts her in a bit of a funk, until she meets a girl who is painting with the color blue.  This little girl decides she needs a bit of pink and Pinkalicious offers her some.  Do you know what blue and pink make when they are combined?  Purplicious!

 

This is a wonderful story for the younger grades.  It lets us know it is okay to be us, even if that is different sometimes.  It lends itself well to making inferences and creating mental images.

 

As one reviewer said, “It is readalicious!”

                       

Literacy & Technology Connection

by Karen Cagle and Kelly Denny

 

According to a 2003 survey by the National Center for Education Statistics, 97% of high school students use computers and 80% use the Internet. This number continues to grow as more children have access to computers at home and at school. Students use the Internet for communication, conducting research, and entertainment. The infinite opportunities for engagement and interaction that are available to the 21st Century learner on the Internet present new challenges and opportunities for educators. Student involvement in the virtual world requires skills that will help them make good choices and stay safe. Educators can use the Internet as a tool to encourage students to be inventive thinkers, effective communicators, increase productivity, and become digitally literate.

 

The skills that students use when reading materials offline can also be used when investigating information online.  Critical thinking skills used for Internet searches and website evaluation include distinguishing between fact and opinion, identifying the author’s purpose, and recognizing techniques used in persuasion.  Because there are millions of documents online, and there is not always a media specialist or teacher available to help make the right decision, students must learn to decide independently if a site is credible. The wealth of information available gives students the opportunity to compare and contrast different sources for validity.

 

There are many resources available to help your students develop the skills necessary to find, analyze, retrieve and use information on the Internet. The Virginia Department of Education has provided ideas for integrating web site evaluation instruction in your classroom lessons. This information can be found on the VA DOE website @ http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Technology/OET /internet-safety-integrating.pdf. Additional resources for lessons include:

 

CyberSmart Curriculum @ http://www.cybersmartcurriculum.org/home/

Cyberbee Guides @ http://www.cyberbee.com/guides.html

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educator’s @ http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/eval.html

 

21st Century Learners have a world of information at their fingertips. Lessons that involve the use of the Internet offer great opportunities to integrate reading instruction while helping students develop 21st Century literacy skills. To effectively integrate the use of technology into research, students must be given the skills necessary to critically evaluate web pages for bias and authenticity.  This supports our goal as educators to give students the skills necessary to critically evaluate information in order to become digitally literate adults and remain life-long learners.

 

 

Textbook Scholarships

 

The following persons were awarded textbook scholarships for the fall semester:

 

Miriam Neese-South Morrison Elementary, NNPS

Mitzi Emblidge-South Morrison Elementary, NNPS

Irelis Matos Concepcion-Waller Mill Elementary-YCSD

Melissa Roe-Jones-Richneck Elementary, NNPS

Martha Phillips-Yorktown Elementary School, YCSD

Jeanette Dail - Carver Elementary, NNPS

 

 

Are you taking a Language Arts or Reading class this semester?  Textbook scholarships (up to $100 per person) are available to NNRC members who are currently under contract or are full-time students.  Five scholarships will be awarded for the spring semester.  The first five members to turn in receipts will be awarded the scholarships. Please send the complete application with your receipt(s) attached to Chynita Turner – YCSD Tabb Elementary School by February 1, 2008.

 

NNRC Spring 2008 Textbook Scholarship Application

 

Name: ____________________________________________

College: ___________________________________________

Phone Number: _____________________________________

Course(s): _________________________________________

Text Title(s): _______________________________________

 

 

Upcoming Events

 

The annual Young Authors’ Awards Ceremony will be held at Main Street Library on April 29, 2008.  Information and deadlines will be sent under a separate cover.

 
    NNRC Spring Literacy Conference     

         For the Love of Reading

              February 19, 2008, 4:30-6:30

             Tabb Elementary School

              3711 Big Bethel Road

              Yorktown, Virginia 23693


 


       NNRC Spring Banquet

             Growing Readers
                 May 20, 2008
                         Newport News Waterworks
                         700 Town Center Drive
                         Newport News, VA 23606
                Keynote by: Heidi Mesmer 

                          For more information, log on to www.nnreadingcouncil.org

 

 
       41st Annual VSRA Conference

               Unlocking the Doors to Literacy
                     March 13-15, 2007
                           The Richmond Marriott and Greater Richmond Convention Center
                           Richmond, Virginia
                     For more information, log on to: www.vsra.org
                     Username: newport  Password:  weread5

 


      


International Reading Association’s 53rd Convention

               Engaging Learners in Literacy

                     May 4-8, 2008

                            Georgia World Congress Center

                            Atlanta, Georgia  USA

                     For More Information log on to: www.reading.org