BHS Drama Club Presents The Crucible (Tonight and Tomorrow Night)

A number of students and staff were fortunate to catch a sneak preview of the BHS Drama Club's production of "The Crucible" yesterday (check out a few clips above).

“The Crucible,” will be presented on Friday, December 4th and Saturday, December 5^th, 2009. The performances will begin at 7:30 pm in the Fogelberg Auditorium of the high school. Tickets will be available at the door and they also may be purchased on-line at BurlingtonTickets.org or by phone at 781-A-Fun-Tic.

Matt Sherman Wins Massachusetts High School Heisman

BHS Senior Matt Sherman, the male recipient of the Wendy's High School Heisman Award for Massachusetts, was the subject of and article in yesterday's Boston Globe North section written by Globe Correspondent Sapna Pathak.

Here is a portion of the article - Matt Sherman’s excellence is not limited to the wrestling mat. He is ranked 11th in his class, and recently was named the male recipient of the state’s annual Heisman Award, which is sponsored by Wendy’s restaurants. (Kristabel Stark of Whitinsville Christian was the state’s female winner.) The award is presented to a student-athlete who embodies the Heisman spirit of hard work, dedication, and an exceptional record on and off the field.

Please go to Goals In Mind, Sherman Set To Hit The Mat to read the entire article.

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World Challenge - A Once In A Lifetime Experience For Students

BHS is in the early stages of creating a World Challenge expedition for interested students. I have had the opportunity to see students at each my two previous schools take part in this unique program. All who have participated have talked about it as a life-altering experience.

Below is some more background on World Challenge (also see the video above):

World Challenge is an educational organization founded in the United Kingdom 22 years ago and within the U.S. 8 years ago. Their leadership and personal development program is aimed at high school students and culminates into a month long expedition to one of 45 developing nations across South and Central America, Africa and Asia. World Challenge has taken more than 60 000 students on expedition and works with over 1200 schools globally. Since the U.S. office opened 8 years ago the organization has steadily been growing to provide high school teachers and students with an experience of a lifetime.

World Challenge values their philosophy of education through experience. Their expeditions offer the experience of a lifetime. Packed with physical challenges, eye-opening cultural exchanges and meaningful service projects in some of the world’s most beautiful countries, these exhilarating 2 to 4 week expeditions are also journeys of self discovery that benefit young people from all backgrounds.

-Steve a teacher from Nantucket High School has done the following expeditions Tanzania 2004, Tanzania 2006, India 2008 and had this to say about the experience:

"This was my third World Challenge trip. I love this program because it brings so much out of the students, and really immerses them so completely into the culture and daily life of the host country. World Challenge trips are the ultimate teaching and learning experience, in the ultimate classroom. They are the most rewarding and inspirational part of my professional life."

Stephen a teacher from Newton North High School (MA) has done expeditions to Tanzania (2006) and Peru (2008) and had this to say:

“Kids grow up so much during their high school years, but it’s truly an amazing experience to watch it happen before your very eyes. I’ve never gained more respect for a group of people than I did for the teenagers turned young adults that I went away with.”

Calling All BHS Alumni Artists - Second Annual Artist Alumni Day January 8th

Calling all BHS Alumni Artists

Friday January 8, 2010 the art department is hosting the second annual Alumni Artist Day.

If you are a graduate of BHS and are currently a working artist or studying art we would love for you to join us for the day.

Please contact Christina Chang for more details at 781-273-7024 or chang@burlington.mec.edu.

Is your classroom mobile phone free?

I read a blog post this morning on cellphones in education. I am glad that we are moving in the right direction here at BHS as far as accepting new tools that can help us engage students.

Here is a brief glimpse of some of the post from Dan Roberts, a teacher in the UK:

"It has also been quite a big talking point in the states recently; basically my response is WAKE UP! I am pleading with school leaders, union representatives, ministers and even some teachers to really open their eyes and see what is really going on in classrooms all over the world. Teachers and students are embracing the use of mobile phones and using them in really innovative ways."

I encourage you to read the entire post Is your classroom mobile phone free? My concern is always about the students at other schools who are ahead of our students in using some of the available technology that is out there. I know we cannot catch up over night, but I do think we should learn from those who are using new technologies in different ways and see what works for us and our students.

BHS Future Teachers of America In Action

The BHS Future Teachers of America Club went to the Burlington Public Library for a story and craft a short time back. Miss Bransfield read books about the fall season to the children who attended and afterwardsthey made headbands, raccoon puppets and bookmarks. The members of the club who helped out were Kerri Gavin and Courtney Hickox (co-presidents), Christyl Skelton and Melanie Hanafin.

An Interesting Conversation (On Twitter) About What Makes A "21st Century Educator"

Every Tuesday night on Twitter there is a discussion called EdChat. During last night's discussion those Twitterers who participated tried to determine what skills, traits, or characteristics were necessary for "21st Century Educators."

Here is a bit from one of the moderators, Steven Anderson, an Instructional Technology teacher from North Carolina:

If I ever become an administrator, in the position to hire teachers or other school faculty my first question to a potential new hire will be for them to demonstrate to me how they collaborate. I want to know how they work with others. Do they have a PLN that they have created? Do they even know what a PLN is? Who will they turn to when they have a question about teaching or subject-matter? Going even further, how will they foster collaboration in their classroom. When I walk by will I see drones in the seats or kids, excitedly learning, talking, working together?

If you wanna move from being a good teacher to a great teacher, its all about collaboration. We need teachers who look beyond themselves and want to work with others, who want to reach out to others. But we also want teachers who are willing to create an environment in their classroom where kids can work together, problem solve, put their heads together, collaborate.

Mr. Anderson's blog is one of the best places to learn about Web 2.0 resources. I encourage you to read more from his post What Is A Great Teacher? Then add your own comments!