thanks to a grant you received from the National Geographic society, T.R.E.E. was so excited to host you and your West Feliciana Middle School 7th grade students at Sunship III for 3 days and 2 nights. You fully embraced the nature name, Hummingbird, tell us why.
I love hummingbirds and have several that like to visit my hummingbird feeders. They are beautiful and powerful little birds.
What grades and subjects have you taught?
I have taught high school, but spent most of my teaching career in middle school. I originally taught Social Studies and am now a reading teacher. This year I am also working as an instructional coach.
How long have you been working in education and where?
I am originally from Louisiana. However, I have lived and traveled throughout parts of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands, teaching middle school on three different continents to students from many different cultural backgrounds. I have 13 years of teaching experience. I am a Reading Specialist and currently teaching at West Feliciana Middle School.
From your Sunship III experience with your students, what has stuck with you most?
What struck me the most was how that experience bonded those students. They became such a close group and really began to see themselves as leaders because of that experience.
How did you expand the learning experience back at school after attending Sunship III?
After returning from Sunship in February 2020, Covid changed our lives. The following year, we kept our outdoor learning close to home with several tree projects and a trip to Cat Island to visit the grand champion bald cypress. Students finished that year by leading the Basin Activity at our school on a Wetlands Day. This year, we are thrilled to continue sharing the Basin Activity with other students and begin working with LSU's Coastal Roots program. We will be growing cypress seedlings and planting them annually.
Hummingbird adapted the “Basin Game” originally created by the Pontchartrain Conservancy (previously the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation) and T.R.E.E. incorporating the water cycle with the flow of water, along with pollutants, additionally offering the concept of interrelationships.
If you could give new educators one piece of advice, what would it be?
As educators, we like to have a plan, but we can't always imagine where our journeys will take us. What I have learned is that we don't always have to know what the end result will be. If we focus on the learning process and create spaces for great things to happen, the possibilities are really endless.
Possibilities really are endless with Hummingbird! T.R.E.E. is grateful to science teacher, Jodi Sanchez for introducing us. We look forward to more experiences with West Feliciana Middle School students in the near future. 