FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Longsjo Middle School’s (Fitchburg, Mass.) Becky Colo has been named the Patriots Hall of Fame presented by Raytheon Technologies Massachusetts STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) Teacher of the Year. Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft announced Colo as the STEM Teacher of the Year today, and her school will receive $5,000 to be used for STEM education. Colo will also serve for one year on the governor’s STEM Council.

“Congratulations to Becky Colo,” Kraft said in his announcement. “She is doing outstanding work to inspire our next generation of STEM professionals. Congratulations to all the nominees and the other four finalists.”

“It’s a tremendous honor to receive this prestigious award,” Colo said. “I want to thank the Kraft family and Raytheon Technologies for their support of STEM programs and for teachers overall. To be selected a finalist was an honor, but I am thrilled to be named the Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year.”

Colo uses blended book studies to provide students an opportunity to describe and question the world around them. “Reading and discussing the books helps students to understand the changes that are taking place in our biosphere and the related cause and effects,” she said. “It also connected them to real life STEM professionals to help them develop a picture of what a scientist is beyond the image of a man in a white lab coat. The hands-on lab work we do in relation to the books provides them with a deeper understanding of the specific scientific concepts that are mentioned.”

Outside of her classroom, Colo runs a STEM Club that encompasses spatial skill games, 3D design and printing, virtual reality tour creation, a STEM book club, and various hands-on STEM activities. She also has offered JV Inventeam, MathCounts, and a Road to College as well as an after-school math league team open to all students. Additionally, Colo plans and runs an ecology-based trip to the White Mountains for sixth graders where students learn about the geographical history of New England, local ecosystems, conservation, and mountaineering. She also facilitates common planning time with colleagues to show examples and strategies that inspire more interest and engagement within their own classes.

“My students’ interests are what motivate me; so my classes are constantly changing and evolving as different students come along with different passions, curiosities, and questions,” Colo said. “When students learn to 3D print, code, create virtual reality tours, build a hydroponic garden or create stop-motion animation videos to show their learning, I’ve learned new skills along with them. My reason for teaching is to help my students find their own reasons for learning so their education can never be limited by my current knowledge or experience.”

When the Covid-19 pandemic shut down in-classroom learning in the spring of 2020, Colo sought to maintain connections and sent each of her students a box of STEM-related books and launched a virtual book club. Students shared reflections and made recommendations to each other. She also presented students with at-home engineering challenges requiring minimal materials to continue promote screen-free hands-on learning.

Colo was a finalist for the Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year award in 2019.

Moriah Illsley, The Hall’s Education Coordinator, congratulated Colo for being named the Patriots Hall of Fame presented by Raytheon Technologies Massachusetts STEM Teacher of the Year.

“Becky is such an inspiring teacher who has developed her own styles to motivate and teach STEM to her middle school students,” Illsley said. “Her use of blended book studies is an innovative way to reach students and allow them the freedom to discover. It also allowed her to quickly pivot when the pandemic abruptly halted in-class learning. She maintained critical connections while creating a STEM-related book club that allowed students to explore individual interests and share reflections with her and their classmates. Selecting the STEM Teacher of the Year is never and easy decision, but there is no doubt that Becky is deserving. On behalf of the selection committee, I want to congratulate her for this award.”

Colo was chosen from a group of five finalists. The other four teachers’ schools will each receive $1,000 for STEM education courtesy of Raytheon Technologies.

Those teachers are:

  • Tammy Rumplik – Granger and James Clark Elementary School (Agawam)
  • Jim Gorman – Nipmuc Regional High School (Upton)
  • Ralph Saint Louis – Lowell High School
  • Asha Von Ruden – Mount Everett Regional Middle and High School (Sheffield)

Hall Executive Director Bryan Morry thanked fellow selection committee members Allison Little and Keith Connors from the Department of Higher Education, Alexis Lian from the Executive Office of Education, Meto Raha from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and Illsley for their work in selecting this year’s STEM Teacher of the Year.

“Each of these individuals has shown a tremendous commitment to honoring excellence in STEM education and recognizing and supporting some of the best educators in the state,” Morry said. “They commit a great deal of time and energy to this process, and we could not complete it without their efforts.”

ABOUT THE STEM TEACHER OF THE YEAR PROGRAM

The Patriots Hall of Fame launched the STEM Teacher of the Year program in October of 2012 when Robert Kraft announced the initiative at the Massachusetts STEM Summit, held that year at Gillette Stadium. Colo is the ninth recipient of the award. Kelly Powers from the Advanced Math & Science Academy Charter School was the inaugural winner in 2013. Other past winners include Doug Scott from Natick High School in 2014, Kerry Murphy from Oliver Ames High School in 2015, David Mangus from Brockton High School in 2016, Kathleen Malone from Derby Academy in Hingham in 2017, Erin Cronin from Revere High School in 2018, Amanda Hough from Mashpee Middle-High School in 2019, and Tori Cameron from the Gordon W. Mitchell School in East Bridgewater in 2020. The STEM Teacher of the Year award is part of the Patriots Hall of Fame’s education program, which offers students in grades 4-12 standards-based educational modules in a fun, entertaining setting. The Hall typically hosts more than 20,000 school field trip visitors annually.

ABOUT THE PATRIOTS HALL OF FAME PRESENTED BY RAYTHEON TECHNOLOGIES

Through a dazzling array of interactive multimedia exhibits and artifacts, The Patriots Hall of Fame showcases the tradition of the New England Patriots, explores the history of football in New England and promotes math and science education for thousands of schoolchildren each year. The Hall’s signature exhibit is the Super Bowl Experience. Visitors to the interactive exhibit can re-live each of the team’s Super Bowl championships, and view the Vince Lombardi Trophies and Super Bowl championship rings. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.PatriotsHallofFame.com, visit “The Patriots Hall of Fame” on Facebook or follow @TheHall on Twitter and Patriotshall on Instagram.

As historical storytellers, we believe that education leads to conversation, and conversation leads to change. Our new campaign, #WeWillDoBetter shares the stories of marginalized Hall of Famers to raise awareness about systemic racism in Canada. These stories highlight the Hall of Famer’s achievements while increasing awareness about the adversity they have and continue to face. We hope that by creating a platform to share BIPOC Hall of Famers’ stories, we will encourage all Canadians to do better.

The latest #WeWillDoBetter video brings you the story of Hall of Famer, CFL legend and former Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Norm “Normie” Kwong. The other seven Hall of Famers highlighted in this campaign to-date include Damon Allen, Dr. Phil Edwards, Ferguson “Fergie” Jenkins, Harry Jerome, Herb Carnegie, Michael “Pinball” Clemons and Willie O’Ree. Click here to view all of our #WeWillDoBetter videos.

From May 1 to May 31, the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame (NSSHF) held its second annual Victory Lap virtual fun run. This year all proceeds raised supported the NSSHF’s Future Hall of Famers Education Program.

Victory Lap is a virtual event that offers participation by donation (pay-what-you-can). Participants can run or walk (or roll for wheelchair athlete participants) to complete kms, with the goal of collectively accumulating enough kms to go all the way around Nova Scotia as many times as possible– the ultimate victory lap! The event is open to all ages and fitness levels, and, as a virtual event, welcomes participants from anywhere in the world. Participants log their own progress and the NSSHF provides daily updates on maps shared through email and social media. Victory Lap is a virtual route of 2,485 kms around Nova Scotia that is based on an actual set of walking routes mapped on Google Maps.

This year the NSSHF was very pleased to raise over $1,000 for its education program. During a provincial lockdown due to COVID restrictions, participants moved together while apart, achieving two and a half laps of the province (and more than 6,000 kms) in only four weeks!

https://nsshf.com/victory-lap-virtual-fun-run/

The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (SSHF) announced its 2021 Induction Class on May 20. The class features five athletes, a builder and two teams. All six individual athletes were Olympians.

The2021 inductees are:

IN THE ATHLETE CATEGORY:

Justin Abdou (Moose Jaw) – Wrestling

Rod Boll (Fillmore) – Trapshooting

Colette Bourgonje (Porcupine Plain) – Track and Cross-Country Skiing

Kaylyn Kyle (Saskatoon) – Soccer

Lyndon Rush (Humboldt) – Bobsleigh

IN THE BUILDER CATEGORY:

Shannon Miller (Tisdale) – Hockey

IN THE TEAM CATEGORY:

2000-01 University of Regina Cougars Women’s Basketball Team

2013 Saskatchewan Roughriders Football Club

This class was selected in 2020, however, their induction was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They will be officially enshrined at such a time that is appropriate and allows for safe communal gathering while following all provincial health guidelines. The SSHF Board has determined that there will not be an induction in 2021. We look forward to announcing an induction date when the above parameters are met.

In the meantime, Colette Bourgonje has joined inductees Ted Jaleta and Lisa Franks to take part in our Never Give Up outreach program. Delivered virtually for 2021, Never Give Up sees our inductees share their inspiring personal story of overcoming adversity with Grades 4-8 students. This year’s edition of the program saw all of our available spots fill in less than two days.

The SSHF currently offers three virtual tours and our Virtual Field Trip program allows our Education Coordinator to present a tour of our current exhibits through online streaming which has allowed students from across the province to experience the SSHF.

Truly for them skiing is not just a sport but a way of life! The Canadian Ski Hall of Fame is proud to welcome our Class of 2019 in a virtual Induction Event.  Please join us for this celebration to be held on June 29, 2021.  Check our Events page LINK for related details.

Our 2019 inductees and soon to be Honored Members include:

Athletes

  • Chandra Crawford, Cross country
  • Ashleigh McIvor, Ski cross
  • Jennifer Heil, Freestyle
  • Lauren Woolstencroft, Para-alpine

Builder and Coach

  • Malcolm Hunter, Builder and Coach

Builder

  • Mike Irwin, Builder
  • Réal Boulanger, Builder (Deceased)
  • William B. Schreiber, Builder

Instructor

  • Lorne McFadgen, Alpine Ski Instructor (Deceased).

CLICK HERE to view their biographies.

On behalf of our Selection Committee and the entire Board of the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame, our sincere congratulations. Welcome to this rarified community of the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame.