ANNOUNCEMENTS and THANK YOUS!

I have received the Donus D. Roberts Coaching Excellence Award in the NSDA Honor Society.  This accomplishment will be listed in an upcoming issue of the Rostrum.  Thank you speech team members!  Your hard work and stellar accomplishments the past two years have enabled me to receive this recognition!  

May you have a wonderful holiday season filled with laughter, miracles, joy, family warmth, and especially love!  May you have a wonderful new year filled with hope and enriching rewards!

Merry Christmas to all seventh graders!  Thank you for the Merci Chocolate Candies, cookies, candles, lotions, hot cocoa mix, homemade hard tack, honey products, tree ornaments, handmade ornaments, bath salts, cards, Eat n' Park Gift Cards, calendars, Olive Garden gift card, and chocolate-dipped pretzels!   

Thanks to all students concerned with my several-day absence.

I have completed and passed an Adjudicating Speech and Debate course at the National Speech and Debate Association through NFHS!  I proudly display the Completion Certificate in the classroom!

Mrs. Straight and I are now co-advisors for NJHS.

Today, September 3, I received notice of being chosen as a candidate for Who's Who in America!  The letter that I received does not reveal the name of the student that nominated me.  I want to thank the student that nominated me for this recognition!

This summer,  I attended the Teacher in the Workplace workshop held in Somerset.  Here is a brief day-by-day summary of the workshop.

The workshop gave an overview of industry in Somerset County, a look at entrepreneurism, and STEM resources.  An ASSET STEM Education team spoke on professional development.  The first day’s workshop covered project-based learning, 21^stCentury Skills, Career Readiness Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, effective classroom instruction, and creating systemic culture change with a classroom and school.  

On day 2, Somerset County based business/economic organizations held an entrepreneur boot camp. The camp covered the fundamentals of what it takes to start a business including business plans, financial literacy, and regional resources to support entrepreneurs.  Each participant began to create a business plan.  Following the panel discussion with us, the organization leaders facilitated discussions applying this information to an educational setting.  Josh Boland – SCEDC, Annette Chunko-SBDC, Joe Fetzer-Somerset County Entrepreneur Coach, and other entrepreneurs such as Dan Parisi, Rick Sferro, Emily Korns, and ASSET STEM spoke and conducted the discussions.

 All facilitators for the discussion and boot camp spoke of how well businesses are doing in Somerset County and that they are growing.  Some credited Governor Wolf with his support for small businesses and businesses in general for the county’s growth.  A facilitator for the workshop, Sharon Clapper, indicated that locally in Somerset County, the Governor in office impacts businesses the most rather than leadership at the federal level.  This program received funding from the Department of Labor.

On day 3, we toured various businesses; to save travel time, Seven Springs Resort came to ServPro to present.  We also toured Leiss Tool & Die, CVS Distribution, and Riggs Industries.

On day 4, we toured industries in Meyersdale such as Clapper Table Enterprises.  We also toured Meyersdale Medical Center.  Later, we toured 4 Guys Trucks and Somerset Trust.

On day 5, we reflected and worked on structuring lesson plans and designing challenges to help grow young entrepreneurs and to meet the Academic Standards for Career Education and Work (13.1, 13.2, 13.3, and 13.4).  All participants must submit and teach a plan to address at least one of the Academic Standards for Career Education and Work.  The workshop gave various sources for our use including Junior Achievement, STEM Connection, catalystconnection.org, Industry 4.0; JARI; Future Ready PA Index from Department of Education.  

Thank you all seventh graders who gave me the GIGANTIC bear for the classroom!  The holiday season is a time for giving, sharing, and loving!  This gift will always hold a special meaning for me because it is from the students!  Over the years, I have received many gifts from students in the classrooms and also from musical cast members, play cast members, cheerleading squads, and clubs, etc.  I have kept every gift from every student or student group with whom I have worked.  This bear has also been welcomed and will be cherished.  I LOVE this bear named Lucky!  I was definitely surprised!  It is great working with caring and generous students!   I was caught completely off guard!  Your gift has touched me!  Lucky will always have a place in my classroom!

Thank you for all the other gifts and cards that I have received also this holiday season!  It is truly wonderful knowing that I have been blessed with such thoughtful students! 

Thanks for the gift cards, candles, small stuffed animals, cookies, candies, headbands, hand sanitizers, soaps, decorative boxes, calendars, and left-handed calendar!

Congratulations to all Patriot's Pen Essay Winners!

I have won $500 in the James Patterson and Scholastic Book Clubs Giveaway. I am one of 4,000 winners from a pool of 127,000 teacher entries across the country.  See photo!

In order to win, I wrote a 50 words or less essay telling what I would do with the $500 in order to build a great classroom library to ensure that every student in my class finds great books to love reading.

Thank you grade 7 for your novel and author suggested titles to buy with the $500!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

I received a great report at my last oncology radiation visit at the end of September; I have now reached the 6-month threshold, and I do not need another check-up for six months!

Thank you, everyone, both students and staff for your thoughtful get well wishes on my recent surgery!  Also, thank you for your support during my radiation treatments!  Even though I only needed three treatments, it gives me a great feeling knowing that I work with such a supportive group of staff members and have the support of so many parents!  You are part of my family!

A special thank you to Mrs. Julie Hoover, Mrs. Kim Diehl and her classes for the Heart Joke Cards a warm gift to make me laugh (although laughing did hurt for a little while following my surgery) because sometimes laughter is the best medicine, the seventh grade class, Mrs. Diehl and Mrs. McMillen for the beautiful sticky note set featuring French monuments and French phrases, Mrs. Chris Grasser and Mrs. Cindy Coleman, Mrs. Beachley, Mrs. Erin Karwatsky and family, and the middle school staff for the gift cards and get well card!  Thank you all who sent me text messages filled with get well wishes or emails asking how I was doing.  I am blessed to have such warm, caring students, co-workers, and friends!  Thank you so much for your support!

Thank you, Mrs. Leanne Calvert.  Your 1876 literature book will be read and kept!  I enjoy browsing through literature of all genres and from all time periods! Thanks for such a thoughtful gift!

Educational Background   

   Debbie is a graduate of the Meyersdale Area School District.  She has been part of the BBSD faculty since the fall of 1983.  She has a B. S. Degree in Education with certification to teach French and English.  She also holds a B. A. Degree in French and received both degrees from Clarion State College; however, she has also taken post-graduate courses through the University of Pittsburgh and Frostburg State University.  While in college, she created an elementary French program for a prototype elementary school located on the campus.  College professors enrolled their children in this school; she taught those elementary students French.  Other Clarion students majoring in education also taught a mix of other subjects giving those children a jumpstart into their education.  She has also attended the Pennsylvania Governor's School for Foreign Language where she was enrolled in a total French immersion program for two summers.

 Debbie is teaching grade 7 ELA this year.  She looks forward to meeting and working with seventh grade students and parents and with middle school faculty, staff, and administration.

Experience   

   Before being hired full-time, she began teaching at BBSD as a substitute teacher for various teachers before being hired on a long-term basis.  When she began teaching here, she taught French levels I, II, III, and IV, and filled in to teach English as needed, but English ran differently then.  The English department offered English mini-courses; the mini-courses locked students into two required courses and also allowed students to choose two additional mini-English courses as electives.  Each mini-course ran a nine-weeks; students had to pass each mini-course in order to earn 1/4 credit for that particular English class, but students met with a different English Department teacher each nine weeks.  The English Department offered approximately 60 mini-courses for selection; Debbie has taught all of those mini-courses.

Extra-curricular and Advisory Groups   

   In addition to teaching, she has advised and currently advises numerous activities, organizations, and clubs,.  As an advisor, she has coached junior high, varsity, and junior varsity cheerleaders in football, basketball, and wrestling.  Working with the cheerleaders, she organized all Homecoming half-time activities and the Homecoming parade.  

   She also advised the school newspaper, The Mountaineer, and taught journalism. Other media activities that she coaches include the Daily American program County Highlights.  She has been involved in this program since it began missing only a handful of years as advisor when another faculty member advised the group.  In Highlights, high school student representatives from all Somerset County schools showcase their writing skills and speak for teens weekly in the Daily American.  She advises the school students that represent BBHS as the High School Highlights Representatives.  These students write for the Daily American weekly featuring their personal views on numerous issues, writing editorials, reviewing movies, novels, etc., and writing news articles and Crossfire commentaries as debates on various issues affecting teens today.

  Debbie loves the theatre, and she has directed Junior Class Plays (held in the spring), Senior Class Plays (held in the fall), and school district musicals.  Two English mini-courses previously taught here included "Shakespeare" and "Play Production."  Usually, former teacher, Tom Sprowls taught the Shakespeare mini-course.  One of her most memorable experiences at BBHS was working with Tom Sprowls and helping direct a senior class Shakespeare production of Othello.  One of his Shakespeare classes wanted to perform a Shakespeare play, and he directed the class for the production.  She enjoyed being able to work with him.  She has also taught a Theatre Arts class teaching students acting, set design, directing skills, and production etc., and has also directed productions that students in the class performed throughout the school year.

   Debbie also advises the French Club and has taken the French students on many field trips including several to New York City to tour the Statue of Liberty, the United Nations, and to see a Broadway production;  club members have also seen French movies such as Cyrano de Bergerac at a movie theatre in Altoona and have traveled to  Washington, D. C. to see a performance of Phantom of the Opera at the Harlequin Dinner Theatre, tour the major D. C. sites, including Mount Vernon which houses the key that locked the Bastille prison in Paris; following the French Revolution, the French gave the key to George Washington at Mount Vernon where it remains today.  She has also taken them to Canada with the Ski Club; while Ski Club members skied the Canadian slopes, the French Club students toured Québec, tobogganed and ice-skated along the St. Lawrence River, attended a Winter Ice Festival, and heard storytellers tell historical Québec tales.  They have eaten in various French restaurants in Maryland, Pittsburgh, and New York City and have taken foreign language Clipper trips aboard the fleet.  Recently, French class students performed "Alouette" and various puppet skits for the elementary students setting up a make-shift stage in classroom doorways.  Students sampled a wide variety of French desserts and other French foods in class.  At Christmas, French Class/Club sing Christmas carols in French for the elementary students and have also carolled for the high school students.  Yearly, students take a trip on a Gateway Clipper French Cruise; they eat Poulet Cordon Bleu for the main entrée and also a wide variety of French desserts.  They participate in a scavenger hunt searching for a list of items written in French such as une chaussette (sock), une photo de leur (their) professeur, l'année de la Révoluton Française.  This past spring, the Berlin French Class Team won first place in a scavenger hunt; they translated clues on board the fleet ship and then found photos that matched the answers to the clues.  The Berlin team placed first defeating other school teams from the Pittsburgh area and one school from the county.  An entertainer similar to street performers found at the Pompidou Center in Paris performs for the group.  A half hour before docking, the Clipper ship becomes a dance floor, and the group dances onboard the ship before docking at Station Square.  

   In 1994, she took a group of students in her French classes to France and continued to take students to Europe every other year following 1994.  She has made numerous trips to Europe some with students, some with adults, and some with a mix of adults and students.  Since 1994, students in her French classes have seen England, France, Belgium, Switzerland, parts of Italy, Wales, Ireland, and a section of Germany.  Before leaving for their trip, she has held Passport Parties for the students and adults to apply for their passports and eat regional dishes from the countries in which they would travel.  Wishing to remain anonymous, a community member paid for the group's transportation to and from the Pittsburgh airport.  Students kept journals/diaries and other items and organized a scrapbook of their trip.  After returning home, they held Pool Parties to share photos, souvenirs, and humorous stories of their travels.   She loves foreign language and understands that learning a foreign language helps grow tolerance and understanding between cultures.  Today's society is truly global because technology has bridged a huge communication gap to help make cultural connections.  To further their cultural understanding, she  placed a group of 21 French high school students with Berlin host families for a three-week summer stay. During their stay, the French teens experienced American culture and saw part of the United States.  They also visited Canada.

This year's Club members saw "The Three Musketeers" at Carnegie Mellon University April 28, and they traveled on a Gateway Clipper French Cruise May 24.

Debbie has also advised the National Honor Society.  

  Her love of theatre and the arts has pulled her into the Forensics world.  She coaches the Forensics team.  Forensics is an academic extra-curricular program that involves public speaking, interpretation, and debate.  Debbie coaches the Forensics team and the Student Congress Team, another form of debate within the Forensics program.  She is the vice-president of the school's local league, the Laurel Highlands High School Speech League and the Act 48 Chairperson and PDE Liaison for the Pennsylvania Speech and Debate Association.  She is also a member of the National Speech and Debate Association and has received a Degree of Distinction from the national association; she is currently working toward her Special Distinction Degree.  The Forensics team holds membership in the Laurel Highlands High School Speech League (LHHSSL), Pennsylvania High School Speech League (PHSSL), the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) formerly known as the National Forensic League (NFL), the Pennsylvania Speech and Debate Association (PSDA), the National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL), and the National Association of State High School Associations (NFHS).

Debbie is currently Vice-President of the Laurel Highlands High School Speech League for the district.  She is also the PDE (Pennsylvania Department of Education) liaison for the Pennsylvania Speech and Debate Association.  She helped the association become an ACT 48 provider compiling data and other research to help PSDA earn the ability to award ACT 48 hours for CPE (Contnued Professional Education).  In addition, she records all ACT 48 hours for PSDA members across the state.

Recently, she attend the annual PSDA Conference.  She presented an update on ACT 48 and how members can receive these hours.  At the close of this conference, members elected her Vice-President of Speech Education.  She has attended this conference each coaching year she has been with the team and this school district.

Philosophy of Education

   Education has changed a lot over the years, but one thing remains constant; all children can learn, thrive, and become productive adults given the tools that they need whether those tools are physical or emotional, concrete or abstract, cognitive or kinesthetic.  Debbie's philosophy of education is simply to be a facilitator in students' education to provide what they need, to motivate them, and to inspire them.

Interests and hobbies

Walking

Doctor Who 

British television including Doctor Who, Are You Being Served?, Keeping up Appearances, The Three Musketeers, Sherlock Holmes, and The Avengers (saddened to hear of the June 25 death of Patrick MacNee who played John Steed on The Avengers)

Harry Potter series

James Bond movie fan

Die Hard movie fan (for some unknown reason) - some weeks the first movie in this series is shown so frequently that she watches it three times on three different channels!

jazz 

Herb Alpert

Chuck Mangione

Phil Collins - saw him on tour at 4 different venues when last on tour

Genesis (when Phil Collins was a member of the group)

Still listens to Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, the Who and even Glen Campbell songs and Boy George - what a mix of music tastes!

Elton John - attended his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour recently at State College and will travel to see him again at PPG in Pittsburgh in November 2019.  She saw the same tour all three dates in Pittsburgh with the most recent at PNC Park (his first and sadly also his last performance at the park; also, this last venue was his last performance in Pennsylvania.

Dean Martin 

Dislikes

Cantelope

Red apples

Green apples

Favorites

McDonald's iced tea!!!!!!!!!!

Watermelon

Sunkist Navel Oranges

Peaches

Bananas

Golden Delicious Apples

Strawberries

Raspberries

Blueberries

Black raspberries

Elderberries

Pears

Huckleberries

Green beans

Carrots

Red beets

Cooked cabbage

Asparagus

Lime Jello 

Adores her nephew Tony

Likes to read mystery novels and British literature

Harry Potter series - read numerous times