Grade 9 MELO Feedback by Tucker Sowers https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne Made with a creative frenzy en-us 2021-06-07 17:40:56 UTC 2021-06-12 23:17:22 UTC hello@padlet.com The kids were really invigorated by the Planet Earth film and loved discussing concrete ways to help the environment. https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593028133 2021-06-08 14:26:13 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593028133 The Art Project hannahkrug1_1 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593028261 This was the highlight of the week for a lot of the kids -- they just got to be creative and free and have fun and it was so well done. ]]> 2021-06-08 14:26:16 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593028261 Make it orientation https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593029242 I think the end of the year is so hard to get both students and faculty energized about anything. At the same time, I think it is an important experience and it was also a really great bonding experience. My group felt like an advisory by the end of the week. I was thinking how great it would be for new students to have that at the start of the year. So I think we should rebrand it as "Holton Experiential Learning Opp." and HELO, which is cute if it is the start of the year and more of an orientation type activity! :) It also sends the message to new families about what we value at Holton right from the start. I think we should just have classes up to the end of the school year and then a final celebration, yearbook-signing day at the end. ]]> 2021-06-08 14:26:27 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593029242 hannahkrug1_1 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593031369 The speakers were fantastic but it was hard to get the kids to focus on hour-long talks when they were so burned out at the end of the year.]]> 2021-06-08 14:27:05 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593031369 Celebrity Skit hannahkrug1_1 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593033214 Our kids were really proud of the skit they did and actually wanted to watch it again during one of the breaks the next day. They seemed to have a lot of fun with that]]> 2021-06-08 14:27:40 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593033214 Hike joelseltzer1 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593035754 Being outside on Day 2 was really nice. If there was some way to keep them in smaller groups, that would be great. ]]> 2021-06-08 14:28:30 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593035754 End of week celebration/games hannahkrug1_1 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593037058 Having that bonding time at the end of the week and getting to play games with the students was fun for them and for us]]> 2021-06-08 14:28:55 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593037058 Reflections joelseltzer1 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593039940 We might want to keep the reflection portion short. ]]> 2021-06-08 14:29:53 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593039940 joelseltzer1 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593042741 I suspect the speakers would work better in person than over Zoom. ]]> 2021-06-08 14:30:51 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593042741 Diona https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593050609 We should really incorporate more learning about Native Americans into Holton. Diona was great and the students and I both learned a lot!]]> 2021-06-08 14:33:28 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593050609 The speakers were great. Their presentations were perhaps a little long for the students, but they got a lot out of them. The walks along Booze Creek and on the Cabin John trail were very relaxing for the students. We need to do more of that. https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593153020 2021-06-08 15:07:42 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593153020 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593160526 The activities on day 3 and 4 were given more time than needed on the schedule. Next time the groups could present their timelines to each other, and thus learn from each other.]]> 2021-06-08 15:09:52 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593160526 Most of it! https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593164678 Speakers, celebrity skit, hike, art project, discussions related to history, etc. Overall, it was a good way for teachers and students to bond. ]]> 2021-06-08 15:11:08 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593164678 Reflection https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593168891 The kids have a strong reaction when you use the word "reflection"- they prefer the word "review"- it should be short as well. Too much down time, I think, towards the end of the programming. It could be one day shorter. ]]> 2021-06-08 15:12:33 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593168891 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593170551 Include an urban planner, who can talk about how decisions are made about urban development, and an environmental historian, who can talk about how the landscape has changed in our area over the past few hundred of years.]]> 2021-06-08 15:13:06 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593170551 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593243562 It was very well organized!
The art projects were amazing.]]> 2021-06-08 15:36:36 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593243562 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593244622 As cool as this was, I missed Romeo and Juliet. There was a lot of "academic" work on the first day, which may be a little much at the start of MELO or end of the school year. ]]> 2021-06-08 15:36:59 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593244622 Will this be the new format for 9th grade moving forward? I thought there was discussion that this experience was just for this year to support Community Service initiatives, and that we were looking to return to Romeo & Juliet MELO in the future. That said, there were some lovely things that we did with this MELO. There did seem to be a fair amount of unstructured down time when folks were wandering around. And while the art project was great, in our group it was a smaller contingency that was actually working on the art project and the others didn't quite know what to do with themselves, or weren't as interested in jumping in. You will get that I suppose no matter what you are doing with them. markrobinson1 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593428620 2021-06-08 16:39:47 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1593428620 christopherwilson7 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1594061362 Christopher Wilson 1m
Another off campus trip, in addition to the hike. After the lecture on Native American heritage, we could go to the National Museum of the American Indian and see what kinds of connections they might make.

]]> 2021-06-08 21:21:03 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1594061362 christopherwilson7 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1594063068

All the careful organization and logistics were incredible! The course page, links to other resources, daily schedule all attest to the huge amount of work that went into this.

]]> 2021-06-08 21:22:23 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1594063068 christopherwilson7 https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1594063892 We had a discussion of environmental racism on the last day, and the students really got into that. It tied together some of the threads of the week, including "white flight" to Bethesda during the mid-twentieth century and environmental degradation of urban environments with large communities of color. This is a good article to start a conversation: https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2021/04/22/environmental-racism-examples

]]> 2021-06-08 21:23:02 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1594063892 We may want to thinking about the time spent sitting. The students really wanted to move around a bit more. https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1596223266 2021-06-09 16:15:52 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1596223266 Really well or https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1596230073 2021-06-09 16:18:15 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1596230073 I missed R&J too https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1596583185 When a whole grade puts on a performance, they feel a bond when it is over. And the performance works as a culmination of the week that requires everyone to participate and everyone to also be an audience for. The current project had nice elements for coming to gather at the end, but not in the same way, not as an entire grade. If we did this one again, it would be nice to find a way for a community project in the end.]]> 2021-06-09 18:33:16 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1596583185 A lot of listening https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1596588310 The first day, in particular, required a lot of passive listening to speakers. One student kept falling asleep, and others tended to check until reminded to pay attention. ]]> 2021-06-09 18:35:35 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1596588310 Group Work https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1596590796 The mandala was a wonderful project, and my group worked so well together both on that project and on the final one. ]]> 2021-06-09 18:36:38 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1596590796 A lot of work went into planning this week and I don't feel like the adults or students could really fully benefit from the experience because of the timing of this project. Should we rethink what we do this last week of school? https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1602871596 2021-06-12 23:10:37 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1602871596 I thought it was really well organized. Thank you to everyone that put the time and effort into putting all of this together. Any adult could easily slide in and do any of the activities. I think the girls enjoyed researching interesting facts for the timeline and they enjoyed the outdoor activities. https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1602872562 2021-06-12 23:12:37 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1602872562 What is the goal of this week? Do we need to rethink what this week is all about? We put it in to replace exams but now it seems like almost punishment to the girls. Should it be more of a choice thing so they buy into it more? Should it be like the seniors and be life skills? What else can we build off of 9th grade year? https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1602873445 2021-06-12 23:14:42 UTC https://padlet.com/tuckersowers/itrq0bcrtkz3dnne/wish/1602873445