Latest news with #WAVY-TV10
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Excellent Educators: Chesapeake
Excellent Educators is a WAVY-TV 10 initiative to celebrate local teachers who have gone above and beyond for their students and communities during the last academic year. These Excellent Educators were nominated by their school divisions. Congratulations to these educators for all of their hard work and accomplishments! CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Throughout the month of May, 10 On Your Side is highlighting teachers in our area for our Excellent Educators series. In Chesapeake, we were introduced to Kaitlyn Gabriel. In 2025, she was named teacher of the year for both Oscar Smith Middle School and for the entire school district. View all of the nominated educators She teaches Civics and Economics to 6th graders at the middle school. Even though she struggled in school herself, she knew she wanted to be a teacher since Kindergarten. During WAVY's visit to Gabriel's classroom, she turned the Civics lesson into a secret agent style investigation. She is known to occasionally dress in costume for lessons, even if it makes driving to work a little embarrassing. Known to many students as Ms. Gabe, she started teaching in 2019, right before the COVID pandemic. 'Never really got a normal year and I think that's kind of a blessing, because it's made me a better teacher,' Gabriel said. 'All of the cool lessons I have come up with and the way that I have evolved as a teacher wouldn't have really happened without those learning gaps. It's forced me to be the best that I can be because it is what they deserve.' Outside the classroom, Gabriel is also a soccer coach. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Minute with the Commander: Memorial Day
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Memorial Day is a holiday that every American can get behind. It's a day to remember those who gave their lives to preserve our freedom, from the American Revolution to the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan. We remember it by spending a Minute with the Commander. Each month here on WAVY-TV 10, Admiral Daryl Caudle, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command will address a different topic important to our military community. This month we reflected on the importance of Memorial Day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Dangerous social media trend causes damage to schools
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Final exams, the prom and regional sports finals are all part of the end-of-school season, but this year, like in many years in the past, social media has fueled a dangerous trend, with the latest episode involving laptops and easily influenced children. 10 On Your Side obtained a copy of an advisory that was sent to Norfolk parents over the weekend. It read in part: 'We want to bring to your attention a concerning social media trend that has recently emerged. Some students across various schools have been influenced by online content encouraging them to attempt starting fires using Chromebooks. … Not only can these incidents cause disruption to the entire school; they can also cause serious injury. Please make sure your student understands participating in this trend could have serious repercussions including injuries, disciplinary consequences, and financial responsibility.' 10 On Your Side will not disclose how the fires are set and the details of the dangerous challenge. In Derby, Kansas, WAVY-TV 10's sister station covered the case of a scorched laptop at Derby High School. Becky Howe is a parent at the school. 'Parents need to be educated of what they are and children need to be educated that they [ internet challenges]are actually dangerous,' said Becky Howe, a parent of a student at the school. There's a reason why certain batteries are not allowed on airplanes. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, lithium batteries can cause a thermal runaway, which is characterized as a chain reaction of uncontrolled heating that can lead to fire or explosion. Fire officials in Derby say the so-called laptop challenge can turn deadly. 'Once you cause this thermal runaway to occur, you can't stop it,' said Derby Fire Marshal Jonathan Marr. 'It will continue to get worse until it burns itself out.' The fires also release chemicals that require special equipment for first responders. 10 On Your Side touched base with eight local school systems; Portsmouth and Virginia Beach responded by saying the laptop trend has not visited their schools. Suffolk Public Schools said they've seen several incidents among students in the school division, and it responded with this statement: Important-Notice-to-Families_-TikTok-Challenge-Causing-Chromebook-DamageDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Excellent Educators: Newport News
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — WAVY-TV 10 will celebrate educators all month long! This year, the Newport News Public School Division nominated three Excellent Educators, including Tanesha Koonce, Jessica Reynolds, and Llew Radford. 10 On Your Side's Kiahnna Patterson met up with Mrs. Koonce, the family and consumer sciences teacher and athletic director at Booker T. Washington Middle. Koonce is the 2024-2025 Middle School Teacher of the Year. Newport News Excellent Educator allows students to create a business plan More information on the other two educators can be found below: Jessica Reynolds Jessica Reynolds has 18 years of teaching experience. She fosters two-way communication so that students can hold themselves accountable. She not only holds students to high standards academically, but also to high standards as leaders inside and outside the classroom. An example is her students reading with their peers in the Kindergarten Buddies program. Reynolds has served as a grade-level lead, a cooperating teacher and a teacher mentor, among other duties. Reynolds, the 2024-2025 Newport News Public Schools Division-Wide Teacher of the Year. Reynolds' mother and aunt are teachers. She attended Newport News schools and graduated from Heritage High School. 'For me, it's all about the kids,' Reynolds said in a NNPS News article. 'That's what makes me want to come to school, even with all the other stuff going on. They're my kids. They're my babies.' Learn More about Reynolds here. Llew Radford Radford teaches Algebra I and geometry to ninth and tenth graders and serves as the lead math teacher at Heritage. He has nine years of teaching experience. Radford believes that developing relationships and making connections with students are essential to their growth and achievement. He uses teen culture, music terminology, and fashion – all to advance mathematical understanding and skills to prepare students for success. Radford started his career in human services before becoming an educator. Challenges are something he embraces. Mr. Radford works to explore innovative ways to meet those challenges to prepare students for success. He ensures that his students have transferable life skills to successfully prepare them for the future. Radford is the 2024-2025 Newport News Public Schools High School Teacher of the Year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Newport News Excellent Educator allows students to create a business plan
Newport News, Va. (WAVY) — WAVY-TV 10 is celebrating excellent educators all month long! In Newport News, Tanesha Koonce works to prepare her middle schoolers for life long after grade school. 'Ms. Koonce knew at a young age that she wanted to be a teacher. She takes an active role in cultivating student leadership. During her career, she has worked tirelessly to connect students with entrepreneurship opportunities,' according to school leaders. Mrs. Koonce is the family and consumer sciences teacher at Booker T. Washington Middle School. 'We're preparing them for careers and preparing them to be good contributors to society,' said Koonce. For the past 22 years, Mrs. Koonce has made learning fun by creating classes to review nutrition while cooking, or methods to pay off student loan debt. 'It gives them life skills, and they see the bigger picture. We get them the bigger picture thinking, critical skills and things that are essential for them in their life, along with their education,' said Koonce. The eighth-grade class created business plans. 'They got to choose what type of food truck they wanted to open. We had Caribbean, dessert and Mexican food. They pretty much demo the recipes, like the Food Truck challenge. I just wanted to give them another perspective on if you didn't go to college, you could be an entrepreneur or in entrepreneurship, and how much money you could make,' said Koonce. 'For the project, they had to turn in a business plan. They had to create a menu, price their menu out and create a budget for opening the business. They had to research other businesses. It's a complete business plan. If they wanted to, they could take it to the SBA and get a loan!' It's life lessons like this that earned Koonce the 2024-2025 Newport News Middle School Teacher title. 'It's nice to see students take advantage of the opportunities I offer them,' said Koonce. 'You don't have to learn what's in the curriculum, but if you learn something, I feel like I've done my job perfectly!' Koonce is also the Athletic Director at the middle school. She works to prepare students to make strategic decisions ahead of high school. 'I talk to them about academic scholarships and keeping up with their grades. I also talk to them about other scholarships, opportunities that are available, not just sports scholarships. I do encourage them to participate in extracurricular activities to be well-rounded students, so if they choose college, if they choose other career fields,' said Koonce. Many of her students are taking what they learn in the classroom into their future. 'It's awesome to see them excel every day. A few of them have become entrepreneurs. I have had students start businesses, and they say it's a result of my class, so it's nice to see a lot of them say they went to college because of some of the things I expose them to in my class,' said Koonce. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
