Senior Project Pilot Gets Underway...

This semester, with the help of Mr. Maccarini who leads our Career Center, ELHS will be piloting an independent project entitled, The Senior Project, with 10 of our seniors.  These seniors will be engaged in a process that first helps them identify an area that they are highly interested in learning more about related to a occupation or field of study of their choice.    Some have chosen topics in sports management, cyber forensics, marketing, nursing, and fashion.

The students will then take part in a four part process that includes 1.  finding a mentor in their field of interest to obtain some "on the job" training  2.  a portfolio of all their work  3.  a research paper with a thesis related to their area of study and 4.  a presentation that will be judged by members of the East Longmeadow community.  During the course of their senior projects, students are paired up with a member of the ELHS staff of their choice to serve as an advisor.  The advisor works to help the student pair up with a mentor, meet deadlines and prepare for the paper and presentation.  

The project was developed to help give our seniors something meaningful to engage in during their last months of high school to hopefully jump start their entrance into college or the work force.  It was also designed to put all their communication, writing, presentation and research skills to a final test as they get ready to head out into the real world.  Lastly, we hope this process will help them make some lasting connections in the local community.  
    

Growing Up Online

     Young people today are in many ways, growing up online.   You would be challenged to find a student above the 6th grade who does not spend a good portion of their free time on their phone or computer.  In some ways, having so much accessibility to the outside world has given students the ability to acquire knowledge in a much more expansive manner than ever before, however, staying "plugged" does present some concerns as well.  
     In a recent article in Edutopia, Maurice Elias writes about the need to put kids on a "screen diet."  He discusses a recent study put out by the American Academy for Pediatricians in which it documented that kids who spend excessive time on digital devices are more likely to suffer from aggressive behaviors, obesity and social deficiencies.   The article suggest that young people should not be spending more than two hours a day on their electronic devices and should power down their electronics at least a half an hour before bed to ensure a restful sleep.  Like many things in life, it is about finding a healthy balance.
     At ELHS, we recognize that the digital world is one that is still fairly new, but has become such a big part of the lives of high schoolers.  There are many issues surrounding digital safety and awareness that our students and parents need to find ways to discuss openly and honestly.  We are proud to announce that the high school will be celebrating Digital Citizenship Week in April.  This will include a parent informational workshop that will tackle such issues as developing appropriate online identities, protecting ones' privacy online, cyber bullying, social networking and digital etiquette.  Our hope is to provide our parents with the knowledge and skills to help their children navigate through the digital world in a responsible and safe manner.  Each day of the week at the high school will be devoted to discussing a topic related to digital safety and etiquette as well.   More to come!