NYGA Newsnotes

	Congratulations to Mary Atkins! by Virginia Figura, Co-coordinator of NYGA NYGA Board member, Mary Atkins of Wappingers Falls was honored recently at the New York State Council for the Social Studies (NYSCSS) annual convention in Rye, New York. NYSCSS added a new award this year, the Continuing Service Award. It recognizes the contribution of retirees to the work of the Council Mary has served NYSCSS in may capacities both during her active teaching years in in her retirement. Attendess at past conventions will recognize Mary for her excellent work as Registration Chair, always the unflappable "go-to" person and problem solver. The Alliance congratulates Mary Atkins on this well-deserved honor and is proud to have her as a member of its Board of Directors.
	Headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay Project by Stephen Vermette, NYGA Co-coordinator The 400th Anniversary of Captain John Smith’s voyage of discovery is coming up next year. On May 13, 1607 three sailing vessels, the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery, carrying Captain Smith and about 100 Englishman, arrived at a marshy peninsula at the south end of the Chesapeake Bay. National Geographic has taken an interest in the Chesapeake Bay and this 400th anniversary. Over the past year I’ve attended a number of meetings in Washington D.C. regarding the Chesapeake Bay. The last meeting involved the signing of “The Chesapeake Watershed Education Agreement”. Governors and representative from state education departments were present to sign the agreement. Absent was New York! Does New York not include the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay? The answer to this question is a resounding YES (as you can plainly see from the map above)! The headwaters of the Chesapeake do reach into New York, and include the Susquehanna and Chemung Rivers. The NYGA has taken on the challenge to address this geographic oversight by making the case for New York’s connection to the Chesapeake Bay. Working with Shirley Lucas and six teachers from the Catskill Regional Teacher Center we held a curriculum workshop to prepare an education package for use in New York Schools. While the project is currently a work in progress, the package will include a map of the Chesapeake Bay (thanks to National Geographic) and activities focusing on the headwaters as well as connections to the Chesapeake Bay. If you are interested in incorporating Captain John Smith’s journey and/or the Chesapeake Bay into your 2006-2007 curriculum, and you would like a copy of the ‘Headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay Project’, please contact us. Pictured at the top of the page… Tinker Falls, south of Syracuse, part of the Susquehanna River basin.