20-Time: Building Innovation and Character

    

Principal 6 of the 11 Principals of Character Education indicates that a school of character will provide a meaningful and challenging academic curriculum that respects all learners, develops their character, and helps them succeed.  One perfect example of Principal 6 at Union Academy is 20-Time in Rachel Tohill's English III Class.

Jonathan Alzate, Braden Eilerman, Jacob Barringer,
 and community supporters at the Dedication Ceremony.

    20-Time is based on Google’s innovative work policy which gives employees 20% of their work time to collaborate and create personal ideas that could advance Google. Just as Google has realized real advances from 20-Time, so has Union Academy. This year, Mrs. Tohill provided her students 20% of the their class time to think outside the box.  
     According to Mrs. Tohill she taught 20-Time because, "I wanted to give my students an opportunity to explore their interests and make real-world connections to English Language Arts standards. An important component of the project involved the students taking the lead on the process and understanding that the process itself was as important as the final results. In the end, we had products that included videos, photography, interviews, blogs, community service projects, construction projects, graphic design, writing, auto mechanics, animal rescue initiatives, art projects, school spirit projects, and the list goes on. And some of the projects are continuing beyond the school year; they have gone from being a "project" to being a real world experience, which is very exciting." 20-Time developed all of UA's 8 Character Traits in Mrs. Tohill's students, but especially put into practice initiative, perseverance, and responsibility.
     

One of the most successful projects was the installation of a putting green on the UA campus. Three students in the class, Jacob Barringer, Braden Eilerman, and Jonathan Alzate developed the idea and managed the installation of a new golf green, chipping mat and sand bunker located near the football stadium at the Upper Campus. It took eight weeks for the students to research, identify resources, develop contacts and to actually participate in the construction and installation of turf.    
     "I'm so impressed with my students that they jumped in to this experience with only 8 weeks to complete it, and only having just met me as their teacher! They took risks, explored ideas, and embraced the opportunity to be creative and to think "outside of the box." We really became a team in this experience and learned so much!" said Mrs. Tohill. 
     Students appreciated the 20-Time project as well.  Kaitlyn Havican, an eleventh grade student wrote an interactive book of devotionals/gospels for middle school girls.  "I learned how to budget my time. I learned that you need to proof read over and over again! 20-Time was an awesome experience for me. I was able to get out of my comfort zone and do something I love. I got to think for myself and make an impact on people." 
    Would you like more information on 20-Time and how to implement it in the  classroom?  Take a look at this presentation created by Mrs. Tohill as part of her own 20-Time project or try this amazing website filled with ideas and template.  

Union Academy is named a National School of Character!

Now the entire nation will know what we at Union Academy have always known to be true and practice every day and that is “We do the right thing even when no one is looking.”  

On Tuesday, May 10 Character.org, a national advocate and leader for character education announced that Union Academy had been named a 2016 National School of Character. In January we learned that we had been named a 2016 North Carolina School of Character and had been nominated by the North Carolina State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction for the national honor.

Through an in-depth and rigorous evaluation process, our school was one of 67 in the nation found to be an exemplary model of character development. Union Academy is being recognized as a school that has demonstrated its use of character development to drive a positive impact on academics, student behavior, and school climate. The designation of National School of Character stands for five years before it has to be renewed.

Please click here to read the entire press release.

 Please click here to read more in the May 13th - May 19th Newsletter. 

Please click to see media coverage from Page Crawford, Fox 46 News.

This article was written by the UA Communications Department.

Reading Buddies... And More!

     Ready Buddies are a tradition of the Union Academy Lower Campus that succeeds in building student relationships between grade levels, and in building confidence and excitement in students.   The idea began with having older students (grades Third and Fourth) pair with younger students (grade Kindergarten and First) for monthly reading time.  As it was originally intended, these reading times help both older and younger students gain confidence in their reading skills.  However, over the years, UA has discovered that there is much more to gain from the time shared together.
     Since its inception, the Reading Buddy time has morphed to also include students sharing with each other the things they are learning in their classroom.  For instance, Fourth grade students complete four projects throughout the school year centered around the history and geography of North Carolina.  Mrs. Hinson, a fourth grade teacher, asks her students to share their projects with their first grade reading buddies.  This experience gives her fourth grade students a chance to practice presenting to a small group and causes them to take more pride in all of their hard work.  According to Mrs. Anthony, first grade teacher, it also helps her younger students.  "You can see their interest perk up as they watch the older students share their projects.  This time together helps our younger students get excited about what they will experience as older students at UA."
     Over the course of a school year, these students have built relationships with each other.  They consider each other friends, or as one first grade student wrote to his buddy, "You are a hero."  Many Reading Buddies go out of their way to say hello to each other on the sidewalk or to send each other character mail.  Just this week, younger students thought about how they could help their 3rd and 4th grade friends get excited about the upcoming End of Grade tests.  Some classes took the time to write notes of testing encouragement to their older buddies. Principle 4 of the 11 Principles of Character Education focuses on how a school creates a caring community.  Lower Campus Reading Buddies are an excellent example of how Union Academy builds relationships between students of different grade levels, strengthening the "UA Family."