Puerto Rican Students and Teachers Visit BFA Fairfax High School

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As part of a science exchange program being developed by high school science teacher Tom Lane and FWSU Superintendent Ned Kirsch, eight students and five teachers from Puerto Rico recently visited BFA High School and stayed with host families. The PR students and their teachers had presented research at the VT EPSCoR St. Michael’s College Center for Workforce Development and Diversity Science Symposium earlier in the week. These visiting students came from four different high schools in Puerto Rico: Jose E. Aponte de la Torre School in Carolina, Academia Maira Reina in San Juan, Juan Ponce de Leon in Florida and Aurea E. Quiles in Guanica, Puerto Rico. The students and their teachers participated in many different activities during their time at BFA: a tour and lecture at Proctor Maple Research Center, visiting Hamel’s sugar house, activities in Ms. Brien’s Spanish class, observation of Ms. Villeneuve’s public speaking assessment, making salt scrubs in Botany class, constructing decomposition bags, tour of Bill Rowell’s “Cow Power” farm and recreation such as sledding at Bolton and time at AirDrop.

(Puerto Rican students, teachers, BFA-Fairfax students and students from Hartford HS enjoy sledding at Bolton Valley. For the Puerto Rican students this was their first experience with snow!)

(Puerto Rican/BFA exchange students mug for the camera in the fresh snow at Bolton Valley.)

(Puerto Rican students, teachers and host families enjoy dinner in Mr. Lane’s science classroom at BFA HS.)

(Puerto Rican exchange students and BFA Botany students from Mr. Lane’s class visit the Proctor Maple Research Center in Underhill, VT. The tour was conducted by Mark Isselhardt, (in the background), a UVM Extension Maple Specialist.

(Puerto Rican exchange students and BFA Botany students visit Jeff Hamel’s sugaring operation in Fairfax. (Brooke Hamel, BFA student set-up the visit is in the foreground on the left and Jeff her dad is next to the evaporator.) — (Puerto Rican exchange students and BFA Botany students visit Jeff Hamel’s sugaring operation in Fairfax. (Brooke, BFA student who set up the visit is in the foreground on the left and Jeff her dad is next to the evaporator.)

(Puerto Rican students share dance moves with BFA students in Ms. Kerri Brien’s Spanish class. Photo credit Kerri Brien.)

(Puerto Rican exchange students join students in Botany class at BFA making salt scrubs as a closing activity while studying plant tissues. BFA student Gianna foreground with PR student Grecia, BFA’s Ben behind them with Elliot, teacher at Juan Ponce de Leon in PR as well as PR students Kristopher and Keisha in the back.)

(Puerto Rican students Jean Paul and Shanick from Jose E. Aponte de la Torre School in Carolina, PR construct microbial activity measurement bags (part of the Global Decomposition Program) in BFA science lab. They will be able to take these back to their school and measure microbial activity then share their data with BFA and the world on a global network.)

(BFA senior Alex Ferguson (center) and Puerto Rican students Kristopher and Keisha from Juan Ponce de Leon School in Florida, PR enjoy recreation Friday evening at AirDrop, a trampoline facility in Williston, VT.) — (BFA senior Alex (center) and Puerto Rican students Kristopher and Keisha from Juan Ponce de Leon School in Florida, PR enjoy recreation Friday evening at Get Air, a trampoline facility in Williston, VT.)

(BFA senior Alex Ferguson and Puerto Rican students Jose and Shanick jump on the trampolines at AirDrop in Williston, VT.) — (BFA senior Alex and Puerto Rican students Jose and Shanick jump on the trampolines at Get Air in Williston, VT.)

(Puerto Rican students, their teachers and host families from BFA-Fairfax enjoy breakfast at Erica’s in Fairfax before heading to tour Bill Rowell’s “Cow Power” farm in Sheldon, VT.) — (Puerto Rican students, their teachers and host families from BFA Fairfax enjoy breakfast at Erica’s in Fairfax before heading to tour Bill Rowell’s “Cow Power” farm in Sheldon, VT.)

(BFA students and Puerto Rican students and teachers enjoy the calf barn at Bill Rowell’s “Cow Power” farm in Sheldon, VT.)

(Bill Rowell owner of Green Mountain Dairy explains how the methane digester works on his 1050 cow farm in Sheldon, VT to students and teachers from BFA-Fairfax and Puerto Rico. http://www.billrowell.org/ ) — (Bill Rowell owner of Green Mountain Dairy explains how the methane digester works on his 1050 cow farm in Sheldon, VT to students and teachers from BFA-Fairfax and Puerto Rico. http://www.billrowell.org/)

(Puerto Rican students and BFA students pose outside the milking barn at Bill Rowell’s (far right) “Cow Power” farm in Sheldon, VT. Photo credit, Teresa Larose.)

BFA students and science teacher Tom Lane will travel to Puerto Rico on April 13-19 to visit the four high schools of our visiting Puerto Rican friends. Our students will learn about research involving macrobenthics in streams, heavy metals pollution, tropical forest and dry tropical forest ecology, cave ecology, as well as tour the Arecibo Radio Telescope. Funding for the exchange is provided by a FWSU, a Bay and Paul grant, VT EPSCoR and student funds.

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