The Bridge 2012 Feb

February 2012 [THE LARUE COUNTY BRIDGE]


The BridgeThe BridgeThe BridgeThe Bridge February 2012

ExCEL Teacher of the Year Nominees Honored by School Board

Four of LaRue County’s finest teachers have been honored by the LaRue County Board of Education.

These four exceptional teachers were nominated by their colleagues to be this year’s LaRue County

Teacher of the Year Excellence in Classroom and Educational Leadership (ExCEL) Award Winner.

Nominees include:

� Tom McGovern (LaRue County High)

� Jim B. Phelps (LaRue County Middle School)

� Heather Cline (Abraham Lincoln Elementary)

� David Edwards (Hodgenville Elementary)

The purpose of the LaRue County Teacher of the Year

Excellence in Classroom and Educational Leadership

(ExCEL) Award is to recognize, reward, and renew the importance and contributions of the public school

and teaching profession to the development and well-

being of our young people and community. This award is

to recognize public school teachers who exemplify

excellence in the teaching profession through

innovation, excitement, and enthusiasm in teaching

methodology; meaningful personal relationships with

students, parents, colleagues, and community

members; an exemplary role model of professionalism

and citizenry; and a personal commitment to continued

professional development and enhancement.

The ExCEL award is sponsored by EOnUS and WHAS-11. For over twenty years, WHAS-11 has been

honoring the best teachers in our region. Recipients are celebrated at a local award ceremony hosted by

Gary Roedemeier, WHAS news anchor. At the ceremony, teachers receive a golden apple award and a

$1000 scholarship. The LaRue County Board of Education awards the winner an additional $500 to be

used for their classroom. In September, winners from all participating districts are honored at a formal


gala hosted by Gary Roedemeier at the Olmstead in Louisville. LaRue County is one of only eight

Kentuckiana school districts to participate in this prestigious award program. We have worked very hard

to bring this award to our district. We believe our teachers truly are the best and deserve to be

celebrated with such a high honor.

Our four ExCEL nominees were selected by their peers and are in the process of completing an

extensive, reflective application and evaluation

process. Three different committees made up

of community representatives and

administrators from outside the district are

determining the winner by evaluating their

written applications, interviewing our finalists,

and conducting observations in their

classrooms. The winner will be announced in

February. WHAS-11 will be sending a crew to

our district in March for the official award

ceremony at the winner’s school.

We so appreciate the enthusiasm and dedication these teachers have brought to educating the

children of LaRue County, and in turn the difference their influence has made to the world around us.

New Faces at LCHS

Michelle Jones joined LaRue County High

School’s English department in January. She lives

in Elizabethtown with her husband, Kenny, and

daughters, Haley (sophomore) and Riley (8th

grade). In August 2009, she transitioned from her

previous career of nearly 16 years and returned

to Western Kentucky University to complete her

degree in education with an emphasis in

Language Arts and Social Studies. Mrs. Jones is

passionate about teaching our students and

expanding their knowledge to help them reach

their goals and achieve their dreams.


In addition to teaching, she enjoys being a wife, a full-time mother to her daughters as she

supports them in their many endeavors (including academic team, soccer, dance, and

basketball), spending time with family, cooking, watching movies, and reading. Mrs. Jones says

she is honored to have been invited to join the LaRue County Schools and feels blessed and so

welcomed to this wonderful educational environment.

Elizabeth Marsh joined LaRue County High

School’s Science department in January.

She recently graduated from WKU in

December of 2011. The LCHS students

were already familiar with her as she was

student teaching with Mr. Cecil last

semester. She teaches college prep

chemistry and integrated science. She

also is in charge of ESS for science on

Wednesday and Thursday of each week, so

if you need help with a science class, go by

and see her!

In her spare time she likes shopping, going to concerts, and doing anything outdoors. She is

engaged to Todd Lockett and will be getting married in the fall of 2012.

Hannah Allen is a senior at Lindsey Wilson College

majoring in English with an emphasis in Secondary

Education. She is student teaching with Mrs.

Cecil’s classes this semester, and is teaching a unit

over Of Mice and Men. Her favorite books include

The Hunger Games trilogy and Gulliver’s Travels.

Ms. Allen recently got engaged and moved to

Elizabethtown, Kentucky. She really likes playing

COD: MW3 and Little Big Planet. She drinks Diet

Mt. Dew like it’s going out of style. Ms. Allen is

looking forward to working with LaRue County

High School students and staff.


Kayla Ernst is student teaching in the English

department with Summer Garris. Mrs. Ernst

says that throughout elementary, middle, and

high school she had many great teachers who

taught her to love learning and exploring. Once

in high school at E-town, she began to favor one

subject over all the others: English. She loved

reading stories and novels just to see if she

could decipher them. Most of her free time was

spent reading, a trend that continues to this

day. Her love of literature paired with the

enjoyment that she felt working with young

adults steered her in the direction of teaching

high school. While attending Western Kentucky University she met numerous intelligent and

interesting people there who only reaffirmed her chosen career path. This summer, she

married a graduate of LaRue County High School and moved to Elizabethtown to settle down.

So far, she says she has had a really great time here at LaRue County High, getting to know the

students and the other teachers, and knows now that she has made the right choice.

Trevor Ervin is from Glasgow, Kentucky and

attended Barren County High School. He is

currently attending Campbellsville University

pursuing a Music Education degree with

Percussion emphasis. He is also an active

participant in Drum Corps International and

the Winter Guard International Sport of the

Arts.

Stephanie Scott is completing her student

teaching here in Larue County. Upon its

completion, she will graduate from the

University of the Cumberlands with a

Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) focused

on Special Education. She received her

Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies (BSL)


focused on Social Sciences and Business from Excelsior College in 2009.

Mrs. Scott and her family recently moved to Kentucky from Connecticut. They have a small

horse farm in Campbellsville where she owns 4 horses, 2 miniature donkeys, 4 cats and 2 dogs.

She enjoys running, kayaking, eventing, show jumping and spending time with her family. She

is looking forward to beginning her new career as a Special Education teacher in 2012!

LCHS Students place 4th in Quiz Bowl at State Beta Convention

13 students from LCHS attended the State BETA conventions on December 9th and 10th. BETA

club is a new club at LCHS. BETA club is an honor society whose mission is to promote the

ideals of academic achievement, character, service and leadership among elementary and

secondary school students.

At the convention, students competed in written

events and group events. The group of Zach Lee,

John Slack, Brandon Henning, and Tyler Skaggs

placed 4th in the Quiz Bowl competition. In round

one, students from 25 different schools took a 50

question multiple choice exam and the top 16

teams from this exam then competed in a single

elimination quick recall format. After winning the

first two rounds, LaRue was in the top 4 and

ended in 4th place.

For a new club, Rex Hanson, the club sponsor, was

very pleased with the results and the performance of the students throughout the convention.


Matthew Hornback – iPad 2 Winner

The Band of Hawks recently broke new ground by

acquiring a Charitable Gaming License to legally hold

raffles. The new fundraising efforts started with selling

chances on winning an Apple iPad2 – 64GB Wi-Fi+3G.

Jaime Smith, band director, said “We wanted to start this

new venture in a big way. The iPad2 is a product that is

becoming one of the most desired technology devices on

the market, so we thought it would go over well in our

community.” Overall, the band was happy with the

raffle’s success. Chances were sold to community

members, friends, and family from around the country.

The band plans to do many more in the future. The

winner of the iPad2 was LaRue County High School

student, Matthew Hornback.


A Message from Mrs. Reed

Dear ALES School Community:

I have been appointed by Superintendent Sam Sanders to serve as interim principal for the

remainder of this school year. Although I am deeply saddened by the loss of Principal Amber

Thurman, I am excited to serve as the interim principal. I began my teaching career in 1996

teaching math at LaRue County High School. I have served as Instructional Supervisor for ten

years, focusing on curriculum, instruction, and assessment district wide. I completed Principal

certification in 2009.

I am looking forward to getting to know the ALES students,

parents, and staff. I intend to be visible in the halls and

classrooms. The safety and well-being of our students will be

my top priority. I will work with parents, students, and staff

to make decisions that put students first. ALES is an excellent

school with a dedicated, hard-working staff focused on

meeting student needs. Building positive relationships with

students is an essential part of this mission. ALES has many

honored traditions from full school celebrations to the

principal’s lunch with students. Our celebrations won’t be the

same without Mrs. Thurman, but I will make it a priority to

carry on her tradition of keeping the “fun” in school. As a first

step, lunch with students will resume this Friday.

I want to thank Penny Cecil for supporting ALES as acting principal during this very difficult time.

We are working together to make this transition as seamless as possible for your children. Mrs.

Cecil is a curriculum specialist and former principal of HES. As curriculum specialist, she is a

tremendous support for teachers as they plan and implement high-quality instruction. She will

continue to support our school and be part of our ALES family as she returns to this role.


Mrs. Thurman was a mentor, colleague, and a cherished friend to me. As a young teacher at the

high school, it was Mrs. Thurman who inspired me to pursue a career in school administration.

She can never be replaced, but my hope is to honor her memory by leading ALES in a way that

would make her proud.

I look forward to meeting you and your children. Please feel free to contact me if you have any

questions.

Sincerely,

Amanda Reed

[email protected]

A Special Thank You from the Staff of ALES

We would like to say thank you to the wonderful people of Larue County for the love and

support shown to us during the loss of our beloved principal, Amber Thurman; So many of you

showed kindness by sending cards, preparing food, donating money and

saying prayers to get us through those first days of shock and sadness.

Thank you to the staffs of LaRue County High School, LaRue County

Middle school, FYRC and the Central Office for providing lunches for our

staff and for being there to help with whatever was needed. A special

thanks goes out to our sister school,

Hodgenville Elementary for lunch, the

“hallway hearts” for the students, and for

being there with us at school on Saturday

morning when we were at such a loss.

Thanks to the parents of our students

who have been supportive in so many

ways. We have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of

support from the entire community.

Sincerely,

The Staff of Abraham Lincoln Elementary

The Staff of ALES would like to say…

We are happy to welcome Amanda Reed to our school as

Interim Principal. Amanda, we look forward to working with

you. We also want to give a big thank you to Penny Cecil for all


her support the past few weeks in helping us transition. Our school is privileged to have both

ladies working with us.

Sincerely,

The Staff of ALES

Memorial Balloon Launch

As if on cue, the clouds disappeared, the rain

ceased, and the sun came out last Tuesday as

students and staff honored their late principal,

Amber Thurman, with a celebration of life service

and balloon launch.

Superintendent Sam Sanders noted Ms.

Thurman’s school spirit and her love for her

school family and Sue Williamson, an instructional

assistant at ALES, read a poem she wrote about

Thurman. On behalf of the Thurman family, Jim Weiland

thanked the community for their support and challenged

the students to continue to do their best.

The group will travel to Louisville with Music Educator,

Penny Akers, in early February for rehearsals at the Kentucky Center for the Arts with their

concert on February 9 at 5:15 p.m. Guest conductor for the event will be the noted Melissa

Malvar-Keylock.

Shakespeare at ALES

The age old story of Romeo and Juliet was rewritten

with a happy ending because of a little creativity of the

students at ALES. The selected scenes were presented

as an interactive play

for primary students

and then again for the

intermediate classes.

The children also

learned about

William

Shakespeare, dance,

and acting. The performance was given by the Kentucky

Shakespeare Company and was sponsored by Wonderful

Wednesday.


5th

Grade Celebrates by Giving

As the holiday season approached this year, the fifth

grade teachers at A.L.E.S. began to make plans for

classroom celebrations. In the past, there have been

gift exchanges and donations to worldwide charities.

This year it was decided that the students needed to

experience the joy of giving on a local level. All the

fifth grade classes collected money to donate to the

Kelly Dean Sanders fund. In a week’s time, there was

an overwhelming response! Mr. Rogers’, Mrs.

Cecil’s, and Mrs. Riggs’ classes collected over $600!

What a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday!

5th

Grade Girls Basketball Team

The 5th Grade Girls Basketball Team is made

up 5th grade girls from HES and ALES Schools.

They had a terrific regular season by going

undefeated. Their only losses came during

the year end tournament which they

finished as Runner-Ups. They are continuing

to play in some tournaments in the

surrounding counties. These girls represent

LaRue Co. very well with their hard work and

great sportsmanship!

The team members are: Emma Bell, Kristen

Boone, Chloe Childress, Clair Keller, Haley

McDowell, Bailey Rogers, Chloe Sandidge,

Kylee Thurman, Ameena Wells and Ameera Wells.

Nine Area Students Advance to All State Chorus

As the students, staff, and family moved to

the school grounds and released their five

hundred balloons, many with heaven-bound

messages attached, the LaRue County Band

of Hawks played the school song one last

time for the outstanding educator.

Nine local elementary and middle school

students recently received notification of


their successful auditions for the 2012 Kentucky Music Educators Association’s Children’s All

State Chorus. Of the nearly 660 Kentucky fifth and sixth grade students who auditioned, almost

600 had scores between the required 200 and 250 range making it more difficult than ever to

become a part of the 200 member ensemble.

Anna Grace Turner and Bridget Southwood will represent Abraham Lincoln Elementary and

former ALES students Kalli Flanders, Mary Gearon, Alyssa White, Laurel Locke, Marissa Cecil,

Taylor Ulrich, and Kathryn Reding will represent LaRue County Middle School.

The young ladies were scored from their taped auditions in three areas- tonal memory,

ability to accurately sing harmony passages without assistance, and the singing of a prepared

selection which was Mozart’s Alleluia.

100th

Day Fun!

The 100th day of school at ALES was packed full of exciting

activities, especially for Kindergarteners! Students came to

school sporting their 100th day shirts as well as collections

from home of 100 items. Several learning activities centering

around 100 took place throughout the day.

Students enjoyed counting out 100 Froot Loops to make

necklaces in Mrs. Smith’s class.

Mrs. Newby’s and Ms. Lockett’s classes practiced counting to

100 while enjoying a delicious snack made from 10 different

healthy snack foods. Students

counted out 10 of each snack

to make 10 groups of 10.

Students in Ms. McDowell’s class got their creative juices

flowing by creating a picture using the number 100.

Mrs. Kelly’s students had fun forming the number 100 with their bodies in the school bus loop.


HES Jumping Hawk News

Hodgenville Elementary Jumping

Hawks have been in full swing

over the past few weeks as over

60 students have participated in

the club, which is sponsored by

the Hodgenville Elementary

Family Resource Center.

Students have worked to

develop flexibility, strength,

endurance, rhythm, and balance

needed to perform various group

and individual tricks. Students

also learn perseverance and

work ethic in order to develop

their skills.

Fourth and fifth grade Jumping Hawks have begun traveling to surrounding school districts to

help kick off Jump Rope for Heart events in schools who participate in raising money for the

American Heart Association. The two groups will end up presenting at 11 area schools over the

course of four trips. The

twenty eight 4th and 5th grade

jumpers have been working

almost two days per week

since late October in order to

perform as one of nine

American Heart Association

demonstration teams in

Kentucky.

The third grade club consisted

of 36 students who learned

individual, partner, and group

tricks over a five week period.

At the end of the club

sessions, family and friends

were invited to a short demonstration from the group.


Skatetime at HES

Hodgenville Elementary 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders just

completed a five day quad roller skating unit in

physical education that allowed them to develop

coordination, balance and self-confidence. Students

faced fears and nervousness as they worked to

demonstrate proper technique by focusing on good

skating posture and learning to glide from side to side.

Most students attempted to gain check offs for various

identified skills such as turns, crossovers, one foot

glides, and low level skating. Near the end of the week

each class held a limbo contest and 4th and 5th graders

also held speed skating contests. The unit was made

possible by parents of HES students who contributed

$8 for their child and several who sponsored other

students as well. Special thanks go to Sandy Lafollette

who donated several hours in assistance by helping in a variety of ways.

The unit culminated with a

demonstration at a Friday morning

assembly that consisted of 5th grade

student skill demonstrations and

class champions competing in limbo

and speed skating contests. The

overall limbo winner at assembly

was Giselle Martinez. The girl speed

skating winner was Kylie Thurman

while the boy winner was Noah

Davis. Elizabeth Walters and Trey

Ireland were the speed skate runner

ups.


HES Artwork to be displayed in NYC

Hodgenville Elementary fourth grade student, Lexi

Hodges, won a school-wide vote for her artwork of a

rainforest ecosystem. Lexi’s artwork will be seen in

New York City at the National Art Education

Association National Conference on March 2-3, on a

30’x16’ LED screen in Big Screen Plaza, located

between 29th and 30th Streets. Approximately 900

artworks from across the United States will be on

display in the slideshow with only one from each

participating NAEA school. Along with Lexi’s artwork,

her name, city, state, and artist statement will be on

display. Lexi said in her statement that she enjoys

doing all art activities and chose to depict a rainforest

because she’d been studying ecosystems in science

class.


Award Winner

LaRue County Board of Education

Superintendent - Sam Sanders

Board Members

Price Smith - Board Chairman

Dick Greenwell - Vice Chairman

Norbert Skees - Member

Ronnie Chelf - Member

Michael Hornback – Member

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The Bridge 2012 Feb