Our Classroom is our Workplace

In Learning 4Life Success, our classroom is our workplace.

Jaden has an excellent grasp of
place value. He also follows all
the Workplace Expectations.

That means we "earn and learn" in a workplace simulation. We learn how to keep a job. We have five Workplace Expectations for First Quarter:

Tahtaywin adds words to the Word Wall.

1. 90% attendance (because if you have good attendance, your boss wants to keep you and maybe will give you a raise!)

2. SOAR like a wambdi (follow the schoolwide Safety, Ownership, Achievement, Responsibility program)

Period 6/7 has excellent attendance so far. We got our checkbooks today and
we will all get our first "paycheck" next week.

 3. On time (to school, for class/work, with homework and assignments)

We "clock in" on time.
Otherwise, our time card shows red!

Beneath our main board is our Śuƞginyaƞgkiyapi (traditional pony race).
We've each decorated a horse with meaningful colors or symbols.
We move it ahead in the race each time we complete five days
attendance. The race goes for one quarter. Then we start again.

4. On-task (do what the boss asks you to do; stay focused; refocus when you have to)

Glendean is adding colorful details
to her "Handbook for Adulthood."
Our class is just about done setting it up. 

5. On-Target (do your personal best, stay balanced in your life, "SLANT"*)

Lee is on-target. He's decorating the title page of his "Handbook for Adulthood"
By the end of the year, it will be full of advice, plans,
tips, and important information for our life after high school

*We will tell you what SLANT means in a different blog posting.

Already flying!

The first days of school are always hard. 

We opened our school year with prayers. We will do this each Monday morning to start
the week. Friday afternoon, we do a closing.

It is fun to see friends. But it is hard to get up early to get the bus. There is also a lot of confusion because the schedules keep changing. Confusion can be hard.

There are a lot of new rules this year like no personal electronics except at lunchtime. And the no hats and no hoods rule is a hard one also.

Our classroom is a workplace simulation. Simulation means training by doing it.
We have to "punch in" and "punch out" on our real time clock.

So far there are 17 students in Learning 4Life Success classes. We take math. Most of us take Workforce Math 4Life Success. It gets us ready for math at work. In Per 6/7 we are taking Basic Geometry 4Life Success. We get math high school credits if we pass. 

Some of our math is on the computer. We have to keep track of our passwords.

We also take communications. It is also the same thing as English. We will be doing reading, writing, listening and speaking. These are skills we need for being an adult. 

We already started our Word Wall!

So far, we started math by doing a computer program called "MobyMax Math." It is a mix of fun and hard. We also are starting our Handbook for Adulthood. This is a book we will write all this year so we can take it with us. It will have things in it we need for being an adult.

Ready for Launch!

(That's lAUNch, not lunch, silly!)

Welcome to our new school year! We are glad you're here!

As you get ready for success, take some time to click around our program's website. You will see articles from last year, by students and about students who are success stories.

Don't worry- as this year goes by, you will have a chance to be included on our website!

Looking ahead, this year in Learning 4Life Success includes a long list of exciting activities that will help you prepare for YOUR life as an adult. This year, you will have a chance to:

• earn and spend "money" in an adult life simulation
• find out about jobs and careers that interest you
• learn "how to learn". That's a skill that will take you into your future!
• create projects, posters, and multi-media shows
• master a really, really challenging task
• develop skills you will need to succeed at a real job

There's LOTS more. Here is a slide show we will view and discuss during our first week together.