iPads for Autism: Students Changing the World

"Everyone wins when we all join together"

Joining together a Community:iPads for Autism

During our most recent unit we explored whether technology has been good for society.  We had a number of experts come in to discuss the pros and cons of technology.  Obviously technology has brought forth millions of innovations that have made our life better, but it was interesting to see some of the negatives that come with technology such as loss of local jobs, a decrease in person-person communication, and fewer people exercising as much as they should be.

At the end of the project we decided to focus on one particular benefit that technology provides:  iPads for students with autism.  Over the course of a week the Communities program at Oshkosh North High School brought in experts in the form of therapists, autism teachers, counselors, parents and siblings of children with autism, and others.

Our class learned a LOT about autism and how it affects people who have it.  We learned a lot about what a spectrum disorder is and what the different levels of the spectrum mean.  We also learned a lot about how technology, specifically iPads, could help children with autism to learn and live better lives.  There are many apps that exist for children with autism to use that help with communication, expression, organization, learning to overcome stressful situations, and many more.  After talking with the experts, and those who have lived with children with autism, it became clear that iPads could greatly improve the quality of life for those who received iPads.

For our project we partnered with our local Mid-Morning Kiwanis club.  They were doing an "iPads for Autism" program and had already secured 10 iPads for students with autism.  The problem, however, is that there were still 20 children still on the list.  Many students and teachers agreed that we would love to have the ability to pull out the money and fund the purchase of these iPads, but this was obviously not possible.  We decided, though, that we could make a difference and help out this cause.

The students planned a fundraiser in which they will run a raffle at the biggest varsity basketball game of the year:  crosstown rivals, Oshkosh North vs. Oshkosh West.  The students began brainstorming and filled the boards with excellent ideas.  It was official.  Our Communities students were bound to make a difference and help out this cause.

We recently wrapped up the prepare and plan phase and fulfilled some solid work days of the action phase.  There were 13 different groups that all had different responsibilities ranging from advertising, contacting radio/television/newspaper, planning the raffle, calling local sponsors for donations towards the raffle, a t-shirt designing group, another group that reached out to partner with the other high school (Oshkosh West) in town to help out.  The group chose the theme "Two Teams, One Community" because of the need for us to put our differences aside in trying to help our community.

This blog post is simply an update on one of the most magnificent projects I have seen.  Students are extremely passionate, hardworking, eager to learn, and eager to make a positive impact in the world.  This is ComPassion Based Learning, interdisciplinary, differentiated, Project Based Learning and education at their finest.  This is all while inspiring students to be altruistic, learn 21st century skills, and learn about how to organize and execute events.  The future is bright!  These students are amazing!!!

This is a video that the students put together as an introduction for the "WHY" behind the cause.  They have more specific ones created for local showing, some for in-game announcements, radio advertisements, etc... 

Our staff has always believed that if you give students the opportunities, resources, and support to change the world, they will do amazing things.  I have never felt more confident about that then I am right now!

Communities at Oshkosh North High School
Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Please reply with any questions, thoughts, suggestions, opinions, or ways that you would like to get involved.

Please visit our website at:  www.communitiesonhs.org

Follow us on Twitter:  @communitiesonhs

Like us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/communitiesonhs?ref=stream

ComPassion Based Learning - http://compassionbasedlearning.blogspot.com/

Brad Weber - https://sites.google.com/a/oshkosh.k12.wi.us/brad-weber/

Rick Lieb - https://sites.google.com/a/oshkosh.k12.wi.us/mr-rick-leib/

Oliver Schinkten - https://sites.google.com/a/oshkosh.k12.wi.us/oliver-schinkten/

Community Enrichment Opportunity - A Communities 2 Student Reflection

Every fall UWO, as well as other team sponsors, put on the annual Dragonboat Festival in Oshkosh Wisconsin. The history of the dragonboats date back approximately 2,400 years ago to Chinese culture. On the contrary, the UWO’s Dragonboat Festival was only founded 7 years ago, in 2006. The purpose behind the festival was to have a community event that would benefit the community as well as the UWO campus. But something interesting happens with the proceeds behind this event. The proceeds are split between a UWO scholarship as well as donations to the YMCA Strong Kids Campaign, all working towards a better community.

Taking part in such an event is not only benefiting our community, but it is also building team skills and gives us a sense of belonging at such a wonderful event. The “village” for the Dragonboat Festival is held at the Leach Amphitheater which is molded by many blue tents, each home to a dragonboat team. I felt as if we were a community inside of a community, our own little town inside of the city of Oshkosh. Smiles were abroad whether you knew others or not. Teams felt encouraged to cheer others on, socialize, and turn an ordinary Saturday into something special. Living in Oshkosh for the latter half of my life, I never knew such an event existed! When present at this festival, I saw a side of Oshkosh, previously unknown, that made me appreciate my community. I saw many participants in a central area cheering each other on, smiling, laughing, and enjoying each others company.

Whether it was volleyball, bean bag toss, or the dragonboat races itself, there was a feeling of openness and unity, even with competition present. Those who I didn’t even know invited parts of my team to play volleyball for a friendly game. Other teams cheered us on as we went out to our boats and inflicted a sense of pride among us in which we passed on to others. Strangers in my community suddenly became a friendly face, changing my outlook on Oshkosh as a community. Instead of just a city full of nice people, we can rally together and make a huge impact on others.

The Dragonboat Festival is something I was proud to be a part of. It brings our community together while benefiting others, what could be better? For now, we will “hold the boat” as we wait for next years festival where we will put our “paddles up” and, once again, take part in such an amazing event..

(Facts on the Dragonboat Festival were taken from www.uwosh.edu/fallfest/dragonboat-festival)

-- Jordan Paulson, Communities 2 Student

The End June, 4th 2013

The end of the year has come.  Communities at Oshkosh North is wrapping up the year by spending the last day of Communities thanking the partners at breakfast this morning.  Also, having a Communities Olympics.  The ultimate advisory challenge.  As the great Mr. Weber said today, " Temporary inconvenience, permanent improvement.  This has been a very successful year for Communities from the beginning to end.  Thank you to all of our partners and our wonderful staff.  Also, thanks to everyone who supported us through out the year.  And a big thanks to our students who made this vision a reality.

Wrapping up the year June, 3rd 2013

Today the students finished up the final Communities Chats.  Also, Ryne Mosher, Zac Hassman and his brother Josh Hassman were interviewed by Mr. Dumke from Badger Sportsman to pick the winner to be published.  And Zac Hassman defeated his brother and Ryne Mosher for the oppurtunity to be published.  Also the Communities Chats are completed.  They were all fantastic and gave a great review of the year from the kids point of view.  Tomorrow Communities will be having a partner breakfast to thank the partners.

A day in Communites May, 29th 2013

Today in Communities Mr. Schinkten from Whitetales Unlimited is coming in to interview the three finalists for his magazine.  The three finalists are sophomore Kyra Eierman, sophomore Taylor Captain and freshamn Cassie Buelow.  Also yesterday Emily Daun got her paper published by Tru-U.  Tomorrow new principal Mrs. Schleicher will interview the five finalist that have the chance to be published on the Communities webiste!

Leader in the making Nick Kappell, lead the class today in substitute of Mr. Schinkten. He instructed and informed the students of his project to help bring a more sustainable school. By setting up North's first aquaponics. A system of growing and harvesting food using plants and fish. He further showed the green house to the students discussing the new construction plans. In the image below is students assisting in cleaning up the greenhouse trays. Nick has gone above and beyond the sustainability unit and greatly demonstrates the goal of communities; to build a stronger and better community.

Thursday May 2nd 2013

Today was a field day. One group went water testing with Mr. Schinkten. They went to Menominee Park beach and the pond at South Park. They found various things like pH and conductivity using probes (which were purchased using money from our grant) and others took water samples to bring back to the lab. In the lab at UWO, students tested for nitrates, phosphates and turbidity. They also set up a bacteria lab which the next group will be able to look at. This was just a "practice run" and students will be going water testing again in the future. 

 

Monday April 29th, 2013

Today in Communities, students prepared for the field day that they will be having tomorrow. With Mr. Rice, Mr. Leib's student teacher, students learned how to take notes while on field days. They learned how important it is to have notes after a field day, so that if you were to write a paper or just remember what happened during the field day, you would be able to accurately and efficiently.
With Mr. Schinkten, students finished going over how to properly test water and what they will need for the field day when they test water. Finally, with Mr. Weber, students learned how to put detail into their writing, so that their papers that they will be writing later on could be even better than they would have without the activity.

Friday April 26th 2013

One of the recent field trips we went on was on Wednesday April 24th. It was to an urban farm in Milwaukee called Growing Power. Growing Power is a national nonprofit organization that helps the local area by providing equal access to safe and affordable food. To do so, they don't use things like pesticides and soil likes most farmers. They use things like aquaponics, vermicompost, compost, bees, livestock and even "mushroom chandeliers" to help grow plants safely. It is not only an effective way to farm in the city, it also gives back to the community. We went on this field trip to let students actually see what they will be doing during some of the field days at Growing Oshkosh. It was a really great experience and it even inspired some students to pursue some of Growing Power's ideas.
 

This is a "mushroom chandelier".

This is an example of what an aquaponics system could look like.

  Students gasped and competition rose as it was announced that their essays could be published! This heighten the standards for all Communities students, as now they would be applying their writing to life opportunities. And it wouldn't be to one publication, but four! Badger Sportsmen, Tru U, The Scene, and WhiteTails unlimited, have all agreed to publish the essay they think is best. This experience will truly benefit the students and all those who read the essays.

Earth Day

Today in Communities, students learned all about Earth Day. Students learned about it's history with Mr. Leib and some vocabulary about conservation and how it relates to Earth Day. In Science with Mr. Schinkten, students got caught up with what they will need to be doing. With Mr. Weber, students learned about how Earth Day was first begun and how it isn't just about saving the environment. Students learned that Earth Day can be related to how we treat each other, and how we need to take care of each other and the environment.
Happy Earth Day!

Friday April 19th 2013

Today students had the opportunity to share their current project with the community. Multiple parents and other community members came in. Students gave their "pitch" which described what sustainability is, why it's important, and then a little bit about what we're actually going to be doing. The "pitch" was more of a one-on-one conversation instead of a presentation in front of everybody. 


The community members gave great feedback and seemed to be impressed on the growth of students' communication skills from the beginning of the year. Overall it was a great win-win situation because the community learned a bit more about the project and the students were able to practice their 21st century skills.

Thursday April 18th 2013

Last night was our Veteran's Event! Thank you to everyone who attended! The event was put on by students with some help from the staff. Overall we received a lot of good feedback from multiple community members. 

We give a special thanks to all those businesses/individuals that made this possible. Those include Camera Casino, Clarence "Inky" Jungwirth, Dan Kretz, Dee Photo, Evergreen, Jessica Opien, Kim Bauer, Susie Leib, Mark Nielson, Matt's DJ Service, OASD Maintenance Department, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, Oshkosh Northwestern, West Shore Acupuncture, ONHS Choir, the Military Veterans Museum, and the veterans! 

If you'd like to see clips from the interviews we have put them on our website http://www.voicesofveterans.co/  and if you'd like to see more pictures from the event go to our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Communities-at-Oshkosh-North/140437179424843

Danielle speaks about her experiences during the "War Unit".

Today Communities prepped for the Veterans event held later tonight. This will be a celebration for veterans of WWI, Korea, and Vietnam. In addition, those who endured the war at home. Communities is greatly honored to have this opportunity. Where students learned from people who actually faced war. And in return their stories are recorded and will be shared tonight. Students worked hard for this night, from editing interviews to planning tonight's schedule. Communities is greatly appreciative to all those who helped to make tonight possible.

Monday April 15, 2013

 

Today in Communities, the students who were a part of the Veteran Event planning group went to the museum to set up for Wednesday night. These students spent all three hours of Communities time to set up the hall and figure out where everything was going to go and be placed. Some students who were making the highlight video of veterans, the program, etc. stayed in the computer lab and got some work time to finish what they were doing for the event. The students who weren't involved in any of the planning of the event watched movies that had to do with sustainability.

Don't forget! The Veterans Event is this Wednesday at the Veterans Museum by EAA from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Fro 6:00to 6:30 there will be a social hour where you can eat and veterans will have the opportunity to have their pictures taken by DPhoto. Then from 6:30 to 7:30 we will have a ceremony where there will be the Presenting of Colors, some presentations of some edited video clips from some interviews that students conducted. You can see the rest of the video clips at voicesfroveterans.co The Oshkosh North Choir will also be singing The Song of the Armed U.S. Forces, a song where every branch's song is sung. Hope to see you there!

Blog from Friday, April 12th 2013 Mid Morning Kiwanis

I thought it was a successful day for the Communities students at Mid Morning Kiwanis. We spoke about our veteran project including our final event at the veterans museum. The Kiwanis group seem interested and almost impressed with our process throughout the project and I also think they were impressed by us telling them that over 200 people had already RSVP to the event. We also talked about our upcoming project where we will be partnering with Growing Oshkosh, UWO, and the DNR. I think it's nice to let them know what were doing and the impact were making and also showing them that us too, can help out the community.

Sustainabilty Pich Practice (Friday April 12, 2013)

Today in Communities, students were able to practice their Sustainability pitches. Students were extremely worried about giving their pitches for a grade, so instead they practiced them in groups of three and then had the opportunity to practice them in front of the class. Students gave their pitches and got feedback from their peers.
Also today, students had the traditional Celebrations in the LRC. Students and teachers nominated each other for the outstanding things that they did. The traditional "broken stick sentence dum-dum" was given out and students can't wait for next week, where they will be preparing and pulling off the Veterans Event Wednesday night and also will be giving their Sustainability pitches for a grade.  

Thursday April 11th

Students have recently been having discussions on a new website called Collaborize Classroom (http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com/). It's exactly what its name sounds like! Collaborize Classroom is a website for classes to collaborate online. Since the new unit has begun, students have been asked to answer or reply to others on certain "discussions". The new unit is called "Sustainability" and students have been answering questions about things like water and soil. 

This is an example of what Collaborize Classroom looks like and some of the recent topics.

What is to blame for our intelligence levels genetics or effort? Maybe it's both. This was a main question by Communities science teacher Mr. Schinkten. With a series of questions to see what students thought many were in the middle. To some extent genetics play a role
like with memorization. However, if you give more effort to learn something would you be smarter than someone who understands things faster? And we all know that one person who is "naturally smart". But if you tried harder do you think you could be better than them? Tell us what you think below, is it genetics or effort?

Clothing Drive Comes to an End. Monday April 8, 2013

 

Today in Communities, students moved throughout the three classrooms to get themselves back into the "school mode" since they were on spring break the past week. They played Pictionary in one room with Mr. Weber, that had to do with all that students have learned this year in Communities. In another room, Mr. Schinkten went over how to call his voicemail to leave answers on audio assessments and showed students more of the Communities One Stop Shop. In the other room, Mr. Lieb went over what the next unit will be and how it effects the students.

Also today, the winners of the clothing drive students put together were revealed. Mr. Weber's advisory was the winner and were rewarded with Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen.

Thursday March 28th 2013

Today was the last day of Multicultural Week. There were multiple speakers that came in that included people from outside businesses (like World Relief) and students! 

In one of the presentations four volunteers were asked to come onto the stage. The group of students presenting were all Hmong and could fluently speak it. The presenters started by reading a story in Hmong and then asking multiple choice questions (still in Hmong) to the volunteers. Of course the volunteers had no idea what anything meant. The point of the presentation was to put students at North in the position that many refugees are put in when they come to America. Many refugees can't speak English and it is very frustrating when you can't communicate with anyone. At North there are more refugee students than you would think!

The exposure of cultures is a an amazing opportunity to have. This was greatly shown today as Communities attended to North's Multicultural week. Where Ailen Chiesa, a foreign exchange student from Argentina, spoke of her life in Argentina and the beautiful culture they have there. Like the dances and their most talked about sport; soccer and pato. Argentina is a similar country to America with a democratic government with a female president! We were also I introduced to the Chinese culture by North's own Taylor Buman. She is a student at north who attended school in China for nine months. However, much of what she learned could not be told as she was cut by the bell. She was able to teach us some phrases she often used like "Wo Bu Zhidao" which means I don't know! Although, the presentations were a brief view of Argentina and China it was an amazing opportunity. Thank you to all those who presented and who are going to. It is opportunity that should be shown more. So, like here at Communities, get students involved!

Community Culture Night

Last night was Community Culture night! Many people in the community came and it was a bog success. There was an especially big crowd between 4 and 5. All of the booths were a big hit. The French club had a France booth that made crêpes, they were a crowd favorite. Many other booths had food samples. Another common thing was coloring pages. All of the kids that came seemed to be having a great time.

First Day of Multicultural Week!

                                   
This week at Oshkosh North is Multicultural Week! The students in Communities have been working long and hard on getting ready for this week, which will be very busy. To kick off this week, two big events were going on. First, some students from Communities have been working hard on trying to get the whole school to wear purple, to bring awareness to women in countries that are getting education so that they can live better lives. Much of the student and staff body wore purple, so purple day was a success!
Also today, the entire student body attended an assembly, where there was an extremely entertaining guest speaker. A student from Communities did a great job introducing this quest speaker named Tou Ger Xiong, who is often called "Two". Two is an immigrant from Laos and spoke about his story and how he is sick of people being treated horribly because of the way they look, act, or speak. Students were extremely intrigued and learned more about diversity and the Hmong culture. Two did an amazing time kicking off Multicultural Week and teaching kids about immigration and diversity. Two said, "We're all so different, but yet all the same..." He went on to explain how everyone is different and how everyone needs to be treated with respect.

 Results for Communities first clothing drive was successful. With a total of around 300 items! Yet, It is the cause that made this drive a success. For, all the clothes donated will be sent to refugee families in Thailand. Furthermore, the clothing drive is only a part of helping this cause. Salina and Chee Xiong of the program have stepped forward by setting up a fundraiser; One For Five. By donating one dollar it helps feed five refugees. Their fundraiser begins on Monday in addition, round two of  the clothing drive. Come support if you can by helping the cause.

  Note taking; a simple skill, but learning to do it right is the key to success. And the amount of speakers that Communities receives called for a workshop on note taking. This concept was emphasized as Mr. Leib, who taught the workshop, told of his successes. This included growth of his travel agency and the blissful grants Communities has received. Furthermore, note taking was emphasized as a needed 21st century skill. In order to see more meaning messages in the world around us. One example was the video shared today of David Binder; a speaker for TED talks. The video was used to practice taking key notes and then later discuss what we found. The results were surprising and the message of the video was clearly received .Note taking correctly helps to focus on the bigger and more meaningful message. So, what better place to teach this concept than at Communities.

Tuesday March 19th, 2013

As normal, today students had options when it came to workshops. Some included science benchmarks, organizational work, and filming projects for Multicultural Week. There was also some about 21st century skills. 

A lot of times we talk about 21st century skills at Communities. But what are they? 21st century skills include things like critical thinking, collaborating, flexibility, initiative, leadership, technology skills, and much more. These are all things that are helpful in the real world! Staff have been encouraging and helping students to improve these skills all year long. Recently we received textbooks from Zaner-Bloser that are about 21st century skills. The book is called "Inquire". Books haven't be distributed to students yet but they will certainly be helpful in the future!

Monday March 18, 2013

 

Today in Communities, students had to attend a workshop where they presented what they were doing for the Multicultural project. They received feedback on how their project was and received suggestions as to how to improve them.

They then had another workshop to attend. They either went to a Literacy workshop, a 21st century skills workshop, or a veterans event workshop. In the literacy workshop the students learned about what they will be doing this week. In the 21st century skills workshop, students learned more about how to use their school emails even better. In the veterans event workshop, the students went over what they are doing and got more information about what they will be doing from Mr. Lieb.

Finally, during the last part of the day, students had a chance to tell the entire group what they will be doing for their projects and the whole group was able to give feedback.

Celebrations- Friday March 15th, 2013

Today in Communities we had a guest speaker from World Relief come in and speak to the students about his job, which was to help settle refugees here in Wisconsin. He spoke to the whole group, then to a smaller group of students that could use his expertise with their Multicultural projects.

We also had the traditional Celebrations with students today, but with a bit of a twist. The Celebrations time is a time for all of Communities to celebrate the week and have a raffle conducted by Mr. Schinkten. Students at this time are able to nominate other students and teachers for something that they have done which they think is worthy of being reconized and deserving to recieve another ticket for the raffle. Some groups of students spoke to the group about what they're doing. One group spoke about the clothing drive that they're having and turning into an Advisory Challenge. Advisory challenges are competitions between the advisories. Another group who spoke was the Apparel Committee, who spoke about how the students are going to have the chance to design the first t-shirt for Communities. The t-shirt design has to include the Communities logo.

  Mrs. Goff, ELL teacher, met with Communities students to introduce plans for North's upcoming Multicultural Week March 22-24.Multicultural Week is a huge opportunity for students to present and view all the diverse cultures within our school. Therefore, Communities has partnered with Mrs.Goff and Mrs.Morill directors of this years' Multicultural week. The meeting with Mrs.Goff began with the introduction of Touger Xiong who will present during Multicultural Week. He is well known by educators for his style of promoting education to all students. Like shown to the right, where he uses rap to introduce himself. The students' meeting with Mrs. Goff discussed the set up, who would be introducing presenters, and sign-ups for classes to attend presentation, all in order to make Multicultural Week a success.

March 12 2013

Today was a fairly normal day in communities. We had workshops all day. One of those workshops Mrs. Goff came to talk to us about Community Culture Night. Community Culture Night will be held on Tuesday March 26. It will be an event open to everyone to come and learn about other cultures through games and other fun activities. Mrs. Goff is in charge of Multicultural week, and today she came to talk to us about our ideas for Community Culture Night. She also encouraged us to help promote it by making posters and telling people about it. Mrs. Goff will be coming back Thursday for another workshop talking about Multicultural week.

Marketing 101- Monday, March 11th, 2013

Today in Communities Mrs. Penzenstadler came in to speak with students about the "do's and don'ts" of marketing. She works for a marketing business. Students who are promoting the Veterans event in April and who are promoting the Multicultural Night at North were encouraged to attend. She spoke about how it is important that whenever you're promoting an event to plan ahead, to have a good pitch, and to make sure that the consumer knows why your product/event would help/entertain them. She gave some great tips as to how to market, like the community reporter section of the Oshkosh Northwestern. This section of the newspaper can be a great tool to help promote events, if written well! The students took great notes and asked great questions! Students found the time spent with Mrs. Penzenstadler was extremely helpful!

Far and Away was where the minds of Communities stayed today. This is somewhat true as the schedule today was devoted to watch the movie Far and Away. The video showed a peek of the little and unaccepted diversity in America's mid 1800s, which improved the students understanding of our next unit multiculturalism. The video was an educational experience, but students were engaged with the characters and their obstacles and the overall experience became better. The movie was an interesting and beneficial video for the students to focus on today.

Thursday March 7th, 2013

Credit to Jeannette Merten from the Oshkosh Northwestern

Communities continued on as planned even though two of the teachers, Mr. Weber and Mr. Leib, were gone. They were gone because the Oshkosh North Boys Basketball team will be playing in the State Tournament this Friday at 6:35pm at the Kohl Center on the campus of the UWMadison. Since they're coaches they will be gone but multiple students from Communities will also be playing. Communities wishes the boys good luck on Friday against Germantown as well as the girls good luck tonight against Neenah!



Today was full of different workshops. One of the workshops was specifically for Biology students and had to deal with genetics. Students chose letters out of a bucket to create genotypes (like Aa or AA for example). Then they figured out the phenotype (two body segments for example) and created marshmallow creatures!

Tuesday, March 5th, 2013

Today Communities students went to a presentation given by fox valley tech, about computers, and websites. When they weren't in the presentation they were working on their veteran projects. Or starting on their next project Multicultures.

Monday, March 4th, 2013

Today was a day of lots of work, in Communities, today students finished editing their veteran video clips. The clips will be posted on a website very soon, and we'll get you the address once the clips are on there. Also students watched other students clips and gave feed back, so they could fix them to make them even better.

Friday, March 1st, 2013

Today was a pretty fun day in Communities. To start the day off, they started with advisory. Then they went off to their various workshops, where some people put a few last minute fixes on their clips to show, to their groups for feedback on how to make their clips just a little better. Then they went to those groups for some peer feedback. Lastly they had celebration, everyone started with one ticket for a chance to win some prizes, the teachers gave some tickets to those students who worked really hard or did something extraordinary, also some students gave tickets to those they thought deserved some for a good deed they did. Stay tuned to next week, for some more news about what's happening in Communities.

Thursday February 28, 2013

Today in Communities we started off the day with DEAR and then headed to our workshops. The students had to pick the workshops that will help them the most and they had to keep in mind they needed a few workshops that are required. During the third block there was a committees workshop, which was were the students brain stormed about what clubs we could create, so encourage your child to sign up for one.

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013

Today communities was full of working students, as it is everyday. Students were editing their videos, and taking stories that their veteran told and making them into mini 2-10 minute clips. The biology students also had their biology workshop, and some students went to conference with the teachers about how the project turned out, and how it could be improved if they were to do the project again.

Monday February 25th, 2013

Yesterday was an eventful day in communities had celebration since they were unable to do it on Friday. But the teachers had a little surprise for some of the students. In advisor the students filled out a small piece of paper, which they had to write their full name, birthday, and a number they were given to look up based on their birthday. During the celebration, the teachers told the students who had the number 1-100 to go out of the room, and back to the communities rooms, none of the students knew what was happening, untill they all got to the room and were told they were getting drafted and could be part of the celebration. Then the students went to their project advisor for the first workshop. In there they talked about writing thank you cards to their veterans.

Friday Febuary 22th

Today school was canceled due to the weather.

Thursday, February 21st, 2013

Today was a good day in Communities. Some students had the workshops of their choice. Other students went to different conference room around the school for their interveiw with their veteran. One of the students even got a little surprise from her veteran! The veteran gave her a clarinet that he played when he was younger.

Wednesday, Febuary 20th, 2013

Yesterday was a also a great day in communities! Some students had the workshop of their choice. While other students interveiwed their war veteran Some of the students went to various quiet conference rooms around the school to interveiw But other students went to Evergreen to interveiw their war veteran.   

Tuesday February 19th

Today was a great day in communities! Many students had their interviews with their veteran, students filmed in quiet places throughout the school to get the most out of their interview with their veteran. It's very exciting seeing students conduct their interview with their veteran, seeing all the work the put into it and then finally making their final product. Other students who haven't had their interview yet were in workshops. This week has been a little different as to where students pick their workshops and go to the ones that best suit them. It was a great Tuesday, make sure to check in throughout the week to see how interviews and workshops are going!

Friday Febuary 15th

Today was a splendid Friday in communities. Students had workshops preparing them for their interviews next week! Some students have already and will be having  their meet and greet with their veteran and it went very well! Students looked to be creating a strong bond with their veteran. These workshops have done a great job prepping students for their interview with the veteran. They have helped them prepare interview questions, learn how to ask follow up questions and learn how to construct a good interview! The days are getting closer and closer to the interview as some will happen on Monday. Make sure to tune in next week to see how they have went!

Today was an eventful day in Communities, we started off the day with advisory drop everything and read. Then headed to our workshop, where we learned some new things about our war.Then at project time some of the students met there vet for the first time in meet and greet. This was an awesome event because not only is the vet more comfortable, but the student is too.

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Today was a good day in communities! Students had workshops where they had a good discussion on their war topics! Students have learned so much about their war and have an enormous amount of background knowledge. Students are preparing for the meet and greet which for some students takes place on Thursday! The meet and greet is where students learn and meet their veteran. A good time to get to know each other before the real interview. Students then capped of the day with project time working on  their meet and greet. They are creating good questions so they can learn the background of their veteran. Also information on the personal side of the veteran, what they like to do, their hobbies and things like that. It was a great day in communities, make sure to tune in again to see how the things are going in the communities world!

Monday Feburary 11, 2013

To start off the day in Communities we counted how many people have comfy clothes and crazy hair. Each person could have up to 2 points, 1 for comfy clothes and 1 for crazy hair. Mr. Leib's advisory is winnning with an average of 1.2. Then we had an advisory game girls vs. boys pictionary with war vocab.After that we then headed off to our war group to watch a movie on how our war ended. Then headed to the computer lab to type up a reflection on how well we know our background knowledge and how we feel about video typing, and how we feel about our meet and greet, and how we feel about interviewing our veteran. Don't forget tomorrow is animal print!

Friday February 8th

Today was a successful Friday in communities. Students began the day in workshops learning content and having discussions about their war. Students are gaining knowledge fast about their war and starting to learn a lot of info. Everyone then prepared for their meet and greet next week with their veteran. Students developed questions to ask and are getting prepared for the meet and greet next week! To cap off the week we had out weekly raffle where prizes are awarded out from winning a raffle. Everyone is given a ticket, but you can be awarded another ticket by the good things you do during the week, or something you did during the week that another student or teacher acknowledges. It was a great week in communities make sure to tune in on Monday to see whats going on in the communities world.

(students discussing)

Thursday, February 7th, 2013

Today communities students, had DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) during advisory. Then they broke of into their various workshops. Then they had project time, some worked on questions that they could ask their veteran, with the English teacher, others worked on other things to prep for meeting their veteran.

Wednesday, February 6th,2013

Today communities students, had their workshops. Then they had 55 minutes of project time, where they could, finish up anything they needed to finish up for the war units, some chose to write up some questions, while others worked on their worksheets for their social studies workshop.

Tuesday February 5th

Today was a great day in communities as students had a very good discussion with their workshop groups about their wars! They discussed different vocabulary terms, key events and main people as well. To cap off the day we had guest speaker Jessica Opien of the Oshkosh Northwestern come in and speak with communities students about how to conduct a good interview. She was very beneficial and gave us a lot of good tips including what type of questions to ask, how to ask questions, what to do during the interview, how to start of the interview and many more. She did a great job! Make sure to keep tuning in to see whats going on in the communities world!








(Jessica Opien, on right pictured with Tony Bird the assistant principal.)

Monday Feb 3rd

Today was a good Monday in Communities. Students had workshops where they watched videos on their specific war. The got a good visual aid and visual understanding of what happened in their war. Students also met with parents who served as pretend former war veterans so students could do a practice meet and greet! The war interviews with the veterans are getting closer and closer! Make sure to tune in the rest of the week!



(People Talking)

Friday Feb 1st

Today was an interesting day as students again had workshops to gain knowledge on their wars! We then had a guest speaker Mark Nielsen a former veteran who served in the Marines for 29 years. Mark talked for about an hour and shared some very interesting information with us! It's great for all the communities students  to experience two good speakers in two straight weeks. Inky Youngwirth and now Mark Nielsen. Mark also gave us some great information  on what questions we should ask and what questions we shouldn't ask are war veterans. It was a great week in communities remember to check in next week to see whats going on!

(A photo of the marines)

Wednesday, January 30th

Today was a good day in communities. Students continued to go to workshops learning more and more background knowledge on their war. Students also learned and dealt with examples of primary sources from old passages from their war. With the interviews coming up with their war veteran all students formed questions and started gathering info on questions to ask and discuss when interviewing their veteran. It was an interesting day and should get even more interesting as it get's closer and closer to interview day with the war veterans of Korea, Vietnam and WWII! Make sure to keep tuning in to see whats happening in the communities world! 

Tuesday,January 29th

Communities today was a little bit shorter due to counseling. The counselors came in to discuss scheduling for next year. In the time we did have students participated in a discussion with their war groups about specific events, generals, turning points, and dates involving their war! It was a very good discussion and students are continuing to expand their knowledge on their war topic. Make sure to tune in to see how the rest of the week is going!

Friday, January 25th

Today in Communities speaker Inky Youngwirth came into talk with everyone. Inky is a former WWII veteran who came in and talked about his past experiences in the war. Inky is a 93 year old man who is still working at Oshkosh truck. He has worked there for 66 years. Inky story is incredible and he has some very good stories about his experience in war. It was great to get him in and to have the communities students learn about him and his story. It was an eventful Friday. Make sure to tune in next week too learn all the exciting things that happen next week.!

Thursday January 24th

Today in Communities we are focusing on the war topic and learning about content. We are still doing workshops and in freshman biology today we shared with our war group about the causes of our war and some main vocabulary words. After we moved to a higher level thinking discussion where Mr. Leib picked two students from each war (WW2, Vietnam, and Korean) and asked some questions about all the wars and the students had to share there thoughts about the question. Then the freshman's went with Mr. Weber and watched what a good war interview looked like well the Sophomore's were with Mr. Leib.

Thank you and goodbye to Communities's first student teacher Mr. Cochran.  A graduate from UW-Oshkosh, he became great help and genuine contributor to the goal of Communities. To the program he brought personal experiences that encouraged and inspired students on their own projects. Such as, his own past project Make Children Visible. Which focused on children in America and everywhere else in the world. This program also contributed to a number of free T-shirts for Communities raffle prizes. Moreover, Mr.Cochran took role as the Social Studies teacher with Mr. Lieb, the main Social Studies teacher, guiding him. From the first weeks to today Communities has seen him grown to become refined and confident in his teaching abilities. From all the students and staff at Communities Thank You Mr.Cochran and good luck to your future.

Mr. Cochran

This day held many promises with the growth of a student, the start of a new chapter, and visitations from superintendent Mr. Stand F. Mack.

 At the start of the day, Communities' own student took the role as a "guest" speaker. This was part of the students' project; which informed students about pandemics, and how it effects our lives. She is open to and maybe presenting at other schools to warn students about the seasonal flu. She not only informed people, but showed growth as she switched from student to teacher.  After the presentation Sophomore Communities student literally started a new chapter with the assigned book Dale Carnegie. This book is not like traditional English books in class, but Communities is anything but traditional. Included in the book is combined editions of How To Win Friends & Influence People and How To Stop Worrying & Start Living. What was more nontraditional was the visitation from superintendent Mr. Stand F. Mack. He observed the routine of the class and was pleased with our style of school. He also, with science teacher Mr. Schinkten, set the new trend of bow ties. Moreover, the events of the day set a great end to the week.