Spring 2016 Volume 39, Issue 3

The Reader
Advocating for literacy in the Omaha
Metropolitan Area

A local council of the And the

Nebraska State Reading
Association
Metropolitan Reading Council International Reading
Association
Omaha, Nebraska
 The Reader
Published since 1966
Metropolitan Reading Council #30400
Chartered in 1965 Spring 2016
http://www.metropolitanreadingcouncil.org

Metropolitan Reading Council

Executive Board 2015-2016
President Amy Coacher
Learning HQ

Past President Kate Alseth

President-Elect Abby Burke

University of NE Omaha

Vice President Kelli Vanwinkle

Brownell Talbot

Treasurer Linda Placzek

Executive Secretary Audrey McNamara

Information Manager Renee McArthur

Bellevue Public Schools
Volume 39, Issue 3
Publications/Social Media Elesha S. Harris
University of NE Omaha

MRC Website: http://www.metroreadingcouncil.org/

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/metroreadingcouncil/
and follow us on Twitter: @OmahaMRC

Volume 39, Issue 3 Page 2

 CELEBRATING
LITERACY 2016
Abby J. Burke, Ed. D--MRC President Elect

University of Nebraska at Omaha

ajburke@unomaha.edu

Metropolitan Reading Council held its

biannual Literacy Educators Leadership Awards
Event on April 28 at the Nebraska Brewing
Company. It was a particularly exciting event as we
celebrated our Golden Anniversary. Dr. Guy Trainin
kicked off the night with an engaging talk on The
Age of Digital Literacy: Where weve been, how we
got here, and where could this take us? Following
this, President elect, Dr. Abby Burke, announced
the 2016 Literacy Educators Leadership Awards.

Celebrate Literacy Award: Pastor John

Backus & Trinity Lutheran Church

The purpose of the Celebrate Literacy Award is to recognize a local individual, agency or
institution which has made significant contributions to literacy in the Omaha area.

Friends of Reading Cathy McMahon Youth Services Manager,

Sump Memorial Library

The purpose of the Friends of Reading Award is to recognize an individual or group who
advances reading and promotes literacy in our schools and community.

Linda Gehrig Educational Leadership Award Amy Tunning,

Omaha Public Schools

The purpose of the Educational Leadership Award is to recognize an administrator who

demonstrates outstanding concern for the advancement and promotion of reading above
and beyond the norm.

The Reader p.3

 THE NEBRASKA STATE READING
ASSOCIATIONS 43 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
RD

Kearney...Excitement for the Experience!

Rebecca Hansen
MRC Student Ambassador
University of Nebraska Omaha

I have exactly one year remaining in my undergraduate education at the University of Nebraska
at Omaha where my degree is in Elementary and Early Childhood education. Throughout my time in
the education program, I have had the pleasure of meeting so many educators in the Omaha
community, yet there are still so many more I have not met in this incredible profession. I thought that I
was excited when the Metropolitan Reading Council selected me to be a student ambassador because
I knew I would be able to meet even more educators, but when I arrived at the Nebraska State Reading
Association conference in Kearney I became ecstatic! The moment I walked into the conference I felt
supported and valued by all of the teachers and administrators around me. Once again, I could feel my
passion for teaching being ignited as it has so many other times in the past, and it would not be the last
time I would feel this way during my time at the conference.
I felt excited again while walking through the expo room. Im sure many teachers have felt their
teacher senses tingling as they walk down the aisle of office supplies at a store, when they stumble
upon childrens books in a store, or even when finding something that could make the most perfect
addition to their stash of teacher supplies. As I browsed the tables of supplies, books, and teaching
manuals, I started to see my future unfold in front of my eyes, and my teacher senses were screaming
at me to invest in everything! I came around to the tables where the authors had been sitting signing
autographs earlier that day, and thats when I felt like my life had come full circle. My sister and I grew
up reading the Amelias Notebook books by Marissa Moss, and Ill admit I got a little starstruck
knowing she would be there. The fact that I can recall details about this particular authors book
because I had begged my sister to read it to me so many times was worth something incredible to me.
Yet here I am, in a whole different place in my life, flipping through this familiar story and laughing at all
the same parts. Now I am on track to become a teacher, to inspire a student to find a favorite author or
book, and perhaps they will read to their siblings and those memories will stick with them too! Here is
where that flame of passion grew even larger.
Beyond the expo room, I was amazed over and over again by the compassion and genuine
hearts found in the people I met. At some point in each of the sessions I attended, someone offered to
give me something to add to my teaching toolkit. Whether it was advice, encouragement, a book, or
other supplies, every single person I met empathized with my current place in my career and wished
me luck in my future. How much more lucky could I be? What other career has an outpouring of
kindness like we as teachers have? That flame of passion burned brighter.
I was invited to this conference to help me grow as a professional, and honestly, I feel that I took
so much more away from it than that. I certainly have strategies (some of which I have already
implemented in a classroom with great success!) and new supplies to help me through, but now I also
have new mentors and colleagues to seek advice from. Beyond this, I now have overwhelming feelings
of confidence, and most importantly a sense of assurance, that this is what I should definitely be doing
with my life. That ignition of passion for teaching that I have mentioned? It cannot be put out now. This
conference affirmed my faith in myself and in my selected profession, and for that I am forever grateful!
To the Metropolitan Reading Council, thank you for selecting me to grow in this weekend, and to the
Nebraska State Reading Association, you provided me with more than just a learning opportunity, you
gave me a learning experience.

Volume 39, Issue 3 Page 4

 And More Kearney Experiences...
Colin Shenefield
MRC Student Ambassador
University of Nebraska Omaha
(@ColinFromOmaha)

When was the last time that your expectations were totally and completely exceeded? This
was my exact experience when I had the opportunity to represent the Metropolitan Reading
Council as a Student Ambassador at the 2016 Nebraska State Reading Association
Conference in Kearney. I am currently a senior undergraduate in the College of Education
at the University of Nebraska Omaha. My major is Elementary Education with an English as a
Second Language endorsement, and the NSRA Conference was my first foray into
professional development.

On the morning of February 25, I started my journey from North Omaha to the Forty-third
Annual Reading Conference in Kearney. After a small detour for gas and coffee, I arrived at
the Ramada Inn & Conference Center just in time for the Thursday morning pre-conference
workshop Waking Up Your Lazy Readers! with Dr. Danny Brassell. Because of my passion
for teaching English as a Second Language, I also attended Dr. Brassells afternoon session
Accelerating English Language Learners Literacy Skills.

Armed with the good doctors weapons of mass instruction, it was now time to find some
sustenance. Being an urban farmer myself, I was pleasantly surprised by Kearneys local food
offerings. The two establishments that I visited during my stay, Flipping Sweet Pizza and the
Tru Caf, both used locally sourced ingredients, many of which were also organic.
After getting some fuel for the fire, I attended Diane Barones Exploring the Visual in
Picturebooks. At a meet and greet later in the evening, I made the acquaintance of author
Valerie Ellery who recruited me for her workshop the following morning entitled Motivate,
Engage, & Create Strategic Readers: Focusing on Small Group Instruction.

For the remainder of my time, I made a concerted effort to really take advantage of the
situation that I was presented. I not only connected with some of my peers from the
Metropolitan Reading Council, but also met other student ambassadors and literacy
educators from different parts of the state. This proved to be a great opportunity to share
experiences, best practices, and new ways of using educational technology. I also made
the most of an unseasonably beautiful afternoon and explored Downtown Kearney on the
Bricks and Yanney Heritage Park. I surely look forward to the Forty-fourth Annual NSRA
Conference next year to listen and learn from more great speakers, renew old friendships,
and make new contacts.
 Metropolitan Reading Council
Meet the Author/Writing Contest Awards
March 12, 2016

Guest Speaker, Author Lydia Kang

Volume 39, Issue 3 Page 6

 Metropolitan Reading Council
President Amy Coacher

A young author,
celebrating his accomplishments

Metropolitan Reading Council

President Elect Dr. Abby Burke &
The Godfather

Volume 39, Issue 3 Page 7

 More young authors...

Volume 39, Issue 3 Page 8

 More young authors...

Volume 39, Issue 3 Page 9

p. 10 The Reader

& More
young
authors...