Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 23, 1993 TAG: 9302230094
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MELISSA DeVAUGHN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
SCHOOLS FIND PLENTY OF PROJECTS TO GIVE SMALL READERS INCENTIVE
It's National Reading Month, so what better time to announce the New River Valley Reading Council's 1992-93 Reading Teacher of the Year?Rochelle Ireland got the honors this year. She will be recognized at the April meeting of the reading council. Ireland, the reading and English teacher at BLACKSBURG HIGH SCHOOL, has taught there for eight years. Last year's award went to a Chapter One teacher, Judi McBride of Falling Branch Elementary School.
"I was shocked but very pleased," Ireland said of the award. She was notified in November, but the award was not announced until last month.
"[Ireland has] been actively involved in the reading association for a number of years, and for a high school reading teacher she has done a lot of innovative things," said Martha Anne Stallings, who was on the committee that chose her.
"It's hard on the high school level to keep students motivated," Stallings said. "Rochelle comes up with lots of different things to do during reading month, and a lot to keep the students interested."
Ireland says her main concentration in her classes is to get the students to read.
"I let them read just about everything," she said. "We read lots of magazines and novels - fun ones. Especially at that age, you just have to go with the things that work best."
For Ireland, the best part of the job is "seeing a student who did not like to read suddenly get interested" and "seeing the students' progress."
Besides being recognized at the April meeting of the reading council, Ireland will attend a state Reading Conference in Norfolk, where she and other reading teachers from Virginia will be awarded a plaque.
Almost every school in the New River Valley has something planned for National Reading Month. Three schools will be featured this week: RINER\ ELEMENTARY, MARGARET BEEKS ELEMENTARY and PRICES FORK ELEMENTARY.
Sherri Quesenberry, RINER'S media specialist, has coordinated several activities, including the "Hug a Book" contest, in which pupils earn rewards for returning library books on time and showing good library manners.
Each morning, a raffle is held to see which classroom will win an afternoon visit by principal Keith Rowland, who will share a book with the class. Also, there has been a "design a bookmark" program and "read-me" day, where children and faculty wear readable clothing.
A book fair was held last week, and guest readers came to the school to share their favorite selections with the pupils. Friday, pupils and adults will take part in the sixth annual Friday Night Prime Time, a sleep-over to help celebrate reading.
\ MARGARET BEEKS held "read-me" days and participated in "Drop Everything and Read." When the bell rang, each pupil stopped what he or she was doing and read for 10 minutes.
Trivia day on Tuesdays features questions about popular books. The prizes are books.
An International Day was held last week, in which parent volunteers read to the pupils about other countries.
Friday is storybook dress-up day and pupils, faculty and staff will dress as their favorite character from their favorite book.
\ PRICES FORK celebrates the theme "Read From Your Heart" with guest readers from the community, shared reading between classes, reading by the principal, silent reading, valentines for the veterans at the Veteran's Administration hospital and videotaping of some reading month activities.
The cafeteria is awarding each child who reads a book a free snack. The cafeteria also will offer three books in a drawing at the end of the week.
The school has a goal of 100,000 minutes of after-school reading for the month. If the goal is met, one child from each grade will be selected to throw a pie at school principal Larry Arrington at a school assembly March 3.
The CHRISTIANSBURG MIDDLE SCHOOL Parent-Teacher Association will meet tonight at 7:30 in the school gym. After a short business meeting, a performance by the Ujima Dance Theater will be presented.
"Creating Learning Organizations: Growth Through Quality," is the topic of a LIVE VIDEO CONFERENCE Friday, 10:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m., in Radford\ University's Heth Lounge A. The conference will examine the common needs of businesses and schools.
W. Edwards Deming, an international economic and business management consultant, and Peter Senge, director of the Organizational Learning Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will speak. Registration fee is $25. For further information, call 831-5483.
\ CHECK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has started "Project Assist" to help kindergarten and prekindergarten children with reading and writing skills. The project will run through April.
A series of five workshops will work with both parents and children in developing activities that foster positive learning. For information, call 745-9414 or 745-9410.
The LEARNING DISABILITIES PARENT SUPPORT GROUP will meet tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Parent Resource Center, 404 Wilson St., in Blacksburg. Chris Burton will speak on "How to Write and Improve an Individualized Education Plan." For further information, call 382-5194.
The Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations plans informative meetings on the 1993-94 county schools budget. Superintendent Harold Dodge will discuss the "preferred, essential and minimum" budgets that the School Board has submitted to the Board of Supervisors. The meetings are set for:
\ Elliston-Lafayette Elementary: tonight, 7:30 p.m.
\ Christiansburg Primary: Thursday, 7:30 p.m.\
MONTGOMERY COUNTY SCHOOLS plan an open house tonight, 6-8, so parents can review new math textbooks to be used in the fall. The event will be at each county high school library: Auburn, Shawsville, Christiansburg and Blacksburg.
The New River Valley Friends of the Roanoke Symphony will present the\ ROANOKE YOUTH SYMPHONY and Roanoke Junior Strings Sunday at 3 p.m. at Preston Auditorium at Radford University.
Admission is free. Two $100 scholarships will be awarded. Students in first through 12th grades who are at the performance are eligible to enter. The scholarship must be applied toward music education or the purchase of an instrument.
For further information, call 639-5298 or 552-0912.
\ CHRISTIANSBURG MIDDLE SCHOOL principal Bob Fletcher, alias "Captain Ace," will lead an academic pep rally Friday at 8 a.m. at the school gymnasium.
Each student will be recognized for academic achievement, creativity, improved attendance, good attitude, participation in extracurricular activities and more. The teachers - dressed as cheerleaders - will cheer for the students. Prizes include balloons, certificates, bumper stickers and ribbons.
Parents are encouraged to come. For further information, call 382-5168.
The Chapter One Program of Montgomery County Public Schools will sponsor a "FAMILY LITERACY CELEBRATION" at New River Valley Mall Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Some of the attractions include reading and writing centers, computer activities, games, puppet shows, book displays, balloons, appearances by the Virginia Tech football players and Clifford the Dog and more. For further information, call 382-5100.
There will be a display of work by Darcy May, the popular illustrator of children's books, at FALLING BRANCH ELEMENTARY through March. This is the fourth showcase of May's work in the New River Valley.
May has illustrated several books including "The Little Mermaid," "The Dragons of North Chittendon" and "Jim Henson - The Storyteller." The author of "The Dragons of North Chittendon," Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, donated a copy of her book to this showcase.
If you have an interesting news item from your school, write to Melissa DeVaughn at P.O. Box 540, Christiansburg, Va. 24073.