Students Take the Lead on Volts Wednesdays

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This week, we had an amazing first Volts Wednesday in the PGIA. Every Student Life course and club in the IA house was student-led! Our Volts Wednesday program is designed to meet students’ individual needs, both academically and socially/emotionally.  Additionally, it allows students to explore activities and topics they would not typically encounter in school.

Volts Wednesdays occur 10 times each semester, on the Wednesday of five-day school weeks.  All dates can be found on the school calendar.

Photos by Natasha Webster, Lexi Harris, and Dr. Fisher

Mu Alpha Theta A national math honor society led by Zia Zucker and Keighsana Southwell and focused on service.  This group already sent a sign up to other PGIA students offering math tutoring for free.

Cooking Club (led by Kaden Fisher and Micah Auchincloss) Menu planning for upcoming meals!

Girls Club (led by Ve'Niya Callwood, Aysia Frett, A'Mrii Jones) This group is developing a comprehensive proposal and lesson plan, building up an incredible group of young women spanning grades 8-12.

Criminology and Moot Court (led by Alessa Carty) Alessa is teaching a collaborative course for aspiring lawyers where they research and "retry" past and current legal cases. 

Student Media Team (led by Natasha Webster and Lexi Harris) This team contributes to writing and photography for social media and the VOLT newsletter, as well as the school yearbook and support for other communication vehicles.  On Wednesday, they met with Joe, our Communications Coordinator to game plan for the year.

Dungeons and Dragons (led by Miles Broomes).  This interactive fantasy genre game requires students to develop their own scenarios as they compete together.  This eclectic group of students spans grades 6-12.

What happens on Volts Wednesdays?

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Each Wednesday, students and staff both get a chance to focus on learning new skills during Student Life Blocks and the Volts assemblies. Left to right: Students developing new school spirit chant, learning about the college admissions process, practicing jazz at the student music ensemble, and below, VIMSIA staff discusses Universal Development Learning (UDL) principles.

Volts Wednesday was a Smashing Success!

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On August 31, PGIA staff and students hit the ground running (often literally) with “Volts Wednesdays” - a new and expanded version of PGIA’s enrichment Wednesday program. The PGIA team has grown the program to cover a full day of Professional Development, student clubs, community mentorships, and more. It was an amazing day of community building, academic support and extension for students, and learners exploring and pursuing their passions and interests with teachers and community members.

We kicked the day off with advisory, where small groups of students met with a teacher who serves as their academic advisor and mentor.

Our Student Life Blocks included incredible learning outside the typical classroom setting with courses like:

Our 11th and 12th grade students were able to spend part of their day receiving extra support for their higher level classes.

Student Quotes

“I really liked the assembly and my advisory. Honestly, the whole day was really cool and just felt like a break but while still learning something. (11th grade student)” 

“CPR & First aid class was amazing for me (10th grade student).”

“I loved study hall because it gave me more time to review my work (10th grade student).”

“I loved diversity club because I made a new friend and she shared a lot of my passions (7th grade student).”

“I really loved when we were discussing our ideas for the student café as well as the crochet and knitting club. (9th grade student)”

“I loved doing the fitness club and I loved meeting new students (11th grade student).”

“I loved Mr. Fisher rapping, all of my student life blocks, the amount of school spirit and friendliness that we haven't seen in a while, and being able to come to school later. (9th grade student)”

“I loved doing the fitness club and I loved meeting new students (11th grade student).”

“I loved hanging out with friends and having a break from the every day school life. I also loved learning about things that I’m interested in like mechanics. (10th grade student)”

“My advisory was my favorite class since it was simple and relaxed. I enjoyed the break from the stresses of school. (11th grade student)”

“My favorite part was being a Montessori Mentor and working with kids from Primary (9th grade student).”

“I loved volleyball and Japanese club. I also loved study hall before classes started (6th grade student).”

Teacher Quotes

“I loved seeing all of PGIA together and connecting different students with each other.” 

“It was nice to shake things up, see the students do different things in more heterogeneous groups. It was also nice to spend time with my advisory students.”

“I loved being able to share my passion with students.”

“Assembly was great for community building.”