By Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor
What’s your favorite part about Slauson Middle School?
What advice do you have for incoming sixth graders?
Who are the principals?
What do current sixth graders have to say?
These are just a few of the questions addressed every May during Slauson’s annual Transition Day welcoming incoming sixth graders. Part of Transition Day is an information-packed video shown in the auditorium created by Slauson science teacher Theresa Maglothin’s advisory group of about 24 students.
“Mostly we wanted the current sixth grade class to start to take on some leadership within the school and embrace the idea that they were now becoming role models and helpers for the younger students,” she says, referring to the first video three years ago. “We also wanted our future students to feel welcomed and included in part of the amazing community of students that we are so lucky to have at Slauson.”
This year, of course, Slauson staff and students weren’t able to actually meet and greet incoming sixth graders.
“But my advisory felt that it was even more important to reach out and let those students know that the entire Slauson community is excited and prepared to greet them in the fall,” says Maglothin.
Though they weren’t able to create an entirely new video, the current sixth graders decided to work together during their weekly advisory Google Meets to edit and add to a video the previous class had made last year.
They worked from home, editing and changing some of the information and some of the details on the slides using Powtoons—a free slide animation video program. They created slides, interviews, and narration, and made short videos giving the incoming students some pieces of advice. They sent Maglothin their changes and she pieced it all together.
The video was first shared last week during a Google Meet that Principal Lisa Anglin held for all the incoming 6th graders. More than 190 students clicked onto the Meet. The video was then shared with families through email and posted on the Slauson website under incoming 6th grader information.
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