Monthly Themes Chosen and Promoted By AHS Departments

Monthly+Themes+Chosen+and+Promoted+By+AHS+Departments

20140911_065424-1At the beginning of this school year, Arrowhead Union High School initiated a monthly theme chosen and directed by a specific department. This month’s theme is tolerance, and it is directed by the World Language Department.

Both North and South faculty and students are selecting and participating in each month’s activities. According to Spanish teacher Kathi Koepke, it is meant to raise awareness for differences of people throughout the world.

According to German teacher Beth Schueth, “Each faculty will have a month throughout the school year.”

The faculty will come up with activities for their students that relate to the theme. It is being run by Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) group.

Throughout the school, there are locker decorations displaying messages related to tolerance in different languages.

One decoration says the following: “Jeder lacht in der gleichen Sprache.” This means “Everyone laughs in the same language” in German.

Many other languages and quotes are used on other signs. Koepke says that the Gay Straight Diverse Alliance Club helped create hallway posters and a banner that students will sign. By signing this, students will be pledging to be tolerant of others.

In addition to this, the World Language faculty will be selling t-shirts with a tolerance phrase on it. All World language teachers are managing the orders. They are being sold for $10.00 each and should arrive with in two weeks, says Koepke.

“They promote tolerance and acceptance,” says Koepke.

Not only are there visual aspects of the project, but there are are also verbal aspects. Each day, over the announcements, a student from a world language class says one of the quotes found on the locker decorations.

Schueth also says next week students will hear the Chinese phrases and the week after next will be German phrases.

In the announcements, students give the translation in order for everyone to understand the true meaning.

The word of the week is also announced and this week it was tolerance. The word of the week is chosen and then throughout the week, students hear the definition and can enter a slip in the library for a chance to win a prize.

Schueth says, “We thought that we could teach about different cultures and different countries that would go with the word tolerance and the Arrowhead Way. That is what we do as well.”

Students practice the Arrowhead Way daily. The Arrowhead Way asks students to be appropriate, respectful and responsible. By being respectful to others students are therefore respecting their differences.

Koepke said the goal of the monthly theme project is to increase an overall understanding within Arrowhead and throughout the entire world.

Koepke says, “We hope that students see that the world is very diverse and that we need to be open minded and tolerant of everyone.”