Epilog to Chihuly Art Museum...and Beyond

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CHECK IT OUT Literacy Bugs!!!!!!!

Happy New Year and Making Being Literate Part of Your Life!

Something to Write Home About...or, A Reason to Be Literate:)

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To See is To See.

To Believe is To Believe.

And Sometimes the Twain Shall Meet.

And Sometimes They Shant.

Largely it is Up To You, eh?

What Say You?

Literacy can make all the difference, whatever you believe that you believe.

---Me

Academy of Hope Excursion

Students went to Alligator Adventure earlier this year to gather info about these water animals.  And then to write stories about them.  They first had conversations about their experiences to gather ideas for writing.

Students who are learning to be successful writers (and readers) of text, whether it is their own composition or not, have and use the behaviors described on these Anchor Charts.
 

These are just some of the many students who received outstanding academic awards for the 2nd nine weeks grading period.  All of the students here are writers and readers of text (First grade!)

Carolina Indian Summer Days in October

                                                                           
                                                                                 
                                                                           The Reading Coach
  Part of my training is to dissect the process by which students learn to read and write, explaining away the process that leads to the product.  This has to be accomplished by very carefully observing student behaviors as they immerse and engage themselves in this process as a direct result of the classroom teacher facilitating and then teaching for strategic use of reading/writing behaviors to be employed by students at the point of difficulty.  My observations include the teacher also (especially!)  My supporting the teacher eventually enables her/him to scaffold the reading process through lots and lots of reading and rereading familiar stories that students love to read (interest-driven material is key) in using the class library (which is interest-driven also).  This rereading by students on a daily basis for sustained periods of time leads to more efficient and fluent reading, which leads to more internalization of strategies--students begin to use them with automaticity--and higher reading levels, because they aren't having to work on the words that have tripped them up before so much now.  Teachers also learn more about what students show them they need next in the reading/writing process by this careful observation, note-taking, conferencing with and using results from many different kinds of formative assessments given to measure student growth over time.  With this occurring automatically in the classroom, my job here is done for a while and I just need to move on to another classroom that I can help the teacher support her students' reading efforts to make change/lift reading and writing in.
Research scientist Louisa Moats, Ph,D. has said that "Teaching reading IS rocket science!"  I'm beginning to be more inclined to agree with her at this juncture....

It's Football Season in South Carolina, so...

Academy of Hope's Literacy Initiative 
Sponsored by the Education Oversight Committee
SC State Dept. of Education

Our students have been tasked with reading at least 6 on-level books and recording the titles under the University of South Carolina or the Clemson University column on their take-home form, then returning that form with books listed by the deadline.  If we have at least 70% participation from all classes, teachers and students will be eligible for money and prizes.   Read, read, read!!!

The Gatekeeper and the Nurse

No, sorry, it's not a short story or realistic fiction...it's an acknowledgement that Hope could not function properly without these two marvelous individuals.  Can one imagine a shower without soap or shower gel?  Day after day??  Or bananas without the peel, just lying there among the veggies and fruits in the fresh market, waiting for someone to pick them up to put in the cart, then to be handled by the cashier before being herded into a bag with other items headed for home with you??

So we get to the crux of the problem here.  No successful school (or business, for that matter) has ever, EVER been deprived of someone who handles all "incoming" (no matter whom or what it may be) to greet, process, accommodate and finalize requests for and send along the way, because to do so would negate any chance of continued ability to survive in the real world.  Really.  Pretty soon word would get out that "if you do want to do business with that place, good luck, they have no system to handle what has to be handled".  But I digress.  Not only do the Gatekeeper and the Nurse get high marks for "handling what needs to be handled", they do MUCH MORE than that!

Mrs. Frazier brings genuine friendliness, competency and sharp skills to the forefront but does so with the humbleness of a nun.  You don't realize she has completely killed it until one day you see her in action and just marvel that she still has that awesome smile and infectious sense of humor to go along with it after she has signed for and contacted the teacher who needs to pick up her package for the classroom, located seven employees to help move items to the stage for the chorus program, accommodated nine requests from various employees calling the front office and delivered business requests and items needed by the principal, sat in on an impromptu principal's meeting and supervised three students in her office who either were waiting to see the principal, guidance counselor or nurse...all at the same time.  Now I'm really tired.

Mrs. Friday has an invisible crown on her head made of all things caring, disguised behind a facade of gruff but magical "spark" and an unending persona of "wealth of knowledge" concerning how to handle all things in need, medically of and even otherwise "solving".  Nurse Friday seems to be able to look at someone and make a diagnosis (not only medically, but otherwise; scary, huh?).  She has been known to be attending to a sick student with fever, calling the parent and having the student lie down on the medical bed, give another student his asthma medication or breathing treatment, talk to a confused parent on the phone while signaling for "mop-up" of another "accident" down the hall and keeping her third eye upon the special needs student in for a short "visit" to say hi just because.  And all this while responding to greetings from eight passersby in the hallway who just have to stop briefly to say hello.  One right after the other.  Alrighty, then, tired again:)

Thank you ladies, for ALL you do.

Just saying....

We are well into the 2015-2016 school year, ready for our first Intercession already:)  There has been a flurry of activity happening at Hope; we have a new Reading Interventionist, a new Kindergarten teacher, a new P.E. teacher, a new Spanish teacher and a brand new 7th and 8th grade ELA and Social Studies teacher!  Wow!!! Welcome to Ms. Wells, our Interventionist; to Mrs. Vincent, the 5K teacher; Mrs. Prince, our new fifth/sixth grade Math and Science teacher; Mr. Martin, our P.E. teacher; Mr. Kramer, the new Spanish teacher and Mr. Huggins, our new ELA/S.S. teacher.  These newbies have and are still proving themselves worthy of being called AOH Faculty because they have literally been busting it all year thus far.  I will be sharing some of their early accomplishments upcoming, so be on the lookout...

I have been at Hope since its inception and am a Founding Charter member.  I began at the request of Ms. McCloud, as a first grade teacher (first year open, need strong first grade teacher, no guesswork there).  I continued in that capacity for two more years, the latter of which I also served as part-time Curriculum Specialist.  Last year I went to something I know like the back of my hand, Reading Intervention.  Having been trained as a Reading Recovery teacher, and later by the State Dept. of Ed., SC as a Small Groups Literacy Interventionist, I was of course right at home with Intervention.  During the year we learned of an opportunity to have a full time Reading Coach, so preparations were made and I assumed the position this year.  It is a wonderful thing to learn how to most efficiently and effectively "lift" teaching (thus lifting students academically) practices through use of making students' learning goals the classroom teachers' and my focus.

In regards to our veteran staff, we couldn't ask for better employees or more loyal and first-rate staff:

Our principal Ms. McCloud is a multi-talented, highly qualified leader whose experiences include years at the State Dept. of Ed. in South Carolina, multiple trainer certifications and qualifications as well as having been a very successful Principal in both Horry and Marion counties prior to taking the post here at AOH.  She lays some mighty fine ground work for the rest of us. She almost single-handedly got the materials and furniture we needed for our school Library, as well as acquired much of the classroom furniture.  How many principals do you know who have that under their belt?

Our guidance counselor/wearer of many other hats is Ms. Wilkes, who has much knowledge and expertise in her field and knows personally and has vested interest in our surrounding community in Conway, thus making a safer environment for our kids here at Hope.  She also makes sure our standardized testing scenarios and schedules go off without a hitch and is over our Junior Beta Club.

Our Chef, "Chef Chris" as we call him, took the reins in 2011 and has never looked back.  Don't let the "Chef" designation fool you, though--he performs so many other important functions to make sure we are running like a well-oiled machine that it might make one dizzy--he is multi-talented, that's for sure.  He has a sous chef in Chef Curtis, who is his literal right-hand man in most food endeavors.  Both Chefs make certain there is always a second yummy choice for students that is nutritionally sound.

Our Music and Art teacher, Mr. King, is also certified in reading and has Tier 1 and 2 Intervention classes when he isn't teaching Music or Art.  He also assists the Reading Interventionist, me and other teachers with testing students using Progress Monitoring and other assessments.  He further uses his talents to assist Mr. Williams, a staffer here who works with special needs students, with the training of and practice with qualified students for special Chorus presentations throughout the school year. Mr. Williams is a Music Minister and Pastor outside of his job here.  (You have to hear him sing:)

Our Special Needs/ SPED Teacher is also a Charter Member at Hope and has much experience in Horry County as a Resource teacher.  Sally Mimms actually "pushes in" so students she serves don't miss out on their regular class curriculum.  Sally loves her students and is constantly looking for innovating ways to engage them in the learning process.  You go Sally!

Our Mandarin Chinese teacher hales from mainland China but has been in the states a while now. She is married to an American so she is very naturally at home with students and staff here.  Mrs. Thomas is also a Founding Charter member of Hope. She is forever researching to learn about new ways she can teach more effectively, ways in which students will be more successful with learning the language.  Mrs. Thomas is also a certified Librarian and helped Ms. McCloud get our school library up and running.

Our first grade teacher Ms. Neuman is a Founding Charter member in good company with all the above, and has "looped" with last years' Kindergarten class.  To walk in her classroom at any given moment is a pleasant and joyous experience as she always has her students engaged/immersed in high-quality academic experiences that are also usually fun and/or highly interesting.

Our second grade teacher is also a Founding Charter member and has been teaching 2nd ever since, for five years now (even though she has taught other grades as well).  She is always learning new ways to lift her students academically and at this point is not afraid to try new new methods, techniques, or ideas in order to use best practices in her classroom.  From large group work on the large area rug to small groups in Work Stations to Guided Reading Groups to individualized work and conferencing with her students, Mrs. Hemingway "has never the dull moment"!

Our third / fourth grade Science and Math teacher has been at Hope for two years and is widening her repertoire of strategies and skills to employ to keep her students highly engaged in the learning process, most recently by adding a Graffiti Math Vocabulary Board for both age groups.  Can't wait to get some pics of student vocabulary and definition graffiti to help them in their journey to "Talk that Math Talk", Ms. DeVane:)  Guess they'll soon be ready to "Talk that Science Talk"!

Our third / fourth grade ELA and Social Studies teacher is also a Founding Charter Member and has just relinquished her crown as Teacher of the Year at AOH.  Ms. Robinson engages/immerses her students in many genres of literature for both ELA and S.S. and uses literature as a vehicle for writing with her students on a daily basis.  She has had a Student Intern from Coastal Carolina with her this first nine weeks to learn how she orchestrates the learning between the reading and writing processes and conducting research into subjects in Social Studies.  This has been one lucky man to have been privy to that!

Our fifth /sixth grade ELA and Social Studies teacher has been with us working on three years now and has graciously accepted the Teacher of the Year Crown this year, congratulations, Ms. Brown, you rock!!  Ms. Brown is very innovative in her methods and techniques and is so proactive with using technology to enhance the learning her students are engaged in in both Social Studies and ELA.  Much of the English Language Arts curriculum focuses on non-fiction and Close Reading performance, and much of that learning and practicing and problem solving come about through the use of netbooks and iPads.  Students also use these frequently to work in small group conducting assignments in research.  Can I be in your class Ms.Brown??

Our seventh / eighth grade Science and Math teacher has a wide range of teacher expertise as she was a stellar, yes stellar, first grade teacher  up to this school year at Hope, as she is a Charter Member also.  It just so happens that Mrs. Chapman possesses an uncanny ability to be both highly effective and successful at each range (go figure that one out).  Her first graders last year mostly all wound up above grade level in reading, some way above, and successful in the other disciplines as well; now she says she is really "in her element" with these students--she awakens sometimes very early crafting Science experiments or Math exercises using formulas in her head that she will later use in the classroom.  And she is so excited about it!

Our Pre-Kindergarten teacher is also a Founding Charter member of Hope, as she began as a  Kindergarten teaching assistant ( even though she was a certified teacher) and continued for two more years.  Then last year, she agreed to take the first Pre-K class ever here, and the rest is history, Pre-K is still going strong:)  Her name is Cindy Harper, and she too has a very vested interest in the local community as she has lived in Conway a long while.  Cindy, her assistant Tamicka Norfleet, and kids never ever have a dull moment--they are either reading, singing, in Learning Centers, in Small Groups or even working one-on-one with either Mrs. Norfleet or Mrs. Harper--or if not they are either at Lunch, the Restroom or outside on the playground!  Whew!

Our Kindergarten assistant to Mrs. Vincent is Mrs. Ivory Washington.  She has been with us going on two years now; before she joined us, she was an excellent substitute teacher!!  But we are so glad she is on staff.  Ms. Washington has many talents and is ready to tackle whatever comes her way.  Thank you:)