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Darlene Burdin assumes position July 1, 2007
Beginning
July 1st, Darlene Burdin will assume the position of Superintendent of
Schools for M.S.A.D. #52, replacing Tom Hanson who is retiring from
education. For the past three and a half years, Darlene has served as
the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction in M.S.A.D. #52.
Darlene has six years of service with the District. Prior to her
assuming the position of Assistant Superintendent, she served as
Principal of Turner Elementary School.
Before working in M.S.A.D. #52, Darlene spent 20 years in the
Biddeford School System. She taught grades six through eight during her
tenure with her primary teaching responsibility at the middle school
being mathematics. During her final two years in Biddeford, Darlene
served as assistant principal of the middle school while teaching two
classes of math daily.
Darlene resides on Bear Pond in Hartford with her husband Carl and their golden retriever Baxter.
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Donna Storer's fifh grade class at Leeds Central School participates in
Global collaboration to brainstorm online solutions to combate global
warming.
Click on this header to read the final top ideas.
Google recently partnered with Global
SchoolNet to invite teachers and students to use Google Docs &
Spreadsheets collaborative software in a project to brainstorm
strategies for combating global warming. Children of all ages from more
than 80 schools around the world participated, and on November 27th we
took out a full-page ad in USA Today to put their ideas in the
spotlight. Without further ado, here are their top 50 ideas:
1.
Include global warming/climate change in school curricula (as part of
National Science Standards), so when the students are in charge they
can make educated decisions.
2. Increase availability of
low-interest Energy Efficient Mortgages to support homeowners who
increase the energy efficiency of their homes.
3. Put light sensors in all office and school buildings so all lights go off when the rooms are empty.
4. Require that all products contributing to global warming be marked
with a specific color (e.g., chemical pesticides could be marked with a
red sticker for being extremely dangerous to the environment).
5. Use less paper; use the back of the paper to print on or write on; use recyled paper.
6. Plant more trees to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
7. Teach recycling techniques in classes and school-wide programs.
8. Make recycling mandatory in all public facilities, such as schools, parks and beaches.
9. Do public service announcements on TV featuring celebrities
promoting carpooling, walking, riding bikes, using public
transportation, conserving electricity and recycling.
10. Give
grants and tax credits to companies that invest in alternative,
sustainable, emission-free fuel technologies while ending such
subsidies for fosssil fuel production.
11. The media should conduct
interviews of legislators to help the public become aware of their
ability and willingness to help solve the problem.
12. Replace incandescence light bulbs with fluorescence light bulbs.
13. Restrict the use of chemical fertilizer in agriculture.
14. Provide incentives and policies to encourage car makers to make more fuel efficient cars.
15. Protect wetlands and preserve more open space.
16. Provide tax incentives for regular recyclers and car poolers.
17. Use solar panels in the construction of new homes and office buildings.
18. Substitute local community transportation fleets with hybrid vehicles.
19. Require that car dealers hand out fact sheets that inform car buyers about the pollution levels of different cars.
20. Send scientists to talk about global warming in schools. They can
bring hands-on activities so students feel more involved.
21. Unplug all electronics from the wall when they're not in use.
22. Have another Global Warming Student Speakout in one year - to see if any of these ideas have been implemented.
23. Raise mandatory emissions standards for cars and other vehicles sold in the US.
24. Use solar power in the day and use electricity at night when needed.
25. Give tax rebates for using solar power.
26. Congress should ratify the Kyoto Agreement.
27. Establish off-shore wind farms - saves land space and produces reliable power.
28. Levy higher taxes on companies that pollute the air.
29. Wait until you have a lot of clothes to wash before using the washing machine.
30. Provide tax incentives for companies that create Hybrid cars. That will reduce the need for oil.
31. Schools and businesses should be fined for not having recycling bins available to the people on their premises.
32. The media should tell us about what is really going on with global
warming. We don't think that we have all the information we need.
33. At the end of the weather forecast, report "CO2 emissions levels
today…" or comparative average temperatures (i.e., this year's
temperature as it compares to the past several years).
34. Lead by example and convert 50% of government vehicles to environmentally friendly cars by the year 2020.
35. Place recycling bins throughout the city wherever there is a trash can.
36. Require companies to limit the amount of packaging an item can have and it must be recyclable.
37. Block bills that cause more damage to the environment.
38. Media could reduce advertising costs for alternative energy products to inform and increase sales in these areas.
39. Keep your tires fully inflated to improve gas mileage.
40. Replace old appliances with Energy Star appliances.
41. Promote awareness of local recycling centers.
42. Require college and high school students to take a global warming class.
43. Give tax reductions to public transportation users.
44. Protect our oceans - prevent plankton in the ocean from dying.
45. People running for elections should use email, radio and other
media to campaign and stop using so many paper signs and flyers that
use up our natural resources and then get left out and become pollution.
46. Reuse newspapers as wrapping paper for gifts.
47. Enforce laws about littering.
48. Use less electricity, turn off the TV, read books, walk, run, bike, surf, play tennis.
49. Business should require employees to telecommute several days a week.
50. Provide scientists appropriate resources to help them research the
future of energy and the freedom to explore innovative ideas.
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Patience Norman Award Winner Announced
We are very pleased to announce this year's recipient of the Patience
Norman Award - TIM THOMPSON. Tim is a second grade teacher at
Greene Central School.
Some of the things noted by colleagues include- - Tim takes creativity to a
whole different level. His second grade classroom has its own website
with an opportunity for the kids to display their work. Tim uses lots
of hands-on activities to involve the children. He is very energetic
and passionate about the children and teaching and is respected by the
kids and staff. He makes GCS a great team environment . This school
is a better place because he is in it.
Congratulations to Tim on this well deserved award. The award was presented at a school assembly on Wednesday, December `9, 2007.
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