From the Elkhart Way Newsletter, October 2012
October 29, 2012
Elkhart Students Cross the Line to Fight Bullying
We are more alike than different. That's the message a large group of Central and Memorial high school students learned at an all-day workshop on bullying prevention Oct. 22. Dressed in their orange anti-bullying t-shirts, you could not tell the Central and Memorial students apart. You could not put the students into categories—jocks or nerds, artists or musicians, the popular kids vs. the wannabees. Everyone looked the same.
If everyone looks the same on the outside, maybe everyone is similar on the inside as well, preached the leaders of Move2Stand, a Nashville-based organization dedicated to helping schools tackle the big issues. Leaders encouraged the teens to stop stereotyping their classmates and start listening to what they have to say.
Approximately 150 students, representing a wide variety of school groups, were chosen for the "Empowering Leaders to Stand Up Against Bullying and Harassment" workshop. They participated in large and small group discussions, watched video clips, and participated in activities designed to help students step out of their comfort zone and begin interacting with students they typically don't associate with.
The goal of the event was to show students that if they're willing to open up and be more accepting of others, they'll gain new friends and improve the climate in their schools.
This is the third year Elkhart Community Schools has welcomed the Move2Stand organization to Elkhart. Mary Yoder Holsopple, Elkhart's bullying prevention coordinator, said she continues to offer the event to Elkhart students because it has such a powerful impact on them.
This year's event, sponsored by the Elkhart County United Way and the Elkhart County Community Foundation, was held at the YMCA. In addition to Move2Stand leaders, the symposium was also led by staff members from the participating schools.
“This is all about helping our students know what to do to change the climate and culture in our buildings,” Holsopple said. “Because if we can change the climate and culture in our buildings and we have students who understand how that works, then they can become the change agent not only in their school but also in the community.”
Alexander Bicknell, a 2012 graduate of Central High School, was a guest speaker at this year's workshop. Bicknell shared his personal story with the students, explaining how he progressed from being a victim of bullies to helping others in his school stand up to bullying.
The multi-racial Bicknell was picked on when he was younger because "I looked different than everyone else. I spent a lot of nights crying at home because of the things people said about me or the way they treated me," Bicknell said.
As he got older, and learned martial arts, Bicknell grew more confident. He was no longer bothered by what people said or thought of him. But his heart still ached for those who didn't know how to ignore the bullies.
"Move2Stand took me out of my comfort zone," he said. "It taught me how to stand up and speak out. I know it's cliché to say, but Move2Stand changed my life."
At that first workshop, Bicknell listened to what other students had to say about bullying, about how much it hurt them inside and made them not want to come to school. Bicknell was one of the students who vowed that day to do something about the problem.
He and approximately 25 other students organized a Move2Stand Club at Central. They hosted a variety of events, such as Mix It Up at Lunch Days, designed to get different groups of students talking to one another.
Bicknell became a peer mediator, helping students to address their conflicting issues. He escorted bullied students to their classes. He broke up arguments in the hallway. When he heard someone being verbally assaulted, he intervened, asking the bully to back down and letting the victim know he was there to support him.
He started a Web site and Facebook page dedicated to eradicating bullying at Central. He encouraged students to contact him if they were having a problem. He did a lot of listening. He intervened when he could help. He protected if it was necessary.
"I became known as someone who wouldn't tolerate bullying," Bicknell said, adding this new reputation was began producing results. "When I called them on it, the students who were doing the bullying would stop. In a lot of cases, I think they were surprised someone would stand up to them. Some would try to convince me what they were doing wasn't bullying."
Regardless of the why, Bicknell's actions were having a positive impact on the school's climate. And as his efforts met with success, additional students began joining Move2Stand so they too could make a difference. The club now numbers close to 50 members.
Bicknell, now a student at IUSB, and the Central Move2Stand members want to spread the message to other schools as well. Earlier this fall, the the club talked to students at the Elkhart Area Career Center about what they could do to stop bullying there and at their home schools.
"Everyone says one person can't change the world," Bicknell tells those he meets. "Move2Stand will show you how you can."
While Memorial students have a small club, members are hoping this year's workshop, and Bicknell's testimony, will encourage more Chargers to get involved. They spent about 30 minutes at the workshop talking about ways to expand their club and dreaming up new initiatives to help improve the climates in their school's hallways.
Memorial junior Brittany Coleman will encourage the club to create inspiration cards to hand out in the hallways. These cards will include personal messages designed to make students feel better about themselves and those around them.
"We also want to create an event where we can get a lot of students to come together and talk about ways to improve our school," Brittany said. “Our goal is to eliminate bullying in our school. I think more people are talking about it now that they've seen what we're trying to do."
Students said the Move2Stand workshop was an eye opener because it allowed participants to see their peers in a new light. Central senior Alicia Goins attended the workshop to learn ways to help her brother, who has been bullied. But as the day went on, the program became much more personal to her.
On one activity, students were exhorted to "cross the line" if they'd ever been the victim of a bully, been hurt by comments about their appearance, been told by a parent or other adult they're worthless, are scared about your future, don’t know where you’re going to sleep tonight.
Alicia said as you step across the line or see someone else cross the line, you start to see that we’re not all that different. “By seeing how much we actually have in common, I think we’ll be more open to expanding our friendships," she stated.
Monday’s session at the YMCA was followed by a smaller group of high school students Tuesday who were trained how to introduce Move2Stand to Elkhart’s three middle schools.
From the Elkhart Truth, March 18, 2012
ELKHART — Results from a recent survey of most Elkhart Community Schools classes says that bullying is decreasing in much of the district.
Mary Yoder Holsopple, bullying prevention coordinator for Elkhart schools, presented information to the Elkhart School Board at its regular meeting last Tuesday, saying that as compared to 2008, bullying incidents in the high schools and in grades 3 through 5 have decreased, especially for girls in those grades, and that all students in grades 4 through 12 indicated bullying less.
The information comes through the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire, a survey that students in grades 3 through 12 take as a part of the Olweus Bullying Prevention program in Elkhart Community Schools.
Olweus is a comprehensive program that works to counter bullying at individual, classroom, school and community levels. Yoder Holsopple explained that 90 percent of the Olweus program is prevention-oriented.
The questionnaire lets school officials know how much bullying is going on at particular schools, what kind of bullying is going on, where it’s happening and more.
This year’s data showed that 77 percent of students said they are neither bullied or bully others. In addition, 84 percent of students feel empathy for the students being bullied, though the number of students who feel empathy decreases as students move to higher grades, echoing a national trend, according to Yoder Holsopple.
What the numbers show at the high school level is a validation of what Lindsey Abair, 10th grade English and speech teacher at Central, has already seen.
“I’ve been here for five years,” she said, “and I’ve noticed a huge, huge difference.”
“Kids are a lot quicker to say ‘No man, that’s not cool,’” if someone’s picking on someone else, she continued.
That’s in part due to a Move 2 Stand club started at Central, Abair said. She sponsors the club along with teacher Lisa Muñoz.
About 50 kids are actively involved in the group, Abair said, with about 50 more who participate in the club as they can.
They’ve posted sticky notes with positive messages like “somebody loves you” and “smile” around the school, made some promotional videos and occasionally organize flash mobs at the school. They’re organizing a middle school bullying intervention group and are making plans to create a music video, using lyrics and music written by one of the group’s members.
“It’s crazy how involved they are,” Abair said.
“They really do a good job of fighting the stereotype that teenagers don’t care,” she said.
Yoder Holsopple explained in an interview that it’s difficult for students to speak out against bullying unless it’s a safe environment to do so, which the Move 2 Stand clubs help create.
“When I’m one person, I really can’t do this, but when I’m one in a group, I can have that courage,” she explained in an interview.
Memorial also has a Move 2 Stand club, though Memorial Guidance Counselor Allison Makowski said it’s been slow-moving so far because of the number of activities those students are also in.
About 15 kids are active in the group, with others who participate as they’re able. Last month, the group lead an anti-bullying workshop at Cleveland Elementary School, which may become a regular activity.
Makowski said there’s also been a push at Memorial to just continue to talk about bullying issues, “just trying to keep it visible.”
“Students are figuring out what it really is,” she said, which means that they can accurately report bullying incidents to adults, or step in and help the person being bullied.
While bullying decreased in most grades, the number of incidents between girls in grades 6 to 8 did increase from 2008 to this year, Yoder Holsopple said.
“This is not uncommon,” she said.
“We need to think more creativity about how to help this particular group of people,” she said. Yoder Holsopple is organizing a book study with several teachers and staff of “Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls” by Rachel Simmons, while continuing usual Olweus activities.
Those include training all staff in Olweus and having regular class and staff discussions about bullying.
“We’re trying to change the climate and culture of our buildings,,” Yoder Holsopple explained, “which really means we’re trying to change the climate and culture of our community, and that takes time.”
To learn more about the Olweus Bullying Prevention program, visit www.olweus.org.
October 29, 2012
Elkhart Students Cross the Line to Fight Bullying
We are more alike than different. That's the message a large group of Central and Memorial high school students learned at an all-day workshop on bullying prevention Oct. 22. Dressed in their orange anti-bullying t-shirts, you could not tell the Central and Memorial students apart. You could not put the students into categories—jocks or nerds, artists or musicians, the popular kids vs. the wannabees. Everyone looked the same.
If everyone looks the same on the outside, maybe everyone is similar on the inside as well, preached the leaders of Move2Stand, a Nashville-based organization dedicated to helping schools tackle the big issues. Leaders encouraged the teens to stop stereotyping their classmates and start listening to what they have to say.
Approximately 150 students, representing a wide variety of school groups, were chosen for the "Empowering Leaders to Stand Up Against Bullying and Harassment" workshop. They participated in large and small group discussions, watched video clips, and participated in activities designed to help students step out of their comfort zone and begin interacting with students they typically don't associate with.
The goal of the event was to show students that if they're willing to open up and be more accepting of others, they'll gain new friends and improve the climate in their schools.
This is the third year Elkhart Community Schools has welcomed the Move2Stand organization to Elkhart. Mary Yoder Holsopple, Elkhart's bullying prevention coordinator, said she continues to offer the event to Elkhart students because it has such a powerful impact on them.
This year's event, sponsored by the Elkhart County United Way and the Elkhart County Community Foundation, was held at the YMCA. In addition to Move2Stand leaders, the symposium was also led by staff members from the participating schools.
“This is all about helping our students know what to do to change the climate and culture in our buildings,” Holsopple said. “Because if we can change the climate and culture in our buildings and we have students who understand how that works, then they can become the change agent not only in their school but also in the community.”
Alexander Bicknell, a 2012 graduate of Central High School, was a guest speaker at this year's workshop. Bicknell shared his personal story with the students, explaining how he progressed from being a victim of bullies to helping others in his school stand up to bullying.
The multi-racial Bicknell was picked on when he was younger because "I looked different than everyone else. I spent a lot of nights crying at home because of the things people said about me or the way they treated me," Bicknell said.
As he got older, and learned martial arts, Bicknell grew more confident. He was no longer bothered by what people said or thought of him. But his heart still ached for those who didn't know how to ignore the bullies.
"Move2Stand took me out of my comfort zone," he said. "It taught me how to stand up and speak out. I know it's cliché to say, but Move2Stand changed my life."
At that first workshop, Bicknell listened to what other students had to say about bullying, about how much it hurt them inside and made them not want to come to school. Bicknell was one of the students who vowed that day to do something about the problem.
He and approximately 25 other students organized a Move2Stand Club at Central. They hosted a variety of events, such as Mix It Up at Lunch Days, designed to get different groups of students talking to one another.
Bicknell became a peer mediator, helping students to address their conflicting issues. He escorted bullied students to their classes. He broke up arguments in the hallway. When he heard someone being verbally assaulted, he intervened, asking the bully to back down and letting the victim know he was there to support him.
He started a Web site and Facebook page dedicated to eradicating bullying at Central. He encouraged students to contact him if they were having a problem. He did a lot of listening. He intervened when he could help. He protected if it was necessary.
"I became known as someone who wouldn't tolerate bullying," Bicknell said, adding this new reputation was began producing results. "When I called them on it, the students who were doing the bullying would stop. In a lot of cases, I think they were surprised someone would stand up to them. Some would try to convince me what they were doing wasn't bullying."
Regardless of the why, Bicknell's actions were having a positive impact on the school's climate. And as his efforts met with success, additional students began joining Move2Stand so they too could make a difference. The club now numbers close to 50 members.
Bicknell, now a student at IUSB, and the Central Move2Stand members want to spread the message to other schools as well. Earlier this fall, the the club talked to students at the Elkhart Area Career Center about what they could do to stop bullying there and at their home schools.
"Everyone says one person can't change the world," Bicknell tells those he meets. "Move2Stand will show you how you can."
While Memorial students have a small club, members are hoping this year's workshop, and Bicknell's testimony, will encourage more Chargers to get involved. They spent about 30 minutes at the workshop talking about ways to expand their club and dreaming up new initiatives to help improve the climates in their school's hallways.
Memorial junior Brittany Coleman will encourage the club to create inspiration cards to hand out in the hallways. These cards will include personal messages designed to make students feel better about themselves and those around them.
"We also want to create an event where we can get a lot of students to come together and talk about ways to improve our school," Brittany said. “Our goal is to eliminate bullying in our school. I think more people are talking about it now that they've seen what we're trying to do."
Students said the Move2Stand workshop was an eye opener because it allowed participants to see their peers in a new light. Central senior Alicia Goins attended the workshop to learn ways to help her brother, who has been bullied. But as the day went on, the program became much more personal to her.
On one activity, students were exhorted to "cross the line" if they'd ever been the victim of a bully, been hurt by comments about their appearance, been told by a parent or other adult they're worthless, are scared about your future, don’t know where you’re going to sleep tonight.
Alicia said as you step across the line or see someone else cross the line, you start to see that we’re not all that different. “By seeing how much we actually have in common, I think we’ll be more open to expanding our friendships," she stated.
Monday’s session at the YMCA was followed by a smaller group of high school students Tuesday who were trained how to introduce Move2Stand to Elkhart’s three middle schools.
From the Elkhart Truth, March 18, 2012
ELKHART — Results from a recent survey of most Elkhart Community Schools classes says that bullying is decreasing in much of the district.
Mary Yoder Holsopple, bullying prevention coordinator for Elkhart schools, presented information to the Elkhart School Board at its regular meeting last Tuesday, saying that as compared to 2008, bullying incidents in the high schools and in grades 3 through 5 have decreased, especially for girls in those grades, and that all students in grades 4 through 12 indicated bullying less.
The information comes through the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire, a survey that students in grades 3 through 12 take as a part of the Olweus Bullying Prevention program in Elkhart Community Schools.
Olweus is a comprehensive program that works to counter bullying at individual, classroom, school and community levels. Yoder Holsopple explained that 90 percent of the Olweus program is prevention-oriented.
The questionnaire lets school officials know how much bullying is going on at particular schools, what kind of bullying is going on, where it’s happening and more.
This year’s data showed that 77 percent of students said they are neither bullied or bully others. In addition, 84 percent of students feel empathy for the students being bullied, though the number of students who feel empathy decreases as students move to higher grades, echoing a national trend, according to Yoder Holsopple.
What the numbers show at the high school level is a validation of what Lindsey Abair, 10th grade English and speech teacher at Central, has already seen.
“I’ve been here for five years,” she said, “and I’ve noticed a huge, huge difference.”
“Kids are a lot quicker to say ‘No man, that’s not cool,’” if someone’s picking on someone else, she continued.
That’s in part due to a Move 2 Stand club started at Central, Abair said. She sponsors the club along with teacher Lisa Muñoz.
About 50 kids are actively involved in the group, Abair said, with about 50 more who participate in the club as they can.
They’ve posted sticky notes with positive messages like “somebody loves you” and “smile” around the school, made some promotional videos and occasionally organize flash mobs at the school. They’re organizing a middle school bullying intervention group and are making plans to create a music video, using lyrics and music written by one of the group’s members.
“It’s crazy how involved they are,” Abair said.
“They really do a good job of fighting the stereotype that teenagers don’t care,” she said.
Yoder Holsopple explained in an interview that it’s difficult for students to speak out against bullying unless it’s a safe environment to do so, which the Move 2 Stand clubs help create.
“When I’m one person, I really can’t do this, but when I’m one in a group, I can have that courage,” she explained in an interview.
Memorial also has a Move 2 Stand club, though Memorial Guidance Counselor Allison Makowski said it’s been slow-moving so far because of the number of activities those students are also in.
About 15 kids are active in the group, with others who participate as they’re able. Last month, the group lead an anti-bullying workshop at Cleveland Elementary School, which may become a regular activity.
Makowski said there’s also been a push at Memorial to just continue to talk about bullying issues, “just trying to keep it visible.”
“Students are figuring out what it really is,” she said, which means that they can accurately report bullying incidents to adults, or step in and help the person being bullied.
While bullying decreased in most grades, the number of incidents between girls in grades 6 to 8 did increase from 2008 to this year, Yoder Holsopple said.
“This is not uncommon,” she said.
“We need to think more creativity about how to help this particular group of people,” she said. Yoder Holsopple is organizing a book study with several teachers and staff of “Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls” by Rachel Simmons, while continuing usual Olweus activities.
Those include training all staff in Olweus and having regular class and staff discussions about bullying.
“We’re trying to change the climate and culture of our buildings,,” Yoder Holsopple explained, “which really means we’re trying to change the climate and culture of our community, and that takes time.”
To learn more about the Olweus Bullying Prevention program, visit www.olweus.org.
From the Elkhart Way Newsletter, November 29, 2011
Elkhart Teacher Speaks at National Conference
When Central High School language arts teacher Lisa Muñoz proposed last year that each of her 100-plus freshmen write a 10,000-word novel in a month, most of them thought she was crazy.
Several students told Muñoz they wouldn't even try since they hated writing.
But Muñoz didn't give up on them. She talked to students about their individual interests and encouraged them to incorporate these interests into their novel. A student who was into playing video games, for instance, wrote a story about someone who was sucked into a video game.
Muñoz assigned the project to all of her freshmen writing classes as part of National Novel Writing Month last November. She viewed it as a way to get reluctant students to become comfortable with the written word and to inspire her advanced students to challenge themselves with different sentence structures and writing styles.
The Elkhart students wrote their novels on the Web site NaNoWriMo.org, so they were able to share their daily work with their classmates as well as other novel writers throughout the world. The students could see how many words their classmates had written and offer encouragement and suggestions to their fellow authors.
Muñoz learned about NaNoWriMo while working on her master's degree at Western Michigan University. She and two of her WMU classmates collaborated on a project to incorporate NaNoWriMo into their high school classrooms.
The project was so successful for the three educators, they were asked to share their experiences at this month's annual conference of the National Council of Teachers of English in Chicago. Their presentation, "The Emerging Novelists: How NaNoWriMo Creates a Classroom of Authors," was attended by more than 50 English teachers from throughout the country. There were more than 5,000 teachers at the conference.
"We all taught the project a totally different way, so our audience got to see three different ways to get students engaged in writing and excited about penning a novel," Muñoz stated. "Our success stories provided educators with real life applications, including what they need to do to implement the program in their classroom."
The fourth-year teacher said she wasn't intimidated by speaking at a conference of her peers even though the majority of them have more teaching experience than she does.
"Our profession is all about learning," Muñoz pointed out. "Those of us newer to the profession can certainly learn a lot from veteran teachers, but we have a lot to offer too. It's cool that three young teachers can be 'experts.'
"I've been a part of the technology boom," she continued. “I've grown up with it. I viewed my job at the conference as letting veteran teachers know they can do this online writing project. So I wasn't nervous. I was actually excited."
Muñoz added she was just as excited to attend other teachers' presentations so she could learn what's being taught in other areas of the country. "I chose presentations that will benefit Central's English Department and our school district as a whole," Muñoz said. "One of the district's weaknesses on writing prompts is 'voice.' So I was able to attend talks that addressed ways to help our students improve in this area."
Muñoz's part of the presentation included ways to get around students' reluctance to take on such a huge project. "I had a lot of students who said they hate writing and there's no way they could write 10,000 words in a month," she said. "They also complained they had nothing to write about."
By urging the students to write about their personal interests, the ideas began to flow. One student wrote about adoption after learning her own mother had been adopted. Another student, who had personal experience in the subject, wrote about being bullied.
The student who wrote the novel about the video game was initially a quiet student who never contributed to the classroom discussion or spoke to any of his peers. "As his classmates were reading his novel, they began leaving notes of encouragement," Muñoz said. "He then began posting comments on their sites. Had he not had this opportunity, he may never have opened up.
"By the end of the month," Muñoz continued, "he was volunteering to sit in the classroom writer's chair and read one of his chapters. The experience really brought him out of his shell."
Other students were also greatly impacted by the novel writing experience. In a writing prompt at the conclusion of the project, a student wrote: "Over the past month, I feel that the NaNoWriMo writing experience has insanely boosted my ability to write… anything. I feel that it was a unique experience that has helped me open up a mental folder in my brain that boosted my creativity and confidence.
"Due to this experience, I think I'll enjoy writing much more in the future," he continued. "I highly recommend you continue this activity with future classes."
Another student told Muñoz NaNoWriMo was the greatest experience of her life. "I can't believe I actually wrote my own novel," she said. "Now I feel a sense of great accomplishment."
Still another told Muñoz that prior to NaNoWriMo, he loathed writing. Afterwards, he began considering writing as a possible career.
Muñoz said she'd like to share the experience with more of her students, but acknowledged that demanding state and federal requirements leave little time for her to teach such creative projects.
"Yet this is a very valid topic for teaching English language today," Muñoz stated. "Language has changed so much due to e-mail and texting. This was a way for me to compel them to do something I wanted them to. They became invested in it because it was a medium they understand. Once they hit the computer, they were in the zone."
Muñoz said the online writing project provided an opportunity for her students to just enjoy the process and not have to worry about "passing the test."
Still, she expects the writing skills her students gained through the process to show up in their written assignments in other classrooms as well as in the form of improved test scores, especially on the graduation qualifying exam, which is an end-of-the-course assessment in Language Arts 10 this school year.
Muñoz described the NCTE conference as an amazing experience. "I met people that are dedicated to the field of English education, and it invigorated me as a teacher," she stated. "Having the opportunity to attend sessions, meet authors our students read every day, and make contacts with teachers from around the country that are doing amazing things is truly invaluable."
Me with Speak author Laurie Halse Anderson
One Nation's Novel Idea (article from the Elkhart Truth)
BY TOM LANGE
[email protected]
ELKHART -- This month 106 Central High School freshman are making the most of National Novel Writing Month.
The students, along with English teacher Lisa Munoz, who is spearheading the project, have one month to write a 10,000-word-long novel.
Topics among the students vary from brothers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to people dealing with a fear of pirates. Munoz is hopeful the exercise will go on to help students in their academic and professional lives.
A graduate student at Western Michigan University, Munoz learned over the summer of nanowrimo.org, a website she could use to facilitate in-depth writing within her classes.
She checked out one of Central's computer labs for three weeks, and since Nov. 1 her students have spent at least 50 minutes a day writing their first novels.
"The whole purpose is just to write the entire month," Munoz said. "Basically we're just supporting each other through this whole experience."
The students prepared for their novels by writing personal narratives, and Munoz required them to submit character descriptions of at least 100 words.
She wanted to know details about characters' hopes, dreams and fears. One student decided a character would have a fear of pirates and accordingly went about researching thalassoharpaxophobia.
Some of Munoz's students were wary of the project. She recalled that one student initially told her he refused to participate.
Knowing the student had a passion for video games, she encouraged him to inject that interest into his work. The resulting story is about a zombie apocalypse.
For most students this is the first chance to write something so extensive, Munoz said.
She's hopeful her students will be able to put the skills they're using to work later in their education, particularly for standardized tests that involve writing.
If nothing else, she said, students get a novel out of the experience. Munoz plans on looking for ways to publish stories for interested students.
Michaela Gray is about 90 percent finished with her novel.
Michaela's story is about a set of high-school-age twins. One of the twins is pregnant and the other is constantly bullied at school. The story chronicles how the pair deals with the challenges.
Central students received a presentation on bullying shortly before the writing project began.
Michaela has also known girls who became pregnant while in high school and decided to use her story to explore the issue.
While such extensive writing is new to Michaela, she didn't get stuck as often as she thought she would.
She credits Munoz with advising her to write about another portion of the story if she got stuck.
Mike Garver's story was largely inspired by family.
Mike's novel centers on two brothers who join the military at the insistence of their father. After their discharge, the brothers must deal with psychological issues.
In his personal narrative, Mike wrote about his grandfather, who died recently, as well as his uncle, Justin Shoecraft. Shoecraft was killed in August while serving in Afghanistan.
Mike and Michaela both said they'd like the chance to write another novel at some point, though neither has a topic in mind yet.
In the meantime, they've got advice for anyone on the verge of penning their own story.
It's important, Mike said, to find a subject you're interested in and inject your imagination into it. Michaela added that it's important to keep moving forward, even if you get stuck.
Jeff Stutzman, freshman English honors teacher at Concord High School, also is encouraging some of his students to write as part of NNWM.
Stutzman heard about the program in October and decided to give it a try with his honors classes.
The goal, he said, is to focus on fluency of writing and not to worry about creating a "perfect" product.
Getting what's in their heads down on paper is the most important aspect of the project, he said.
News Story on Blazer Connections
Central Students Making Connections
Central High School students are making positive connections after school. Lots of them.
More than 600 students have attended at least one session of Blazer Connections, Central’s afterschool homework and enrichment program. The program, funded through a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, operates four days a week. Its official mission is to provide a safe environment where students are empowered to become competent and responsible community leaders of the future.
In simpler terms, said coordinator John Hunziker, the purpose is to help students make connections to learning.
Elkhart received its first 21st Century grant in 2003. The focus of the grant has changed dramatically since then, transitioning from a “safe haven” grant to an academically based afterschool program.
In addition to Central, 21st Century Centers operate at Monger Elementary School and Pierre Moran Middle School.
The first hour of the program is focused on academic assistance, which is offered in a variety of subject areas with an emphasis on math and language arts. During the second hour, students choose from a variety of enrichment activities including wallyball, ping pong, music, art, creative writing, and Nintendo Wii.
At Central, students meet in the library for the academic session, and then move to classrooms for enrichment.
The program, which began at Central last fall, is open to all students, from those struggling to pass to Advanced Placement students who need a little extra practice time.
Hunziker said the program began in the cafeteria last October with a handful of students. To increase numbers, Hunziker and co-coordinator Jason Grasty went around the school rounding up students who were hanging out with nothing to do. “Come and spend an hour with us doing homework and we’ll feed you,” they told the students.
The students came. And they came. And they came. By the end of the 2010-2011 school year, the program had served more than 650 students at least once and doubled its initial estimate that 100 student would attend the program for at least 30 days.
Participation far exceeded the expectations of grant officials, who made Central reduce its original estimate to 50, claiming a high school would never be able to draw 100 students. The program is now serving between 70 and 100 students a day.
That is making it difficult, but not impossible, for Hunziker to reach one of his personal goals, which is to know the name of every Blazer Connection participant. “I want to be able to personally greet them when I see them in the hallway,” he explained. “I want to build a rapport with them so that each student knows they have a friend here at Central and feels like they belong here.”
Other goals of Hunziker and the Blazer Connections staff are to increase the graduation rate, to increase the number of students passing AP exams, and to have students earn 6 or more credits per year in their core classes, and 10 or more credits per year toward graduation.
Hunziker said the program is working. “Every senior who attended 30 days or more last year graduated,” he reported. “Every student who attended 30 days or more earned at least 6.4 of 7 possible credits.”
He said the program also fueled an increase in the number of students passing Advanced Placement exams, and led to improvement in students’ engagement and behavior in the classroom.
“I had a parent tell me recently that his son, a college freshman, said starting Blazer Connections was the best thing Central ever did,” Hunziker said.
Junior Danyielle Spencer said the program has been a lifesaver for her. She began coming a year ago to get help with her honors chemistry homework. She said the tutoring she received from her teacher was invaluable.
“I know I wouldn’t have passed without it,” Danyielle said. “It’s so much easier to understand when it’s one on one. The teacher is working at your level so it’s not as difficult.”
She continues to participate this year to help her keep up her A average, admitting she needs a little extra attention in anatomy. But she also comes for the enrichment classes. She is learning how to play the guitar in Guitar Club and is a member of Blue Adrenalin, a female chorus that sings pop songs along the lines of “Glee.”
Another benefit of the program is that it’s provided educators with the opportunity to develop relationships with students they don’t typically have any interaction with. Lisa Munoz said she’s made friends with a lot of students she doesn’t have in her classes.
“It’s an opportunity for me to meet a different group of students,” she stated. “And it’s good for the kids because it gives them one more adult in the school they can come to for help with academic or social problems. It’s one more adult who cares about them.”
And there are things they can teach each other, Munoz added, pointing out she has taught students new study skills while they have taught her how to play wallyball. “It’s been a lot of fun,” Munoz said. “It’s a nice, relaxed environment for all of us.”
Munoz said she especially appreciates that the entire Central staff, including athletic coaches, have bought into the afterschool program. Athletes who are struggling in class are required to attend the homework hour before they can practice with the team. Munoz said it’s a positive step that sends the right message to all students.
Central librarian Kathy Crain said the most impressive thing about Blazer Connections is that students have taken ownership of the program. Not only can students get homework help from classroom teachers, fellow students are also pitching in. The National Honor Society provides tutors each Thursday and Crane said it’s common to see one student helping another on any given day of the week.
“Look over there,” she said pointing to a nearby table. “That student is failing in class. His friend is helping him with his homework. He’ll get more out of this lesson than he will in the classroom because he’s comfortable with his friend and not afraid to ask questions.”
Deb Weaver, director of community education, said it’s important to give children, including high school students, positive choices for their free time, citing research that shows the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. are peak times for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and sex.
This research also reveals that youth who participate in afterschool programs are less likely to use drugs, become teen parents, or become victims or perpetrators of crime, and that regular participation in afterschool programs is linked to improvements in standardized test scores.
Weaver said:
Blazer Connections will host an open house from 4:30 to 6:30 on Wednesday, Oct. 26 to showcase the many enrichment activities students are participating in. The public is invited to attend the interactive event.
Central High School students are making positive connections after school. Lots of them.
More than 600 students have attended at least one session of Blazer Connections, Central’s afterschool homework and enrichment program. The program, funded through a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, operates four days a week. Its official mission is to provide a safe environment where students are empowered to become competent and responsible community leaders of the future.
In simpler terms, said coordinator John Hunziker, the purpose is to help students make connections to learning.
Elkhart received its first 21st Century grant in 2003. The focus of the grant has changed dramatically since then, transitioning from a “safe haven” grant to an academically based afterschool program.
In addition to Central, 21st Century Centers operate at Monger Elementary School and Pierre Moran Middle School.
The first hour of the program is focused on academic assistance, which is offered in a variety of subject areas with an emphasis on math and language arts. During the second hour, students choose from a variety of enrichment activities including wallyball, ping pong, music, art, creative writing, and Nintendo Wii.
At Central, students meet in the library for the academic session, and then move to classrooms for enrichment.
The program, which began at Central last fall, is open to all students, from those struggling to pass to Advanced Placement students who need a little extra practice time.
Hunziker said the program began in the cafeteria last October with a handful of students. To increase numbers, Hunziker and co-coordinator Jason Grasty went around the school rounding up students who were hanging out with nothing to do. “Come and spend an hour with us doing homework and we’ll feed you,” they told the students.
The students came. And they came. And they came. By the end of the 2010-2011 school year, the program had served more than 650 students at least once and doubled its initial estimate that 100 student would attend the program for at least 30 days.
Participation far exceeded the expectations of grant officials, who made Central reduce its original estimate to 50, claiming a high school would never be able to draw 100 students. The program is now serving between 70 and 100 students a day.
That is making it difficult, but not impossible, for Hunziker to reach one of his personal goals, which is to know the name of every Blazer Connection participant. “I want to be able to personally greet them when I see them in the hallway,” he explained. “I want to build a rapport with them so that each student knows they have a friend here at Central and feels like they belong here.”
Other goals of Hunziker and the Blazer Connections staff are to increase the graduation rate, to increase the number of students passing AP exams, and to have students earn 6 or more credits per year in their core classes, and 10 or more credits per year toward graduation.
Hunziker said the program is working. “Every senior who attended 30 days or more last year graduated,” he reported. “Every student who attended 30 days or more earned at least 6.4 of 7 possible credits.”
He said the program also fueled an increase in the number of students passing Advanced Placement exams, and led to improvement in students’ engagement and behavior in the classroom.
“I had a parent tell me recently that his son, a college freshman, said starting Blazer Connections was the best thing Central ever did,” Hunziker said.
Junior Danyielle Spencer said the program has been a lifesaver for her. She began coming a year ago to get help with her honors chemistry homework. She said the tutoring she received from her teacher was invaluable.
“I know I wouldn’t have passed without it,” Danyielle said. “It’s so much easier to understand when it’s one on one. The teacher is working at your level so it’s not as difficult.”
She continues to participate this year to help her keep up her A average, admitting she needs a little extra attention in anatomy. But she also comes for the enrichment classes. She is learning how to play the guitar in Guitar Club and is a member of Blue Adrenalin, a female chorus that sings pop songs along the lines of “Glee.”
Another benefit of the program is that it’s provided educators with the opportunity to develop relationships with students they don’t typically have any interaction with. Lisa Munoz said she’s made friends with a lot of students she doesn’t have in her classes.
“It’s an opportunity for me to meet a different group of students,” she stated. “And it’s good for the kids because it gives them one more adult in the school they can come to for help with academic or social problems. It’s one more adult who cares about them.”
And there are things they can teach each other, Munoz added, pointing out she has taught students new study skills while they have taught her how to play wallyball. “It’s been a lot of fun,” Munoz said. “It’s a nice, relaxed environment for all of us.”
Munoz said she especially appreciates that the entire Central staff, including athletic coaches, have bought into the afterschool program. Athletes who are struggling in class are required to attend the homework hour before they can practice with the team. Munoz said it’s a positive step that sends the right message to all students.
Central librarian Kathy Crain said the most impressive thing about Blazer Connections is that students have taken ownership of the program. Not only can students get homework help from classroom teachers, fellow students are also pitching in. The National Honor Society provides tutors each Thursday and Crane said it’s common to see one student helping another on any given day of the week.
“Look over there,” she said pointing to a nearby table. “That student is failing in class. His friend is helping him with his homework. He’ll get more out of this lesson than he will in the classroom because he’s comfortable with his friend and not afraid to ask questions.”
Deb Weaver, director of community education, said it’s important to give children, including high school students, positive choices for their free time, citing research that shows the hours between 3 and 6 p.m. are peak times for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and sex.
This research also reveals that youth who participate in afterschool programs are less likely to use drugs, become teen parents, or become victims or perpetrators of crime, and that regular participation in afterschool programs is linked to improvements in standardized test scores.
Weaver said:
Blazer Connections will host an open house from 4:30 to 6:30 on Wednesday, Oct. 26 to showcase the many enrichment activities students are participating in. The public is invited to attend the interactive event.