What culture do students learn in daily?

Students are enveloped in a culture that is welcoming and emotionally rewarding to

proper behavior, positivity, and optimism toward themselves and each other. The
reward comes from comradery, teacher-student relations, and fruitfulness in the
classroom. To ensure the continual growth of this behavior, Rocky Mountain High
School offers many outlets outside of sports and activities to get students in the right
mindset for the high school career and life after graduation. Some of these outlets
include classes like Lobo 101, voyager, and the large counseling program that offers the
wellness center and a therapy puppy who roams the halls throughout the day.
In terms of academics, students are encouraged to put their best foot forward.
Alongside diverse courses that cover intriguing content, Rocky offers advanced
placement courses in history, art, science, math, English, and world languages. One of
the wow factors about this school is their mathematics program. Nathan Balk teaches
up to Calculus 3 with his students who choose to do so which goes toward college
credit. This is one of the best paths in northern Colorado to pursuing a degree that falls
under the STEM category.
What are the programs, resources and activities for students?
Since it is such a big school that focuses on community, Rocky offers many activities
and programs for their students. Most follow along the line of sports, languages, and
special interests. Some academic programs offered include DECA, debate and
forensics, FBLA, and the National Honors Society. My personal favorites are the Rocky
Mountain Bike Club, STUCO, and CTSA. The school offers countless resources for
students having trouble with nearly any problem related to school. As mentioned earlier,
there is a large counseling program threaded throughout the school that helps with
behavioral issues, conflict resolution, and academics. Together with the Integrated
Services program, Rocky guarantees that students with troubles will have a better
chance at succeeding should they take advantage of these resources.
How are parents involved?
Rocky offers an open-ended relationship between staff, students, and parents. Parents
have their own portal to check their students grades and attendance. Here, teachers
report any and all grades, comments, and attendance for the day. On Rockys website,
parents have a section of pages which give graduation requirements, athletics
information, and a newsletter developed by the school to inform parents of outside
resources referring to college, student resources, and events at Rocky.
What are the programs that support and encourage appropriate student
behaviors?
In Rocky Mountain High School, students and staff participate in the Lobo Way. In
connection to their mascot, Rocky promotes a connection between all enrolled to
respect, care, and look out for each other inside and outside of the classroom. I cannot
express just how important this is to the school and how well it shapes the environment
in classrooms. The Lobo Way has been one of the main reasons for me to pursuit
student teaching here. This is established through events like sports, prep rallies, and
dances as well as bi-weekly announcements that help build a deep level of community
and caring between faculty and students. For the majority of the student body,
What is the overall learning climate?
The learning climate largely depends on the teachers, but I believe that the school
continues to uphold a proper environment where students not only feel compelled to ask
questions but develop inquiry that is healthy and promoting of a further analysis while
connected with higher level questioning. Every classroom is different; teachers practice
pedagogies that are non-identical but just as productive. In the social studies
department, every teacher Ive met with is enthusiastic about their model of teaching
and portrays passion by the way they continue to develop it. This is not to say that they
are open to other perspectives from fellow teachers and their students (because they
absolutely are!).
What are the demographics of the school?
White: 77% of students
Hispanic: 15% of students
Two or more races: 4% of students
Asian: 2% of students
Native American or Native Alaskan: 1% of students
Black: 1% of students

What is the mission of the school?

Rocky Mountain High School inspires, guides, and supports our students, faculty and
staff to reach their maximum potential in a caring, challenging and safe environment.
As reflected through the Lobo Way, Rocky believes:
In the value and dignity of each individual
In the development of intellectual and creative skills
In the importance of self-discovery
In equal opportunity for learning
In preparation for lifes work and lifelong learning
In a safe environment
In opportunities for service to society
That all members are empowered through participation
That education thrives in a democratic environment
Who are the specific students you will be directly teaching? What are their
developmental levels, their interests, their abilities, their unique needs?
I will be teaching a large group of students with different cultures, personalities, and
interests. I have some popular students who like to stay on their phone, individuals who
prefer to stay passive (meaning if they have questions, they will probably wait after
class to ask the teacher in person instead of putting attention on themselves during
class), and some athletes. In my humanities period, the talkers and ones who are
largely involved include the art students and drama students. A pair of two girls sit front
and center and ask questions, get involved, and continually suggest project ideas to
myself and the teacher. The challenge of these students will be to try and tap into all
interests and learning styles, as many of them prefer to write tons of notes. I dont
typically put a lot of words on my powerpoints, but the students like to copy what is on
there and try to put in a detail or two from my lecture in each point. With this in mind, I
will make a point to add more information including characteristics of art and names of
paintings to show.
There is only one 504 student who has accommodations for their learning. Everyone
else seems to be in the range of average to above average in terms of abilities. To pull
out full potential, it will be critical to make note of their interests and triggers so that they
feel important in the classroom; especially when there is long lecture and lack of
activities. One important detail of this class is the lack of friends present. Take away a
few students, most people dont seem to know each other very well, but they are slowly
forming groups and getting familiar. In the near future, Id like to conduct some
classroom activities to get the class closer so we can have compelling conversations
and debate on perspectives of art and culture in the Middle Ages.
What is the class culture? The physical environment? The context of the learning
environment (content, teacher and student mixture)?
Mr. Klebes likes to keep a relaxed culture in his classroom, but admits that he expects a
lot out of his students work. Klebes likes to keep a good relationship with his students.
He gives a lot of references and reflections about his own childhood to keep class
intriguing and relatable. Students seem to connect to this well and appreciate his effort.
The classroom is split into two sets of tables. Since the class is full, there is no set
separation of interests or students on either side. Students who sit in the corners of the
class like to sleep. It will be interesting to see how myself and Mr. Klebes will try to build
their involvement in the class and in their work.
The context of the learning is preferred to me in this class. This is the main reason why I
chose to student teach with Mr. Klebes. Klebes knows his content very well and is
constantly looking for ways to improve his lectures and additional examples to make
points understood and applicable. Because students have their laptops and phones,
they can find their own examples of art movements, artists, and architects quickly. For
projects, this helps students find research and develop proposals much easier (and
fun!). The student mixture will help with future activities. I think this bunch of students
have creative potential and Im excited to pull it out of them. As I mentioned earlier, the
trick will be to get them involved and excited to make these projects and timelines.
What are the demographics in this classroom?
21 girls, 11 boys
1 IEP
3 Gifted and Talented
1 from Czech Republic
4 of Hispanic descent
27 of white descent
6 Sophomores
15 Juniors
11 Seniors

(Draw a picture/diagram of the classroom--no hand drawn documents please) (10)