So what do teachers do on professional development days?

Friday, March 15th, was our annual spring professional development day. Students had the day off - a little long weekend treat. Sometimes they will ask me what do their teachers actually do on these days. The simple answer is that they become learners themselves and that was the case in a new format known as Edcamp.

Edcamp is a model for professional learning that has swept across the country over the past two years. When we learned of this model, we thought we would give it a try and named it to fit the occasion:

This model allows teachers to design their own professional learning, which began with a shared document, where they could suggest sessions. In all, 48 different sessions were suggested and offered, most facilitated by our own staff, with just a few using outside facilitators. These sessions were offered in three 1 1/2 hour time blocks and teachers had the flexibility to choose to attend the sessions that they felt would be most helpful to them. Sessions ranged from better using technology in the classroom, to strategies to increase student engagement, to how to best implement our new curriculum and assess student learning. The other unique feature of this model is that the teachers in the sessions were active participants in the learning. Traditional professional development often involves sitting and listening to someone present an idea without much opportunity to interact. Edcamp B-town allowed our teachers to share the wealth of knowledge that lives within our district with each other:

Teachers learn how to use Pinterest as a tool for learning.

Elementary teachers discuss how to engage students using centers in the classroom.

Teachers explore technology tools to enhance instruction.

All in all it was a wonderful day and our thanks go to our foodservice department for providing lunch and CSSR, CHCS, JBMS PTOs, and an anonymous donor for sponsoring the cost of the lunch so teachers could network with each other! Teachers also commented on how much they learned and how valuable it was to be able to share with colleagues. Looks like an Ecamp B-town II will be in our future!

As always, if you have any questions regarding this post, please feel free to call me at 413.323.0423 or email me at superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools

March Activities in Full Swing!

Million Minutes of Reading Update

We are over 2/3 of the way to our townwide goal of reading for a million minutes with a total of 640,881 minutes logged in thus far. Our goal is to reach a million minutes this spring. Thanks to all of our readers - both in school and out - for continuing to move us forward! If you would like to make your minutes count, download one of the reading log forms on our web site in the District Announcements area on the right-hand side, complete it, and return it to one of our schools, Clapp Memorial Library, or the Superintendent's Office so we can add your minutes to our tally!

Music In Our Schools Month

March is Music in Our Schools Month and it got off to a great start on Wednesday, March 6th at Chestnut Hill Community School. Our sixth grade band and chorus students presented their annual concert to a full house in the CHCS auditorium. The students did a fantastic job, led by Mr. Jason Mosall, Band Director, and Mr. Josh Guerraz, Choral Director! 

Sixth grade band performs under the direction of Mr. Mosall.

Sixth grade chorus performs under the direction of Mr. Guerraz.

The BHS music department will be performing their annual spring concert on March 21st at 7 pm in the auditorium and JBMS musicians will perform on March 27th at 7 pm in the BHS auditorium.  The BHS marching band will be making its annual appearance in the Holyoke St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday, March 17th. Belchertown is blessed with a wonderful music department, so plan to come on out and support out student musicians!

If you are a theater buff, you are in for a special treat this weekend as the BHS Drama Club performs "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." Performances will be held on Thursday, March 14 - Saturday, March 16, all at 7 pm in the BHS auditorium.

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this blog post, please call me at 413.323.0423 or email me at superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools

Teachers of Excellence

Belchertown Teachers of Excellence

Each year, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation sponsors a Pioneer Valley Teachers of Excellence awards program. In order to receive this honor, teachers must first be nominated, then selected by their School Council. Those teachers who are selected by their School Councils are recognized as Belchertown Teachers of Excellence.

I am pleased to announce the Belchertown Teachers of Excellence for the 2012-2013 school year: Mr. Brendan McCarthy, Kindergarten Teacher at Cold Spring School; Mr. Ryan Butler, Music Teacher at Swift River Elementary School; Mr. Karl Quist, Physical Education Teacher at Swift River Elementary School; Ms. Stephanie Davies, 7th Grade Mathematics Teacher at Jabish Brook Middle School; Ms. Christine Holesovsky, Spanish Teacher at Belchertown High School; and Ms. Louise Levy, Science Teacher at Belchertown High School. These teachers will be recognized at the March 26, 2013 School Committee meeting!

Pioneer Valley Teachers of Excellence

The Grinspoon Foundation allows us to select three teachers from our local nominees to be recognized as Pioneer Valley Teachers of Excellence Award (PVTEA) winners. One teacher can be within his or her first 3 years of employment at the district and the other two can be selected from any of the nominees. Once I receive the nominees' names, I interview each one individually before making a decision to select them to represent the Belchertown Public Schools. This is always a very difficult decision for me. I am pleased to announce that this year's PVTEA award winners are Mr. Brendan McCarthy as a first-year teacher in our district, Ms. Stephanie Davies, and Ms. Christine Holesovsky. In addition to being recognized by our School Committee, these three outstanding teachers will be part of an evening honoring all awardees from across Hampshire County at the Log Cabin in Holyoke on Thursday, April 25th. Congratulations to our PVTEA winners for the 2012-2013 school year!

School Committee to meet on March 5, 2013

The School Committee will meet on March 5, 2013 at 7:30 pm. Please note the later start time for the meeting, as there is another meeting just prior to it. Click here to see a copy of the agenda. The main focus of the evening will be the presentation of a proposed FY 2014 budget by the Senior Leadership Team.

As always, I'm glad to answer any questions or hear your thoughts about this blog post. Feel free to call me at 413.323.0423 or email me at superintendent@belchertown.org.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools