Freshmen Focus: UA's High School Student Transition Program

     Union Academy is dedicated to educating the whole child as evidenced by the second year of the school's Freshmen Focus workshops. Freshmen Focus began in the 2015-16 school year when principal Jim Zorn pulled together a team of high school staff members with instructions to create a curriculum that would assist freshmen with entering high school. His idea grew to become a series of ten lessons designed to both acclimate ninth graders to high school and find success in their final years at Union Academy. This year the program grew to include upperclassmen as co-teachers of the lessons. "It seemed like a natural fit to include our Link Crew Leaders in the implementation of Freshmen Focus," said Trent Faulkner, Union Academy teacher and Link Crew adviser. The Link Crew is a group of juniors and seniors in charge of Freshmen Orientation. "They were looking for another way to interact with the ninth grade class and this was a great opportunity," he added.
     This school year's Freshmen Focus series kicked off with an assembly hosted by Mr. Faulkner and the Link Crew. Mr. Faulkner interacted with students teaching them the importance of choosing friends wisely and keeping focused on the goal of graduation and college. The Link Crew led students in games where they experienced the importance of working together and choosing wisely.
In the months following the assembly, students rotated through a series of eight activities and learning skills such as stress management, SMART goals, serving others, and making the most of high school. Students were quizzed on the history and mission of UA and learned about the importance of the three Cs: Challenge, Character, and Community. They participated in scenarios that made them consider choices they may be faced with as a high school student and evaluate their life priorities. "My favorite class in Freshmen Focus was learning how to calculate my GPA and what to expect in high school," said ninth grade student Andrew Young.
     The tenth and final meeting of Freshmen Focus was on High School Service Day. This half day event began with a wrap-up of all previous lessons and more activities related to personal leadership and success. Students were reminded of UA’s graduation requirement involving service hours and were exposed to the needs of local charities and non-profits. Students chose from eight different projects such as making blankets for Project Linus, crafting para-cord bracelets for the USO, stuffing race bags for the Heart of Monroe, and preparing lunch for Operation Reach Out. They demonstrated teacher appreciation by cleaning rooms, braiding chew toys for dogs at the Union County Animal Shelter, and mixing home-made play-dough for the Alliance for Children. Student Emily Huang said, "I like feeling like I'm making a difference. On service day, I felt good about making para-cord bracelets and making sandwiches for those in need." "My group created whisper phones for emerging readers. They learned that serving others does not have to be elaborate project and that the most simple act of kindness can go a long way, " said Holly Hammonds, high school counselor.
     "Our goal with the Freshmen Focus program was to create a solid foundation for these young students entering high school. We want them to understand the importance of good character, and we want them prepared to meet the challenges of the next few years and feel supported through the process," said Principal Zorn.
     Freshmen Focus and the Link Crew are examples of how Union Academy proactively works to promote core values and performance values (Principles 1 & 3 of Character Education). In addition this program works to create a caring community (Principle 4 of Character Education) across grade levels.

Union Academy High School Clubs Serve the Community

   

   On March 15th, Union Academy High School students completed over 800 hours serving the community through the annual High School Service Day. This event is one of many examples of how UA is committed to serving those in need and is dedicated to the development of character in students.

   For students in grades ten through twelve, High School Service Day was the final event for their chosen club and was a celebration of their work over the school year. When clubs began in the fall they were challenged by Mr. Zorn, the high school principal, to create a project that would give back to others. Over the past eight months, students have investigated areas of need tied to the mission of their club. Based upon those needs, club members then worked together to address the area of concern. For instance, the Sports Lovers club saw a need to educate middle school students about the importance of a healthy life style. They then created and executed a lesson on this topic and engaged sixth grade students in fun ways to exercise through dance. The Knots of Love club, a group of students who learned to knit, discovered that the local hospital maternity wards were in need of hats for newborn babies. According to Emma Tittle, a junior at UA, the club, “knitted twenty or thirty small hats and then delivered them to CMC Union on Service Day.”   

   For ninth grade students, the High School Service Day was the finale of this year’s Freshmen Focus workshops. On Service day, freshmen were reminded of UA’s graduation requirement involving service hours and were exposed to the needs of local charities and non-profits. Students chose from eight different projects such as making blankets for Project Linus, crafting para-cord bracelets for the USO, stuffing race bags for the Heart of Monroe, and preparing lunch for Operation Reach Out to name only a few. “Our goal today was to let them see that it is easy and rewarding to serve others. We hope that by introducing them to these local organizations, they will find a place to get involved and give back over the rest of their high school career,” said Kelly Brun, school counselor at UA.

   Overall, almost twenty different local groups and organizations benefited from the High School Service Day, including Wolfe School, Brookdale Union Park Nursing Home, and Operation Christmas Child. However, the biggest beneficiaries of the day were Union Academy’s high school students. “So many teachers have helped me over the years and it felt great to finally give something back to them.  I loved making them breakfast on Service Day,” said Jeannine Llanos, 12th grade student.

Union Academy 2nd Grade Market Place: A Culmination of UA's 3 Cs

     In February, 2nd grade students learned about money in math and economics in social studies. To bring these concepts to life, the 2nd grade team of teachers created the Market Place Project. Through this project, students were asked to create their own business and "put to use all of the real-life skills they learned earlier in the month," said Mrs. Laura Kohn, 2nd grade teacher. They were given the option to work in teams or individually and were told that their business could either produce a product or provide a service. Students had to name their business, make a business plan, create a poster advertisement, and, of course, create their items for sale.
     On February 28th, the students brought all the pieces together to create their classroom Market Place. Students rushed around the four 2nd grade classrooms setting up their stations, advertising their goods, excited to bring their business creations to life. Second grade classrooms were filled with home-made cookies, book marks, hair bows, nail salons, and more. At 8:15 am the Market Place opened for business. Students worked together to figure out customer totals and count back change. When some things didn't sell, they thought quickly and created sales and incentives to encourage customers.
     This Market Place project tied seamlessly into UA's mission of the Three C's: Challenge, Character and Community in many ways. According to Cara Schaefer, "Our students learned important life skills about showing initiative (starting a business), responsibility/trustworthiness (running the business and keeping track of cash), optimism/ perseverance (not giving up when their business was slow) and compassion (donating to a worthy cause to help others)."
     While this is not the first time UA has held a 2nd grade Market Place, it is the first time the project was combined with helping those in need. "This year our 2nd grade teachers thought about how to combine this annual assignment with service learning. Since, the 2nd grade already serves the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House, it was an easy connection to make," said Lower School Principal Shannen Bretz. According to Mrs. Greenwalt, 2nd grade teacher, "This year 2nd grade was able to involve parents in an additional way with 2nd Grade Market Place. Our parents showed their continued support to our students and our community outreach partner, Ronald McDonald House. Parents came and shopped at our Market Place, donating $1,150.00 for Ronald McDonald House."
      This month long project accomplished a number of the 11 Principles of Character Education, the tool used to assess a National School of Character. The adaption of this annual assignment into a service learning project is a recent example of how UA continually assess its character education efforts and looks for areas of improvement (Principle 11) and provides opportunities for moral action/service learning (Principle 5). In addition, the 2nd grade team of teachers did an outstanding job of creating a caring community (Principle 4) and developing a meaningful, challenging academic curriculum that develops character in students (Principle 6).

5th Grade Heritage Day: Bringing School Families Together in Celebration of Diversity

On February 17th, 5th grade students rushed into school in anticipation of the annual 5th grade Heritage Day.  For the previous eight weeks, the students worked on completing the various pieces of the project.  From interviewing aged family members to researching countries of their ancestor's immigration, Heritage Day was the culminating event.  Each student created a display highlighting all of the things they learned about their family's history.  They made Heritage Day Notebooks, wrote biographies, crafted poems, cooked traditional dishes, and shared family artifacts.  Parents and grandparents were invited to attend Heritage Day and circulated around the booths, speaking with students about their family history.

     UA's 5th Grade Heritage Day tradition began 10 years ago, when Mrs. Karlyn Brown was asked to teach Social Studies in 5th grade.  "As an adopted child, I was raised to appreciate my heritage and the heritage of others.  When I first started teaching, I realized that most of my students had no idea about their families' origins.  When I asked them, "Where is your family from?' they would usually reply, 'North Carolina' or 'South Carolina'.  From there I decided to make my students research their family history, after all almost every United States citizen's family immigrated from somewhere other than the U.S." 

     Mr. Frashier, this year’s 5^th grade Social Studies teacher, was excited to continue Mrs. Brown’s tradition and was amazed at the final product. “I am so proud of our students and all the work they have put into these projects.  I wasn’t sure what to expect and was blown away by how hard the students worked,” said Mr. Frashier.  “I loved seeing all of the families come out to support their kids.”

     While this project fits in nicely with the required state Social Studies and English Language Arts curriculum, the best part is how it brings families together.  Paige McBride, a UA parent whose son graduated in 2016 said, "I love the heritage projects my kids completed at UA.  Wyatt (now graduated) interviewed his great-grandma who has now passed away.  We will always treasure the binder he did as a family treasure."

     "Over the years, I have heard of stories told by grandparents and great-grandparents that would have been lost without this assignment.  Parents have reported to me that they have learned just as much as the kids by working on the project," said Mrs. Brown.  That is the real treasure of the 5th grade Heritage Project:  families talking, sharing stories, and celebrating their roots.

     "I loved watching the students beam with  pride about where their family was from and what makes their family unique.  The students were eager to share about their history," said Monica Kocell, School Nurse and parent at UA, who attended this year's event.

     Heritage Day is an example of how Union Academy works to build a caring community (Principle 4 of the 11 Principles of Character Education) and provides a meaningful, challenging academic curriculum that respects all and develops character (Principle 6 of the 11 Principles of Character Education.)