October 30, 2014
Dear Parents and Students,
Spouse Paper – due tomorrow (Friday) printed out and with parent paper attached
Romeo and Juliet – starts tomorrow, and each student will play several roles that will rotate at first – They are going to love it!
Vocabulary – Vocab 8 Quiz is Tuesday – clicker review on vocab 8 is Monday. Students going on the Spanish field trip will need to plan on extra study time, or they can come to my AO Monday before they leave and review with me.
7th period – Final Drafts of Fahrenheit 451 essays are due Tuesday
The class projects are going amazingly well, and some groups have already met their goal and disbanded. We have had students working on the following:
1. JV Locker Drains – They wrote an email requesting that the clogged drains be fixed, and the maintenance workers here had it done in both boys’ and girls’ lockers rooms in two days! After contacting their coach and Mr. Hill, these students saw their own activism in action.
2. Crosswalk (from SPHS to Veterans’ Park stairs) – Students proposed extending the sidewalk at the front of the school, adding a crosswalk, and adding a sidewalk t the stairs. Once this project is complete, we hope student safety in this area will improve. This impacts Berry students, too. They are contacting Dr. Jarnagin, Mr. Hill, Officer Cochran, Hoover City Schools, and the City of Hoover. They have drawn the layout of the area and their proposed changes and incorporated an aerial view with their changes drawn on the picture. It is quite impressive.
3. Traffic (at the Jaguar Drive-Veterans’ Park-Jeff State entrance intersection) – Students propose no left turn across Jaguar drive to get to Jeff State during the hours of 3-5pm. they are contacting Dr. Jarnagin, Mr. Hill, Officer Cochran, Jefferson State University, and Hoover City. These students have a complex task with multiple sources of contact and many obstacles. However, their work is important because of the numerous accidents at that intersection. They have been doing very adult-level problem solving with heated debates. By looking at what will work best for all parties involved, they even propose a new entrance for Jeff State students.
4. OHOH (Open Hands Overflowing Hearts) – Students propose a fundraiser and propaganda release to promote awareness of and raise funds for fighting childhood cancer. They are in touch with Kayla, the 19-year-old college student who founded the organization, and they are planning a social media blitz soon. This group is very active and is drawing in students from other classes.
5. Water for Africa – Students at first wanted to send water, but they’ve come to the conclusion that raising money for digging wells and providing a long-lasting source of clean water is more effective, even though they may not be able to raise the entire amount to dig a well. They have researched more than seven organizations that work toward this goal and will be deciding which one/s to support. For their initial project, they are making braided bracelets to sell. This group is meeting outside of class for the second time today to dispense supplies so everyone can start making bracelets. I think they have decided on blue beads to symbolize the water that is so important to the many people they hope to help.
6. Animal Protection – Students researched local no-kill shelters and chose to focus their efforts on helping Two-By-Two in Helena. They are planning a fundraiser soon, and through a cross-class-period survey on their blog, they chose two representatives to meet with Dr. Jarnagin tomorrow during AO. They are proposing a grade level competition in which the winning class earns a pajama day. Their fundraising will include using part of their lunch period to take up money in the cafeteria and utilizing AO to speak with all the students in the school about the importance of animal safety and kind treatment.
These students are writing for real-world problems and solving issues that seem daunting even to adults. They communicate across the school day, since members are in all my different class periods. Through the blogs, they keep their group members updated and even suggest action for the next class periods. Several of the groups have started GroupMe accounts, allowing for students to group message each other and make decisions even when all students are in different places.
Ask your teens to show you the blogs that they are working on, and ask to see their GroupMe app or messages. You’ll be proud of their work.
All my best!
Tosha Caston-Smith
Pre-AP English 9
Spain Park High School
See my website: http://bit.ly/1txplSe
