BACK TO SCHOOL
The teachers are back-planning, plotting and scheming to determine the best ways to give students an even better learning experience than last year.
We have a whole new group of teachers added to the mix and I'm learning their faces and names and what subjects they teach. It's going to be really interesting to double the student population. (I thought there were a lot of students here last year!)
Our building was renovated over the summer to make room for all the new students and classes. New carpet, colorful walls and some really cool labs have been added. I love the chemistry and biology labs-the work stations are made of steel pipe and plexiglass. Nothing around here is dull!
Summer planning has spawned ideas for extracurricular projects. The Engineering Club will branch out to include a robotics team. In the past few weeks, several students came to Battelle to attend the first-ever "Pro/Engineer Bootcamp" sponsored by B2e, as the club is called (short for the Battelle Engineering Experience). These Bootcamp graduates will teach other club members the Pro/E mechanical engineering software as they design prototypes.
Also in the works is a Journalism Club, led by Battelle's Melissa Fiala (editor of Battelle World) and author/journalist (and Battelle retiree) Liz Thompson. Be on the lookout for articles written by Metro students this year!
On a sad note, Battelle recently lost a long-time staff member who helped start up the school. Chris Badger helped with student admission interviews and tutoring last school year. He lost his battle with cancer, but his family requested donations in his name to start a scholarship fund at Metro. To know that education, and especially our school, were so important to him means a lot to us here.
--- Posted August 29, 2007---