Blogger Profile: KIERA FISCHER

I am Kiera Fischer, a ninth grade student and a returning blogger. I open enrolled into this school district in 2013. I chose pathways because I was having troubles with a traditional setting. The bells, the non-flexible schedules, the un-inspired kids/teachers just weren't for me. I have found that pathways has created such a great learning environment for me, so I won't be leaving any time soon. I am not afraid of what I will become or where I will go after high school. I have found peace in knowing what my options are and how to get there. The constant support from not only my coaches and pupils, but my community is astounding. One of the great non-academic aspects of this school, is how non-judgemental the learning environment is here. I am free to express myself without being afraid of bullying or harassment. Project based learning has let me use my creative side and really make things my own. This school has brought me so many opportunities that I could have never gotten anywhere else.

Editor's note: Kiera found out this year how tough it is to juggle all your responsibilities, especially in high school. Still, she managed to find time to collaborate on the blog and keep up with her projects!

Blogger Profile: CAITLIN MARSCH

I am Caitlin Marsch, and I am a seventh grader (so it is obviously my first year at Pathways). I do still participate in many co-curriculars at Badger, such as jazz and forensics, among other things, but Pathways has opened a lot of new opportunities for me, not just academically, but socially as well. One of the main aspects that drew me here was the smaller student population, and the project-based learning rather than constant tests and worksheets. After actually attending, though, there were many more things about the school I found appealed to me. The teaching style caters to visual, tactile, and auditory learners, and the social scene caters to both extroverts and introverts. Coming here has helped me come out of my shell and show my true self; i’ve generally always been introverted and shy, so it was difficult for me to make friends, but coming here has made it seem much easier for me to socialize and build strong friendships. So, in short, this school has helped me greatly, both academically and socially.

Editor's Note: Caitlin has been a welcome addition to the blog. She has provided a fresh look at things, and a go getter's attitude.

Blogger Profile: ADAM FEHRING

I am Adam Fehring, one of the original people who started the student run blog. I'm an eighth grade student who you might recognize from an article from last year's peer profile. I love Pathways as it has offered me and others a new start and friends. I've done so much better at this school than at Badger Middle School but it's not for everyone. I am so grateful that this school has opened up and I hope it will go far. Coming here was a giant leap of faith but I'm glad I came here. I was told this school was made for kids like me in mind! I guess that means kids that are good role models, leaders, and are excited about education. That's how I got to be a student at Pathways and I'm never turning back.
By: Adam Fehring

Editor's Note:
Adam has been integral to keeping the blog going this year, and really drove the blog at times when others got caught up with completing projects. His passion to keep people updated about what's happening in our school is to be celebrated! If you see him around, make sure you tell him how much you've enjoyed reading the blog!

Project Review: Economic Isolationism

The last project for the 7th and 8th grade students was a persuasive essay about if the U.S. could practice economic isolationism. The students began by learning the terms they were to use. From that they found that economic isolationism is the act of separating a country economically from every other country. From there, the students had to draw a physical map containing some of the natural resources of a chosen country. This was to help the students understand how the resources are related to the economy and how each country is affected differently by location/geography. The students learned about the pathos, ethos, and logos to incorporate in their essay. That led into the essay in which the students needed to choose a side answering the question, “Could the United States practice economic isolationism?”. They researched the facts and converted it into an essay using ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), logos (logic), and credible sources. That’s what has been happening lately at Pathways.

~Adam Fehring

Guest Speaker: Marissa from Family Promise

The latest guest speaker was Marissa from Family Promise. Family Promise is a shelter that helps people who are homeless, soon to be homeless, or those with very low income that cannot financially support themselves. They take in everyone except for single males. Marissa explained the three different types of housing assistance: shelter, transitional, and rapid rehousing. She also explained how her job ties in with the shelter. Her job within the shelter was to manage the transitional unit and the company finances; and her title is the case manager.

   One of the ways Family Promise is helpful for people is that they take in people with mental illness as long as they're actively working to get better and help make sure that the people can take their medications and attend any health appointments. Another way they help people is that the children can still attend school while under the shelter's assistance, and adults can still get jobs. A third way Family Promise helps people is the three different types of housing assistance I mentioned earlier (shelter, transitional, and rapid rehousing). Marissa also mentioned that the people under the shelter's care can and do develop personal relationships with the workers.

   Whether it's through rehousing or financial support, organizations like Family Promise, and the people who work for them, like Marissa, are helping many people; not just helping them with their housing, but helping them with their futures.

★Caitlin Marsch

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, we did not take a photo of Marissa!

Peer Profile: Sami Ahrens

Name: Sami Ahrens

Age: 14

Grade: 8th

Favorite thing about Pathways: It's project based instead of test based

Favorite project so far: Life Project-Finance Career Cluster

Plans for the future at this point: Car Mechanic~Manufacturing
Fun facts about Sami: This is her second year at Pathways. Her twin brothers attend Pathways too!

Peer Profile: Emily T.

Name: Emily Treusch

Age: 15

Grade: 10th

Favorite Thing About Pathways: the individualized project-based learning.

Favorite (school-assigned) Project so far: the "we built a zoo" project.

Plans for the Future at this Point: Currently plans on 6 years of college to get a degree in psychology to be therapist.

What Projects have you Designed? Favorite? Least Favorite?: Favorite is the mental health presentation, she got to do something she likes and is interested in, least favorite is the argument paper on electroshock therapy because it's dealing with a lot of very negative things people would rather deny

Are you looking forward to any projects?: Health science career cluster projects

Additional comments: I really like the way the 10th graders run things. We look at standards from the state, and decide which ones we can use to make a project. It's a lot of looking at career clusters, then narrowing it down to a few standards and trying to hit them. Eventually you'll build up enough standards and make a project out of them. It doesn't work for everyone, but for some it works very well.

Project Review: Mid East Peace Plan

The last project that the 7th and 8th grade students completed was a Mid-Eastern Conflict Peace Plan. This primarily focused on Israel and Palestine (the center of it all). In social studies, the students had to research the history, what Israel wants, what Palestine wants, and previous ways they have tried to fix this in the past. After gathering all the research, the students got into assigned groups to put together a plan for peace. The presentation needed a creative name, all information gathered, at least six pictures, and everyone from the group's participation. It was ironic that most of the groups had disagreements even though it was a project about peace. In the end, we needed to present in nice clothes to simulate presenting to the government. After the presentations, we were able to question the group’s decisions and the group needed to answer them. English also tied into the concept, as we read a book called Real Time that focused on the perspectives during the conflict, and we did multiple meaningful discussions related to the book. With the project, we got to understand more about the world,  and the possibility to make the peace plan a reality for the future.

~Adam Fehring

★Caitlin Marsch-Editor

Next Project: Xlandia

The country of xlandia has just gotten full control over their government. Their previous government was ruled by a royal family in a dictatorship, but the citizens of xlandia were sick of their reign and decided to overthrow them. The students at Pathways have been hired to form a task force to form a government. This task force will be made up of representatives from many different countries and regions with the research from their own government faults and qualities. Together the students will create a democracy that will work for the country of Xlandia and its diversity.

By: Kiera Fischer

Tenth Grade Room

Coach O'Connor (on right) checks in with the tenth graders on their "On task and standard completion" data to make sure students are pacing as a tenth grader should and strategize on how to continuously improve. 

This year at pathways, the 10th graders were given their own special room to design and make theirs. The 7 tenth graders not only get their own room, but they get to create their own projects. Pathways is based all off standard attainment, and 10th graders have the opportunity to design their own projects to master those standards on their own. For instance Justin Mesick is writing a script for a sitcom that satirizes several popular shows including: Seinfeld, Breaking Bad and Scrubs. Justin designed his project to hit English, Social studies, and science standards by writing the script to also explain specific topics within the show such as freedom of speech and renewable vs. nonrenewable resources. The 10th graders are not monitored at all times; they are to show  “work environment” behavior, and make sure their work gets done. They have daily check ins with their coaches virtually, and face to face check ins as needed. This new addition to Pathways is not only teaching the 10th graders to have a good work ethic but also to take on responsibilities such as time management as they prepare for their future careers.

Justin Mesick and Hayden Waala collaborate on a joint project.
They will be analyzing the marketing strategies employed
 in advertising the film The Lorax while also analyzing its depiction
 of deforestation.

By: Generose Puestow

Project: Roller Coaster Design

Hey viewers, it may have been a while but we bloggers have gotten our groove back on track.You may have already read about this in the West Bend Daily News but recently the Pathways 7th and 8th grade students designed rollercoasters. As part of the Transportation career cluster, we learned about terms such as; kinetic energy, potential energy, inertia, and each of Newton’s Laws. This eventually led to us designing our own roller coasters! As we went through the design process we discovered ways to incorporate a loop, a 90° turn, a jump, and a hill.  We needed to rely only on gravity to have a marble reach the end of the track. After we had a successful design we had to calculate the energy our coasters produced and write a narrative, persuasive, or informative essay. This was to get across the point of view from a rider, a marketer, or an engineer’s perspective. It was challenging incorporating the terms and calculations in our final paper to show the depth of our understanding of the concepts we explored.  All in all, it was a neat learning experience designing a roller coaster.

~Adam Fehring

Samwise Baker and Dylan Olson double check their model's calculations.

Future City Competition

Dylan and Mikhaya present to a group of engineers.

On 1/24/15 Dylan Morris and Mikhaya Tucci competed at the Future City Regional Competition. Having already submitted their Sim City design, and finalized 2 essays, they prepared a 3d model of their city and presented to engineers who assessed their work. They did a great job competing and are definitely excited to take their experience into the competition next year. Dylan Morris confirmed, "It was a great experience because it was challenging and fun at the same time." Mikhaya added that it" helped her with her social skills having to speak in front of different adults." If you see these two, be sure to ask them about this competition!

Dylan and Mikhaya make some last minute revisions to their presentation.

Guest Speaker: Wes Gaedke, West Bend Taxi Service

Wes Gaedke, the Regional Manager for the West Bend Taxi Service, came in on November 20, 2014. Wes explained to the students that the taxi service is more complicated than anyone assumes. There are a copious amount of people that use their taxi service in one day. Commonly it is around 350-500 people with 14 taxis altogether. Of these people, 75% are handicapped or elderly, 8% are students, and the last 17% are any other people. The taxi drivers are their own bosses and in charge of their expenses. They get their assignments from the dispatchers though and whoever is closest gets it.

By: Adam Fehring

Field Trip: Milwaukee County Zoo

Pathways' students studied habitats at the zoo

The first field trip of the school year, which related to the Agriculture career cluster, was a trip to the Milwaukee County Zoo. The main reason we went to the zoo was to study the habitats of all the animals. This related to habitats that we created for an invented “Switch Zoo animal.” (SwitchZoo is an App that you can combine four animals into one, creating a new species. Visit http://switchzoo.com/zoo.htm to create your own animal, and consider the type of habitat necessary to sustain your creation.)

A work in progress- a model of a
fictitious animal's habitat.

When we got to the zoo we had two guest speakers. They talked about how they care for the animals and how their habitats are specifically designed for them. This helped us understand why the animal needed the specific features of each habitat. After we had the speakers we had a chance to walk through the Zoo and find our animals to see the habitats. We then took pictures of various habitats and used them to write a compare/contrast essay. Overall the trip to the zoo was not only educational but fun, and a great experience.


By Genna Puestow