DEPT. NOTES



WEST SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL / OCTOBER 27, 2016

Art

Math

The Senior Studio student work is currently on display in the back of the “art pod”. Come see the work of our most invested and curious students. GCC is hosting Portfolio Day; 6 of our aspiring artists will attend next week thanks to the work of Mrs Cofer and Ms Kasunick. The band has been practicing their moves this week. Period 4 is a great time to have hall duty, or stretch your legs, to see and hear them practice.use our classroom paraprofessionals.

All teachers continue to reflect on depth of knowledge in their courses, revising assessments, lessons, and activities to get students to discourse more deeply about mathematics. In connection our recent department curriculum meeting’s focus targeted how to give students more opportunity to persevere on challenging problems and work through the necessary explanation needed as evidence of their answer and knowledge. Photo 2 students have been painting with light for the last week. We are excited to see the results! Westside Day, at the Big E, was a g reat opportunity for the Marching Band to demonstrate their hard work. You can catch them at the football games all season.

Student Support Services Special Education teachers are preparing to collect data on student progress.   Be on the lookout for for requests for information.

Guidance This week the Guidance Department hosted our annual college fair. We welcomed over 100 colleges as well as the various branches of the military. All juniors and seniors attended. The event is always well received and assists students to speak to college representatives about options after high school.

Science

History The Mock Election moves forward apace with posters ready for hanging, Channel 15 and the Innovation Studio prepping and our crew of media preparing for the Big Day. West Side High School votes, November 7, 2 016 … . . a n d s t u d e n t s l e a r n t h e American Electoral Process!!

Foreign Language

 

From Ms Lugo Zayas - Tuesday October 25, I am doing interviews with several teachers and my Spanish 4 students. Teachers who speak Spanish will be invited so they can be interviewed and the questions will be related to their past, using the preterit and imperfect. From Mrs Garcia and Ms Moore Wednesday October 26, there will be a meeting of the World Language Club focused on the Day of the Dead, including crafts and snacks celebrating this important holiday.

ELA The English Department is continuing its work with language standard work in all PLCs.   Next week’s department meeting will focus on Student Centered Learning as we look into using “Converstations” to foster student learning conversations in our classrooms. We will view a sample video of a “converstation” lesson and also see a sample lesson from our department member Damien Johnson. We will employ a simple protocol to discuss the activity presented and also, think about ways we can use “Converstations” in our own classrooms. Keep an eye open to see the ELA department on Halloween...we’ve got plans!

PE & Health Fitness classes are currently doing Yoga in class.  Pictured left is a student in a “box” pose.  These activities take place in the Auxiliary Gym.  

Students linked together by a web of string to see how everything is interconnected in a foodweb.