In order to provide greater insight into whatoccurred at these sites there is a brief writeup by each of the four counselors.Saturday Success Academy - Melissa Coo- per As an ISTEP counselor one of the most chal-lenging aspects of our position is workingcollaboratively with schools. We visit fivevery different schools one day weekly andthe limited amount of time spent with eachschool can negatively affect working to-gether. While creating and working on theSaturday Success Academy project withPoinciana High School, I found that collabo-ration and support came without question. Itis amazing what can be done when peoplework together toward a goal. Our goal in thisadventure was allowing incoming 9
th
gradeat risk students to get a hands on intimateview at what they will experience in highschool and begin making connections withteachers, staff, and other students.Day one was an informational session andcampus tour, day two academic focus, daythree involved vocational programs, and dayfour was a wrap up and focused on the futureat Valencia Community College. I was im- pressed by the willingness by everyone to participate in this event. The principal andassistant principal attended every session atPHS. Deans, athletics, ROTC, Cheerleading,Drama, Guidance Counselors were activelyinvolved in the process. I had 10 teachersvolunteer to participate and over 30 studentvolunteers give their time, energy, and en-couragement to these 26 students. Theschedules were full and informative, funactivities were planned, and the studentsenjoyed each day. I don’t think it could haverun more perfectly.Without question the relationships that weredeveloped these four Saturdays will helpthese students feel a connection to theschool, the staff, and to each other. I person-ally witnessed friendships being formed, passion for learning growing within, and a budding excitement about the experiencesthat await them at Poinciana High School. Iwas continually asked questions like, “Whencan we do this again?” or “How could wemake this program for everyone?” or “I wishthere was something like this when I was in9
th
grade”. This experience helped me realizethat unless our students feel connected to thehigh school and feel that they have purposeand a place there, little work gets done. Ilook forward to seeing what these studentswill accomplish next year. We planted seeds,and I cannot wait to see how big they grow.
Saturday Success Academy –Debbie In-grassiaMs. Camp, SCHS Teacher of the Year,and Physical Science teacher had a fun andacademic lessons in her science room. The8th graders were allowed to perform ascientific experiment with an advancedhand held computer measuring device.They could test the temperature of any twoobjects and had to record their data. Shealso discussed the importance of maintain-ing grades and how to pass the scienceclasses.Ms. Bell, an English teacher had a won-derful lesson that was academic andgeared toward personal/social for newhigh schoolers. They read along while asong was being played that was aboutfinding your path and acceptance of your-self. She also had poetry and discussedeach line and the students had to say whateach sentence meant line by line. She wasamazing in describing her experiences andfeelings from middle school throughouthigh school. The room was so silent aseach student listened to her personal story.The students also learned more about mak-ing "right choices" for yourself and to beaccepting of who you are regardless of peer pressures.Ms. Peterson, Social Worker, did a won-derful and creative lesson on "what areyour dreams and goals?" The students be-gan to realize they have dreams but needto complete short term and middle tasks/goals to reach their dreams.Ms. Hart, District Counselor, had a super lesson with a time line that brought about bonding of these students from differentschools and backgrounds. It helped themto realize everyone including the adults inthe room have lived in different places andhad to adapt to change with positive andsome negatives along the way. Also, it wasamazing to see each student talk in front of each other and share their personal stories.Overall, these students have absorbedknowledge that will help them feel morecomfortable and less stressed with all their "new" high school experiences to come.Saturday Success Academy -Karen Lein-inger The Saturday Success Academy at LibertyHigh School was an incredibly rewardingexperience. 26 students were served, with20 students attending 3 or more sessions,and over half attending all four sessions. Iwas continually impressed by the enthusi-astic staff and student presentations eachweek, including but not limited to: theacademic enrichment activities facilitated by our 9
th
grade teachers, LHS Athletics,ROTC, Cheerleaders, Band, Chorus,Drama, Dance Team, Robotics Club, NHS, TV Production and many more. Itruly believe that these 8
th
graders are bet-ter equipped for high school success as aresult of the things they learned and therelationships they built in this program.They have made valuable connections toLHS that will inspire them to invest intheir future there. 100% of the studentsstated that they feel more prepared for high school as a result of the program, andthat they would recommend the programto other students. Several of them statedthat they realize now how important aca-demic success in their freshman year is.Overall, the Academies were a positiveexperience, and I learned a great dealabout leadership, delegating and effi-ciency. I can’t wait for next year—it’sgoing to get better and better!
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