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Arkansas Reading Association
E-Newsletter
April 2010 - Vol 2, Issue 10
Due to complications in uploading the e-newsletter, this is a modified copy of what was sent in email.
Featured Author- Gloria Whelan
Gloria Whelan will be speaking at this year's ARA Conference in November. She is a poet, novelist, and short-story writer for children.
She has written thirty-one works of historical and contemporary fiction for children and young adults.
Although many of her books are set in the rural environs of northern Michigan, Whelan has also produced works set in exotic locales such as China, Vietnam, and India. Whelan won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2000 for Homeless Bird, the story of a young widow in India abandoned by her mother-in-law.
State Officers Elected
- election held in March
Tina Montgomery, ARA Past-president and nominations committee chair, recently announced the 2010-11 election results. Ballots were mailed to members of the Delegates' Assembly and were returned by March 12.
Debbie Hardwick - Smith was elected as ARA's Vice-President. She will assume the duties of ARA President-elect and President in the following years. She is currently principal of Parson Hills Elementary School in Springdale and is a past-president of Northwest Arkansas Reading Council.
Also newly elected to the position of Parliamentarian is Carolyn Schenk, who has twenty years of experience in teaching, administration, and management of literacy programs. She is currently literacy specialist for the Paragould School District and is president of Reading on the Ridge.
Other elected officers include Central Arkansas' Vanessa Hendrix, Secretary; Kay Calvert, Historian, from Arkadelphia Area Reading Council; and Treasurer Jeannine Shirley, from Jefferson County Reading Council.
Huskey Named to IRA TeacherAdvisory Panel
Julie Huskey, ARA President, was recently named a member of the International REading Association's Teacher Advisory Panel. During her term of service, she will be expected to meet with the IRA Board as needed through conference calls and electronic mail to address and respond to issues and concerns.
The Teacher Advisory Panel is a newly created advisory body of the Association. Members also have the opportunity to present issues of concern to the Board.
ARA Members Named to IRA Committees
Kellie Kostrubala, an Instructional Facilitator at Cabot Middle School North, and member of Central Arkansas Reading Council, was selected to serve on the IRA Children's and Young Adult's Book Award Committee.
Note: Kellie saw the application notice in ARA's January e-newsletter, and she followed-up on our challenge to have more Arkansasans on IRA committees.
JaneMarie Dewailly has been selected to serve on the IRA Teacher Choice Committee as the SW Regional trainee.
Favorite Literacy Quotes
"Your're the same today as you'll be in five years except for the people you meet and the books you read." Charlie "Tremendous" Jones
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, to too dark to read." Groucho Marx
April is...
School Library Media Month
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of School Library Month. Every April school librarians are encouraged to create activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that stron school library programs play in a student's educational career. The 2010 theme is "Communities Thrive @ Your Library." Go to the ALA site, which offers fun ways to network and celebrate.
National Poetry Month
Link to the Academy of American Poets' site to discover hundreds of ways to make poetry a part of your day! Subscribe to a poem a day, get i-phone poetry apps, and learn about the April 29th Poem in Your Pocket celebration.
Celebrate Literacy Winners Announced
Susan Richmond, ARA's Celebrate Literacy Committee Chair, announced this year's winners. They will be honored in July at ARA's Summer Leadership Workshop.
Community Leader Winner- Alan Jones
Nominated by SEARK Reading Council, Alan is a student at the University of Arkansas, Monticello who volunteered at Drew Central Elementary School. He volunteered during his senior year in high school in the Elementary Library, dressing up a various book characters to promote literacy. He has been a member of the SEARK Reading Council for two years.
Agency Winner- Metropolitan National Bank, Hensley
The employees of the bank have spent many hours volunteering in the East End Community. They have set up booths to read to the students, presented a program
Educator Winner- Dorothy Pollett
Dorothy has spent 15 years teaching 5th grad at Taylor Elementary School in White Hall. She serves on numberous committees and is the coordinator of Heifer International Reading Program. Dorothy has served the past two years as president of the Jefferson County Reading Council. She intiated the Elect to Read program- members of the Council went to two different Sonics on Saturdays to read to children as they came with their parents. She is a member of ARA and IRA.
Coordinator's Corner
Spring has sprung! New officers and committee chairs are springing up around the state, too. Please support these new literacy leaders by attending local council meetings. We still have a few areas in the state that need leaders. We are looking for officers in Saline, Boone, Marian, Miller, Hempstead, Nevada, Montgomery, Pike, Cross, Lee Monroe, Phillips, St. Francis, or Crawford counties. Email me if you are interested in being active in a local council and I'll send you more information. Arkansas has outstanding literacy professionals across the state and ARA is always looking for new leadership. Spring up today and take your place with other Arkansas literacy literacy leaders.
Hope to see many of you in Chicago, please join us at the ARA breakfast!
Tanna Clark, IRA State Coordinator
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