Jenny's Blog & Genius Hour Journey

This week was a tough one for me.  I was sick and just not able to balance everything thrown at me.  My school started a new semester so the folks I needed to consult for my project were not available.  Although this week was not all that eventful, I was able to create my proposed infographic and compile a decent list of resources.  I was able to connect with the SERT at my school to discuss transition planning from the inclusive services side.  I also reached out to a Grandview Family that serves on a parent advisory panel regarding helping guide disabled grads to navigate their next steps in life.  I spent some time playing with www.canva.com for both my infographic and my TedTalk Presentation - both audio and visual components.  I really learned a lot about their site and the many options for exporting when you’re finished a project. See my TedTalk here !! Sneak peak of my infographic: Up this week:  polishing off my infographic and making my...

This week’s genius hour was very difficult to navigate.  Unfortunately, my meeting with the transition counsellors was cancelled due to a situation at the school.  While we plan to connect soon, a date has not been set and likely will not occur before my genius hour project timeline is up. Since my goal is ultimately to create a working document for future use,  I decided to focus some of my time this week on compiling/reviewing other resources (paper and web),making some phone calls, researching a visually appealing design for my project (thank you Canva!), thinking about my own personal “growth-mindset”, inspiring hope to students and reading up on connecting with students/at-risk youth.  Sounds like a lot.  It is. But every single second has been rewarding. S creen shot from my www.canva.com account As luck would have it… I answered the phone today and ended up speaking to someone from a local agency which is an outreach service that supports at-risk youth i...

Wow, what a week. Work/Life/School balance is tough when you’re essentially doing 3 full time jobs. My little dude turned 5 on Friday.  Teachers college workload was a bit heavier than last week, and my job is super busy during the day. HOWEVER, I can say that I was really inspired by how my week turned out as a whole and the progress I was able to make on the Genius Hour project. The good news is I was able to have a conversation with the school principal about my genius hour and gathered some of her thoughts on the subject. She gave me a pile of board specific publications to pursue for inspiration.  I met with two social workers (separately) that support the population in my school. Both are sending me some resources to review and consider for our school specific project.  I also had time to chat with our school SERT about my project.  We brainstormed about how my project will serve the students of the school and also how we can focus on the inclusive services are...

Welcome to the blog of @MsJCantwell - Teacher Candidate.   I am so happy you have stopped by to see what my project is all about!  This experiential learning project was designed by our profs to help us learn and navigate various online webtools. Our project is called GENIUS HOUR and the outline of our project requirements can be found  HERE! The concept of GENIUS hour is to essentially follow a passion, learn something new and share this expert skill/gift with others. My GENIUS HOUR question is: How can I support DASS “finish-line” high school students after graduation in their transition to adulthood? WHY? I chose this topic because I have a very personal connection to the research required for this project outcome. While inquiring to the school about community support information, for a student who was graduating, I found out that the school did not currently have a resource to provide to graduates. I immediately knew I had to do something to help! My goal f...