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Gruener wows ‘em in Jersey
Westwood Elementary Counselor Barbara Gruener has left a little of herself with more than 500 others in New Jersey. They will use their touch of Gruener to help them have a successful new school year.
After attending Gruener's “Sing, Dance, Laugh, and Building Character breakout session at the Character Education Partnership's National Forum last fall, William Osman, Supervisor for Professional Development, Mentoring & Character Education for Hamilton Township Public Schools in New Jersey, contacted the FISD counselor with an interesting invitation: to deliver the keynote address to 500-plus elementary-school educators on their first day back to the 2008-2009 school year.
Intrigued by the challenge of this sort of presentation, Gruener agreed and started planning how she would use her allotted block of time by asking herself, "what do I want to leave my audience with?"
After a few conference calls and numerous emails, the venue was confirmed; it would take place at the AMC-24 Movie Theater in Hamilton, New Jersey, on the morning of September 2, 2008.
In his introduction, Administrator Osman told a packed house that he was so inspired when he heard Barbara speak that it made him want to go back into the classroom himself.
Starting the presentation in character as Merry Newberry, a new teacher in the audience who supposedly had heard Gruener speak in the summer and came to New Jersey to learn more about modeling, Gruener engaged the audience from the start.
Throughout her two-hour address, she kept them entertained and energized with stories from her 24-year teaching career and her interactive ideas and character-building techniques sprinkled with her songs, her cheers, her dance moves, and lots of laughter.
As she shared details about her strong connection during her formative years to her character role model and first-grade teacher Miss Natzke, also known as Aunt Norma, Barbara encouraged audience members to reconnect with their mentors to thank them for making a difference, then challenged participants to celebrate the gift and privilege of teaching by becoming someone's Aunt Norma (or Uncle Norm) this year.
Following her presentation, the audience celebrated her enthusiasm by thanking her with "the mirror," a cheer that she'd taught them just moments earlier, and ultimately a standing ovation.
Gruener received this feedback in an email from Osman the following day: "What a magical day. I have received a multitude of wonderful sentiments about your great presentation from teachers, assistants, and administrators. You can certainly feel good about the impact that all of your hard work, personality, and soul has made in Hamilton."
After attending Gruener's “Sing, Dance, Laugh, and Building Character breakout session at the Character Education Partnership's National Forum last fall, William Osman, Supervisor for Professional Development, Mentoring & Character Education for Hamilton Township Public Schools in New Jersey, contacted the FISD counselor with an interesting invitation: to deliver the keynote address to 500-plus elementary-school educators on their first day back to the 2008-2009 school year.
Intrigued by the challenge of this sort of presentation, Gruener agreed and started planning how she would use her allotted block of time by asking herself, "what do I want to leave my audience with?"
After a few conference calls and numerous emails, the venue was confirmed; it would take place at the AMC-24 Movie Theater in Hamilton, New Jersey, on the morning of September 2, 2008.
In his introduction, Administrator Osman told a packed house that he was so inspired when he heard Barbara speak that it made him want to go back into the classroom himself.
Starting the presentation in character as Merry Newberry, a new teacher in the audience who supposedly had heard Gruener speak in the summer and came to New Jersey to learn more about modeling, Gruener engaged the audience from the start.
Throughout her two-hour address, she kept them entertained and energized with stories from her 24-year teaching career and her interactive ideas and character-building techniques sprinkled with her songs, her cheers, her dance moves, and lots of laughter.
As she shared details about her strong connection during her formative years to her character role model and first-grade teacher Miss Natzke, also known as Aunt Norma, Barbara encouraged audience members to reconnect with their mentors to thank them for making a difference, then challenged participants to celebrate the gift and privilege of teaching by becoming someone's Aunt Norma (or Uncle Norm) this year.
Following her presentation, the audience celebrated her enthusiasm by thanking her with "the mirror," a cheer that she'd taught them just moments earlier, and ultimately a standing ovation.
Gruener received this feedback in an email from Osman the following day: "What a magical day. I have received a multitude of wonderful sentiments about your great presentation from teachers, assistants, and administrators. You can certainly feel good about the impact that all of your hard work, personality, and soul has made in Hamilton."
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