We're in our fourth week of school! Here are some student quotes to express how it's going:
"It's awesome. Its a funner way of learning. We have more freedom to learn."
"Gucci. Gucci is technically a brand but it's a funner way of saying good. OPS is Gucci."
"It's definitely more free but it also has more responsibility."
"It's epic. It's epic because we can do projects instead of just having to write on projects all day."
"I miss having homework."
That's the cool thing about Charter. You get to do projects instead of just working with paper."
As you can see from the above quotes, students are finding that there is a balance between the freedom that comes with Project Based learning and the responsibility that comes with this freedom. Students are beginning to get a handle on how to work with Project Foundry, adding learning targets into the projects that they are working on this week. Student projects vary considerably right now: researching and making models similar to Leonardo DaVinci, learning about and building robots, discovering historical facts based off the years shown in the rings of a tree, exploring the art and history of origami, and even writing a book!
As projects wax and wane throughout the day, students diligently work on math, silent reading and other mini-projects that have interested them. Early morning and late afternoon Advisory Circles are supporting the overall culture of the school as students get to know each other better and begin to understand the significance of their voice within this school learning environment.
Overall, we're having success, students and teachers are learning and everyday there is progress in the unfolding of this new school in it's first year!
"It's awesome. Its a funner way of learning. We have more freedom to learn."
"Gucci. Gucci is technically a brand but it's a funner way of saying good. OPS is Gucci."
"It's definitely more free but it also has more responsibility."
"It's epic. It's epic because we can do projects instead of just having to write on projects all day."
"I miss having homework."
That's the cool thing about Charter. You get to do projects instead of just working with paper."
As you can see from the above quotes, students are finding that there is a balance between the freedom that comes with Project Based learning and the responsibility that comes with this freedom. Students are beginning to get a handle on how to work with Project Foundry, adding learning targets into the projects that they are working on this week. Student projects vary considerably right now: researching and making models similar to Leonardo DaVinci, learning about and building robots, discovering historical facts based off the years shown in the rings of a tree, exploring the art and history of origami, and even writing a book!
As projects wax and wane throughout the day, students diligently work on math, silent reading and other mini-projects that have interested them. Early morning and late afternoon Advisory Circles are supporting the overall culture of the school as students get to know each other better and begin to understand the significance of their voice within this school learning environment.
Overall, we're having success, students and teachers are learning and everyday there is progress in the unfolding of this new school in it's first year!