One of the most popular writing activities teachers often ask their students to do upon return to school is a short paragraph or two on what they did on their summer vacations. Summer vacation for many of our teachers provides “free” time to explore educational development. Here’s what some of us did on our summer vacations.
Mrs. Waterstradt attended a RAVE-O class in Atlanta. This program was designed by Maryanne Wolfe, a professor at Tuffs University. It is a reading program that focuses on vocabulary with an emphasis on multiple meaning words. The program has been thoroughly researched using children in the 2nd through 5th grades, reading at least one grade below grade level.
Robin Greig and Julie Stephenson began collaborating over the summer on a children’s book about lionfish and invasive species. They hope to see Leo the Lionfish (working title) on the bookshelves next year!
Therese Kristiansen and Corbin Bettencourt traveled to Pride’s Crossing, Massachusetts to attend the Landmark School Outreach program on expressive language disorders and practical strategies for reading comprehension.
Jo Beth Edwards received training on new computer development software which will help track alumni giving. This new software will be used for the upcoming Trident Academy 40th anniversary.
Mary Alice Satterfield attended a training course on how to be a trainer for Framing Your Thoughts, a program used at Trident Academy to teach writing. The Language Circle/Project Read Written Expression Curriculum and instructional strategies inspire and energize students as they learn the fundamentals of writing.
Kathleen Loveland conducted a week long session at Trident Academy on writing. The successful Writing Adventures of Seafaring Turtles is in its second year.
Travis Whetzel attended the SCISA Athletic Directors conference in Myrtle Beach.
Marc Simpson conducted a camp for students who wanted to learn about robotics. Students used Alice software to design a three dimensional world. They used LEGO Education’s Robo Lab application to program the robots they built.
Sheila Costello held an Orton-Gillingham Associate level training course for two weeks at Trident Academy. Thirteen attendees came from the Charleston area and from North Carolina, Florida, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and Summerville, SC.
Liz Mullen traveled to Ireland where she learned about geographic formations and the culture.
Mary Silgals attended the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Philadelphia. She attended sessions that were focused on technology for students with learning differences. She also presented at the Upstate Technology Conference in Greenville, SC in June.
