RICHMOND AREA READING COUNCIL FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Dearest Members,

I hope this latest newsletter finds you well! These snow days have allowed for

some extra productivity for me for RARC. I’ve been in contact with the conference chair

for VSRA and we are very excited for the conference in Richmond. RARC will be helping

to host the PD in Pajamas event (see below for more information). All members are

welcome to join us as we craft decorations for the night, which we promise will be

magical! It’s not too late to register for the conference, and the PD in Pajamas event is

FREE with registration!

Along with helping plan events for the state conference, our own spring

conference planning is complete. We are happy to announce that we will be gathering

at Cool Spring Elementary School in Hanover county (conveniently located off 295 and

95) on Tuesday, April 14th. Two reading specialists and the principal from Bensley

Elementary School will be sharing with us about the success of Guided Reading in their

school. Check out the flyer in this newsletter for more details!

In the fall newsletter, I challenged the membership to consider spending a little bit

of time reading that professional book waiting patiently on the bookshelf. My plan was

to read a little Reading in the Wild, however, after hearing about the success of Bensley

Elementary School, I changed my mind. Instead, I jumped on Amazon and purchased

Jan Richardson’s The Next Step in Guided Reading. Eagerly, I breezed through the

majority of the text over break, and even found myself taking notes like I was back in

school. I’ve already started incorporating some of these ideas into my own classroom

with my struggling students. We hope that our

members will find this same motivation through

attending our spring conference and the VSRA

state conference in just a few short months.

If you every have any questions or suggestions

for RARC, feel free to contact me at

rarcleadership@gmail.com. We’d love to

know how to improve your experience as a

member.

Best,

Meg Hanayik

President

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

February 27

Writing Extravaganza entries due

March 12-14

VSRA Conference in RVA

April 14

RARC Spring Conference

April 15

Virginia Reader’s Choice ballots due

Meet RARC 2014 Reading

Teacher of the Year

Jeanine Shenack, our 2014 RARC Reading Teacher of the Year, has taught 17 years, 8 of which have been as a reading specialist at Battlefield Park Elementary in Hanover County. She is a National Board Certified

Teacher who provides a reliable and steady heartbeat to community of learners and readers at

her school. Jeanine believes that teachers “must meet each child where they are on the developmental spectrum of reading and be diligent observers in

order to utilize student strengths to build confidence and take them into the wonderful world of lifelong

learning ~ through READING!”

Do you know an outstanding reading teacher? You can nominate them to be RARC Reading Teacher

of the Year. Look below for more details!

Reading is Magical...in Richmond!

We are very lucky this year, as the VSRA

annual spring conference will be held in

Richmond at the Convention Center

March 12-14, 2015. As a member you will save

$50 off conference registration!

Speakers this year include:

Richard Allington, Donalyn Miller, Penny

Kittle, Mary Howard, Jeff Kinney, Dr. Jean

Feldman, Kathy Ganske, Jarrett Krosoczka,

Kathy Collins, Mark Tyler Nobleman,

Kristin Ziemke, Teri Lesesne, and more!

If you plan on attending the

conference, be sure to stop by the

Pajama PD night hosted by RARC.

The event will take place Thursday

night from 7:30-9:30. This is a free

event for conference attendees!

Here is the description from VSRA:

Pajama PD Plus Desserts and Gift Basket Auction

Something new this year!

What a great way to welcome in guests arriving

Thursday evening! Come join Kathy Baumgardner

for a later professional development activity filled

with sweets and fun. If you go out to dinner

Thursday evening, don’t get dessert. Come on

down and have free deserts with us! Spectacular

gift baskets donated by all of our local councils will

be on display for a Silent Auction ending

at 9:00 PM.

Looking to get more involved in RARC?

We are currently looking for volunteers to fill the

following positions for 2015-2016 (June to June).

More details can be provided upon request from our

Policy Handbook, which outlines these positions in more

detail. Please contact rarcleadership@gmail.com if

interested. We’d love to have you on board!

Treasurer: Collect, disperse, and manage funds for

RARC and help plan the annual budget. Must become an

IRA member as well.

Exhibitor Coordinator: Invite and coordinate with ex-

hibitors RARC has long standing relationships with to

our fall and spring conference.

Young Writers Chair: Plan the annual Writing Extrava-

ganza contest (for the James River Writers) and cele-

bration in the spring.

OFIE T. RUBIN READING TEACHER OF THE YEAR

Richmond Area Reading Council Guidelines and Application Form

Description/Overview:

Each local council in Virginia is challenged to select its “most outstanding reading teacher.” Richmond Area Reading Council seeks nominations to select a candidate to represent our council. Please nominate an outstanding colleague by completing the form below and asking your colleague to submit all required materials. The award recognizes a reading teacher whose commitment to literacy is exemplary and unparalleled. The RARC Reading Teacher of the Year Commit-tee will review all information received and will determine our candidate who will be submitted to be considered for the State Reading Teacher of the Year. The Reading Teacher of the Year who is selected by the Virginia State Reading As-sociation will receive the OFIE T. RUBIN READING TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARD with a $500 cash award. All materi-

als should be submitted to RARC at the address below for consideration.

Eligibility: The candidate must be a member of RARC for at least one year prior to selection (this school year and next

year). The candidate must teach reading a minimum of one-third of each school day to students in grades K-12.

Instructions/Requirements: Please submit the following materials to be considered for this award:

1) Application form (see below)

2) The candidate’s vita 30 points

3) The candidate’s philosophy of reading education 20 points

4) Candidate’s proposal for how the $500 award would be used to further literacy 30 points

5) Two letters of recommendation (principal, supervisor, or colleague) 10 points each

6) A digital photo (jpg file) of the candidate

Timeline: RARC Teacher of the Year Nomination form (item #1) Friday, March 6, 2015

Supporting Materials (items #2-6) Friday, March 27, 2015

Announcement: All nominees will be recognized at the RARC Spring Banquet held on Sunday, May 3, 2015.

Please send your application form to: Joanna Blanks, Reading Teacher of the Year Chair, 2606 Whispering Oaks Ct., Midlothian, VA 23112

joanna_blanks@ccpsnet.net (w) 804.674.1345 (h) 804.744.7272

Richmond Area Reading Council ♦ Reading Teacher of the Year Award

Winner will represent RARC for the 2015-2016 school year at the VSRA Conference in 2016

Name of Applicant: _________________________________________________

Home Address: _________________________________________________

Present Job Position: _________________________________________________

School Division: _________________________________________________

Work Address: _________________________________________________

Telephone: (w) _________________ (h) _______________________

Email Address: _________________________________________________

Fax: _________________________________________________

Nominated by: _________________________________________________

Richmond Area Reading Council

Spring Conference 2015 Tuesday, April 14, 2015

4:30-6:30 Cool Spring Elementary

9964 Honey Meadow Road Mechanicsville, VA 23116 (Conveniently located off exit 86 on I-95 or just off exit 41A on I-295)

Schedule of Events:

4:30--‐5:30 Registration/Networking/Refreshments/Exhibitors

5:30--‐6:15 Keynote speakers

6:15–6:30 Questions & Answers/Door Prizes

Featured Speakers:

Bessie H. Cooper, Principal, Bensley Elementary School

Patricia Kelly, Reading Specialist, Bensley Elementary School

Alyson Costner-Holt, Reading Specialist, Bensley Elementary School

Ms. Cooper, Ms. Kelly, and Ms. Costner-Holt will be sharing how Bensley Elementary

has implemented a successful, school-wide guided reading program. Recipient of

the 2014 IRA Exemplary Reading Program Award for Virginia, Bensley Elementary has

designed a program, based upon Jan Richardson’s Next Step in Guided Reading,

that uses an “all hands on deck” approach to small group guided reading. Join us

as these outstanding educators share their insights on guided reading.

Admission to the 2015 spring conference is FREE for members.

$15 for non-members at the door (check to RARC only, cash not accepted)

Not a member? Join now! Visit http://rarcinfo.org and click “Join Today”

(Full membership: $30 Student membership $20)

RSVP on Facebook for extra raffle ticket!

Don’t forget to turn in your votes for the

Virginia Readers’ Choice by April 15th! Please note that to qualify for voting, students must read/listen to at least 4 nominated books at their level. Students can only vote for one favorite title per level in which they have read/listened to four of the books. Please tally participating students’ votes and record them on the appropriate ballot provided by VSRA. 2014-2015 ballots will soon be posted at http://vsra.org/virginia-readers-choice/nominate-vote/. Please submit only one official ballot per level from your school or public library. The total number of votes submitted should not exceed the number of students qualified to vote from your school or library. Send your completed ballot to Ginger Armstrong at armstrongg@chesterfield.gov by April 15th and wait to see if your students picked their level’s winning title. Winners will be announced on the VSRA web site (http://vsra.org)! If you’re already curious about next year’s nominees, please plan to attend the Virginia Readers’ Choice sessions at the VSRA Conference where the 2015-2016 nominees will be announced!

Here are this year’s nominees for each level:

Primary (K-3)

Again! by Emily Gravett

Crankee Doodle by Tom Angleberger

Brief Thief by Michael Escoffier

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson

Good News, Bad News by Jeff Mack

Lucky Ducklings by Eva Moore

My First Day by Steve Jenkins

Oh, No! by Candace Fleming

That Is Not a Good Idea! by Mo Willems

This Moose Belongs to Me by Oliver Jeffers

Elementary (3-5)

Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet

Capture the Flag by Kate Messner

Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tim Lichtenheld

My Life as a Book by Janet Tashjian

The Sasquatch Escape by Suzanne Selfors

The Secret Chicken Society by Judy Cox

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea by Ellis Weiner

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

When Life Gives You O.J. by Erica Perl

Whatever After: Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski

Middle (6-8)

Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most

Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Spy School by Stuart Gibbs

Ungifted by Gordon Korman

On the Day I Died by Candace Fleming

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

High (9-12)

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets

of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Boy 21by Matthew Quick

Discovering Wes Moore by Wes Moore

Every Day by David Levithan

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

The Paladin Prophecy by Mark Frost

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass

by Meg Medina

TEACHERS AS READERS GRANT

AWARDS RECIPIENTS

Congratulations to the recipients of the 2014-2015

Teachers as Readers grants from RARC!

Jennifer Sanders will receive $250 to work with her teachers at Kersey Creek

Elementary to learn more about the conferring practice. The book Jennifer has chosen to

support this is, Conferring with Readers: Supporting Each Student’s Growth and

Independence, by Jennifer Servallo and Gravity Goldberg (2007). The book provides practical

examples and suggestions for implementing targeted instruction and teaching methods for

use in effective conferences with students.

Stephanie Blackburn will receive $250 to work with her teachers and librarian at

Evergreen Elementary to study the topic of close reading. The book Stephanie has chosen

is, Falling In Love With Close Reading, by Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts (2013). She

will be using this text, along with supplemental articles to vertically align their instructional

practices with third, fourth, and fifth grade students as they build their foundational

knowledge about close reading.

Congratulations to Jennifer and Stephanie, and thank you for taking the

time to apply for the Teachers as Readers grants from RARC. We are

excited to support you in your professional development

at your schools.

A Writing Extravaganza! Sponsored by

Richmond Area Reading Council

Interested in giving your students an opportunity for their writing ability to be

recognized beyond the classroom?

The Richmond Area Reading Council’s 2015

Writing Extravaganza is the perfect choice!

Which grade levels are eligible? Grades 3-5 Grades 6-8 Grades 9-12

Students should choose one of the following prompts: Describe someone who is a hero to you and explain why.

Write about a time in your life when you struggled with a choice and how did it turn out.

Describe a time when someone helped you with something or how you helped someone.

What forms of writing can be submitted? Poetry

Personal narrative

Essay

How long should each piece of writing be? 750 words or less

How should each piece of writing be labeled? Each piece of writing should include student name, teacher name, grade, school, school division,

and a statement signed by the parent giving permission for the child’s name and/or picture to

be used in a media release. (See form below.) Pieces of writing missing this information will

not be considered. Only one entry per student will be judged.

What is the due date? Postmarked by Friday, February 27, 2015

Winners will be notified by Monday, April 13, 2015

Send entries to: Vicki Hanner

1908 Boardman Lane

Henrico, VA 23238

A committee of literacy leaders will select outstanding writing samples. Please select the single best examples from your students’ writing portfolios. Selected students will be notified and invited to attend a special event of recognition on April

22,2015. Winners will be selected in each grade level category and each of the selected students will receive a certificate of recognition.

Writing Extravaganza! Sponsored by Richmond Area Reading Council

Only one entry per student will be accepted.

Each submission should include student name, teacher name, grade, school, school

division, and a statement signed by the parent giving permission for the child's name

and/or picture to be used in a media release. Pieces of writing missing this information

will not be judged. All submissions must be received by Friday, February 27, 2015 and

postage due entries will not be accepted.

Student's name_____________________________________________________

Teacher’s name__________________________________

Grade____ School_________________ School Division___________________

Teacher’s email ( print clearly or type) __________________________________

My child _______________________ has permission to submit a piece of writing

to the Writing Extravaganza! I give my permission for my child's name and/or

picture to be used in a media release.

____________________________________________________________

Parent’s email (please print clearly or type)

_____________________________________________________________________

Parent's name (please print)

________________________________________________

Parent's signature