J-term at WACO Schools

Although winter break is in full swing, WACO Jr/Sr. High School Principal Tim Bartels would like to remind parents of the upcoming J-term for the 2019/2020 school year.

J-term or 'January-Term” is the first five days between first and second semester this year. It will run from Jan. 6 - Jan. 10. This is an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in a single subject or project for five straight days. The classes are typically hands-on, non-traditional, and out of the box learning events. A full list of J-term activities that WACO 7-12 students will have an opportunity to participate in will be listed below. Students have already chosen a group, so this is a great opportunity for parents to speak to their son or daughter about their choice and continue that conversation throughout the entire J-term. Below, Bartels answers some frequently asked questions regarding the J-term

What are the benefits to students?

Our students take their semester exams before Christmas (no Christmas break studying, pure family time). This is a great way to give our students a mental break from the traditional program while exploring topics that are new or interesting to them. Many groups are taking field trips, listening to guest speakers, providing community products, and exploring personal interests during this time. These activities involve higher level thinking and learned career soft skills. They will be working with and as a group for the entirety of the term. Lastly, we believe that this is putting students in charge of their own learning and we firmly believe that J-term escapes the traditional learning environment.

Why is this good for teachers?

While this is only my first year I can tell you that our teachers are excited about the learning as much as or more so than students. This is a break from the classroom and an opportunity to see different students learn new skills. Many of our teachers are team teaching these J-term activities, which also allows for new ideas and teaching techniques. Lastly, this is a chance for our teachers to share a passion with students who also have that passion. I'm not sure about you, but I cannot find a better way to connect with students other than through a similar passion. This a great relationship building time for students and staff.

Who benefits, and what are the challenges?

You. You as a parent should see the benefit through the conversations with your son and/or daughter. You should see and hear engagement in their project and in their descriptions to you about their day. I certainly ask the age-old question- 'What did you do at school today?” without an answer, and J-term will give an answer to that question.

The community. Many of our groups are community service oriented. Our students and staff naturally gravitate toward improving the world around them. J-term gives them a real opportunity to share a passion while working on a project.

Your child, your school, your teachers. As mentioned above the benefits to the school as a whole are numerous

and our hope is that J-term gives learning a new face, and instills a passion in everyone involved.

Our challenge is time. Like many things in life, time is not always on our side. The amount of preparation and time devoted to J-term leaves me in awe of the work that our teachers do. From courses, transportation, time management, expenses, and planning, the obstacles are many. Our teachers do an amazing job of doing what is best for kids and putting them first. It is for these reasons that J-term will be a success.

Lastly, on Jan. 10, at WACO Jr/Sr High School, there will be a presentation night where groups will display their results and projects for families, friends, community members, and each other. The community is invited to attend this night on Jan. 10, from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. at the Jr/Sr High School.

2020 WACO J-term Class Offerings

1. Airbrush Art (with Mr. Schmida) - Students will explore airbrush art and careers that go along with it. They will start off small and

hopefully work up to creating a mural for the Wayland Youth Center.

2. Business & BBQ (with Mr. Dugger & Mr. Shettler) - Students will gain valuable woodworking skills to build Adirondack chairs. They also will learn some grilling and barbecue basics.

3. Community, Career, Volunteer! (with Mrs. Klett & Mrs. Koch) - Students will be traveling out into the surrounding communities to gain valuable work and volunteer experiences.

4. Designing the Dream (with Mr. Whitten & Mr. Kissell) - Students will travel to the Kirkwood Regional Center in Washington and complete a Computer Aided Drafting (using Revit software) building based project.

5. Chalk It Up! (with Mrs. DeVaul) - Students will take a furniture piece and repurpose it using a chalk paint technique. They will

then sell the updated piece on a website they create.

6. Fantasy FX (with Ms. Peters & Mr. Ayrit) - Cosplay exploration. Students will combine creativity and technical skill to design and assume

the identity of a character that they feel a connection with.

7. Living on a Dime (with Mrs. Weir & Mrs. Lefeber) - Students will learn to create a budget and financially live on their own, furnish/refurbish furniture, and gain confidence to enter adulthood.

8. Media Center Makeover (with Mrs. Newman) - Students will explore the basics of interior design by doing a media center makeover. They will

be painting and updating our book collection.

9. Rental Renovation (with Mrs. Roth & Mrs. Gelfand) - Students will work with skilled craftsmen to participate in various jobs to renovate a building into apartments. Students also will learn the business end of things from a realtor, accountant, and property manager.

10. The Tasty Challenge (with Mrs. Reichenbach & Mr. Edeker) - Students will collaboratively create a modern online digital cookbook of WACO community recipes.

11. 'Within the Walls” Fitness (with Mr. Moorman) - Students will help develop a short-term recreation program. They will be helping with

supervision, administrating, operating, and developing recreation activities for other student groups during J-term.