The Vermont Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (VTAHPERD) has given a Colchester High School educator its top honor.
Melanie Laquerre recently received VTAHPERD’s Health Educator of the Year award, which recognizes outstanding teaching in health education, at a ceremony at Stoweflake Mountain Resort and Spa in Stowe.
Melanie Laquerre at the award ceremony in Stowe
She spent nearly a year conceptualizing and designing her signature course, “Food: From Soil to Stomach,” collaborating with UVM Extension in order to develop curriculum that was appropriately challenging for high school students (you can read more about the class, which explores the various aspects of food—including growing, cooking, and eating—through an eclectic assortment of subject matters like nutrition and obesity, conventional versus organic agriculture, food miles, sustainability, the treatment of animals in food production, and the global implications of the production and transportation of our food supply, by clicking here).
Melanie Laquerre and CHS Principal Amy Minor at the award ceremony
Melanie also collaborates with other schools within the school district to help establish connections with a wide variety of students and to create collaborative learning opportunities. (Click here to read about a taste-testing event, and stay tuned for an upcoming article discussing her work with waste awareness and recycling efforts.)
Melanie’s honor speaks to the Colchester School District Vision and Strategic Plan 2012–2017′s efforts with Pathway F: Wellness-Oriented, Balanced, and Healthy Learners.
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