- Regional Licensing Training
- School Safety Facilitated Dialogue
- GirlsGoCyberStrat
- Growing Works of Art Contents
- Courtesy Postings
Regional Licensing Training
Audience: Superintendents and Superintendent Designees for Licensing
Back by popular demand, the Educator Quality Division will be offering regional licensing training sessions for Superintendents and their designees. Northeast and Winooski Valley SU/SDs on March 16, 2018 at Lake Morey; Champlain Valley SU/SDs on March 22, 2018 in Burlington; and Southeast and& Southwest SU/SDs on April 6, 2018 in Rutland. Email invitations and registration information will be sent the week of February 5, 2018.
Contact: Amy Scalabrini, Educator Quality, (802) 479-1052 or amy.scalabrini@vermont.gov
School Safety Facilitated Dialogue
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, School Crisis Planning Team Members
This week's Facilitated Dialogue "Bomb Threat 2018" will test and evaluate the policies and procedures your school has in place to respond to a bomb threat. This school safety training is designed to stimulate a conversation about your school’s response capacity to a specific hazard or threat.
Contact: Rob Evans, School Safety Liaison Officer, at revans@margolishealy.com
Vermont is Participating in GirlsGoCyberStart
Audience: Teachers, Club Coordinators, IT Professionals, Principals
GirlsGoCyberStart is a forward-thinking skills program designed to supply specialist cybersecurity education to high school girls across the U.S. Using a suite of online challenges, tools, and games that aim to inspire the next generation of cybersecurity professionals while identifying the best and most talented young girls in America. No prior experience with IT or security is needed. Prizes for the top girls will be awarded and cash awards for schools with the most participants. Registration is open from January 29, 2018 to February 16, 2018. The game will be played February 20-25, 2018. Learn more and register for GirlsGoCyberStart.
Contact: Jessica Stolz at jessica.stolz@vermont.gov
Growing Works of Art Contest
Audience: Vermont Students in Grades 1-8
The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation is celebrating Arbor Day, a day to plant, nurture and appreciate trees and the difference they make in our lives. To help spread the word about Arbor Day, we are inviting students to actively participate in the celebration by creating a piece of tree art. This year, the Growing Works of Art contest theme is Share a Tree Story: How a tree has helped you GROW. Celebrate the connections we share with trees by helping your students create a work of art that showcases fond memories enjoyed because of the trees in our lives. Students will write a short story (1-3 paragraphs) capturing their fond memory of their chosen tree, and create art illustrating the beauty of their favorite tree. Eight students (one per grade) will have their artwork professionally printed and developed into a poster that will be distributed to schools across Vermont. Winning entries will be featured online, and receive: A Vermont State Parks punch pass ($30 value), plus, be featured on WCAX’s “Across the Fence” television show. Submission deadline is March 16, 2018.
Contact: Rebecca Roy at rebecca.roy@vermont.gov
Courtesy Postings
The views, opinions, and resources shared in this section of the WFM are solely those of the original contributors. The Agency of Education does not endorse the views expressed by these contributors and reserves the right to refuse submissions. Questions related to any of these resources should be directed to the organizations, people, and opportunities as shared.
VSAC Scholarship Deadline Approaching
Vermont Student Assistance Corp. is reminding high school seniors that the final deadline to apply for any of 126 scholarships administered by VSAC worth $5.7 million is February 16, 2018. Scholarships - like grants - are financial aid that doesn't need to be paid back. Scholarships are offered by many different groups, organizations, and even individuals. They are offered for all kinds of achievements - and to all kinds of students. And they're usually competitive, with eligible applicants competing for a limited number of awards. To access the VSAC scholarship booklet for the 2018-19 school year, download a PDF version, order a fee print version by mail, or request a copy from your high school guidance counselor. Visit VSAC's scholarship page.
Contact: VSAC at (888)253-4819 or scholarships@vsac.org
Guiding Learners to Grow and Show Proficiency in Foreign Language
Join us as we welcome Paul Sandrock from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign language (ACTFL) to the Vermont Foreign Language Association (VFLA) Spring Conference, March 15, 2018 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at St. Michael’s University. The revised National Council of State Supervisors for Language (NCSSFL) ACTFL Can-Do Statements provide a roadmap for educators and learners to target essential communication strategies for effective language learning. Paul will focus on the interpersonal and presentational modes through the lens of culture standards. Learn more and register for Guiding Learners to Grow and Show Proficiency in Foreign Language.
Contact: Allison Litten at allison.litten@marioncross.org
Mosaic Student Summit Facilitator's Training
Do you work with a team to support a student with developmental disabilities? Are you looking for a strengths-based approach to student program and goal planning? Do you find yourself wondering what possibilities might lie ahead for the child/student with developmental disabilities and complex needs? Are you stuck in a rut when it comes to goal planning and development-looking for new and exciting ideas for program planning? Are you looking for a way to unite your team around the unique strengths of a particular student? Are you wishing you could build more momentum and better relationships with the team?
You might want to consider holding a Mosaic Student Summit. The next Facilitator Certification Training is being held on February 1, 2018 at the Central Vermont Career Center in Barre. Register for the Mosaic Student Summit Facilitator's Training.
Contact: Michelle Irish at michelle@mosaiclearningcenter.com
Vermont MTSS/BEST Summer Institute
Save the date for the VT MTSS/BEST Summer Institute being held June 25-28, 2018 at the Killington Grand Hotel! Registration materials will be posted online March 1, 2018.
Contact: Sherry Schoenberg at sherry.schoenberg@uvm.edu
International Restorative Justice Conference
This conference, "Global Unity and Healing: Building Communities with a Restorative Approach," will be held June 28-30, 2018 at the Dudley H. Davis Conference Center in Burlington, VT. Globally our most pressing challenges reveal in poignant fashion our interconnection and interdependence. Our lives are shaped by relationships at many levels: interpersonal, in community and with the environment. A restorative approach holds significant promise to meet the global need for healing and transformation in these fundamental relations on the earth, in communities, and with one another and the ways in which they are intertwined. This conference will bring together researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners to share the difference a restorative approach makes and consider its potential to reveal and address the complex and relational nature of some of our greatest problems and challenges. Come be a part of this important learning opportunity including a rich blend of hands-on learning through workshops, panels, presentations and keynote addresses. Learn more and register for the International Restorative Justice Conference.
Contact: Stephanie Clark at sclark@vermontlaw.edu
Assessing the Next Generation Science Standards: A One-Day Workshop
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) call for teachers to design and administer assessments that allow students to demonstrate three-dimensional learning. In this workshop, educators will explore the hallmarks of high-quality assessments aligned to the NGSS, and analyze and explore resources and examples of classroom and state assessments aligned to the NGSS. This workshop will be facilitated by Liz Mirra and held at the Hampton Inn Event Center in Colchester, VT. Learn more and register for Assessing the NGSS.
Contact: The Champlain Valley Educator Development Center, at info@cvedcvt.org
Writing Proficiency and Strong Curriculum: New Benchmarks for Informative Writing
Back by popular request – in case you missed the fall 2017 roll-out - the Vermont Writing Collaborative is delighted to announce a second opportunity to work with new K-12 benchmarks for informative writing which will be hosted on March 12 and 13, 2018 at Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, VT. All of these pieces come from classroom curriculum and are rooted in the Writing for Understanding, common sense recognition that students need a solid understanding of both content and structure/craft if they are going to be able to write proficiently. To give help to students on their journey to proficient writing, teachers themselves need to have a good sense of what “proficiency” looks like, at every grade level (and what it does not look like) – within strong curriculum content. This two-day workshop will give educators an opportunity to dive into brand new curriculum-based, annotated benchmarks, K-12, for informative writing. Learn more and register with the Vermont Writing Collaborative.
Encourage Vermont Youth To Be Recognized for Their Work in Emergency Preparedness
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be opening up nominations nationwide for youth from grades 8 to 12 to join the National Youth Preparedness Council. Nominations will be open for six weeks starting in late January, early February. If you know of youth involved in emergency preparedness work, who are part of Teen CERT, Medical Response Corps, or volunteer locally to help people with local emergencies, please let them know about this upcoming opportunity. New England’s current youth council representative is from Connecticut and currently is serving her second term on this national council. Learn more about the National Youth Preparedness Council.
Contact: Sara Varela, Regional Preparedness Liaison, FEMA Region 1, at (703)713-8819 or sara.varela@icf.com
Flynn Center Community Play Reading Series: The Elephant Man
On Monday, January 29, 2018 from 7-9 p.m., composer and musician Randal Pierce leads participant through an improvised soundscape and exploration of "The Elephant Man" by Bernard Pomerance. Connected to Claire Cunningham & Jess Curtis' The Way You Look (At Me) Tonight performance on February 3, 2018, this play provides an opportunity to further engage in conversations around disability in performance, physicality shaping perception, and the resiliency of the human spirit. Series is free and open to all. Reserve your spot online for the Flynn Center Community Play Reading Series.
Contact: Sarah Caliendo, Flynn Arts Manager, at scaliendo@flynncenter.org