Bulldog PRIDE is a phrase we use to describe the community values of San Rafael High School.  For our second training project this year, we decided to do 30 second spots, devoted to PRIDE—Personal Responsibility, Respect, Integrity, Diversity and Excellence.  We created the project as an “iron chef” round.  In these training rounds, students are given the tools they need, specific content they must communicate, and VERY LITTLE TIME to work. We’ve discovered that this kind of structure is very effective for ensuring that the students learn to work together.

METHOD: Students were broken into 10 groups, each group made up approximately half seniors and half juniors.  Each group was assigned one of the five values.  We gave them 20 minutes to discuss, brainstorm, and settle on an idea.  Then we broke them up again.  Seniors were given 45 minutes to create a screenplay–while the juniors trained on equipment in the other room.  Then the kids switched rooms.  The juniors, with nothing other than the screenplay handed off to them, created an AV script that would guide the video shoot.  Our hope here was to drive home the need for clarity in communication and planning.  It worked.  The next day we met with the kids, they were given two periods to shoot their video.  And, finally they were given a class period to edit.

GROUP SKILLS DEVELOP: Students found it necessary to pay attention to each other, communicate effectively and efficiently, and organize their time well.  As we hoped, the whole academy demonstrated that its prepared to meet many of the challenges of a larger and more complicated project. On this Wednesday, students presented their work to a faculty committee that will determine whether or not to use the work as part of a PRIDE promotional campaign on campus.   Our students took pride in the fact that their work would be evaluated by faculty outside the academy, and broadcast to the whole school.  Once work has been broadcast for the school, it will be posted on this page!