Dr. Sherell Fuller, Campus Director, shared the following news and notes from Winthrop.
We had our one and only gathering of our full cohort early in the semester.  It was led by Cohort officers, and they did an amazing job sharing ideas of how to use games to engage students in the classroom. We ended the day by closing down a local bowling alley with 107 WU Fellows!

We had our annual service fair where local organizations and school district come to share information with the freshmen and sophomore Fellows. These Fellows signed up for their service hours on this day. Our partner who represented on this day were: Boys and Girls Club, Camp Thunderbird, Family Resource Center, STAR Program, and Rock Hill Schools ESL Coordinator.

On October 13th, our Fellows, in partnership with our campus Teacher Cadet director, hosted 250 Teacher Cadet students from local high schools. Fellows served as greeters for the Fellows, served on a panel talking with the students about college life, and led the Cadets on a campus tour. I was part of a group of professors who held mock classes for the students to allow them to experience a college class. It was great day for the Cadets and Fellows! 

In 2013, Winthrop University entered a partnership with the Shanghai Far East School (SFES) in Shanghai, China to provide teacher candidates the opportunity to study abroad during their final semester at Winthrop. As an international school focused on providing their students opportunities to expand cultural awareness and experience diverse learning experiences, SFES is the perfect environment in which teacher candidates can flourish as true professional educators. This year, one of our Senior Teaching Fellows, Cassidy Laber (pictured below), was chosen after an intensive application/interview process. She will begin her 2nd semester internship locally and will leave for China in March.

Another Senior Fellow, Candace Livingston (pictured below), co-founded a new student organization named “Project Middle Ground.”  The idea for the organization came because Candace saw a gap and a unique need for middle school students with whom she worked. The 5-point foci of the organization are : Academics. Self-Awareness. Sociopolitical Awareness. Life Skills. Self-Confidence. Candace is also President of the campus chapter of the NAACP and has been a key player in organizing local political visits from Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. 

The freshmen and sophomore classes have been actively working in our Big Teach/Little Teach mentor program. We had our big reveal of mentors last month. (Pictured below)

After I attended the 7 Habits training, we began to look at our existing mentor program as our new accountability partners. I have also had two introductory sessions with the freshman and sophomore classes, respectively, where I introduced “7 Habits…” and we began work on our mission statements. Every Fellow will have a draft of a mission statement when we hold our 1st meetings of the spring semester. (See bulletin board photo below!)

Campus director, Mr. Derrick HInes, reports from Columbia:
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Earlier this month,  the Teaching Fellows helped to organize and execute the USC College of Education's annual Teacher Cadet Day.  25 USC Teaching Fellows participated at intervals throughout the day welcoming, guiding, and interacting with over 50 high school Teacher Cadets who visited campus.  We were honored to Welcome current South Carolina Teacher of the Year, USC graduate, and Teaching Fellows alum Jennifer Wise as our Keynote Speaker for the day. 

The  College of Education hosted its first annual fall Community Table Open House event on Wednesday October 27th.  The USC Teaching Fellows program served as co-organizers of this event with the USC COE's office of Diversity and Inclusion to provide an atmosphere where all undergraduate College of Education students could come together for fellowship and an open discussion of current trends and perceived challenges in today's education climate.  The event was attended by over 100 USC College of Education students, faculty, and staff, and presentations were given by three guest speakers representing USC's Professional Development School network.  
​See photos below.

Mr. Derrick Hines, campus director, reports from Columbia:
The year long Anne Frank House Museum Traveling Exhibit project undertaken by the USC Teaching Fellows in collaboration with USC's Center for Educational Partnerships and the College of Arts and Science's European Studies Department has visited two SC middle schools and trained over 30 students to become peer leaders and community leaders for their schools and communities.  This initiative seeks to further the USC College of Education's goal to promote awareness of social justice issues within society and to establish meaningful dialogue between individuals who guide their peers and community members through the exhibit.  See more at http://www.wltx.com/mb/news/local/teacher-cadets-learn-to-discuss-holocaust/324887094
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Dr. Tim LIntner and the USC Aiken Teaching Fellows sat down and brainstormed how they wanted to define themselves as an institution and as a program. In doing so, they hoped to create the USC Aiken Teaching Fellows Mission Statement. After much wrangling and some fantastic ideas, they decided to keep it simple and sweet. Below is the Mission Statement embedded into the Teaching Fellows logo.

 

Three Columbia College Teaching Fellows, Grace Mc Clain, Caitlin O’Dell, Jayna Patidar along with campus director, Mrs. Amy Ellisor will be presenting a breakout session at the Teacher Cadet Fall Renewal Conference.  The session will feature Techno-Connections:  Strengthening Teacher Cadet and Teaching Fellows Partnerships.
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This session will present strategies to help Teacher Cadet Instructors, College Partners and Teaching Fellows Campus Directors strengthen collaboration and recruiting efforts.  Ideas for sharing resources, developing effective college days and integrating social media as a marketing tool will be presented.
 
A panel of former Teacher Cadets/Teaching Fellows will facilitate a portion of this session.  Participants will receive hands-on experience working with Instagram and other social media tools.
 
The goals of this session are to:
·         Facilitate sharing of ideas and best practices
·         Bridge the connection between Teacher Cadet and Teaching Fellows Programs
·         Utilize resources and technology to enhance our means to support future educators.
·         Increase opportunities for recruitment and retention into CERRA's programs and initiatives.

Ms. Kimberly Baggs, Campus Director reports that ​by the time October rolled around, most of CSU’s Fellows were already looking forward to getting away for a couple days during Fall Break. They were surprised by an early start to that break due to the closing of campus in preparation for Hurricane Matthew. Many students took advantage of that break by making TF recruiting visits in the surrounding communities and across the state.
 
The October highlight for the CSU Teaching Fellows was our TF student-led Night of Worship. Five of our musically talented Fellows from across all cohorts (Hannah, Lucas, Emily M., Emily B., and Katie) opened the evening by leading several songs of praise music. Then, 2016 Teaching Fellow graduate, Blake Roland, provided an inspirational message to the more than 100 students who were in attendance about his faith and the way it impacts his role as a first-year teacher. He was excellent and the students loved hearing from him. Our musicians closed out the night with a couple final songs.  

Teaching Fellows Program Director, Mrs. Amanda Darden hosted a fall-themed, pumpkin carving night on Sunday, October 23, 2016 for the Coastal Carolina University Teaching Fellows. The night was specifically designed to spark and develop relationships between the newly assigned Mentor and Mentee pairs. During the September monthly meeting, the 2015 Cohort of Teaching Fellows were all assigned to be a fellow from the 2016 Cohort’s “mentor.” The fellows in the 2016 Cohort act as a “mentee” to their assigned mentor. The pairs were formed in hopes for the mentor to guide their mentee through any obstacles they may face, and be a positive role model throughout their time in the Teaching Fellow’s Program.
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The mentor and mentee pairs had the option to either carve or paint a pumpkin together. They quickly noticed that team work was very important in order to accomplish the task in one hour. The pumpkins were then judged through a friendly competition. Four of the mentor/mentee groups’ pumpkins were awarded: “Most Creative,” “Prettiest Pumpkin,” “Scariest Pumpkin,” and “Best in Show.” Dinner was catered by Rotelli’s Pizza and Pasta located in Conway, SC. The evening concluded with a campfire, roasting marshmallows, and time to socialize with the Teaching Fellows group as a whole. The Coastal Carolina University Teaching Fellows look forward to more mentor/mentee bonding events in the near future! 

Campus Director Mrs. Lynn Dowd reports that "Newberry teaching fellows hosted "the big day" on October 25th. It was great having 14 high schools on campus. The teachers, students and parents enjoyed team building, scavenger tours, lunch and carnival games. Thank you Fellows for all your hard work." 

Thanks to Spartanburg 1 and Mrs. Cathy McMillan for inviting Rona Neely and me to speak to Teacher Cadets at Landrum and Chapman High Schools. An added bonus was several Spartanbutg 1 teachers, former Teaching Fellows, sharing their experiences. See their testimonials on the YouTube video below.

Dr. Amanda Darden welcomed the 2016 Cohort of Teaching Fellows to CCU. She writes:
​The Teaching Fellows Program at Coastal Carolina University has welcomed twenty-three freshman students into the 2016 Cohort. These students were selected by CERRA; the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement for the state of South Carolina. The mission of the South Carolina Teaching Fellows Program is to recruit talented high school seniors into the teaching profession and help them develop leadership qualities. Teaching Fellows awardees go through a rigorous selection process, which includes an online application, an interview with and presentation to a team of three educators, and a scored response. Following the rigorous selection process, applicants who are rewarded the Fellowship receive up to $24,000 in scholarships (up to $6000 a year for four years) to attend a Teaching Fellows institution in South Carolina. Additionally, Fellows are offered numerous professional development opportunities and are involved with communities and businesses through various service projects and partnerships with local schools.

​The 22 students named as the 2016 Coastal Carolina University Teaching Fellows Cohort are: Kayla Adcock, Lilly Anderson, Tiffany Barr, Cloe Bourdages, Alex Del Castillo, Cardezia Douglas, Zakira Felder, Katrina Gallo, Jessica Garner, Brianna Gerald, Sarah Gower, Allie Hall, Kira Hamilton, Caitlyn Hinnerschitz, Samantha Hogan, Maggie Moore, Megan Phillips, Michelle Pitoscia, Alma Sierra, Dillon Smith, Tyler Tuncy, and William Warren.