Miranda Adkins | So Salem

Elisa Kroger of Germany played on Salem's volleyball team this year.

In August, 17-year-old German exchange student Elisa Kroger arrived in Salem on her journey from her house near Cologne, Germany on Sunday and went home with her host family, the Beedles. Her start at volleyball practice began the very next day, and so did her experience as a student at Salem High School. "It was a great start, but I was tired. I think Germany is seven hours before here. I hadn't slept for maybe 24 hours when I arrived, then I slept a little bit and went to practice," Kroger said.

"I really like the whole sport thing," she said. At home, she plays volleyball, but it's a club sport with two practices a week and games on the weekends from September through April.

Homecoming was a very new experience for her, too, and she'd never even seen an American football game before coming here. Some of her friends' parents here rented a limousine to take them to the dance, and that was something altogether fantastic and different from anything back home.

"The football games and everybody's going there and ah! It's so awesome," she said.

"I think it was funny to see all the voting for the homecoming stuff. We had a whole day of beauty, too. Yeah, I really liked it," said Kroger. "Normally only VIP people use limos in Germany, and we drove in that and it was awesome."

She also likes that everybody can drive, but she noticed that everything is bigger here in America. Bigger stores, bigger trucks, bigger cars, and the school bus that comes to pick each student up at their home is completely new, too.

"And I also like that everybody can drive," said Kroger. Especially all of the 16-year-olds driving, she said. They can't drive until they're 18, and even then, it's usually more common to use public transit.

Kroger must take a boat over to her school each day. Gunasium Nonnenwerth is named after the island it's on in the middle of the Rhine River. Her school only has about 500 people, and the education structure is a lot different. They have 13 grade levels there. So really, while she's a senior here, she has two more grades to go when she gets home.

Their school breaks are different, even though they start and begin school around the same time as here. They have seven classes and take two small breaks with a small packed lunch during the first five classes. Before the last two classes, they have a hot meal cafeteria-style lunch.

College is also very different.

"You have to know what you want to do before you choose a college," she said. They also have to earn a certain grade average in the subject they want to go to school in. She visited some colleges with Meg Beedle such as Georgetown and the Naval Academy and likes the large campuses.

"I think I would like to come back to America to go to college," she said.

Glenvar principal honored in Richmond

Dr. Juliette Myers, Principal of Glenvar Middle School, Roanoke County Public Schools, was to be recognized at the annual Virginia Staff Development Council Conference with the School Administrator Professional Learning Award, on Friday, Oct. 23, at the Richmond Omni.

This award recognizes a school administrator who ensures that every educator in his/her school engages in effective professional learning so every student achieves. The nominee must have established the importance of professional development and facilitated the learning and professional development of others in his/her school.

Since becoming principal and instructional leader at her school in 2006, Myers has kept high-quality professional development in the forefront. This year Myers has kicked off an on-going action research project entitled The Magic Hat. The staff has the opportunity to share their best instructional lesson through posting it on a TeacherTube site to share with colleages.

Under Myers' leadership Glenvar Middle School has earned full accreditation and the distinction of making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as determined by both federal and state guidelines.

Submitted by Martha Ann Stallings, Virginia State Staff Development Council Awards Chair