What’s recently happening at Asbury Park High School?
Student drawings
First, I would like to mention is Mr. David Wronko’s, history teacher, student artist, Katherine Avila-Roman, did a fantastic job with her new dino drawing which will now appear in Prehistoric Times Magazine issue 148.
In addition, other artists will also have their dino drawings in the magazine as well and they are Sirius Antiago, Nyshaun Peten, Matthew Ramirez – Flores, Laraah Owens, William Cifuentes-Hernandez, John Kenley Milien, Julio Alicea, Berenise Tepetitla, and Danay Tacuba-Morales. Congratulations to all those students and their artistic talents.
Project My Voice
Ernest Anemone, actor, lawyer, and lecturer is helping Mr. David Wronko’s students advance their action civics project by getting them involved in film. Mr. Anemone’s, Project My Voice, Project My Voice Film Festival, gives young students the skills and knowledge to put together their own film.
Currently, Mr. David Wronko’s students got a nice warm up to their project as they presented it to the VFW veterans. From there, Mr. Anemone and Mr. Wronko hope the students can then take their training from Project My Voice and expand it into a documentary which will be a part of the January 15, 2024 Film Festival.
The following is an outline of the Civics Project in which the students are currently working on.
ASBURY PARK: CIVIC LEADERS OF AMERICA
Social Studies Standard 6.1 U.S. History: America in the World: All students will acquire the knowledge and skills to think analytically about how past and present interactions of people, cultures, and the environment shape the American heritage. Such knowledge and skills enable students to make informed decisions that reflect fundamental rights and core democratic values as productive citizens in local, national, and global communities.
Objective: Students will be involved in improving life in their community in regards to the environment (houses damaged by storms, flooding, recycling, remote learning problems) homelessness, gun control and crime, and covid 19 (how to encourage others to get vaccinated, helping people and their mental health).
Project: Students will be placed into separate committees:
⦁ Environment
⦁ Homelessness
⦁ Gun Control and Crime
⦁ Covid 19
Stage One: When students are placed into their committees, they must conduct research regarding their subject in how it relates to Asbury Park. Students will research problems pertaining to their topic that may exist in their community. Once the problems are identified students will create an action plan to help the community improve in that following area. The action plan will be based on the local level and will include the following:
⦁ Creating a solution to the problem.
⦁ Writing letters to local politicians such as the mayor and state representatives to the district. Also, students will be encouraged to make phone calls to their local officials. In addition, students will be encouraged to invite public speakers to a zoom conference or in person discussion.
⦁ Informing the community regarding the problem and how it can be corrected. This could be done through creating a film, flyers based on an idea or project, and presentations.
3a. Creation of a project: Materials
3b. Who is funding your project and why?
3c. How will your project benefit the community and why?
Root Cause of the problem
Action: How will this problem be solved? How will this help your community?
The Solution: Did this work or should another action be developed?
Stage Two: Once students have taken action on the local level and their idea appeared to be successful, then they will take it to the state level and propose a bill so that the entire state could benefit from their process. Creating a bill will require the following:
⦁ Begin with the Preamble.
⦁ Write the Body of the Bill.
⦁ Finish with an Enactment Clause.
Once the bill is finished, students will then write to their state senators to see if their bill will be presented and passed in the state senate.
Stage Three: Students will present their idea on an international level through the use of video conferencing with Ghana and other participating countries.
Stage Four (Federal level): Students will write to Senator Booker and Senator Menendez and explain to them what they are trying to do with their community and the state in regards to their topic. Then they will ask if they can be represented in congress through the creation of their proposed bill.
At the end of the project students will identify what kind of citizen they were in this process. They will also use their experience and apply it to reviewing the following:
⦁ Three Branches of Government: Legislative, Executive, Judicial, branch
⦁ The United States Constitution
⦁ Bill of Rights
Rubric:
Active Participation: Participation for this project is required every day. Students will be graded through their participation and understanding of this process at the local, state, and federal level.
Keep reading because more is still to come!
