Arlington School District

For Immediate Release

 

 

Date: November 20, 2007

Contact:  Melissa Smith, Community Relations

802.375.2589, ext. 147 ~ smithme@bvsu.org (w)

802.375.6070 ~ smith209bh@verizon.net (h)

 

Olympic Gold in Arlington

Arlington, Vt.—Olympic Gold medalist snowboarder Hannah Teter and award-winning author Justina Chen Headley visited the Mack Performing Arts Center at Arlington Memorial High School and Middle School to meet with students and the AMHS Snowboard Team as part of “The Positive Turn Girl Overboard” book tour.

Author of Girl Overboard Headley and her publisher, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, have collaborated with Burton Snowboards and Burton Pro Snowboarder Teter, to create the book tour to raise awareness about “living loud and giving big.”  For every copy of her book sold, Headley will donate $1 to Burton Snowboard’s Chill Foundation, which aims to “improve people’s lives through snowboarding.”  At every tour stop, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will give away three copies of Girl Overboard, and Burton will hand out snowboarding prizes.

As part of the tour’s message, Headley educates students about the Go

Overboard Challenge Grant she is co-sponsoring with Burton Snowboards in partnership with Youth Venture.  Looking to find the best youth-led ideas to change the world, students are challenged to “go overboard” and propose a solution to a problem.  The best ideas will win up to $1,000 in grant money.

Both Teter and Headly have put their money into action through their respective causes.  Teter’s Hannah’s Gold organization raises money for orphans in Africa living with AIDS; and Headley’s readergirlz.com, offers an online book community that helps to promote teen girl literacy.

Arlington Memorial High School and Middle School Librarian Maria Lanoue invited Teter and Headley to campus.  “I knew our snowboarding students would enjoy meeting Teter, and I thought the overall message of making a difference in the world would be appreciated by our middle school students who are always taking up a cause and finding ways to support their efforts.”

For more information about Arlington schools or to schedule a visit, contact AMHS Principal Kerry Csizmesia at principal@bvsu.org or 375.2589.  You can visit the AMHS website at www.arlingtonmemorialhs.org.  The Arlington School District mission is to create a safe, caring and respectful environment of academic excellence where students are uniquely challenged to reach their potential at the K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 levels.

 

Photo One:  Arlington Memorial High School and Middle School Librarian Maria Lanoue invited Teter and Headley to campus.  Shown here from left to right are Olympic Gold Medalist Hannah Teter, Lanoue and award-winning author Justina Chen Headley with her book, Girl Overboard.

 

Photo Two:  After the presentation, Teter and Headley signed autographs and handed out Burton tee shirts.  Shown here is Olympic Gold Medalist Hannah Teter as she autographs a sneaker of Arlington snowboarder Maggie Belnap.