Lighting the Way
April 2007: Recently, ESL teacher Lorie Baker at Sellers Middle School was notified that one of her students had been selected to attend the Mark Twain Young Authors Workshop this summer in Hannibal, Missouri. Student, Viet Ky Dong Quach was one of twelve students in the nation to receive the honor. Earlier in the year, Ms. Baker submitted one of Viet Ky's short stories to the contest along with a teacher recommendation. What makes this even more unique is the fact that Viet Ky has only been in the country for two years! Visit the Mark Twain Young Authors webpage for more information about the contest.
January 2007: The 8th grade class at Memorial Preparatory School has just received a huge honor. They, along with teachers Debra Venable and Mary Theobald have been chosen to receive the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance's award of "Keeper of the Flame." This annual award is presented to only one or two people who have made a significant contribution to educating the public about the Holocaust. The Memorial Preparatory 8th graders of 2005-2006 started a project to collect 1.5 million pennies to represent the children murdered during the Holocaust. This year's 8th graders have taken on finishing the task. The students and teachers will be honored at a ceremonial luncheon in April, along with Senator Florence Shapiro. Memorial still has a long way to go and would appreciate any donations from other schools/clubs
December 2006: Terry Cherry, Memorial Preparatory, was recently elected at the National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., to the Resolutions Committee of the House of Delegates, the governance body of the National Council for the Social Studies. It is highly unusual for a delegate to be elected to a committee his first time in the House of Delegates. Mr. Cherry came to this nomination with excellent credentials as President- Elect of the Texas Council for the Social Studies and various other positions he has held in this state-wide organization. As the Middle School Teacher of the Year for Social Studies in the state of Texas for 2004, he well-represents your District in Garland, and his unique school where he excels as a classroom teacher with innovative types of strategies for his 8th grade history students.
November 2006: GISD GT Coordinator, Linda Phemister, has been recognized as the State's Gifted and Talented Administrator of the Year. The Texas Association for Gifted and Talented, in partnership with the Texas Academy of Math and Sciences, has announced that Linda will be presented with the award at the TAGT Conference in Austin on Friday, November 17. This is the largest conference specifically for Gifted and Talented in the nation, and draws more than 3,500 educators and parents from across the country.
October 2006: Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA), Areas 10 & 11 Fall Conference was held in Plano on Saturday, October 28. Among the crowd of 350 educators across the two regions were 28 Garland employees who spent their Saturday learning about innovative ways to improve teaching and learning through technology integration. Four Garland ISD employees who presented technology workshops at the “Score Big With Technology” Fall Conference are Norma Williammee, Pam Holcomb, Amber Teamann, and Mary Ramos.
Special thanks go to 28 dedicated GISD employees who volunteered their Saturday to find new opportunities to use computers and technology with students. They are: Shauna Pierce, Scott Raine, Sheila Raines, Carmen Richardson, Kathleen Rohmer, Lea Schkade, Everson Scott, Bryan Spiritus, Karen Stair, Deana Starnes, Amber Teamann, Mindy Whitt, Katie Parker, Renee Pentecost, Chasity Bass, Terry Bryant, Eileen Drusjack, Tara Dvorak, Linda Fleming, Joni Harris, Val Harter, Martha Hinsley, Vera Jackson, Genelia Lamb, Vikki Mahagan, Janice Mauldin, Christina McLain, and Elizabeth McMurphy.