In this episode of Sage Studio, ASB Director/Education Advisor Brenda Ramirez, and Education Advisor and History Teacher, Danny Levin discuss the exciting activities and excursions available to high school students at Sage Oak Charter School. Brenda shares her vision of building strong relationships and friendships within the high school community. She focuses on offering students the opportunity to experience typical high school events and milestones while maintaining the unique independent study structure of Sage Oak.
Danny joins the conversation and expresses his passion for community building and seeing students grow outside of the classroom. He highlights the impact of using the app Discord to connect with students, which has significantly increased student involvement and excitement for events. Brenda praises Danny's dedication and involvement, emphasizing how it positively influences student engagement with the program.
The hosts delve into the philosophy behind offering these events and excursions, with Brenda emphasizing the importance of building relationships and friendships among students who are often geographically dispersed. They discuss how these activities go beyond traditional classroom learning, providing students with opportunities to learn through labs and experiences. Brenda specifically mentions the annual Catalina trip, an engaging science biology trip that exposes students to hands-on learning and fosters relationship building.
Overall, this episode highlights the efforts of Sage Oak Charter School to create an inclusive and engaging high school experience for their students. The hosts emphasize the importance of community building, friendship, and providing opportunities for students to connect with their peers. They showcase the commitment of staff members like Brenda and Danny in organizing these events and excursions that contribute to the overall success and satisfaction of the high school program.
To learn more about the high school program and the exciting events offered by Sage Oak Charter School, visit the website at www.sageoak.education.
Thank you for listening to the Sage Studio podcast presented by Sage Oak Charter Schools and hosted by Tiffiny Webster, M.A.Ed. We invite you to follow the show and leave your review below. Sage Oak Charter Schools is an independent study nonclassroom based TK-12 personalized learning public charter school serving students in Southern California. Visit sageoak.education for more information.
Sage Oak Website
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
In this episode of Sage Studio, ASB Director/Education Advisor Brenda Ramirez, and Education Advisor and History Teacher, Danny Levin discuss the exciting activities and excursions available to high school students at Sage Oak Charter School. Brenda shares her vision of building strong relationships and friendships within the high school community. She focuses on offering students the opportunity to experience typical high school events and milestones while maintaining the unique independent study structure of Sage Oak.
Danny joins the conversation and expresses his passion for community building and seeing students grow outside of the classroom. He highlights the impact of using the app Discord to connect with students, which has significantly increased student involvement and excitement for events. Brenda praises Danny's dedication and involvement, emphasizing how it positively influences student engagement with the program.
The hosts delve into the philosophy behind offering these events and excursions, with Brenda emphasizing the importance of building relationships and friendships among students who are often geographically dispersed. They discuss how these activities go beyond traditional classroom learning, providing students with opportunities to learn through labs and experiences. Brenda specifically mentions the annual Catalina trip, an engaging science biology trip that exposes students to hands-on learning and fosters relationship building.
Overall, this episode highlights the efforts of Sage Oak Charter School to create an inclusive and engaging high school experience for their students. The hosts emphasize the importance of community building, friendship, and providing opportunities for students to connect with their peers. They showcase the commitment of staff members like Brenda and Danny in organizing these events and excursions that contribute to the overall success and satisfaction of the high school program.
To learn more about the high school program and the exciting events offered by Sage Oak Charter School, visit the website at www.sageoak.education.
Thank you for listening to the Sage Studio podcast presented by Sage Oak Charter Schools and hosted by Tiffiny Webster, M.A.Ed. We invite you to follow the show and leave your review below. Sage Oak Charter Schools is an independent study nonclassroom based TK-12 personalized learning public charter school serving students in Southern California. Visit sageoak.education for more information.
Sage Oak Website
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Welcome to another episode of Sage Studio. I'm Tiffiny Webster, and today we are talking all things fun in high school. I am so excited about this conversation with Brenda and Danny. So welcome both to the show. So glad to have you here today. Thank you. Brenda, why don't you start the conversation? Remind everybody what your role is here at Sage Oak before we start talking about all the great things that you have planned for high school this year. So my role this year is student success support, ASB, student council, and then of course my NCAA. Big, the bigger chunk is definitely the ASB this year. Awesome. So great to have you in that position. I know that you've been doing that for a little while here for Sage Oak and you always bring awesome things to the kids. And how about you, Danny? Welcome to Sage Studio. Tell us about your role with Sage Oak. This is your first time on the podcast. Glad to have you. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for having me. I'm an Education Advisor and a History teacher. This year I'm teaching World History Through Film. So it's a lot of fun. So yeah, that is doing some film buffs to join me. I love that. That's a cool course. I bet you are a popular choice when it comes to taking a course like that. So good. So good to have you here. As Sage Oak is known for, we always offer these great excursions and opportunities for our students, which is so important being an independent study school that we have these opportunities for our students to gather outside of that and really meet each other in person. So we're going to talk to us a little bit first about. Overall, what is the philosophy of offering these? Why does Sage Oak even offer these types of events and excursions to our students? So one of my visions when we started the high school program was for to retain students in our program by offering them some of the things that they used to go back to school for. So friendships Those in person milestone events, things like that, that high schoolers want to experience So building community, building relationships, building friendships was really, the crux of that, giving them a chance to be together in person because they're so far apart. So many of them. For sure. I think that is such a need. And I think that you've done such a great job. When you first started looking at this idea of trying to build community within the high school department, did you immediately think, Oh, we have to do things for these kids to get together in person? Or did it start off just as the virtual hangouts? And no, we started we started with the ASB on zoom and then we moved into into trying to have some of those ASB meetings in person in various areas. We've tried lots of things. But having the I don't think it was the very first year, but very soon after where we started saying, Hey, let's figure a way out for kids to get together. How can we do that? And it's just morphed and evolved into so many. I don't think I can remember every way that we've done it, but just figuring it out to see what fits best. Yeah. I love that. Always iterating, always innovating. And actually I have to say that one of the ways that, it really took off this year, and no, I should say last year, is that we added another element. We added Discord. We used to use Edmodo to communicate with the kids, and it just wasn't working. But we started to use this app, Discord, and everything is on Discord with our ASB, and it is the best way to connect with the kids immediately. And because of that, we've gotten so much turnout. We have a hangout tomorrow where we have 40 kids. No way! Yeah. So it's, it really has made a difference with involvement and getting them involved and excited and giving them an opportunity to make friends with each other on that app. I love that. I think that's so great. And I think that it's also great that, has probably, come about by students suggesting how they want to interact with one another. And so the fact that you guys take that feedback in and act on it and give them the way that they connect in a way that. Is meaningful to them. I think it's just awesome. So Danny, I know that Brenda has always had her hand in like the ASB pot why she's been here at Sage Oak. But, you've only been with Sage Oak for a couple years. How did you get roped in all this? Tell us your story there. I'm just a person that likes to be involved. Previously I've done outside activities. I like to see students outside the classroom and I like to build that community. It's very important to me. Just. Seeing students grow and Brenda mentioned the Discord and I know students that met other students without even seeing them just from the Discord. And now they all go to the hangouts. So to see it grow like that, and I just want to be a part of it. That's why I'm always at these events. It's so great. I know Brenda loves talking about your involvement, how much it means to her and to the students. Brenda, tell us a little bit because I know he doesn't want to spill the tea on himself. But we know that Danny is an integral part of this high school department. So go ahead. You sing his phrases. Danny, we hired Danny as an EA and that very first beach party that we had, which was a few weeks in, he showed up. He was there and I was like, wow. It was a brand new job and he has shown up ever since. There's no other way to put it. He has shown up every I asked him and he's I'm there and he is and he's there early. And he he just cares and the kids can tell, that he cares and that it makes a difference, they talk to him, they, and the same with the EAs, we love Danny and we love how much he loves the kids and the program and it just, it radiates. It radiates. It's so great. Really not only are you giving the kids a chance to connect with one another, you're getting to connect as colleagues, but then the kids are getting a chance to see that, wow, you know what? We do really have this support system of teachers who care about us, who care about this program, who care about creating these opportunities for us to get together. So what a win, you guys. So excited to see all of the things that you are bringing. Let's get into that by the way, because I know that there are some good things coming up. So give us an overview of kind of what do you have planned for this year? This is probably, I want to say like year five. That we've done. Catalina took 30 kids this year. We had 30 kids sign up and 20 kids on the wait list. So next year, I think we're going to be opening it up to more students because I think on the first day that trip was full. It is a science biology trip. So there's labs and there's snorkeling and there's just tons of fun. We love it. It gets us out, but the kids are learning. They're engaged. Like Danny said, it's so great for them to learn some things outside of a traditional classroom. They really they really do learn a lot and they do a lot of labs, but then they also build relationships, which is. The other part of that, learning to make friends, they will, in, in the little free time they have, they're, they've brought games, they're playing on the, playing on the grass in front of the dorm card games, beads. This is a perfect example of. This year, some girls brought beads to, to make little necklaces and things like that. Danny sat down and he made an anklet. He sat there. I love it. I love it. The commitment down to the anklet. It's just, again, it speaks so much about the community because I think on its face, if you were to tell people, hey, we're going to take a bunch of kids that don't know each other that well, that work in an independent study program, that don't have a lot of that interaction, except maybe a few opportunities online. We're going to get them together and it's going to work. People will be like, you're crazy. But the way that you guys have set it up, how do you, how do you think that it all comes together like that where it's so comfortable and so easy for these kids to connect? I think for me, the trips, there's always a few kids that don't know other students. And at the beginning, when we're waiting in line, specifically Catalina, waiting in line on that boat for the boat, you can tell they're a little more reserved they're a little shy, and then there's always a handful of students that are very outgoing, just going down the line, hey I'm Danny, nice to meet you, just going through, and then by the time we're on the boat, They're already with three other students. Laughing, having a good time. And then end of the trip, exchanging info and they've made a huge group of new friends and it's the students. I haven't experienced this before in my career that we have a group of a handful of students that just go up to new students and introduce themselves and welcome them very openly. And for me, Brenda talked about earlier my first time at that beach bonfire. That's when I first saw it. There were students walking up by themselves, and right away, these students were welcoming them. Welcome, come hang out with us over here. And I hadn't experienced anything like that before. And that kind of blew my mind and encouraged me to be a big part of this. And specifically, I had seven students on the Catalina trip, and one of my students, I knew he knew no one going in and the boat right home. I was laughing to myself. He was surrounded by new friends, and he was very nervous before the trip, and he's already ready to go again. So it was their great time. Wow, that's pretty incredible. And so impactful in their lives, right? These can actually be very life changing events like that when they get those experiences, and they realize that they can get out of their comfort zone and it works out and even probably works out better than they imagined. Yeah, I wanted to say that one of the things over the years and we had a great team of kids in ASB leadership. And so one of the things that I've been working with and what I try to work with on that with them is that, we're, you guys are all in the same position, you're all at home learning and, far away from a lot of these things. And so there are kids that, are shyer than others. I was encouraging the kids that are in leadership and some of them themselves were shy, but they would break out of their comfort zone. I'd say, Hey, go, can you go say hi to that person? They're alone. Can and they would do it. And it's become a culture. It's become part of the culture now in the ASB to include other people and to realize, Hey, we're all the same. We all come from a situation where we're at home. And so this is the chance to, make friends along with the fact that I think the Discord app, which was like you said, students suggested. I think that's really what's broken the barrier, it's to really make friends and make build that community. We saw it last year in graduation in the ceremony. I was just up on the stage watching these kids cheering each other on when they were getting their diplomas. And I thought that's what that was my dream was to see these kids graduate with their friends because you get in line and you make friends. Cross the stage for your mom in your, in your cap and gown okay, I did it. What I wanted to see was friendships develop, give them time to do that. And then when they graduate, they're graduating with their friends. And I really feel like last year was the first year we've really hit that on the head. That's so great. It's really great to see. I think that's such a beautiful thing. And I'm so glad that we're seeing that. what's the next field trip that's on the agenda? The next there's Pally. Okay. That, that's a leadership camp for high school. that is a camp that we set up when the rest of our program K through eight goes for science. We take the kids up for as many from ASB as possible, but just. It's just an opportunity to bond and team build. So they go through a lot of team building activities up there and helping each other. And again, it might just be some kids from the high school. They may not be in leadership, but it is that opportunity for them to work together, collaborate, that kind of thing. So they do things like, climbing wall and they do specific, kinds of discussion and things like that. And they work with the leadership at Pali that helps them with working together, and collaborating. So we enjoy that. There's about 15 kids going this year in that trip. That is such a great trip and I love that it is so leader centered. Do you see the kids making that connection between the challenges that they might be facing in a ropes course or a physical team activity to how that might show up when they're having conversations or discussions or having to work through things? Do you see them making that connection? In my experience, you can really see it in the conversations that they're having. they're bringing up topics specifically to have them express their opinions and to discuss what's going on. and how they would think about that. But that's to build, empathy and acceptance and things like that. So really working through that, I think having those kinds of deep conversations is awesome for them. For sure. What a powerful experience. Okay. Now talk to us about Sacramento. This is a fast and furious field trip. Talk to us a little bit about what that means. We go to the Capitol. It's definitely a history community civics type of trip. We have the kids write to their representatives from their area and reach out to them and say, Hey, we're going to be in town. Are you going to be there? Can we meet you? And then they give us a tour. we have lunch. And then we have a college tour. So we either go to Sac State or we go to UC Davis. This year we're hoping to get to UC Davis. We usually fit a museum in there somewhere, something cultural. And then we'll go to Old Town. Meals are included. So it's a long day, but it's a round trip, one day trip. I love that. I know the big one that comes up every year is the one to Washington, D. C. So tell us about what is coming up and what we can expect with Washington, D. C. Nonstop nonstop action. Once we get to D. C. We'll meet our tour guide and then we're on the go. We're always doing something. This is a great trip. I highly recommend it if the chance comes up, but especially if you're into history, we see so many of the different monuments so many of the different sites. We do a college tour this year. We're going to go to America University. But if you look at our itinerary, it's jam packed. Seeing students experience these monuments that helped found our country, seeing these cool universities that we get to visit, and hearing the students start talking about, I think I would go here. And then open their eyes to see all these other universities, these other opportunities that are not just based in California. Yes, California is great. But there's a whole world out there and like all of our trips. It's just another opportunity to grow that community and for students to meet. Other students that they might not have got the chance to meet and grow new friendships. this year is a shortened trip. We we're going to do a four, three night, four day trip this year so that it gives the kids an opportunity to have weekends on the either side of spring break. So it is break. And that is that we're trying that this year. We are trying that this year. But like Danny said, we're going this year. We're going to try to go to American in the past. We've been to Georgetown, which I didn't get to see, but Danny and another chaperone took the kids on that college tour. And then, just the typical things, but then also this year, we're going to go to Gettysburg, which we've not done ever. So we're going to, we're going to drive over to Gettysburg and see that battlefield from the Civil War. So exposing them to all of that, but it is definitely a shorter trip but packed. Yeah, they're busy. We're busy. I know it's a lot. It's a lot in a few days, but wow, what a trip of a lifetime. So good. So good. If our families want to know more about all these field trips and excursions and the great things that you have going on, where is the best place to find that information? Our high school updates. It's on the website, so they can definitely go to the website. Unfortunately, as of today, those trips are closed. Our hope is that next year we will be doing this earlier so that families can plan ahead of time for the funding from their budget. They can use school funds for these trips. And they can also use out of pocket and a combination or a nation depending on the cost. We're really trying to make it so that it's affordable for them. But the website is the best place always to go. And if obviously go to your EA and ask them, about the trips. Always a good place to start. Thank you so much for both being on the podcast today. It's great to hear this community that you're building, these opportunities that you're providing our students. I know that not only is it exciting for our high school families, but I think the families that are coming up too, it gives them something to look forward to once their kids are in high school. And I will definitely put a link in the show notes to the website so you can go and check out more information on these still trips. Danny, Brenda, it's been a pleasure. Thanks so much for joining me today. Have a good one. Tiffiny. Enjoy your trips. Safe travels, you guys. Have a fun time. All right.