What’s been going on?

Jim — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:34:39 +0000

People who only see a School Board member when we’re in a regular board meeting often ask me what goes on between meetings. The last few weeks, my answer has been, “Quite a lot.” In fact what goes on between board meetings is often the best part of being on the School Board. I’ve been:

Reading…

On March 2 — Dr. Seuss’s birthday as any elementary school student can tell you — I was invited to read to Mrs. Donna Bryan’s first grade class at Lemont Elementary School. I brought my own copy of Green Eggs and Ham, and I wore my Seuss hat and Green Eggs and Ham tie. When I was finished the children asked me why I think reading is important and how I used it in my work. I had a very enjoyable time and I’d like to thank Mrs. Bryan and her class for the invitation.

Amazed…

On March 4, I attended the Challenging Science Investigations (CSI) Showcase put on by the State College Branch of the American Association of University Women and the State College Area School District Community Education and Secondary Science Department at Park Forest Middle School. The theme this year was Rube Goldberg contraptions. I really wanted my daughter to see these young ladies construct complicated “machines” which do very simple things. There were popping balloons and burning strings and great fun was had by all. It was very well done. Thanks to Dr. Donna Ricketts and the Community Education team and to all the science teachers who helped out.

Proud…

Our State College Ice Hockey Team finished the regular season with Senior Night on March 4. Dr. Mextorf came along to recognize our five seniors and enjoy a very good game. Unfortunately, we lost to Plum Township 3-2 in overtime, but we still managed to finish third in the top division of the PIHL. This is the best finish for a State College team since we moved to the AAA (top) division. We received a first round bye and host a home play-off game on Wednesday, March 17 at 8pm at the Penn State Ice Pavilion.

Practicing, practicing, practicing…

As a result of the first round bye, we had three practices last week and we’ll have two more before Wednesday’s game. Guest Coach Joe Battista made an appearance last week and went over the penalty kill. It would be nice not to need that skill, but in reality successful high school hockey teams have successful “special teams.” Thanks JoeBa!

I’d like to thank all of the folks who have made the last two weeks so enjoyable. We’ve got a busy, but enjoyable week ahead.

Easterly Parkway Visit

Jim — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:16:03 +0000

On December 10, the board visited Easterly Parkway Elementary (EPE) School. It was the first school visit which I attended. The visit was well attended by board members and administrators. Our host was EPE principal Brian Peters. Mr. Peters gave us an overview of the thoughts on education and explained some of the changes he’s made in his short tenure there. He told us he employs what I would call a peer learning team experience in his faculty meetings, where groups of faculty read articles and share information and best practices with each other. My Penn State IT Leadership Program involved many of these type of activities and I’m a huge advocate for this style of learning.

Mr. Peters also uses the Penn State Professional Development School program extensively at EPE. This program is much more involved than a standard student teaching assignment and creates College of Ed graduates who are very prepared for a teaching career. One of the EPE teachers I spoke with was a PDS student at the school just last year.

All of the staff and students were welcoming. We ate the cafeteria lunch (I owe David because I forgot my wallet) and had a very good lunch discussion with Mr. Peters and those teachers who happened to be eating their lunches at the same time. I tried not to be too disruptive to instruction, but I did enjoy some of those candid classroom moments.

Thanks to Mr. Peters and his excellent staff and faculty. So far, this is the best part of being on the school board.

School Board Blog » ElementarySchools

What’s been going on?

Easterly Parkway Visit