English Teacher

HAGERSTOWN - Students often have the same reaction when they first read poetry. "They say, 'But this poem doesn't rhyme,'" Smithsburg High School English teacher Maya Montemurro said. "And they think that's bad. Kids often come to class and don't really know even how to read a poem. " Montemurro, who has taught English for about six years, gave 17 other teachers a lesson Thursday in ways to interest students in poetry and to help them understand it. That was one of several topics covered during a four-day Governor's Academy on English this week at South Hagerstown High School.

Sarah Morris, an English teacher at Berkeley Springs High School, has been named West Virginia's 2007 Teacher of the Year. Read the full story in Wednesday's Herald-Mail newspapers.

It was a request that Mary Fortson was unsure about. Even after she committed to being photographed in costume as Calpurnia, the housekeeper of attorney Atticus Finch and his children in "To Kill a Mockingbird," Fortson had second thoughts about her involvement. The photo shoot project was a partnership between students in Digital Communication and Cosmetology at Washington County Technical High School for The Big Read, a national reading initiative sponsored locally by the Community Foundation of Washington County.

A team from Boonsboro High School is scheduled to appear this morning on "It's Academic. " The match will air at 11 a.m. on WJZ-TV, Channel 13, unless it is pre-empted by breaking news, Sophie Altman, a spokeswoman for the television show, said. The team consisted of captain Nathan Leifer, a senior; Ben Cline, a senior; and Andrew Shifler, a junior. The team traveled to Washington on Sept. 15 to compete against teams from Glen Burnie (Md.) High School and Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Md. "We were competitive," said Coach Steve Lemonakis, an English teacher at Boonsboro High School.

Alumni games The Clear Spring Blazers alumni basketball games will be played Saturday, Dec. 6, at the high school. The first game will start at 6 p.m. and it will be for those who graduated in 1998 and after. The second game will begin at 7 p.m. for those who graduated in 1997 and before. The games will be odd years vs. even years. The concession stand will open at 5:30 p.m. There will be raffles and prizes, including Blazer season passes and game ball. There will also be a halftime shoot-out for fans.

Romine named interim head of Jefferson schools By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer, Charles Town Former Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Jud Romine was selected Monday night to be interim superintendent. Romine will serve as superintendent until the Jefferson County Board of Education can find a replacement for former Superintendent David W. Markoe, who stepped down March 20. Board members agreed Monday night to make Romine superintendent until July 1, which is when they hope to have a new superintendent on board.

Ferree-Gingerich Katie Ferree and Derek Gingerich announce their engagement. Ms. Ferree is the daughter of Nancy Frame of Waynesboro, Pa., and Rob and Beth Ferree of Hagerstown. She is a 2002 graduate of Waynesboro High School and a 2006 graduate of Lebanon Valley College. She is employed with Conewago Valley School District as a 10th grade social studies teacher at New Oxford High School. Mr. Gingerich is the son of Chuck and Stacey Gingerich of Spring Grove, Pa. He is a 2000 graduate of Spring Grove Area High School and served with the U.S. Marine Corps from 2002 to 2007.

SEPT. 30, 1906-DEC. 24, 2010 Gladys K. Arnold, 104, of Williamsport, Md., died Friday, Dec. 24, 2010, at Homewood at Williamsport in Williamsport, Md. Born Sept. 30, 1906, in Cumberland, Md., she is the daughter of the late Henry U. and Jessie B. Harrison Arnold. Ms. Arnold was a schoolteacher for many years in Morgan County schools. She retired as an English teacher at Berkeley Springs High School. She was a member of Francis Asbury United Methodist Church in Berkeley Springs, W.Va.

Greencastle senior earns journalism internship GREENCASTLE, Pa. - A Greencastle-Antrim Senior High School senior has been named the grand-prize winner in Scholastic TAB's Upfront Journalism contest, an honor that will win him a three-day, all-expense-paid trip to New York City. Matt Talhelm will be flown to New York to participate in a three-day internship with an editor from The New York Times Upfront magazine. He will interview and write about a celebrity for a story that will run in the magazine.

HAGERSTOWN - It was a request that Mary Fortson was unsure about. Even after she committed to being photographed in costume as Calpurnia, the housekeeper of attorney Atticus Finch and his children in "To Kill a Mockingbird," Fortson had second thoughts about her involvement. The photo shoot project was a partnership between students in Digital Communication and Cosmetology at Washington County Technical High School for The Big Read, a national reading initiative sponsored locally by the Community Foundation of Washington County.

Berkeley County Schools for the second year in a row had the most educators achieve National Board Certification among the state's 55 county school districts, officials were told Tuesday night. Nine educators, including the county's first national board certified counselor, were recognized by the Berkeley County Board of Education. With 44 National Board Certified Teachers now on staff, Berkeley County is tied for third with Monongalia County for having the most statewide, according to school officials.

Rhonda Holmes-Blankenship, of Cecil County, was named Maryland's Teacher of the Year Friday night during a dinner at Martin's West in Baltimore. She is an English teacher at Rising Sun High School in Rising Sun, Md. Christina Hammer-Atkins, Washington County's 2012-13 Teacher of the Year, was one of the seven finalists for Teacher of the Year. Hammer-Atkins is a second-grade magnet teacher at Boonsboro Elementary School, which is a magnet school for global awareness and world languages.

The school year begins Wednesday for Washington County Public Schools' projected 22,195 students and 1,682 teachers. Many of those teachers are classroom teachers, several of whom spent the early part of this week getting training and preparing their classrooms for the first day. For some, that meant moving into a new classroom. With the help of his daughter, Emily, 15, Smithsburg High teacher Brian Getz was still moving into his classroom Monday. The high school got new windows this summer, then the floors were waxed, and some teachers were moving into new classrooms.

She's known as Sister Corda by the regulars at the REACH Day Resource Center. A five-year volunteer at the center, she buzzes visitors in, checks for their mail, directs them to the proper resources, answers phones, alphabetizes paperwork and offers a listening ear. “I'm really good at alphabetizing,” said the retired English teacher with a laugh. After a 60-year career as a Catholic school teacher, the nun shares some surprising insight. “This has really helped me as a person be more compassionate and caring,” Sister Corda said of her volunteer efforts at REACH.

Lincoln was not a white supremacist To the editor: On Aug. 25, Leonard Pitts intimated that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the greatest heroes of the 200-plus-year American experience. He is more than arguably correct. Pitts is also correct in stating that monuments to individuals do not well honor that individual's courage and tenacity on a daily basis, in the face of extreme adversity; these individuals including King and Abraham Lincoln. Pitts goes on to refer to President Lincoln as a white supremacist.

St. John's Catholic Prep celebrates the opening of another school year with three newly filled faculty/staff positions.    Andrea True begins her fifth year at the school as the athletic trainer, as well as teaching sports medicine, nutrition science and freshman girls health. True has been promoted to assistant athletic director, where she will serve in addition to her other positions. With 85 percent of the students at St. John's participating in sports, she will work closely with the athletic director to improve the athletic program.

It has survived the Civil War and the advent of radio, TV and a digital world. Having weathered vast cultural changes, The Rohrersville Cornet Band has played on and is proof that technology is no replacement for live music. It was first organized in 1837,  and even during the Civil War, band members continued to meet. The band just kicked off its 175th season with a concert at the Rohrersville Band Hall on Sunday, May 15. Memorial Day parades in Sharpsburg and Boonsboro and an annual July Fourth performance in Harper's Ferry, W. Va. are just a sampling of the band's upcoming appearances.

“This is in response to the teacher from Hagerstown who complained about the Greencastle school system having a dedicated copy machine operator. By the way he structures his sentences, I sure hope he’s not an English teacher.” — Smithsburg “I followed a mo-ped out Pennsylvania Avenue today — heavy traffic. I didn’t notice any tags on his mo-ped. I did, however, notice the string of traffic behind him because he was riding in the roadway. This is illegal, and it needs to be stopped.

Six people have been named finalists for Washington County Public Schools Teacher of the Year, the school system announced Friday. A selection committee narrowed the field based on an interview process and observing the teachers in the classroom. The six finalists for 2011-12 Teacher of the Year are as follows: David Herbert, Smithsburg Middle School, seventh-grade math teacher. Herbert has 13 years of teaching experience, with 10 years in Washington County. This is his third teacher of the year nomination.