- Updated Smoke-Free Signs
- 2019 Kindergarten Conference: Registration Open
- Vermont Regional School Calendars for 2019-2020
- Modern Band 101 Training by Little Kids Rock
- Courtesy Posts
Updated Smoke-Free Signs
Audience: Principals
Vermont Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Control Program and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division have updated smoke-free signage to include alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarette and marijuana products. The Tobacco Prevention and Control Program will be mailing five of the Substance-Free signs to Vermont schools to the attention of the principals listed on the Agency of Education school contact list. For schools not on the list, signs can be ordered on VDH’s website.
Contact: Annie Ward at annie.ward@vermont.gov
2019 Kindergarten Conference: Registration Open
Audience: Curriculum Directors, Principals, Instructional Coaches, and PreK, Kindergarten, First Grade Teachers
The Vermont Agency of Education, the UVM Early Childhood Birth-Grade 3 Program, and the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VTAEYC) invite you to participate in the 27th Annual Kindergarten Conference, Little Hands, Big Work: Sustainable Development Goals in Early Childhood Education. This year’s focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will help early educators and educational leaders to understand how to integrate these goals into everyday work with young children. The conference will take place on Thursday, March 28, 2019 at the Hilton in Burlington, VT. Learn more about workshops and register online. You can learn more about the conference through Facebook.
Contact: Pat Fitzsimmons at Pat.Fitzsimmons@vermont.gov or (802) 479-1425
Vermont Regional School Calendars for 2019-2020
Audience: Superintendents, Principals, Headmasters, Regional Technical Center Directors, Curriculum Coordinators
Vermont statute, 16 V.S.A. §1071 (e), requires that superintendents of schools, regional public school principals, and headmasters meet before April 1, 2019, and by majority vote, establish a uniform calendar within that area for the following school year. The calendar needs to include student attendance days, periods of vacation, holidays, and the requisite five teacher in-service education days. Please send approved regional calendars to Allison Keating at the Agency of Education no later than April 1, 2019.
Contact: Allison Keating at allison.keating@vermont.gov or (802) 479-1855
Modern Band 101 Training by Little Kids Rock
Audience: Music Educators, Educators
Register for Modern Band 101 Training, a free, full-day professional learning opportunity for music educators on March 27, 2019, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Mount Mansfield Union High School in Jericho. Little Kids Rock will provide you with tools and resources to bring student-centered, culturally responsive and inclusive music education to your students. Modern Band workshops are designed to provide you with the skills, curriculum and network to successfully run a Modern Band program. Modern Band is a new, school-based music program that utilizes popular music as its central repertoire. Styles that are studied include Rock, Pop, Reggae, Hip-Hop, Rhythm and Blues, Electronic Production and other contemporary styles as they emerge. This opportunity is brought to you in cooperation with the Vermont Agency of Education and the Vermont Music Educators Association.
Contact: Emily Titterton at emily.titterton@vermont.gov or (802) 479-1378
Courtesy Posts
Work-Based Learning: Providing Safe, Legal and Effective Opportunities for Students, Schools and Businesses
This three-credit Castleton University course is designed to support those pursuing the Work-Based Learning (WBL) Coordinator Endorsement, or those seeking to build their professional WBL practice. In order to develop legal, safe and effective work-based learning programs and experiences, school personnel must understand labor and safety laws and practices, sales and marketing, career development strategies, and effective systems for organizing, monitoring and evaluating student learning opportunities with businesses and community partners. The course provides participants with the knowledge base needed to develop a coherent school work-based learning program. This class will be offered as a combination of in-person and online sessions. The first in-person session will be held at Vermont Technical College in Williston on Saturday, March 2, 2019, from 9 a.m. to noon. The March 23, April 13 and May 4, 2019, in-person sessions will also be held at VTC Williston from 9 a.m. to noon. Course registration is available through Castleton’s Center for Schools.
Contact: Rich Tulikangas at rtulikangas@comcast.net or (802) 734-8170
Applications Now Open: Rosie’s Girls STEM Leadership Camp
Applications are now open for Rosie’s Girls STEM Leadership (overnight) Camp, July 7 to July 12, 2019, at Vermont Technical College, Randolph Center Campus, for rising grade 9 and grade girls. Girls have a chance to explore STEM (science, technology, engineering, math - plus some arts) and skilled trades to help them become strong, powerful and more confident, and to learn about potential career pathways. Camp fees are $350 (includes: all meals, snacks, lodging, all program activities). Many partial scholarships available.
Contact: Fianna Barrows, Camp Director at barrowsfianna@gmail.com or (802) 349-6472
Calling All Vermont High Schoolers with an Interest in Writing
Any enthusiastic Vermont 9th-11th grader is invited to join the Governor's Institutes of Vermont for their best summer yet. Learners will spend one or two weeks completely immersed in a topic they love, all while making new and like-minded friends from across the state. Do you know students who are passionate about writing? Then GIV has two Institutes designed just for them. At the Young Writers Institute, students will choose fiction, non-fiction or poetry and spend a week honing their skills during the day while interacting with distinguished professional authors at night. Arts Institute students will develop their skills and have the opportunity to sing, write, act, compose, work in theater and film and so much more. Students will gain valuable insight into the arts as a career or passion, and leave GIV with a whole new perspective and commitment to their writing and the arts. GIV is dedicated to being accessible for ALL Vermonters, so we have a sliding scale tuition. Applications are open now and close throughout March. Visit www.giv.org to apply or for more information about the Institutes.
Contact: Kelsey Parenteau at info@giv.org or (802) 865-4448
Professional Learning: Cannabis and Mental Health Online Graduate Course
The Center for Health and Learning is offering a 1-graduate credit online course Cannabis and Mental Health: Debunking Myths About Cannabis beginning February 17, 2019. Attendees will learn to teach or provide other services required in a school’s alcohol and drug abuse prevention education program specific to cannabis.
Contact: Catherine Diduk at info@healthandlearning.org or (802) 254-6590
School Leaders as Storytellers - Discovering and Sharing School Stories
Join the Vermont Superintendents Association and Vermont Story Lab for School Leaders as Storytellers. Participants will learn to land all the amazing things happening at your school on the front page -- and in the center of your community's conversation. Good news is happening every day in your schools. This workshop will help you deliver that good news and positive impact to all your spheres of influence and audiences (parents, teachers, students, school board members, community leaders, legislators). This workshop is geared towards superintendents, principals, administrators, lead teachers and aspiring school leaders. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 22, 2019, at VSBIT. The cost is $185 with a light breakfast and lunch included. Spots for this workshop are limited to 48 participants. Register for the workshop online.
Contact: Chelsea Myers at cmyers@vtvsa.org or (802) 225-6709
Advancing School Safety Workshop
Advancing School Safety Workshop with Amanda Nickerson, Ph.D., Director of Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention will be held March 19, 2019, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel in Burlington. Participants will be provided with an overview of creating a safe school climate and the importance of balancing physical and psychological safety. Additionally, they will learn the principles and processes of threat assessments. This workshop will be useful for school psychologists, school and community based mental health professionals and school administrators. Individual and group rates available at www.vasponline.org.
Contact: Shannon Newell at shannon.newell@castleton.edu or (802) 468-1280
Professional development course: Social Cognition 1
Registration is open for Social Cognition 1, a professional development course by the Stern Center for Language and Learning. This course introduces interventions, strategies and supports for improving social understanding and implementing social cognition groups. Participants will develop social cognition assessment plans and explore the biological and theoretical processes behind social understanding. Three graduate credits are optional through St. Michael’s College. Registration due by February 22. Apply for a scholarship towards your tuition.
Contact: SJ White at swhite@sterncenter.org or (802) 878-2332 ext. 320
Candoco Teacher Workshop on the Inclusive Classroom
Continuing with the 2018-19 professional development "Equity & Expression" theme, the Flynn offers educators a unique chance to engage with a mixed ability, cutting edge dance company from the UK during their first visit to the US in over five years. Join Candoco dance company on Wednesday, February 20 from 4 to 6 p.m. and explore, through conversations and hands-on activities, how to embed best practices for inclusion in the classroom, in and through the arts. Plus, educators are invited to see the show free (free show tickets with password "CanDo"; (802) 863-5966 or 153 Main St. Burlington; visit in person for no ticket service fees). Workshop registration fee $20. More info and pre-registration online.
Contact: Lauren Genta at legenta@flynncenter.org or (802) 652-4508
Call for Proposals & Save the Date: Vermont Workforce & Talent Summit May 30
The Vermont Workforce & Talent Summit will provide tools to support talent development, recruitment and retention strategies, which are essential to business growth and require partnerships between employers, educators, training providers and government. The event is hosted in partnership by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, Advance Vermont (formerly 70x2025vt), the Vermont Department of Labor and the Vermont State Workforce Development Board. The Summit will be held Thursday, May 30, 2019, at the Hilton Hotel in Burlington. Proposals for informative and engaging 45-minute seminars are due by Friday, Feb 22, 2019 at 5 p.m. Visit the Vermont Chamber of Commerce website to learn more or submit a proposal.
Contact: Tom Cheney at cheney@vsac.org or Ariel Bertenshaw at abertenshaw@vtchamber.com
Beyond Bullying: Creating a Culture of Respect in Learning Communities
Registration is now open for the 7th Annual Vermont Association Middle Level Education (VAMLE) conference: Beyond Bullying: Creating a Culture of Respect in Learning Communities. The conference, focused on student leadership to prevent bullying, will be held at Champlain College on Wednesday, March 13, 2019. Teams (four students and one educator) from grades 5-8 will participate in a day of informative workshops that will provide various strategies for creating school action plans.The Yoh Theatre Players, a 'spoken word' chorus, from Woodstock Union H.S. will open the conference. SoundCheck, a band of students from nine high schools who are interested in creating music on themes of social justice, will perform at the closing. Register soon as space is limited.
Contact: Sue Gee at director@vamle.org or (802) 522-7180