Pride TV Banquet

The Class of 2012 graduated!  And I made it through my first year of teaching.  The first two terms, I was more sick than I have been in a long time.  It took my body some time to get used to being around all those germs you come in contact with at a high school.  By the half-way mark, things were starting to fall into place.  The students in Pride TV worked hard and accomplished great things this year.  I worked with a number of the students (pictured above) as they shot, wrote and edited their pieces for the State High School Film Festival.  Both Entries Lehi Submitted, Placed!!  The students took 1st and 3rd Place at the Film Festival in "News Story".


I am still practicing (over the summer) with another team of students, as they prepare to represent Utah on a National Level in Kansas City at the end of this month.  These four students won State at Skills USA back in March.  They compete in News Broadcasting Production.

We had a fun End-of-the-Year Banquet to remember and honor the students.  Jody came with me, and it was fun for him to see what it's like for me to be Miss Brittany.  I have referred to myself as Mrs. Tait since Day 1.  However, many of the students started calling me Miss Brittany, and it just stuck.  (That is comical to me, because it sounds like I should be teaching pre-school...and many days that's the grade level I felt like I was teaching!)  My Co-Teacher and I awarded the students BAM stars at the Banquet.   These Stars hang in our classroom and show their accomplishments.

Below you can click on the link and watch some of the students do their BEST impression of me.  The funny part of the video is parts of it have sound - but NO video picture.  AHHHHH.  A work in progress...that's how our year has been.

https://vimeo.com/42871801
 

I have wanted this year to be about prepping the students for the real world, and encouraging them that they can make a positive difference.  It is so easy to be mediocre - to just blend in and perform at a average or below average level.  But to be remembered for the right reasons - means you have to work hard and elevate your character.  And I'm not talking directly about quiz scores or AP tests - I'm talking about how you treat people.  

The last week of school a certain girl got called a certain offensive word by a certain boy.  I remember how awful that feeling was being called names in high school and how rumors would fly.  But now, it's so much worse.  

Because students don't just bully face to face - they text it, they tweet it, and they fb it.  

And it hurts. 

As this particular student left the classroom, ready to find a bathroom stall to cry in....I followed her into the hallway.  She told me about her frustrations for being made fun of because of her standards.  And I told her the high road isn't an easy one....but it's worth it, and she's worth it.  We talked some more, and I could tell she felt a little better.  Later that week, she gave me a letter.  It is seriously one of the best gifts I have ever received.  I won't share what she wrote, because it's personal.  But it made me feel like a rockstar - like I truly helped someone.  And that is why I love teaching.  Because so much of meaningful teaching - isn't what's written on the whiteboard.  Cheers to the Class of 2012!