City of Glacier Park

Blogging Together – Student Reflections

As the lead learner in our classroom (AKA the teacher) I have been blogging about our City of Glacier Park project for some time. I use BlogMoore17 to reflect on our learning journey from my perspective. But rather than blogging about our class, I would like to start blogging with our class.

Student opinions,  perceptions and reflections are the most valuable source of feedback available. It is our students who are living this experience, all coming from very different places and at different stages of their learning journey. This feedback is optional, these students are sharing because they would like their voice to be heard.

I would invite parents, families, students, teachers and anyone else involved in our journey to add their voice to our reflection in the comment box below.

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Do children like coming to school? Do they go because they’re made to or because of their friends? Some students have issues outside of school which can affect the way they act at school but who does that come down on? Everyone has their ‘off days’ and their challenges, but, how do we help them? My challenges are maintaining friendships, collaboration talks, and making new friends although I play lots of sports.

If you had the choice to go to school would you or not? 50% of our class said yes and the other 50% said it depends on what day and that they would like to experience different things. If I had the choice I would come to school most days but there are the days that you just don’t want to do anything, those are the days I wouldn’t go to school. Why do we waste our childhood on school? People say that school teaches us how to act outside of school but couldn’t we learn that ourselves? Why don’t schools have harsher punishments for doing the wrong thing?

This term has been hard, exciting, great, and at times it seemed impossible because the work is different and harder but, we also had to self-manage and learn to use our time productively. We graded ourselves in art and had to create a portfolio.

In Washington State there is a teacher named Monte. At the start of the year he gave all his students an “A” and said they would get an “A” at the end of the year. He gave them work and homework but it was their choice if they were going to do it. Most of his students wanted to earn their A’s but there was a small group of students who took advantage of the situation. Why would someone give their students all “A”s? Was it a waste of time? Would you give students all “A”s? If I knew I was getting an “A” no matter what I would want to earn it because, when you do something you get something out it. Why does a meaningless grade provide motivation for a student. Do it for the experience not the grade. – Hailey

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I like the way that our class works this term because it is a lot more engaging and it makes me have the desire to come to school and feel excited about doing so. The reason that I like coming to school is that the projects we do are different than most other classes like the Sphero chariot races, businesses, rockets etc. and by using the launch cycle it makes us think about our work more instead of just doing it. Even though it is boring doing the launch cycle, it pays off by giving us a better result in the end. Also we get to have more freedom and the class isn’t as structured because most of the students are doing their own projects. – Jacob

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I think this term was great. All the stuff we did was fun. But one of the problems was the budgeting, it got really hard to do after a few weeks because all the stuff we did. And the grading for this term was a bit confusing. – Zippy

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I’ve enjoyed the jobs/business we have and how money system works. I especially enjoyed building chariots and rockets. And I do not enjoy getting a lot of projects at a time with due dates and I think we should focus on one project at a time. Also I feel weird marking myself and I appreciate that my teacher gives us hard work to help us improve our selves. And I like what we did for this term. –Ryan

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I have enjoyed the experience being in the city of Glacier Park. I have liked the money system and how we have to figure out how much cash we have. I have found the jobs okay because its fun and I can interact with other people. But they do take up some time. I didn’t enjoy having to do all those projects. Even though we didn’t do many… I didn’t like the pressure. Also I feel enjoy marking myself because, it shows that I’m a responsible member of the city of Glacier Park. – Daniel

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So far I believe this term has been really fun and also quite challenging. It has been different from the past 7 years at this school probably because of the freedom in this class and the class isn’t structured learning like most classes. I’ve not always enjoyed coming to school but the this term has made it enjoyable mostly because of the hands on learning and the ability to choose how you learn.

I have had different thoughts about the Launch Cycle because when inventing our sport it was really long and tedious. The positives about the launch cycle is that it makes us think before we start building the prototype and that gives us more of an idea. The whole glacier park idea was really cool but the council and the budgeting idea wasn’t really my kettle of fish. The reason why I didn’t really like the council and budgets is because the council said that they were going to do things then they didn’t, and the budgeting limited our use of the couch because no one could afford it. I have liked the whole business idea because our business made people feel welcome to the school and the finance business really helped people that struggled with their budgets.

In art this term I haven’t really enjoyed the art project because I like how Ms. Mangelsen had the lesson already planned before we went to art. I also think we should have drama more often and work on a play for half a term. My highlights of this term are probably Sphero racing, working with different people and probably battle bots when we get to it. I hope you have enjoyed my opinions and use them for next term. – Kaylah

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School is different now because we get a say in what we are doing. School hasn’t always worked for me because nobody has been able to fully understand me. The teachers didn’t listen to my opinion. What works now is that teachers listen to my opinions and want to know what I have to say. It’s not just them thinking and planning the work, now we get a say in this and help planning. – “Jeff” (not his real name)

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My job for the city of Glacier Park is the meet and greet team. I work with three other people we split up into pairs and then go to opposite sides of the school where we meet and greet the parents and students. Our job was fun at the start but when you have to do it every morning it gets boring.  But I think that it making our school a better place because the parents and kids feel more welcome. – Amber

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This term was great I liked the project based learning as it gave us more opportunities to take responsibility for our learning and I think it we were better of that way. The way we set up our classroom was awesome we had room to move and we could easily access trays and other materials. The budgeting system was awesome it made me feel like I had to be more responsible with the money that I was given every day. Council was great it help keep our class organised and we always new what we were doing. So in conclusion I think this term was great I think it went smoothly. – Lynton

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These are some things I haven’t enjoyed this term. Grading myself was very difficult because it was confusing and hard to understand what to do. I did ask my friends but they didn’t know how. I think I need to ask different people for help in the future. Working together is hard sometimes because not everyone shares the same ideas. They might not want to do what you want to do. – Jakob.

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In term two we have been running businesses. I have been working as a barista called Prof. Barista. We work every Thursday morning. I work with William; he makes the tea, coffee and hot chocolates. The only bad thing about doing barista in the morning is that I have to wake up early because it starts at 8:30am and goes to 9:00am. My main job is to take orders & do the deliveries. I usually do 4 to 5 deliveries but it varies with different weeks. I enjoy doing the barista because every week we get to make different hot beverages.  I like doing the orders but sometimes it’s a little boring asking over and over again what they want. If I could pick what role to do I would want to be making the drinks rather than asking what them over and over.

My other job is called the “meet and greet” team. Every morning except for Thursday ( for me ) we stand at the entrances of the school and say good morning to the students and parents. I enjoy doing the job but after a while it get quite boring just standing there every morning for 20 minutes.   – Sophia

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The difference between my previous school and Hallett Cove South Primary School. My previous school is very different in comparison to HCSPS. Firstly, it’s a bigger school with more people and classes. The classrooms are very different. They’re smaller and work unlike this one. The class I was in was constantly sitting unless it was lunch, recess, or, P.E. It was not project-based learning at all. We were being almost constantly tested and everything was about numbers. That’s why I decided to leave and go back to HCSPS. In this classroom (The City Of Glacier Park) I have more freedom to do what helps me. I enjoy doing more project-based learning and having an opinion in the classroom. But, it still has its cons. I, personally, dislike the budgeting and businesses. -l-/ – Anon
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These are the things I’ve enjoyed!
*The people are nicer than how I’ve been treated at old schools!
*Learning here is fun, challenging, and new! I quite enjoy it, though I do get frustrated at times… I guess I’m more of a Lone Wolf than others! – Paige

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This term I have enjoyed art because I am good at it, it’s fun, you learn new styles of art and get to improve your own work. I have found this term to be hard, fun and exciting because we have been using new technology and doing more collaborative and design activities. I found the Design-A-Zoo hard because of the perimeter and area. I had fun with the Spheros because we learned to drive chariots. I found making rockets exciting because we made the rockets and we had a partner to help each other. I like having more space and different areas to work. I was nervous the come to this class because we would do more tricky stuff, but I have enjoyed it. -Grace

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I have liked this terms content but not in the way we that we done it. I have like the classroom isn’t structured as much as it was last term/Last year and I have liked all of the projects. I don’t like the launch cycle because I liked it more where you had an idea and you just started to build also I don’t like the fact that you build something decide that is terrible and make a brand new one. I don’t mind the budgets but I wish that we didn’t lose the couches and the tall tables. The council is OK but I wish that they did the things that they said they were going to do. I don’t like that we have to grad ourselves because I don’t remember all of the things that I did and it was confusing.  -James

 

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5 Comments

  1. Monte Syrie

    Hi, Hailey. I was so moved and impressed by your reflection. It’s crazy that we are connected halfway around the world. Even crazier that we are connecting around my crazy, give-em-all-an-A Project 180. I found your reflection to be full of wisdom, wonder, and honesty. You are the type of learner that I would love to have in my classroom. Thank you for the shout out all the way from The Land Down Under. You rock!

    BTW, class, I am going to begin responding to your AMA tomorrow. You guys are incredible.

    Monte Syrie

  2. vanessa

    Well done everyone. An amazing action packed term!
    It has been great to see all of your achievements. Not just with your work, but also the personal growth each of you have achieved. The way you have worked together to reach your goals is certainly something to be proud of.
    I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the year pans out for you all.
    Keep up the great work!
    Vanessa Whitington

  3. Terri Rodriguez

    Wow! What an amasing experience you have all had.
    Your openness in your reflections is refreshing and i have enjoyed reading them. From what you have written i feel i can see growth in your abilities as learners and i applaud all of you for taking such a great risk.
    My question now is ,Who is going to continue to take risks to strengthen their learning in different situations, including those you don’t want to do?
    By the way i have so enjoyed barista mornings, remember hot chocolate and marshmallows please, the greetings in the morning,great smiles everyone, having a turn with the spheros–oh what fun, and seeing you take on your roles with enthusiasm.
    i look forward to the next chapter. Mrs. Rodriguez

  4. Lyn Ferenci

    Seeing the energy and enthusiasm in your classroom this term has been inspiring and I can see from reading your reflections that some of you have found it quite challenging too! I have learnt a lot myself , especially about the LAUNCH cycle and have had many interesting chats with Mr Moore about the successes and challenges.
    Taking risks and sometimes having to struggle is a big part of learning, though sometimes we just want someone to show us what to do!
    The teams involved with cleaning classroom spaces, meeting and greeting students and families and making coffee have added to our school community. Everyone is also still talking about the sphero racing , navigating obstacles with them and creating art works.
    I look forward to seeing what exciting opportunities you will have throughout the remainder of the year.

  5. Vicki Mangelsen

    Hi Everyone,
    I have really enjoyed watching your growth this term. I recall the first week of term when I sat in on your initial introduction to the launch cycle. ‘Wow’ – you have all made an enormous effort to embrace the concept of project based learning, The Launch Cycle and your jobs within the school.
    I think that you have had a positive impact on our school with your varied roles and the ‘welcoming’ committee in the morning has been very successful. I have enjoyed seeing all of you develop over the term. I have personally seen growth in your attitudes, your personal organisation and your willingness to work as a team, frequently out of your comfort zones.
    I am looking forward to planning further projects with you next term and finishing those we have begun.
    Well done on an amazing term

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