Rotary presentation

I will be speaking at the Rotary Club of Bellows Falls at their weekly meeting on Thurs., Jan. 6th. I was honored to be asked to speak at their meeting and am looking forward to speak to them about my views on education and teaching, as well as my experiences throughout the past year as Teacher of the Year.

Cheers!

Happy Holidays

As we finish up the last few days of school before the Christmas break, I want to thank each and every one of you for such an incredible 2010. It has been such an honor to represent all of the great teachers throughout Vermont as the 2010 Vermont Teacher of the Year. I have been so impressed and awed by the teachers across the state that I have been able to meet. The passion and determination that you bring to the classroom on a daily basis is inspiring! Thank you for an amazing year!

Happy holidays and a happy new year to all of you!

Cheers,
Craig

BFUHS Cafeteria on Across the Fence

On Tues. Nov. 9th, Bellows Falls Union High School will be featured at noon on the WCAX television show "Across the Fence."

The episode, called "Locally Grown: Understanding Local Foods," will feature BFUHS’s food services provider Cafe Services, which partnered with the Windham Farm and Food Network this past summer to bring students farm-fresh food.

The Windham Farm and Food Network is a not-for-profit, farmer-owned, University of Vermont Extension-supported produce delivery service for wholesale buyers in the Windham County area.

It piggybacks produce from several local farms onto Westminster Organics’ local delivery truck, picking up and delivering en route, resulting in low-cost, fresh local products.

Check out the video on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj03pGQ_RL8

Thanks to John Ayer, the our food service director, for doing such an amazing job of offering local food to our students!
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Upcoming Presentations

I will be doing two upcoming presentations at Social Studies conferences:

-On Nov. 11-14th, I will be at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) annual conference in Denver. I will be presenting on topic of "Dissent and Opposition in Eastern and Central Europe (1945-1991)" at the International Assembly. I'm excited about this opportunity to meet other Soc. St. teachers from throughout the country and hopefully will learn a number of new strategies from the presenters.

-On Dec. 3rd, I will at the Vermont Association of the Social Studies (VASS) annual conference in Manchester, VT. I will be presenting on the topic of "Using the Smithsonian's Online Resources in Your Classroom." This presentation is part of my being honored as a Smithsonian Teacher Ambassador while I was in Washington, DC in April. I am excited to see so many of the great Soc. St. teachers from across the state and hear all of the wonderful things they are doing in their classrooms.

Cheers!

The Commons article

The Commons, an independent newspaper in Windham County in southern Vermont, published excerpts from the four student winners from Bellows Falls Union High School's Literary Kick Off Student Essay Competition.

The four winning students were: Jonah Bolotin, Tori Bissell, Rachel Greenberg, and Hayden Noyes.

Each student wrote about how Loung Ung's First They Killed My Father impacted them as students in Vermont and why it is important to read Loung's story.

The students were rewarded with a signed copy of Loung Ung's second book, Lucky Child, and got to have dinner with Loung Ung.

Congratulations Jonah, Tori, Rachel, and Hayden!

Read The Commons article here.

UVM Outstanding Teacher Day

Congratulations to all of all of the Vermont teachers who were honored this afternoon at the UVM Outstanding Teacher Day. The University of Vermont hosts this event annually in celebration of all the Teachers of the Year from each district throughout the state. Held in the beautiful Ira Allen Chapel on UVM's campus, the ceremony was a wonderful celebration of teachers, chaired by Dr. Faynese Miller, Dean, College of Education and Social Services and State Board of Education Chair.

Sen. Bernie Sanders was on hand to offer up his congratulations to all of the deserving teachers who were being recognized, as well as to highlight what a great job Vermont teachers are doing nationally with their students.

I had the honor of being the keynote speaker at this great event, and it was inspiring to be able to meet and speak with so many of Vermont's finest educators.

What a great event. Thank you to the University of Vermont, and congratulations to all of the 2010 Outstanding Teachers who were recognized today for all of their hard work and devotion to teaching.

Smithsonian's SHOUT! project

I took part in an online brainstorming session for teachers this afternoon for Smithsonian Education's new SHOUT! project. Shout invites educators and students to take an active role in global environmental issues. In the field and online, teachers and students can interact with experts, share ideas, and collaborate with people around the world committed to solving environmental challenges.

Shout is a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, Microsoft Partners in Learning, and Taking It Global.

This is an exciting opportunity for not only science-based classes, but also for any teachers looking to add a science component to their cross-curricular units, and it offers up great project-based connections.

Check out the website to find out more about the new Shout project.