English teachers Natalie O’Neil and Rebecca Kipp were recently honored for two prestigious accomplishments. Mrs. O’Neil will be attending the next Google Teacher Academy, and Mrs. Kipp has been honored as New Jersey’s Humanities Teacher of the Year!

Google has selected Natalie O’Neil as an attendee at the next Google Teacher Academy, to be held in Mountain View, CA on July 30-31, 2014.

The Google Teacher Academy is a two-day intensive program that recognizes educators who are doing innovative and exciting things in their classrooms with technology, Natalie O’Neil was honored to be selected and represent West Morris Regional High School District.

35 participants will get hands-on experience with Google’s products and technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, and receive resources to share with colleagues. Upon completion, Academy participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other educators in their local regions and beyond.

Google Certified Teachers are exceptional educators with a passion for using innovative tools to improve teaching and learning, as well as creative leaders and ambassadors for change. They are recognized experts and widely admired for their commitment to high expectations for students, lifelong learning and collaboration.

The Google Certified Teacher program was launched in 2006 with the first Academy held at Google headquarters in Mountain View. The program has since held academies across the US, Australia, and U.K., expanding the ranks of Google Certified Teachers to over 800 educators worldwide. The Google Teacher Academy is produced by Google, in collaboration with Computer-Using Educators (CUE, Inc), an educational non-profit organization.

Mrs. Kipp received her award from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. For the past 18 years, the New Jersey Council for the Humanities has recognized the best of our state’s K-12 public school teachers and their outstanding achievements in teaching the humanities to our young people.

The Council looks for an elementary, middle school or high school teacher who understands the complexity, value and richness of the humanities, including such subjects as history, literature and language arts, the theory and history of the arts, comparative religion, world cultures and ethics. Teachers who explore these subjects with their students often use an interdisciplinary approach. Such teachers are creative and help others to see new perspectives. They frequently serve as role models for other teachers.

Mrs. Kipp receives a $500 prize, and her school receives $500 for the purchase of humanities resources that are chosen by the Teacher of the Year.

Congratulations to our wonderful English Teachers! The WMC students are honored to have you teach them every day!