As the school year drew to a close, 2nd grade students at Oak Grove School had the chance to interview five people for their classroom paper, The Second Grade Gazette. These individuals were dubbed Important Community Helpers and Food Connects Farm to School coach Sheila Humphreys was one of those selected.
Other interviewees included Peter Miller, owner of Miller Farms in Vernon VT, Executive Director of Groundworks Collaborative Libby Bennet, Brattleboro Fire Chief Lenny Howard III, Officer Ryan Washburn of the Brattleboro Police Department, and Mary Kaufmann, Principal at Oak Grove School. Each person was selected because they were seen as a positive impact to the school and the local community, in their chosen field of work.
A panel of three young reporters posed questions which they worked on as a class to Sheila ranging from “What do you do in your job?” to “Why do you do what you do?” Students took turns posing follow up questions, and learned how to conduct interviews under the guidance of their classroom teacher. Each student then summarized the information they collected in paragraph length articles that were included in the final publication.
Reporter One wrote: “She encourages schools to buy local food and helps provide students with healthy fruits and vegetables.”
Reporter Two noted: “Humphreys likes knowing she is eating healthy food grown locally and enjoys making that available to students.”
Reporter Three concluded their article by stating: “This is her dream job because she gets to help people and loves gardening. She works to make school meals as healthy and tasty as possible. Humphreys is an important person in our community.”
This project allowed students to have a better understanding of the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in the role that Sheila plays in their school community.
Thanks to the intrepid young reporters who interviewed Sheila for their Important Community Helper articles, we appreciate your recognition of her work to bring food and gardening education into the classrooms at Oak Grove.