Quill Nov Dec 2010

Spring is just about here and it should be a time for rejuvenation. Sometimes at this time of the year, we as teachers are feeling a bit burned out and need a good shot in the arm! With the nice weather approaching, it is a great time to get outside and enjoy it. Take time to smell the new spring flowers, take a stroll in the park and smell the fresh air, take a book and read outside under a tree. We all need to refresh ourselves as we head toward the end of the school year. Take a few minutes…it can make a huge difference! Even our students may need a few minutes to do so also. Take them outside and read a book while smelling the fresh, spring air. Take a stroll around the outside of the school looking for writing inspirations. Spring is upon us… use it for a springboard to better learning!

Sherry Edbauer – President
Beth Guthrie - Vice President
Joy Barclay – Secretary
Monica McMillian-Smith - Secretary
Cathy Huemer – Treasurer
Pam Gaspard - York County Membership Chair
Carmen Ellis - Newport News Membership ChairBeverly Becker – Historian
Marilyn Schempf - Legislative Liaison
Beverly Becker - Historian

On January 18, 2011, VSRA held a Legislative Breakfast in the General Assembly building. Children from Richmond City Schools brought books and read to legislators and their staff. During the morning, Senator John Miller was presented the VSRA Friend of Literacy Award. Afterwards, he invited the students to his office where he gave them bookmarks that said "Reading is the Key."

During the 2011 General Session, the VSRA Advocate Troilen Seward attended all the committee meetings and sessions dealing with education. Here are the main items she reported. She was pleased to let us know that identical bills, SB 1270and HB 1792 passed These provide school divisions the flexibility to use the state Early Reading Intervention funds and the required local matching funds to employ reading specialists to provide required reading intervention services. Divisions using the funds in this manner shall employ only instructional personnel licensed by the Board of Education.

Bills requiring 150 minutes of PE passed, but with delayed implementation to school year 2014-2015. Family Life that had been optional, is now mandatory. Financial Literacy and Economics are also now required for 2011-1012 ninth graders to complete for graduation. However, there is no funding for this mandate.

Some other areas in the field of education were discussed. Although the House Education sub-committee passed HB 1720 placing new requirements on those working with autistic children with school divisions required to provide 80 hours of extra training, this bill did not make it out of the Appropriations Committee and is dead. Several bills regarding starting school before Labor Day were introduced, but none passed. School districts can request waivers from the Board of Education to start before Labor Day.

Several studies will be conducted during the year. These include a study of the nature and effectiveness of local school divisions' anti-bullying policies. Another was a study permitting home school student to participate in interscholastic sports. There is also a two year study to give a comprehensive look at year round schools, length of days, number of school days, etc.
If you want to learn more, read Troilen's full reports at vsra.org.

Each year, the Council sponsors a Community Literacy Project. This year, the project involves purchasing books for the Menchville House, a complex for abused women and their children in Newport News. Each month members sponsor a Story Hour for he children present and give each child a book to keep. They love receiving the books and start to read them right away! This project is funded by the grant the Council won last year from the VSRA.

Oh Where, Oh Where is my Swallowtail? is sixth grader Kaleela Thompson’s first published book. An avid gardener, Kaleela, age 11, is a student at Andrews PK-8 School in Hampton. The book tells of her adventures through the backyard as she looks for her missing butterfly. The wildlife she encounters introduces the reader to a variety of animals native to eastern Virginia. The colorful illustrations and photographs by artist Trevor Lucas provide an interactive experience for the reader. The book includes a CD of the author reading her story as well as a bookmark for beginning readers to locate high frequency words. The glossary provides interesting facts and details about the animals mentioned throughout the book. The book can be purchased at the Hampton History Museum's gift shop or by calling the publisher, Eggleston Services.

Professional Book Review
Written by Julie Fields

The Book Whisperer
by Donalyn Miller

In an attempt to lead her students to become life long readers, Donalyn Miller began an instructional journey to help her students become engaged, motivated readers. In The Book Whisperer she describes this journey she has taken and continues to take with her 6^th grade students. She describes three types of readers: developing, dormant and underground. All teachers will recognize all three types of readers from their own classrooms. Through immersing her students in all types of genres and giving them choices about the texts that they read and with a structured framework- she requires that all students read at least 40 books within the school year-she accomplishes her goals as well as prepares her students for state mandated testing.

The Book Whisperer is straightforward in its language but is jam-packed with thought provoking ideas and philosophies that alter the way the reader thinks about reading instruction. It is highly recommended for any teacher of reading who would like for their students to become skilled and thoughtful readers and has a desire for all of their students to develop a love of reading.

Improving Reading Rate Results in Surprising Findings for Younger and Older Struggling Readers

On January 27 from 6-7:30, parents and their children came to read and be read to, various Primary Virginia Choice Readers books at the local Barnes & Noble. There were stations set up where either a NNRC Board member was available to read the book or the parents read the book to the children. After the stations were completed a ballot was given to each child to vote and put their ballot into a colored ballot box. The winner from those present was “Chester” by Melanie Watt. Activities based on each book were also distributed for the children to do at home with their families. It was a fun reading night for both parents and children!

On Tuesday, February 22, the annual Winter Conference was held at the beautiful CNU Student Union Conference area. About 60 participants attended and were able to visit two workshops during their time there. The workshops were quite diverse and topics were current and inspiring. Vendors were also present to show their products and answer any questions about them. Dinner was available and door prizes were given away during the dinner break. Those who attended went away with new knowledge and ideas to take back to their schools.

Do you need a gift idea for a fellow teacher? Why not consider a gift of a membership to the Council? It is a gift that will last for the school year and include other great benefits as well. Council events are free to attend; there are numerous free publications that are sent to members, scholarship opportunities, and more. Membership in the council automatically enrolls you into the VSRA and with the upcoming VSRA Conference in Roanoke; members receive a discount on their registration fee. Lots of perks and a year-long gift!

Begin thinking of people you would like to nominate for Reading Teacher of the Year, Administrator of the Year, Para-Professional of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. Nominations will be accepted now until March 20. All you need to do is send a letter of recommendation of why you think that person should receive this award. Look around you at the great people you work with and who deserve recognition for their hard work and dedication. Nominations may be sent with a letter of recommendation to Kathy Bohince .

The NNRC Reading Teacher of the Year Award recognizes a reading teacher whose commitment to literacy is exemplary and unparalleled. The candidate must have been a member of the NNRC for at least a year and must teach reading a minimum of one-third of each school day to students in grades K-12. If you know of such an outstanding professional, please send your nomination to Kathy Bohince. Nominations are due by March 20. Our nominee will be recognized at the 2011 Spring Banquet in April and the 2012 VSRA conference in Richmond.

The NNRC Para Professional of the Year recognizes a para professional whose commitment to literacy is exemplary and unparalleled. If you know of such an outstanding para professional, please send your nomination to Kathy Bohince . Nominations are due by March 20. Our nominee will be recognized at the 2011 Spring Banquet in April.

If you have a very special volunteer working in your school, please consider nominating this person for the NNRC Volunteer of the Year Award. Email the name of your volunteer, the school(s) where this person volunteers, and a paragraph describing why this person should be our Volunteer of the Year to Kathy Bohince by March 20. Please include your name and phone number.

This award was established in 1994 to recognize administrators who show exceptional support of reading. The nominee is a strong advocate for reading and teachers and children, has a vision for a school or school system, makes decisions based on a belief system, is creative in finding resources to support reading programs and is a strong supporter of reading and/or VSRA or other reading-oriented organizations or groups. The candidate must have been a member of NNRC for at least one year and have been an administrator for at least three years. If you would like to nominate someone for this award, please email or send the following information to Kathy Bohince by March 20, 2011. He/She will be honored at the Spring Banquet in April.

At this time of year, the Board is already looking toward the next school year as far as plans for the Council go. We are currently looking for members who would like to serve on the Board and help spread our literacy goal to the area. The Board meets once a month for planning purposes and helps at each event we sponsor. Please consider helping out in some capacity! The more people who help, the lesser the load! Contact any board member to express your interest in joining the Board.

The International Project selected for this year is the Ghana’s Money for School Supplies.

A group of teachers from the US will be going to visit Ghana this summer to work with the teachers and the students there. They have school supplies and books that have been donated to take with them. Unfortunately the cost of taking suitcases filled with these items is about $250 per suitcase. We are going to be collecting money, in a suitcase, at all of our events this year to help defray the cost of taking a suitcase to Ghana. Then at our Spring Banquet we will be raffling off the suitcase!

Participating in an international project is one of the International Reading Association’s requirements to receive Honor Council status. This year the Board thought some of our members would like to participate by personally contributing to the project. Bring your pennies, dimes and dollars to help build supply books and school supplies to a needy area.

TOP TEN REASONS FOR JOINING NNRC
INCLUDING
TAX CREDIT
And
LOOKING GOOD ON A RESUME

At $25, membership in the NNRC and VSRA is a bargain. Here are some of the benefits of membership:

*Reading Council workshops are free
*Membership in the Virginia State Reading Association
*Reduced registration for the annual VSRA conference
*Four NNRC and Four VSRA newsletters per year
*Annual VSRA journal-Reading In Virginia
*Teachers as Readers groups
*Textbook Scholarships
*Legislative advocacy
*Professional networking
*Recognition through awards for outstanding teachers, administrators, and school reading programs

*The school with the highest percentage of members by November 11th will receive a $100 gift certificate to Parents Teacher Supply. One school from Newport News, one from York County, and one from Poquoson will win.

*All new members will be entered in a drawing. Five names will be selected to receive a $20 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.

NNRC is an organization that offers an opportunity for professional growth to the individual and the profession as a whole. Join today.

NNRC 2010-11 Textbook Scholarship Application

Textbook scholarships (up to $100 per person) are available to NNRC members who are currently under contract or are full-time students pursuing a degree in the field of reading. Please submit the complete application with your receipt(s) attached to Carol Clark – YCSD Yorktown Elementary School by March 18, 2011.

1. Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things. Lenore Look, Schwartz, 2008.

Students in school may read these books and vote on their favorites. What a great reading project for a classroom! See the VSRA website for more information.

Newport News Reading Council Spring Banquet
Monday, April 18
5:00
Waterworks Building Conference Room
Oyster Point City Center