AVID Newsletter

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Each week, we will feature a collection of staff members from each school at random!

When you see these amazing people, make sure to tell them THANK YOU for making our district the best place to be!

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Building Relational Capacity

Integrating WICOR strategies with relational capacity and emotional intelligence creates more than academic rigor, it builds a classroom culture where students feel safe, valued, and connected.

WICOR provides the academic framework for students to engage in meaningful Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading.

Relational capacity ensures that these strategies happen in a context of trust, where students feel comfortable sharing ideas, taking risks, and supporting one another. Emotional intelligence helps both students and teachers recognize and manage emotions, show empathy, and respond constructively to challenges.

Together, these elements transform the classroom into a space where students are not only challenged to think critically but also supported as whole people. This combination fosters psychological safety, reduces barriers to participation, and builds resilience, ultimately empowering every learner to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

AVID Ambassadors are selected based on character, citizenship, leadership, and academics.

These Ambassadors are committed to continual engagements in acquiring leadership skills, demonstrate strong character and integrity, and are consistent in their pursuit of academic excellence.

These seven students are friendly, open, accepting, outgoing, and willing to serve others.

Ambassadors are representatives of the caring, compassionate leaders that we expect all students to be!

What a huge success with a turnout of over 250 people!

Thank you families, students, and staff who made this night amazing and full of support.

...who can you spot doing incredible things at each of these schools?

👏 Henry L. Slater is an AVID-Certified School! 🎉

Mission: Empower all students through high expectations to embrace learning and achieve personal success.

Vision: Embraced – Educated - Empowered

Sharing Time in Mrs. Davis's kindergarten class builds confidence in speaking to the whole group. Students practice asking thoughtful questions and making meaningful connections with others. It's one of the most exciting parts of the kindergarten day!

Learning About Needs in Miss Ellibee’s Class! 🌱🐾

Miss Ellibee’s kindergarteners explored the needs of plants and animals through an interactive Two-Column Notes activity! ✏️📓

In one column, students listed the five basic needs of either a plant or an animal. In the second column, they drew colorful pictures to match each need. This hands-on approach helped students make connections between words and visuals while learning important science concepts like food, water, shelter, air, and sunlight.

Impressive work, Marceline & Makyis!!

During Walk to Read time, Ms. Ellibee also introduced learning rotations to her students, providing engaging and purposeful literacy activities. One group of students worked on developing their letter recognition skills through an uppercase and lowercase letter matching puzzle. At the writing station, students practiced forming both uppercase and lowercase letters, reinforcing their understanding through hands-on writing practice. These kindergarteners are off to a strong start and well on their way to becoming confident readers and writers!

Ms. Olson’s class built number recognition skills by creating tactile sandpaper number books from 0-10. This hands-on project supports the AVID WICOR strategies of Inquiry and Organization while incorporating kinesthetic learning, as students explored how numbers are formed, organized their books in sequence, and engaged multiple senses to strengthen understanding.

Ms. Olson’s students also practiced letter formation by building the letter 'm' using wooden letter parts from the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum.

Mrs. Crawford's 1st grade class celebrated the first few weeks of an awesome 1st grade school year with DQ Dilly Bars! Thank you, Cronin Family!!

Ms. Hildebrand's class is working on meeting the expectation of listening to learn. Good job, class!

Miss Johnson's 1st graders got to complete their Scholastic News magazines with their 5th grade buddies!

The students in Miss Weil's class worked on a fun relational capacity activity called Spider Web. The class shared their favorite subject, and discussed what happens when one student is not pulling their own weight.

Students in Mrs. Burns’s class continue to build relationships and learn about each other. Turns were taken and crate paper rolled, making connections, creating a spider’s web, and making further connections to the reading unit about animal habitats.

Students in a reading intervention group with Mrs. Knox practiced reading "th" words by playing a connect four game!

Students in Mrs. Fenton's 3rd grade explored different genre of books and how to respect books. They were able to enjoy some book themed snacks after reading through the different chapter books to discover grade level appropriate books. Mrs. Fenton was their "Chef Guide" for this exploration.

Mrs. Fenton's class also circled up to build their working memory and relational capacity. They played the "Koosh Ball Game" (using a fun sloth instead of a ball) and worked on recalling names and facts from each of their classmates. They played twice; once sharing their favorite sports with everyone, and then a second time telling any one fact about themselves that they haven't already shared.

Mrs. Davis's 3rd grade students took two-column notes during math. Then, after the lesson, they "mingled" around the room and reviewed the notes with at least two classmates, reading out loud the three different ways they learned to compare 3-digit numbers.

Mrs. Davis's third grade used a graphic organizer to take guided notes during reading time. Student's learned how to use a three column chart to find context clues and define unknown words, an important reading comprehension strategy!

Mrs. Davis's third grade practiced training their working memory and building relational capacity while completing the AVID strategy "Koosh Ball Name Toss". Students learned some favorite things about their classmates and practiced some hand eye coordination also!

Mr. Weible's students worked collaboratively in a fun math game where they rolled 6 dices, one for each place value. Then wrote the number in all 3 forms; standard, expanded, word. When finished they pressed the buzzer to check and when correct rolled the next number.

Mrs. Bertrand's students were working collaboratively to put the County Puzzles together that Diane Weible made for the fourth grade. Thank you, so much Ms. Weible!

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5th grade students in Miss Howes’ class have spent the last three weeks learning about the structure, usage, and history of corn. Students were tasked with creating a one-pager that summarizes what all they have learned and referring it back to our unit essential question.

Mrs. Marshall's 5th graders worked so hard to create and present their book report projects!

Students in a reading group with Mrs. Knox were practicing reading "th" words by playing a connect four game. What a fun way to collaborate and learn!

Mission: To provide staff and students with a safe, respectful, responsible, and professional environment to learn and grow.

Vision: To produce students who are emotionally, socially, and academically prepared for high school.

The 7th grade AVID Elective students in Ms. Hughes's class researched a college and made a one-pager based off the information they gathered. They then presented their college to a group and then hung it in the hallway for ALL students to look at!

8th grade AVID Elective students in Mr. Moss's class developed and signed their social contract for the year. This group commits to work together, have teamwork, work hard, be respectful, show dedication, and pay attention!

Ms. Cate's 6th grade science class collaborated in the Engineering Design Process. Students tested how weight impacts how far a car will travel.

Students in Mrs. Sorenson's class participated in an engineering design challenge to answer the question: “How can I design a profitable phone case that protects a phone when dropped?” They applied newly acquired knowledge of Newton’s Laws of Motion and collisions, along with math skills for measurement, data analysis, and cost calculations. Each design had to meet student-developed criteria and constraints, and collaboration was essential during the design, building, and presentation phases. Students learned from multiple failures and iterations of their prototypes before successfully completing the challenge.

Ms. Hughes's 6th grade ELA students collaboratively participated in a 'Hoot' Pre-Reading escape room. They had to work together and think critically to figure out the clues that gave them a 4 digit code to unlock their prize!

Ms. Hughes's 6th grade ELA students also developed their vocabulary skills by working in groups to create a poster based on a specific vocabulary word from the textbook.

Ms. Bull's Art students participated in some rock art and pop art with a focus on color mixing. Students learned more about AVID principles such as uncovering understanding, exploring a variety of ways to solve problems, analyzing and synthesizing materials and having fun to boot!

Mr. Moss's HMS Leadership students participated in a community outreach activity at the Aspen's Assisted living facility. During this activity students participated in "Board Game Blitz." Residents at the Aspen's enjoyed popcorn with students and offered wisdom and life perspectives for the Scotties.

Leadership students also did some community outreach by serving food at the Senior Center!

Collaboration at it’s finest in Home Ec with Mrs. Bull! Students were cooking together in groups, showing great teamwork and shared responsibility for the outcome!

Surface Features Bingo! In a fun twist on studying geography, 7th and 8th grade social studies students in Ms. Doty's class dove into the world of surface features with a competitive game of Bingo! After taking detailed notes as a class about different geographical terms and features, students put their knowledge to the test. Instead of simply memorizing terms, they used the definitions as clues to identify the correct words on their bingo cards. It was a race to see who could complete their card first while reinforcing their understanding of landforms and other natural features. Who knew learning about mountains, valleys, and plateaus could be so exciting?

In a creative twist on traditional research, Ms. Doty's 8th grade social studies students became authors of their very own children's books! After diving into the rich histories and cultures of various North American peoples, student groups collaborated to take detailed notes and gather key facts. Then came the fun part — transforming their research into imaginative historical fiction stories for younger readers. Blending facts with storytelling, these books bring the past to life in a way that’s both educational and entertaining!

Ms. Nonnenmacher's PE students lead stretches. This promotes leadership, responsibility, and collaboration. Students are developing confidence and effective communication as well as taking ownership of their learning environment.

Students also spend time building relational capacity each class by collaborating in many fun challenges and games together!

Mission Statement: Empowering students to learn, grow, and lead.

Vision Statement: To foster a community of learners where curiosity, critical thinking, and academic excellence equip students for success through an AVID framework.

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9th-12th grade AVID Elective students in Ms. Smith's, Mr. Ellibee's, and Mr. Young's classes wrote their "AVID Why!"

Because of AVID, I...

...learned how to properly organize my notes! -Riley Conley

...learned more about my future career and taught me what college I am going to, to achieve this. -Cali Davies

...have learned how to stay organized, learned how to set SMART goals, and learned what steps I need to take for a future career or school. -Morgan Wagner

...am more organized with my time and school work. -Baileigh Nisbet

...can get into college.

-Henry Hemphill

...am confident.

-Ayva Baron

...am prepared.

-Capri Cushing

AVID 12 students in Ms. Smith's class completed their Social Contract Acrostic. They commit to be dedicated, have integrity, demonstrate perseverance, show learning, be optimistic, be mature, and to advocate. The acrostic spelled out DIPLOMA!

Mrs. Bailey's Horticulture Class took a field trip to an experimental garden in Crane, Oregon. Approximately a half acre of sweet corn and winter squashes were grown using a low water system. Students were given a short lesson on watering and different varieties. Students then helped pick sweet corn and the corn was donated to the cafeteria. The students eating in the cafeteria enjoy fresh local sweet corn. A total of 200 ears of corn were picked and donated to the cafeteria!

Ms. Smith's 10th Grade Biology students participated in a STEM Design Project to make a tower using provided material, within budget and completed on time that could support 10,000 gallons of water (100 pennies). Students worked in teams of 2-5 to design, budget, build, and test "water" tower. This activity using writing (sketching thoughts, writing down budgets, evaluation of the tower, reflection on how to build better next time), organization of materials, thoughts and people, collaboration within the team, inquiry thinking for the design and troubleshooting the tower as the build progressed and reading within the prompt to meet all of the criteria as well as how to evaluate the team and the tower.

Students in Ms. Smith's AP biology were celebrating Taylor Swift and learning about protein structure by building friendship bead bracelets using the instructions and information in the lab activity. They were reading the instructions, using inquiry to build the bracelets, working collaboratively to understand the protein synthesis processes, organizing materials and thinking, and writing down their understanding of the process.

In Mrs. Bauer's In Pathway 2 Careers math, students participated in a Gallery Walk to explore how personal interests connect to career paths through the RIASEC categories (realistic, artistic, social, investigative, enterprising, and conventional). Working in groups, they created posters with words, pictures, and symbols that represented these categories, then rotated around the room to view and comment on each other’s work. Students left “Think and Wonder” notes to share what they found interesting or what questions they had, encouraging collaboration and peer learning. The activity closed with groups reflecting on feedback and identifying how their own interests connect to career options through math.

In personal finance with Mrs. Davis, students worked in groups to make a realistic family budget. Each group was given different scenarios on income, family members, monthly bills, debts and emergency expenses. Based on all of those aspects each group worked together in order to create a budget where the family still could work on paying off debts and saving money. Each group learned the importance of budgeting and talking amongst each other to solve issues within the budget and how to fix them.

In Ms. Danchok’s Outdoor Wellness class, students took part in a Philosophical Chairs activity built around a lively “Would You Rather” scenario. The classroom was divided into two sides, each representing a different choice, and students physically moved to the side that reflected their opinion. Once in place, they shared their reasoning, listened to peers, and were encouraged to respectfully challenge and respond to opposing viewpoints. The activity not only got students up and moving but also fostered critical thinking, communication, and collaboration in a fun, engaging way.

Ms. Kokesh's Drawing students inquired how negative space shapes a composition by observing the space around tree branch shadows, then organized their sketchbook pages to draw the negative spaces. They collaborated by sharing their observations with one another.

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Students in Mrs. Wassom-Paul's 11th-grade US History class participated in an interactive timeline activity to answer the question "Which events do you think most shaped America into what it is today?" They had several historical events from US History, and they decided collaboratively as a group how to "arrange" them depending upon a given prompt. They were required to discuss and work towards building a consensus, and then had to develop an evidence-based reason statement explaining their placement.

Mrs. Wassom-Paul's 11th-grade US History students also participated in the Relational Capacity "Partner Drawing" Activity, which required students to collaborate on a drawing while; one student described the image on the screen, while the other could not look and would then draw the picture based on the descriptions. Students had to organize their thoughts to accurately describe the images, and then collaborate as they found ways to clearly explain the drawing to their partners. Both partners took turns drawing and describing, switching turns with new images. The class then held a discussion as to how this builds communication skills, and how difficult it is to work together if you don't have proper communication. They tied this in with our lessons on early-American founding government ideals, and will use this as a relational capacity tool as we build our own "Classroom Constitution" (social contract).

Students in personal wellness with Mrs. Young worked on Animal Empathy research posters. They were using WICOR strategies by inquiring and reading about different scientific studies on how animals use empathy in nature. They then organized and wrote what they gathered on their posters and shared with the group what they have discovered.

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9th grade students in Ms. Howes's Algebra 1 class complete a modified AVID “Mingle Bingo” activity, where they solve two-step linear equations on their bingo card and partner with other students with answers they are searching for. Students initialed each others’ cards when they had a matching equation and solution.

Students also completed an exit ticket that focused on “Initiating Student Ownership of the Classroom” answering three questions: “What was your role in ensuring that this activity was successful?”, “In what ways do you feel more confident as a result of this activity?”, and “What can you do differently next time to ensure that similar activities are even more successful and beneficial?”

In Ms. Howes’ Geometry class, students explored the essential question, “How can I understand and write conditional statements?” Students tossed a ball around the room and as the third person caught the ball, they identified the number of the question closest to their right index finger. The students then worked for five minutes individually to solve their question from their textbook assignment. Students were asked to share their answer on the board with the class and explain their steps in finding it. Students wrote, inquired, and collaborated to complete the assignment as a group and expose their peers to different procedural processes in approaching a problem. Here is Tildyn writing his problem on the board.

Ms. Danchok's Health class participated in a Socratic Seminar to discuss the debatable question, "Should TikTok be banned?"

Students in Mrs. Banks' freshman English class collaborated together in groups to identify evidence as to a characters sanity in the short story "The Cask of Amontilldo."

Mrs. Banks's AP English Literature students also created 'one-pagers' that discussed how feminine ability could be underestimated in the short story "Trifles."

Ms. Toney's English 10 students read and analyzed "What, of this Goldfish, Would You Wish?" From reading this short story, students explored how a variety of cultures may connect through similar wishes. Then, students took their turn at connecting their cultures and wishes in peer groups. To do this, the students were placed in groups to create a Culture Montage.

In the montage, students had to elaborate on one aspect of their culture. They also had to explain one wish they had. Students collaborated to create visually pleasing presentation to showcase their cultures and wishes. Just before presenting to the entire class, students practiced their presentation to another group to prepare them for the final presentation. Finally, students were required to confidently present their Culture Montage to the class.

In beginning welding with Mrs. Davis, students have been working on getting an arc struck on a piece of metal. This student got the arc struck on the first day and has continued to improve daily. The weld on the right shows their second day of welding. They clearly got an arc struck and they made a good attempt at making a bead. The weld on the left shows a significant improvement of their welding technique over a five day period, after Mrs. Davis gave the student some pointers and direction.

At the beginning of the school year, Mrs. Davis had her advanced welding students show their welding skills from over the summer break. On the left, is the first weld one student welded after summer break. This weld shows porosity, splattering and inconsistent movement. The weld on the right side, is a weld two weeks later. This weld shows no more porosity, consistency and no splatter. This shows that practice makes perfect in welding!

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