The Design Technology Shop Celebrated the Arrival of Its New Woodturning Lathe

TALATA 9-15-08

 The Design Technology shop celebrated the arrival of its new woodturning lathe, a variable-speed Platinum Series Laguna 18/47 purchased with a generous grant from the Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers with an accompanying donation from the Laguna Tools Company itself. Student woodworkers can now practice their skills on this state-of-the-art machine as well as the venerable Powermatic.

 The Fall Drama class has begun reading “The Complete Works of Wm. Shakespeare— Abridged,” a show originally performed by the Reduced Shakespeare Company to wild acclaim and non-stop laughter. The Shark Tank Theater will host the Academy’s own production in mid-November.

 Eighth-grade students are learning to navigate their class websites for English and Global Studies. Computer Literacy topics are now being integrated into the middle-school academic courses instead of being taught in a separate class. Parents can follow homework assignments at these links:

o English: http://bookbox.thet.net:16080/~Chapin /WebPage/Mr.%20Chapin%27s%20Page.html

o Global Studies: http://bookbox.thet.net/~sstudiesch/index.html

 Members of the “Contemporary Issues” course traveled to Middlebury College last Wednesday evening to hear Eric Schlosser speak about his work as a journalist, bestselling author, and film producer. Schlosser’s 2001 work Fast Food Nation is a text in the course, and students listened to podcasts from his other work while traveling to Middlebury.

 In “Foods Around the World,” students practiced the cuisine of Mexico and produced their first tamales; shape was a challenge, but flavor was great.

PROFILE: STEPHANIE KOCUREK

Although she didn’t set out to be a special educator, Stephanie Kocurek felt she was “led on that path” by experiences that gave her the foundation she needed when the opportunity arose. “It’s funny,” she says, “how life twists and turns.”

Her path began, she believes now, when her parents took in a foster child with learning disabilities and later an individual who was blind. “Seeing their struggles and the amazing things they accomplished” helped her understand the needs and potential of people with different abilities. Later on, she and her husband followed her parents’ example when they assumed the care of a 72-year-old woman, starting when their own first child was just one and continuing for the next eight years. “We did it originally to help our children learn about individuals with disabilities,” she recalls, “and she did teach our family so much.”

Although working with special needs was a strong element of her personal life, Stephanie pursued other directions for her career, starting with the Marine Corps and moving on to study business. She earned her B.S. with a dual major in Business Administration and Management, but she now feels that the business classes “were what I was good at—not where my heart is.” While living with her family in Texas, she applied one day to a school for a secretarial job. That position was filled, but they invited her to consider another one as a special education assistant. “I observed for one day,” she recalls, “and just loved it.” She’s been in the field ever since, and is currently completing an M.Ed degree with certification as a Special Educator.

Her current learning goals are naturally focused on the graduate work she has underway. This fall she’s studying assessment and will learn to administer important evaluations such as the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Cognitive Abilities. “It’s a big responsibility,” she says, “but I look forward to having these new tools for my work as a special educator.” Since most of her current reading time is devoted to weighty textbooks for her coursework, she chooses “really light stuff” to balance it out, such as William P. Young’s suspenseful novel, The Shack, which deals with issues of loss and faith along with the mystery of a brutal abduction—not too light!

Her days at Thetford Academy are spent helping young people become better readers (and writers and problem solvers). “In Special Ed,” Stephanie says, “no two days are alike. The job changes every day. I like that. It’s exciting to change with it, and keep figuring things out.” In addition, of course, there are the rewards of seeing students’ progress. After four years at the Academy, she has seen that kind of growth firsthand. “It’s great to see our students learn to self- advocate, become more independent.” She also values the flexibility and caring environment she’s found at the Academy, which she believes is part of the private school culture. “It’s not like the public schools in Texas,” she asserts. “I knew the day I walked in that this is where I belong.”