SSB Day 1: laying a foundation

September 7, 2010

First day of school and first day of SSB:

On our first day  of class we began to learn everyone's names by going around the room and saying our names and our favorite TV show as a kid.

 'Hey Arnold' was well liked, but "Gullah Gullah Island" was a clear favorite, with some brave folks volunteering to sing the theme song.

Our first activity was to brainstorm questions, definitions, and examples on big pieces of poster paper around the room. Students walked around to the different posters and wrote down any ideas they had about that topic.

The topics were:

• Self-Knowledge
• College Access
• College Admissions Process
• Oral Histories
• Mural Arts

After writing up our ideas we discussed what these terms meant and how they related to this class. We discussed some of the differences between "college access" and the "college admissions process."

This debrief was followed by a review of the 'Objectives & Expectations' form for students in the SSB, which contained these terms and concepts.

As a group students generated a list of what they wanted to get out of the class.

SSB students want to....

-Be able to create their own mural

-Be active & hands on

-Have creative relief (draw, express yourself)

-Self-expression

-Learn the steps to creating a mural

-Help with Senior Project

-Figure out how to convert the ideas in your head to something you can articulate/express

-Understand the meaning of a picture

-Education

-Community service hours

-Go on trips

-Learn to draw

-Creativity

-Support

-A Helping hand to achieve their goals

We then transitioned to thinking about who we are as individuals and as a group. Students did a 5 minute free-write on the question:

What does it mean to be from a place? How does where we are from influence our identity and who we are?

Thinking about this question we read an example of a "Where I'm From" poem, and then students wrote their own. The basic structure of the poem is to use the phrase "I am from.." in whatever way you like to convey parts of your identity, past, future, etc....

For more on the "I am from" poems see Day 2!

Welcome to the Student Success Block (SSB) Blog!

What is the Student Success Block??

The Basics:

• The SSB is a two-block class that meets every day at Parkway West HS.

• The class is for Parkway seniors during 7th & 8th period and is their internship class.

• The SSB has TWO main focuses:

• College Access

                     and

•  Community Arts

• SSB is co-taught by the Parkway West HS/Bryn Mawr College Partnership Coordinator (Zanny Alter) and over 20 Bryn Mawr and Haverford College students who serve as facilitators of the class and mentors.

• The high school and college students will be focused on collaborating on a Philadelphia Mural Arts Program Mural, which will be painted on Health Center 4, two blocks from Parkway (44th & Haverford). 

• The high school and college students will also focus on visioning and planning for their future, as it relates to college and career plans.