Honor+Roll_2009

Charlie, JP, Kyle, Jeremy ** 1) ****Introduction to the problem** 1)The problem which we have chose to address was the current honor roll system which is in use at North Kingstown high school. This system bases honor roll on having an 85 accumulative average out of 100. We believe that a GPA system based out of 3.0 out of 4 would benefit the students more.

2) First, we came up with the idea of amending the current honor roll system to a 3.0 out of 4. We then researched what other local schools based their honor roll out of. We found that many schools used a certain type of GPA to determine their honor roll. We then set up two meetings with the guidance counselors at North Kingstown high school (Mrs. Sweet and Mrs. Normand). We were able to express our ideas and beliefs on the honor roll system. Our idea was unfortunately denied.
 * 2) ****Strategies employed**

3) We unfortunately were not able to achieve our goal of amending the current honor roll system, however, we also proposed the idea of rounding up the accumulative average. For example, a student with an average of 84.85 would not make honor roll, but when rounded up to an 85, the hard working student would make honor roll.
 * 3) ****Outcomes of the project**

John Adley Democracy Reflection 5/19/09
 * 4) ****Reflections on the Project**

After completing this project, I fell as if I have a better grasp on how a democracy functions. I learned that our freedom to speech allowed the group and I to come up with ideas and pitch those ideas to people of higher status within the school. I also learned that a democracy allows for collaborative work to take place. It induces open minded policies which can be amended through the interests of the people who are affected by these policies. After completing this project, I have found that I am personally able to make a difference with the policies which affect me and my peers. I noticed that I am able to effectively communicate ideas in a way which is easy to understand. Finally, I also learned that working well with others can make a huge difference in success. Cooperative learning and interactions enables ideas to be brought forth in an effective way, increasing the chance of their use in a practical way. Kyle Hoegen Democracy Reflection 5/19/09 From doing this project I have discovered a lot about democracy. I learned that the freedom of speech was the key to allowing us to challenge the views of others in order to improve the quality of a particular thing, in this case the honor system at North Kingstown High School. Through the process of this project I have discovered that I can make a difference in my community, whether that be the school I attend, the town I live in, the state I live in, and so on. By cooperating with others we make it possible to make change for the better. Cooperative learning allows for all different perspectives to be shared and taken into consideration while individual learning only allows for one. I found that this form of learning is much more effective as learning as an individual.

a) Each portfolio must include a minimum of one artifact from each of the following sub sections. You should include all artifacts that were actually created and you may also add ones which you did not use but could have used.  i)  __ Public Education __ (1) Leaflets, Flyers, Posters, (2) Newsletters (3) Reports (4) Public Hearings, Candidates nights (5) Film or video screenings (6) Internet, blogs, Pod casts ii) __ Direct Action __  (1)  Boycotting/Buycotting  (2)  Picketing  (3)  Demonstrations and Protests  (4)  Strikes  (5)  Nonviolent Civil Disobedience  iii)  __ Citizen Lobbying __ (1) Writing a bill & finding a sponsor (2) Testifying at committee hearings (3) Persuading Legislators iv) __ The Media __  (1)  Letters to the Editor  (2)  Op-Ed Articles  (3)  Earning Media in Feature Articles  (4)  Call-in shows/ Guest Shows  (5)  PSAs  (6)  Radio Shows  (7)  News Releases / News Conferences  (8)  Media Events  b)  For group with 3 or less members there must be one entry per category c) For groups with 4-6 members there must be two entries per category  d)  for groups with more than 6 members there must be three entries per category c) All media productions (audio or video) should be saved on a CD/DVD and should have descriptions entered into the Appendix  d)  All contributors to your project should be credited
 * 5) ****Appendix: Ways of Acting**
 * e) **** All portfolios should be added to http://nkdemocracyproject.wikispaces.com **