October, 2009

What a wonderful year it has been already! We had our amazing All School Walk on September 24th, and that evening we held Open House, with the grand unveiling of our new banners celebrating our 5 Core Concepts. Evidence of our community's commitment to our school was evident in the Selectboard and Historical Society, represented by Mr. Kilburn and Mr. Thompson, joining us for the Walk, and Mr. Collins as well (dressed as "Mr. Footsteps!). Mrs. Deborah Kehoe-Yergeau and her husband David gave our school an amazing gift by hosting several young artists at their home this summer, where Deb has moved her professional design studio (Kehoe and Kehoe Design Associates). After the children created art all day, Deb and her intern (Christa White of Fairfax) used the artwork to create the banners. If you haven't seen them yet, please do stop by the cafeteria - they are simply amazing. The Swanton PTO purchased the finished banners. Just before entering the NECAP week, our students joined others from our Supervisory Union in a day of student leaders designing our annual bullying prevention activities. The new student leadership group, Speak Out Swans, will meet regularly with our counseling team to ensure that we do everything we can to stop bullying before it starts. Meanwhile, all the students are LOVING the new set of drums purchased with PTO grant money after a group of fourth graders wrote a grant requesting the funds. We are indeed, preparing active citizens for the 21st century!

Speaking of being a citizen, I had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. this past week. There are only a handful of schools in the U.S. who are implementing the "Response to Intervention" model that we've been using since 2005-2006. I was asked to explain the model to the school division of the American Association of Publishers at their annual summit. It was a wonderful chance to share the hard work that our school has engaged in, and to ask for their support in developing materials that will help all schools to move forward using "Response to Intervention" as a school improvement strategy. I do want to reassure parents and community members that the AAP covered all travel expenses, so the trip was at no cost to the community or taxpayers.

With the help of Senators Sanders and Leahy, I was able to visit the White House, something I had dreamed of since I first wrote to President Kennedy in 1962, asking him not to put on his speeches during my favorite cartoons! I got a letter back from him on White House stationary, and since then have dreamed of being inside those massive gates. I told the kids I would blog about the experience:

There is a great deal of security in place anywhere you go in D.C. To visit the White House, I had to submit my information ahead of time and bring my passport. I could not bring anything else - no cameras, no purse, nothing but I.D. This is certainly a change from the time of Abraham Lincoln, when White House visitors took scissors along and collected samples of the new carpets and curtains ordered by First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln!

I had to go through a metal detector. Our group was escorted through the East Wing, which is where the First Lady has her offices. In the hallway were photos of President Obama, his family, and his puppy, Bo. We saw a library and one other small room before being led into a larger waiting room. All around us were portraits of presidents, and photos of many important events that have happened in the White House, including the signing of many important laws that have changed our country. The first room was the huge East Room. Our guide told us that this large room has been used for everything from drying Abigail Adams' laundry to an indoor roller skating place for Amy Carter! Today it is a place for large press conferences and concerts. When we were there, they were getting ready to build a stage in the room for a Latina Festival coming up. Next we went into three other rooms: the Green Room, the Blue Room and the Red Room. Each room has very beautiful carpets, furniture, and curtains and each is decorated with priceless art, mostly paintings of the different presidents. The windows are over 12 feet high! There are chandeliers hanging from the ceilings and precious vases, candlesticks, and other decorative touches in each room. Finally, we entered a large dining area that is used for special meals with foreign visitors and other important guests. We exited through the main hall and down the front steps of the White House.

I also visited the Capitol Building, where the U.S. Senators and House of Representatives meet, and the Library of Congress. The Capitol was VERY interesting and very beautiful. One of the things that impressed me the most about all our nation's buildings is the amount of beautiful art in all the buildings. There are paintings everywhere, and the walls and ceilings are covered with frescos. Sculpture is also very present. In the Capitol building, there are two statues for every state. I found one of Vermont's statues - it is a statue of Ethan Allen. The people who do the guided tours (both of the White House and Capitol) are very well informed and present some interesting history as they lead you through the buildings. They have to memorize everything!

I left Washington D.C. feeling very proud of our country, but also very happy to return to beautiful Vermont and our school, where we are doing such great work.