ELA Genius Hour

Genius Hour is my very own Passion Project, and this year allowed me to stretch further than ever to support my students in becoming their own geniuses. In a year-long dedication to infusing class with constant pursuit of the growth mindset, opportunities to observe and practice empathy, and to demonstrate grit to tackle all problems in goals we set for ourselves, we definitely ended the year with a wondrous array of student experiences through Genius Hour that were targeted and shaped by all three.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 1st HOUR

Broc's website, One Step At a Time, is in progress to aid teens in healing after losing a loved one.

Read Broc's Genius Hour journey here

Check out these other incredible projects!

  • Jade will be letting You Take the Spotlight September 17th after her hard work laying the groundwork for a school talent show. Read about her journey here.
  • Thanks to Stokely, Sophomores can now be "A Team" mentors! She worked closely with Ms. Mayeux to revamp this beloved tradition at BHS. Read about her journey here.
  • Taylor and Hannah spent months researching prevalence of sexual harassment in their social group. Their continuing project will next have them take a look at whether or not society does enough to educate young men on the statistics and what constitutes harassment.
  • Alayna's "You Are Not Alone" project is still in the works, but her beautiful endeavor led her to discover there is very little in the way of support for teens processing feelings about divorced parents. She is nearly finished a website complete with resources, tips, and working to organize student-led support groups.

Hudson and Albert set out to build a video game. Click below to watch the video of their final project.

  • Amaya will soon be hosting student-led ACT prep sessions. She spent the semester learning about ways to bring free/low-cost ACT prep to West Baton Rouge students and is working to fill a need students have had for years. Check out her work here.

Claire's passion for documentaries met with she and Kiyasha's interest in their mothers' work at Mary Bird Perkin's Cancer Center.

Rylee Genius Hour

Check out Rylee's Keys to Success journey through piano playing, including 4 super cool video snippets at the end!

  • Traneicia had a unique journey through Genius Hour, making her way through Kindness projects to her new passion, pretty hilarious cooking shows! She spent class time figuring out editing, splicing, and self-critiquing.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 5th HOUR

Jackson wrote a 41 page, 2 Act MUSICAL!!! Set in the 1940's, the play follows Henry Anderson as he tries to break out of office life to become famous. In case you see it on Broadway one day, I won't post it here!

Colin's project is too beautiful for words. He spent time researching and compiling a wide variety of charities in need of support so that those wanting to give would have only one place to go begin their decision. Visit "The Effort" here.

Bailey M and Mallory were deeply concerned about widows who lost their husbands during vicious local attacks in the summer of 2016. They set out to fund raise to provide a special day out full of experiences, services, and baby sitting for those widows. While this project only targeted widows of police officers, they were so inspired by the outreach they will expand fundraising to provide the same experience for widows nominated by their church members.

Jacob made an amazing website for his dad's market for specialty meets. It's amazing! He's still working on it, but it is absolutely incredibly already. Click here to see!

Jackson M spent a great deal of time learning sound mixing through audacity and creating self-played, multi-instrument covers of quirky tunes we know and love! Check out an example here!

Bailey's curiosity for combating common teen skincare ailments led her to creating a site dedicated to improving teen skincare regimens. Her research was so compelling, she now aspires to be a dermatologist! Click here to explore her site.

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER INCREDIBLE PROJECTS:

  • Jose explored the complex world of coding
  • Mason went on his own "How Stuff Works" adventure. Check out his findings on electricity here. His presentation to class found him expertly fielding a bagillion questions from the audience.
  • Kristen and Alivia tried their hands at Public Relations, supporting classmates' projects. Check it out here.
  • Rheagan began writing a novel. We were privileged enough to hear her read a few pages aloud. Can't wait for the complete work!

Gabby's research led her to fall in love with the idea of building Tiny Homes for the Homeless. Her curiosity led her to conversations with mayors like the one shown here (Mayor Toupes, Addis LA) as well as an ongoing partnership volunteering with It Takes a Village BR.

Click here to go to Emma's blog/website to learn all about one of her many passions, showing livestock! Through her research, we ALL learned about so many things cow-related!

IMG_0835.MOV

Claire LOVES to cook! Her Genius Hour project led to her not only creating this awesome blog, Claire's FoodTography, but also allowed her to bake to support classmates Bailey M and Mallory's project (Widowed Women's Fund). Thanks to supporters like Claire, that project raised hundreds of dollars!

Laurel learned to knit! She finished Genius Hour with a blanket, scarf, winter hats, and several peculiar orders from classmates encouraging her to continue her work (thumb sweaters or knit bikinis, anyone?)