ducationEThursday, December 16, 2010

The Brownsville States-Graphic

page 8

Jessica Morgan, English teacher at Haywood High School, was surprised when her name was called as the recipient of the Carl Seale Memorial Award for Excellence in Teacher Education and Educational Leadership at an awards program at the University of Tennessee at Martin on Wednesday, Dec. 8.

“I listened as they read out all these wonderful things about the winner of this award, thinking, ‘Wow, that must be a really amazing person.’ Then they called my name and I realized they were talking about me.”

She was nominated by her university supervisor, Rebecca Jones, and the award was conferred by a scholarship board comprised of Education Department faculty of UT Martin.

Yet another recommendation came from a colleague, Elizabeth Guth, HHS English teacher. Mrs. Guth wrote, “Ms. Morgan has made an impressive effort to get to know her students and to become an integral part of the Haywood High School community. She attends sporting events and other community activities; her students know she cares about them in all aspects of their lives. Ms. Morgan does not have ‘tunnel vision’; she knows she has to reach the student as a person before she can teach. Students know they come fi rst with Ms.

Morgan. She is a valued addition to Haywood High School.”

One of the board members was a psychology professor from whom Ms. Morgan had taken a course online. Although the two had never met in person, as she took the class, Ms. Morgan began noticing problems with the test question bank for the textbook. She said she kept getting scores of 50, but she knew her answers were correct. She communicated with the professor, who acknowledged that the test questions had been written by graduate assistants and had not been thoroughly

proofread. In the end, she corrected about 80 percent of the questions for each chapter in the text. The publishers showed their appreciation by giving her free textbooks for all her remaining courses; furthermore, they have offered to provide her textbooks when she goes back for her doctorate.

“I need a little time off, but yes, I think I will take them up on that,” Morgan said.

Morgan, who teaches English I and II at HHS, will receive her Master of Science in Education degree on Dec. 18. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Lambuth University in 2007.

HHS teacher receives university award

Ms. Jessica Morgan

CornerCornerCorner Katherine HornIt’s beginning to look a

lot like Christmas . . . and indeed it is! Everything looks so pretty around town. All the lights, garland, bows and other decorations are just beautiful. And what could be more beautiful than curling up on the couch under a warm blanket, a cup of hot cocoa by your side, and a book by your favorite author that you just checked out from the library? Holiday bliss!

There are only a few weeks left in this year, and that means that library programs are winding down for the year as well. We have just one other event on our calendar here at the library and it is Toddler Time. Toddler Time is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 20, at 11 a.m. We have stories, coloring and a light snack. All toddlers and their

caregivers are invited to join us for Toddler Time at the Library.

The library will be closed on Friday, December 24; Saturday, December 25; and Monday, December 27, in observance of the holiday. We will also be closed on Saturday, January 1, 2011 in honor of the New Year. We hope that everyone has a blessed holiday season.

We know that everyone is busy preparing for the holidays, but you still need time for a good book. Here are a few of the new titles that we have recently added to our collections:

“ C h r i s t m a s Mourning” by Margaret Maron

“One from the Hart” by Stephanie Powers

“On Christmas Eve” by Thomas Kincade

“Tempted by Trouble” by Eric Jerome Dickey

“The Confession” by John Grisham

This is just a small sample of some of the books that we have. We have more great books to chose from, just come in and check the shelves and we will help you fi nd just the book you are looking for. Or if you would prefer to listen to your favorite author, we do have tapes and CDs available for checkout. There is also the READS program. The Regional E-Book and Audio-book Download System is available to anyone with a current library card. You may download to your home computer, burn your own CDs, or MP3 and have your favorite book at your fi ngertips. Just visit this site http://reads.lib.overdrive.com and download some books today, perfect for the holidays!

Happy Reading!

Krista Brown’s students recently participated in a Baby Picture Project. They have been learning how they grow and change as they get older. Students brought in a baby picture, and everyone had fun guessing whose baby picture it was. Then they compared and contrasted (the skill for the week) how they looked as a baby and how they look now.

Anderson students learn from baby pictures

Four Haywood County teachers led sessions at the Tennessee Educational Technology Conference (TETC) held at the Nashville Convention Center on Dec. 1-3. Maria Hart, who teaches at Sunny Hill School, and Amelia Morrison, Robin Philpot and Janet Grammer, teachers at East Side Elementary, are all eCLASS teachers, and made presentations on E-learning and technology in the classroom.

Ms. Hart and Mrs. Morrison presented “ T r a n s f o r m i n g Tennessee Minds Through E-Learning.” This session highlighted effective technology across the curriculum, and the presentation

included sharing many engaging activities that can add excitement to lesson plans, centers and group work.

Mrs. Philpot and Ms. Grammer talked to educators about “Using Technology to Teach to the Multiple Intelligences.” Participants were able to inventory their multiple intelligences and discuss how using different teaching strategies and technology in the classroom can be used to meet the needs of students.

They also conducted a session on “Differentiated Instruction: Using a Promethean Board to Maximize Student Achievement.” This instruction in helping educators meet the diverse learning needs of

every student, included discussion about the Promethean Board and its uses and benefi ts to students.

Haywood County Schools Superintendent Marlon King expressed appreciation to the teachers for their dedication and hard work. “It is exciting to have Haywood County teachers presenting at state-wide conferences. I am proud to have these teachers represent Haywood County Schools.”

TETC is the premiere venue by which educators help to better the knowledge, quality and access to educational technology and integration in the school systems of Tennessee.

Four local teachers participate in TETC

Haywood County teachers (from left) Janet Grammer, Maria Hart, Amelia Morrison and Robin Philpot, made presentations at the recent Tennessee Education Technology Conference.