Long time no post... College Week

Although AVID focuses on college every day, for one week a year our entire campus and district shines the spotlight on college awareness. MISD's College Week is a fun week around A.C New because students get to wear college t-shirts and sweatshirts every day. Teachers have the chance to dress up in their cap and gown or even as a college mascot for the day. Our video announcements include pictures of our faculty during their college years and college pennants and displays cover every surface in the building. Below are a few shots of some of the 8th grade AVID students in their college gear.

Horns vs. Aggies... but who is reppin' my Coogs

Everyone knows a cougar can kill a pony with no problem!

Team Building: Tower of Power

Being able to work in a group is a skill that will be beneficial throughout someone's life. Through collaborative activities, AVID students are able to learn how to more effectively work with students from a variety of groups.

The challenge this week was called Tower of Power. Students were sorted into groups different from their regular table groups. Each group was given the same set of materials:

stunt doubles were used for this pic

• 
  
• paper bag
• 3 index cards
• 2 pieces of paper
• 2 large paper clips
• 3 small paper clips
• a straw
• 1 rubber band
• a small plastic drink lid
• a ruler
• a paintbrush

Groups were given 15 minutes to build the tallest tower possible with only the provided materials. Towers had to be free standing and remain standing during the measuring process. The group in each class that designed and built the tallest tower won one of our fabulous AVID prizes. The tallest structure out of both classes was 40 1/4"  with second place coming in at 33". After the activity, each student was given an opportunity to evaluate the group process and identify areas of frustration. 

This may be my most favorite AVID pic EVER

 The winning tower: 40 1/4"

Updates... A Bit Overdue

Now that school is back in full swing and the 1st six weeks is behind us, it is time to try to slow down and catch my breath. The end of a grading period brings a rush of activity, but perhaps the most important thing to the AVID students is (or at least should be) Content Based Assessments (CBA), or in other terms, end of period exams. CBAs were given in each core subject area and are standardized across the district. While there is still a lot of work to be done before we're all ready for a full slate of high school honors classes, the AVID CBA results were encouraging. In all subjects (Math, English, US History, and Science) the AVID students outscored both the school and district - sometimes by double digit percentages!

At the end of the grading period the AVID students calculate their Grade Point Average (GPA) and we do a ranking, based on GPA, of the AVID 8th graders. The main purpose of this activity is so that students can see how they compare to their peers and so that they can see how daily academic achievement translates into longer-term academic success. And because you get double GPA points, another great point that comes out of class rank is the importance of taking Honors courses. The highest ranked students almost always are our students who are enrolled in the most Honors level classes.

Project Human - more photos

As I was looking through my pictures from our Project Human activity I realized there are way more pics that needed to be shared...

Team Building: Project Human

As we begin a new year together it's very important that we are all comfortable working together to accomplish both academic and social tasks. To kick off the year, the 8th grade AVID students participated in ProjectHuman. Upon entering theAVID classroom each student was instructed to select one piece of recycling (bottles,cartons, boxes, etc.). Studentswere then split into random groups and given a few more materials - a coffee straw, popsicle stick, sheet of card stock and a roll of masking tape. Each group was give 20 minutes to create a "human" using only the materials they had.

At end of the building time, groups were asked to"debrief" their experience. Discussion questions included:

• Now that you know the project, would you have changed what item you picked? Why?
• What challenges or frustrations did you have during the process?
• Did your end result match your original vision? Why or why not?
• How can we relate this experience to our life together in AVID?

New Year... New Group... New Adventures

The 2011-2012 school year in into it's second week and things are beginning to normalize. The newest group of 8th grade AVID students has their AVID Binders and are ready to go. I look forward to the adventures we will have as a class this coming year.

One big change for our campus this year is that ALL students, in ALL grades are required to maintain an "AVID-like" binder. This came as a request from our teachers, almost all of which attended the AVID Summer Institute this summer. All classes and teachers will also be using the Cornell Note format this year. Because of these two things, the AVID strategies, and hopefully successes, will be spreading across our school.

Recent Guest Speakers

During the past two weeks our AVID classroom has hosted three different guest speakers who came to share their experiences with the students.

Last week Ms. Monique Paige, 8th grade science teacher, and Mrs. Leann Hooper, a district

technology facilitator, both spoke about their experiences as college

basketball players. Ms. Paige played basketball at the University of Arizona. She shared her experiences with the recruiting process as well as the particular challenges of being both a student and an athlete at a major university. Mrs. Hooper played at East Texas Baptist University

and shared with students why she chose a smaller school instead of a larger university.

Mrs. Knight, our school's librarian, visited this week to talk about different kinds of alphabet books. The AVID students are working on putting together two of these books with a college theme to keep in the front office for visitors to read.

AVID In the News

The AVID program in Mesquite ISD was mentioned in the most recent addition of the Mesquite News and our AVID program at A.C. New was mentioned specifically! It is always good to get the "good news" out about our AVID program.

Star Local News Mesquite News News Mesquite ISD keeps it AVID

QuickWrite: Believing in Yourself

Our second QuickWrite (a short timed writing to help get ideas on paper quickly) of the year centered around a quote from Henry Ford. "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right". Students were asked to respond as to what Ford meant. While not everyone came to the same conclusion, most responses dealt with the importance of believing in one's own abilities to succeed. Conversely, when you doubt your abilities, you are often predicting your failure.

For our AVID students, many are just now understanding the hard work involved on the path to college. The outcome of their life has not been determined at this point. With the support provided through AVID, without a doubt these students can achieve their college goals.

Team building: Tower of Power

Being able to work in a group is a skill that will be beneficial throughout someone's life. Through collaborative activities, AVID students are able to learn how to more effectively work with students from a variety of groups.

The challenge this week was called Tower of Power. Students were sorted into groups different from their regular table groups. Each group was given the same set of materials:

• paper bag
• 3 index cards
• 2 pieces of paper
• 2 large paper clips
• 3 small paper clips
• a straw
• 1 rubber band
• a small plastic drink lid
• a ruler
• a paintbrush

Groups were given 20 minutes to build the tallest tower possible with only the provided materials. Towers had to be free standing and remain standing during the measuring process. The group in each class that designed and built the tallest tower won one of our fabu

lous AVID prizes. The tallest structure out of both classes was 34" with second place coming in at just under 33". After the activity, each student was given an opportunity to evaluate the group process and identify areas of frustration. Evaluations will be discussed in groups.

Research: Texas Colleges

Part of the focus of AVID is College Awareness. In order to expose the AVID students to the many colleges here in Texas, the 8th grade students each created a PowerPoint presentation of a particular school. A "lottery" style selection process was used to ensure a variety of schools were chosen. Students were given five days to research their school and put together their presentation. As a part of this process each student will write a letter to their chosen school requesting information. Over the coming weeks, each student will present their slide show to the class.

"Begin with the end in mind."

To start off our new year, the 8th grade AVID students were asked to share their thoughts on this quote: "Begin with the end in mind." Some of the thoughts are shared below:

• Begin with the future in mind; think about how you want the end to be.
• When you start your education, you should always have college in mind.
• Begin with a plan that goes from start to finish.
• Think about your future now because that is going to be where you spend the rest of your life.
• Think about who you want to be and where you want to stand and do what you need to do in order to achieve those things.
• To begin with the end is to already have your plan for the future so you can work towards it.
• Start with the ending and then go from there; always think of the future.

To me "beginning with the end in mind," means to know what you end goal is and begin doing the things now that will help you reach that goal. It is never too early to begin preparing yourself for college. These 8th graders are just beginning an incredible path that will lead them straight to their dreams. In the words of our principal, Mr. Daniel, "Press On!"

End of Summer

Today marks the official last day of summer before heading back to school for the 2010-2011 school year. I hope that everyone has had some chances to relax and have some fun this summer. While my plan for my summer included a lot of this, it turns out that summer was much different than I expected. The third week of summer I got to participate in one of the national AVID Summer Institutes with several other teachers from our school. Just like always this was a great week for getting excited about what we do in AVID.

On the final Friday of the conference my summer took a dramatic change. My father called to tell me that my mother was being rushed to the hospital in Houston where we would eventually find out she had a brain tumor and would have to undergo brain surgery. I ended up having to spend almost a month down in Houston away from my wife and kids. While it was good to be able to be with my mom, it was tough being gone from my Dallas home so long.

The highlight of summer came at the beginning of August when my wife and I were able to spend a week in Ecuador in South America working in an orphanage on the edge of the Amazon rain forest. Both the beauty and poverty of Ecuador was amazing and it really made both of us think about how good we have it here in the U.S.

Now, being back only two weeks, school is beginning once again. I am looking forward to meeting new students in both AVID and Art and to hearing of the successes of former students who are off to high school.

Mr. Temple's Facebook Page

As more and more students begin using the social networking site Facebook, I figured it was a good place to directly communicate with my AVID students. MISD policy states that when teachers use a site such as Facebook, all communication must be done using a separate "professional page" so I have set up one for me to use. If you ever have any questions or need help with anything, please let me know and I will always do what I can to help out. I hope everyone has a great year ahead for them!

Summer Reading

Just a reminder to everyone taking preAP English next year at either West Mesquite or Mesquite: READ! Hopefully by this point you have at least gotten well into either Cold Mountain (WMHS) or The Odyssey (MHS). Remember that you have another self-selected book as well. Be sure to follow the instructions in your assignments carefully.

First impressions are REALLY IMPORTANT in freshman honor classes so don't be the student that begins the first day with your teacher thinking you aren't the preAP type!

Final Thoughts... Finally

The year has finally come to a close and everyone is off enjoying summer vacation by this point. I am certain that no one is missing tutorials and Cornell Notes just yet, but I have to admit that I've been missing my AVID classes. I miss the way 1st period starts out quiet but can get really passionate in a debate and I miss how 2nd period never failed to make me laugh (or laughed AT me)! In order to keep you focused on your success, even as you lay around all summer, let this post serve as a reminder of some of the things said during the last few days of class...

Each of you were chosen for a reason to be a part of AVID. Someone saw in you a potential to be academically successful and the potential to go to college. As you begin getting mentally prepared for high school, remember that being successful takes hard work. You have to want high academic achievement and be willing to do the work that it will take to get there. You have learned some of the skills needed for you to be a stronger student, but now you have to apply those on your own. Set your eyes on your goal and don't let something or someone draw you off the path it will take to see those goals become realities.

No matter what struggle you face there is always someone here to support you. Please stay in touch and I look forward to hearing about your achievements in high school. Good luck to each of you; don't forget about us out in little P-6 when you reach the big-time!

AVID Is...

As one of the final activities in AVID this year, each student was asked to complete a sentence or phrase beginning with "AVID Is...". When you read through them as a group you get a really good picture of what AVID means to the students who are a part this incredible program. Here are just a few of the things students said:

AVID Is...
... a helping hand.
... an awesome program that helps you achieve your goal to go to college.
... swaggerlicious!
... the most help I've gotten in a long time.
... a place for me at school to get help with my academic struggles and even get help with my personal life.
... a class that helps me get ready for my day.
... a program for self-motivated students who have the potential to be successful in life but maybe don't have the opportunity.
... fun, awesome, exciting, adventurous. This program will help you in so many ways - no matter what!
... very helpful and makes us stronger.
... really fun and brings us together to help each other: like a family.

Summer Reading

Even as the school year winds up, for those AVID students going on to preAP English at either Mesquite High or West Mesquite school the work is not entirely complete. Summer reading assignments have been passed out and all students enrolled in preAP ELA are expected to complete their required books. MHS Summer Reading includes The Odyssey while WMHS students are assigned Cold Mountain. If you are one of these students MAKE SURE you complete the assignment before the first day of 9th grade. Both groups are asked to create a dialectical journal while reading which should include quotes from the book and a personal response.

Since the majority of AVID students are going to West Mesquite, I have decided to read Cold Mountain and post of thoughts/comments throughout the summer to help keep everyone on track. Check back occasionally and please throw out your comments so everyone can benefit.

RECOGNIZED!

The official word came down yesterday from the officials downtown that our school will be a Texas Recognized school for this year! Our students and teachers have worked incredibly hard the last nine months and those efforts have certainly paid off.

I have all been so impressed with the AVID students this year in particular. In every category on every state assessment our AVID kids have surpassed the school, district and state averages for passing and commended. The biggest news came in Reading when 72% of our 8th graders were COMMENDED! MISD Superintendent, Dr. Linda Henry visited our room just a few days after the results were in and I got to share them with her personally: she was very impressed!

AVID now on the World WIDER Web

The 8th grade AVID classes have made the switch to the wider world of the internet so hopefully more people out there looking for AVID stuff can find us. It will look like a lot went on in May, but in reality I just copied the posts from this last year over here.