GC Hardwick Reflects on their Fall Term 2011!

Global Campus has been an inspiration in my life. I’ve been coming for five years now and it’s been great. I met a lot of friends. I really enjoy coming to Global Campus and hanging out with all my peers and the staff. I would recommend anyone to come to our Global Campus and learn about our classes. I learned all about the Presidents and the world, which I thought was very interesting. I thought John did a great job teaching that class. I would like to take the time to thank the staff for their hard work, including myself as the activities coordinator. – James, GC Hardwick Participant

I have been coming to Global Campus for a very long time. I am a really nice person. Global Campus is a lot of fun. I had a class on Minute to Win It. It is a TV show and I got some ideas from the show on the computer. It is nice to see different people come to Global Campus. There are about twenty-four people from Global Campus Hardwick. – Amanda, GC Hardwick Participant

As a support worker, I really enjoy Global Campus. It is a wonderful group of people who support and encourage each other. They teach classes that are fun and interesting. They are kind and welcoming to new participants and visitors. I love how teaching builds confidence and learning keeps us young, active and happy. We get out in the community and donated turkeys to the food shelf. These interactions help to get us thinking about our role in the community and how we interact and share ideas. – Dominie, CIS

What I bring to my Global Campus is my smile and my cheery face. I did a lot of classes, like table manners, and also a CPR class this year. I also wrote to the soldiers who were overseas and far away from their families. I did a class about journal writing and about your feelings and what you feel inside. What I like the best is having friends in the Global Campus. I met Olivia and Amanda in our Global Campus for the fist time – Diane, GC Hardwick Participant.

I am Debbie. I like to come to the Global Campus. I like everyone here at Global Campus. Debbie likes all the classes all the time. Debbie had a nice class on the Hardwick Food Pantry this year. Debbie knows a lot about the food pantry. – Debbie, GC Hardwick Participant

Global Campus Hardwick has spent a lot of their term focused on the community and learning more about their surrounding towns. I was very impressed by their curiosity and genuine interest in the culture around them. The group invited community members into their campus, hosting guest speakers from local businesses and organizations such as the Buffalo Mountain Food Coop and Craftsbury Library. This community interest has added a new dimension to the campus and I’m excited to see what else will come from the campus’ increased community involvement. – Amy, Academic Coordinator.

Global Campus Participant Feature: Olivia Klinke

My name is Olivia Klinke. I have been at Global Campus Hardwick for eight years. I have taught a lot of classes, like about my favorite actor Heath Ledger and The Women’s Rights Movement and a Cooking Class, too. I love coming to this group because it helps bring out all my friends that are here. It is nice to remember some friends we have lost, too, like Aaron and others who have left. I have kept all the information from the classes I have taught in a box in my room.

Olivia is a good person and we have been friends for ten years. She likes to help others when they need it. – Amanda, GC Hardwick Participant

Olivia’s Cooking Class was so much fun. She included everyone and is an excellent cook. Delicious apple crisp! Olivia is always thoughtful and caring, supporting others when needed. – Dominie, CIS

Olivia is one of the longest-standing members of Global Campus Hardwick. Her teaching abilities are extensive and she has a wide range of interests. Over the past few years, Olivia has taught classes on Mexico, the Women’s Movement, her favorite novels and a cooking class. She is often leading the Campus Seminar and has a strong desire to share ideas in a way that gains respect and friendship from her peers. – Amy, Academic Coordinator

GC Hardwick Visits State House in Montpelier, VT

Global Campus Hardwick organized a trip to Montpelier to tour the Statehouse and the Vermont History museum this spring.

Global Campus Hardwick planned a fun, interactive day in Montpelier learning about our state government and history. We gathered on the statehouse steps for lunch and to gather our thoughts before entering into the busy statehouse. The statehouse is quite hectic over the lunch hour and it was neat to see so many people bustling around with clipboards and getting ready for meetings. We met a guide, who walked us through the history of the building and showed us the Senate, House and other important rooms.

We learned that the VT statehouse is the oldest statehouse in the US. The architecture has been preserved inside so that it still looks the way it always has. The carpets have been redone, but the other building structures are the original architecture. Our guide noted that the chandelier in the Senate room was not typical for VT style; all the images on the chandelier have to do with the ocean, including Titan, dolphins, waves and sea creatures. He wondered if there had been a sale on chandeliers…

We learned about the structure of the senate, who sits where, and where the public is allowed to sit. Although the roof looks like it was under the dome, it is only made to look round. The dome is over the center of the building. Debbie told the group that her grandfather had been a part of the crew who worked on the construction of the dome. She was very proud. Next, we moved to the House, a much larger room. We noted that the Green Mountain Boys flag, which Diane had taught us about earlier this term, was flying over some of the desks in the room. It was neat to see all the papers lying about and a PowerPoint presentation on the screen.

We left the statehouse and walked next-door to the Vermont History Museum. We spent some time in a room full of Civil War artifacts. Our guide asked us to each pick an item that we found particularly intriguing, and then share with the group what we found interesting about this object. Annie picked a quilt, which had embroidered bible phrases on the squares. Our guide told us that women quilted hand-made quilts for the soldiers so that they would be warm and feel close to home while they were fighting. We also looked at a grey coat – the coat of the Confederate Soldiers. We learned that a Vermonter had taken the coat from a dead Confederate soldier and brought it back to VT. We saw a leather shoe with a piece of shrapnel shot into the bottom of the shoe. We could only imagine how painful that injury must have been.

We made our way to a milk room and then to a video of the 1927 flood. We learned that in 1927, VT got over 12 inches of rain, which is equivalent to twelve feet of snow. On our way out of town, we stopped to look at the lampposts, which have a red line marking the high water mark of 1927. It was WAY over our heads. And the most interesting part was this storm was in November.

GC Hardwick Celebrates Fall Term!

Global Campus Hardwick began the Fall Term sitting outside at Greensboro Bend Church learning to tell stories about their lives and personal histories. This Our Stories unit inspired the group to share story-telling techniques, which evolved throughout the term into in-depth personal stories. Chris decided to use video to tell the story of his work at Applecheek Farm. A film of his daily work was recorded and shared with the class. Annie created posters of her life and favorite activities. She cut out magazine pictures to describe some of her habits and what she likes to do. The Our Story theme will continue to weave throughout the curriculum in Winter Interim and Spring Term 2011.

Midway through Fall Term, after the campus numbers grew to twenty-two participants, Global Campus Hardwick decided they had outgrown the space at Greensboro Bend Church. The group settled on a new space at the Greensboro Fellowship Hall, which has a large common area, kitchen and dance floor! The group was sad to leave Greensboro Bend, where they have many memories, but the new space fits well with the campus dynamic.

Global Campus Hardwick began a new routine of creating their Campus Seminar agendas as a group before class. The group takes turns leading the campus and the leader writes the agenda onto a white board. The campus is very vocal and often spends a lot of time talking during Campus Seminar, thus cutting into their class time. We discussed whether to add more time to the seminar or to continue to cut ourselves off after a half an hour of discussion. The group decided to keep the discussions short, when possible!

Global Campus Hardwick took their course offerings to a new level this term. People often commented after a class that the faculty had used many new teaching methods and created an innovative class, fun for everyone. Amanda’s Zumba Class got everyone out of their seats and dancing. Amanda goes to Zumba class twice a week and had spent the term designing her own dance workout to share with the class. Another dance class, Connor taught the group to Contra dance. He walked everyone through a few steps and then shared a step that he had made up on his own. Helen and Tina brought in evergreen and wire for the group to create holiday wreathes. People shared that they loved the hands-on creativity of this class. Olivia’s Genealogy workshop allowed everyone to start a family tree. Parker shared about one of his favorite Beatles songs, Here Comes the Sun. As he played the song, the whole group began to sing, and people commented that his class had been relaxing and soothing. Seth and Jared arranged a field trip to the Wolcott Town Hall to walk the group through the process of voting. The campus voted Jared as Governor and Seth as Lieutenant Governor.

This term was packed with classes, so much so that it prompted discussion of whether to have some classes on different days of the week. The group is still discussing this idea, but holds fast to their love of Tuesdays. Looking ahead to Winter Interim, the group will study a Where in the World theme that incorporates stories from around the world. The campus will look at stories, myths and fables, as well as pictures and cultural facts from different countries. There will be an air of mystery to this term as the groups try to guess Where in the World these stories are from.

GC Hardwick Spring Update

Global Campus Hardwick completed a vibrant Winter Interim study of world festivals, including recreating Santa Lucia from Sweden, Crop-Over Festival from Barbados and Australia Day. The group enjoyed food, music and celebration from around the world.

The campus kicked-off its spring term with a visit to the Greensboro Free Library before beginning their sixteen course offerings. The campus made a few logistical changes to their regular sessions and decided to begin their session at 12:00 on Wednesdays, gathering early for lunch and announcements. The campus also initiated a new ritual at the campus – the interactive activity. Each week, someone from the group leads an interactive activity to get the group up and moving. Some activities included drama workshops, team building exercises, hot potato and more.

As always, the group enjoyed a variety of course offerings. The group recreated the first ever Global Campus Fictional Story, using story-telling methods developed by Diane, Tina and Helen. The story took the group to New York and on many adventures throughout the city. Global Campus Hardwick also enjoyed a few specialty-cooking classes, including Donut Making and Chocolate Lollipops. The Chocolate Lollipop class proved so successful that Connor re-taught the class for the end of year celebration.

To give back to the community, Global Campus Hardwick held a green-up and planting day at Greensboro Bend Church. The group walked around Greensboro Bend picking up trash, collecting two large bags full of trash. The group then planted four pots with annuals to beautify the entrances of the church.

Global Campus Hardwick ended the term with a Global Campus Open House event. The group wrote a press release to include in the Hardwick Learning Exchange Newspaper and to read over the radio. The event ended up as more of an internal affair (although one guest did attend). During the Open House, the group reminisced about the Spring Term highlights and shared stories about favorite Global Campus moments.

Congratulations, Global Campus Hardwick Participants, for a tremendously successful term!

GC Hardwick: We've Got Talent!

On May 4^th, James hosted a talent show! He brought tablecloths, star confetti, star mobiles, and a karaoke machine to transform the Greensboro Bend Church into a place where stars are born. We pushed the tables back, set up rows of chairs facing a stage surrounded by stars and arranged a judges’ table to the side of the main stage. James prepared grading rubric and nametags for the judges.

As people arrived, a few people came in costume and others brought instruments. Cristy and Levi came from Global Campus St. J, dressed in red white and blue and carrying an American Flag. Debbie wore a Hawaiian dress and shirt and Kei brought his drum. Amy brought her fiddle. Melissa wore a leather coat and pants.

Almost everyone in the group performed for the talent show. Annie and Amanda performed a sign-song, where they signed the words and sang while Kei kept the beat on his drum. Lots of people performed Karaoke songs – some good country twang came through. Connor (and back-up dancers) performed YMCA. Melissa broke out her Flashdance skills. I played the fiddle. Cristy and Levi asked for audience participation for their A cappella song, This land is Your Land.

The judges had a hard time picking winners and ended up throwing the ribbons over their shoulders and announcing that everyone received first place. All participants and audience members received Achievement Awards for their performances.