SAD 29 faculty stay busy with workshops

By Karen Donato
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — While students had a couple of days of vacation last week, SAD 29 administrators and staff were participating in a variety of workshops and finalizing projects and grants for the current school year.
    Houlton Elementary School Principal Candace Crane said, “It was a great opportunity for me to take time with some of the my colleagues to catch up on issues that have presented themselves since the beginning of the school year.”
    The lower elementary teachers participated in a workshop led by Rosemary Bamford of Bucksport. Bamford, professor emerita has recently retired from the College of Education at the University of Maine where she was a member of the literacy faculty. Over the course of her 42-year career, she served in a variety of roles at the university, including coordinator for the elementary education area and associate dean of the graduate school for the last 10 years. She has been involved in overseeing the Reading Recovery program and Literacy Collaborative. She has also held many offices on several committees. She is the co-founder of the IRA Special Interest Group, Children’s Literature and Reading.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
KEEPING UP WITH TECHNOLOGY — Houlton High school teachers participated in a training session using the new Mac books and learning more about a program called Note Share they are using with students. From left are, Mike Kenney, Traci Storti-Wilde, Jeremy Sjoberg and Andrew Hay. Houlton High School biology teacher Michael Hannigan led the workshop.
    Bamford is co-author of “Making Facts Come Alive: Choosing and Using Quality Non-fiction K-8,” a textbook on non-fiction literature and its use in the classroom, as well as several other textbooks focusing on the reading or writing of non-fiction.
    There were some SAD 29 faculty members that had Bamford as an instructor during their post secondary years at Orono and were reintroduced to each other.
    Teachers were encouraged to engage their students in reading non-fiction. They were given a variety of techniques and were told how important it is to teach non-fiction, not as a one-shot lesson, but comprehensively in a literacy program that supports students in becoming independent readers, writers and inquirers over time.
    Teachers evaluated books provided by Bamford and learned how to look for books that will peak their student’s interests. They learned the importance of modeling and shared reading. They learned ways to extend vocabulary and other strategies for teaching readers to also be successful writers.
    Workshops held at the high school included, grade-level team meetings, PowerSchool Training (a program that pertains to keeping the school attendance and grades), other subject area meetings, special ed. meetings and several training sessions.
    Several high school teachers participated in a workshop facilitated by HHS biology teacher, Michael Hannigan using the new Mac Books.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Karen Donato
SAD29 HOLDS WORKSHOP — Dr. Rosemary Bamford, in front, author of several text books including, Making Facts Come Alive: Choosing and Using Quality Nonfiction K-8 was the guest speaker at a workshop for elementary school teachers on Sept. 24 at Southside School. Shown with her are from left, Candace Crane, principal of Houlton Elementary School, Sally Cole, reading interventionist, Sarah Estabrook, literacy coach for Pre-K to grade two and Janet Maurakami, literacy coach for second and third grade.
    A popular new program introduced was, Note Share. Teachers and students are able to research a variety of topics through this progam and then post their findings on a particular page on the laptop where other students can see those notes at the same time during class. Within this program is a “so-called pen” the participants use to post the information. The pen can only be used by students one at a time and then passed on, keeping the attention of the class members. Teachers interviewed were very excited about the possibilities provided by this new technology and the program offers a multitude of the latest programs to satisfy a variety of interests.
    Bus drivers were also busy learning CPR/AED (automatic external defibrillator) and first-aid training with school nurse Audrey York and Shelly Beals. All schools in SAD 29 have a defibrillator and an additional one to carry on a bus transporting students to extra curricular activities. SAD 29 is one of only a few districts in the state that provide this equipment to every school in their district.