[WesternMatters] WAHS News

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February 11, 2009

	Golden Apple Award
	Virginia Lottery's Super Teachers Program Now Accepting Nominations
	"Electronic School Board"
	Bullying, Cyberbullying and Youth Depression Parent Seminar
	Multicutural Fair
	Kids & Teachers: What Makes for Success in Schools
	Albemarle-Charlottesville 4-H Program
	
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Golden Apple Award

Nominations are currently being sought for the 2009 Golden Apple  
Awards, which honor an outstanding educator from each Albemarle  
County and Charlottesville City school, including CATEC, as well as  
area private schools that are members of the Virginia Association of  
Independent Schools (VAIS).

The 9th Annual Golden Apple Award program is sponsored again this  
year by Better Living Building Supply & Better Living Furniture.  
Educators can be nominated by their fellow associates, students, or  
community members to receive the distinction. Faculty members of any  
grade level or discipline are eligible for nomination and are ideally  
enthusiastic in the classroom and dedicated in service to the community.

All Golden Apple Award winners will receive a golden apple, gift  
cards from various local businesses, and an invitation to a reception  
held in their honor on May 11, in the UVa rotunda, to which the  
public and media are also welcome. Eight Golden Apple Award winners  
will also receive a $1,000 Golden Apple Grant for continued  
professional development.

Nomination forms are available from the local schools or online at  
http://www.betterlivingvirginia.com/char-apple.html and must be  
returned to those respective schools for approval by the principal.

Virginia Lottery's Super Teachers Program Now Accepting Nominations

Virginia Lottery and the Virginia PTA are co-sponsoring the 2009  
Super Teacher Awards in conjunction with The Supply Room Companies.  
The Super Teacher Awards are designed to honor outstanding Virginia  
public school teachers for their dedication and commitment to their  
students and their communities.

Nominations are accepted online and will be judged based on the  
following criteria, as communicated through the essay on the  
nomination form:

Passion and commitment to the teaching profession,
Innovation and creativity in the classroom,
Involving parents and families in their student's  education.
"Electronic School Board"

In an effort to improve efficiencies in the School Board office and  
to make the work of the School Board more transparent to the public,  
the Albemarle County School Board has begun using a paperless product  
known as ElectronicSchoolBoard. Beginning with the February 12  
meeting, all board agendas, documents, minutes, and policies will be  
housed online through the ElectronicSchoolBoard site, reached via  
http://esb.k12albemarle.org .

Once inside the Electronic School Board interface, users should click  
on links on the far right-hand side of the screen to access a  
calendar, agenda, policies and minutes. Clicking on links within the  
agenda will bring up the associated supporting documents for that  
agenda item.

Previously, staff produced board meeting materials in both paper and  
compact disc format as well as posting items individually to the Web.  
Implementing the paperless system will not only save copying and  
production costs, but will also save time for employees preparing the  
materials for the board through a work flow process improvement.  
Employees authoring board agenda items may do so electronically from  
within the system, and the agenda will be built dynamically as items  
are added for that meeting date.

Board members - and the general public - may view items related to a  
specific board meeting from any computer with an Internet connection.  
Paper copies will no longer be produced. The system also adds the  
increased functionality of searchable minutes, agendas, supporting  
documents and policies.

The School Board is testing the system for 2009, with the option to  
purchase on-site hosting in 2010. The ElectronicSchoolBoard system is  
in place in several school divisions across the state, including  
Prince William, Suffolk and Isle of Wight, who report cost savings  
associated with its use, as well as greater access to Board proceedings.

Bullying, Cyberbullying and Youth Depression Parent Seminar

John Halligan's son, Ryan, died by suicide on October 7, 2003 after  
being bullied by classmates at school and online. He was 13 years  
old. John Halligan's presentation to parents will cover the lessons  
learned too late for his family regarding how to deal with bullying,  
cyberbullying and youth depression. You can learn more about Ryan's  
story by visiting the website in his memory at http:// 
www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org/.

Growing Up Online by Frontline includes Ryan Halligan's story. You  
can watch the full program or portions of the program (Ryan's story  
is #6) online and read an interview with John Halligan at http:// 
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/.

Make plans to attend one of these very informative seminars. (The  
seminars are not appropriate for elementary age children.)

Monday, March 16:  Parent Seminar, 6:30 PM, County Office Building,  
Lane Auditorium

Tuesday, March 17:  Parent Seminar, 6:30 PM, Albemarle High School  
Auditorium

Multicutural Fair

Meg Schwenzfeier and Sean Barkley are leadership students and juniors  
at Western Albemarle High School. We need your help!

We are trying to organize a Multicultural Fair at WAHS that would be  
held on Friday, March 27th. The goal of the Multicultural Fair is to  
open students’ minds to different cultures, experiences, and points  
of view as well as to allow community members to share their  
interests and talents with the WAHS student body. We hope that the  
fair will inspire students to appreciate and learn more about  
different cultures, so it will be both educational and fun.

In the past, parents and community leaders have been wonderful  
presenters. Your presentations have been student favorites not only  
because of your enthusiasm for your topics, but also because of your  
ability to create presentations which appeal to teenagers.

Would you or anyone you know be interested in leading a presentation?

We would need presenters to prepare a session that would teach a  
group of students about the culture, lifestyle, or interest in an  
area that you have knowledge of. Ideally, each presentation would be  
educational and entertaining and would involve students in some sort  
of activity. Some methods used in the past have been listening to  
music from a different culture, making or eating food, or even  
learning traditional dances. Students will have chosen your  
presentation from a list of over 50 options and will be excited to  
learn about your topic. The presentation would last for 45 minutes  
and we would ask you to do the same presentation for a second group  
if possible. It is fine if you cannot make yourself available for  
both presentations. Our tentative schedule would require you to  
arrive between 11:00 and 11:30 and hold presentations between 12:00  
and 2:00.We are willing to reimburse you up to 20 dollars for any  
supplies needed.

If you or someone you know might be willing to give a presentation  
please contact us with your interest or give us the name and contact  
information of anyone who might be interested. Please contact us at  
mschwenzfeier at comcast.net with questions or information. You can also  
contact our faculty sponsor Liza Scallet at lscallet at k12albemarle.org  
or call WAHS at 823-8700 (ex. 3106) and leave a message for her. We  
would like to hear from interested people by February 20th so we can  
see if there are enough presentations for us to hold the  
Multicultural Fair. Thank you so much for considering our request!

Kids & Teachers: What Makes for Success in Schools

The Curry School of Education dean, Bob Pianta, will speak at the  
Venable Elementary School PTO meeting on Tuesday, February 17, at 7  
pm in the Venable Elementary School auditorium.  Dean Pianta will  
discuss "Kids & Teachers: What Makes for Success in Schools."  His  
discussion is open to the public, and we encourage you to attend if  
you are a parent, an educator, or a community member committed to  
making schools successful in the Charlottesville and surrounding areas.

Dean Pianta's recent research focuses on the assessment of teacher  
quality, teacher-child interaction, and child improvement.

Author Malcolm Gladwell interviewed Dean Pianta about this research  
for an article that was featured in the December issue of The New  
Yorker magazine.  "Most Likely to Succeed" http://www.newyorker.com/ 
reporting/2008/12/15/081215fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all  is  
available for viewing online.

Dean Pianta's work in early childhood education and teacher quality  
was also recognized by President-elect Obama's transition team.  In  
November, the transition team asked Dean Pianta for recommendations  
pertaining to early childhood education, childcare, and K-12  
policies.  His recommendations can be found on the "Message from the  
Dean" page on the Curry website http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/ 
index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1792.

While it is our goal that the research, teaching, and service done at  
Curry impact education nationally and globally, it is our commitment  
to create significant, positive change in the educational  
institutions of our local community.  Please join Dean Pianta on  
February 17 as we work toward making Charlottesville and the  
surrounding schools institutions of the highest quality.

Albemarle-Charlottesville 4-H Program

The 4-H Program, sponsored by the Virginia Cooperative Extension, has  
many exciting community programs and clubs.  All clubs are free of  
charge. Options include Jr. Mountain Biking Club, Leadership Club  
(ages 14-18), Charlottesville-Albemarle Livestock Family (CALF), Free  
Union Country School Botany Class, Llamas, Jr. Master Gardeners Club,  
Horse & Dog Project Club, Ecology Club, Jr. Naturalists Club (ages  
5-13), and Horse Project Club.  For more information contact LoriAnne  
Barnett, 4-H Agent, at (434) 872-4580 or labarnett at vt.edu.

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Mark Your Calendar

	February 16, Monday - School in Session - Make up Day #2

	February 17, Tuesday - School in Session - Make up Day #1

	February 23, Monday - 7 PM - PTO Meeting

	February 25, Wednesday - Board of Supervisors Budget Public Hearing

	February 26, Thursday - Parent Conference Night (No appointments  
necessary. Teachers will be in their rooms.)

	March 16, Monday - Bullying, Cyberbullying and Youth Depression 6:30  
PM - Lane Auditorium COB

	March, 17, Tuesday - Bullying, Cyberbullying and Youth Depression  
6:30 PM - Albemarle High School Auditorium

   [Click here for the 2008-09 school year calendar PDF]

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Links

Western Albemarle High School Homepage

The WAHS PTO website at: http://www.wahspto.com/

Parent Council

The School Division website at: http://www.k12albemarle.org/ 
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