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Post date: Apr 11, 2016 2:09:06 PM
In April’s AVID Newsletter you'll find information on KHS’s Dell Scholar: AVID Student Phat Ngyuen, Valley View Elementary’s AVID Showcase, Valley View Middle’s AVID Workshop, Valley View Middle and Valley View Elementary’s literacy collaboration and field trip, the incoming AVID student commitment and recommitment ceremony at Valley View Middle, Kennedy High School’s AVID service project at the Minneapolis Children’s Hospital, Kennedy High School AVID students’ presentation at the Valley View Middle staff academy, AVID professional development opportunities, and upcoming AVID Events in the area.
Spotlight on AVID
Dell Scholar Recipient, Kennedy AVID Senior Phat Nguyen
Please congratulate Phat Nguyen, a Kennedy High School AVID Senior, on his recent selection as a Dell Scholar. Phat, one of only 300 students nationwide to receive this award, will enjoy a $20,000 scholarship to complete his higher education. In addition, the Dell Scholars Program will provide Phat with technology, a private scholar networking community, resources, and mentoring to ensure he has the support he needs to achieve his college degree. This scholarship and other benefits from the program will provide support for Phat’s continued success as he attends the University of Minnesota this fall to pursue a degree in Kinesiology. Following this, Phat plans to go on to the University of Minnesota Physical Therapy Program.
VVE AVID Showcase
AVID Central Workshop Hosted by VVM
“I am impressed with your teachers and school,” was one of many compliments Valley View Elementary received following their AVID Showcase on Friday, April 8th. Thirty teachers and administrators traveled from school districts throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin to see all the great work VVE teachers, administrators, and students are doing through AVID implementation.
On Friday, March 18, Valley View Middle School hosted 20 teachers from around the central region of the United States as they participated in an AVID workshop. Many different strategies were used to facilitate high-levels of inquiry in learning and a variety of topics were covered.
Participants heard from panels of 4th and 5th grade teachers and had the opportunity to visit 8 classrooms. Student ambassadors led small groups of educators from classroom to classroom, during which time participants saw a variety of AVID strategies and practices, including Socratic seminar, student collaboration, note-taking, planning for one-pagers, and more! Said one participant, “I was amazed at how engaged your students were!”
VVM and VVE Literacy Activity
Valley View Elementary 1st and 2nd graders got a special surprise when Valley View Middle AVID students came to their classes to teach! VVM 7th and 8th graders read Have You Filled A Bucket Today, led elementary students in creating their own buckets, and helped them write kindnesses on slips of paper to fill one another’s buckets.
AVID at VVM Staff Academy
At the April Staff Academy, staff at Valley View Middle School participated in a variety of AVID-related activities.
Incoming AVID Students!
Students VVM and KHS have been recruiting students for incoming AVID elective classes. The new 7th and 8th grade AVID elective students gathered in the VVM Learning Lounge to learn the good news and receive a sweet treat congratulating them on their acceptance into the program!
VVM Staff learned how to take Cornell Notes from AVID Senior Brittney Ladson, participated in an AVID Marking the Text critical reading activity using an article written by AVID Site Coordinator Jill McDermott, and heard personal stories about the impact of AVID on the lives of AVID Seniors Andre Lowe, Brittney Ladson, and Morelia Sanchez Sanchez.
KHS AVID Service Project
at the Children’s Hospital
In late March, AVID Senior Brittney Zuch organized an AVID service project at the Minneapolis Children's Hospital. Brittney Ladson volunteers weekly delivering books to volunteers and families in the neonatal unit at the Minneapolis Children's Hospital. The purpose of donating these new books is to provide bonding experiences for families through literacy. To extend the life of the 600 new books being donated, the AVID students and a few of their friends reinforced the spines with packing tape. As the saying goes, many hands make light work as the students finished this huge task in about 90 minutes!
AVID Commitment and Signing Ceremony
Students who will be continuing in the AVID program in 8th and 9th grades, as well as those accepted into next year’s program as new AVID students in 7th - 9th grades, celebrated at Valley View Middle School’s first AVID Commitment Ceremony! During the ceremony, students signed their AVID contracts and enjoyed donuts and juice with their families and staff from VVM and KHS.
KHS 9th Graders Visit eMentors at Toro
As part of the Best Prep eMentors program, AVID 9th graders correspond weekly with business professionals at the Toro Company via email. Midway through the experience, the students have the opportunity to eat lunch with their mentors, see their offices and work areas, and tour the TORO Building.
Following the April visit, Toro Best Prep Mentor Mike Zemmer contacted AVID Elective Teacher Kristin Donnelly and wrote, “I’ve done the Best Prep mentoring with your class every year since this has started with Toro and I continue to be so impressed with your students. It’s so refreshing to witness a group of teenagers that are on a great path in their life. … Please know that I am so very grateful for you and others like you that help direct our young people.”
AVID Resources
WICOR Strategy of the Month:
Dialectical Journal
This strategy can be found in the following online resources:
English Language Arts: Exploring Texts with Strategic Reading
AVID Weekly Article of the Month
Elementary: Finding Good Spacemates for the Mars Mission
This article describes the efforts of NASA to select the most qualified astronauts to travel to Mars.
Secondary: A Virtual Reprise of the Stanley Milgram Obedience Experiments
In the journal article, “A Virtual Reprise of the Stanley Milgram Obedience Experiments,” the authors researched how people responded to stressful situations in a virtual environment. The researchers found that people responded realistically when they interacted with virtual characters, even when they knew that the characters were not real. Within the experiment, the researchers found that people were stressed when giving “electric shocks” to a virtual learner. And, many people actually showed care for virtual characters. In essence, the authors found that people tended to respond to a virtual situation as if it were real.
All AVID Weekly articles, lesson plans and activities are archived monthly and are available in the following Google Folders for anyone to access and use:
AVID Support and Events
Free Speakers, Resources, and Mentors for your Classroom!
- BestPrep, a Minnesota nonprofit, engages 60,000 students in grades 4-12 each year in business, career and financial literacy education. More than 3,500 professional volunteers help BestPrep collaborate with educators to bridge classroom curriculum and the world of business outside the classroom, enriching the teaching and learning experience.
- For more information on how to utilize BestPrep's free services, contact Jonathan Filzen at eos@bestprep.org or go to www.bestprep.org.
Online AVID Support
Daily/weekly elective class lesson plans
Informational/instructional videos, handouts and downloads covering many AVID Essentials, including Writing, Inquiry, Tutorials, Data and Site Teams.
A time-sensitive support and collaboration forum for AVID Elective Teachers and Site Coordinators, providing an opportunity to collaborate with other coordinators and teachers from all over the country about issues and topics affecting their students and classes right now.
This web meeting allows coordinators and teachers a wide variety of dates and times to choose from to best fit their schedules.
*If you would like access to any of these resources and do not currently have an account on my.avid.org, contact Kelly Killorn-Moravec
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