The old and the new…
The changing seasons…
Branching out…
Continuing and evolving...
It’s a little hard to title this first blog! I’m Carol Frow, a veteran ELA teacher of thirty-two years at Belle Vernon Area Middle School, so I am one of the old branches on the WPCTE tree. I have been a member of WPCTE for over twenty years and even brought my students to the very first English Festival way back when. Through the years, I have been a member of the executive board, the English Festival committee, and at times, simply a member. Now, I bear the title of president, and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the evolution of this group.
Hi! Amy Bouch here. I am an 8th grade English teacher looking forward to my seventh year at Chartiers Valley. My first experience with WPCTE was participating in a conference during undergrad. I am so thrilled to be the current Vice President of the organization!
Together, along with the Executive Director, John Manear, a veteran English teacher at Seton LaSalle High School, and the members of the Executive Board, we are continuing the mission of WPCTE and rejuvenating the group with membership drives, new activities, and a social media platform.
We add a new branch to our WPCTE tree today with this first blog topic — one that is near and dear to us, the mission of this incredible group — serving the teachers and students in our region in a variety of ways.
For our teachers, we offer much to feed the mind to grow new ideas! This new blog is just one way that we can build a professional community of learners and teacher leaders. We can share ideas and resources to develop sound practice and strengthen our pedagogy.
That leads naturally to our Summer Series that stemmed from polling our members. The Tech PD sessions presented distance learning tools and suggested techniques to our members! (Another is scheduled for August 13th!) The Summer Series also included Cheerful Chats and a Book Club which have sprouted into ongoing opportunities throughout the year.
Through our monthly virtual Cheerful Chats, we have open discussions with members on any topic of interest for ELA teachers. This open forum is a wonderful place to share ideas and ask questions where we can then plan how to solve concerns with practice.
Book Clubs are another way that we are networking! To address current issues, the July discussion was on This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell. Our rich conversations led to the forming of our new monthly book club! Join us for these timely discussions that will surely bring about benefits to our practice. We have even invited the authors of the books to join our discussions!
WPCTE has always served its teachers through conferences. This networking assists our members tremendously and will continue to grow the knowledge of our members as we partner with professional organizations such as: English Education Collaborative (EEC) at California University of PA, Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts (PCTELA), and Western Pennsylvania Writing Project (WPWP).
Two main branches of WPCTE involve reading and writing which directly connect to our students! The English Festival has long been the focus of WPCTE. The annual competition at Seton La Salle and Duquesne University has a long, rich history of connecting students to great books and enchanting authors. Our English Festival committee is continually reading potential books and seeking authors for this spring’s festival. Whether it will be a live or virtual event remains unseen, but we are working on again making this event a reality for our students! Please keep checking our website for news on English Festival.
A new venture for WPCTE will involve budding writers! This fall, WPCTE will launch its first-ever Flash Fiction Writing Contest for students in grades 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. There will even be a 1-3 option for pictures and storytelling! Not only will school students be involved in this venture, but it will also allow WPCTE to connect pre-service teachers with actual student writing! Stay tuned for information about the contest and how to involve your student authors!
A tree is only as strong as its trunk, and our membership has great strength! We seek the knowledge and expertise of those around us — there’s that awesome community of ours! — so opportunities for leadership abound in our organization. If you wish to get further involved, reach out to Amy or me! We need and look forward to working with you and sharing exciting opportunities!
We look forward to learning new skills and evolving our classrooms with fresh ideas — our students can only benefit from all that we share here in this wonderful community of teachers. Thanks for joining us. Encourage your friends and colleagues to join us. Let’s grow this community of educators!
Wishing you a smooth and healthy return to the new school year,
Carol & Amy
On the fifteenth of August, look ahead to the next WPCTE blog entry — a topic of concern to all of us — How do we teach well in an online environment? Join WPCTE member Hannah Lewis, who has been an online educator for years, to learn some great tips!
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