On Monday, July 23rd - thirty Grade 9 & 10 KHS teachers came together to reconnect, learn and collaborate. The room was abuzz with positive energy as teams spent time affirming our dreams for the students at Kapa'a High, planning the crucial first days of school, discussing Quarter 1 projects and learning more about Interactive Notebooks. The teams were also introduced to a new Common Planning Template that will be used to help plan and document the increased amount of teacher collaboration time afforded by our new block schedule. Finally the teams spent time articulating about how best to support individual students this upcoming school year. At the end of the day, teachers were asked to identify what they loved most about the day and their most significant learning. Here are some highlights:
Our Dreams For Our Students:
- Students Who Love Learning
- Purposeful Sense of Direction
Our Dreams for Our Hui/Academies:
- Develop New Useful, Practical, Challenging Curricula
- Find More Passion in Our Work
- Stay Healthy: Mentally, Physically, Emotionally etc.
- Strengthen Effective Teaching & Learning Practices
- Improve Student Achievement
- Minimize Gaps in Literacy, Math, Science and Technology
What We Loved:
- "Learning about Interactive Notebooks. I will try them this year."
- "Working with colleagues"
- "The collaboration time."
- "Learning about next year's students."
- "The great vibe in the room."
- "Being around people on my team."
Significant Learnings:
- Organization & Teamwork is key
- Planning & Pacing with Block Schedule
- We Have Creative People Who Gave Me New Ideas
All in all, it was a great way to kick off the new year. The power of the SLC structure and the positive impact it will have on student learning was evident all day long. Special thanks to presenters, Erin Millard, Holly McCool, Diane Ayre and Todd Harrison. Also thank you to Catherine Paleka for letting us use the Chorus Room and for all her help with setup and cleanup! It's going to be a great year turning our dreams into reality.
