oft scores again!
TRANSCRIPT
OverseasTeacherJune.pub6
Special points of interest:
Educators learn the prop- er use of formative and summative assessment
Educators learned how to
help students understand data
Use of Student Grades
Continued on page 2
OFT Scores Again! Data Course Great Success
The evidence is there. Professional development is ab- solutely necessary and one important need expressed by our educators is how to use data properly to help our students learn and help teachers change their practices to meet those needs.
OFT came to the rescue to meet this important need. To meet that goal, the course was designed to help educators be-
come data literate and not just how to analyze numbers. OFT leaders from throughout the Mediterranean District met in
Tirrenia, Italy, to participate in an intensive three-day data course of- fered by the American Federation of Teachers, OFT's parent organization and education leader. Educators learned the proper use of formative and summative assessments which included the use of conceptual formative data and not just statistics. In fact, it was not until the third day of the course that numbers or statistics were introduced. In- stead, educators learned how to help their own students understand da- ta, both their own and other students'. Clearly this will help our stu- dents acquire the skills needed in the 21st cen- tury skills. Another very important concept learned was how not to "shut down" learning when using data, but ra- ther how use it to help students understand their own learning while helping teachers on how to change instructional practic- es based on accurate and appropriate assessments. The appropriate use of feedback was significant in contributing to moving learning forward. There was a lively discussion on the use of grades and how the grade in and of itself serves little in terms of student learning and indicates "the end",
Dr. Colleen Callahan, AFT Data Course Instructor, was very passionate in her discussion about formative and summative assessment with Linda Hogan, OFT European Director; Margie Lally, OFT Vice President and Virginia Parkinson, Rota Elementary LUR.
Dr. Marie Sainz-Funaro
Page 2
Student Assessment
Lessons.
There is much work to be done and OFT is calling on DoDEA to work in partnership with OFT and AFT to
“get it right”!
a clear "shutdown". No matter how many times students are told they can improve their grade, a grade indicates "finality" rather than being open -ended moving toward continuous learning. It is interesting to note that there are many who claim to be educational leaders and insist that "a grade a week" must be given. That flies right in the face of research and the use of assess- ment. Instead the idea of a grade a week is nothing more than “policing” and has nothing to do with helping our students learn. Comments by participants included "best course I've ever had", "wish everyone could take this course", "we need admin here". At the OFT Convention, the delegates who also par- ticipated in the course, unanimously passed a resolution asking OFT leadership to take action to convince DoDEA that data must be used properly throughout DODEA. Further, there is a need for DoDEA to take a careful look at which assessments are being used and to what purpose.
Buddy Leavitt LUR at Vicenza
Elementary works diligently
on Objective Level Analysis
Susan Morris, LUR Bahrain Elementary and Linda Hogan, OFT European Director analyze data by answering questions about what they see in the data.
Dr. Marie Sainz-Funaro, OFT President and Serra Coruh, OFT Secretary compare formative and summative assessment.
Vicenza MS LUR, Lorri Vallone and Executive Committee member, Eileen Kless analyze data.
Page 3 Membership Awards, Resolutions, Budget
OFT Convention, May 2013 by Tina Lake, Editor
OFT Brings Down the House
Rebecca Burk and Susan Morris, LURs in Bahrain, work on drafting resolutions at the convention. Resolutions will be
published in the “Back to School” Overseas Teacher.
OFT participants continued their training after the hotel meeting room ceiling fell down, leaving cinderblocks and debris atop our training materials. Luckily, no one was injured and the group moved to another room to finish the data course and were ready for the start of the OFT Convention. Marie Sainz- Funaro officially welcomed the delegates and opened the convention on Saturday, May 18, 2013. Delegates begain by approving the 2012 Spring Convention minutes. Reports from Marie Sainz- Furnaro, President/Executive Director, Linda Hogan, European Director, Tina Lake, Overseas Teacher Editor, and Colette Grillo, OFT Treasurer are noted below:
Marie Sainz-Funaro discussed the furlough and how AFT has been very supportive by talking with members of congress to minimize the impact on DoD teachers, students, and the military community.
Linda Hogan discussed issues that surround RAT and will sent out updates once she receives final answers to question and concerns.
Tina Lake announced that the Overseas Teacher publications were going well and that she will be working on a “Back to School” edition of the Overseas Teacher.
Collette Grillo informed the group with good news that OFT has done a good job managing fianances for the year and reported no big changes in the budget for next year.
The delegate group was delighted that Dr. Nancy Bresell, Director of DoDDS Europe, was able to attend the convention as OFT’s guest speaker. Teachers were very comfortable asking questions and feel that Dr. Bresell always provides valuable information and feedback. A very special thanks to her for making an extra effort to speak at the convention.
Membership awards were presented by Vice President, Margie Lally and European Director, Linda Hogan to Eileen Kless and Darin Robinson new LUR at Lajes.
Raejean Avalos, LUR at Livorno and Cheri Gildi, LUR at Ankara
Lajes had 100%
Teachers Making a Difference Everyday
Vicenza Elementary School and Vicenza Middle School combined forces for a first ever STEM Night on Thursday, April 25th. Stu- dents contributed science projects, and we had teachers who set up stations for stu- dents to participate in sci- ence, math, engineering, and technology activities. These included light and lasers, music, star lab, geology, and much more. The Middle School Leadership groups, including National Junior Honor Society, Junior Leadership Seminar, and Student Council joined together to sell hot dogs at the event. Kim Stephenson, seventh grade science teacher, and Jamie Wilson, elementary school teacher, put this event together for the students.
Mr. Haiderer, OFT member and Lajes Calculus teacher, inspires his AP Calculus students after the AP exam. Students enjoyed a little pizza while discovering the volume of the 16" and 10" meat lover's pizza using the disk method of inte- gration around the x-axis. A senior student com- mented, "It was a tasty lesson!" Mr. Haiderer added "It's nice to take theory off the paper and put in your belly that way the students can really digest the concept."
Haiderer making a difference teaching Calculus with Pizza? Why Not?
OFT member, Angie Hartwig, having a bit of fun during the STEM night.
Page 5 Teachers Making a Difference Everyday
Aviano OFT Member David Izzo makes a difference with his Robotics Club
OFT Members Tynisa Young and Amy Ney makes a difference at STEMposium
The Aviano High School Robotics Club set history by competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics World Championship held in Saint Louis, Missouri from April 23- 27. The Aviano FTC Robotics Club compet- ed in the Germany regional competition held in March. They were a finalist team in that event and were awarded the “Inspire Award”. The Inspire award at most regional events qualifies a team for the world championships. Aviano is the first DoDEA school to compete in the FTC World Championships. There are regional events in all 50 states and in over 19 countries across the world. We were honored and caught by surprise to have the opportuni- ty to attend this prestigious event.
Recently a group of students and teachers from schools all over DoDDS-Europe converged on the Heidelberg Youth Hostel to participate in STEMposium. STEMposium is designed to excite students about science, technology, engineering and mathematics, but it also pro- motes collaboration and teamwork skills. It is a rejuvenat- ing experience for the teachers involved as well. Teacher experts taught students about a specific area of engineering (Green Technology, Biotechnology Engineer- ing, Robotics, Computer Simulations, Disaster Response and Management, and Environmental Engineering). Stu- dents applied their newly gained knowledge and used the engineering design process to work toward developing a solution to the disaster which faced them. These solutions varied from team to team depending on what they identi- fied as the primary problem. The culminating event was an open house where stu- dents showcased their projects and the top four teams pre- sented their solutions. For more information and photos on the 2013 STEMposium checkout the website:
First Place Team
h p://stemposium.eportalnow.net/
Gracious Professionalism - FIRST Robotics Moto (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Being a Gracious Profes- sional involves respecting yourself, your team, other teams, and everyone around you. It is a way of doing things with a competitive spirit, without making anyone feel like a loser. Gracious Professionalism is a way of interacting with other people respectfully, doing excellent work, and promoting teamwork and appreciation of others.
Amy Ney, LUR at Vi- cenza High School taught Biotechnology Engineer- ing students during the
STEMposium. She took a group of student to the Zoo for a talk with the
veterinarian.
Page 6
Rota OFT Member, Linda White and Students makes a Difference Globally
Teachers Making a Difference Everyday
This spring, the Rota Middle High School Art Club made a humanitarian ges- ture to an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The students of Art Club created a tile logo after the Spanish style "azulejo" to mount on one of the organization's homes. The Betasab (means "family" in Ethiopian) Global Family Initiative is a model program that brings rehabilitated women to work as mentors to children,
ages five to twelve, in a home setting. The kids come from the streets, government institutions, or are rescued from slave labor. They live in groups with their mentors and are given healthcare, edu- cation, and a sense of belonging and purpose as they grow and learn together. The RMHS students worked together to create a work of art with careful craftsmanship that reflects community. The RMHS students and faculty also made a monetary donation to assist with Betasab operating costs. The installation was hand carried and pre- sented to the kids in one of their homes by Linda and Vida White. The art students in- volved felt a real sense of lending a helping hand, and were proud of their efforts. "It was a very rewarding gesture, and I was proud to represent our students in this endeavor. The words smart, heart, and earth all contain the word art, and this project encompasses all of those words," says art teacher, Linda White. A special thank you goes out to Tirzah An- derson, Ellen Birch, Hailey Gruetter, Alexis Quinones, and Elizabeth Schwarz who helped complete the project.
During Music in Our Schools Month, Lillie Sharp and students are perform- ing "Mallet Madness" - It is a "rotation experience," with students changing instruments every two or three minutes during a lesson. Kids get to explore all the instruments and have a great time learning. Parents enjoy participating with their kids during the lesson.
Naples OFT Member, Lillie Sharp makes a difference Teaching Music
Page 7 Teachers Making a Difference Everyday
Lajes OFT Member Darin Robinson makes a difference Exploring Environmental Studies
Bahrain OFT Member and LUR, Rebecca Burck makes a difference at Creative Connections
Recently DoDEA has been encouraging their ad- ministrators and teachers to take a look at Tony Wagner’s “Seven Essen- tial Survival Skills” that he thinks students will need in our global econo- my. Lajes Middle School students have been using at least 4 of these skills on a regular basis in Environmental Studies, which is one of the many classes offered on the Middle School Wheel at Lajes Elementary/High School. Students must work as a team to map, explore and study their local envi- ronment as well as to solve “initiatives” presented
to them by their instructor. Throughout the course of a school year four different groups of students
(one group per quarter) get to practice Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills, Collabora- tion and Leading by Influ- ence, Agility and Adapta- bility, and last but not least, Curiosity and Imagi- nation. These four 21st century skills are an inte- gral part of the Environ- mental Studies curriculum at LEHS, and by the time
these students leave this course, they have learned
how to become valuable team members who will be able to continue to compete in the 21st Century.
Student team members work together to independently solve an Outdoor Education Initiative while Mr. Robin- son acts as a spotter.
Twelve students from Bahrain MS/HS participated in Creative Connections, a visual and performing arts workshop held in Oberwesel, Germany from November 4th-9th, 2012. This annual fine arts ac- tivity offered talented high school stu- dents an opportunity to participate in ex- citing, diverse workshops in their chosen art form. A Bahrain High School IB Visual Arts student took part in the cal- ligraphy workshop. Her scroll will be featured in an exhibition in Naples, Italy entitled One Mind and One Heart- An International Traveling Group Exhibition, From Global Calamity to Creativity. This exhibition is co-curated by her in- structor, Kichung Lee Lizee, an art teach- er at Naples Elementary School.
Page 8
We salute our OFT members that are leaving DoDDS
Lindsay Garnett
Bahrain
Osan, Korea; Iceland; Bechtel , Zukeran and Bob Hope in Okinawa, Volkel, Netherlands, La Maddelena, Italy; Schweinfurt, Germany
Younger students actually think we live at the school. They’ll say: “Where do you sleep, Mrs. Lindsay?”
Lindsay will be at her place in Fort Valley, Georgia where she is going to be frivolous with her huge DoDDS retirement and “raise” puppies to be trained as guide dogs.
Lucinda Hawkes
Turkey
“It was the student’s delight of learning that encouraged and enriched each day.”
Lucinda will return to Oklahoma and pursue her love of teaching, “Financial Peace” in the Enid community.
Language Arts AVID, Social Studies
Home economics Computer Science
Germany Korea Japan Portugal
“I smile when I see a question in the eyes of a curious child. “
Lajes
Multi-Age 4/5 Kindergarten
Dr. Brown plans on writing a book about her DoDDS experience and
look into opening a Bed & Breakfast.
Denny Hilgar
Spain
Denny will reside in Bradenton, Florida where he will continue traveling and working on his golf game.
Every Subject in grades K-12
James Bowden
Japan-Sasebo Jack Darby; Spain-Sevilla EMS
“I still smile when I think about teaching Sasebo students how to
use a Sasebo Top.”
James will be in Winamac, Indiana where he will be writing, reading, fishing,
golfing, bowling, traveling, and visiting his grandchildren
Sevilla
ELA, Social Studies, Read 180
Marilyn will retire to Athens, Greece to be with her Greek husband and live in their hand- made house in the mid- dle of their garden close to the sea. You may also find her in Free- land, Washington near her family. Now that I have graduated from school, I plan to have fun while traveling, fishing, being a stu- dent, and of course, tending my garden.
Page 9
We salute our OFT members that are leaving DoDDS
Dianna Montelongo
Rota, Spain
It has been wonderful working with students from many age levels (K-12 grades) and cul- tures.
Dianna will be spending time at her little house in the countryside of Medina-Sidonia in southern Spain.
Richard Ballard & Barb Ozkurt
Vicenza, Italy
“I still smile when I think about the love that the kids send to teachers– it’s always so heartwarming!”
You will find Richard in Tupelo, MS with no alarm clocks nor CSI! I will have the government pay me to wake up!
Fourth Grade Teacher
Yokosuka, Japan and Aviano Italy
“I still smile when I think about When I had two 6th grade students
fighting over a thesaurus.”
Bobbe will be in Los Lunas, New Mexico in a retirement community
drinking margaritas and eating guacamole, playing card, traveling,
and making new friends.
First & Fourth Grade Spain and Italy
Joe will split at least some of his "world" time between his homes in Pennsylvania
and in Spain with his wife Maria.
Aviano High School
Vicenza
Marilyn Taratoris
“I have so many wonder- ful memories at Aviano that it’s hard to mention just one.”
Ken will remain in the Aviano area with his fami- ly. He will start by spend- ing his free time respond-
ing to over 500 congratula- tory messages from all of
his prior students.
Special points of interest:
Educators learn the prop- er use of formative and summative assessment
Educators learned how to
help students understand data
Use of Student Grades
Continued on page 2
OFT Scores Again! Data Course Great Success
The evidence is there. Professional development is ab- solutely necessary and one important need expressed by our educators is how to use data properly to help our students learn and help teachers change their practices to meet those needs.
OFT came to the rescue to meet this important need. To meet that goal, the course was designed to help educators be-
come data literate and not just how to analyze numbers. OFT leaders from throughout the Mediterranean District met in
Tirrenia, Italy, to participate in an intensive three-day data course of- fered by the American Federation of Teachers, OFT's parent organization and education leader. Educators learned the proper use of formative and summative assessments which included the use of conceptual formative data and not just statistics. In fact, it was not until the third day of the course that numbers or statistics were introduced. In- stead, educators learned how to help their own students understand da- ta, both their own and other students'. Clearly this will help our stu- dents acquire the skills needed in the 21st cen- tury skills. Another very important concept learned was how not to "shut down" learning when using data, but ra- ther how use it to help students understand their own learning while helping teachers on how to change instructional practic- es based on accurate and appropriate assessments. The appropriate use of feedback was significant in contributing to moving learning forward. There was a lively discussion on the use of grades and how the grade in and of itself serves little in terms of student learning and indicates "the end",
Dr. Colleen Callahan, AFT Data Course Instructor, was very passionate in her discussion about formative and summative assessment with Linda Hogan, OFT European Director; Margie Lally, OFT Vice President and Virginia Parkinson, Rota Elementary LUR.
Dr. Marie Sainz-Funaro
Page 2
Student Assessment
Lessons.
There is much work to be done and OFT is calling on DoDEA to work in partnership with OFT and AFT to
“get it right”!
a clear "shutdown". No matter how many times students are told they can improve their grade, a grade indicates "finality" rather than being open -ended moving toward continuous learning. It is interesting to note that there are many who claim to be educational leaders and insist that "a grade a week" must be given. That flies right in the face of research and the use of assess- ment. Instead the idea of a grade a week is nothing more than “policing” and has nothing to do with helping our students learn. Comments by participants included "best course I've ever had", "wish everyone could take this course", "we need admin here". At the OFT Convention, the delegates who also par- ticipated in the course, unanimously passed a resolution asking OFT leadership to take action to convince DoDEA that data must be used properly throughout DODEA. Further, there is a need for DoDEA to take a careful look at which assessments are being used and to what purpose.
Buddy Leavitt LUR at Vicenza
Elementary works diligently
on Objective Level Analysis
Susan Morris, LUR Bahrain Elementary and Linda Hogan, OFT European Director analyze data by answering questions about what they see in the data.
Dr. Marie Sainz-Funaro, OFT President and Serra Coruh, OFT Secretary compare formative and summative assessment.
Vicenza MS LUR, Lorri Vallone and Executive Committee member, Eileen Kless analyze data.
Page 3 Membership Awards, Resolutions, Budget
OFT Convention, May 2013 by Tina Lake, Editor
OFT Brings Down the House
Rebecca Burk and Susan Morris, LURs in Bahrain, work on drafting resolutions at the convention. Resolutions will be
published in the “Back to School” Overseas Teacher.
OFT participants continued their training after the hotel meeting room ceiling fell down, leaving cinderblocks and debris atop our training materials. Luckily, no one was injured and the group moved to another room to finish the data course and were ready for the start of the OFT Convention. Marie Sainz- Funaro officially welcomed the delegates and opened the convention on Saturday, May 18, 2013. Delegates begain by approving the 2012 Spring Convention minutes. Reports from Marie Sainz- Furnaro, President/Executive Director, Linda Hogan, European Director, Tina Lake, Overseas Teacher Editor, and Colette Grillo, OFT Treasurer are noted below:
Marie Sainz-Funaro discussed the furlough and how AFT has been very supportive by talking with members of congress to minimize the impact on DoD teachers, students, and the military community.
Linda Hogan discussed issues that surround RAT and will sent out updates once she receives final answers to question and concerns.
Tina Lake announced that the Overseas Teacher publications were going well and that she will be working on a “Back to School” edition of the Overseas Teacher.
Collette Grillo informed the group with good news that OFT has done a good job managing fianances for the year and reported no big changes in the budget for next year.
The delegate group was delighted that Dr. Nancy Bresell, Director of DoDDS Europe, was able to attend the convention as OFT’s guest speaker. Teachers were very comfortable asking questions and feel that Dr. Bresell always provides valuable information and feedback. A very special thanks to her for making an extra effort to speak at the convention.
Membership awards were presented by Vice President, Margie Lally and European Director, Linda Hogan to Eileen Kless and Darin Robinson new LUR at Lajes.
Raejean Avalos, LUR at Livorno and Cheri Gildi, LUR at Ankara
Lajes had 100%
Teachers Making a Difference Everyday
Vicenza Elementary School and Vicenza Middle School combined forces for a first ever STEM Night on Thursday, April 25th. Stu- dents contributed science projects, and we had teachers who set up stations for stu- dents to participate in sci- ence, math, engineering, and technology activities. These included light and lasers, music, star lab, geology, and much more. The Middle School Leadership groups, including National Junior Honor Society, Junior Leadership Seminar, and Student Council joined together to sell hot dogs at the event. Kim Stephenson, seventh grade science teacher, and Jamie Wilson, elementary school teacher, put this event together for the students.
Mr. Haiderer, OFT member and Lajes Calculus teacher, inspires his AP Calculus students after the AP exam. Students enjoyed a little pizza while discovering the volume of the 16" and 10" meat lover's pizza using the disk method of inte- gration around the x-axis. A senior student com- mented, "It was a tasty lesson!" Mr. Haiderer added "It's nice to take theory off the paper and put in your belly that way the students can really digest the concept."
Haiderer making a difference teaching Calculus with Pizza? Why Not?
OFT member, Angie Hartwig, having a bit of fun during the STEM night.
Page 5 Teachers Making a Difference Everyday
Aviano OFT Member David Izzo makes a difference with his Robotics Club
OFT Members Tynisa Young and Amy Ney makes a difference at STEMposium
The Aviano High School Robotics Club set history by competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics World Championship held in Saint Louis, Missouri from April 23- 27. The Aviano FTC Robotics Club compet- ed in the Germany regional competition held in March. They were a finalist team in that event and were awarded the “Inspire Award”. The Inspire award at most regional events qualifies a team for the world championships. Aviano is the first DoDEA school to compete in the FTC World Championships. There are regional events in all 50 states and in over 19 countries across the world. We were honored and caught by surprise to have the opportuni- ty to attend this prestigious event.
Recently a group of students and teachers from schools all over DoDDS-Europe converged on the Heidelberg Youth Hostel to participate in STEMposium. STEMposium is designed to excite students about science, technology, engineering and mathematics, but it also pro- motes collaboration and teamwork skills. It is a rejuvenat- ing experience for the teachers involved as well. Teacher experts taught students about a specific area of engineering (Green Technology, Biotechnology Engineer- ing, Robotics, Computer Simulations, Disaster Response and Management, and Environmental Engineering). Stu- dents applied their newly gained knowledge and used the engineering design process to work toward developing a solution to the disaster which faced them. These solutions varied from team to team depending on what they identi- fied as the primary problem. The culminating event was an open house where stu- dents showcased their projects and the top four teams pre- sented their solutions. For more information and photos on the 2013 STEMposium checkout the website:
First Place Team
h p://stemposium.eportalnow.net/
Gracious Professionalism - FIRST Robotics Moto (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Being a Gracious Profes- sional involves respecting yourself, your team, other teams, and everyone around you. It is a way of doing things with a competitive spirit, without making anyone feel like a loser. Gracious Professionalism is a way of interacting with other people respectfully, doing excellent work, and promoting teamwork and appreciation of others.
Amy Ney, LUR at Vi- cenza High School taught Biotechnology Engineer- ing students during the
STEMposium. She took a group of student to the Zoo for a talk with the
veterinarian.
Page 6
Rota OFT Member, Linda White and Students makes a Difference Globally
Teachers Making a Difference Everyday
This spring, the Rota Middle High School Art Club made a humanitarian ges- ture to an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The students of Art Club created a tile logo after the Spanish style "azulejo" to mount on one of the organization's homes. The Betasab (means "family" in Ethiopian) Global Family Initiative is a model program that brings rehabilitated women to work as mentors to children,
ages five to twelve, in a home setting. The kids come from the streets, government institutions, or are rescued from slave labor. They live in groups with their mentors and are given healthcare, edu- cation, and a sense of belonging and purpose as they grow and learn together. The RMHS students worked together to create a work of art with careful craftsmanship that reflects community. The RMHS students and faculty also made a monetary donation to assist with Betasab operating costs. The installation was hand carried and pre- sented to the kids in one of their homes by Linda and Vida White. The art students in- volved felt a real sense of lending a helping hand, and were proud of their efforts. "It was a very rewarding gesture, and I was proud to represent our students in this endeavor. The words smart, heart, and earth all contain the word art, and this project encompasses all of those words," says art teacher, Linda White. A special thank you goes out to Tirzah An- derson, Ellen Birch, Hailey Gruetter, Alexis Quinones, and Elizabeth Schwarz who helped complete the project.
During Music in Our Schools Month, Lillie Sharp and students are perform- ing "Mallet Madness" - It is a "rotation experience," with students changing instruments every two or three minutes during a lesson. Kids get to explore all the instruments and have a great time learning. Parents enjoy participating with their kids during the lesson.
Naples OFT Member, Lillie Sharp makes a difference Teaching Music
Page 7 Teachers Making a Difference Everyday
Lajes OFT Member Darin Robinson makes a difference Exploring Environmental Studies
Bahrain OFT Member and LUR, Rebecca Burck makes a difference at Creative Connections
Recently DoDEA has been encouraging their ad- ministrators and teachers to take a look at Tony Wagner’s “Seven Essen- tial Survival Skills” that he thinks students will need in our global econo- my. Lajes Middle School students have been using at least 4 of these skills on a regular basis in Environmental Studies, which is one of the many classes offered on the Middle School Wheel at Lajes Elementary/High School. Students must work as a team to map, explore and study their local envi- ronment as well as to solve “initiatives” presented
to them by their instructor. Throughout the course of a school year four different groups of students
(one group per quarter) get to practice Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills, Collabora- tion and Leading by Influ- ence, Agility and Adapta- bility, and last but not least, Curiosity and Imagi- nation. These four 21st century skills are an inte- gral part of the Environ- mental Studies curriculum at LEHS, and by the time
these students leave this course, they have learned
how to become valuable team members who will be able to continue to compete in the 21st Century.
Student team members work together to independently solve an Outdoor Education Initiative while Mr. Robin- son acts as a spotter.
Twelve students from Bahrain MS/HS participated in Creative Connections, a visual and performing arts workshop held in Oberwesel, Germany from November 4th-9th, 2012. This annual fine arts ac- tivity offered talented high school stu- dents an opportunity to participate in ex- citing, diverse workshops in their chosen art form. A Bahrain High School IB Visual Arts student took part in the cal- ligraphy workshop. Her scroll will be featured in an exhibition in Naples, Italy entitled One Mind and One Heart- An International Traveling Group Exhibition, From Global Calamity to Creativity. This exhibition is co-curated by her in- structor, Kichung Lee Lizee, an art teach- er at Naples Elementary School.
Page 8
We salute our OFT members that are leaving DoDDS
Lindsay Garnett
Bahrain
Osan, Korea; Iceland; Bechtel , Zukeran and Bob Hope in Okinawa, Volkel, Netherlands, La Maddelena, Italy; Schweinfurt, Germany
Younger students actually think we live at the school. They’ll say: “Where do you sleep, Mrs. Lindsay?”
Lindsay will be at her place in Fort Valley, Georgia where she is going to be frivolous with her huge DoDDS retirement and “raise” puppies to be trained as guide dogs.
Lucinda Hawkes
Turkey
“It was the student’s delight of learning that encouraged and enriched each day.”
Lucinda will return to Oklahoma and pursue her love of teaching, “Financial Peace” in the Enid community.
Language Arts AVID, Social Studies
Home economics Computer Science
Germany Korea Japan Portugal
“I smile when I see a question in the eyes of a curious child. “
Lajes
Multi-Age 4/5 Kindergarten
Dr. Brown plans on writing a book about her DoDDS experience and
look into opening a Bed & Breakfast.
Denny Hilgar
Spain
Denny will reside in Bradenton, Florida where he will continue traveling and working on his golf game.
Every Subject in grades K-12
James Bowden
Japan-Sasebo Jack Darby; Spain-Sevilla EMS
“I still smile when I think about teaching Sasebo students how to
use a Sasebo Top.”
James will be in Winamac, Indiana where he will be writing, reading, fishing,
golfing, bowling, traveling, and visiting his grandchildren
Sevilla
ELA, Social Studies, Read 180
Marilyn will retire to Athens, Greece to be with her Greek husband and live in their hand- made house in the mid- dle of their garden close to the sea. You may also find her in Free- land, Washington near her family. Now that I have graduated from school, I plan to have fun while traveling, fishing, being a stu- dent, and of course, tending my garden.
Page 9
We salute our OFT members that are leaving DoDDS
Dianna Montelongo
Rota, Spain
It has been wonderful working with students from many age levels (K-12 grades) and cul- tures.
Dianna will be spending time at her little house in the countryside of Medina-Sidonia in southern Spain.
Richard Ballard & Barb Ozkurt
Vicenza, Italy
“I still smile when I think about the love that the kids send to teachers– it’s always so heartwarming!”
You will find Richard in Tupelo, MS with no alarm clocks nor CSI! I will have the government pay me to wake up!
Fourth Grade Teacher
Yokosuka, Japan and Aviano Italy
“I still smile when I think about When I had two 6th grade students
fighting over a thesaurus.”
Bobbe will be in Los Lunas, New Mexico in a retirement community
drinking margaritas and eating guacamole, playing card, traveling,
and making new friends.
First & Fourth Grade Spain and Italy
Joe will split at least some of his "world" time between his homes in Pennsylvania
and in Spain with his wife Maria.
Aviano High School
Vicenza
Marilyn Taratoris
“I have so many wonder- ful memories at Aviano that it’s hard to mention just one.”
Ken will remain in the Aviano area with his fami- ly. He will start by spend- ing his free time respond-
ing to over 500 congratula- tory messages from all of
his prior students.