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January 27, 2021

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

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Education Ed Notes

The Short End of the Shtick: Reading Flash Fiction with Nancy Hesser, Ph.D.

January 27, 2021 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Nancy Hesser

Power-packed and pared down, flash fiction and its kin – pocket, postcard, and palm-sized stories – can provide a refreshing option for today’s readers. This three-session course offers an international sampling of vivid “short shorts,” each under three pages, whose authors have swapped length for strength to build suspense, paint memorable portraits, and evoke powerful emotions. Discussion topics will include “Flash Back: How We Came Up Short,” and “Flash Freeze.” Readings will be provided via email.

Nancy Hesser, Ph.D., has taught literature in the US, DR Congo, and Mali. When she is not hanging out with her husband and canine companions in Dorchester County’s salt marshes, she may be found teaching short story courses for various lifelong learning programs, focusing on such themes as American regionalism, the Roaring 20’s, Caribbean voices, bar room stories, and flash fiction. Choose between Live ZOOM Class Sessions or Recorded, Thursdays, February 11, 18, 25 from 1:30-2:30 pm $30. To register for the course go to our website at https://chesapeakeforum.org/ or visit us on Facebook.

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Chesapeake Forum, Education, local news

Easton High School Students are Admitted to National Honor Society

January 27, 2021 by Talbot County Public Schools Leave a Comment

The J. Willard Davis Chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) has announced that new members were appointed to the organization in 2020.  The traditional induction ceremony was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NHS is a national organization established in 1921, which serves to recognize students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, service, leadership, and character. To be considered for induction into the National Honor Society, students must meet minimum criteria which include a cumulative GPA equal to or greater than 86.5%, cumulative attendance rate equal to or greater than 94%, no more than 2 disciplinary referrals, and completion of at least 100 service learning hours.

Qualifying students are given the opportunity to submit applications and recommendations, which are reviewed by Easton High School faculty. English Teacher Shelby Swann served as Easton High School’s National Honor Society Faculty Advisor for the 2019/2020 school year.

The 2020 NHS inductees are as follows:

Class of 2021 (admitted as juniors)

Olivia Brown, Tristan Cassell, Martha Harrison, Molly Johnson, Andrew Matsche, Max McCall, Madeline Morrell, Christian Ottey, Jennifer Shaw, Max Vener, Jarin Winters

Class of 2022 (admitted as sophomores)

Ahmed Ezzaki, Kiersten Chaney, Sara Chapple, Rachel Davis, William Dickerson, Amanda Dolle, Joel Duah, Jack Dukehart, Harrison Fike, Kaitlin Flaherty, David Gardner, Hannah Greene, Julia Hammons, Kennedy Hayton, Leanna Kennedy, Olivia Kilbourne, Katherine Knox, Elise Lankford, Rachel Lapp, Sophie Leight, Ashley Malczewski, Ashton Milhollan, Brian Milhollan, Pippa Milhollan, Teagan Miller, Caroline Nagel, Baker Newcomb, Coco Ni, James O’Connor, Hailey Orellana-Reyes, Cole Paradine, Spencer Rada, Emily Royer, Jose Santizo-Gonsalez, Joseph Szymanski

“I congratulate all of these students on this outstanding accomplishment, especially during this unprecedented time,” said Mrs. Sherry Bowen, Easton High School Principal.  “They have exemplified perseverance and a commitment to making most of their high school experience, however different it has been!”

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, local news, Talbot County Public Schools, The Talbot Spy

Hemingway: An Examination of Selected Short Stories with Bev Williams

January 26, 2021 by Spy Desk 1 Comment

Bev Williams

Hemingway wrote often about hunting and fishing, war settings, bullfights and boxing, and domestic situations. Readers seem to either love his stories or to hate them. In this course, we will explore the import and highly dramatized tension created by his predominantly objective point of view, frequently in dialogue without any comment by the narrator. We will discuss Hemingway’s fiction and how his life affected his writing.  The aim of this course is to introduce some main themes that run throughout Hemingway’s fiction. We will focus on two stories for the first part of each session. Then we will gloss over the other stories for the session, linking them thematically and stylistically to the first two. I will then open the class to comments and questions.  You will receive excerpts from The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway in a PDF and the number of pages for each. Most stories are very brief.

Bev has taught English for high school and middle school with a focus on composition, grammar, literature, vocabulary, as well as strategies for study and retention. Bev has also been a guest lecturer at Episcopal High School, Alexandria, VA, and he holds a BA, and MA in English from the University of Virginia. Choose between Live ZOOM Class Sessions or Recorded, Wednesdays, Feb 10, 17, 24 from 4:00 -5:30 pm $30. Enrollment in the Live ZOOM Option is Limited. To register for the course, or for more information go to our website at https://chesapeakeforum.org/ or visit us on Facebook.

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Chesapeake Forum, Education, local news

Special Birds in Special Places with Wayne Bell, Ph.D.

January 25, 2021 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Wayne Bell

Got waterfowl? Want to see some loons and gannets? How about a warbler or two and maybe even an elusive rail? We will observe these groups of birds and more, each serving as a prelude to a day-long field trip to locations where the target species are most likely to be seen. Get a handle on the variety of our region’s bird life during the winter and early spring migration. The classes will be virtual, but the field trips will be live with your classmates under appropriate social distancing requirements. February 8th – Wondrous Waterfowl (will be at Cambridge Waterfront, Blackwater NWR for ducks and geese); March 8th – Coastal Treasures (will be at Ocean City MD for gannets, sea ducks, loons, and gulls); April 19th – Burst of Spring (will be at Pocomoke Swamp and Elliott’s Island Road for early warblers, vireos, and flycatchers plus rails and wetland specialties). Enrollment in the Live ZOOM Course w/Field Trips is limited to 12.  Due to COVID limitations, Field Trips are offered only to those taking the Live ZOOM Class.  Sites and times of Field Trips may change.

Dr. Bell is Senior Associate and former Director of the Washington College Center for Environment and Society. A native of Silver Spring, MD, he graduated from the University of Miami, Florida, and earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University. Retired since 2006, Dr. Bell continues his passion for birds and teaching through the Maryland Ornithological Society and its Youth Program (YMOS).  Choose between Live ZOOM Class Sessions or Recorded, Thursdays, February 4, March 4, April 15 from| 2:30-4:00 pm. Field Trips: Mondays, February 8, March 8, April 19 from 8:00 am-3:00 pm $30. To register for the course, or for more information about Chesapeake Forum Winter/Spring 2021 classes go to our website at https://chesapeakeforum.org/ or visit us on Facebook.

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Chesapeake Forum, Education, local news

Library Guy Bill Peak to Offer Zoom Tutorial

January 24, 2021 by Talbot County Free Library Leave a Comment

Bill Peak

If you have a computer with a camera, you can use Zoom to hold meetings, speak with friends, and get together with family – all face-to-face on-camera – from the safety of your home or office and without any risk from COVID.  On Friday afternoon, February 5, 2 p.m., Bill Peak, Talbot County’s Library Guy, will again offer his popular session on how to use Zoom. Join Peak for this 20-minute interactive lesson for beginners by clicking on the link below and typing in the passcode 778760. https://marylandlibraries.zoom.us/j/92350361739

Filed Under: Archives Tagged With: Education, local news, Talbot County Free Library, The Talbot Spy

Chesapeake Crabs: The Story of the Bay’s Most Iconic Seafood with Kate Livie

January 23, 2021 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Kate Livie explores the diverse story of the Bay’s staple seafood, blue crabs. Crabs reveal the complex, deeply nuanced connection between the Bay’s environment and the Chesapeake people and how that relationship has transformed due to industry, adaptation, pollution and climate change. She also explores the foodways and history of the beautiful swimmer— a story of diversity, from enslaved cooks who created our Chesapeake cuisine flavored by the tastes of the diaspora, to modern-day packing houses powered by H2B migrant pickers from Mexico.

Kate Livie is a professional Chesapeake educator, writer and historian. An Eastern Shore native, Kate is passionate about the Chesapeake Bay’s culture and landscape. She has written extensively about regional travel, history, environment and foodways for publications from Wooden Boat to Baltimore Magazine to Edible Delmarva. Her 2015 book, Chesapeake Oysters: The Bay’s Foundation and Future, won the Maryland Historical Society’s Marion Brewington Prize for Maritime History. Formerly the director of education and associate curator at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, she is currently a part of the humanities faculty at the Center for Environment and Society at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, where she teaches courses about the Bay’s environment, arts, economy, traditions and culture. Kate lives with her husband in her hometown of Chestertown, Maryland, on Morgan Creek.

Choose between Live ZOOM Class Session or Recorded. Wednesday, February 3 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm $10. To register for the course, or for more information about Chesapeake Forum Winter/Spring 2021 classes go to our website at https://chesapeakeforum.org/ or visit us on Facebook.

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Chesapeake Forum, Education, local news

Educating for Sustainability at Gunston through Green Chemistry

January 23, 2021 by Gunston School Leave a Comment

Last February, Washington College (WC) senior Ellie Byers interned with Dr. Sarah Lipchock at The Gunston School in Centreville, MD and worked with 10th grade students to test a lab she designed for her senior capstone experience (SCE) —a green chemistry experiment involving blue cheese slurries and biomimicry.

Tenth grade Gunston students during a green chemistry lab in February 2020. (l-r) Danielle Simmons, Daniel Dang, Leo Santoboni, Ellie, and Ben Cunningham.

Ellie recently got in touch with Dr. Lipchock to send an article and lab based on her SCE that was published in the most recent issue of Chemistry Solutions, the peer-reviewed periodical from the American Association of Chemistry Teachers, entitled “A Green Chemistry Guided-Inquiry Lab: Designing Biomimetic Songbird Preen Oil from Waste Cooking Oil” by Eleanor (Ellie) Byers and WC professor Anne Marteel-Parrish.

“I want to thank you again for all your help as I was interning at Gunston and your openness to trialing my SCE in the spring. I am halfway through my student teaching and master’s program and I often draw from my experiences at Gunston,” said Ellie who graduated WC in the spring of 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and is currently working toward a master’s of education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Maryland.

“Ellie’s SCE project aligned perfectly with some of Gunston’s key initiatives with regard to educating for sustainability and Mind Brain Education,” said Dr. Lipchock. “As part of her internship, Ellie read Neuroteach: Brain Science and The Future of Education and I was really impressed with her ability to internalize MBE strategies and help guide students as learners in my classroom. She connected with students of all levels and they really enjoyed learning about biomimicry in a hands-on way.”

“Green chemistry is a relatively new field in chemistry and is not covered by textbooks or as part of the national high school standards,” explains Dr. Lipchock, “but it serves as a great real-world application for students and it dovetails nicely with Gunston’s goals for educating for sustainability.”

Ellie with 10th grade Gunston students Colin Lang and Daniel Dang in February, 2020.

Green chemistry asks not just “What can I do with chemistry?” but also “How can I do it in the most sustainable way?” Last fall, Dr. Lipchock’s honors chemistry class completed a green chemistry lab, so at the time of Ellie’s activity, students were already familiar with the 12 principles of green chemistry.

According to the article’s summary, “in this guided-inquiry lab, students will design and test a procedure reacting waste cooking oil in a blue cheese slurry to create a substance that mimics songbird preen oil, which is both antibacterial and hydrophobic. Students will convert the fatty acids in waste oil to methyl ketones, thought to be the principal antibacterial component of preen oil, using the P. roqueforti mold found in blue cheese. Students will expand their knowledge of biomimicry, inherent properties of preen oil, and chemical synthesis by applying the principles of green chemistry. They will also assess their own process through higher-order problem solving and building on their scientific research skills.”

“Adding this activity allowed students to see the green chemistry principles in action and provided a tangible application for the concepts we had learned. Having them design their own experiment to use repurposed cooking oil from the Washington College dining hall made those sustainability principles stick in a way that reading an article or watching a video cannot. Guided-inquiry and real world applications are great examples of MBE strategies that help students be more effective learners,” adds Dr. Lipchock.

Founded in 1911, The Gunston School is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, coeducational, college preparatory high school located in Centreville, Maryland. Visit gunston.org for more information, or register for our upcoming open house on January 31, 2021.

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, Gunston School, local news

TCPS Announces Certified Nursing Assistant Career and Technology Education “Completer”

January 23, 2021 by Talbot County Public Schools Leave a Comment

Students will have the opportunity to become Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) through a new Career and Technology Education Completer program offered by Talbot County Public Schools (TCPS) beginning in the 2021/2022 school year.

Students who complete the program and pass exam requirements will become certified nursing assistants.  TCPS has been able to implement this program through funding from the Maryland Career and Technology Education Innovation grant awarded last year.  This grant funds the purchase of medical grade equipment and resources to provide students a real-world nursing experience at Easton High School.  Students from St. Michaels Middle High School will also be able to complete the program through cross campus transportation.

The four course Program uses project and problem-based learning, clinical and internship experiences, and classroom and lab instruction to teach students about the field of healthcare.  Students are introduced to healthcare knowledge and skills through two foundation courses with content developed by Stevenson University:  Foundations of Medicine and Health Science and Structure and Functions of the Human Body.  The CNA program provides students with opportunities to apply what they are learning to real-life healthcare situations. The final required course is a clinical internship arranged with a local healthcare facility. Students who pass the end-of-course exams as well as successfully complete the program of study will be eligible for transcripted credit through Stevenson University.

“We are very excited to offer our students this new opportunity to pursue future careers in health care,” said Dr. Kelly Griffith, Superintendent.  “Many high school students already know this is their chosen path, so this program will enable them to gain clinical experience even before graduation and potentially continue on to another level through collegiate studies or enter the workforce.”

For additional information or have any questions, please email Robin Werner, CTE Curriculum Supervisor at rwerner@talbotschools.org or your school counselor.

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, local news, Talbot County Public Schools, The Talbot Spy

Benedictine Front-Line Employees Receive First Round of COVID-19 Vaccines

January 22, 2021 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Sister Mary Agnes proudly shows off her vaccine card after receiving her first COVID-19 vaccination on January 14, 2021.

Benedictine Executive Director Scott Evans has announced that the organization’s front-line employees received their first round of COVID-19 vaccinations on January 14, 2021. Unlike other educational facilities across the nation Benedictine remained open since the beginning of the pandemic to support the students and adults in their programs.

Evans stated that the availability of the vaccines to staff, students, and residents represented an important turning point for the organization and was a great first step and something to be celebrated, but he added, “it does not mean we can automatically flip the switch and get back to normal immediately. We must get through this first round of vaccinations for our employees, students and the adults we support. Then we can turn our efforts to getting the second dose for everyone and begin looking towards the future and reopening our programs in a smart way.”

Evans stated there are ongoing communications to employees about the continued importance of wearing masks, social distancing, and regularly sanitizing hands and surfaces, in accordance with the organization’s stated COVID-19 policies.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Benedictine has sought to minimize risk by closely following guidelines established by the Maryland Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Early on, employees received special training on how to properly clean and sanitize their workspaces, and Benedictine contracted with a third-party vendor to sanitize all areas of its campus and group homes. Employees have been allowed to work remotely when possible, and on-site employees are required to perform regular self-assessments of their current health condition prior to each shift and to continuously monitor the health of students and adult residents for any sudden changes. Temperature checks are performed regularly, visitations have been limited, and all staff and visitors are required to wear masks in all Benedictine-owned facilities.

Benedictine’s response to the pandemic has been made more challenging due to uncertainties around the availability of additional funding and resources to offset the significant expenses incurred. Benedictine leadership has been in regular contact with its funding agencies and is working diligently, along with other providers and advocates, to secure commitments for ongoing funding and reimbursement for added expenses.

Evans expressed great admiration for the way his staff has continued to work together over the past ten months to tackle the many challenges posed by the pandemic. “Throughout this crisis we have continued to show we are stronger together and the power of our mission and values has been our guide from day one. Soon we will be able to look back at this time and feel immense pride that we never stopped fulfilling our mission. We can be proud that we did everything in our power to keep everyone safe.”

For the latest information and updates on Benedictine’s COVID-19 response efforts, visit benschool.org.

About Benedictine: Benedictine is one of the most comprehensive providers of services for children and adults with developmental & intellectual disabilities and autism. We offer a year-round educational program and 365-day residential program for students ages 5-21. Our students come from throughout Maryland, as well as adjoining states. Benedictine’s adult program provides community living, meaningful day services, and employment opportunities on the Eastern Shore and Annapolis. Benedictine’s mission is to help each individual achieve their full potential. Our mission and values of Hospitality, Dignity of Work, and Compassionate Caring our rooted in our founding by the Sisters of St. Benedictine. Today, Benedictine is a non-denominational organization, but we continue to honor and celebrate these values.

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Education, local news

20,000 Years of History from One Oyster Reef with Douglas R. Levin, Ph.D.

January 21, 2021 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

This presentation will use a sonar-mapped oyster reef from the dock of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge, MD to illustrate, geologically, what the Bay looked like in this vicinity of the Choptank River from 20,000 years ago (when the sea level was 300 feet lower) until now.  You will see the Choptank as an energetic, flowing, meandering river; the subsequent incursion of saltwater into the Chesapeake Bay; and sea level reaching its present level from 6,000 years ago. The presentation will show the burying of that reef by sediments washing off the fields of the Wilhelmina Colony up by the Dover Bridge in the late 1800’s.  Finally, the program will also suggest that there was more going on to cause the demise of oysters than over exploitation.

Dr. Levin has over 40 years of experience mapping globally dispersed seafloors with a myriad of technologies. He directs the Watershed Innovation Lab at Washington College where he creates affordable water quality observation systems. Doug lives on the Choptank River in Preston, Maryland where he enjoys kayaking, fishing, woodworking, and a good glass of scotch. Choose between Live ZOOM Class Session or Recorded, Wednesday, February 3 from 10:00 to 11:30 am $10.  To register for the course, or for more information about Chesapeake Forum Winter/Spring 2021 classes go to our website at https://chesapeakeforum.org/ or visit us on Facebook.

Filed Under: Ed Notes Tagged With: Chesapeake Forum, Education, local news

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