February 7, 2009
The 5th Annual District Service Learning Conference was the "biggest and the best"with the best presenters and most participating community partners according to teachers and students! School Board member Daryl Flynn kicked off the conference with a welcoming speech.
The 5th Annual District Service Learning Conference was the "biggest and the best"with the best presenters and most participating community partners according to teachers and students! School Board member Daryl Flynn kicked off the conference with a welcoming speech.
One successful morning workshop was a forum led by Julie Colombino from United Way where all of the participating partners spoke to the teachers about their programs and needs and the service opportunities for the students.
In case you missed the conference you can view the program and see what you missed!
Some of the featured speakers:
Robert Shumer has been involved in education for almost 40 years. He has taught middle school through graduate school, operating community-based learning program in high schools and universities. Dr. Shumer is the former Director of Field Studies at UCLA and the founder/Director of the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse and Co-Director of the Center for Experiential Education and Service Learning at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Shumer currently lectures in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. His courses cover experiential learning, service-learning, research and evaluation, and curriculum development. Dr. Shumer is the editor of the Information for Action: Journal for Research on Service-Learning with Children and Youth and serves on the editorial boards of several national and international journals/publications. Mr. Shumer taught a double session workshop on engaging students in evaluation and assessment.
Shishir Inocalla is an actor who starred in over 30 films and is best known for his role of Michaelangelo in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and television series. Shishir is also known as a martial artist, and a yoga, meditation, and wellness instructor. From 1984 he studied and was promoted to become the first “Datu” Master Instructor by Grand Master Remy Presas founder of Modern Arnis, a Filipino martial art. He was a “Goodwill” Ambassador and President of Modern Arnis. He worked with the Philippine Congress to have Arnis declared as the National Sport of the Philippines. Shishir worked as a fitness and wellness instructor at Canyon Ranch and Florida Hospital at Celebration. He has given workshops in Martial Arts, Tai-chi and Yoga in the U.S., Canada, Asia, and Europe. His workshop focused on service, wellness, and believing in yourself. He demonstrated Arnis, Filipino martial arts, Tai Chi, and basic meditation techniques.
Joe Follman founded and directs the Florida Alliance for Student Service (FASS) and statewide K-12 service-learning programs in Florida. FASS programs cumulatively engage over 75,000 students annually in meaningful service as a means and application of learning: Florida Learn & Serve (Formula and Special Initiatives), FASS VISTA, and the State Farm Service-Learning and Home Safety Initiative. He is a frequent trainer at state, national, and international conferences. He has hosted the Florida Service-Learning institute for 14 years and has twice co-hosted the National Service-Learning Conference. Three of his books, Learning by Serving, Comprehensive School Improvement, and Reducing School Violence, have been disseminated to every Florida school. Mr. Follman led an interactive workshop on service learning basics.
Troy Cunningham has had extensive training and experience in Experiential Education from Outward Bound, Project Adventure, Wilderness Inquiry and Maine Bound. He is also an Achieve Global Certified Trainer. Troy was a lead instructor and program developer for Training and Development Corporation of Bucksport, Maine for four years in a Job Corp’s vocational education program. Currently Troy owns and operates Dynamic Potential Enterprises (DPE), an educational company providing training opportunities in creativity, community building, team development and student leadership. He is a favorite with OCPS youth and has led many trainings at Timber Creek.Mr. Cunningham will led workshop participants through a series of interactive games and activities. Participants learned skills in teamwork, trust, and learn how to facilitate challenges in leadership roles.
Bill Belleville gave an informative workshop on the St. John's River -the mythology and mayhem. He is an award-winning author and documentary filmmaker specializing in nature and “sense of places.” He has written five non-fiction books, including the critically acclaimed “River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida’s St. Johns River.” The Service Learning Academy uses his book as a textbook. He has also authored over 1,000 essays and articles for Islands, the New York Times, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times and many more. Mr. Belleville has produced radio documentaries for “Living on Earth”, and has worked on Discovery Channel-sponsored oceanographic expeditions to the Galapagos, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. He was named environmental writer of the year by Florida Audubon, and the Florida Wildlife Federation.
Robert Shumer has been involved in education for almost 40 years. He has taught middle school through graduate school, operating community-based learning program in high schools and universities. Dr. Shumer is the former Director of Field Studies at UCLA and the founder/Director of the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse and Co-Director of the Center for Experiential Education and Service Learning at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Shumer currently lectures in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. His courses cover experiential learning, service-learning, research and evaluation, and curriculum development. Dr. Shumer is the editor of the Information for Action: Journal for Research on Service-Learning with Children and Youth and serves on the editorial boards of several national and international journals/publications. Mr. Shumer taught a double session workshop on engaging students in evaluation and assessment.
Shishir Inocalla is an actor who starred in over 30 films and is best known for his role of Michaelangelo in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and television series. Shishir is also known as a martial artist, and a yoga, meditation, and wellness instructor. From 1984 he studied and was promoted to become the first “Datu” Master Instructor by Grand Master Remy Presas founder of Modern Arnis, a Filipino martial art. He was a “Goodwill” Ambassador and President of Modern Arnis. He worked with the Philippine Congress to have Arnis declared as the National Sport of the Philippines. Shishir worked as a fitness and wellness instructor at Canyon Ranch and Florida Hospital at Celebration. He has given workshops in Martial Arts, Tai-chi and Yoga in the U.S., Canada, Asia, and Europe. His workshop focused on service, wellness, and believing in yourself. He demonstrated Arnis, Filipino martial arts, Tai Chi, and basic meditation techniques.
Joe Follman founded and directs the Florida Alliance for Student Service (FASS) and statewide K-12 service-learning programs in Florida. FASS programs cumulatively engage over 75,000 students annually in meaningful service as a means and application of learning: Florida Learn & Serve (Formula and Special Initiatives), FASS VISTA, and the State Farm Service-Learning and Home Safety Initiative. He is a frequent trainer at state, national, and international conferences. He has hosted the Florida Service-Learning institute for 14 years and has twice co-hosted the National Service-Learning Conference. Three of his books, Learning by Serving, Comprehensive School Improvement, and Reducing School Violence, have been disseminated to every Florida school. Mr. Follman led an interactive workshop on service learning basics.
Troy Cunningham has had extensive training and experience in Experiential Education from Outward Bound, Project Adventure, Wilderness Inquiry and Maine Bound. He is also an Achieve Global Certified Trainer. Troy was a lead instructor and program developer for Training and Development Corporation of Bucksport, Maine for four years in a Job Corp’s vocational education program. Currently Troy owns and operates Dynamic Potential Enterprises (DPE), an educational company providing training opportunities in creativity, community building, team development and student leadership. He is a favorite with OCPS youth and has led many trainings at Timber Creek.Mr. Cunningham will led workshop participants through a series of interactive games and activities. Participants learned skills in teamwork, trust, and learn how to facilitate challenges in leadership roles.
Bill Belleville gave an informative workshop on the St. John's River -the mythology and mayhem. He is an award-winning author and documentary filmmaker specializing in nature and “sense of places.” He has written five non-fiction books, including the critically acclaimed “River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida’s St. Johns River.” The Service Learning Academy uses his book as a textbook. He has also authored over 1,000 essays and articles for Islands, the New York Times, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times and many more. Mr. Belleville has produced radio documentaries for “Living on Earth”, and has worked on Discovery Channel-sponsored oceanographic expeditions to the Galapagos, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. He was named environmental writer of the year by Florida Audubon, and the Florida Wildlife Federation.
Mrs. Doromal, OCPS Service Learning Program Coordinator, said that she was excited to see so many OCPS Schools were represented, this year. She said that she believes that the quality and diversity of the workshops and speakers attracted many more students and teachers than in previous years. She congratulated the academy's students for their hard work, explaining that the conference is a service learning project that students work on for 4 months each year. Aside from writing and presenting the student workshops, academy students helped in setting up the conference, making a service learning trivia games for the tables, preparing the breakfast, soliciting partners for the exhibits, and getting the door prizes from businesses. Mrs. Doromal said the conference only happens because of the support from TCHS, Principal Mr. Wright, and the administration.
Fernando Nunez, Service Learning Council Vice-President, said that the conference was educational and helped students to discover the way to get involved in service and their community.
The Service Learning Academy and OCPS Service Learning Program thank our generous sponsors including Florida Learn and Serve, Disney, Orlando/Orange County COMPACT, Sonny's Real Pit Barb-B-Q, Publix, Regal Cinema, Starbucks, Kohls and our other supporters.
Some photos from the day:
