Activity Period Suggestions

If all goes well, we should be back on campus (in some capacity) in the fall. With that said, it must be acknowledged that activity periods, assemblies, and events held in the auditorium are not going to look the same. How would it be possible to put the entire high school and NCS community in an auditorium while all students enjoy their widespread social circles outside of school? 

If the NCS schedule is not altered due to Covid-19, we have an hour and a half reserved every Thursday for activity period. As we all know, typically this involves a speaker or some special event in the auditorium. I suggest, instead, that we use this time for small groups and education. 

The student body has a breadth of interests that are not confined to the classes offered at NCS. Similarly, the teachers have a wide range of expertise which they do not have the ability to show during class time. For example, does everyone know about Dr. Koss's skills in Spanish and philosophic intelligence? What about Mr. Lamas' background in journalism?

Through activity periods, we have the unique opportunity to dive into our instructors' academic interests. Instead of putting 200 students into the auditorium, why not, maybe once a month, offer mini-master classes from teachers? Mrs. Jones could host a play read for theatre students, and coding club members could work some problems. 

I understand that students are involved in a multitude of activities, so this may force students to choose one "class" to go to. For that reason, maybe teachers could divide up weeks so that each teacher has the opportunity to take a break and perhaps just listen rather than leading the activity period group. 

This is a really fresh suggestion that I have not fleshed out whatsoever, but I think that this could be a fun way to learn if we cannot bring in speakers or gather in the auditorium like normal.

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