7 Weeks to the finish line!

As I type this we are on break. April break tends to be the best break of the year. In the Fall, when the weather is decent, we have no more than a 3 day weekend to enjoy it. The other breaks during the year have a lot of snow and cold weather associated with them. Even though we do sometimes get snow in April, the break that includes the Patriots' Day Holiday is usually late enough in the month that you get some really warm days and sun! Spring is a great time of year anyway, so when you mix in the optimism of Spring, April really is the best break!

This year break is well timed for me personally. After having surgery on March 7, I returned for one day on April 1st, then 3 days the next week, and 4 days the week before break. This sets me up for what should be a full time return next week and being back to "normal" in general! Other than some issues with scar tissue and my body's "plumbing" adjusting, recovery has gone very well. I 'm optimistic that by summer it will be as if I never had diverticulitis or the surgery.

When I return, half of my students will be preparing for AP exams. Students in AP Psychology and AP US History will be finishing with the content of what is needed and reviewing for these exams. My students already get Dual Enrollment College Credit from Thomas College for these classes, but they could also get credit for doing well on the exam. Once that's over, they have a final project to work on to finish up the year.

(Generic test takers)

Just before break I had a guest speaker in my Ethics class. One of my former students, Ethan Buuck, is a Game Warden and lives in the District. Ethan has come each semester to talk Law Enforcement and ethics around hunting and fishing. Ethan has been featured on the Animal Planet TV Show "North Woods Law". The students really enjoy hearing his stories and his perspective! After break, my friend Sara Casey will be speaking about medical ethics from her perspective as a nurse.

Also before break, my US History class had a guest speaker. Bob Madore is the son of PFC Harvey Madore who was killed in Germany in World War Two. Over the last 6 months I have been researching PFC Madore to tell his story. Bob has worked with me and provided me with pictures and letters. Both of us learned more about what happened to his Dad than either one of us knew before. The students were thrilled to learn about Harvey who grew up nearby in Augusta and gave his life at such a young age. As a result of my research, we discovered that Harvey qualified for the Bronze Star. I gave Bob the information and he applied for this award for his Dad. We were pleased to find the US Government issued the award along with a Purple Heart (which he had already received back in 1945) and two other medals. Bob brought these along to share with the students. Harvey is buried at Epinal American Cemetery in France and I will be visiting his grave this summer. My students will be planning a Memorial Day Assembly to honor PFC Madore and also another local solider buried in Italy, Captain Joseph Berry of Wayne, ME. This Assembly will be the focus of much of our work after break.

(Purple Heart)

(Bronze Star)

(Bob speaking to my students about his Dad)

(Bob Madore)

I am a Junior Advisor this year, so that means the Prom is right around the corner. One of my least favorite activities has actually become more tolerable as change has occurred over the years. Gone are the days of hours of decorating and preparation. Not only was that unreasonable, in my opinion, but it ended up being such a waste as things were thrown out after. Starting with our last Prom four years ago and continuing this year, we have held the Prom at the Governor Hill Mansion in Augusta. Very little decorating is necessary or desired. Having said that, the theme this year is "Star Wars" so I know there will be some decorations related to that.

After the Prom I will be thinking about Model UN. We will take 22 students in grades 9-12 to the Model United Nations Conference at Northeastern University in Boston, MA as we have done each year for the least 12 years. The United Nations Association of Greater Boston sponsors the event. Students are excitedly composing position papers and preparing to represent either Russia, Qatar, or Togo on a variety of topics. It should be a lot of fun, plus Boston in May is always wonderful!

I was finally able to meet with the Maine Council for Social Studies Board for the first time in 3 months in April. I have been participating through email, but nothing can replicate the face-to-face meeting. We are planning the Fall Conference to be held in Augusta at the Civic Center on November 10th. I hope to give a presentation based on the lesson I'm creating related to my research on PFC Madore and Understanding Sacrifice. We also have a top-notch guest speaker who will be familiar to any History teacher and maybe to others? For now, I will keep it a secret!

I am looking forward to the last 7 weeks of the school year and finally feeling good!

Back in the Groove!

Well after being out for a month, I returned to school! About 4 weeks ago I had surgery to remove a 10 inch portion of my colon to try and resolve recurring diverticulitis infections. The surgery went well, and my recovery did as well. I have no pain or discomfort although i still need to avoid lifting very much or bending over too far for another month. But all things considered, I'm pleased and basically healed up!

It was fun to return and have my colleagues and students so happy to see me. My sub was terrific, and everything I heard from students and colleagues confirmed this! It was definitely less stressful for me to have a very sub managing things for me while I was out. I did nothing the first week, but I spent several hours the last 3 weeks grading student work and addressing questions and changes in the plans, and my District credited me some time for this. I was also lucky enough to have two snow days while I was out and so I didn't lose those two sick days.

(Beautiful "get well" plant from my co-workers!)

(Part of a car from my co-workers)

(Part of a car from my co-workers)

(Part of a car from my co-workers)

Also while I was out I continued to work on the "Understanding Sacrifice" program. I made progress in my research on Fallen Hero Harvey Madore and in the development of my lesson plan. May will be a big month for us in this program as we need to have things in place to make the best use of our trip in July. We have received our itinerary for July and I included it below. There is still a long time to go before our trip, but I am already looking forward to it!

Our Itinerary July 9-22 Rome to Brussels...

This project will be introduced to my students this week. Not only will they learn about Harvey Madore, but his son Bob will visit to talk about his father. My students will then plan an Assembly to be timed for Memorial Day in which Madore and another local Fallen Hero, Captain Joseph F. Berry, will be remembered. We will use these stories to learn about World War Two.

Before I went out I had spent some time as part of the Social Studies Community Teacher-Leader Group. This group has come together to promote Social Studies in Maine schools. Unfortunately Social Studies has been pushed to the back-burner amid the STEMification of the curriculum in schools around the state and across the country (Many articles of late have been written on this subject). In an effort to reinvigorate Social Studies education we are putting together workshops around teaching Social Studies. Eighteen teachers from around the state will put on these sessions at a State Social Studies Symposium to be held on June 29th at my school. This week I piloted my session before 12 Elementary School teachers from my district. My wife, who teaches 2nd grade, helped me plan it and even tried it out with her students so we had video of her students learning about the difference between Primary and Secondary sources. It was really interesting to work with my wife for the first time, and I also found it interesting to try and think in the Elementary School world for a while. I appreciated the teachers who were basically my "guinea pigs" and I really look forward to doing it again at the Symposium in June. Due to my family commitments and surgery I have missed the last few meetings of the Maine Council for the Social Studies, but I know this group is one of the sponsors of the Symposium as well. I am anxious for our next meeting and to continue my work with this great group dedicated to Social Studies education!

I teach two different AP classes and those exams are in early May. This means that much attention needs to be paid between now and then to help them prepare for the exams. Luckily they get dual enrollment credit from Thomas College for achieving a "C" in the class, but the exam gives them a chance to earn more college credit. It's a stressful few weeks for them, but it's also a sign that the year is nearing the end!

Two of my Social Studies colleagues were very helpful to me while I was out! Typically I run a Model UN simulation to help students prepare for the annual Conference at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. However, due to the surgery I was unable to do this so my colleagues ran it for me! This gave the students a chance to practice the process and I really appreciate my colleagues helping out! The actual conference is May 13th in Boston.

Two weeks until April vacation and I hope I will be caught up from my absence by the time its over!