January 30, 2006

Galloway Community Charter School Teacher, Deirdre Morrissey to Join Stockton Fellows

Galloway Community Charter School’s fifth grade teacher, Deirdre Morrissey has been selected to join The Examined Life: Hellenic Studies, a fellowship program at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. This program aims to bring the Socratic call gnothi s’auton, or know thyself, to our nation’s schools in an effort to capture the life and ideals of ancient Greece. Hellenic Study Fellows are asked to identify a curricular area of concentration to develop their course work and integrate the Greek ideals into their classroom curriculum to enrich the school’s culture.

Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Interdisciplinary Center for Hellenic Studies at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, this rigorous series blends classroom seminars and travel. A ten day study tour of Greece gives the Fellows the opportunity to explore inquiry not only in an intellectual context, but within the physical context of Greece, as well.

Open to all K-12 educators in New Jersey, Ms. Morrissey is one of the fifteen selected to participate in this year’s session. She is thrilled to be a part of what she feels is an impressive cohort of teachers-as-students and believes that she has been awarded a tremendous opportunity for personal and professional growth. She is thankful to her ambitious administrator, Ms. Deborah Nataloni, and the Galloway Community Charter School’s Board of Trustees for encouraging and supporting her participation in The Examined Life Program.

The curriculum at the Galloway Community Charter School is organized by four themes: International Studies, Arts & Humanities, Technology and Environmental Studies. The Arts and Humanities Studies are based upon the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards in Social Studies with a focus on World History. This historical study serves to enrich students’ lives by fostering personal morale, dignity, and a commitment to others. The Arts & Humanities Study is designed to provide students with an understanding of the world to enable the recognition of contributions that shaped contemporary society.

Ms. Morrissey’s participation in this fellowship will enable her to lead the charter school in its implementation of an Arts and Humanities program that will allow students to take “long view” of the problems that plague our society and the world to arrive at a more sophisticated understanding of the means by which such problems might be solved. The most important function of the Arts & Humanities major is the enrichment of the students’ understanding of the present in light of the past. History presents the compelling story of the human experience and provides students with many opportunities to identify with the struggles of past peoples. History enables students to see their place in the flow of time, their connection to the past, and their responsibility to future generations.

For more information contact:
Deborah Nataloni, School Coordinator
652-7118 #110

Author Tom Palumbo Holds Teacher-Student Workshops

At Galloway Community Charter School

School age children spend most of their waking day reading, writing, solving problems, and interacting with new and emerging technologies. The Galloway Community Charter School in Smithville, New Jersey is committed to making every child’s school experience in these topics the most creative in the area. To meet this goal the Galloway school staff spent a large portion of December working with nationally known author and educational consultant, Tom Palumbo.

Mr. Palumbo is the former director of the New Jersey’s Charter School Resource Center and Pennsylvania’s National Parent Information Center. He currently directs The University of the Arts’ Northeast Philadelphia Graduate Satellite Center and teaches four courses in curriculum development, problem solving, emerging technology, and grant writing at the center. As a classroom teacher, Mr. Palumbo has had experience teaching every grade level from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, including all special education categories from severely impaired to gifted students. He has used this teaching background to write eleven books on read-to-use ideas for creative teaching. His books, website (www.phillyvrtour.org), and the unique ideas which they contain have won four national writing and research awards.

Deborah Nataloni, the school’s Chief Administrative Officer, stated that: “Yes, the school selected Mr.Palumbo as part of their school-wide improvement plan for the reasons above, but even more important is fact that he spends valuable time in the classroom demonstrating new instructional strategies and lessons while also helping teachers to improve their teaching and students to improve their thinking skills.”

At a six hour Saturday professional development workshop, Mr. Palumbo followed up his classroom work and guided 24 of Galloway Charter School’s K-8 teachers through a hands-on approach to creative teaching. He stressed a wide variety of techniques for the teaching of mathematics, spelling, creative writing, children’s literature, poetry, technology, and critical thinking skills.

Time was provided for teachers to create some of over 200 learning centers, lesson stations, reading games, math puzzles, and teaching devices that enhance instruction. A portfolio of Mr. Palumbo’s read-to-use teaching strategies was distributed to each participant and, each teacher received a CD filled with hundreds of classroom lessons, a PowerPoint book talk, and a poetry presentation. All to be shared with students and parents at future turn around training sessions.

“I really enjoyed working with the staff and administration and look forward to returning to the Galloway Charter in the spring. What truly amazed me was how quickly students at every level were open to new ideas. This is a tribute to their teachers and administrators who are preparing their students for a world that we can only dream.” Mr. Palumbo shared after the time he spent at Galloway.

For more information contact:
Jean Mc Alister, Board of Trustees President
839-0426