Monday, November 11, 2013

Advisory Spotlight

This week I wanted to spotlight a few of our advisory groups.  As we go through the year I hope to get the chance to highlight each advisory group.



Mrs. Anderson’s Advisory
Mrs. Anderson’s advisory group is quite an active bunch!  The room is always filled with excited conversation and friendly competition.  The students and Mrs. Anderson work hard during their advisory contests.  They had a particularly tough challenge the day they were asked to flip a plastic table cloth over using on their feet!  After several failed attempts, Ellie had a plan and Noah became the leading voice to make it happen.  “Shuffle people!  Bigger shuffles!” Noah shouted to motivate the group.  Everyone had a good laugh and eventually found success!  It was amazing to watch the students come together to complete a tough task! 
This dynamic group includes football, field hockey and soccer players, as well as some very talented musicians and puzzle “completers”!  We saw Sloane have great success with puzzles during the first Minute to Win It competition!
Mrs. Anderson has started having her fall One-on-One conferences with her students.  The kids value having this time with their advisor.  It allows Mrs. Anderson a chance to get to know each child individually and learn how she can support them through middle school.  She will hold One-on-One meetings throughout the year to check in with the students and stay on top of any areas of support they may need.



Senora Wolfe’s Advisory
In Senora Wolfe’s advisory, there is no shortage of laughter and friendship.  The students have each contributed to a community candy bag and they enjoy sharing treats with each other every day after lunch.  While there is a lot of fun, the students also work hard when the time comes.  They gave great effort to creating their own personal goals for this year.
Mrs. Kobolt interviewed Senora Wolfe’s advisees and learned that they love having projects and activities in advisory and the Senora is like a family member to them.  They love that she is nice and gives them responsibilities.  Students enjoy having a say in the activities their advisory will participate in and a time to relax from the daily grind of classes.  The students also reported that they can talk to each other about anything in advisory, they even wish advisory was a longer period of time in the day.  What would they do with the extra time?  More contests!!!



Senora Araiza’s Advisory
Senora Araiza has created a very relaxed advisory atmosphere.  The students were excited about the bullying video project and were motivated by the prize of going to the Lower School to present their video to the 5th grade.  While, they did not win, they were selected as a runner up and their project was shown at the Lower School!
Araiza’s students very clearly works together as a group.  They report that Senora Araiza is nice and comfortable to be around.  The students can tell that she cares for them when she listens to their rants and checks in on them.  


Mrs. Blakenship’s Advisory
The students in Mrs. Blankenship’s advisory love contests!  Their favorite was the spaghetti and marshmallow structure contest.  They tackled the bullying video project by aiming to show the perspective of the student who is bullying others and encouraging their fellow students to be empathetic to everyone.  Mrs. Blankenship’s “Junk Closet” came in handy during the contest in which students had to decorate a pumpkin to look like their advisor, it even contained a hot glue gun which came in quite handy!
Even when there is not a formal contest, the students use their advisory time to answer trivia questions on a website that donates rice to those who are hungry for every correct answer. 
Mrs. Blakenship’s advisees like having her as an advisor because she is nice and they are comfortable approaching her with questions.  They especially like that she will let them do homework when they need to!


Mr. Wilson’s Advisory
Mr. Wilson is a Baylor fan and he happily shares Baylor football highlight reels in his advisory!  However, he also allows his students to choose school-appropriate videos to share, even silly animated ones.  The students are right when they say Mr. Wilson’s advisory is fun.  They report that Mr. Wilson makes the room a positive place to be and they very much look forward to the break in their school day in his room.  One student said that school would be too overwhelming without advisory.
The students had a great time decorating their pumpkin to look like their beloved Mr. Wilson.  Though the beginning of the year it was a bit unclear who the leaders would be in Mr. Wilson’s group, a few a starting to emerge as leaders in different areas.  Nevertheless, the balance of everyone being included and feeling a part of the group continues!




No comments:

Post a Comment