By Alana Margeson
With the amount of time, energy, education and pride that teachers and administrators place in our schools, it stands to reason that we welcome opportunities to share our work with others. A recent visit from Commissioner Stephen Bowen allowed for Eastern Aroostook RSU 39 to share and highlight our innovation, enthusiasm and dedication.
By Alana Margeson
As we kick off the new year, I cannot help but be especially reflective, given the profound impact of this year on my personal and professional life. It has been an honor and a privilege to represent my school, community and state as the 2012 Maine Teacher of the Year. Continue reading
Posted in Aroostook County, Featured, Teachers, Teaching & Learning
Mrs. Leslie Marquis and her Biology II class at Wisdom Middle/High School in St. Agatha, ME, after winning the S.W. Cole Engineering contest, “Dig Into Science.” The class won $1,000 to spend on a field trip to the location of their choice.
Jordan Theriault of Caribou Middle School conducted experiments in Challenger’s simulated space lab, applying skills in math and science and discovering how they relate to real-world experiences.
Thanks to the Challenger Learning Center of Maine for sharing this article with the Maine DOE for publication.
Sixth and seventh grade students from Caribou Middle School and Limestone Community School worked together to become astronauts and mission controllers at the Challenger Learning Center of Maine in Bangor on Nov. 15.
Their simulated space science mission took them into orbit to encounter a comet. As they shared the thrill of discovery, students had to effectively communicate, follow directions, solve real-world problems, and work remotely in mission control and space lab simulators.
Individual teams focused on space communication, navigation, medicine, aeronautical engineering, weather, robotics, HazMat, life support, and biology. Continue reading
The Maine DOE nutrition staff has provided training to all local northern Aroostook County directors and some local staff regarding the new meal pattern.
Posted in Aroostook County, Dispatches, Nutrition
Dale Flewelling (left) of the Friends of Aroostook initiative, goes over some of the ears of corn collected by Houlton Elementary students Tabria Flewelling (middle) and Launa Jay last Wednesday.
Photo by Joseph Cyr
Thanks to the Houlton Pioneer Times for sharing the following article, written by staff writer Joseph Cyr.
HOULTON — Sometimes the best lessons are not taught in the classroom.
Such was the case for a group of Houlton Elementary School [students] in Lauren Fitzpatrick’s second-grade class Sept. 20, as the students journeyed to a field in Hodgdon to pick fresh corn for the school.
“(Dale) Flewelling and I have done some gardening projects with the kids in the past,” Fitzpatrick said. “We see a real excitement and ownership in the gardening project when kids have a direct connection. They get excited to put the seeds in the ground and watch them grow.”
Posted in Aroostook County, Elementary School, Featured, Images, Nutrition, Students
Alana Margeson, Maine’s 2012 Teacher of the Year, spent a week in July engaging in hands-on learning at International Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala.
By Alana Margeson
July was a thrilling month as Maine Teacher of the Year—it involved Bill Gates and Space Camp. My head was spinning…in part from the amount of information to be digested from a national conference on educational policy, and in part due to the multi-axis trainer at Space Camp.
The 2012 Education Commission of the States National Forum on Educational Policy was held July 9 to 11 in Atlanta, Ga. All state teachers of the year were invited this year and were generously sponsored by Pearson Foundation to attend. Keynote speakers included Bill Gates, Sandra Day O’Connor, John Merrow and Michael Fullan. Presenters from all over the world offered more than two dozen sessions, from Common Core State Standards and assessments to reinvigorating civic education.
Posted in Aroostook County, Featured, Images, Teachers, Teaching & Learning
Teachers from RSU 12 learn to evaluate teacher effectiveness by using rubrics their district created.
A handful of teachers and administrators from Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), Maine Schools for Excellence (MSFE) districts around the state are undergoing training to use teaching evaluation rubrics to accurately rate instructional effectiveness. During a two-day summer institute, attendees observe videos of educators in the classroom and evaluate the teaching practices based on rubrics the districts built themselves.
The rubrics are anchored in the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Training is conducted in part by Teachscape and will continue over the course of the grant.
By Alana Margeson
As an only child growing up surrounded by potato fields in beautiful Aroostook County, I dreamed of visiting faraway places. My mother subscribed to National Geographic, and PBS was one of the three channels that came in without adjusting the rabbit ears too much. These two resources fueled my imagination.
Posted in Aroostook County, Featured, Teachers
Cory Adams of Fort Fairfield Middle/High School had to decide which part of the lobster is most important for its protection–just one scientific question he answered during an afternoon spent at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
PORTLAND – As part of Commissioner Stephen Bowen’s school tour, he visited Fort Fairfield Elementary School students during their trip to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland last week.
Each year, GMRI’s LabVenture! program presents fifth and sixth graders with a new marine biology-related question that scientists need help answering.
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