Vermont Writes Day -- Did your school participate?

Hey Lee, could you post a link to an article or something about the the success of last year's Vermont Writes Day? I'm trying to get my school involved, and it'd be great to have some past information about the project. Thanks!

This was the follow up note written several days after the event...

Vermont Writes Day I
Thanks so much to all the young writers, teachers, schools, school staff and school guests who participated in Vermont Writes Day on January 27, 2009. (Several schools couldn't do it on the 27th and so did it on the 28th, dubbing it "Vermont Still Writes Day.") We know of 54 schools that participated, involving an estimated 15,000 students and many teachers, parents, school staffers and administrators -- and Gov. Jim Douglas -- sat down and wrote for seven minutes. Wow!

We had three prompts and sent the best of the "Dear President Obama" letters to President Obama. YWP posted the best pieces on youngwritersproject.org and published many in the Newspaper Seriesin The Burlington Free Press, Brattlboro Reformer, Times Argus, Rutland Herald and Valley News.

Hinesburg Community School and Underhill Central School -- among others -- stopped everything to write at the same time.

* A school for autistic kids participated.
* Gov. Jim Douglas went to a class at Spaulding High School and wrote for seven minutes and then shared his piece. Writing, he said, is "a lot more work than vetoing or signing a bill." Hats off to the Governor.
* Plymouth Elementary School invited parents to participate.
* Clarendon Elementary School got into a great discussion about all the writing that was done in one class.
* Knowing that Vermont is still a bit in the Jurassic Period of the Digital Age, we had anticipated that most kids would be using pencils. Nonetheless we had well over 400 posts -- and hundreds of comments -- on our special site, vermontwrites.ywpvt.net Check it out!
* We are thinking of doing this again. To help make it better, please send us your suggestions. Should we try to do this once a month? Call 860-0570 if that's easier.

THANKS to everyone. For a list of some of the schools that participated, click here.

To read some of the news stories and blogs about the event:

• Times Argus: Spaulding Students Show Off the Write Stuff."
• WCAX coverage Jan. 27. (Be patient it takes a while to load.)
• Amy Hazen's teacher blog
• Sharon Davison's kindergarden not only wrote but recorded themselves reading their pieces!
• Rutland Herald announces the day.
• Underhill Central School principal talks about how great it was to walk around the school and see everyone writing!

Thanks GG!

I love that YWP does this occasionally--it's so cool, and it's probably so much fun! I can't ever get my school to participate, though. I try every time, but it just never seems to work out. I'll try it this time!

Great news! Tuttle is participating..or at least some classes!

Chamberlain School (of South Burlington) may be participating, along with some classes at South Burlington High School...as sambo said, some of FHTMS is participating, and I know for sure that Orchard Elementary is doing it as well:)

Looks like it's going to be a great success in South Burlington!

The Renaissance School in Shelburne will participate by writing on Friday, Feb. 12, since we will be closed for parent conferences on Tuesday. We're planning an assembly the following Monday to celebrate the children's writing. Have fun writing everyone!

Eve

North Hero third and fourth grade are in!
And the kids at North Hero bring in da noise, and they bring in da funk!

Sweet I belive that my school (Hunt middle school) is doing it too... never mind

Is participating in Vermont Writes Day...students are enthusiastically writing today!! :)

Isle La Motte wrote as a whole school today for 7 minutes. K-6 it was wonderful! We used the prompt, "I had the surprise of my life when I opened the door and saw . . . ". We then shared as a large group and will share a as individual classes. It was highly successful for students and staff alike,
Thanks,
Diane

Mrs. Diane Reilly
Principal, Isle La Motte School
534 School Road
Isle La Motte, Vermont 05463

Hi Geoff,

My classes are participating in Vermont Writes Day today. We aren't doing it as a whole school at the same time, but I am doing it with my classes throughout the day! Thanks!
Sandra

--
Sandra Baker
Phoenix Team
Essex Middle School

Hi Geoff,

Both Rochester Middle and High School and Whitcomb Jr.-Sr. High School will be participating in Vermont Writes Day 2010. We made one small adjustment to the prompts by giving students the option to write about Haiti or Afghanistan. I think the students are pretty excited about the project. Thanks for organizing it.

Andy West

Sounds like it's a go at Edmunds!

Terrence Landberg

Hello Vermont Writes!

Happy Vermont Writes Day! My third grade class (including me), at Bennington Elementary School, had a great time with the 7 minute write today! I teach third grade, and do something called Imagine This... every week. It's my take off on the seven minute write, so the class is very familiar with the format. This kind of writing is always one of the highlights of my day. Students jump right into it!

I'll be interested to hear how many Vermonters were writing today...

Sincerely,
Sandy Ciccone
Bennington Elementary School

St. Albans schools and Rice Memorial also participated...

The Shelburne Community School is participating ....

WRVS was writing up a storm. Purple was the popular prompt of the day. Thanks for the great idea!

When I hear the word Afghanistan, I think of all the suffering our nation has gone through since September 11th, 2001. I also think of the lives that have been sacrificed by our men and women in the service to protect our country during the war on terrorism. But then you have to consider what the people of Afghanistan have gone through. They have basically been through a civil war, war with the U.S., poverty, famine and so much more. So in reality, the people of Afghanistan have been through just as much pain and suffering as we have. So next time you blame the terrorists and people of Afghanistan for what happened, consider what the innocent people have been trough before you judge them.

P.Amell
Northfield High School

Swanton School
Mater Christi in Burlington
Malletts Bay School
Elm Hill School
Woodstock Union Middle School
Woodstock Union High School
Charlotte Central School
Colchester Middle School
Colchester High School
Middlebury Union High School
A.D. Lawton School
Peoples Academy....
Proctor Junior Senior High School
The Schoolhouse
Montgomery Elementary School
Allen Brook School
Windsor Jr./Sr. High School

Also Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School...heard it was a great success throughout the school!

Sherburne Elementary School participated in the seven minute write. Fourth Grade submitted their pieces to the site.

St. Albans Town Educational Center participated! Geoff...what a wonderful experience for students and staff, alike! One student - a fourth grader - wrote the most amazing piece of writing I've read in years by anyone...not just by a fourth grader! It made the hair on my arms stand up! Thanks!

Yes, it was submitted along with a few other pieces from the event. The piece was about Afghanistan and written by GriffinK. Thanks for your encouragement. I know Diane/Angela are working on continuing with YWP next year. I really want to continue...this has been fantastic in many ways!

So, Geoff, a few of us were talking and thinking it might be nice to have a place to publish teacher writing, too. Any thoughts about that? It would be great to let the public know that teachers (can) write, too!

Our LA Class did it at Charlotte Central School

North Country Union Jr/Sr High School
The Schoolhouse
Montgomery Elementary School

This is a fantastic idea! Way to go on getting this under way. I wish our school had known about this. I'm going to talk to the administration about doing it for next year.

Richmond Elementary School
Proctor Jr/Sr High School

This was sent out to the Swanton community and to parents by Swanton School principal Julie Benay...

On Tuesday, February 9th, all Swanton Elementary School students participated in the Young Writer's Project Vermont Writes! day. After the morning announcements, sixth graders from Mr. Acanfora's "Eco Stars" classroom served as "writing ambassadors." The Eco Stars visited each classroom with choices of writing "prompts" developed by the Young Writer's Project. Students wrote for seven minutes, after which the Eco Star "writing ambassadors" collected the writing and delivered the pieces to the main office. Literacy coach Karen Tyler organized the responses and several adults from the school community selected a few from each grade that were interesting or effective. The pieces written by the selected authors were posted on the Vermont Writes! website: http:/vermontwrites.ywpschools.net and students received a certificate of appreciation. The students enjoyed the "on demand" writing challenge, and hope that parents and community members will visit the site and post comments on their writing. The Young Writers Project is a Vermont 501(c)3 nonprofit that engages students to write, helps them improve their writing skills and finds audiences for their work. It works with students in grades K-12 in Vermont and the greater Lebanon, N.H., area.

I'm not sure if my whole school participated, but I know my class did.
Essex Middle School.

....participated in Vermont Writes Day.

And they had a lot of fun, a teacher reports.

gg