 | | | | | | Articles Written by AVID Students | |
What I want and what I’ve gotten from AVID
I
want my senior year to be the best of all my years attending Arlington
senior high. I’ve been through a lot at this school, learned a lot ,and
even taught people a few things. In reality this is a really stressful
time for seniors. Not only do we have to worry about classes and
catching up on credits to graduate, but there are a lot of different
things that we have to worry about. A lot of us have jobs and houses to
run. We have to take our ACT, apply to colleges, and try to maintain a
social life. It’s very hard and some people can’t manage this kind of
fast paced life. AVID has helped me in so many ways. It’s helped me to
maintain my grades, it’s helped me with managing my time, it's helped
me have better study habits, and I’ve opened up and let people into my
life. I have no problem with public speaking, it really has helped the
quality of my school work, and helped me to fill out college
applications, and even sign up for the ACT. Being in this program has
really made my senior year so easy going for me. It has really made all
the difference in my grades. I feel really confident in my work and not
stressed at all. This course has kept me on track and is doing wonders
for me this year. I definitly have benifited over the last two years,
and it’s really important now because we are where we’ve been leading
up to from all the other AVID classes, and it’s really paying off for
me, and I think that this class has given me an upper hand to preparing
for college. The biggest difference between AVID students and regular
students is our confidence and what we’ve learned from the divese
atmosphere. I mean everyone has to adjust to being in different classes
and new teachers, but for me and I think that most of the AVID students
would agree that if you don’t put yourself out there you won’t get
noticed. A lot of people are shy and stick to thier own crowds but in
AVID we don’t have crowds, it’s just us. Nobody minds working with
anybody else. It’s really working out for me. This program has done
everything that I’ve wanted and more. I really couldn’t expect more
out of this program then what I’m recieving, and not just my senior
year but since my sophomore year when I joined.
By: Lazzerricka Davis
12-12-2007
Making Your Life Easier by Taking Notes Many people dislike taking notes during class or lectures; they either sleep or pretend that they’re listening. Cornell notes can guide and help you through, unlike regular notes that you take and make no sense later on. It has a format that is useful and understandable, which it helps you to focus because you can interact more with your notes.
AVID students in the Saint Paul Public Schools have learned how to take Cornell notes in the proper format and they found that it was helpful. How the format of Cornell notes works is by starting off with a topic, and with this topic it’ll help you to focus only into one class subject and its notes, also it’ll help you to realize what your notes will be on. The format will also be divided into two sides, the left side is for the questions and the right side is for the notes. In this case the left side will be where you place all the questions that you have about the subject, and with the right side, the notes are to help you to answer your questions. This format also has a summary for you once you’re done taking the notes. The summary is to help you to ask yourself what you have learned from the notes and to practice summarization skills.
Cornell notes may seem like there’s a lot of work and writing but it’s not, once you have done it two or three times it’s fast and easy. AVID students use Cornell notes during class, lectures, when reading a book, or even when watching a movie. Using Cornell notes has helped not just only the AVID students but also all 9th and 10th graders with their English and Social Studies classes. These students use Cornell notes to help them study for tests.
The AVID students took the lead on taking Cornell notes, now other students are trying it out and seeing that it works. Because AVID has only been in the Saint Paul Public Schools for three years, hopefully soon Cornell notes will be used school wide where every student learns the routine. I believe that with this experience every student will use it even if it’s not school related, but it will definitely help them succeed in life because Cornell notes will help them to develop their critical thinking skills, and critical thinking is what everyone uses in everyday life.
College bound teen mom!
Being
18 and a senior in high school can be very stressful. But in my case
I’m also pregnant. I am 7 months and due in the beginning of the second
semester. This is even more stressful because I have to worry ahead of
time about catching up with classes once I come back to school. I have
to worry about daycare, health insurance and graduation. I know that I
for sure am going to graduate on time but being on a 6-week homebound
study I might get behind in some of my classes. Graduating has been my
biggest dream. I have always pictured myself walking across the stage
with my diploma in my hand. This year I will be walking on stage with
my daughter on my other hand too. Thanks to my AVID teacher Mrs. Butler
I have sent college applications and I have already started to also
fill out applications to the day care here at our wonderful school. I
have fewer things to worry about now that the Arlington staff is
helping me get health insurance. I also chose Saint Paul College
because I know that it has a daycare, so then I will not have any
problems with my daughter. I am hoping to attend college to give my
daughter a better future. Being a mother is an exciting but scary
feeling, but I know that I will do well and that I will graduate.
Thanks to AVID I know I will be successful!!
Cristi Montoya
12/10/07
Where did AVID go?
Guess what the AVID students did on Wednesday, October 10th, 2007? They went to the National College Fair at the Minneapolis Convention Center. From 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., they visited dozens of colleges and universities. They asked questions about the colleges and what they offered. They even asked what the college would do for them if they were to attend it. There was mostly admissions staff that represented the colleges and universities.
The AVID students learned a gigantic amount of information about the colleges and universities that they were interested in. Most of them learned something new and interesting about the school. They learned that some colleges require two years of foreign languages, but it doesn’t have to be a specific one, just a language that you know and speak other than English.
There were colleges from out of the country that were there too. Peter Her said, “ I saw colleges from the United Kingdom, Japan, and even Australia.” “I don’t think this should be called the National College Fair, instead, it should be called the World College Fair.” Chee Her said, “It was pretty cool.” “It was better than last year!”
Altogether, the AVID students had a great and awesome time at the College Fair. They learned a lot from their list of colleges to visit and talk to. They learned that some of the colleges that they are interested in do not have a fee waiver for the admissions application. Some just requires the student to fill out the common application and the rest requires only their application to be filled out. They learned about the clubs and organizations that the colleges and universities have on campus.
They left the Convention Center at 12:00 p.m. and soon boarded the bus back to Arlington Senior High School. They arrived back at 12:30 p.m. They went to the Great Hall to go eat lunch and at 1:00 p.m., they all went to their 6th Period. It was an awesome learning day for the AVID students.
Peter Her
12/10/07
The Wonderful Way to Take Notes, Cornell Style
In
AVID we use a note taking method called Cornell Notes. It’s a new and
different way for students to take notes. In many different ways it’s
helpful.
Cornell Notes are split into five sections. The
first section of the paper is where you make a column for questions or
short answers. The middle section is where you take the notes; the side
questions should be questions on those notes. At the bottom section of
your paper you leave room for a summary. The summary is to give a brief
explanation of what the notes are about. Also, at the top by the
questions, you write a topic.
Cornell Notes are a more profound
way of note taking. It helps you to find your notes a little better
than just writing them out the way most people write them out. They use
these kinds of note taking tactics in college. These kinds of notes are
helpful because the questions on the side can help you find some of the
information you are looking for. Also having a topic on any paper or
notes would help you keep track of all information taken. The notes you
take on the side help me find my notes better; just a quick glance at
them gives me an idea what information is where.
A way to know
whether or not you took good Cornell Notes is by looking at the notes
you took. If you took a large amount of notes you should have more than
five questions for your notes. Also whenever your notes begin with a
different topic, a good way to separate topics is to skip a line, write
the topic and/or underline the topic. I myself use a highlighter to
highlight topics and little topics throughout the notes. I also
highlight the questions so that the topic to the questions stick out so
information is easier to find.
Gabrielle Cobb
12/10/07
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