As class was just getting underway, the instructor immediately caught students’ attention with his first instructions, “We’re going to start off with a personality test.” Although everyone in the room was a Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) student or staff member, this wasn’t your typical class. The instructor was Reed Curtin, rising senior in the Mathematics Read More…
What’s Cool in the Schools
Riding the digital wave at summer ITEC mini conference
Attendees carried coffee, snapped photos with smartphones, typed on tablets and connected with laptops. Paper was nowhere to be found. That was by design. “For those of you who have just arrived, you’ll notice we don’t have schedules on the chairs, we have a QR code,” Sheila Teri announced to teachers finding seats in Corporate Read More…
PLP session introduces PE teachers to archery
“Can I kill it?” Elizabeth Werbiskis asked Karen Holson of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF). Werbiskis was distracted by a large insect crawling in her direction just as she and her classmates assumed a shooting stance and steadied their archery bows. She would use her shoe, not an arrow, Werbiskis clarified, Read More…
Rosemont Forest students ‘Teach it Forward’
Fifth-grader Jace Thrasher asked the small group of kindergarteners to open their eyes and share “in a whisper voice” their guesses of what was in the shoebox. On the count of three, the Rosemont Forest Elementary School (RFES) students quietly responded together, “Feathers.” They explained the mystery items were soft to the touch, one of Read More…
Congratulations to the 2015-16 Tagged By The Superintendent recipients
Spring 2015: Crystal Andrews, Adult Learning Center James Spruill, Advanced Technology Center Kathryn Davey, Alanton Elementary School Karen Crain, Arrowhead Elementary School Tamara Hamlin, Bayside 6th Grade Campus Kiersten Schiffbauer, Bayside Elementary School Nancy Grimstead, Bayside High School Leanne Criscitiello, Bayside Middle School Cheryl Valeriano, Birdneck Elementary School Mark Bacon, Brandon Middle School Grace Unger, Read More…
Kempsville Meadows calls out a kindness challenge to all schools
Like many elementary schools this year, Kempsville Meadows Elementary School (KMES) took part in the Great Kindness Challenge, a national effort dedicated to creating a culture of kindness on school campuses. However, KMES teachers, staff, parents and students took their challenge a step further. They pushed themselves to perform 100 acts of kindness in just Read More…
After school classes ‘pop up’ the excitement at Brandon
Crowded together at a lab table in the science room, the three girls passed around the sample slides, small bottles and clear, plastic trays in front of them. Locked arm to arm, they compared skin tones and skin types – debating which materials they would personally need and eagerly awaiting their chance to get started. Read More…
LHS goes wild with SafariLive
Landstown High School is the only school in the United States partnering with WildEarth to bring an engaging, live, interactive broadcast stream to students. Feb. 22, Landstown High School and WildEarth collaborated to bring its first live, interactive stream to biology students. Students were presented with a real-time video stream with WildEarth live presenters, Jamie Read More…
Independence English department brings in the dough
The Independence Middle School English Department helped raise more than $700 at a recent Barnes and Noble (Town Center) Book Fair. Sixth-grade teacher Heidi Quimen arranged an entertaining event which included music, sing-alongs, storytelling, extemporaneous poetry, crafts and a dramatic reading. Thanks to help from the school’s cheerleaders and enthusiastic participants from the school’s news Read More…
The ‘secret’ to Parkway Elementary’s successful book talks
Students reading for the fun of it. Reading…just because. That’s what Parkway Elementary School principal Krista Barton-Arnold wants, and she has a plan. “The secret is that there are no strings attached to it. You don’t have to take a test, don’t have stop and ask questions along the way,” said Barton-Arnold. “We want to Read More…
