Randolph Union High School and the nonprofit Rowland Foundation are inviting educators, students and parents from around the Upper Valley and Vermont to a conference in Randolph on Dec. 1 about the status and future of personalized learning plans (PLPs) in the state’s public schools.
The discussion will start at 8:30 a.m. at the Chandler Music Hall in downtown Randolph. This is the second academic year in which Vermont’s seventh- and ninth-graders have been putting together their plans under Act 77, which the state Legislature approved in 2013 with the aim of giving students a say and a stake in the direction and the details of their studies..
The conference will both look back at the first year of PLP efforts, and ahead to new ways for teachers and counselors to help students earn “proficiency-based” diplomas.
“Our focus needs to be on both the individual and the broader economic and social needs of the community,” Randolph Union High School co-Principal Elijah Hawkes said in a statement. “In designing a PLP, students are asked to reflect on their values and goals, but what about their rights and responsibilities as citizens? We need also to be thinking about the world they’ll be going out into.”
The Rowland Foundation, based in South Londonderry, Vt., provides 10 fellowships a year to secondary school teachers, counselors and administrators with projects aimed at what it describes as “enhancing the institution’s culture and climate.”
Admission to the personalized learning plan conference is free for students and $20 for others. To register, call Jen Lacaillade at 802-728-3397. For more information, email ehawkes@orangesouthwest.org or call Elijah Hawkes at 802-728-3397.
Four teams from the Upper Valley advanced to next month’s regional First Lego League tournament, with strong performances during the ninth annual league competition at Dartmouth College’s Thayer School of Engineering on Nov. 12.
On the way to qualifying second overall for the Dec. 3 championship at Windham (N.H.) High School, the Lebotix squad from Lebanon Middle School posted the top score in the robot-design competition.
The Platypi team from Crossroads Academy, in Lyme, qualified third overall, on the strength of winning the Core Values competition, which prioritizes cooperation and “the spirit of friendly competition.”
From Richmond Middle School in Hanover, the Roadkilz team won top honors in the Project class for using “diverse resources for their project to help them gain a comprehensive understanding of the problem they identified, develop a creative, well-researched solution and effectively communicate their finding to judges and the community.”
En route to earning the sixth and final qualifying berth, Crossroads’ Robats scored the most points during the Robot Game.
A team of six middle school students took second place among 12 teams in Saturday’s First Lego League regional competition in Concord. The Rogue Robots of 4-H moved on to the state competition on Dec. 3 in Windham, N.H.
Pam Numme, the club’s mentor, said the team, with five students from Claremont and one from Cornish, have been building and programming their robot made from Legos to accomplish certain tasks since the start of school.
In addition to the robot’s performance, points were awarded based on results from several other components, including interviews with the judges, a separate research project — Rogue Robots designed lightweight protective vests for search and rescue dogs — and solving a problem given to the team the day of the competition.
River Valley Community College (RVCC) is inviting high school students to get a head start on post-secondary education by taking its Catch the Wave course in C++ programming during the spring 2017 semester.
The class in the programming language will take place at RVCC’s Claremont campus between Jan. 17 and May 8. Tuition is $310, for which students in financial need can receive support from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. The four college credits for successful completion of the course are transferable to other institutions. To register and learn more, email Ali Rafieymehr at arafieymehr@ccsnh.edu.
Lebanon High School recently named senior Brianna Hibner as its student of the month for November.
In nominating Hibner for the award, teachers cited her strong academic record and her leadership of the group Students4Students, which campaigns for prevention of suicide, sexual violence, bullying and substance abuse.
Vermont’s junior senator is inviting Vermont high school students to enter his seventh annual “State of the Union” essay contest.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recently set a deadline of Jan. 11 for students to submit essays of 250 to 500 words that “articulate what issues they would prioritize if they were president,” according to a statement from Sanders’ office.
A panel of teachers from Vermont will judge the essays, and the essays of the finalists will be entered into the Congressional Record.
To enter an essay or to learn more, visit sanders.senate.gov/stateoftheunion or call 800-339-9834.
Thetford Academy will hold an open house on Dec. 1 for students interested in attending the school starting in September 2017.
The open house, which starts at 6:30 p.m., in the Mary Jane Rich Theater in Anderson Hall, offers opportunities to talk with faculty and current students, and to tour the campus. To learn more, visit thetfordacademy.org or call 802-785-4805, ext. 212.
David Corriveau can be reached at dcorriveau@vnews.com and at 603-727-3304. Education news and announcements also can be sent to schoolnotes@vnews.com.