Thank you to everyone who participated in the EdNews summer photo contest — more than 40 people entered photos. Cassie Shelton, a German teacher at Mountain View High School in the West Ada School District, won a $50 Target gift card after 270 votes were tallied on Facebook and Twitter. Her photo received 82 votes. Shelton’s photo was taken in June in the Austrian Alps, on the border of Switzerland and Austria, during a school-sponsored trip. Shelton took a group of 21 Mountain View students to Germany for 26 days to take part in the German American Partnership Program (GAPP). The program is a non-profit high school exchange program between schools in Germany and the United States, sponsored by the German Foreign Office and by the U.S. Department of State.
“I’m very excited, the last time I won something was probably in high school,” she said. “Target offers a great supply of German candy and I plan to use the money to purchase treats. It will be a great reward in the classroom.”
Shelton plans the trip to Germany every two years for her students, and she coordinates when the German students arrive in October.
“It’s such a great experience for the kids and traveling to another country gives them a different perspective. They appreciate people for their differences,” she said.
