West Leadership Weekly Round Up: April 9th - 13th

Hi all! 


Last week we had testing take place with both the middle school CMAS and high school PSAT/SAT. That said, we took advantage of the end of the week by sharing our final projects and moving onto our unit on marijuana. 

On Monday, Emily visited with Faviola, a representative from Colorado Jobs with Justice, to discuss apprenticeship opportunities in the metro area. Faviola discussed a wide variety of jobs in construction, plumbing, electrical, plumbing, welding, and much more. Students can begin the program once they turn 18 and graduate high school. With both the financial and academic incentives available for these programs, several upperclassmen were interested and plan to inquire more once they turn 18. 

On Tuesday, high school students took the PSAT and SAT while middle school students had the day off. Lucky. 

How to guides, a children's book, and a sphere of influence
painting were some of the many excellent project ideas.

Wednesday we were right back in it with reviewing our Unit 2 project presentations and completing our written reflections. Students shared some excellent projects with the class and I was once again very impressed with their efforts. 

On Thursday we started our Unit 3 lesson, Fact or Fiction, where we spent time dispelling the various myths and misunderstandings surrounding marijuana. Students participated in several activities including a yarn toss and 2 Truths and a Lie. By knowing the correction information surrounding drugs and drug use, students can avoid making bad decisions and educate others to do the same. 

Forgiveness children's book, a road map to self love,
and a comic strip on dating violence. 

On Friday the conversations continued as we discussed the marketing around marijuana. Students discussed how companies market and sell their products and why they would be motivated to sell to younger audiences. From there we watched a YouTube video discussing how tobacco was once marketed towards youth. Our conversations led to comparisons to both the tobacco industry as well as the fast food industry. Students discussed how the number of dispensaries, fast food restaurants, etc shows acceptance and creates a norm of consumption although their can be negative outcomes as well. From there, students read case scenarios on various marijuana hot topics and we discussed as a class how to best handle an uncomfortable or pressured situation. It was a very productive discussion and conversation that we plan to continue into next week. Stay tuned! -Ben