EXETER Several area parents have started an online petition calling on the SAU 16 administration to “commit to an action plan” to bring back middle and high school students to in-person learning full-time.
Parents Melissa Hanlon and Susan Shanelaris along with other SAU 16 parents have circulated the Change.org petition that quickly garnered more than 500 signatures.
The petition calls on the administration and the Exeter Region Cooperative School Board to commit to following the state of New Hampshire’s guidelines for reopening schools, as opposed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It also calls on SAU 16 to commit to allowing for 3 feet of indoor social distancing, instead of the CDC recommended 6 feet.
For schools, Jan. 6 riot is a complex teachable moment
Sarah Wong, a middle school social studies teacher in Exeter, teaches most of her students remotely. She says her district has encouraged her and other teachers to discuss current events in class. Courtesy of Sarah Wong
Published: 1/20/2021 5:18:54 PM
In the two weeks since a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, many people in New Hampshire have been trying to make sense of the news. That includes kids, who are still learning the basics of government and politics. And it also includes many families and teachers, who say with the right approach, the events of this month can become teaching opportunities.
Listen to the broadcast version of this story.
The day after the Capitol riot, 14-year old Elijah Bacote went to class at Plymouth Regional High School, and he said no one - not his teachers, nor any of his peers - brought up the news.
“It’s historic, but at the same time, no one’s really talking about it,” he said. “That’s just school, I guess.”
The superintendent in Plymouth, Kyla Welch, said she left it up to teachers to decide whether to discuss the riot. That has been the case in a lot of New Hampshire schools, which means many teenagers are processing current events online, at home, or not at all - and not in school.
Cooperative Middle School educator named World Language Teacher of the Year
Portsmouth Herald
STRATHAM – Cooperative Middle School teacher Marjorie Pim was recently named the 2021 New Hampshire World Language Teacher of the Year.
The New Hampshire Association of World Language Teachers gave the veteran teacher the award for her work in preparing and supporting middle school students for high school language learning. One of her colleagues, Jacob Goodwin, nominated her after observing her in action during her classes.
“Marjorie is always interested in how what she teaches can be translated to a bigger picture beyond the classroom for each student,” said Goodwin, a social studies teacher at CMS. “Her desire is for each student to grow up with an awareness of other languages and how that appreciation can challenge and develop their perception of the world around them.”