< Back to all blog posts

Building Student Culture

By Jennie Taing, Communications & Marketing Manager

May 11, 2018

One of my favorite things to do at Alpha is stopping by our teachers’ classrooms to observe and awe at all the cool things that happen in their classes.

My most recent visit took me to Mr. Min’s 7th Grade homeroom at Alpha: Blanca Alvarado. Homeroom is generally used as a study hall where students can work independently on classwork or homework. Mr. Min decided to use this time to create his own themed advisory. He believes this is a great way to build culture and relationships amongst his students.

His vision statement for the class is “We are mature leaders who always demonstrate a growth mindset and practice habits of success to be positive models in our community.”

During this advisory period, he leads several discussions with the students – the most recent being Gun Violence. The students created posters for the National Walkout.

Each quarter there is a unique theme.

1st quarter was all about building culture.

2nd quarter was focusing on academic needs with small group and individual check-ins to provide students with additional help.

3rd quarter was a book-a-thon where students read books in depth and gave a 1 minute book talk recommending the book. to their classmates. Mr. Min created Read posters and taped them to the outside of his classroom window to inspire other students to read, which ties back to being a positive model for others. 

Now we are close to wrapping up the 4th quarter and it’s all about the community. He posed the question to his students “what does the Alpha community mean to you and what can you do for the community?” Mr. Min invited his class to participate in a network wide campus beautification event hosted by an organization known as Beautiful Day at the end of April. The students got their hands and feet dirty laying down mulch, painting murals, and much more!

 

Keep up the great work Mr. Min!