Good afternoon, Woolie families!
As March begins, I want to center our conversation this month around our upcoming First Annual Student Summit. Last month's newsletter touched upon the purpose of the upcoming Summit.
We have been working extremely hard to finalize all of the logistics associated with the event. We are thrilled to have over 100 of our students and staff participating in the event, which is For Students and Led By Students.
We are looking forward to what actionable next steps we will be taking away from the Summit. Steps that we will work to implement during the remainder of this school year and into next school year.
Please see last month's information about the event:
As part of our continued efforts to create a more purposeful and relevant high school experience for our students, we have partnered with our friends at The Learning Agenda to plan an upcoming student summit. The theme of our student summit is: "Better Together: Listening With Students, Learning From Students."
An event such as this is directly connected to our Triangle of Transformation as it is fundamentally rooted in how we look (and have looked at) our Instruction, Systems, and Culture. These three items are at the core of what the Student Summit is trying to continue to support and accomplish.
The summit will consist of nearly 100 students and staff, and will center on the following goals:
- Students connect with peers and share school and classroom experiences, as well as provide feedback in small groups.
- Adults observe, listen, and record feedback from students regarding pertinent aspects of the high school experience, with a focus on classroom interactions and learning.
- Adults and students together think deeply about the best ways for adults and students to collaborate and co-design around what is possible when we reimagine our schools.
- All participants understand why listening to students is essential for ongoing school co-design and iteration and how to do it well.
Students facilitate two working sessions where they plan toward effective change and implementation within our school. We will have staff serve as facilitators for each session.
Topic areas covered will be:
- Being Seen, Valued, and Heard
- Grading and Assessment
- Content and Curriculum
- Classroom Engagement & Activities
- Navigating High School & Student Supports
- Life After High School
The Student Summit will be an all-day event at the Packachaug Center for the Arts in Auburn, MA. It will also feature a KeyNote Speaker, Anthony Valentine (see more information on Anthony below)
We are in, and have been in, the active planning phase for this work, and cannot wait to showcase the culmination of these efforts. As a school, we wholeheartedly believe that this will be a key opportunity in shaping who we are as a school.
I will be sure to share more information in the following weeks, as we move closer to our March 19 date.
Sincerely,
Chris Lowe
