At DeSoto County Board of Education meetings, Keith Williams, Van Alexander and Thomas Spencer are associate superintendents wearing shirts and ties. School business comes first.
At Tuesday's new-teacher orientation at Southaven High School, the trio were still dressed for the occasion but the mood turned out to be a lot lighter.
As a unique way to break the ice for the 250-plus employees in the auditorium, Williams, Alexander and Spencer were the chosen participants in a game of Super Jeopardy.
"It was funny," Horn Lake Intermediate physical education teacher Steven Nails said. "They probably should've recorded it and put it on YouTube or something."
Said Center Hill Middle math teacher Kerrie Curbow: "It was a very effective way to teach us the things we need to know, but we were captivated, like we should do in the classroom: Captivate your audience without lecturing."
Williams says the mock game show was the brainchild of Language Arts Specialist Kim Daly. Moderated by "Alexandria Trebek" (Federal Programs Director Lewanda Morse), it taught the educators important facts about district and board policies.
"The crowd seemed to be very receptive of the message," Williams said. "We wanted to be sure that they left here with a foundation as far as professional development.
"I had a wise man once tell me: 'If you're funny, you can tell people anything and they'll listen. If you're not, you're probably not going to be telling them a whole lot of anything.'"
The school system -- the largest in the state of Mississippi -- had more than 2,000 applicants for the positions in the district, according to Assistant Superintendent of Academic Education Jennifer Weeks. Those who were hired, along with returning teachers and staff members, will start Monday on their respective campuses.
"They're very excited. They're very eager," Weeks said. "That's one thing you can always say about new-teacher orientation is that we have to get here early; we have to be set up early, because they're so eager. I think we've got a great-looking group."
Nails and Curbow, both Horn Lake High graduates, sat down to a catered barbecue lunch with Southaven High grad Mary Walker, a math teacher at Lake Cormorant Middle. All three agreed that they were thankful to be a part of the fresh faces in DeSoto County.
"I know I wanted to come back (to teach)," said Walker, "but I knew it was going to be hard -- they weren't passing out jobs for free. I just feel really blessed to be in this district."
At Tuesday's new-teacher orientation at Southaven High School, the trio were still dressed for the occasion but the mood turned out to be a lot lighter.
As a unique way to break the ice for the 250-plus employees in the auditorium, Williams, Alexander and Spencer were the chosen participants in a game of Super Jeopardy.
"It was funny," Horn Lake Intermediate physical education teacher Steven Nails said. "They probably should've recorded it and put it on YouTube or something."
Said Center Hill Middle math teacher Kerrie Curbow: "It was a very effective way to teach us the things we need to know, but we were captivated, like we should do in the classroom: Captivate your audience without lecturing."
Williams says the mock game show was the brainchild of Language Arts Specialist Kim Daly. Moderated by "Alexandria Trebek" (Federal Programs Director Lewanda Morse), it taught the educators important facts about district and board policies.
"The crowd seemed to be very receptive of the message," Williams said. "We wanted to be sure that they left here with a foundation as far as professional development.
"I had a wise man once tell me: 'If you're funny, you can tell people anything and they'll listen. If you're not, you're probably not going to be telling them a whole lot of anything.'"
The school system -- the largest in the state of Mississippi -- had more than 2,000 applicants for the positions in the district, according to Assistant Superintendent of Academic Education Jennifer Weeks. Those who were hired, along with returning teachers and staff members, will start Monday on their respective campuses.
"They're very excited. They're very eager," Weeks said. "That's one thing you can always say about new-teacher orientation is that we have to get here early; we have to be set up early, because they're so eager. I think we've got a great-looking group."
Nails and Curbow, both Horn Lake High graduates, sat down to a catered barbecue lunch with Southaven High grad Mary Walker, a math teacher at Lake Cormorant Middle. All three agreed that they were thankful to be a part of the fresh faces in DeSoto County.
"I know I wanted to come back (to teach)," said Walker, "but I knew it was going to be hard -- they weren't passing out jobs for free. I just feel really blessed to be in this district."
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