by Dilay A.
Here at Sentinel Secondary, we are a student body of empowered and motivated adolescents. Behind our immense success, we credit our equally as hardworking and dedicated teachers who constantly strive to develop their teaching techniques and improve our learning experiences. We were lucky enough to get in touch with a couple of teachers who were able to elaborate on their upcoming innovative projects.
Inspiring Inquiry-based Creativity
Ms. Hambly, one of our driven Fine Arts teachers, has been working on a multi-disciplinary project that aspires to bring conceptual and community-based artists into classrooms to interact with current art students. In simple terms, the goal of this project is to provide inspirational content for students that go beyond the four walls of the school, by allowing them to collaborate and learn through artists who have already been working in the field. Aspiring art students will be able to develop their inquiry questions by applying the knowledge they receive through professionals and their own personal creative process. As a whole, this project advocates interconnectedness; providing young minds with the opportunity to:
Observe multiple viewpoints and concepts that are being explored by professional artists.
Apply the insight they’ve received to build on their own reasoning and expression skills.
Discover their next source of inspiration, and create connections towards the development of their own inquiry questions.
Exploring Outdoor Learning to Support the Grade ⅞ Transition
As students, we can all speak upon our personal experiences regarding the overwhelming (and somewhat scary) transition from elementary school to high school. The difference in environment and workload between grade 7 and grade 8 is significant; Ms. Gray, an economics and marketing teacher here at Sentinel, has set out with a project to support this change. It will work towards transitioning the traditional classroom environment to an outdoor learning experience. Additionally, it will encourage the honouring of indigenous principles by valuing, connecting, and caring for our land. This project looks to create a platform to empathize with the environment and promote a sense of community among new high school students. Altogether, the overall goal is to support new grade 8s by:
Slowing down their pace.
Allowing them to get in touch with their surroundings.
Guiding them in achieving a collected mindset.
The innovation does not stop here! There are many more teachers here at Sentinel Secondary who are looking to implement their inventive ideas into their every-day classrooms. Some of these creative projects include:
Promoting learning through 3D printing (Mr. Grikis and Mr. Gibson).
The implementation of Discovery Education Techbooks in science courses (Ms. Battram).
Further inclusion of Aboriginal perspectives and knowledge in visual arts (Ms. Fitzpatrick).
Communication of the benefits of inquiry-based learning and research (Mr. Fuller).
The exploration of physical literacy in a language classroom (Ms. Page-Newman).
This summarises some of the new and exciting projects that our teachers are putting into action. It’s clear to see how Sentinel’s core values of grit, action and spirit are exhibited so well onto our student body; it begins initially in the passionate minds of our teachers!
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