Today’s blog is a little different.  We closed the week with a “group blog” activity akin to “one-word stories.”  The way it works is that someone starts a sentence and then the rest of the group contributes words or phrases.  After one week, this is a mini-version of what our core staff had to say…

  • GCE is … a new high school, dynamic, with integrated learning, and progressive education, with an amazing staff. Building bridges. From Chicago to Rio, from local to global. From the community to the self and the self back to the commmunity. From the streets to the moon [we were having fun by now :) ]
  • Our curriculum is… innovative, interactive, inquiry-based, imaginative, inspiring, internal and external, evolving, interdisciplinary, international, interconnected.
  • In PD this week, we learned about… ourselves, each other, our struggling financial system. Basecamp, dropbox, rss feeds, twitter, facebook, habits of mind, project based learning, eye contact with strangers, how to walk in the streets, ice-breakers, the cheese, guiding questions, how to use film as a journal entry.
  • GCE students will be able to… think for themselves, rock the world, generate meaningful questions, relate disciplines to themselves and others, regulate the rhythm of their day, think globally, demonstrate empathy, figure out how they think and learn, build bridges.
  • Families should be able to… understand our mission, trust us, learn from their children, grow the idea of home, become part of GCE community, participate in and share the GCE vision. Parents will re-enter their learning mode and want to attend gce as an adventure. Become ambassadors of GCE.
  • This week we’ve felt… inspired, anxious, excited, overwhelmed, meshed, drained, can’t turn off, worried about how i walk, engaged, on the brink, responsible, conscious, challenged, accomplished, faithful, creative, connected, invested, more interested in everyone else.
  • Next week we will continue to… write a lot, build upon what we’ve started, create curriculum, clarify steps and processes, identify roles, improve email systems, organize and connect write-boards. Create more projects. Sync tools. Establish deadlines. Extend our mission and vision into the community. Do more yoga. Move more. Eat fewer cookies.