Author Archives: Terry Lee Marzell

About Terry Lee Marzell

Terry Lee Marzell holds a bachelor's degree in English from Cal State Fullerton and a master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Cal State San Bernardino. She also holds a certificate for Interior Design Level 1 from Mt. San Antonio College. She has been an educator in the Corona Norco Unified School District for more than 30 years.

Terry Lee Marzell and Kurby to appear at September Paws in the Park event

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Author Terry Lee Marzell and her fur baby, Kurby, share Unleashed! The Dog Park Chronicles Photo Credit: Hal Marzell

Terry Lee Marzell and her fur baby, Kurby, will be making an author appearance at the Paws in the Park event to be held on Sept. 7, 2024, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. The event will be held at Vila Borba Dog Park located at 17001 Amadora Dr, Chino Hills, CA 91709. At the event, Terry will feature her new book, Unleashed! The Dog Park Chronicles, a children’s book which features a setting at Vila Borba.

The novel shares the story of Bowser which is based on the true-life experience of Kurby, who was rescued from his abusive former owner. He’s even depicted on the front cover of the book! Another character in the novel is the elegant tuxedo cat, Licorice, another of Terry’s fur babies. She appears on the back cover.

But that’s not all the book is about! The narrative features a charming cast of animal characters and their human companions who live in or visit the dog park. Each event which takes place holds an essential message about kindness, community, inclusion, and personal responsibility. There are also messages about anti-bullying and anti-prejudice. In addition, the narrative includes commentary about how young people can appreciate nature, even if they live in a suburban environment. For example, there are chapters about the migratory patterns of Canada geese, the natural instincts of the animal characters, and the progression of the seasons.

Come to the Paws in the Park event to meet Terry Lee Marzell and Kurby! There you can purchase a copy of the novel and have it personally autographed by the author. You can also purchase the book from amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

 

NYC STEM teacher Karen Heil earns 2024 Big Apple Award

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For exemplary work in the classroom, middle school STEM teacher Karen Heil has earned a 2024 Big Apple Award from the New York City Department of Education. Photo Credit: City Island Oyster Reef

The New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) does a commendable job of recognizing their most outstanding public school teachers. This year, they have honored nearly 50 classroom educators who work in New York City. One of these is Karen Heil, a middle school science teacher who has been named a recipient of their 2024 Big Apple Award.

Karen’s career as an educator spans 25 years. She currently teaches at P.S. 175 City Island. There she serves as an advisor with City Island Oyster Reef in their Billion Oyster Project. The program is dedicated to restoring oysters to the local waters, not for consumption but for the significant role that oysters play in improving the marine environment. Each adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons a day, which in turn promotes a healthy, resilient marine ecosystem. With Karen’s leadership and the work conducted in her outdoor classroom, her students have helped to nurture a living shoreline.
The indefatigable teacher believes that every public school should create opportunities for its students to connect with the city’s natural environments. “It is important that all of New York City embrace taking more field trips to get out [near the water], even if you can’t do it like we are [at City Island], to at least give kids perspective that it is such an important part of our history,” asserts Karen.
In another project, Karen asked her students to create illustrated comics featuring a particular mineral as a hero. The students then gave each hero  a superpower based on the rock’s unique properties. Then the middle schoolers dressed up as their chosen mineral and created trading cards featuring the rock and its properties. “The kids loved autographing their trading cards and sharing them with each other,” says Karen. In this way, she believes, she was making learning joyful for her students, and instilling confidence in them as independent learners.

Karen earned a Bachelor’s degree Chemistry and another Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science in 1987, both from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She earned her Master’s degree in Secondary Education and Teaching from Mercy University in 2001.

New Mexico’s Gerard Pineda is a successful Head Baseball Coach

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La Cueva High School Head Baseball Coach Gerard Pineda (center) with student (right) has led his athletes to no less than seven New Mexico state championships since 2010. Photo Credit: New Mexico Activities Association

There are many outstanding athletic coaches who work with America’s young people, and they are chalking up wonderful achievements! One of these is Gerard Pinedo, a successful baseball coach at La Cueva High School located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Gerard took over as Head Coach at La Cueva during the 2009-2010 season. Since then, he has led his teams to no less than win seven state championships. Gerard’s teams have won 17 games or more in all 13 seasons since Gerard took over. In fact, La Cueva High is ranked among the nation’s top 50 teams by Baseball America, which evaluates teams based on performance, strength of schedule, and player talent. To learn more about the rankings, click on this link to Southern Pigskin.

For his outstanding coaching abilities Gerard was honored by the New Mexico High School Coaches Association on July 25, 2024. The humble coach credits his students for his successes, though. “We’re fortunate to have talented kids,” declares Gerard. “We tried to make sure that they knew how talented they were, and what they were capable of,” he continued. “They’ve been a joy to coach,” he concluded.

PA teacher Sarah Damato earns Outstanding Spec Ed award

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Pennsylvania teacher Sarah Damato has been named a recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Special Education Teacher Award from NASET. Photo Credit: Springfield Area Educational Foundation

Many exemplary educators have earned special recognition for their work in the classroom. One of these is Sarah Damato, a Special Education teacher from Springfield, Pennsylvania. She has been named a recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Special Education Teacher Award from the National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET). The annual award is given to Special Education and inclusion classroom teachers that have been nominated by administrators, colleagues, or parents of students.

Sarah teaches Life Skills courses at Springfield High School. She has taught there since 2019. She also serves as the advisor for the campus Buddies Club, bringing general education students and students with special needs together to participate in activities outside of school. Over 200 students belong to this club. Furthermore, Sarah founded a non-profit called Support a Sport, which gives children with disabilities the opportunity to participate in sports. At least half of her students have participated in this program. And as if all that were not enough, she is also the Head Coach for the Unified Bocce Club. This year, 36 athletes participated on the team.

In addition to her honors from NASET, Sarah has been named Best Teacher Under the Sun from the local Sun East Federal Credit Union. The award acknowledges outstanding achievements by teachers for their efforts to inspire students to reach beyond their grasp.

Sarah earned her Bachelor’s degree in Special Education in 2011, an Autism Certificate in 2013, and a Master’s degree in Special Education with an emphasis in research in 2013, all from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She earned a second Master’s degree in Elementary Education and Teaching from Relay Graduate University in 2018. In 2022, she earned a PhD in Educational Leadership and Administration from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.