OBJECTIVE:
Welcome everyone back to their Next Gen space and further establish bonds and norms.
REQUIRED PREP:
Transform your room – Next Gen sessions should be different from typical classes — change the rooms seating order, and get ready for your first session!
Opening - 5 mins max
Goal: Practice the ritual, and build team cohesion.
Opening Huddle: DO YOUR RITUAL
Opening Ritual: Review the opening ritual that was created last session, and conduct it with the cohort. Teach the ritual to any new students who have joined or missed the last session.
Activity 1: Creating our Senior Day Vibe - 15 minutes
Goal:Discuss student expectations and learn how the space can be comfortable for everyone.
It’s no secret that senior year can be a lot! That’s why this year in Next Gen will look a little different. Once a month we’ll take a break from the stress of senior year and just have a senior day. We can use this day to get work done, like applications, or late assignments, or we can just create a vibe to escape the stress. What’s it going to be? Lead a discussion on how your cohort can create a safe space. As a group discusses the following questions
- When you attend Next Gen sessions, what do you want it to feel like?
- What do we want our monthly Senior Days to look like?
- What can we do to make sure you don’t skip Senior Day sessions?
- How are we going to keep each other accountable to show up all year long?
- What expectations/rules should we set to ensure that we can get the work of senior year done and still practice self-care?
Feel free to play music during the brainstorming and take note of what student preferences are, and plan to incorporate in the next activity.
Activity 2: Family Rules - 25 mins
Goal: Set the cohort expectations for the year.
Create family rules based on the answer to the questions above. If there are more than 4 rules or expectations shared, have students work collaboratively to select the 4 family rules to put on their student behavior contract.
Once family rules have been established as a group review the cohort agreement and sign.
Select someone to take notes on the board, and take a photo of the family rules for later reference. Have a student document the 4 selected rules on the student contract and have the entire class sign.
Hang the cohort contract up for reference throughout the year.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!
NEXT GEN HAS LAPTOPS YOU CAN RESERVE FOR SENIOR DAYS TO GET WORK COMPLETE! – YOU MUST MAKE A RESERVATION AND YOU CAN’T TAKE THEM HOME. BUT IF YOUR COHORT NEEDS A LAPTOP DURING SESSIONS, RESERVE THEM NOW!
SENIOR DAYS & RESERVATIONS START IN OCTOBER.
Closing - 5 mins
Closing Huddle: Feel free to play light background music to generate energy!
- Remind everyone of the next meeting.
Closing Ritual: Review the closing ritual that was created last session, and conduct it with the cohort.
