Advisory

This year Bonny Eagle middle school has created a new class for the students. The class is called Advisory / Advisee. The purpose for the class was to help the students feel a sense of belonging to the school. In some schools kids feel like no one realizes them and they don’t belong. This class is also supposed to help kids with grades or missing assignments.

The classes were assigned randomly. Ms. Nadeau, Mr. Harris, and Mr. Vacchiano looked at everyone’s schedule and put people's names into a program called a “Scheduling Wizard.” Before doing this they had to think about the movement of 900 kids. They had to organize it. For example, Ms. Nadeau matched 8th grade students with teachers and students they were near (mostly downstairs because of their allied arts).

Ms. Nadeau wants teachers to teach activities that have to do with the guiding principles or games and activities to get to know your new classmates. So far in Mr. Pease’s Advisory class he and his students are doing a lot to get to know each other and working on communication and listening. They also have been trying to get to learn Infinite Campus together and they are picking up trash around the school to make our school a cleaner place. In Mrs. Otis’s class they have also been doing get to know you games. Besides get to know you games Mrs. Otis’s class has been working on sprucing up an area in the school. Their goal is to redecorate the mulch area. The students said they wanted to leave their mark on the school in a positive way. They are going to try their hardest to make the little section look more welcoming. Wish them, “Good Luck!”

Ms. Nadeau hopes that every student is enjoying their class. In some ways most kids love the class but on the other hand some kids really dislike it. A 6th grader said that, “Some people are just mean and they talk over other people.” Another 6th grader (Glacie Bridges) said, “I like when we talk and get to know each other more.” In the opinion of Mr. Pease and Mrs. Otis they enjoy teaching the class. Mrs. Otis thinks that it is a great opportunity for her to get to know a group of students that normally she wouldn’t get to know.

Our Advisory groups will stay the same until high school. The high schoolers do have Advisory, but it is a little bit different than the Advisory classes we have here at the Middle school. A 7th grader would like to have the same group but a different teacher. Glacie Bridges likes her Advisory group and wants it to stay the same. The Advisory classes are going to stay the same so you can build relationships with the teachers/kids in your group.

A 6th grader said that her Advisory class has helped her explain her feeling more but she wants people to stop talking over other people. 6th grader Mackenzie King would like people to be calm and quieter. Another 6th grader would change the distance of the class. She says the walk is too far and there is too many people in the halls at once.

Advisory/Advisee has left many people liking or disliking their class. Hopefully the people who don’t like it will eventually learn to enjoy the class.