About this column:
Like so many Canton parents, veteran journalist Theresa Sullivan Barger has been involved in the schools as a volunteer. After years of seeing the potential for stories about creative teachers, interesting enrichment, dedicated volunteers and innovative curriculum, she's glad to be writing a column for Canton Patch about the people and ideas of the Canton Public Schools. Her three children have been educated in Canton schools since kindergarten. She's in her fifth and final year on the Quality Council at Canton Intermediate School, is a past board member of the Canton Education Foundation and volunteered in her kids' classrooms for 13 years. She believes her time spent in the hallways, classrooms and cafeterias has exposed her to innumerable stories just waiting to be told.Publicly traded. Privately held. Bankrupt. Profit margins. Cash-to-debt ratios. These are just some of the factors eighth graders at Canton Middle School reviewed while determining how to invest their (virtual) $100,000 while playing The Stock Market Game. The middle school’s Washington White Collars, the team that placed third in a statewide competition of 160 middle school teams, ultimately based their investment decision on knowledge of the company. Two national programs, The Stock Market Game and News In Education, team up and offer competitions to students in grades 4 to 12. Eighth …
Assistant Principal Sashi Govin has been in the job at Canton High School for only about two months, but she learned that there were some families in need. Before Christmas, she notified the school superintendent, and some school staff quietly donated food and gift cards to the families. Govin, who has a background in psychology and counseling, uses that training daily. Students, teachers and parents who stop by her office are greeted with a sign on the door that says, "Attitude is Everything." She puts that into practice when dealing with students who cross her path. "If you know a kid is …
A few years ago, a couple of sixth grade teachers began encouraging their classes at Canton Intermediate School to bring in food for the Canton Food Bank. The following year, classrooms began competing for who could collect the most food. This year, the participation of every fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade classroom was so high that they donated 2,100 pounds to Farmington Valley food banks. Not long after that fundraiser ended, students and staff in the 400-student school gave toys, hats and mittens to less fortunate children and collected change to protect endangered animals. In mid-…
In a school district heralded for its award-winning jazz bands, a Canton High School junior has achieved a new distinction. Tom Kelley will be playing with the Grammy Jazz Band in Los Angeles for a week in February. Tom, 16, was one of two alto saxophone players from across the country selected for the all-expense-paid trip to the city that hosts the annual music industry awards. As part of the Grammy Jazz Band, he will perform in Grammy week events, record a CD and attend the Grammys. He comes from a musical family, but his Canton High band director said talent alone didn't get him to this …
