R.E.B. Awards for Teaching Excellence Winners

I would like to congratulate the six Chesterfield teachers who were recently awarded the R.E.B. Awards for Teaching Excellence. These teachers are wonderful examples of the extraordinary effort our teachers put into providing exciting learning experiences for our students. Chesterfield received more grants than any other school division this year. The monetary awards the winners will receive will go towards allowing our teachers to gain hands-on experiences and training from visiting various places such as eight national parks, Botswana and Central Europe.

Congratulations again to the winners and the finalists. I commend you for the innovative teaching methods you bring to the classroom. Keep up the great work!

Please take a moment to view a list of these accomplished teachers and learn more about their projects here: http://chesterfield.k12.va.us/CCPS/About_CCPS/awards.htm

Congratulations to James Wilson from Midlothian High, Suzanne Beck from Spring Run Elementary, Victoria Hugate from Grange Hall Elementary, Alice Potts from Manchester Middle, Anne Canipe from Cosby High and Cindy Jones from Clover Hill Elementary.

Mentoring our Students

This year I have asked all CCPS central office administrators to spend time mentoring students in our schools. To model my expectations, several of my colleagues from the central office have adopted male students from Perrymont Middle School to mentor. Earlier this week I had the opportunity to attend a team-building and confidence-building ropes course exercise with approximately 40 Perrymont boys.

The participating administrators included Dr. Lyle Evans, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources; Dr. Ed Pruden, Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Administration; Dr. Robert Wingfield, Director of Middle School Education; Dr. Joe Tylus, Director of High School Education; Dr. Dallas Dance, Director of School Improvement; Dr. Alice Rose, Principal of Perrymont Middle School, Dr. Dallas Dance, Director of School Improvement; Tim Mallory, Security Manager; and program organizer, Harold Saunders, Assistant Director of Leadership.

The day provided challenging and fun experiences that emphasized the importance of teamwork in our everyday lives. Here are photos of the boys and their mentors climbing a 30 foot pole and then jumping off with the assistance of students holding a harness rope lowering us to the ground. When the boys first saw the pole, many said they were afraid of heights and could not climb that high. However, at the end of the activity, virtually every boy climbed to the top and jumped off safely. They proved that with teamwork and encouragement, we can overcome our fears and nothing is impossible. The boys even encouraged me to take on the challenge of climbing to the top – harnessed of course!