Substitute Teacher

pepperb@herald-mail.com The Washington County Board of Education, in an effort to expand visual and performing arts in county schools, plans a $30,000 pilot program to add three advanced arts classes in the spring. The classes are Advanced Ceramics and Sculpture, to be held at Washington County Technical High School, and Beginning Dance and Honors Jazz Band, both to be held at South Hagerstown High School. The classes will be provided for students with artistic talent who will go through an application process, said Boyd Michael III, executive director of Secondary Education.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Out of 350,000 people serving in the National Guard, Spc. Erik Nowak was the best. He's hauled 35 pounds of equipment on his back over 10 miles of road and was loaded down with 70 pounds of gear on another nearly six-mile hike. The Bunker Hill, W.Va., man also had to excel in combat water survival, weapons training and complete tasks with minimal sleep. Nowak, 27, competed in a nationwide National Guard competition earlier this year and his proficiency was enough to get him selected as the 2007 U.S. Army National Guard Soldier of the Year.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - The Rev. John W. Schildt of Chewsville will receive the Outstanding Alumnus Professional Award from the Shepherd College Alumni Association during Shepherd's 129th commencement ceremony Saturday, May 18. The award is given annually to a person who has been a member of the Shepherd College alumni body for a minimum of 15 years and who has distinguished himself or herself professionally. Schildt graduated from Shepherd College in 1958 with a bachelor of arts degree in secondary education.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- A list of movies including "Cast Away" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was presented to the Waynesboro Area School Board as having been shown in the high school since March. The board decided all movies scheduled to be shown in the schools must be approved by Superintendent James Robertson, who was told to generate periodic reports for the board. Board President Ed Wilson said he talked to administrators for two years about the issue. Saying he was frustrated by a lack of action, Wilson handed out a student-generated list of movies shown in the past few weeks.

karenh@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - The Washington County Board of Education voted Tuesday night to fill some Washington County Public Schools positions next year with international teachers. The school board approved a $345,000 agreement with the Visiting International Faculty Program to recruit and hire 10 teachers to fill shortages in the schools. The arrangement will save the system money in insurance and other benefits, according to Chris South, director of budget and finance.

Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of profiles on Washington County Board of Education candidates. scottb@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - Elect Barry Harbaugh to the Washington County Board of Education and the school system will lose a substitute teacher, he said. Harbaugh, 45, of Clear Spring, said he will quit his position as a long-term English substitute teacher at South Hagerstown High School if elected to the board. It would be necessary to leave the job to avoid potential conflicts of interest, he said.

pepperb@herald-mail.com Vacation is over. For some new teachers, summer has meant unpacking four years of college bric-a-brac only to turn around and stock their first classroom with sharp pencils and used books. It might not sound very exciting, but it couldn't get any better for Sara Belin, 23. She just painted her first classroom butter yellow and placed a Boyds Bears border around the edges of Room 202. Belin spotted her name on a school mailbox the other day. She shrieked with delight.

charlestown@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - John Lynch said just about any band director can write a book about his experiences. There's plenty of material for one on Lynch. The longtime Martinsburg High School band director, who will lead the school's concert band and percussion ensemble for the last time tonight, leaves behind an impressive record. The 55-year-old Lynch is one of only three band directors to twice be named West Virginia Band Master of the Year, and Lynch and his son, J.P., who is assistant band director at Martinsburg High, are the only father-and-son team to be named West Virginia Band Director of the Year.

On weekends when most 10-year-olds were riding bikes and playing in dirt, three Waynesboro, Pa., boys were making movies. Today, as adults, William Derrick, his brother, Thomas Derrick, and their childhood friend, Mitch Walck, are still making movies under the shingle of Indiendo Productions. “We were always making videos,” said William Derrick, 26, of Waynesboro. “And that's just sort of how, with our age and as we grew and matured, our passion for filmmaking and the way that we made films did as well.

By BRUCE HAMILTON / Staff Writer photo: KEVIN G. GILBERT / staff photographer He spoke with passion and humor, but Mark Sharenbroich described himself as just another substitute teacher. The man who took the stage at North Hagerstown High School's auditorium Wednesday morning was there to inspire, but don't call him a motivational speaker. "I'm not really a motivational speaker," he told the audience. "It's on my brochure, but I just say that to get the engagement.