Educator of the Year: Ms. Caitlin Meehan-Draper

A graduate from Eckerd College, Caitlin joined Teach for America in 2010. During this time she taught 10th, 11th, and 12th graders at Greensboro High School in Alabama. In her first year teaching Ms. Meehan-Draper decided to teach Night by Elie Wiesel. This lesson was inspired by her time at Eckerd College, where Wiesel taught. Each year Wiesel gave a speech to the Freshman class. This initial interaction with Wiesel and his beliefs about our moral compass, sparked an everlasting relationship between Night and Ms. Meehan-Draper's students.

The first time Caitlin taught the book to her class it was a challenge for both her and her students. However, each time Ms. Meehan-Draper taught the book it got better and better. Her students were soon able to analyze contemporary issues through the themes and lessons of Night.  Students wrote papers about the innocence or guilt of German citizens, the impact of silence on violence, along with a multitude of other concepts. In the 2011-2012 school year Ms. Meehan-Draper fundraised nearly $10,000 to take a group of students to hear Wiesel's address the Eckerd freshman class. 

After two years at Greensboro High School, Ms. Meehan-Draper joined our family at Samuel J. Green Charter School. Since joining the Green family, Ms. Meehan-Draper has taught Night every year. 

Caitlin's work in the classroom and the impact of her lessons did not go unnoticed. Ms. Meehan-Draper was nominated by Green Charter School Director Ava Lee and Middle School Principal Andrew Sullivan for the Holocaust Educator of the Year Award. Shortly following her nomination, the Jewish Community Center interviewed Ms. Meehan-Draper. During the interview Ms. Meehan-Draper was able to share letters from past students who wrote about how holocaust studies have changed their lives. Caitlin also showed the JCC an article she wrote for Southern Jewish Life about her trip to Eckerd to hear Wiesel speak. 

On April 12th the JCC held the Yom HaShoa ceremony which remembers the victims of the Holocaust and their families. It was during this ceremony that Ms. Meehan-Draper was honored for her incredible work. Other events included prayers, stories from Holocaust survivors and liberators, and a reading from Alex Zapruder. 

Caitlin said, "it was a beautiful night because my parents, co workers, school leaders, and students came to support me. This award validated a lof the work I have done to teach the transformative lessons of the Holocaust. I look forward to many more years of teaching Holocaust units and I hope to get better and better at it."

Green Charter wins the WWII Museum's robotics challenge music video contest!

On May 9, nearly 40 teams, including Samuel J. Green Charter School, participated in the World War II Museum's robotics challenge. 

Each team was tasked with completing a variety of robotics missions and producing a two-minute music video about one or more important innovations or inventions from WWII.

Samuel J. Green Charter School's robotics club built a robot that was able to successfully complete several missions and earn points for the team. Building a robot is no easy task, so this accomplishment was impressive in itself! 

We are excited to announce that Samuel J. Green Charter took first place in the music video portion of the challenge! Students created a music video, set to the tune of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes." The short video reviews a number of important inventions from the time period with a series of clever rhymes. 

Check it out below!

Also, Samuel J. Green Charter School would like to give a shout out to the Phillis Wheatley Community School (formerly John Dibert) team that competed.  They graciously shared their practice table, mat, and mission models with their fellow FirstLiners. Go Team FirstLine!  

Check out Chartwells' new NutriSlice website and app!

The way we access our school menus is changing in an exciting new way! FirstLine Schools, in partnership with Chartwells, is now using Nutrislice to publish the school menus to a new interactive website and a free smartphone app! Now our school community can access our menus anywhere, anytime!

New easy-to-use features include:

* More information about menu items, including a photo and description

* Filter for common food allergens like nuts, wheat and dairy

* A translation feature to translate your menus into a number of different languages

* Access to nutrition information like carb counts and calories with just a few clicks!

The new site and mobile app is now available and information will continue to be posted on the Chartwells' website. Be on the lookout for the launch of our new site and feel free to direct any questions to Tom Gandolfo, 504-914-8461

Pizza Poetry Day at Green

Students at Green Charter were proud to participate in this year's Pizza Poetry Day sponsored by Big Class in celebration of National Poetry Month. The day featured writing, poetry reading, and pizza. Last Friday, April 17th, student's poems were printed onto pizza boxes, which were delivered throughout the city. We are delighted to share a selection of those poems with you here:

School is fun

school is cool

my mom thinks

school rules

When school

is over

it makes

me cry

then

my mother

sings

me

a

lullaby.

– My’kael

I live in New Orleans

flying high, singing

songs you might

see me flying

by, sometimes

it will be in

the fall,

nothing

will ever

make me

fall.

– Hiyanta

I love pizza

it’s so cheesy

and crispy I love meat love

pepperoni and others too

so I love all types

and that’s me.

– Damiri

Sadness is the soul of the moon

Stars that walk like people

and keep on going

And people never see

the beauty of me

That a thing can keep sealed

I used to have a dream,

only one about the real me.

– Nala

Humpty Dumpty fell on the

hill he couldn’t get

up and never got

his wish of

pizza so

you might

want to

get pizza

he wanted

it.

– Tyriell

School: Samuel J. Green Charter School

Wheatley Community School's Black History & Culture Fair

On February 25th, Phillis Wheatley Community School (formerly John Dibert Community School), had a very special event in honor of Black History Month - A History and Culture Fair, organized by Ms. Sarah Bliss and her 6th Grade Scholars. 

Since the beginning of the school year, students have been looking forward to black history month. The fair provided students the opportunity to study one person in depth while also learning from each other by creating and presenting their projects. Some in-class research time was provided, but the majority of the work was done on their own time, over Mardi Gras break nonetheless! 

Students were integral to the event's success, helping to set up, take down, distribute tickets, and collect votes. If students weren't presenting, they were giving tours to parents and the Pre-K to 2nd grade classes that attended. The historical figures studied ranged from the well known (Rosa Parks and Harriet Tubman) to the lesser known (Angela Davis and Meadowlark Lemon). It was an amazing experience for students, parents, and the whole Wheatley community; seeing kids teach guests about their history and take so much pride in what they learned was really inspiring. The projects went above and beyond what Ms. Bliss expected, and she plans to make sure The Black History Month History & Culture Fair becomes a February tradition at Wheatley. 

Congratulations to winners of the prizes, which were were given in 3 categories: 

Presentation - Kiara Bell (Ella Fitzgerald)

Lookalike (dressed up as historical figure) - a tie: Francisco Williams (Ray Charles) and Chavone Zeno (Katherine Dunham)

Project Excellence - Dascia Cofield (Mamie Smith)

For more pictures of the History & Culture Fair, click THIS LINK  

Celebrating Successes at FirstLine

On Friday February 13th, while all our scholars slept in for the beginning of their Mardi Gras break, FirstLine’s staff gathered together in the gym at Arthur Ashe Charter School for a network pep rally! The Theme for the Pep Rally was: The Mystic Krewe of FirstLine presents: The FirstLine Renaissance. In true Krewe tradition, the celebration started with a parade. Each school put together a float that their staff members marched in behind. As the brass music blared and the schoolteachers stomped, the Mardi Gras spirit was infectious throughout the gym. A healthy competition among schools ensued, where they were judged in (3) categories. Everyone showed their FirstLine spirit as they acted out the key messages of the FirstLine Renaissance: Body, Mind and Spirit. After the competition, it was time for the main event of the pep rally: The Inaugural Big Chief Awards.

The Big Chief Awards were created to spotlight teachers and staff who exemplify FirstLine’s core values of Learning, Results, Collaboration, Service, and Fun (the secret value). At the awards ceremony, awards in each area were presented, with (2) winners taking home the service award. The names of the award winners were kept a surprise until the video presentations revealed the winner. When the names of the winners were announced, huge cheers erupted in the bleachers, and winners were prone to being swarmed with hugs and adoration from their peers. As they made their way to the spotlight at the center of the gym, the Big Chiefs (who the awards are named after), were there to present them with a beautiful glass sculpture created by local non-profit organization Ya-Ya.

Big Chief Award Winners (l to r): Carolyn Trask, Julia Dezen,
              LaJean Hunter, Sivi Domango, Kaitlyn Gaddis, Eileen Bunton

The awards ceremony inspired all FirstLine employees and reminded us of why we do what we do. It showed us just how much we can achieve, and how much stronger we become when we group together as a network. But above all, it showed us that even though everything we do is for the scholars, none of it could happen without the staff. We would like to congratulate the inaugural Big Chief Award Winners on a job well done! Thank You for all that you do!

The Ramona Luke Big Chief of Service Award (Two winners): Carolyn Trask, Langston Hughes Academy, Social Worker; LaJean Hunter, Joseph S. Clark Preparatory High School, Front Office Administrator

The Darcy McKinnon Big Chief of Collaboration Award: Sivi Domango, Arthur Ashe Charter School, Co-Director

The Anthony “Doc” Recasner Big Chief of Learning Award: Eileen Bunton, Samuel J. Green Charter School, Literacy Integration Specialist

The Brenda Benoit Big Chief of Results Award: Julia Dezen, Samuel J. Green Charter School, Fourth Grade Teacher

The Kelly Miranda Big Chief of Fun Award: Kaitlyn Gaddis, Phillis Wheatley (formerly John Dibert) Community School, Kindergarten Teacher

To view all of the Big Chief Award video presentations click THIS LINK.
For photos, click THIS LINK.

Green Charter gets a new soccer field!

Through an in-kind donation from Crescent City Soccer, Samuel J. Green Charter School has received a brand new soccer field! Crescent City Soccer runs a league for adults, and one of their leagues plays on the field four to five times per week, often until 11pm!

The kids at Green love running around on the brand new grass and playing all sorts of games with each other. The beautiful open space provides a welcome area to just have fun and to be children. While soccer may not be the most popular sport in the US, we're guessing that it's going to become much more popular at S.J. Green Charter in the upcoming weeks!