nora's newsletter april 2012

8/2/2019 Nora's Newsletter April 2012

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I am not sure who coined the phrase 15 minutes of fame. If you are any-

thing like me, you wish some people on got 15 minutes! Every once in

awhile, however, there is someone who gets 15 minutes unexpectedly. My

father is one of those people. He has had so many it is a running joke in

our family.

When I was a freshman at Penn State, Tom Cruise visited my house to talk

to my father as he researched for his movie Born on the 4th of July. My

father was Ron Kovacs wrestling coach. Then there was Seinfeld. If youare a diehard fan, you may know of The Race episode. Jerry is dating

Lois Lane (Terri Hatcher) and her boss lost a race in P.E. to Jerry. Jerry

mentions my fathers name (Coach Bevilacqua) in the show - total surprise

to everyone. We grew up with the Baldwins (Alec, Daniel, William, and

Stephen). Their father and my father taught together. When it came time

for some E! biography, Big Al was interviewed. I think you get my point.

My father taught and coached high school for about 35 years in New York.

Just like each of you, he worked day and night to better young men and

women to reach their fullest potential. You may not have nationwide 15

minutes of fame but, I know you are making a difference.

- Nora Wheeler, LTS

P.S. The HS wrestling room is being named after Coach Bevilacqua and Jerry Seinfeld just

made his donation:)

Volume 7, Issue 3

The 15 Minutes That Wont End

April 2012

A P U B L I C A T I O N F O R H C P S S O C I A L S T U D I E S T E A C H E R S

Test your knowledge

with questions from

the National

Geographic Bee...no

cheating!

1. Foreign workers far

outnumber citizens

in which Persian

Gulf country made

up of a federation

of states?

2. What city, a west-

central commercialand tourism center,

was previously the

capital of Morocco?

3. Los Angeles is to

the San Gabriel

Mountains as Salt

Lake City is to

what?

4. The worlds

smallest independ-

ent country is an

enclave within what

capital city?

5. Mono Lake is

located east of

Yosemite National

Park in what state?

TIMELINES

Are You a Geo-Genius?

UpcomingEvents

Financial LiteracyMonthApril

Curriculum TeamMeetingApril 3rd

Spring Break!April 9-13

Earth DayApril 22nd

Law DayMay 1st


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P a g e 2

Websites & Programs to Check - Out

Garden Mosaics - The an-nual Earth Day events pro-vide us a wonderful oppor-tunity to discuss culture,geography, and historyalong with the science. Thiswebsite is devoted toconnecting youth and eld-ers to investigate the mo-saic of plants, people, andcultures in the gardens.

Take a look around and getinspired. If your schooldoesnt have an outdoorgarden, you might be justthe right person to get it

started!

Skritter - If you studyChina, Japan, or are justfascinated with theirwriting, you will want toexplore Skritter. Thisinteractive site helps teachyou how to write thecharacters. A 2nd gradeclass at Cool Springrecently had some funwith this site and a Smart

Board!

Colonial House - This PBSsite provides studentswith a number of interac-tive modules to explorecolonial history such asDress Me Up and

Fantastic Voyage.

T I M E L I N E S

The deadline is approaching to apply for Stratford HallsSummer Institute, Economic Life in ColonialVirginia. Applications are due by April 16th. Moreinformation is available on Blackboard.

Museum of the Confederacys Summer Institute is fo-cused on War So Terrible this year. Participants canwork for recertification points or pay a fee to obtain creditthrough the University of Richmond. More details onBlackboard.

Virginia Historical Society - Annual Teacher and

Student Awards Announced

Halsey Teaching Excellence(secondary teachers this

year)

Bobby Chandler Award- high school students

Anne Worrell Award- middle school students

Professional Opportunities &

Upcoming EventsVIRGINIA COUNCIL

FOR THESOCIAL STUDIES

CALL FOR PROPOSALS!!

The annual conference isscheduled for November 2ndand 3rd at the WilliamsburgHotel and Resort (formerly theWill iamsburg Marriott).

Closing date: All proposals

must be submitted by April20, 2012. Please note thatpresenters must register forthe conference. "Virginia atthe Crossroads" is thisyear's theme.

All workshop and sessionproposals will be judged ontheir connectedness to theconference theme; relevanceand importance to classroomteachers and educators;clarity of objectives, content,and methods; and the use ofstrategies based on soundclassroom theory andpractice.

Bring your ideas to a largeraudience and submit your

session proposal today!Click Here to complete theform today! Let me know if Ican help you fil l it out.
http://communitygardennews.org/gardenmosaics/index.htmhttp://www.skritter.com/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/colonialhouse/history/index.htmlhttp://www.vahistorical.org/education/education_halsey.htmhttp://www.vahistorical.org/education/education_halsey.htmhttp://www.vahistorical.org/education/education_chandler.htmhttp://www.vahistorical.org/education/education_chandler.htmhttp://www.vahistorical.org/education/education_worrell.htmhttp://www.vahistorical.org/education/education_worrell.htmhttp://www.vcss.org/http://www.vcss.org/http://www.vcss.org/https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDNacnh6TThsRU9GSW5zSnIwQW9ZT3c6MQhttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDNacnh6TThsRU9GSW5zSnIwQW9ZT3c6MQhttp://www.vcss.org/https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDNacnh6TThsRU9GSW5zSnIwQW9ZT3c6MQhttp://communitygardennews.org/gardenmosaics/index.htmhttp://www.pbs.org/wnet/colonialhouse/history/index.htmlhttp://www.skritter.com/http://www.vahistorical.org/education/education_worrell.htmhttp://www.vahistorical.org/education/education_chandler.htmhttp://www.vahistorical.org/education/education_halsey.htm


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V o l u m e 7 , I s s u e 3 P a g e 3

REFLECTIVE QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Whatmorecanyoudotokeepyourfinancesingoodshape?

EARTH DAY - 2012

Do Your Money Smarts Make the Grade?

April is Financial Literacy Month

True or False Read each statement and determine whether it is true or false.

1. You want to purchase a $30 shirt at the mall. Your summer job pays $6 an hour. You will only need towork five hours to earn the $30 needed for the shirt.

2. Theres no need to match the checks youve written and debit card purchases youve made to yourbank statement, because you can check your account balance over the phone or online anytime you needto know it.

3. After pulling an all-nighter studying for an exam, you need a cappuccino to keep you awake for the test.The banks Web site shows that you have $25 left in your account. You head to the coffee shop topurchase your cappuccino, assuming the debit card will be declined if there are insufficient funds.

CLICK HERE FOR ANSWERS

&

MORE PERSONAL FINANCE QUESTIONS
http://www.vscpa.com/Content/59188.aspxhttp://www.vscpa.com/Content/59188.aspxhttp://www.earthday.org/http://earthdayrichmond.org/http://www.earthhour.org/http://www.keepvirginiabeautiful.org/


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Geo-GeniusAnswers

1.

UnitedArabEmirates

2.

Marrakech

3.

WasatchRange

4.

Rome

5.

California

Congratulations to Caroline Bare (HSS) for being accepted into the 2012 SummerFellowship in Korean Studies Program. She will spend fifteen days in an intensivestudy tour and workshop consisting of lectures and field trips, arranged by KoreaUniversity and The Korea Society, with financial support from the Korea Foundation.

Fourth graders from Kersey Creek, Rural Point, South Anna, and Washington-Henry enjoyed a field trip to Hanover Tavern recently to learn more about the CivilWar. You might recall that Richmond Discoveries, in partnership with HanoverTavern, pitched this event to us last year in hopes of providing our students with aunique experience. Donna Graves (RPES) said, the Hanover Tavern field trip wasthe best ever!!! Students heard from historical interpreters, participated in a readerstheatre, and learned at other hands-on stations.

Erin Cobb (LDHS) escorted two students to the Virginia War Memorials 3rd AnnualWorld War II Roundtable Seminar. The event featured guest speaker David L.Robbins. This nationally known author recently published Broken Jewel, whichaddresses Japanese treatment of civilian prisoners in the Philippines during WWII.

Sue Albaugh and the entire 5th Grade Team at Laurel Meadow [Theresa Bowen,Kim Bauer, Rachel Martin, Kevin Layne, and Alicia Broughton] held their 2ndAnnual in-house Mini-Economy Day on March 21st. The new twist this year was thatsome 5th graders from Mechanicsville Elementary participated. As one of the judges,I can tell you it was a great event and worth the investment of time. All four coresubjects are integrated into this multi-week project and students develop a number of

important 21st century skills, not to mention the creative aspects.

1,200 elementary students, including some from South Anna and Kersey Creek,recently participated in the VCEE Mini-Economy Market Day at the Siegel Center.Richmond Times-Dispatch ran a nice article on March 28th titled, Youngentrepreneurs show acute grasp of economics if you want a good read.

Why not bring Mini-Economy to your school?Click Here for More Information

Open to Elementary Students

Students design and color a small posterdemonstrating their understanding of a gradeappropriate economic concept in the SOLs.Winners get a small monetary prize and theirwinning art work is published! Hanover hashad some winners in the past. Entries mustbe postmarked by April 27th so dont delay!

http://vcee.org/programs-awards/view/1
http://vcee.org/programs-awards/view/3http://vcee.org/programs-awards/view/3

nora's newsletter april 2012

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