March 22, 2012
On March 6th and 7th Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School held Student Advisory Panel focus group discussions in the school Library. The purpose of the OLHMS Student Advisory Panel was to provide our student body an organized structure to communicate their perspective on various aspects that constitute our school community. The Student Advisory Panel advised teachers and administrators on policies, procedures, and programs affecting students at OLHMS. We believe that through hearing the voice of our students we will become better informed to improve our practices and perspectives as educators.
Based on the information we collected from our students we deduced that middle school students expect the following 5 “Big Idea” Concepts from their learning experiences:
1. To be engaged learners
2. Interaction
3. Connection
4. Fairness
5. To be apart of something bigger than themselves
We felt our students did an excellent job of supporting their positions with both reason and factual evidence. We benefited greatly from listening to the voices of our students, and hope to use this valuable information to inform our decisions as a middle school in creating the best possible learning environment for our students. Please consider responding to my blog and providing us some of your thoughts on our Student Advisory Panel feedback at OLHMS.
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January 28, 2012
7th Grade Social Studies classes had the wonderful opportunity to learn about our Illinois State Government and real lawmaking from Representative Kelly Burke, 36th District. Social studies teachers, Mr. Weber and Mr. Sifling, have been studying Illinois State Government and provided classes the opportunity to engage in discussions and debates with a real-life Illinois State Representative. At OLHMS, we are very interested in creating learning experiences for students that are both meaningful and relevant, transforming knowledge outside the parameters of textbooks into students lives. Let me know what you think about the visit? I am especially interested in hearing what our 7th Grade students think! What did you most learn most about government from Representative Burke?
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January 21, 2012
We live in a great community! Knowing your community is extremely important. I believe it is the responsibility of us all to be stewards of where we live and to make a difference in our community. How much do we know about the Village of Oak Lawn? Take some time to read up on the amazing history of the very town we live in by accessing the Oak Lawn Village History page. After reading about our hisotry, take a look at the Historcial Buildings Pictures in our OLHMS Picture Gallery. Looking at snapshots from the past can help us better understand just who we are and show us how things have changed. Click on the pictures and see just some of the many historic homes, schools and buildings located throughout the Village of Oak Lawn! Respond to my blog about this topic. I am interseted in hearing about how everyone feels about the communties of Oak Lawn and Hometown!
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December 03, 2011
I wanted to shared some pictures with you, The 25 Most Powerful Images of 2011. As the calendar year wraps up, I hope you may find some of these images as influential and compelling as I do. Which do you like best? Why? How have some of these events from 2011 impacted you? Let me know what you think by commenting. I have also started to develop an OLHMS Principal's Photostream. Check it out!
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November 18, 2011
We want to develop life-long learners at OLHLMS! Using a "Student-Led" Conference format help us get one step closer to this goal. We believe that student-led conferences help our students take more ownership and awareness over their learning, as well as enhance self-confidence and communication skills. I would enjoy hearing more from teachers and families! Comment on any thoughts you have on our family conference format. What do you like? What can be improved? Any ideas that you feel would make our conference practice better!
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