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I took some notes during the meeting; feel free to make corrections by emailing me or putting something in the comments. I couldn't always hear what was said on the other side of the room, or didn't catch last names. Sometimes the stories were so fascinating I forgot to write something down.
Leslie Newton started things off by sharing how her Lilly grant still affects what she's been able to accomplish. She traveled to China with her grant, and was later invited back to have a show there, a somewhat rare accomplishment. She had brochures for a juried art show and encouraged us to apply (deadline July 1). She works with Artsland in the Hartford City/Jay County/Portland part of the state. Her daughter is opening Ezra's Enlightened Cafe in Broad Ripple, a vegan restaurant.
Caroline Hewitt (Franklin Township, Indy) showed one of her poetry books.
LaShawna Taylor (Kokomo) encouraged us to apply for the Grosvenor Teacher Fellow Program through National Geographic. She took part and traveled to the Arctic; the program has expanded and is now not just during our summer, and includes Antarctica.
Karen Conyers' son and family are moving to Italy, and she may just have to go, too, to help watch over her precious grandchildren! Her son and his wife are creating the Barnes Artist Residency in a region near Tuscany.
Bridgette Savage (Edgewood) is having a great year teaching. She also shared how much she and others are using QR codes, which she learned about at ETCW.
Karla Gregory, now retired, shared a moving story of caring for her ex-husband until he died. She is now enjoying "watching grass grow".
Mavis Catalfio's husband died just two months ago. She is now looking forward to some traveling with Leslie Newton. Her advice to us, "Do it now while you can. It's not just a cliche."
Sonna Berghaier has thoroughly enjoyed becoming an expert on aromatherapy in her retirement. While checking to see that I was spelling her name correctly, I came across this fun article about her.
Julia Blackburn has also continued her interest in Australia that was part of her grant. Her drawings are part of a book with some Australian collaborators, now in the editing process.
Mark Baer (South Adams) missed last spring's meeting because he was in the Ukraine. The water purification kits his students have made are now in use throughout the world, and he has now made 5 trips with students to put them in place. He was able to see a dinosaur on display in Switzerland that he helped unearth in the US, and he still writes physical science info for Brain Pop.
Toni Castle is enjoying her best health in years. She still lives in Woodruff Place in Indianapolis, rents part of her home to boarders, and reminded us that the annual flea market there is a lot of fun!
Amy Brailey's (Lake Station) work from her grant is often used by others. She researched early American poet Robert Bolling, and has frequent visits to her blog and contacts from others interested in her research, sometimes asking her permission to use it.
Sue Hartin (Columbus/Bloomington) continues to serve as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for children in need. She substitutes, only for 7 different music teachers, and has even covered for one who travels to 4 different schools.
Wyndham Traxler Carter presented Susie DeHart with a beautiful shawl, pin, and earrings. (Susie graciously modeled throughout the room so we could each see it close up.) Her son Sterling is a writer, was in the Peace Corps, now blogging from Sudan, and son Dillon is working as a graphic designer. Wyndham had a show in Delphi during the depths of winter, and she recommended the Arts Integration Conference in Lafayette on June 10 (free!) Sadly, her husband, Byron, has had to cut back on driving. It always worked out well for them, as Wyndham doesn't really like to drive, but he did.
Sylvia Hyde (Carmel) had lots of news! She was thrilled to be able to work with her administrators (who were excited by the idea to still have her) to teach part-time and be able to care for her father. She is heading to Kansas City with students for a national speech meet.
I hadn't seen Carrie Reinking in forever! Now retired from IPS, she looked great! Her grant "Canine Companion" and her classrooms revolved around many things about dogs; her dog from her original project lived to a ripe old age, and she now has a new dog. She sent through a picture on the listserv.
Dee Burt is an inclusion teacher for Richland-Bean Blossom. She related what a difference it made when she got a grant to purchase headphones and books on CD for her students. The students have been reading/listening to the books over and over again, and have greatly improved! She's now looking for a personal ID app to use with her students.
Deb Carrell has the dream class at Cumberland Road Elementary in HSE. She's down to 15 "little sponges" in her first grade GT class, job shares, and is responsible for some PBL and technology PD in her school. She asked for tour suggestions, because she's going to Europe for the first time.
Herb Eveland held court with many retirees, and made brief intros each time he left to go to the bathroom or pick up yet another Pepsi.
June Clair talked about how the Lilly Grant extended her teaching life. She is now retired from teaching, but has taken over the Carmel Theatre Company which performs in a small theatre across from the first Carmel (Carnegie) Library. She's been thrilled to see many former students succeed as performers.
Susan Farris, from Western Boone HS, commented on how so many of the retirees still show passion, a passion for life that was part of their teaching.
I shared that my son moved to California, successfully driving across country, only to have his car stolen less than 48 hours after he arrived in San Fran. Fellows should look into DOE's Summer of eLearning for many great free or inexpensive workshops this summer. I attended several last year, and will again this year. I'm also going to nErDcampMI, where members of the Nerdy Book Club will convene this summer. I thought of Lilly Fellows when a new fellowship was announced for Indianapolis; a $100K grant to support you while you research and create your ideal school Indiana Middle Level Education Association (IMLEA) is reviving a state conference for middle level educators this fall, September 15. Proposals are due May 9. Lastly, here is a blog post that has made the most difference to me this year. It's as simple as smiling.
Judy Harness shared that she is retiring this year. She encouraged us to use the book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind with students. She also told us that on Plymouth's page, "Top 5 Reasons You Should Enroll Your Child This Fall", it mentions that ten teachers have received Lilly Grants (although 6 of them will be retired by the end of this year)
Next, Judy Kinsey shared that she is also retiring. She's had a wonderful class, which placed nationally in the Achieve 3000 Kid Biz program. When it was mentioned in the Warsaw paper, a local businessman wrote her class a note to congratulate them. She told her daughter about Donor's Choose after learning about it from Lilly Fellows, and her daughter has had quite a bit of success. She has also incorporated social media to interact with parents in her urban school, using twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Interestingly, she's thinks Instagram has been the most effective.
Sandy Hall (Greenfield) remains quite active in the art community. She has (through April 30) a show at the Chamber Building in downtown Indianapolis (320 N. Meridian) (some fellows stopped to see it after lunch Saturday) Her parents died within 11 days of each other this winter. She promoted Teachers as Artists (TAA), a juried show that Leslie and Bridgette had pieces accepted. She also said she would love to help organize a get together for fellows to go somewhere, meet to paint, travel...
Celeste Allen (ret. Perry Township, Indy) is now splitting her time between Chicago and Indianapolis. She renewed her NBCT, has earned a PhD. in Curriculum and Instruction, and still has great interest in early childhood education.
After people were done sharing, we had a great example of Lilly collaboration and creativity. LaShawna Taylor mentioned that she is probably going to be helping with some research about African Americans in Indiana in the 1800's, free, escaped slaves, immigrants, largely in southern Indiana in the Evansville area. She asked for advice in tracking down information. What followed was a wealth of suggestions: Earlham College, Eleutherian College, Oakland City Univ., Conner Prairie, the State Historical Society, Lilly Fellow Peggy Hollingsworth... It was a great ending to exemplify how much we enjoy learning and working with others, hoping for their success.
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