As you may know, the theme of eighth grade core is “Choosing to Participate.” In order not to just learn about this theme but to actually participate, our Eighth Graders will be involved in a social justice project around a topic of their choice.

All students have selected a social justice issue that they find interesting and important (such as homelessness, hunger, stopping gun violence, immigrant rights, women’s health, and HIV-AIDS awareness/treatment access) and have joined classmates with similar interests to arrange community service, self-education, and other forms of activism relating to their chosen area.

On April 27, 2011, the eighth grade will host a Middle School “Teach-In” and creatively present the work they have done with their small groups in the chosen area of social justice, spreading their knowledge and experience to the larger school community. 

Project Requirements:

1. At least five visits to one or more organizations by the assigned date.
2. Blog journal postings for each visit that follow the “blog post guidelines” and one reflection posting.
3. A article written in the style of an investigative journalist.
4. A formal interview of a person or a group working in the area of interest.
5. Self-education about the social justice topic with at least 2 sources for writing an article.
6. Ongoing development of ideas about how organize the day for our “Social Justice Teach-In” for the Middle School.
7. Development of an innovative, creative and informative activity/lesson for a one-hour workshop for grades 5-7 for our “Social Justice Teach-In”.
8. Please visit the “Project Requirements” link for more detailed information.