West Leadership Weekly Round Up: 12/11-12/15

Hello!

Last week was a busy one as we worked on our Team Me project and had final presentations on Friday.

On Monday, the class finished our lesson on Hot Buttons and had an engaging discussion about the Belief Cycle and how they've turned hot buttons into cool buttons within their own lives. 

5th Period group discussing parts of the Brain
for their Teach Me project

On Tutoring Tuesday, grade checks took place and students were introduced to the Teach Me project. For the project, students were given the task to choose one topic that we learned about this semester and teach it to the class using a Google Slide presentation and an activity. Most students discussed and decided on a topic on Tuesday so they could dive right into work on Wednesday and Thursday. 

Wednesday and Thursday the classes focused exclusively on their projects. Students were not only tasked with creating a Google Slide presentation, but they also had to come up with an activity that helped reinforce the concept. Many students chose to play a Kahoot! game while others had videos and discussion questions prepared. 

Another group diving into the science
behind the brain. Very interesting! 

We wrapped up the week on Friday with presentations in each class. I was very impressed with how the mentors set up their mentees for success: choosing which slides to speak at, giving them plenty of opportunities to answer questions, etc. The topics varied greatly from emotions to the brain to stereotypes and community. It was a great way to summarize some of the major topics we covered this semester while allowing students the opportunity to practice their presentation skills and work on a major project directly with their mentor. 

Next week we will wrap up the semester with finals exams. We are looking forward to it! See ya then! -Ben

West Leadership Weekly Round Up: 12/4-12/8

Hello!

Another busy week at West Leadership Academy as we completed our Belief Systems projects!

On Monday, students were introduced to the Belief Systems project. To start, we reviewed the beliefs cycle

and the importance of limiting vs empowering beliefs. Students were then given the three project options: 

In 10 Years, What I Believe, and Look for Evidence. Students were given the opportunity to not only pick the option

for the project, but also how they want to present the information. Anything from creating a poster and PowerPoint to writing an essay or song would be accepted. Mentors helped mentees figure out which option may be best for them and helped them get started on Monday and I provided examples of each project for guidance. 

A senior discussing how his song choices reflect
his limiting and empowering beliefs

On Tutoring Tuesday, grade checks and meetings with teachers took place. Mentors took their students to various classes where they had missing or late work and got makeup work to complete. This will occur once again this week before finals. We also spent Tuesday as a work day for the Beliefs Systems project.

Wednesday was the final work day for the project and students wrapped everything up in time for Thursdays presentations. Most students chose to complete posters and cartoons while others completed PowerPoint presentations and a couple wrote short essays. 

Many students chose creating cartoons/posters
with quite a few being exceptionally well done. 

On Thursday the students presented their projects with mentors helping mentees. Several students shared their posters while others went through their powerpoints and answered questions from the class. It was fun to see students be reflective and think about how their beliefs impact their actions. 

As a reward, we spent our beautiful Friday reviewing these topics one more time before heading outside and playing some games. Students certainly earned it and couldn't resist the warm December weather. We are looking forward to another productive week before finals! -Ben

West Leadership Weekly Round Up: 11/27-12/1

Hello!

We had a busy week back from break as we dove heavily into our Belief Systems unit! 

At the start of our week, we discussed how our Thanksgiving break was and what we were grateful for during this time off. Most students really appreciated the lack of homework given over break and the time they had with their family. From there we had students identify 1 personal and 1 academic goal that we'd like to accomplish by the end of the week. Academic goals ranged from scoring well on an upcoming test to following up with teachers about missing work. Personal goals also varied quite a bit with most students focusing on how they can improve their relationships: call Grandma, talk to a friend they haven't seen in awhile, etc. With only a few weeks left in the semester we want all students to try to end the semester on a positive note, both academically and personally. 

On Tutoring Tuesday, grade checks and meetings with teachers took place. Mentors took their students to various classes where they had missing or late work and got makeup work to complete. Small groups were formed for certain subjects in each class with most students needing help with Math. 

Limiting beliefs create limiting/negative impact

Wednesday and Thursday students dove into the Belief Systems unit by completing a Beliefs System survey with their mentor/mentee, as well as with someone they don't normally work with, and either myself or the mentor leader for their class. After looking over the survey responses, it was very encouraging to see such positive feedback that students shared about one another. We want to encourage empowering beliefs and comments as much as possible in an effort to maintain an optimistic and growth mindset. 

Belief Cycle begins with an event/circumstance and
our decisions from there make all the difference.

To finish the week, students read research articles 

about the power of limiting vs empowering beliefs and we had a broader conversation about how our beliefs are so ingrained in our daily lives. By identifying what they are, how they are influenced, and how you can change them, we can motivate ourselves to make the right choices and be successful. In the upcoming week students will be introduced to our Belief Systems project which will tie together all of these ideas into a final product. I'm really looking forward to seeing how students express themselves and their beliefs after a bit more introspection and research. It should be fun!  Until then, we'll see you next time! -Ben