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I work at a school that prides itself on community. We do an awesome job investing in our kids. Last year my #cohort21 project took a very academic route. I looked at peer to peer feedback last year. This year I want to take a more social look based on the conversations I’ve had with my students and the survey feedback they have given me. I want to help my homeroom create a cohesive community by offering them a wide variety of learning experiences that help them both grow as individuals, but also as a community.
We’ve started with a few small team-building challenges that looks both at the communication of words and communication without words. Early in October we started planning for “Project 31”, a Halloween event and each and every one of my 19 students dressed up like a chocolate bar for Halloween and we passed out chocolate bars to the whole school.
We’ve got plans to volunteer with BINGO at a seniors complex, and we are going to go watch some basketball games in the coming months to cheer on our classmates who are on the teams (basically, all but 2 students in our class).
I’m not sure if after out meeting this will be the direction of my project this year, or if this will be just something I do to strengthen the community feel in my own homeroom class. Either way, I’m excited to see where we go from here. After all, this is just the beginning.
Hi Mary-Ellen,
This actually got me so excited. I can’t wait to hear about how some activities serve you well and how they work. Though I still don’t know the exact direction I want to go in, my discussions with students has lead me a lot to the idea not of science literacy, but a “science learning community”. I would love to hear your thoughts and just get more ideas! I feel like we can work together for some awesome things :).
May
@ahughes is also looking at the notion of building community and school spirit… although you teach students of different ages it might be interesting to connect on Saturday!