Literacy Matters
Secondary ELA Edition
Greetings Secondary ELA Teachers!
Welcome to your secondary ELA newsletter! You can look forward to receiving this publication periodically throughout the school year. We are excited to share with you district information and various resources centered around teaching and learning. We hope you enjoy.
Professional Learning Opportunities: Focus PD
The online module for 7th Grade ELA and English I focus PD participants will be available May 1st. Registrants will receive a course invitation via email from Canvas. The links to register are below.
ELA Canvas Course
The Secondary ELA Canvas resource provides balanced literacy resources, pacing guides, Focus PD, standards maps, and opportunities for communication and collaboration. If you are not a member, complete this survey to join. Please contact Kathy Saunders or India Smith for assistance.
Secondary ELA Supervisor Contacts
Kathy Saunders, saundek@gcsnc.com Learning Areas: 10 & 11
India Smith, smithi@gscnc.com Learning Areas 8, 9, & 12
Need help locating your Learning Area, click here.
Overcoming Bias
As a district, we know our work towards equity and inclusion is continual. As such, we must engage in practices and processes that challenge us to not only examine our schools/district as a whole, but that also push us to acknowledge and question our individual biases. We hope you enjoy this article and Ted Talk by Vernā Myers that focus on just that.
Summer Opportunities for Teachers
Educator Summer Institute
Please join the we are Educator Summer Institute. This year there are hosting the Institute in two locations. The first one will take place Tuesday, June 26th - Thursday, June 28th at Hillside High School located at 3727 Fayetteville St, Durham, NC 27707. The second will take place Tuesday, July 24th - Thursday, July 26th at UNC-Greensboro. The Institutes begin at 8:30 AM each day with a continental breakfast, and lunch is provided. The days end at 4:00 PM.
Participating K-12 teachers will earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs). It is strongly recommended teams of at least three teachers from each school attend, but this is not a requirement. Educators will walk away with a plan to address a racial equity issue at their own school. The institute cost is $200. For school teams of three or more, the cost is $175 per teacher. Breakfast and lunch are included.
To register, click here.
Making Self-Care a Priority
The Importance of Self-Care for Teachers and Students
Click and Read “How to Make Self-Care a Priority” by Nirmala Raniga
Self-Care for Youth
“The stressors of adolescence are no secret. Academic and extracurricular responsibilities gradually increase throughout middle school and high school, while changes in the body bring unchartered physical and emotional experiences to navigate. The brain is still developing. Social connections shift unpredictably.” –Self-Care for the Selfie Generation by Elise Howell, LPCA