Our 1200+ students are from rural communities set along two very small municipalities. Students are comprised of many socioeconomic groups, backgrounds, and belief systems. We are within 15 miles of a military base and have a growing number of immigrant families. This causes a significant amount of transfers throughout the year.
We assume high school students come to us with some basic experiences, but this week alone, a 10th grade student figured out how to make orange paint by mixing colors, and 9th grade student used a glue gun for the first time.
Our population is divided into four lunch groups and with many students being new to the school, the media center offers a refuge for these students during this time rather than sitting alone among strangers.
My Project
We started the school year with "Get Unplugged" as our theme and offered board games and puzzles as the initial bait. Even though we had some great participation at the start, we quickly found that to keep students interested in being unplugged, we would have to stay on our toes to change it up.
We kicked off the holiday season by offering STEM and STEAM activities, and almost immediately students began waiting for the doors to open before school even started!
The guys who once came in quietly and either watched You tube videos or played educational computer games are now thinking critically, interacting, and team-building. A Christmas Tree cup challenge, an ornament painting center, and a pancake art challenge are just a few of the seasonal events.
Our plans are to mix it up with weekly activities in art, engineering, science, food science, and math, allowing students to interact, create, and explore. Engaging students in Lego building, wood-burning, the art of calligraphy, are just a few of my plans to "sneak in some learning".
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