32Q POL
32Q
POL dec 12 2016
John White
Reasons To Celebrate:
Before I came to Animas I almost ended up going to DHS and even signed up for classes there. However a senior that I knew very well told me that Animas was the best school he had been to and I should definitely go there. I ended up signing up for Animas in the last week of summer. And let me tell you, I am very happy that I made the choice to come here. The school I went to before Animas was Escalante Middle School. I am not saying that Escalante was a bad school, but I feel like I did not fit in as well there as I do at Animas. I also feel like I wasn't encouraged as much to challenge myself at Escalante. At Animas, I feel like I am encouraged by all the teachers to do my best work. I would also like to bring up the the fact that Animas offers up so many fun activities for xblocks. I also like the projects we do, especially the bench project At Escalante I felt like the exploratories never fit what I like. For example I was in a class called outdoor ed. The class did fun things like go on trips, but on an average day we would just do gym sports like basketball or football which is not necessarily outdoor education and not sports that I am into. I love the fact that at at Animas, I can chose to do xblocks like climbing where we get to go to the rock lounge and climb. I also really like how the school presents osprey week.
2. Developing social connections at AHS
Another thing I would like to celebrate about Animas is the bike team. Not only is the bike team fun because of the fact that we get to mountain bike, but because of the friends I have made in it. I would say the bike team is where I have made some of my best friends, people that have many things in common with me. As a result, I have had the chance to mountain bike, ski and do other things with them. A couple of years ago at Escalante, I would never do anything outside of school with anyone. In 8th grade, I started hanging out with some kids who were definitely not the right friends for me. They did not share any of my interests. They were also the type of kids who would do bad things like ditching class and would always get in trouble. I tried to fit in the group with those kids. Because of Animas, and especially the AHS bike team, I have made some really good friends who are always supportive of me and like to do the things I like to do.
3. Growing and learning as a student at AHS.
I have definitely grown as a student at AHS through my freshman year and during my sophomore year. One skill that I reached my goal in is writing. In humanities we do assignments called artifacts where we have to research or read about a topic and then write about it. I feel like I did a good job on all 7 artifacts. However the two that stand out to me are artifact 6 and artifact 1. Both of these really present how I have grown as a writer. Another thing that I have grown in is group collaboration. I would not say I have necessarily reached my goal in this, but I have definitely gotten much better at it. A project I would say that presents this is my infographic for biology. In this project, I worked in a group with four other people. I felt like I did a much better job in terms of collaborating with my group than I have in the past. In return, I got a full grade on the project, which I was really proud of. I have noticed in the past that I would usually get bad grades in projects that Involved working in a group because I would not participate very much and let the group do the work.
Things to work on:
I would say that as a student I really do not like math mostly because I am really challenged by it. I am person who has always struggled in math. Because of this, I want to get better in math so it is not so frustrating and stressful. One thing that shows my challenges in math is my simple calculations in math. In this assignment we were given 4 parts that demonstrated calculations, and had to complete all of the four steps. I managed to only get one of the four done. I was able to figure out the first one after a while, but basically had no idea what to do on the others. I also do not understand solving algebra equations. I have failed most of my tests in math. I would say the best score I have got on a math test this year is a B-. So far this year I have not shown many improvements in math. Math is definitely not my strength, but I do feel like I could improve on it if I really try hard and do not give up in it.
2. Working on good communication skills:
Like I said before, I have gotten better at communicating in groups, but I feel like I need to work more on everyday communication. Basically simple things like asking the teacher a question or talking to classmates. Sometimes I forget to ask the teacher a question and just sit there confused on what to do. In groups, I am usually given specific instructions on what to do, therefore I know what to do and can then use that knowledge to help the group and communicate my ideas. What I am saying is that I need to improve on every day small talk. This could include, talking to a peer or sharing my ideas in class without being in a group. I sometimes will notice other students sharing their ideas with each other. I feel like I need to step out of my comfort zone and maybe try to be the one who shares the idea. I feel like if I start doing this, I will feel more confident as a person. I also want to improve on this skill so other students will realize I am capable of being a person who can talk and share ideas like everyone else. I definitely think I have the ability to accomplish this and will try as hard as I can to succeed in doing so.
BIG question to ponder.
How can our school become a better learning community?
I would say that Animas is a great learning community as It is, however there is just a few minor things I think we could improve on. The first one may not sound very important but I think students would really enjoy it. At the beginning of the year last year, senior mentors were allowed to drive their mentees to eat lunch somewhere. Shortly after the year started, the school banned that privilege. I'm not saying it should be allowed every day, but getting to go to lunch with your mentor every once in awhile can be an enjoyable experience and a chance to connect with your mentor. I know what it is like because when I was a freshman I got to go to lunch with my mentor and thought it was a good chance to connect and get to know each other. I think new incoming freshman each year should also have the chance to go to lunch with their mentor and enjoy it just like I did. The one other thing I would like to change about Animas is our xblock schedule. I think that we should go back to having xblocks 2 days a week. I think that only having it once a week does not feel like enough time and that it would be more enjoyable if it was two times a week.
POL dec 12 2016
John White
Reasons To Celebrate:
- Becoming a student at AHS and developing in the culture.
Before I came to Animas I almost ended up going to DHS and even signed up for classes there. However a senior that I knew very well told me that Animas was the best school he had been to and I should definitely go there. I ended up signing up for Animas in the last week of summer. And let me tell you, I am very happy that I made the choice to come here. The school I went to before Animas was Escalante Middle School. I am not saying that Escalante was a bad school, but I feel like I did not fit in as well there as I do at Animas. I also feel like I wasn't encouraged as much to challenge myself at Escalante. At Animas, I feel like I am encouraged by all the teachers to do my best work. I would also like to bring up the the fact that Animas offers up so many fun activities for xblocks. I also like the projects we do, especially the bench project At Escalante I felt like the exploratories never fit what I like. For example I was in a class called outdoor ed. The class did fun things like go on trips, but on an average day we would just do gym sports like basketball or football which is not necessarily outdoor education and not sports that I am into. I love the fact that at at Animas, I can chose to do xblocks like climbing where we get to go to the rock lounge and climb. I also really like how the school presents osprey week.
2. Developing social connections at AHS
Another thing I would like to celebrate about Animas is the bike team. Not only is the bike team fun because of the fact that we get to mountain bike, but because of the friends I have made in it. I would say the bike team is where I have made some of my best friends, people that have many things in common with me. As a result, I have had the chance to mountain bike, ski and do other things with them. A couple of years ago at Escalante, I would never do anything outside of school with anyone. In 8th grade, I started hanging out with some kids who were definitely not the right friends for me. They did not share any of my interests. They were also the type of kids who would do bad things like ditching class and would always get in trouble. I tried to fit in the group with those kids. Because of Animas, and especially the AHS bike team, I have made some really good friends who are always supportive of me and like to do the things I like to do.
3. Growing and learning as a student at AHS.
I have definitely grown as a student at AHS through my freshman year and during my sophomore year. One skill that I reached my goal in is writing. In humanities we do assignments called artifacts where we have to research or read about a topic and then write about it. I feel like I did a good job on all 7 artifacts. However the two that stand out to me are artifact 6 and artifact 1. Both of these really present how I have grown as a writer. Another thing that I have grown in is group collaboration. I would not say I have necessarily reached my goal in this, but I have definitely gotten much better at it. A project I would say that presents this is my infographic for biology. In this project, I worked in a group with four other people. I felt like I did a much better job in terms of collaborating with my group than I have in the past. In return, I got a full grade on the project, which I was really proud of. I have noticed in the past that I would usually get bad grades in projects that Involved working in a group because I would not participate very much and let the group do the work.
Things to work on:
- Working on my skills in math:
I would say that as a student I really do not like math mostly because I am really challenged by it. I am person who has always struggled in math. Because of this, I want to get better in math so it is not so frustrating and stressful. One thing that shows my challenges in math is my simple calculations in math. In this assignment we were given 4 parts that demonstrated calculations, and had to complete all of the four steps. I managed to only get one of the four done. I was able to figure out the first one after a while, but basically had no idea what to do on the others. I also do not understand solving algebra equations. I have failed most of my tests in math. I would say the best score I have got on a math test this year is a B-. So far this year I have not shown many improvements in math. Math is definitely not my strength, but I do feel like I could improve on it if I really try hard and do not give up in it.
2. Working on good communication skills:
Like I said before, I have gotten better at communicating in groups, but I feel like I need to work more on everyday communication. Basically simple things like asking the teacher a question or talking to classmates. Sometimes I forget to ask the teacher a question and just sit there confused on what to do. In groups, I am usually given specific instructions on what to do, therefore I know what to do and can then use that knowledge to help the group and communicate my ideas. What I am saying is that I need to improve on every day small talk. This could include, talking to a peer or sharing my ideas in class without being in a group. I sometimes will notice other students sharing their ideas with each other. I feel like I need to step out of my comfort zone and maybe try to be the one who shares the idea. I feel like if I start doing this, I will feel more confident as a person. I also want to improve on this skill so other students will realize I am capable of being a person who can talk and share ideas like everyone else. I definitely think I have the ability to accomplish this and will try as hard as I can to succeed in doing so.
BIG question to ponder.
How can our school become a better learning community?
I would say that Animas is a great learning community as It is, however there is just a few minor things I think we could improve on. The first one may not sound very important but I think students would really enjoy it. At the beginning of the year last year, senior mentors were allowed to drive their mentees to eat lunch somewhere. Shortly after the year started, the school banned that privilege. I'm not saying it should be allowed every day, but getting to go to lunch with your mentor every once in awhile can be an enjoyable experience and a chance to connect with your mentor. I know what it is like because when I was a freshman I got to go to lunch with my mentor and thought it was a good chance to connect and get to know each other. I think new incoming freshman each year should also have the chance to go to lunch with their mentor and enjoy it just like I did. The one other thing I would like to change about Animas is our xblock schedule. I think that we should go back to having xblocks 2 days a week. I think that only having it once a week does not feel like enough time and that it would be more enjoyable if it was two times a week.