Introduction

This school year the Spaulding High School and Barre Technical Center campus reintroduced the TA (Teacher Advisory) system to the incoming freshmen.  I thought it would be interesting to have my sophomores talk to the freshmen and find out their thoughts about the TA system and about high school in general.  I was not sure how to go about organizing this, so I spoke with Beverly Scofield.  Beverly introduced me to Colleen O’Patry, who is part of AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). It is a huge burden lifted off me (the classroom teacher), and this project has encouraged students to be responsible writers.

Timeline and Description of Student or Program Participants

Each quarter of the 2004-2005 school year, students from my block four class will write a newsletter that focuses on the activities happening during TA time.  Students will interview freshmen in TA to find what students like and dislike about the TA system.  The students rotate, so that only a couple of students write the newsletter each quarter.

Materials and Resources Needed

  • Computers
  • List of TA teachers and students
  • Classroom or office space
  • A VISTA or a Para-Educator to organize the students

Essential Questions

  • What do freshman students think about the TA system?
  • How will my students approach writing a newsletter?
  • How will my sophomore students interview students and teachers and publish a newsletter the focuses on the TA system at our high school?

Focusing Questions

  • What projects are the TA students and teachers completing in their time together?
  • What are some of the issues that incoming freshman face?

Rationale

The TA system was reintroduced at the beginning of this school year and my students were asked if they would write a newsletter that focused on the TA system and on the ninth grade experience.

Culminating Activities

Students will continue to work on grammar, usage, and spelling, as well as the voice and tone in their writing.  Students will also work on formally interviewing faculty and ninth grade students.

Addressing Service Learning Best Practices

Curricular Goals

  • Students will work on writing skills and on interviewing skills.

Assessment

  • The final newsletters will be evaluated and given a final grade.

Service Goals

  • Sharing information with all ninth grade TA classes about what is going on in TA and how students are adjusting to high school in general.

Participation

  • Fifteen sophomore students from my fourth block class.

Diversity

  • Students in my class are at a variety of reading and writing levels.

Community Connection

  • Students will be interviewing a variety of community members, including business owners, faculty, students, and parents.

Preparation

  • A VISTA representative organized some possible newsletter styles and she presented the idea to my class.

Reflection

  • I could not have even attempted this project without the assistance of Colleen O’Patry.  Two adults are definitely needed to organize and coordinate this project.  I think that the students learned a lot about cooperation and about creating a newsletter.

Celebration

  • At the end of the school year, we will share all of the newsletters with the entire class.