Cape May City Elementary
Cape May City Education Association will be sponsoring “Wacky Wednesday” to promote Read Across America 2016. Every Wednesday students are encouraged to participate in themed days. On Wednesday, March 16th, students were encouraged to wear crazy outfits for “Crazy Outfit Day.”
Cape May Tech
The Cape May County Beach Plum Association was recently recognized as the New Jersey County Council of Vocational Technical Schools 2015 Business Partner for the Cape May County Technical School District. Mr. David VanVorst, president, and Mr. Joseph Alvarez, secretary of outreach programs, received the award. VanVorst and Alvarez supported and provided many educational opportunities for the Cape Tech FFA students in the Agriscience and Horticulture Career and Technical Education program of study.
They have been significant contributors of donations which defrayed the costs to send the FFA students to the state and national competitions; and have partnered in beach plum projects to replenish the native beach plum plants, in association with local growers to propagate and develop the beach plum cultivars, which has also afforded instruction and learning enhancement. In addition, there have been invitations to attend meetings, community and social events promoting leadership skills, public speaking, networking, and employment opportunities for the students.
Since 2001, the New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools has recognized an exemplary “business partner” from each of the state’s 21 county vocational-technical school districts for their outstanding commitment to students.
On March 5, six Cape May Tech students volunteered to assist with the placement of an osprey nest along Avalon manor. Project volunteers for NJDEP, Matthew Tribulski and Lanissa Smith, assisted the students and Cape May Tech teacher/advisor Hanna Toft.
The volunteers removed an old, unstable platform and replaced it with a new one. The old platform was cut leaving enough space for the birds to use it as a perch. The new nest was installed 20 yards away on sturdy ground. The team of Cape Tech students and Toft pushed the massive platform up and secured it in to the 5 foot hole they dug in the marsh.
This service-learning project is funded by a grant awarded by CSX through the “Living to Serve” National FFA Environmental Grant foundation that the Cape May Technical High School Natural Sciences Career/Technical Education program of study received for the 2015-2016 school year. The “Operation Osprey” project includes plans to repair osprey nests damaged by Hurricane Sandy and other coastal storms causing yearly wear and tear. The materials for this specific platform were funded through the 2014-2015 grant. Students will begin to build new platforms this spring with the current funds. Toft explained, “The new platforms will be stored and “ready-to-go” when we need to do an emergency or planned replacement of a platform before breeding season.”
The project illustrates the final line of the FFA motto, which is Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve, by encouraging FFA members to unite in service within their communities. The Living to Serve: Environmental Grants take community service one step further to service-learning, which provides a meaningful way to apply leadership and education skills learned in school and FFA. More information about the program can be found at www.FFA.org/envirogrants. As a Natural Science Technology program of study student, seniors may earn up to 3 credits tuition free (applicable to 12 majors) at Paul Smith’s college. For additional information on Cape May Tech, visit www.capemaytech.com.
Ocean City
Ocean City Intermediate School (OCIS) teacher Cholehna Weaver, who was chosen as a J. William Fulbright Scholar last year, has been selected as one of the 2016 Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellows, in recognition of her commitment to geographic education.
In July, Weaver will embark on an 11-day Lindblad voyage aboard National Geographic Explorer to Iceland for a one-of-a-kind field experience, accompanied by expedition experts and other K-12 teachers.
“Cholehna Weaver is an outstanding teacher and has fully committed herself to giving her students the broadest possible world perspective,” said Kathleen Taylor, Ed.D., Superintendent of Ocean City School District. “We at Ocean City could not be prouder of Cholehna and wish her the best of luck on her upcoming trip!”
Before the voyage, Weaver will travel to National Geographic Society’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., to participate in hands-on workshops covering photography and outreach, meet Lindblad Expeditions’ naturalists and network with this years’ and previous years’ Fellows.
Last summer, Weaver was chosen by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, and the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, as one of 16 educators from around the country to spend four weeks in China. Weaver, who has taught at OCIS since 2013, spent her time in China at meetings, discussions and site visits to governmental agencies, media outlets and historic and cultural sites designed to complement lectures and provide an immersive learning experience. Weaver used her global perspective to bring ideas into her Social Studies and Language Arts classes, which was part of the criteria for selection.
“It was amazing and eye-opening. I didn’t know a lot about China before going, so I was interested in learning more about it,” said Weaver after returning from China. “I’m extremely grateful for the support of the Ocean City School District administration.”
Selected educators are traveling on Grosvenor Teacher Fellow trips this summer to Iceland, as well as the Galapagos, Antarctica, British & Irish Isles and more. While on their trips, the Fellows must share the importance of geographic literacy and develop activities to bring back to their classrooms. Photos and biographies of Weaver and the other Fellows are available on the Grosvenor Teacher Fellow website at www.natgeoed.org/gtf.
This year marks the 10th year of the Grosvenor Teacher Fellow Program, established to honor former National Geographic Society Chairman Gilbert M. Grosvenor’s lifetime commitment to geographic education. The program began with two Fellows in 2007 and has grown each year. The expeditions were donated in perpetuity to the National Geographic Society by Sven-Olof Lindblad and Lindblad Expeditions to mark Grosvenor’s 75th birthday in 2006, and to honor his service in enhancing and improving geographic education across the United States.
