Have you walked through the front doors of GHS lately, and been bombarded with questions and blinded by tallies? Maybe some guy in a police officer’s uniform has asked you what your favorite scary movie is– and despite the morning rush and 5 minutes to get to your first class, you stop and participate in the fun.
Officer Scola, the Gloucester High School’s resource officer; has started rolling out a whiteboard, using it to share a quote and pose a question for students to respond.
The whiteboard is a creative way to engage students at GHS, as these spontaneous interactions not only add a touch of excitement to the morning routine but also foster a sense of community within the school. The power of a simple question can go a long way in creating connections between staff and students, while simultaneously breaking the monotony of daily life.
“We utilize the White Board to interact with students,” Officer Scola said. “It’s a fun way to get the kids thinking about topics that may interest them,” so the idea took off– a small and simple idea from Scola, now becoming a community event; “I ask the students to pitch in, and they always do– any student can use the whiteboard in order to promote any sort of event, their sports, clubs, and organizations are always welcome to be advertised.”
Alongside using the whiteboard to call attention to community events, Scola tries to begin the week with a simple yes or no question, to help establish a theme throughout the week for each following question. For example, last week’s topic kicks off the return from Thanksgiving break, posing the survey to students; “Leftovers: Yes or No?”– which allowed a smooth transition to the following day’s question; “What are your favorite leftovers?” Which yielded 204 responses, including students adding their own favorites to the board if there wasn’t a fitting option.
“I think the whiteboard is fun and a good idea,” senior Nick Canning said. “It’s something silly to raise people’s spirits in the morning while walking into school. I always stop to answer the questions, they’re always so entertaining.”
Students who are interested in giving their opinion on Scola’s and Cook’s daily surveys, should make sure to come in through the atrium doors in the morning to share your thoughts.
“It’s only 7:30, but I really like it,” senior Meilang Ercolani said, “It wakes me up for the day, having Mr. Cook and Officer Scola yelling at me like crazy to answer their survey– And I will!”
