Major Donehew
Major Pamela Donehew
email:pamela_donehew@sarasota.k12.fl.us
pameladonehew@yahoo.com
MENTORING
Sarasota Military Academy has coupled with Friendship Volunteer Center to provide MENTORS to students that may need some positive adult encouragement. This program is called “Miracle Mile of Mentoring, and uses volunteer recruits from the “mile” around the campus. Volunteers are trained and receive a security clearance. These volunteers are professionals in the area and are released from work to meet with a student for (approx.) one hour a week, on the school grounds. The activity that takes place during the time that the mentor and mentee spend together is dictated by the need(s) of the student. It may be reading together, doing homework, setting up a time management schedule, setting goals, or simply talking. This is a very successful program and can change a student’s life forever. If you have a child that could benefit from this program, please contact Major Donehew.
On
February 14, three SMA cadets and Major Donehew went to Cyesis High
School to model a “Read Aloud” to the student mommies and their babies.
This program, “For the Love of Reading,” is in its fourth year and is
sponsored by the Sarasota Reading Council. After the mommies and babies
are read to they go to the school media center where they are presented
with a display of children’s literature that comes complete with a soft
cuddly animal from the story. The babies get to take their pick.
Scientist referenced in a recent news article “Infants Learn Earlier than Thought” (Seattle Times, February 04, 2009) recommended that parents begin reading aloud to their infants while in utero and continue the practice ever after. I have shared many happy hours reading aloud to students, my children, and now my grandchildren. We have cried, we have laughed, and we have shared hours of conversation about what fun reading can be!
Unfortunately there are kids all over the world that are never read aloud to by their parents. The hope of this program is to advocate and encourage parents to read to their kids.
SMA Literacy Initiatives`
This year SMA has taken on three literacy initiatives, in ALL classes. The first is a continuation of last year---READING. Once again, reading is a focus of the school. All students are required to carry an independent reading book, of their choice, at all times. When there are a few minutes before a class ends students will be asked to take out their independent book and read. It is strongly suggested that all cadets read a minimum of 15 pages a day. Research indicates that the only way to improve reading abilities---is to read. Fifteen pages a day is the minimum suggested in order for improvement to be noticed. Of course, we would encourage reading more than 15 pages daily. The second initiative is WRITING. All content area classes will be doing, at least, weekly writing. Writing will consist of short answer responses, long answer responses, essays, research projects, and/or quick writes. Teachers are encouraged to use the FCAT holistic method and scale for scoring writing in order for students to become familiar with what good writing looks like for high scores on FCAT. Good writing for FCAT is GOOD writing in general. The third initiative is VOCABULARY. Since one can only learn and understand the world around them through language, vocabulary is a vital component of academic success. Teachers have received professional development in identifying tier one, tier two, and tier three vocabulary words; and will be focusing on tier two and tier three words within their content areas. Tier two words are words that students are familiar with but that take on different meanings within different content areas. Tier three words are content specific technical terms. If you have any questions about the initiatives or if you would like me to help suggest reading materials, please contact Pamela Donehew, Reading Specialist/Literacy Coach, via email or phone at SMA.
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