School News

Teacher Interview with Mrs. Ball

~Augustine B.

Interviewer: Can you please give me a general introduction of yourself?

Mrs. Ball: My name is Mrs. Ball, I am a Civics teacher at VAVA.  I have worked with VAVA for almost 5 years now, and have been teaching for nearly 20 years.

Interviewer: What was your favorite subject when you were in school?

Mrs. Ball: History was always my favorite subject in school.  I loved learning about women's history in particular.  

Interviewer: What's the funniest thing that's ever happened in your classroom?

Mrs. Ball: We used to do a lot of April Fool's jokes in my class.  One year another class pranked my class when we left our classroom to go to the computer lab.  They covered our classroom in post it notes while we were gone and when we got back we were all cracking up at the sight of little yellow paper everywhere.  We tried to prank them back with other office supplies, but it was hard to top that!

Interviewer: What's your favorite part of being a teacher?

Mrs. Ball: I love helping students learn and be successful in the classroom.  The students I work with really inspire me to continue to learn with all the great questions they ask.    I especially love teaching at VAVA and working with students across the state.  I think it is so cool we can all come together and learn in the same space even though we don't live next to one another. 

Interviewer: And finally, If you didn't teach Civics and Economics what would you teach? 

Mrs. Ball: I would love to teach any type of history class.

Calming SOL Strategies

~Elbie T.

Note - Republished from May 2025

SOLs are coming up, and sometimes us students get nervous. Here are some calming strategies to try this May -

Prepare and practice ahead of time

You can build your confidence by studying for the test ahead of time. It can also remind you of facts you may have forgotten.

Get a good night’s sleep and a good breakfast

Aim for 8-9 hours of sleep the night before the test. Being well rested can help you relax and focus better. A breakfast that is filling will prevent you from being hungry and distracted during the test as well.

Breathe

Breathing can help you relax before and during testing. Here is a breathing method you can use: Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and exhale for 4 seconds. You can do this for however long you need to get relaxed.

Positive self-talk

Don’t tell yourself “I’m going to fail." Believe in yourself ! Remind yourself that you've got this.

Don’t rush !

Don’t try to rush the test. Take as much time as you need to get the right answers. If you get stuck on a tough question, breathe and take a short break from it. You can come back once you're ready.