by Matt Kuensting, Grant Elementary

As I head back into the school year, I wanted to be sure to THANK each of you for your support of my trip to Hog Island, Maine. It is a truly special place. I so enjoyed meeting like minded people and teacher from across the country. The lessons that were shared, the stories that cemented the proof of concept, and the laughs made for a memorable experience for myself and my CPS friends/family.

I know that this is a huge commitment from our local Audubon chapter and I want to be sure to put in action the lessons that I learned. I was inspired to start a bird poster on my class bulletin board in the hallway. I invited the Grant staff to add their favorite bird (living or extinct) or a made-up bird. I am going to ask my students to add their bird as part of building our community to start the year. This is just one small example, but if you see a group of students with binoculars and looking up in the sky or in trees, those could be my students!

Please extend my gratitude to everyone involved locally to protect our birds and bird habitat.

The attached photo is of a sunrise from the north end of the island with a lobster boat heading out for their daily work.