Welcome to the DYS Homeroom Blog: What You Can Expect the First Week of Class

 

Welcome to the DYS Homeroom Blog: What You Can Expect the First Week of Class

First of all, welcome new students (and students returning from last year)! I’m looking forward to the upcoming 2022/2023 school year. Last year, part of my routine involved sending parents/caregivers and students a weekly summary on Fridays via email. These emails contained announcements and insights about the mini-lessons. (I love to write about gifted psychology and brainstorm useful journal questions for students. I don’t mind summarizing our mini-lessons at the end of the week so you can continue the discussion and deepen your reflections.)

To streamline this process, I decided to create a blog. Please check here on Fridays for weekly updates, summaries, and optional homework. I also created a curriculum calendar and an easy place to access the class policy. Feel free to take a look around on this website!

What You Can Expect the First Week of Class

  1. Photo For Homeroom Collage 

It would be great if each student could share a photo of themselves with me via email (savvyhistory (at) gmail.com). I will put the photos into a visually appealing collage format. I will then share it with everyone in the class. They can print it out, hang it in the space where they work each day, and think of the homeroom as a check-in place to find support. (AKA – These are my people!)

  1. “About Me” Page

A student/parent duo suggested a fun and easy “about me” activity last year. Students were creative with it. Some turned it into a slide show, some simply gave speeches based on the prompts, and others filled out the form. (I will send the PDF as a template the first week of class.)

The best way to complete it is probably print it out, attach a physical picture, write on the document, scan it, and send it back as an attachment to me. Students can complete it on their desktop as well. “Tools – Annotate – Text” will allow students to type directly on the document. That being said, it is cumbersome to add a picture directly to a pdf. These multi-step directions can help: https://www.howtogeek.com/722971/how-to-add-an-image-to-a-pdf-with-preview-on-mac/

  1. Check-in Questions

Please familiarize yourself with these questions that will guide our daily check-ins. I provide a visually appealing set of questions that offer as an anchor for our homeroom. (I will send this PDF the first week of class.) It would be great if students printed it out and placed it in a space they could see. I also display it at the beginning of class each day. 

  • What classes do you have?
  • What specific topics are being focused on in these classes?
  • How are you feeling today about these classes and the way they are going?
  • What do you enjoy? What is challenging and/or not engaging?
  • Do you need any resources or assistance for success?

4. Project Sharing Questions

The questions below are used on Mondays. It’s always great to see what DYS students are working on! (I will send this as a PDF the first week of class.) If you don’t have a specific project you would like to talk about, you will always be given the “check-in” option as well.

  • What obstacles did you have to overcome to create this?
  • How long did it take you? Did you find “psychological flow”?
  • Do you plan to do anything with it (share it, change it, market it)?
  • What inspired you to create this? Any specific influences?

Social Contract

Students who acknowledge the contract and abide by it help class run smoothly. You will be asked to annotate on a contract and “sign it” on the first day of class!

The first week of class will involve a lot of “set-up” activities like this. Take heart! Getting everything in order is what facilitates deep work and meaningful interactions in the long run.

I look forward to meeting all of you on Sep. 6th!

– Michelle

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