Over the past month, teachers at BFA-Fairfax Middle School have been attempting to redefine students’ Initiative Time (or Supported Study) experience to be more student-driven, with the purpose of helping students develop 21st-century skills like self-direction, creativity, leadership, and problem-solving. Last month, for instance, students in Mr. Psaros’ (8th-grade social studies) Initiative Time visited Lake … Continue reading Transferable Skills and the Engineering Design Process at BFA-Fairfax MS
BFA High School Science Department Welcomes New Faculty
As high school students started a new semester at BFA, they were greeted by new teachers in the Science department. Joe McSoley, a long time BFA teacher, retired in order to spend more time with his new grandchild. Tom Lane started a sabbatical leave so that he could finish up several research projects in Alaska … Continue reading BFA High School Science Department Welcomes New Faculty
Reader’s Theater Develops Fluency Through Drama Productions
Students in Mrs. Knapp’s fourth-grade class have participated in Reader’s Theater productions since the beginning of the school year, and this past Thursday, their talents shined in front of the school and the community during All-School Morning Meeting. Reader's Theater is a means of developing fluency, in which students participate in skits and plays … Continue reading Reader’s Theater Develops Fluency Through Drama Productions
BFA Student Leaders Spend Saturday Morning Serving Hungry Vermonters
For most high school students, Saturday mornings are for sleeping in - that is, unless you are a BFA Fairfax student helping a classmate fulfill their National Honor Society service project requirement! At 7am this past Saturday, a group of 12 students boarded a bus and headed to Barre to assist the Vermont Foodbank. Senior Kira … Continue reading BFA Student Leaders Spend Saturday Morning Serving Hungry Vermonters
What do Transferable Skills and Chocolate Have in Common?
The students in Mr. Psaros’ eighth grade Initiative Time group meet daily to engage in goal-setting, personalized learning, and to work on their personalized learning plans (PLP). Before Thanksgiving, students inquired if they could learn about how chocolate was made. Mr. Psaros supported their interest, with one caveat: students were going to need to plan, … Continue reading What do Transferable Skills and Chocolate Have in Common?
BFA HS Students Engage in UVM Aiken Learning Challenge
Earlier this fall, BFA Fairfax high school Freshman enjoyed engaging in the Aiken Engineering Challenge at UVM. The students worked through a lot of trial and error to refine their design. The team even ended up changing from their initial design at the last minute (two days before the competition) when they were unable to … Continue reading BFA HS Students Engage in UVM Aiken Learning Challenge
BFA Fairfax Students Present Climate Change Findings to National Geoscientists
BFA juniors Bailey Halliday and Hallie Hoffman as part of the St. Michael’s College Center for Workforce Development and Diversity (CWDD) EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) Program researched phosphorus loading in Lake Champlain. Mentored by HS science teacher Tom Lane, Bailey and Hallie collected phosphorus and total suspended solids data from Mill Brook … Continue reading BFA Fairfax Students Present Climate Change Findings to National Geoscientists
New Year, New Resolutions at BFA Fairfax
The holiday season is over, and 2017 is now upon us. As with any new year the talk of resolutions was ever-present as students and staff trickled back through the doors of BFA Fairfax on Tuesday morning. In the flurry of activity, I asked a smiling first grader “What’s YOUR New Year’s resolution?” He gave … Continue reading New Year, New Resolutions at BFA Fairfax
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