The COOL Factor

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On Wednesday, July 5th, the Williamstown COOL (CO2 Lowering) Committee and Images Cinema are co-sponsoring a Community Conversation in connection with "An Inconvenient Truth," the global warming documentary starring Al Gore. The discussion will take place at Images from 6:05 - 7:00 p.m and will be hosted by Betsy Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change; Nancy Nylen, Associate Director of the Center for Ecological Technology (CET); and other members of the COOL Committee. "We are finding that many people who see the film are concerned and want to take immediate positive action," Nylen said. "We are also finding that they want to talk about what they've seen and heard-because it has such far-reaching implications at home and across the globe. The 'Community Conversation' is an opportunity to learn from each other about positive actions that we can take on the local level and beyond." On Wednesday, July 12 at 6:30 at the Milne Public Library, the COOL committee is sponsoring a workshop to help people save energy in their homes. The Town of Williamstown received a grant to purchase "Kill-a-watt" meters that individuals can check out of the library. Mike Tillou will lead the workshop, teaching people how to use the meters to learn how much their appliances and electronic devices are using energy-even when they're turned off-and what to do about it. CO2 emissions attributed to burning fossil fuels for electricity, transportation and other energy use are the major cause of climate change. Williamstown is a member of Cities for Climate Protection. The town has pledged to reduce its emissions by 10 percent by 2010. "An Inconvenient Truth" is playing at Images through Thursday, July 6th. For more information, contact Wendy Penner at wendypenner@hotmail.com or Sandra Thomas at sandra@imagescinema.org .
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Teacher of the Month: Frani Miceli

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Students say teacher Frani Miceli makes learning fun.  
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williamstown Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Frani Miceli has been selected as the July Teacher of the Month. 
 
The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will run for the next 12 months and will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here. 
 
Miceli has been teaching for 26 years and has worked to develop a happy, comfortable, and creative learning environment for her pupils.
 
Through her connection with her students and the decor on her classroom walls, Miceli hopes to help them realize that being kind is possible. 
 
"I have a thing on my wall that says, 'Character is what you do when no one is watching.' So, I hope that they have internalized that," Miceli said. 
 
"We make personal decisions because it's the right thing to do, and sometimes our actions can negatively impact other people, and sometimes they can positively impact other people. So I think happy kids make happy choices, and so I just want them to be happy, engaged children"
 
Every single one of her students in her morning math class jumped at the opportunity to praise their  teacher. 
 
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