Welcome to Winter!

This has been an unseasonably cold week...yesterday's Christmas Parade in Raleigh was held in the coldest temperatures in thirty years! And twice on my travels this week I was driving in snow flurries - not dangerous, just pretty!

This week began a little earlier than usual. I started on Sunday at my school working at our Community Literacy Center. It all started two years ago when I asked my class to identify the setting of a novel we were reading. When they couldn't, I prompted them with "it's a state that begins with an "a." The first answer called out? "Australia!" The next? "Africa!" It was at that moment that I thought of a Community Literacy Center to help our students (and their families) build prior knowledge and strengthen literacy skills. Last Sunday, second year teacher Jenny and I worked with a Hispanic family on English skills - and they helped us with our Spanish! My dream for this project is that we will soon offer homework assistance and reading strategies to our students while continuing to work with English Language Learners. We had a great time while eating pizza and getting to know our students' families.

I again had my every other Monday visit to Gravelly Hill Middle School, working with National Board Certification candidates. But I had to scoot out early because I had to the honor of speaking on Monday night at the North Carolina Exceptional Children's Conference. I had an adrenalin rush (fear or excitement?) when I walked in and saw table settings for 1,000 people! Then I looked up at two huge screens on either side of the podium. The thought of my face up on those screens made me a little uneasy, but soon I began talking with teachers and felt more comfortable. I was there to help honor "Teachers of Excellence," one EC teacher from each school district in NC. I was excited to help present plaques and offer congratulations to them. Our EC teachers are so important in our schools, and what they do for our students is beyond amazing!

Each EC Teacher of Excellence saw themselves on that big screen as their pictures scrolled prior to the ceremony.

Tuesday was School Innovation Day in North Carolina. Schools all over the state opened their doors so the public could come in and see the innovative projects that teachers are using to teach our students in this 21st Century world. I visited Smith Elementary in Burlington where students were watching teachers using interactive white boards for instruction and were incorporating the use of iPods in the classroom. Some students I saw in the computer lab were typing away on their own blogs - these were fourth graders! Also, a monitor in the lobby highlights student work, all day, every day! As usual, I enjoyed my time in a school (since I miss my own students so much!)

On Wednesday, I traveled through the SandHills of North Carolina to Richmond County (Hamlet) where I presented to all of the district's Teachers of the Year and the new teachers in the district. Then Thursday, I made it back up the mountain (to Hendersonville) to speak to National Board Certified Teachers who were being honored. Both small North Carolina towns are beautiful and full of friendly people - I'm loving this state!

Friday was so exciting because the Teacher of the Year team got together again. This time we met with LEARN NC, the folks who put together the website that helps teachers with all kinds of resources. As the homepage indicates: "LEARN NC gives you what you need for K–12 teaching and learning, when and where you need it — lesson plans and teaching strategies, classroom text & multimedia, and online courses for teachers and students." We discussed the idea of a virtual platform that will make it easier for us to "meet" as a team, and we were given a "tour" of the site so that we can share the LEARN NC resources with other teachers.

Happy Thanksgiving to all North Carolina teachers! I am so thankful for this opportunity to represent you as I travel around this beautiful state!