Freshman Terror Tracks Program

Palmer High School’s – Freshman Advisory

Purpose

The purpose of the Freshman Advisory pilot program is to provide students with academic support, foster relationships, encourage peer mentoring, and provide an adult on campus to serve as an advocate for each freshman. Our hope is to make the transition into a high school with nearly 2000 students a pleasant experience where each and every student feels supported!


Schedule

Advisory meets on Tuesdays during Academic Enhancement. Students meet in Advisory rooms with the exception of a few weeks where they all meet as a group in the auditorium.

Tuesday's Schedule:
8:50 – 9:20 Terror Tracks Advisory Session for all Freshman
9:25 – 11:00 Period 2
11:00-11:43 Lunch
11:48-1:23 Period 4
1:28-3:03 Period 6


Content

Advisory is a fun, relaxed atmosphere where students will learn from and participate in activities to help them make connections and improve academically. Junior and senior students (who served as their Link Crew Leaders during Freshmen Orientation) will spend some time mentoring and continuing their supportive relationships with their group. For a copy of the first semester Advisory schedule, click the link below.

Semester 1 Freshman Advisory Meetings & Lessons Outline (PDF)

Semester 2 Freshman Advisory Meetings & Lessons Outline (PDF)

Semester 1 Activities and handout links

Semester 2 Activities and handout links


Advisory Lessons
All of the column two titles would be live links to the actual document – so it’s accessible two ways, above and through this table. Each session is labeled above by week number.

9th Grade Advisory Agendas
(Version 2B)
SEMESTER 2 – 2009
Rev. January 08, 2009 - Final

Week/Date	Tasks	Expanded Activity Information	Leader & Location	Notes
1. 01.06.09 No Advisory Group -	Terror Tracks Advisory Session # 1:	- No Advisory Group – Professional Development Day	N/A	N/A
2. 01.13.09 No Advisory Group – AE Time	Terror Tracks Advisory Session #2:	N/A	N/A	N/A
3. 01.20.09	Terror Tracks Advisory Session # 3: “Analysis of the High School Design”	Students will review D#11 high school graduation requirements and course sequences.	Classroom	(A) L.C.
4. 01.27.09 No Advisory Group - AE Time	Terror Tracks Advisory Session #4:	N/A	N/A	N/A
5. 02.03.09	Terror Tracks Advisory Session # 5: “Improving Listening Skills for Academic Success”	Students will understand the importance of developing good listening skills.	Classroom	(A)
6. 02.10.09 No Advisory Group – AE Time	Terror Tracks Advisory Session # 6:	N/A	N/A	N/A
7. 02.17.09	Terror Tracks Advisory Session # 7: “Choices and Opportunity Costs”	Students will understand the relationship between behavior and consequences.	Classroom	(R) L.C.
8. 02.24.09 No Advisory Group – AE Time	Terror Tracks Advisory Session # 8:	N/A	N/A	N/A
9. 03.03.09	Terror Tracks Advisory Session #9: “Respect for Self and Others”	Students will examine how they demonstrate respect for self and others.	Classroom	(A/R) L.C.
10. 03.10.09 No Advisory Group orAE - CSAP	Terror Tracks Advisory Session #10:	N/A	N/A	N/A
11. 03.17.08 No Advisory Group or AE - CSAP	Terror Tracks Advisory Session #11:	N/A	N/A	N/A
12. 03.31.09 No Advisory Group – AE Time	Terror Tracks Advisory Session # 12:	N/A	N/A	N/A
13. 04.7.09	Terror Tracks Advisory Session # 13: “Anger and Feelings”	The students will analyze a scenario and discuss their feelings about it.	Classroom	(R) L.C.
14. 04.14.09 No Advisory Group – AE Time	Terror Tracks Advisory Session # 14:	N/A	N/A	N/A
15. 04.21.09 No Advisory Group - ACT	Terror Tracks Advisory Session # 15:	N/A	N/A	N/A
16. 04.28.09 No Advisory Group – AE Time	Terror Tracks Advisory Session # 16:	N/A	N/A	N/A
17. 05.05.09	Terror Tracks Advisory Session #17: “Final Examination Preparation”	Students will review test-taking strategies and assess their testing taking strategies.	Classroom	(A, R), L.C.
18. 05.12.09 No Advisory Group – AE Time	Terror Tracks Advisory Session #18:	N/A	N/A	N/A
19. 05.19.09 No Advisory Group or AE	Terror Tracks Advisory Session #19:	N/A	N/A	N/A

“A” denotes lesson is focused on Supporting Academics
“R” denotes lesson is focused on Fostering Relationships
“L.C.” denotes some Link Crew Leaders should be present for this Advisory
“N/A” denotes column Not Applicable for this session

Advisors

Over fifty staff members have volunteered their time to participate in this year's Advisory pilot program. These staff members cover nearly every department on campus, including Counseling and Administration. Staff volunteer planning and implementation time. For a list of volunteer Advisors, please click the link below.

Freshman Advisors 2008-2009


Research

Advisory is not a new concept. Hundreds of schools across the nation have found enormous benefits to Advisory programs. For some significant points of research or to see a list of schools with successful Advisory programs, please click on the links below.

What the research says about successful advisory programs

Successful Advisory Programs


Communication

We hope to continually communicate all the latest regarding Advisory. Below are links to previous updates.

Letter to Parents

Summer 2008 – Summer Newsletter Article


Assessment

We are constantly evaluating the Freshman Advisory program's effectiveness and working on ways to improve it. Our goal is to imbed Advisory in to the regular student day. In order to assess the effectiveness of the program, we collect a wide range of data, such as student surveys, Advisor surveys, grades, drop-out rates, attendance, overall GPAs, activity involvement, and peer mentoring contacts.


Contacts

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please direct them to one of the following:

Successful Advisory Programs:

New Trier Township High School, Northfield & Winnetka, IL
http://www.newtrier.k12.il.us/default.asp

Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, IL
http://www.district125.k12.il.us/

Irvington High School, Fremont, CA
http://www.irvington.org/

Santa Susana High School, Simi Valley, CA
http://www.santasusana.org/

Souhegan High School, Amherst, NH
http://www.sprise.com/shs/

Irvine High School, Irvine, CA
http://www.irvinehigh.org/

Silver Creek High School, San Jose, CA
http://silvercreekhs.ca.campusgrid.net/home/front.html

Deerfield High School, Deerfield, IL
http://www.dist113.org/dhs/

Highland Park High School, Highland Park, IL
http://www.dist113.org/hphs/index.htm

Needham High School, Needham, MA
http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/Menu/NHS.html

Lyons Township High School, LaGrange, IL
http://www.lths.net/

Wildwood School, Los Angeles, CA
http://wildwood.org/

Rosemont High School, Sacramento, CA
http://schools.scusd.edu/rhs/

Indian Creek High School, Trafalgar, IN
http://www.nhj.k12.in.us/ichs/