Give Thanks (and Our Best) in All Things

It's that time of the year again. Things are about to get busy as the hustle and bustle of the holiday season begins to surround us. At times, we can all lose focus of the things that matter most as we rush from one event to the next. At school, teachers have been evaluating their data and are pushing their students to achieve success as the end of the semester gets closer. 

This past week, the students in Mrs. Marshall's and Mrs Pruett's classes were challenging themselves in a different way. They worked together to prepare a Thanksgiving feast. Friends and family gathered in the auditorium lobby and shared a special time. Smiles adorned the faces of all students as they swelled with pride over their accomplishments. The dedicated students had worked hard and were proud of the feast they had prepared. 

It can be easy to lose focus at this time of year. Sometimes we take our abilities for granted and become complacent as the school year moves forward and our lives get busy. Are you giving your best effort every single day? Teachers? Students? We owe it to one another to give our best in all things. 

Spotlight on CTE - T&I Advisory Council

There are many branches and career clusters that make up our Career & Technical Education (CTE) department. At ACHS, the Trade and Industry (T&I) Cluster is composed of electrical trades, carpentry, masonry, and drafting. Teacher leaders of these courses worked to establish a T&I Advisory Council, which held its first meeting at ACHS on Tuesday, November 7. 

Representatives from regional and community businesses came to discuss possible opportunities for our students such as job shadowing, increasing internship opportunities for students, and possible job site visits for classes. Council discussion also enabled businesses to provide feedback and support to our teachers about necessary job site skills. Teachers will utilize this information to better prepare students to be equipped with appropriate skills. 

The Council meeting also provided opportunity for fellowship and collaboration between teachers and community partners. The goal of the Council is to encourage students to pursue a job in a related field. 

Keeping Students Engaged - Get Them out of Their Seats

The struggle is real. Keeping students' attention can be difficult, especially during a 90-minute class period. There is so much curriculum and content to be covered, and planning the perfect lesson to keep students engaged can be trying. Teachers use a variety of instructional practices and tools within their lessons to keep kids from day dreaming...or worse yet, nodding off. 
One strategy that teachers often use to keep students engaged is to literally get them out of their seat. Many of our math teachers post review problems around the room.

Students completing math problems around the classroom.

Students move throughout the room from one problem to the next, solving each problem. Getting students out of their seat helps to keep them engaged. 

During a Biology activity, a student moves around the lobby completing multiple tasks. 

Teachers often use this same strategy outside the classroom, in a larger space where students can circulate more freely. The photo above shows a Biology student in the lobby. In this activity, students moved through the lobby from one task to another to learn about the Nitrogen cycle. Students rolled dice to determine which effect happened, which in turn moved them to a different event. The teacher moved around the space and randomly assessed student learning.