Student-helping-student event helps Natomas High win state civics award

--- Published on March 09th 2016 ---
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Natomas High School has won statewide honors in civics learning for a wide-ranging project last year that culminated with Nighthawk students serving as “buddies” to help special-needs classmates compete in a feel-good “Invitational Field Day” of friendly athletic competition.

Natomas High was one of 78 California schools selected for an “Award of Merit” in the state’s annual Civic Learning Award program, designed to celebrate exceptional student engagement in that subject. Winners were announced last week by state Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

“The award confirms the passion and compassion of our students at Natomas High — their willingness to support peers and be positive and productive members of society by participating in an event that benefited both classmates and the community,” Principal Yuri Penermon said.

Natomas High is one of 14 schools participating in the Sacramento County Office of Education’s Action Civics Initiative, designed to enhance civics learning by combining curriculum, Common Core literacy standards, and 21st-century skills into a work plan that includes a project in which students identify a problem or issue, investigate it, weigh differing perspectives, and develop their own ideas about it.

Natomas High’s major civic engagement last year was the Invitational Field Day in which more than 180 Nighthawk senior social science students, drama students, and student leaders volunteered to help special-needs students from Natomas Unified and other districts participate in athletic events ranging from running to wheelchair races to Frisbee toss.

“The unique civic engagement aspect of the event was to provide regular education students with the experience of working with (special-needs) students in a way they never have before,” said Janet Mann, an American Government teacher spearheading Natomas High’s civic engagement efforts. The Invitational Field Day, held at the Nighthawk campus last spring, was coordinated by NUSD teachers Kim Taxara and Stacy Kalfsbeek-Hickel.

In the NHS application to California’s Civic Learning Award program, Mann said the school had “made a conscious decision to emphasize the importance of civic awareness and engagement in our students. “ Student lessons earlier in the semester included debating Supreme Court cases; arguing pros and cons of topics such as minimum wage; and engaging in Socratic Seminars – on genetically modified organisms, for instance.

To prepare for Invitational Field Day, student volunteers:

  • Researched Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States and learned the risk factors associated with it.

  • Researched the cost of autism to the U.S. health-care system, as well as to families with children on the autism spectrum.

  • Researched and chose interactive games for the field day, such as bean bag toss and Hula Hoop, for special-needs students who could not compete in the other, more traditional track and field events.

  • Interacted with special-needs students before Invitational Field Day by visiting and participating with them in adaptive PE courses.

  • Some Nighthawks also accompanied special-needs students on field trips, such as a Sacramento River Cats baseball game and ice skating in downtown Sacramento.

During the Invitational Field Day itself, Nighthawk students cheered on their special-needs buddies, played games with them, had lunch with them, and did whatever necessary to help them compete and enjoy the festivities. Student volunteers served more than 500 hours that day.

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