IJWC members discuss about COVID-19

As their last collaborative activity before school closure, members of the International Junior Writers Club discussed COVID-19, addressing the UN-identified global sustainable goal of good health and well-being. Alternative students from Odessa, TX, researched online about COVID-19 and described the global data mathematically. They were unanimous, presenting that the COVID-19 growth was best described by an exponential function. The students with their international learning partners read the online article Coronavirus Maps and Charts and other online news articles about the global pandemic and did some deep reflection. They then wrote an essay explaining the facts and myths about COVID-19 and ways to prevent and prepare for it. Through Flipgrid, students discussed their essays with the group. Their discussion made them more aware and proactive in dealing with the disease.

Alternative Education students comment on Asian math videos

Alternative Education students from Odessa, TX gave their feedback on mathematics videos created by students at Dapitan City National High School, Dapitan City, Philippines. Alternative Education students watched the videos and wrote their comments about the videos. The videos were part of the math project in the mathematics classes of teachers Jasmin Balladares and Julie Anne Gallosa. Asian students were videotaped while demonstrating and explaining mathematical processes on topics such as dividing polynomials, arithmetic and geometric sequences, permutations and combinations, dependent and independent events, angles and arcs, etc. American students explained in writing what they had learned from the videos and what they could suggest in improving the videos. As an extension of the activity, American students used no-face and password-protected Flipgrid to record their comments on Asian math videos and interact with their international learning partners.

Alternative Education students edit Spanish freestyle stories

Students at the Alternative Education Center, Odessa, TX revised and edited freestyle stories of students from Murcia, Spain. Under the mentorship of teacher Trini Serrano Diaz, Spanish students wrote stories about themselves, their travels, and other fiction and nonfiction stories. Emphasis was their use of simple past tense and past continuous tense. Aside from looking at the correct usage of the focused tenses of the verb, Alternative Education students revised and edited the stories using ARMS and CUPS strategy.

US students study Spain floods

Alternative students of Odessa, TX studied flash floods in Eastern Spain, addressing one of the global goals for sustainable development -- climate action. Odessa students researched news online, collected data, and described the winds that caused the recent flash floods in the regions of Murcia, Valencia, and Andalucia using equations, tables, graphs, and verbal descriptions. They also compared Eastern Spain flooding with the worst flooding they had experienced locally. Odessa, TX is in the Chihuahuan Desert, and it seldom rains in the area. However, heavy rains and winds sometimes cause floods and hail storms in the city and neighboring towns. After their study, US students shared with Spain through Padlet some feasible climate actions to help combat Spain's climate change. Students from Murcia, Spain read US students' suggestions and responded to the recommendations.

Candles from trash turned into cash

Students at Dapitan City National High School, Dapitan City, Philippines, recycled candle waxes from a local cemetery by turning them into decorative candles for sale. Every year after the observance of All Souls' Day by Christians all over the world, candle waxes are scattered everywhere in Christian cemeteries. Contributing to the global goal of responsible consumption and production, mathematics teachers Jasmin Balladares and Julie Anne Gallosa initiated the project by having their students gather waste candle waxes from a cemetery adjacent to the school and made them into decorative candles using different geometric shapes. With expenses ranging from 10-80 Philippine pesos, each candle was sold for 80-150 Philippine pesos. The project earned a profit of more or less 4,000 Philippine pesos, which was used to fund a local scholarship. Learning partners from Odessa, TX, USA, helped figure out possible scenarios to reach the target profit. Alternative Education students used the data to represent said scenarios using equations, tables, graphs, and verbal descriptions. Students explained their algebraic processes in writing.