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Rotarians hear EHS finished
renovations
By Barbara Gartman
Monitor Staff Writer
GUN BARREL CITY–The members and guests of the Rotary Club of Cedar
Creek Lake were updated on happenings at Eustace Independent School
District at Friday’s luncheon.
A trio of speakers beginning with Janice Beasley, covered two special
subjects.
Beasley began with an up date on the bond issue.
“The high school renovations are complete,” she reported and listed new
carpeting, painting and furnishings as the results.
Work has begun on the addition of 14 classrooms for the primary school,
eight classrooms at the intermediate school, and the new science lab for
the high school, she added.
Technology director Gene Myers ran the slide presentation for a new
“Infinity Project” added to the curriculum at EHS.
Math teacher Chris Corona presented the information accompanying the
projections.
He talked about the upcoming scarcity of engineers.
“We are about to be left engineerless,” he said, adding that 80 percent
of today’s engineers are getting ready to retire.
The Infinity Project was designed at Southern Methodist University with
help from Texas Instruments to interest students in engineering courses.
“It has already been approved by the Texas Education Agency,” Corona
said.
The significance of the program is tied to the fact the state
legislature just recently passed a law requiring four years of science
and math and this course can fit either requirement, he said.
The best thing is both students and teachers are enthusiastic about the
course.
“It’s a blast!” Corona said.
The cost per student is minimal and the overall cost for a classroom is
also comparatively inexpensive, he explained.
School districts can find out about Infinity Project by going to
www.Infinity–Project.org.
KISD teacher of year honored at
Ranger game
Kemp Intermediate’s Misti Moore cited for HEART
By Pearl Cantrell
Monitor Staff Writer
KEMP–Kemp Intermediate sixth-grade teacher Misti Moore was honored
during the Texas Rangers Friday night game.
She, along with other honorees from Region 10 and their counterparts in
Region 11, were lauded for their excellence as teachers of the year on
the Ameriquest Field in Arlington prior to the evening’s baseball game.
Moore began her teaching career in 2001, and this year teaches world
history.
What makes her stand out among her peers, and is the reason her
colleagues have named her teacher of the year, is the second-mile
service she brings to her students.
Last year, Moore taught math, and challenged her students to achieve 80
percent passing on the TAKS test.
To sweeten the deal, she promised to kiss a pig if they reached the
goal, a suggestion her class proposed would motivate them.
Well, they not only reached the goal, they surpassed it, and Moore,
along with her co-math teachers, kissed a pig in front of the whole
student body.
Every year, Moore also involves her students in a number of community
service projects, so they can learn by experience that every person can
make a difference.
“Involving the students in service projects reveals her passion for
education,” Kemp Intermediate Principal Teresa Angeles said. “She really
cares, and it shows. She is an excellent teacher.”
Some of the projects she is planning for this year include a trash
pickup day in downtown Kemp in preparation for homecoming events.
“This is one way to show pride in where we live,” Moore said.
An ongoing project is collecting old and used cell phones for the Athens
Crisis Center. Her students have already collected 20 phones, she said.
The Gun Barrel City resident is also arranging a pen pal program with
the Kemp Nursing Home, so kids can gain from the experience of their
elders, while practicing their writing skills.
Kemp’s sixth graders have had a long tradition of singing Christmas
carols at the home, led by all the sixth grade teachers, she added.
Students will also be involved in raising funds for worthy causes, as
they take cues from the news.
“I want them to see they count. They can count for good in their
community. If they realize they can make a difference, they will more
likely grow up to become voters, and continue to contribute to their
communities,” Moore said.
Moore, who is a mother of three boys, 6, 8, and 10 years old, also leads
Kemp Intermediate’s HEART program – a program promoting right behavior
at school.
HEART stands for Helping Everyone Achieve Responsibility Together.
“It’s a very good program,” she said. She credits the program with
greatly reducing the number of office referrals for poor behavior.
She feels this has directly impacted the rise in TAKS scores.
“Now that kids spend more time in the classroom and less time in the
office, they are able to perform better on their tests,” Moore pointed
out.
Office referrals have been reduced by up to 75 percent.
Last year’s sixth grade class of gifted and talented students, under
Moore’s direction, made a video demonstrating what following the BEAT
rules looks like in the common areas and in the classrooms.
“The kids did everything, from writing the script, acting and
videotaping to complete the project,” she said.
BEAT stands for:
• Be responsible.
• Encourage everyone.
• Always be safe, and
• Treat everyone with respect.
Incoming fourth graders view the video as part of their orientation to
Kemp Intermediate, she said.
When students are “caught” demonstrating the right behavior, they are
cited with a “heart stopper.”
At the end of the week “heart stoppers” become tickets for a drawing.
The names of four students from each grade level and one teacher is
drawn from the collection to receive a special treat. They are honored
in the Kemp Intermediate Newsletter, and their photos are displayed at
the school.
If Kemp Intermediate’s motto is: “The school with a heart,” then as the
HEART coordinator, Moore is certainly the teacher with heart.
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