Mertek is a wonderful place to be! This company designs and fabricates equipment to manufacture specific parts using advanced manufacturing techniques.  They do everything from inception to the turn key finished product.

It was awesome on so many levels!!!! If I had to answer with just one word I would say “people.”  Then the levels come into play.  The administration of the Kenan Program, the administration of NCCAT, the returning Kenan Fellows, the 2014-15 Class of Kenan Fellows and most especially the group that are working in our region.  All were wonderful to be around and are dynamic in their own area of expertise. Every few years, I try to recharge my batteries by meeting new people or doing new things. I am recharged for the next several years by connecting with many of the members.   This is one of the first times I know I will see such a diverse group again and we will be able to discuss where we have gone, the commonalities and differences.  It is so exciting and I can’t to see what happens in July (Raleigh.) Now for the secondary items. The mountains were lovely and a change from the hot Sandhills. The air changed after we exited the Piedmont. The technology piece let us know where we could go with our students without some of the LEA constraints. I hope to use the ice breakers in a larger fashion but definitely early in the year.   Of course it was nice to be pampered! Saturday was spent doing clothes and Sunday was for getting ready to begin the new week at Mertek.  Now, I will go with gusto and have a clearer idea of what needs to happen.  Once again to everyone involved, “Thanks for a great week of learning and fun!”

I was so busy learning yesterday that the time just slipped by and I missed the 24th of June.  I am still wrapping my head around the opportunities I hear about from the past Kenan Fellows and am adsorbing all of the information gleaned in the past 2 days.  I had hoped to have the opportunity to network with many teachers from across the state.  It has already been wonderful working with some of the most talented educators from North Carolina.  I will continue to learn and prepared lessons that relate to my externship while I look for the big “project” . This past year I had the opportunity to be a mentor for beginning teacher and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  As a Kenan Fellow I hope to have the opportunity to make the transition to teaching much less stressful land much more informational for new or beginning teachers.  As a lateral entry teacher, I realize the need for information, assistance and education for new teachers and the critical role these elements play in teacher retention and positive outcomes in the classrooms. For me personally, I hope to continue to grow as an educator and maintain a dynamic classroom.

This week we finally started our externship at Mertek. What an interesting place to be! I say we because Melissa, a co-teacher from JBHS, is here too. The simple way to explain Mertek for the lay person is they design/fabricate/modify machines to produce or improve productivity in the manufacturing environment. My mind at this time is designing, fabricating and modifying projects and plans for next year!