1. HASLETT HIGH SCHOOL By: Stephanie Papak

2. Atmosphere  Haslett High School seems to be a more modern school in the sense that it is better well kept and looks nice.  The main color theme is blue, because it is one of their school colors  It is one story  There are decorations from the school sports teams such as banners on the walls as well as from the schools clubs

3. Atmosphere  The furniture is newer, some hallways are carpeted with areas to sit along the walls in some areas  It creates a modern atmosphere that is comfortable and clean  The school looks newer like it is well taken care of and it gives off a motivational ambiance

4. Support Services  The school has a fantastic special education program, but the students have to qualify as a “resource student”  There is study hall available after school  NHS tutors  Many teachers stay after school hours to help students who need and ask for help  There is a program where the teachers put the grades online so the parents can monitor their children’s progress

5. Guidance Counselors  There are two full time guidance counselors as well as a part time social worker that are in the school for the kids to utilize  They are not very familiar with the foreign language program and, according to my teacher, are not very supportive.  Since it is not required for students to take a foreign language (used to be three years) guidance counselors don’t tend to steer students into the foreign language program.

6. Guidance Counselors  The counselors are there for a number of reasons including:  Contextualizing personal problems  College information  Grades  Graduation requirements, etc.  They organize proctor tests for the students (PLAN, PSAT, AP)

7. Guidance Counselors  They audit transcripts to make sure students are on track to graduate and meet with the students if there issues  They help with the scheduling process and change schedules as needed  The one counselor, Heather, is the contact counselor for the Capital Area Career Center and she does the organizing for visits and applications.

8. The Student Body  There are about 900 students that currently attend Haslett High  The cultural/economic make up is predominantly white middle class.  19 students get discounted lunches and about 113 get free lunches.  They have a 99% graduation rate with only a.47% drop out rate.

9. My Mentors Classroom  The seating in the room is really different, but understandable considering the amount of group work they do.  Students are sitting in little “tables” of about for desks pushed together all around the room  On the walls are many spanish-themes decorations, as well as charts showing basic verb conjugations in the past, present, etc.

10. My Mentors Classroom  The climate is very laid back and comfortable, many of the students take this attitude a little too far I believe buy my mentor doesn’t seem to mind and usually condones it.  There are a few things on the mentors desk the students are allowed to use when they want, including cough drops, hand sanitizer, etc.  The ambiance is friendly and completely not intimidating

11. My Mentor  She became a foreign language teacher because she likes foreign language and teaching.  She says shes not very good at spanish but really enjoys it because it is interesting, challenging, and there is always something new to learn  She studied abroad twice, once in undergrad when she spent a year in Chile and post-grad she spent a summer in Chile and Spain.

12. My Mentor  She also did a Fulbright trip to Mexico  She does not teach in the same way she learned at all  At Haslett they use the TPRS method, but her schooling was more grammar-based  She has been teaching 11 years, 9 of which have been at Haslett where she has taught TPRS the whole time

13. My Mentor  For her two years not in Haslett she was teaching out of a textbook in Frankenmuth where the method was more similar to the way she learned  She says she likes the TPRS method because it emphasizes listening and speaking (using stories mostly) and it is not as boring as traditional grammar and helps the students to speak better