Middle School Project-Based Learning & The Greenway Institute - Guest Post by EMS Instructional Coach, Brent Truchon

EMS Teacher, Mark Nigolian, in partnership with Rebecca Holcombe and Rashad Brown-Mitchell from the Greenway Institute, provided an unforgettable project based learning experience to ten of our 6th grade MLL students this month. The project was a modification of a high school challenge that asked students to use sustainable energy (solar power) to address a clean water issue somewhere in the world.

Mr. Nigolian’s students did a modified version of this, choosing countries with communities that lack clean water. They chose to focus on communities in Pakistan, Nepal, The Republic of Congo and Kenya.  The students researched communities and designed homes in the spirit of those communities that people might live in. 

Students shared their sketch designs with Mr. Schoembs, the Design Tech educator, who laser cut the designs  on the C&C machine. With those deconstructed pieces , they then spent constructing their homes and villages for the learning activity.  From there, Rashad and Ms.
Holcolmbe visited EMS with solar panels, pumps, LED lights, and switches. They shared lessons and activities that allowed students to experiment with and learn about renewable energy, electricity, circuits, and solar panels. 

After that introduction,  the students engaged in a problem solving activity that required them to use solar power to power their homes, light and cool their dwelling, and access clean water from their lake using a pump.

The day-long activity was one that these students will never forget- and had several asking what the next step might be to become an engineer.  Thank you Mr. Mark, Rashad and Ms. Holcombe for providing such a rich learning opportunity for our students. To learn more about the project, click on the video below.

Middle School Project-Based Learning - Guest Post by Instructional Coach, Brent Truchon

Eric Schoembs facilitates student engagement by providing hands-on, project based learning opportunities every single day.  Always willing to share, his workspace, resources, and to collaborate, Eric also deeply understands the value of the design process.  In his classes, students imagine, design, create, re-design, and construct  to create their final products. 

Two years ago, Eric and 10 students designed and built a 2 family modular storage shed for Habitat for Humanity of Middlebury, Vermont. This year, he
and his students have again partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build a shed for two families in Shelburne, Vermont. 

The 10 students have gone through the design process and are now constructing this structure outside the EMS gymnasium.  If all goes according to plan, the shed will be completed by June 5th, put on a flatbed truck, and brought to Shelburne for use by two families. 

Student excitement and engagement around this project has been so evident.  The kids have become a team- they've created goals, worked on soft skills, and are extremely motivated to complete their collective goal of supporting a family in their community.  Thank you Eric for once again creating a lasting memory for each of these students.

Local Summer Professional Learning Opportunities

 Vermont Folk Life Center:

• We're accepting registration for our Teaching with Primary Sources: Vermont Farming and Foodways (in-person in St. Albans, VT) - July 21 and 22, 2022. We are excited to offer this professional development course for free for up to 30 educators. It is also a funded opportunity for 10 educators, who will be provided an honorarium to review the resources of this pilot project, which will be available through the Library of Congress educators' platform. We would love to have representation from educators across the state. 
  
  
• We are also offering two courses, Documenting Everyday Life (in-person in Brattleboro, VT), July 6 and 7, and Community Driven Media Making (Online only), July 25 - Aug 4. We have revised our long-standing Summer Institute programming in condensed and hybrid formats to adapt to the new realities of educators. Participants will have the opportunity to learn and try out oral history techniques and interviewing skills in ways that are accessible, culturally relevant and fun.
  
  

Vermont High Education Collaborative

• Transforming Trauma
• Foundations in Experiential Learning for Secondary Students
• Advanced Childhood Development

First-Ever PLP Presentations at BHS - Guest Post by Kim Fankhauser & Jory Hearst

April 5 and 6, the senior class at BHS presented their Personalized Learning Plans (PLPs). These presentations have been a long time coming. The intention has been to have seniors present their PLP before graduation to a small panel of faculty and peers, as a moment to pause and reflect on their growth over their four years of high school before walking across the stage to accept their diplomas.  While 2018-19 was the first senior class to complete PLPs as part of a new state graduation requirement, due to the pandemic, this year’s senior class was the first to actually present in-person.

For seniors, this was both an exciting and nerve-wracking experience. At BHS, we’ve been talking aboutPLPs and preparing for years, without a culminating event until now. For faculty, these presentations were surprisingly powerful and moving. They made the PLPs come alive. Teachers reported that it was wonderful to learn more about their students.

From the nervousness of preparing for PLPs, to setting things up, having to assign teachers to each student, a lot of time and effort went into the day of the presentations. Most students showed up early, looking professional, and were ready to present. Seniors shared how they grew during their time at BHS, their biggest learning from high school, and most talked about how the pandemic impacted their life and education. For many students, they shared that their PLPs had felt like a chore, something they had to do to get to graduation. As they prepared to present, however, the PLP became a living document that showcased all they had accomplished in high school. Many students even saved pages they’d written as a 9th grader, and delighted at reading the words of their freshman self. For many, the presentations became the much-needed moment to pause and reflect on all these last four years have carried.

For teachers, they not only learned more about their own students, but also about other learning opportunities at BHS. Many reported that hearing students reflect on their time in high school gave teachers a greater understanding of the value of PLPs.

Reflecting on the Deeper Learning Convening - Guest Post by BHS Principal, Lauren McBride

I am writing this from 40,000 feet in the air as I head back home to Vermont. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend time in British Columbia visiting the Abbotsford School District this week. I have learned a lot from them, and have felt humbled by our experiences. 

Abbotsford is located just outside of Vancouver and is considered part of the traditional and unceded territory of the Stó:lō people, the Semá:th First Nation and Mathxwí First Nation. It was an honor to be visiting their land. Over the course of the week we began each day celebrating the people whose land we were visiting and heard stories from different elders within the community. What struck me was the importance and prevalence of storytelling and being connected to the land of which we were visiting.  Each morning we began our sessions in the Longhouse (featured below). During this time, at the opposite end of the Longhouse a group of people were working on creating two “House Posts' that celebrated two people who were influential in bringing indigenous curriculum and art to Abbotsford School District. Watching this group carve the House Posts from Cedar was remarkable - and as artist Raphael told us, laughing…. These House Posts feature his mother and father- who will stand together outside of the District Offices once complete…. He laughed as he told me the irony that they are divorced so being next to one another is an odd thing so he decided to make younger versions of them to reflect the time that they liked each other. ;)

This community emphasized the importance of cultivating the body, spirit and mind. They stated that if one of these things is not intact, that it makes it hard for students and adults to be fully present and that we all need to be more in tune and taking time to nourish our bodies, minds and spirits. This, and the power of stories has really stuck with me as I head back to VT. The communities of the Stó:lō people, the Semá:th First Nation and Mathxwí First Nation have deep roots, and yet are only recently allowed to bring their history back into the schools. Students reflected on the importance and value of being seen and teachers spoke about the need to really want to support and ensure they knew these stories as they work to enhance their curriculum to reflect these communities. This made me think a lot about Burlington. We are a community rich with untapped stories- some of us and our students are connected to this land and others may feel like visitors. How can we continue to hear and share our stories in a way that provides meaning? Additionally, how can we support not only our students, but ourselves in nourishing our own bodies, minds and souls- specifically at a time where we feel depleted. I know these are big questions. Know that these are on my mind as we try to support you and our students towards the end of the school year.