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Star Teachers: November, 2012

by Editorial Staff--Suburban Family Magazine

Mike Ahearn (pictured)
Medford
Ahearn never seems to slow down. Most recently, the fifth grade math teacher organized Taunton Forge School’s team for the MEF Basketball Throwdown, a fundraiser basketball game that raises money for Medford’s schools. Ahearn also sponsors the school’s Presidential Physical Fitness Award Club, Environmental Club, Chess Club and Art Club. He serves on the district’s committee to choose the recipient of the annual Sy Kantrowitz Humanitarian Award of the Year, the committee to write curricula, and to develop safety procedures. Most recently, he was acknowledged by Gov. Christie for his partnership with Good Will Industries, having collected more than 50,000 plastic bags to make plastic lumber.

Angela Bacher and Jill Graham
Washington Township
Washington Township High School German teachers Bacher and Graham were nationally selected prizewinners by the American Association of Teachers of German. The two were chosen to attend the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages annual Convention and World Language Expo in Philadelphia.

Matt Stuart
Moorestown
Stuart, a special education teacher at Upper Elementary School, along with about a dozen teachers in the district, decided that if they weren’t going to Atlantic City for the teacher’s convention, they should help those in need. With the help of the community, they collected truckloads of donations and hand delivered them in Atlantic County earlier this month.

Kristen Laurenzi
Laurel Springs
Laurenzi has developed quite a reputation at Laurel Springs School for her unique ability to inspire and brighten people’s day. A talented and artistic instructional aide, she creates intricate 11-foot bulletin board designs, including a recent one titled “In the Land of Lemonade and Lollipops,” honoring a long-time, much-loved aide, Debra Head, who died in August.

Tom Ryan and Elisabeth Shute
Washington Township
Bunker Hill Middle School social studies students got a hands-on demonstration of the social structure of the feudal system during a human “Capture the Castle” game, the brainchild of student teacher Shute and teacher Ryan. In the learning activity, each team consisted of a monarch, a lord, a knight, a peasant and a serf. Their movement and abilities determined where they fell on the strict feudal system structure.

Mrs. Seymour, Mrs. Flanagan, Mrs. Gregory and Ms. Tily
Haddonfield
These teachers have introduced SMART Boards into the classroom for the first time, using them to enhance learning and get students more involved. Before installing the devices, each teacher went through extensive training to learn all the tricks and best uses of the high-tech boards.

Kellie Nash
Marlton
Thanks to Cherokee’s Nash, the school’s AP biology and genetics class was selected to receive an advanced lecture at a Princeton University. This opportunity arose after Nash, in 2005, was accepted into a two-week Summer Molecular Biology Workshop reserved for advanced science teachers. This grants her access to Princeton equipment and access to Tiger Talk Lectures with her students.

Brian Laddey
Mount Laurel
As part of his Foundations of Leadership course, Lenape High School’s Brian Laddey took his senior students to Camp Dark Waters to gain leadership experience in a hands-on environment. His students focused on team-building exercises, including a trust walk, a human web and a tire relay.

Dianne O’Brien
Cherry Hill
Alternative High School teacher O’Brien and her students in the gardening club teamed up with the Malberg Green Team for a fall gardening project. They collected donations from students and staff to purchase mums, then came together to plant them around the building.

Karen Formont and Lisa Fuchs
Shamong
Formont, a language arts teacher at Indian Mills School and coordinator for a food bank in Medford Lakes, enlisted the help of Fuchs to collect food to restock the food bank’s supplies. Fuchs, a fourth-grade teacher, made it a classroom activity, and with her students’ help, they collected more than 2,000 cans and boxes to help those in need.

Robin Middleton
Voorhees
Middleton, a counselor at Osage School, is leading the Counselor’s Club during its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. The drive works with the entire school, collecting food in homerooms throughout the month to donate to need families. The group also collected supplies for hurricane victims.

Rose Anne Noll
Cherry Hill
Bret Harte Elementary School’s fifth-grade teacher Rose Anne Noll coauthored an article called “Silent Voices in a Fifth Grade Classroom.” Her article, based partially on observances in her own classroom along with other information, was selected to be published in the October issue of Journal of Multiculturalism in Education.

Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Family Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 9 (November, 2012).
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