Page 2B TELEGRAPH, TIMES & MONITOR--B-SECTION Jan. 6, 2005



Starke school teachers share thoughts on 2005


 By CLIFF SMELLEY
 Telegraph Staff Writer

 A new year is underway and
 with a new year comes
 reflection. What will the year
 bring? What do I hope to
 accomplish during the year.
.What would I like to see
happen?
 Some of the teachers at
 public schools in Starke shared
 their thoughts on the new year
 (see related story for some
 thoughts from
 teachers/employees in Brooker,
 Hampton and Lawtey):
 Bradford High School
 teacher and coach Deac Story
 said the thing he would like to.
 see in 2005 is more students
 pass. the FCAT, but he would
 also like to see more students
 willing to work hard in order to
 achieve that.
 "I'd like to see more kids put
 forth the effort and take on
 some of, the responsibility
 instead of just assuming that the
 teachers are going to take all of
 the responsibility," Story said.
 "Yes, it is part of the teachers'
 responsibility to get kids
 passing the FCAT, but it's more
 of the students' responsibility to


Deac Story


 Christie Torode

be receptive and to be willing to
work at passing it."
 Story recently got married, so
a personal goal of his in 2005 is
to be a good husband.
 Other than that, Story wants
to try to achieve the same thing
this year that he tries to achieve
every year.
 "My New Year's resolutions
are the same every year-to be
a better Christian man," he said.
"That's what I try to do every
day."
 Pride is something
Bradford High School teacher
Christie Torode would like to
see more of in 2005.
 "I would really like to see the
kids take more pride in their
school because this is their
school," Torode said. "It's a
good school and they're given
good opportunities here."
 A sense of 'pride, however,
should not be limited to the
BHS campus, Torode said.
 ".I would like to see the
American people taking pride in
being an American instead of
being divisional," she said.
"We re all-- Americans,-
regardless of what we believe."
 As far as personal goals in


2005, Torode said she would
like to spend more time in
prayer and in reading the Bible.
 "My life is so busy and
involved in kids, school and
family life," Torode said'. "It's
hard to find the time that you
need to spend in a day praying
and reading the Bible.
Hopefully, I can accomplish
that this year."
 0 Robbie Best teaches an
elective technology class at
Bradford Middle School and
one thing he would like to see
in 2005 is for the students to be
exposed to more cutting-edge
technology that will help them
later in their lives.
 "I think that one of the things
we really need to focus on as a
school system-and myself as a
teacher-is making sure that
students have as much access to
the technology that's already
being employed in the
workplace," Best said.
 One thing Best would like to
continue working toward in
2005 is being able to help those
students who, because of
behavioral problems, are not
succeeding in the classroom.
These students are "slipping
through the cracks," Best


said-their behavior does not
warrant that they be sent to the
Renaissance Center, but it does
prevent them from being
successful in a regular
classroom setting.
 Best said he would like an
opportunity to help those
students in a formal school
setting.
 "I'd like to explore some
opportunities to meet those
needs," Best said.
 Best is looking forward to
continuing to coach the middle
school football team in 2005, as
well as taking on another sport.
 "This will be my first year of
coaching baseball, so I'm
looking forward to the
opportunity of doing that," Best
said.
 E Don Kelly, a seventh
grade math and pre-Algebra
teacher at Bradford Middle
School, said he would like to
see students improve their
scores on the FCAT in 2005.
He's hoping he and fellow
BMS teacher Gayle Weaver can
help students improve their
scores with a grant received
through Florida State
University. The grant provides
different teaching materials that


Apryl Coleman and Tangalia Bass


are designed to help students
perform better in math.
 "We're doing a few things in
our classes that will hopefully
help us meet that goal (of
students improving their FCAT
scores),",Kelly said.
 Kelly would also like to see
the parents become more.


involved in their children's
education.
 "I think that's one place-
we've fallen short," he said.
"We need to get them more
involved in the schools. I'm not
sure how to do that, but there
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BES, HES, LCS personnel


ponder the new year


 By CLIFF SMELLEY
 Telegraph Staff Writer

 Some of the staff -at' he:
public schools in Brooker,
Hampton and Lawtey shared
their thoughts on the the new
year, including Brooker
Elementary School teachers
Karen Melvin and Pam Parrish
who have some hopes for their
students in 2005.
 Melvin said she would like to
see her students continue to
grow and make achievements
academically as well as
experience growth socially.
 Melvin said she would also
like to see the students get
along with each other, and work
together, more in 2005. She
said she wants the students to
realize "we're all members of
society and for that society to
function we all have to work
together."
 Parrish said she, too, wants to
.see more cooperation among
the students, as well as
tolerance among students in her
own classroom.
 "I would' like to see my kids
 get along better," Parrish said.
"It's a very small classroom and
we have a lot of kids. We work
very hard all day long and we
kind of get frustrated with each
other. I'd like to see them.
realize we have to get along in
the world."
I The new year also brings
about continuing education for
the two teachers.
 "I start my master's program
 some time this year," Parrish
 said, while Melvin will
 continue working toward
 earning her specialist's degree.
 Overall, Melvin said she
 would like to see more people
 "just be happy in life itself and
 not just dwell so much onthe
 negative-always look at the
 positive in things, no matter


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