News
PAGE 5
Sept. 2 2016
New freshman course provides ‘gateway’ into life at Cathedral for upcoming years BY LAUREN SMITH, SARA KRESS AND CHANDLER WATSON With a mission to form unity among the Freshman Class, Mr. Dennis Thomas, vice principal for academics, and a committee of teachers, created a required class for freshmen known as the gateway course. This class encourages freshmen to develop relationships with each other, as well as their teachers, and to integrate them into the school’s culture. Freshman Zach Gregor said, “I like meeting new people in the class. It’s a good way to use flex time.” Getting to know the school Freshman Gracie Carr said, “We are learning about Cathedral’s past and gaining more knowledge, helping us to know the high school better. (The class) helps us know what Cathedral has to offer us.” Thomas said, “(The freshmen) are going to meet one to two times during flex periods in a seven-day cycle. We are helping our freshmen learn about Cathedral, how we do things here and prepare them for a successful career at Cathedral High School.” He continued, “The gateway class is starting to prepare our freshmen for more inquiry-based learning methods that we are using in our classes.” Mission of the gateway class Mr. Jere Kubuske, one of the course’s teachers, said, “The mission of the class is to try to help kids identify what their strengths and weaknesses are and then to build on both. We also want to give them a foot up on being a student here. In the freshman program, we are going to give (the freshmen) tools that will help them in (their classes).” Carr said, “I think the class is important for those who haven’t had siblings at Cathedral before or are new to the school, so they get more of an understanding of how great Cathedral is.” Engaging in the class To encourage the freshmen to engage in
this class, Kubuske said, “A lot of it is how it’s taught. If you give them a reason why (the course) is important, and you get excited about it with them, you’re kind of helping them with the process. The hope is that they will get into it.” Kubuske said this course is graded pass/ fail, so students will receive credit for participating. “But more than anything else, it’s supposed to be a fun class and a chance for them to get to know other freshmen, get to know other teachers, try new things and be creative,” Kubuske said. This gateway class also affects the teachers. Kubuske said, “The fact that we can set this foundation for (the freshmen) also helps the other teachers as we go forward. We are very unique that way. We have our unique challenges but our unique opportunities too.” The benefit of the gateway class is that all the freshmen, who come from different middle schools, are receiving the same knowledge to improve learning. Working together Mr. Adam Hibshman, another one of the course’s instructors, said, “(The freshmen) will gain some confidence that they are part of a community of new students.” Kubuske said, “(The freshmen) will get to work on teamwork, collaboration, problem solving and design thinking. At the same time, they are going to gain an appreciation for Cathedral, what Cathedral is and what we’re about.” The freshmen’s first project focuses on the school’s 99-year history. Bringing unity to the Class of 2020 Mr. Matt Panzer, another facilitator for this class, said, “(I’m looking forward to) just seeing what the freshmen come up with and what they make of (the class). It will be unique to see what kind of products they are able to assemble and what that really says about them.” He continued, “I think it’s a really forward thinking kind of effort in the right place
thing for Cathedral to do something like this. Often times, it might feel that freshmen could feel a little bit left out and uncertain of each other, and now we are finding a way for them to spend time together. Hopefully this will just kind of help the class become one and unify them.” Carr said, “I think having this class will make a lot of students feel more comfortable about Cathedral.” Both teachers and students shared their
thoughts on how this course will aid students in the upcoming year. Hibshman said, “The first year is going to be fun to see how it goes, and I think this will help students find out how they fit into Cathedral.” Kubuske said, “It’s been a long process to get to here, and we didn’t want to rush it. I think it’s definitely something that if done right and done well that could become a big benefit to the kids and to the school as
Mr. O’Hara teaches freshmen gateway class Wednesday during flex period. Photo by Evan Schoettle
Freshman Gracie Carr and other classmates pay close attention in the gateway class taught by Mr. O’Hara. Photo by Evan Schoettle
“I think the class is important for those who haven’t had siblings at Cathedral before or are new to the school, so they get more of an understanding of how great Cathedral is.”
Freshman Gracie Carr