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PowerSchool
Adolescent 3
Research indicates that students learn best when material is presented within a thematic construct so students and teachers frequently connect ideas and skills among A3 courses.
Key experiences
Fall Trip
After three weeks of classes, all students take a break from the classroom to immerse themselves into the out of doors and experiential learning. 11th and 12th graders have different focuses to their last years in high school, so will have two unique weeks. While both experiences will include academic focused work, each will challenge students in different ways. 11th grade students will visit a combination of private and public colleges in the Duluth area as well as have some outdoor challenging activities. 12th grade students will participate in a 4 1/2 day outdoor adventure with Wilderness Inquiry, a non-profit wilderness outfitter based in Minneapolis. Students will paddle in the Apostle Islands by day and participate in leadership activities by night. The fall experience for both grades includes an opportunity to travel, camp, live, work and study together.
Spring Intensives
Spring Intensives revolve around the interests and planning by students with faculty support during the last eight days of school in June. Students will return from their fall trip to begin planning these activities. They may be based in the Twin Cities, a music or art intensive with some time here and some on the road, or a backpacking or bicycle trip where students are gone the entire time. Working together as a group here or on the road will strengthen the community that has been forming all year long. If students are involved with a spring intensive that includes travel of over 500 miles, they will be responsible for fund raising as part of the planning.
Core Curriculum
Course Offerings: Core classes, English, math, science and history, will be taken by all students. Each of the core classes are offered by grade level as they often cover a two year curriculum.
Core Classes include IB English, Science (IB Environmental Systems of Society), History and math. Math classes offered: Algebra II, Math Studies (IB), IB Math I and IB Math II. 11th Grade History is IB History of the America’s; 12th grade history is IB 20th Century History.
Students also choose at least 2 electives. IB courses might be a one or two year course depending on their level.
Course Catalog for 2011-2012
Graduation Requirements
Weekly Schedule
Each morning for the first 15minutes of the day. Students meet in small groups with their advisor. They have the same advisor for both years in A3. For the rest of the morning, Adolescent 3 students largely determine their own weekly schedule. Each Monday, students sign up for their required core classes offered from 8:45 to 12:25. During this time, they will either be in a class or in independent work time. If a student needs some extra help, has a group class project or wants an extended time period to work on a paper, they can arrange their schedule to have time to do it during the morning. After a 25 minute lunch, students have two electives.
Creativity, Action and Service (CAS)
All GRS students participate in CAS which originally comes from the International Baccalaureate Program. Consistent with Great River School’s core value of learning in the broadest sense, CAS activities allows students to nurture opportunities for self-expression including artistic and imaginative activities, be physically active and give service to their community. Whether or not students are pursuing the IB Diploma, all students are required to participate in CAS.
Each Wednesday afternoon, many A3 students leave school for a CAS activity they have set up. It might be to go paint a mural or work with an artist (creativity), work out at the local Y or gym or practice for a sports team (action) or go to their regular volunteer job in a local organization (service) – an internship or volunteer commitment. While organizing their CAS activities is ultimately the student’s job, advisors and teachers are available to help students come up with ideas and contacts. Each A3 student must complete 3 – 4 hours of CAS each week after setting goals and finishing with a reflection about their experience. There are some opportunities are available at school for doing service but students are encouraged to seek out activities for which they are passionate in the wider community.
Each student is assigned an advisor for the two years they are in A1. This teacher is the first point of contact for any issues, academic or social, students or parents/guardians might have. To identify the advisor for your student, please go to Power School and find the teacher assignment under the Advisory Class period on their Bell schedule.
Communication
Teacher emails: For individual teacher’s emails, please refer to the Faculty Directory to the right.
A3 Classjump websites: Each of the A3 faculty have a website with assignments and information relevant to their classes. Students can use this website to find resources and information to keep them on top of each class. The following are the websites for each teacher:
Melanie Peterson-Nafziger (IB World History): classjump.com/greatriverschoolhistory/
Nelson Inz (History of the Americas): http://classjump.com/Nelsons/
Andrea Christensen (IB English I & 2): classjump.com/andreaa3english/
Michael Flood (math): classjump.com/GRS-IdeaLab/
Sheila Sullivan (Science):
Enrique Garita (Spanish): classjump.com/worldlanguagespanish/