14 Success Stories

ISSUE

May/June 2010

I n s t r u c t i o n a l

for educators of Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties

Connecting with Instructional

Support Services

Tim Cox

DIRECTOR

716.376.8227 tcox@caboces.org

Barb VanWicklin

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

716.376.8321

bvanwicklin@caboces.org Laurie MacVittie

LEARNING RESOURCES

716.376.8239

lmacvittie@caboces.org

Dr. Michael Doyle

MST-HEALTH KITS

716.376.8285

mdoyle@caboces.org Cindy Crandall

STUDENT PROGRAMS ITINERANT SERVICES

716.376.8242

ccrandall@caboces.org

www.caboces.org www.go2iss.org

this issue

Going Global in Olean P.1 Genesee Valley Science P.2 Art Adjudication P.2 Building Vocabulary P.3 Cuba-Rushford Instruction P.4

ALICE in Randolph P.4

Technology and Travel Create New

Opportunities for Staff and Students

by Lauren Stuff – Olean Teacher and Laurie MacVittie

Teachers from the Olean City School District were selected to accompany

the St.

Bonaventure SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) organization to Grand Bahama Island, Ba‐ hamas. Through this cross‐ cultural exchange, the teach‐ ers were asked to help in the implementation of various business‐directed

in botany and ecology. Through a careful study of plants and animals, Miss Stuff planned to work with the classroom in the Bahamas to plant "cultural gardens," al‐ lowing the students to ob‐ serve the growth and need for natural resources provided for by various plants.

lessons

sponsored by the SIFE stu‐ dents and implement their own distance learning project.

OFFICIAL PARTNERS

To design the projects, the teachers compared the cur‐ riculum of the district to the curriculum of Bishop Michael Eldon Primary School in the Bahamas. Mrs. Tammy Mar‐ tin, a fifth grade teacher at Washington West Elementary, designed her project based on the study of weather, storm patterns, and the structure of the earth and solar system. Miss Lauren Stuff, a fourth grade teacher at Ivers J. Nor‐ ton Elementary, designed her project based on the overlap

Both projects were imple‐ mented and carried out over the course of a month and a half. Through Polycom video‐ conferencing connections, the teachers both locally and in the Bahamas were able to meet to discuss their project

ideas. The planning process began and upon the teachers' arrival in the Bahamas, the projects were implemented. Students from Olean and the Bahamas also met throughout the project.

With new technologies and partnerships,

connections

across the globe have been possible for students and teachers in Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties. Embracing these opportunities is the key to assuring that our students receive a culturally rich learn‐ ing experience. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4