The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1051754
C-12 Wednesday, November 14, 2018 The Press-Dispatch EAST GIBSON NEWS Submit school news: Email: egnews@ pressdispatch.net Deadline: Noon on Friday SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY? Give us a call: 812-354-8500 Oakland City Elementary Above: Fallon McGillem raises her hand for her drink preference during Breakfast with the Principal at OCE. McGillem was the Most Improved stu- dent in her class. Kenzie Rudolph photo Left: Principal Malin and Most Im- proved student Ryder Hamer at Break- fast with the Principal last Wednesday morning. Kenzie Rudolph photo Most Improved student Ryder Hamer eats a chocolate long john at OCE's Breakfast with the Principal. Kenzie Rudolph photo Most Improved students, Jessalyn Lewis in front, and Renee Lewis in back, in line to pick their do- nut for Breakfast with the Principal last Wednesday morning. Kenzie Rudolph photo A happy Isaac Stolz, Citizen of the nine weeks for his class, enjoys OCE's Breakfast with the Princi- pal. Kenzie Rudolph photo Parker Dupps, OCE Citizen of the nine weeks, chows down on a donut while celebrating a job well done. Kenzie Rudolph photo Sally Morton Kenzie Rudolph photo Morton finds niche as a Trojan teacher By Kenzie Rudolph Sally Morton graduat- ed from Wood Memorial High School in 1994, with plans to pursue a career in healthcare. She furthered her education at Vincennes University and the Univer- sity of Southern Indiana. She worked in the wom- en's health field at a doc- tor's office in Evansville for 14 years. Then the school nurse position opened in Oakland City and she de- cided to switch routes. "It was never really any- thing I had planned on do- ing or even really thought about doing, but you know, opportunities become avail- able throughout your life, and it really worked out for me and my family. I loved it a lot more...that's the great thing about healthcare, you can, at any time you want to, kind of change paths," said Morton. The school nurse position came with teaching Health Science, which really scared Morton, because she had do- ne a lot of patient education but no formal teaching. An online class through Ball State gave her the teaching license. Teaching ended up being where Morton has found her calling. She likes teach- ing much more than she thought she would. "I really liked it a lot more than I thought I would, and the following year, they gave me Medical Terminology to teach. Then last year, they added Anatomy and Physi- ology on to my schedule, so I was really being pulled in a lot of different directions last year." This year, though, Mor- ton was asked if she wanted to move into the classroom to take over the Biomedical Science Program, and she said that it felt like the right thing to do, even though she would miss the elementary kids that she got to interact with so much as the school nurse. Morton added that she al- ways knew that she want- ed to go into the healthcare field, and she loved Chem- istry after being taught by Mrs. Gentry, who Morton now works with at Wood Me- morial. She also loved math with Mr. Horrall, who still teaches there as well. Her goal was to work with kids or in women's health, and she has gotten to do both throughout her career. When it comes to what her favorite class to teach is, Morton struggled to de- cide. She likes the projects and hands-on environment within her Project Lead the Way classes, and she loves Anatomy and thinks that it is fun to teach. She added, "Most of those kids come in with very little knowledge of the body and the body systems, and they leave with so much infor- mation, and I really feel like that prepares them to go in- to those classes in college, and so that's a big point of satisfaction." For the Project Lead the Way program, Morton said that Wood Memorial has two years of classes in that regard, which are Principles of Biomedical Science and then Human Body Systems. She added that the classes are fun and advanced. She has been teaching her stu- dents this year about what anthropologists do, and her students have been ex- amining bone sets to de- termine facts about them. They have even extracted DNA and have learned how to do blood splatter analysis through a chapter on crime scenes. Morton also likes her Health Science class be- cause her students get to go out and experience what jobs are available so they can narrow their focus to help determine what they might want to study. When it comes to going from working with adult women to high school-aged kids, Morton said, "That was a big change." She said that it has been a big blessing that she was not expecting. She through- ly enjoys being around the kids. "I can't really see myself leaving the classroom right now. I mean, and one thing I always tell my students, es- pecially my Health Science students, is 'don't ever close a door because you never know what opportunities will come about,' but right now I am loving teaching," added Morton. She also said that once her kids get older, she might be interested in getting back in- to nursing part-time to keep her skills up. Morton's favorite part of her job is being around the kids. Morton said, "They are just so fun to be around, and funny and hardwork- ing, and it just makes you hopeful again for the future that good kids are coming through, and they're really going to work hard...I'm re- ally proud to be a Trojan." MENU Thursday, November 15: Popcorn chicken bowl, cheeseburger, Italian salad or PB&J with sweet corn, fresh fruit, veggies and ap- plesauce. Friday, November 16: Pepperoni pizza, mini corn- dogs, grilled chicken salad or ham and cheese sand- wich with tots, fresh fruit, veggies and mixed fruit. Monday, November 19: Fish sticks and mac, chick- en patty, chef salad or PB&J with peas, fresh fruit, veg- gies and mixed fruit. Tuesday, November 20 : Nachos, grilled cheese, popcorn chicken salad or ham and cheese sandwich with green beans, fresh fruit, veggies and dice peaches. Wednesday, November 21: NO SCHOOL - Thanks- giving Break. CALENDER Nov. 15 –Mid terms Nov. 19 –Boys' Basket- ball (5 & 6) vs. Haubstadt, 4:30 p.m. Nov. 20 –Spelling Bee, 8:30 a.m. Girls' Basketball (5 & 6) at Haubstadt, 5 p.m. Nov. 21 - Nov. 23–No School Thanksgiving Break Nov. 26 –Girls' Basket- ball (5 & 6) vs. Fort Branch, 4:30 p.m. Nov. 27–Fifth grade(- Girls and Boys) Basketball vs. Holy Cross, 4:30 p.m. Nov. 29 –Evansville Mu- sic Academy Program Boys' Basketball (5 & 6) vs. Owensville, 4:30 p.m. Nov. 30 –Geography Bee, 8:30 a.m. Gibson County Authors Among 70+ Taking Part in IHS's Holiday Author Fair Two Gibson County au- thors are among more than 70 participating in one of the biggest events in the history of the Indiana His- torical Society's (IHS's) Holiday Author Fair. The free annual event is Sat- urday, Dec. 1, at the Eu- gene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, lo- cated at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. The History Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the Author Fair taking place from noon to 4 p.m. Book topics will range from biography and sports to youth historical fiction and politics, with Randy and Roxanne Mills of Oak- land City signing copies of their book, Summer Wind: A Soldier's Road from Indi- ana to Vietnam. This year's Author Fair also will fea- ture appearances by bas- ketball star and Olympic athlete Tamika Catchings, James Alexander Thom and Dark Rain Thom, and 8 -year-old author Samiah Turner with her book, My Life as an 8 Year Old En- gineer. Author Fair guests can pose for photos with San- ta, enter to win a gift bas- ket and enjoy a special per- formance by the Circle City Chamber Choir. Compli- mentary gift wrapping will be available, and IHS mem- bers will receive 10 percent off their entire purchase. The History Center's Ba- sile History Market also features handmade Indi- ana products, art and or- naments for unique holi- day gifts. The day of the Author Fair, IHS will offer free ad- mission to the Indiana Ex- perience and its popular holiday exhibit, Festival of Trees, open November 16 through January 5. Festi- val of Trees, presented by The Salvation Army with support from The Mother- shead Foundation, will fea- ture 80 elaborately deco- rated trees plus a 30 -foot showstopper in Eli Lilly Hall. For more information about the Holiday Author Fair and other programs and events, call IHS at (317) 232-1882. A complete list of authors and books at this year's Author Fair is available online. BREAKFAST WITH THE PRINCIPAL AT OCE