Global Campus Randolph Participates in Randolph Community Dinner

Posted: 15th April 2013

On March 21, 2013, participants gathered at the Pleasant Street residence to create some delicious casseroles for the Randolph Community Dinner as part of their Community Service project this term. Some participants were also able to attend the dinner and enjoy the fruits of their labors with other members of the community!

GC Participants Interact with Australian Theater Company

Posted: 8th February 2013

As part of the GCF Academic Year Theme of Culture, participants from GC Springfield and GC Shiremont, accompanied by parents and board members from GCF, attended “Ganesh Versus the Third Reich” at the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College. The actors in the Australian-based Back to Back Theater Company have “perceived intellectual disabilities.” The Hopkins Center arranged for special programming for GC participants to engage with the theater company’s staff and actors. The evening began with a question and answer session with the theater company’s Executive Producer, Alice Nash.

Back to Back Theater began over twenty-five years ago with a mission of bringing theater to people with disabilities. It became clear from early stages of the organization, that the outcomes were more focused on contemporary theater than disability. Back to Back is now recognized as one of Australia’s top contemporary theater organizations and has received numerous awards.

Ganesh Versus the Third Reich addressed themes of power and prejudice. We saw Ganesh, a Hindu god in the form of an elephant, arrive in Germany and attempt to take back the ancient Hindu symbol of the swastika, misused as a symbol of power and prejudice by Nazi Germans. Some of the pre-production discussions included whether Back to Back even had the right to discuss ideas about Ganesh, Nazi Germany and the swastika in a theatrical production. These challenges, as well as other issues, were discussed in a variety of pre and post show discussions, sponsored by the Hopkins Center.

GC participants were involved in a discussion with the artistic director and actors after the performance. Patrick, from GC Shiremont, asked “What was this play about?” The director answered that the play takes on different meanings for everyone – the performers and the audience. There are some themes, but, ultimately, our minds make the performance different for each of us. The evening proved to be an exciting opportunity for GC participants to engage with their peers from halfway around the world in the realm of Fine Arts.

Written by GCF Academic Coordinators Amy Miller and Pam Fitzgerald

 

What’s New at GC Springfield

Posted: 19th October 2012

This fall Global Campus Springfield is learning about elections by doing different projects. One of our projects that we are doing is a mock town and by doing a mock town we have to elect a town mayor. The other part of the mock town is for us to agree on what the town needs – like roads, buildings, electricity, and water. In Global Campus Springfield we also painted a bird house in memory of a participant, Jeff, and dedicated a rose bush in memory of a participant, Helen.

Written by Nyoka, GC Springfield participant

THE BIG EVENT!

Posted: 15th June 2012

On Monday June 11th, Global Campuses Bradford, Randolph, and Moretown celebrated their 5th year anniversary at The Big Event, presented by Global Campuses Foundation. The assembled audience of Campus Ambassadors, friends, family, and dignitaries rose as the campus participants proceeded in to the hall at Our Lady of the Angels Church in Randolph, accompanied by live music performed by Tony Mason. Susan Wehry, M.D, the commissioner for DAIL, opened the morning ceremony with a heartfelt speech congratulating the campus participants on their success, excellent reputation, and hard work. Jim and Sheryl Tewksbury, and Andreas John also shared their praise, congratulations and reflections on the impact the campus participants have created in their communities over the past five years. Bill Ashe, Executive Director of Upper Valley Services, Dennis Gray, Director of UVS Moretown, Joan Carman, Director of UVS Randolph, and Lorraine Gaboriault, Director of UVS Bradford, were all presented with certificates recognizing their unique contributions to the successful five year partnership of GCF and UVS. Jason Richardson, CFO of ARIS Solutions, was presented with the Global Vision Award for his continued commitment and dynamic engagement with GCF.

Later in the ceremony each campus was recognized as a group and then each participant came to the front to receive a transcript, detailing the classes they attended at their campus over the past five years. Faculty participants also received a faculty portfolio, with a description of the classes they taught over that same time period.

The morning ceremony came to a close with loud applause, cake, and many personal congratulations for each campus participant. After the ceremony, the Campus Ambassadors representing the eight VT and NH Global Campuses, enjoyed a lunch together and spent time sharing their work and planning for future Campus-to-Campus Connections events.

Congratulations to all the Campus Participants and Resource Persons who are a part of the Global Campus Communities in Bradford, Randolph, and Moretown. You are all amazing!

GC Bradford Hosts Benefit for Bradford Historical Society

Posted: 9th May 2012

On Friday May 4th, Global Campus Bradford hosted a spaghetti supper at the Grace Methodist Church. Participants created the event as a community service project to benefit the Bradford Historical Society. Our theme this year is Building Community and in Bradford participants have enjoyed a strong focus on learning about their local history. This event was a way for participants to thank members of the Historical Society for a tour of their museum, and a guest presentation on Bradford’s history at their campus by Mark Johnson, a member of the historical society. 


Months of planning and preparation went into the supper with many organizations in the community helping out including the Old Church Community Theater, Bradford Historical Society, Grace Methodist Church and the Colatina Bakery. The dinner was expertly planned to coincide with opening night at the Old Church Community Theater across the street! Shawn and Robin, two dedicated GC Bradford participants, volunteered their time on the night of the event, setting everything up, preparing and serving the food, and cleaning up.


“We served 50 people! Jim and Sherry Tewksbury came. We raised $250 to donate to the Bradford Historical Society! We had leftovers that we donated to the church.” – Robin and Shawn


The campus participants plan to hold a check ceremony on May 22nd to formally present the funds to the Historical Society. Thank you to everyone in our community who helped to support this event and congratulations to the campus participants on a tremendous community service project!

Global Campus Springfield Hosts A Community Connections Conference

Posted: 16th April 2012



On March 20, 2012, Global Campus Springfield participants hosted a conference at the Nolin-Murray Center in Springfield, VT. Participants were involved in every aspect of preparing for the conference including choosing the venue, deciding what food to serve and designing the invitations and program. At the conference, their self-confidence and leadership skills shone through as they participated as speakers, teachers and presenters. Their thoughts about the conference confirm that it was a great learning experience for everyone!


I thought everyone enjoyed my presentation. by Bernie

I liked seeing all the people. It was fun to be on the panel. by Teri

It was easier than presenting at other conference. I think my class went pretty well. by Chris

I sang Summer Nights from Grease! by Randy

I had fun teaching but was nervous. It was the first time I used a microphone. by Molly

"Connecting Our Vermont Communities" Conference at Lyndon State College

Posted: 5th April 2012

Global Campuses Newport, St. Johnsbury and Hardwick presented a dynamic conference at Lyndon State College on April 4th celebrating the interconnectedness of all our Global Campuses and our communities. We wrote a grant in the fall to the Vermont Community Foundation and were awarded the Green Mountain Fund to connect with the other Global Campuses.

Global Campus Calendars Online!

Posted: 5th April 2012

We have updated GCF’s website! Check it out by browsing through the “USA Campuses” tab and exploring each Global Campuses individual page. For each campus you will find a calendar with classes and events. Just click on any class or event for more information about it. You can also switch the calendar from a monthly to a weekly format. A few of the campuses have not yet posted their Spring Term 2012 calendars so please stay tuned for those and contact us for the information you might need in the meantime by emailing aej@globalcampuses.org or calling 802-274-2190.

Wonderful News From Thailand

Posted: 2nd March 2012

Global Campuses Foundation is happy to announce the recent marriage of Kachakorn Thaveesri (Ka), GCF Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator, and Yutthaphon Damrongchuensakun (Non), Director of Global Campus Chiang Mai, on February 24, 2012. Sheryl and James Tewksbury, GCF Directors, attended and were honored to be included in the very traditional northern Thai wedding ceremony, which took place at the Thaveesri family home. February 24th is believed to be the most auspicious day of this year, and therefore brings couples good luck in their married life. Ka and Non have been the key administrators of the Global Campuses network in Thailand for 10 years. In 2008, they visited the Vermont campuses for a two month teaching and learning exchange. The Global Campuses family extends its heartfelt congratulations to Ka and Non for a happy and long life together. Please enjoy the photos of their wedding and explanations about the traditional northern Thai ceremony rituals.

These three photos show the tradition of the groom’s family waiting outside of the ceremony grounds until 9:39 a.m. to begin the processional. The number 9 is believed to be very lucky. As we enter the sala where the ceremony will take place, rose petals are thrown on our feet. The original tradition is to wash the feet.

GC Randolph Explores Ancient Greece

Posted: 16th February 2012

This Winter Interim we have been learning about Ancient Greece. We learned about Greek gods and goddesses like Zeus, Dionysus, and Poseidon. We read exciting myths. We spent an afternoon at the Kimball Library reading about Ancient Greece. The Olympic games came from Ancient Greece, but they didn’t play modern sports like basketball. The events had to do with war, like running, javelin, discus, and chariot racing. Dates, grapes, and spanakopita are some of the Greek foods we tasted. We even made some Greek jewelry!