S1E1 - It Begins With Our Students!

The Best Choice in Flagler now brings you "The Best Podcast in Flagler!"
Welcome to Flagler Forward - The Podcast! This monthly look inside the campuses of Flagler Schools shines a light on everything we do to help meet our students where they are and take them where they need to be.

Flagler Forward - The Podcast is new each month right here on the social media channels of Flagler Schools, at FlaglerSchools.com/Podcast, or on any of your favorite podcasting apps.

Superintendent LaShakia Moore hears from our students as they paint the picture of campus life in Flagler Schools.

#FlaglerForward
#TheBestChoiceInFlagler

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:13

I will talk about the attendant of Flagless School. If you're a parent considering where you will stay your child at school, you probably have a lot of questions. And we are here today to answer some of your questions. This podcast is designed to answer questions that our families may have, but also give you an inside look into what is happening within Flagless Schools. Our time together will be spent with, of course, our students, with our families, with some of our employees, as well as our community partners. We are very, very excited for this opportunity. And if you have questions and topics that you would like for us to cover, please do not hesitate to submit those to us. We want this to be a helpful resource to you. We're going to start off our podcast featuring our most important stakeholders, and that will be our students. And so today we will start off. We have two amazing students, one coming from Flacco Palm Coast High School. We have Miss Alicia, who is the class president at Flacco Palm Coast High School, and we have another amazing student that is coming to us from La Kansas High School, Miss Addison. Ladies, are you ready to jump in the conversation?

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

Excellent. Well, let's start off by saying hello and greeting the people here from the podcast. Yeah, so I'm super excited. Ladies, I have a series of questions and topics that we'll talk about, but really, this is just a conversation. So it's an opportunity for you to jump in. If there's a different direction you want to go in, that's what we'll do. All right. So we're going to start off talking about your specific school. And we can start with either one of you, Matanzas or Flag La Palm Coast High School. Tell me something that is very special about your school, either one of you.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Do you want to go with me? Okay. I would say we're very big on like being together as a group. Like I know like football games are very fun, but it like we're also like, okay, let's go to the volleyball games, let's go to the band concert. So I think that's like very special that it's not like just one thing that we focused on. It's like everything comes together at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Oh, I love that. Making sure you're not just as focused on the sports, but you're also going to support some of the activities that are happening. Excellent. Thank you for sharing that. What about you, Addison? What are you what's something that makes your school special?

SPEAKER_01 2:39

I know we're like an A school, so I think that's a pretty big thing, but I'd say a lot of us are like play sports and like all talk about it and like try and get a lot of people involved, which I think is a big thing.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

Excellent. Yeah, you know, I'm glad that you mentioned the academics that are offered at your school and at both schools. And both schools are A schools, and we're so proud of that. So we know that our students are receiving great quality education, but both of you really reference the other opportunities that students have on your campus that are not just focused on the academics, the what's happening in the classroom. And so tell me, what are some of the things that you are taking advantage of at your school outside of academics? And then some of the things that your friends are also involved in.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

I would say a big thing obviously is wrestling. That's number one. And then SGA is another very big one. That's like home, like always there. That's what got me to be class president, like what introduced me. Um, and then also DECA is a big one with Mr. Giorgiani. IB obviously is huge. A lot of IB students, especially in my class, um band, love the band, soccer, all all the sports you can imagine. But very big clubs like Leo, DECA, all of that, I think are very big and like good for our school.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

Excellent. Um, for those who do not know what SGA or DECA or IB or any of those things are, right? I understand, but there's probably a parent or a community member at home that's saying, What is that? Are you speaking a different language? Can you tell me what is SGA? What is IB?

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Yes. So SGA is student government association, and that's basically like if you've ever been to dinner with Santa, that's who runs it, autumn adventure, homecoming for a school prom, that's who does it. We do a ton of projects, even like not just within the school, but outside the school. We have like bike, um, e-bike awareness. We do stuff with like animal shelters um and stuff like that. So that's what kind of student government is. You're just governed the school.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

And you know, you guys really plan and facilitate many of the activities that um student experiences that I think of when I think about S SGA, you guys are really the ones who are facilitating what is the student experience going to be. And you I'm glad that you mentioned that it's not just things that you're doing within your school, but it's things that you're doing for the community as well. And so I think about beach cleanups and you guys volunteering at some of our um assisted living um homes. So thank you for sharing that. Let's go over to Matanzas. Tell me um some of the things that you are involved in, as well as things that your your friends are also involved in.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

Yeah, I would say I'm definitely involved in SGA as well. So it's like they don't like bring up the spirit of our school, like all the dress-up days, again, like homecoming and prom are like the biggest things. It's like really cool because it just like kind of brings life to our school, just like a main thing. Um, there's like key club, Leo Club, like all that kind of stuff. Um a bunch of different sports. And I like I think you mentioned like something about like what our school like does. We have like a lot of like tutoring too, like a lot of like help from like teachers who actually care about the students, wanting them to succeed and like do well in academics.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

I I love that because that's important, right? When you you are spending a large part portion of your day at school, so we want you to to know that you have adults that are here um to to make sure that you're learning, but they're also go the extra mile and tutor um if that is necessary um as well. Um, you mentioned a couple of the the different clubs that you offer um at your school and and I and I appreciate you um sharing that. Well, I have a question for you from um the perspective of a student. So if I if you were to speaking with a student who said, I just want to be a regular high school student, what would you say to that student? That's like, uh I just want to be a regular high school student. What would you say to them? How would you encourage that student?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

I would say that I would tell them that it's a very good, even though you kind of want to stay just you don't like school, you just want to go there and go home. I would say it's very important to join a club, whether any club, because you meet new people, you make new friends, you get new opportunities. And I feel like when you look back in 30 years and you think about high school, you don't want to just think about going to school and then going back home. Like I feel like what kind of shapes you for your life is what you do when you're younger.

SPEAKER_02 7:15

I love that. What would you say to that student?

SPEAKER_01 7:18

I feel like, yeah, you don't want to like regret any time in high school. I feel like it's a really like good memory, even like if you look back sometimes, but like while you're in it. But I feel like just like joining like any club, especially like if you just want to do like academics and stuff, like Ace the Ace program, which is kind of like the IB program, but a little different. You get like college credits if that's what you're like more looking at. But I feel like being involved in at least something is really like beneficial. So yeah. End up enjoying it.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Yeah. And because it's important that you enjoy your coll your high school experience, right? That's in that's important because it's more than just, you know, my core academic classes. It's also about what are those experiences that I have and not only the experiences, the people that you get to meet. And I'm sure the two of you have had an opportunity to have to work with someone that maybe in um, if you were just going to class, they maybe weren't somebody that you would normally talk to or someone that would be in your class. So it gives you an opportunity to to learn about um what's happening in the people across across your school. One of my favorite clubs, and I'm gonna just mention this club because I I know it's at Flaglow Palm Coast High School, and think it's at Matanzas as well. Um, it's at um also at Indian Trails, it's called Friends for All Abilities. It see, I see how you smile, right? It's one of the best clubs. And for those of you at home, this club is a club where um our students pair up with our students with disabilities and they have lunch together at least once a month, but it the friendships that are established there. So when we think about our students that are on our campus, that maybe as a student with a disability, what opportunities are there for them? How do you guys go about making sure that they are included in the culture of the school and what's happening on your campus? How do you guys go about including not just that group of students, but really all students?

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Um, so I would say for us, this we do, we host a thing. So we have Oscar night for seniors, and we have one for the students with disabilities. And I think it's so good because they get to like get an award, get a little Oscar, take a picture, walk down the runway. So I think that's really good. And we have a friend for all abilities, which I love. And then we also do like, um, they do, they used to do, they don't do it anymore, but um, they would do like a snack stand and then they would sell stuff to us, and you it would be so nice seeing how happy they would get whenever we would come up. And then even just being in the hallway, everybody talks that like make friends. Yes. I have friends all types. That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

Right? They they are with us and a part of our a part of our schools. What about what about you?

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Yeah, I would say we also have a sacks in or disabilities tell us snacks as well. And I think it's really cool. They do like they're always like happy to like talk to us. Also, from like personal experience, this um year for a TA period, I got like to be paired with like a couple like disabilities. I say around like 10 kids, and they are the kindest like people ever. I get to walk with them and like we get to do laps and like they're like stretching and everything, and they're just like full of so much light, and they're just like great kids that I think a lot of people should like get to like enjoying like me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:35

It is, it's so important. One of our um, our our vision as a school district is that all of our students will graduate and all of our students will graduate with the skills necessary to reach their maximum potential. And so I love that you add it how um those students contribute to the school environment because that's what's important. It's important that they walk away with great skills that are going to help them as they go into their future as well. And so thank you so much for sharing that with me. Um, another question that I have for you is around safety. We're always talking about safety. Safety, safety, safety. Talk to me a little bit about some of the things that you believe that your school is doing extremely well in order to ensure that you're safe on campus.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

Um, I would say our doors, a lot of the any door that leads outside is always locked and you can't get in anytime. Like even let's say you come in during third period, you have to walk all the way to the front to get in because they don't, like you can't get in. And then um also during transition, we always there's people everywhere, like admin everywhere. Um we have security guards everywhere too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

What about you?

SPEAKER_01 11:48

I was gonna also like add on that and say, like, there's always like people around, like if like they're they're just always there, just a couple of people around each part of the school. So you never really have to worry about like they really like talk and like communicate.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

And you know what? I'm glad that you mentioned that because one of our um core parts of being safe are really around the people that we have on our campus. So you both mention the presence of those individuals, um, but also being someone that uh you as a student can go to, you can share your concerns with. I know before we started um recording, we talked a little bit about your administration and um how they are listening to what is happening on campus, listening to you as students. Tell me um some of the ways that they do that well, and then suggestions that you have, not just for us, but across our state, of how we can be better at listening to students on our campuses.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

Um, I would say maybe our admin is very accessible because they're always standing out, but I also like maybe being more accessible maybe over the computer, like paying more attention to the kids who need it. Because like we can always go up to talk to them, but a lot of the students are scared to go talk to our admin or deans just because that's normal to be scared. So maybe some way to be more accessible to them. But okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

What do that what do you think? I would say just like ask more questions and like even go to like teachers and ask like how students are doing, ask like how they like even like coming in, asking like their opinions to each of the class, because there's definitely people and kids who want to like get involved and talk and like share their opinion. Like everyone always has a voice.

SPEAKER_02 13:33

Yeah. How do you what would you suggest um could be a way that they can appear more um accessible and not accessible, we know that they're out and about, but that would make your peers more comfortable rather to go up and ask a question or have a conversation with um some of the leaders on campus. What are some of the things that you would recommend to to them to do in order to, you know, make those who are not maybe as comfortable with them as you are be more comfortable?

SPEAKER_00 14:09

And again, I think our admin is very good about this, but maybe just noticing a little more like the kids who you kind of notice like they want to come up but they're too scared, and then just have the admin go up to them instead of waiting for them to come up to us. Okay. I think that all right.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

That kind of realizing, but I guess again, like with like teachers are gonna have the students in class that are kind of afraid to speak up. So then realizing that too, like every teacher as well, like kind of realizing the kids who are kind of out of place or feel like they're not able to like feel hurt.

SPEAKER_02 14:40

Yeah. So making more opportunities for them to feel like they are hurt. And I want to say this to families that are listening, and hopefully uh students will be listening as well. Is you can access your administrator not just by having to walk up to them, but you can also send them an email. Your family can call to the school. Um, you can go and see the administrative assistant that is there and schedule time to meet with your administrators. But you made a very important point. It's not just the administrators, it's really all of the significant adults that are on the campus, right? So if you have a need or concern or even an idea, they could walk up and talk to their school counselor, they could um speak to the dean, they could speak to their teacher. Who are other individuals on your campus that if a student had an idea, a thought or concern that you would say, go up and chat with that person?

SPEAKER_01 15:39

Um personality. Okay. I was like, I'm really close to her. Um it's one of our counselors, Miss D'Amato. I can go to her about like anything. She's like just welcome to any student. Come and talk to her about just anything, brothers. She won't like tell anyone, but you can just feel really safe with her and very just included. Like she really makes you feel like you have a place in the school and just like a place in the world. Always helpful. Thank you for sharing that.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

So a school counselor.

SPEAKER_00 16:07

Um, not to like brag on SJA, but I'm very close with Miss Frederick and I've known her forever, especially since my sister went to FPC. I would just say her, so maybe like your advisor because I be able feel very safe talking to her about things that I need to.

SPEAKER_02 16:21

Good. Well, thank you for for sharing that because it's important that we have sign we have adults that are on our campus that a student can connect with, right? We want every student to have a significant adult on campus that they can connect with. So as we begin to wrap up, because we only have a few minutes, so you ladies are gonna have to come back, right? It wasn't too bad sitting, having this conversation. Um, and for those of you at home, we did not talk about all these things. They don't have a script in front of them. We're really just having a conversation. Um, let's talk a little bit about lunch and then we're going to wrap up in a moment. I'm always hearing lunch, lunch, lunch, lunch, lunch, lunch, lunch, lunch. Good, bad, and different. So tell me, what is lunch like on your campus and what is a go-to meal that you're going for when if you're going into the cafeteria? So which one? You gonna start on?

SPEAKER_01 17:17

Okay. Um well my I guess I'll start. We have like a bunch of different options, like whether that's like chicken nuggets, burgers, like a taco bowl, the Asian lines, I feel like a pretty popular one. There's like a family type of thing where it's like at-home meal. I think they probably cook like lasagna or something. That's like kind of gives you like an at-home feel. Um, and then there's one for like maybe like sometimes picky eaters, so stuff like uncrustables, like just P and J's, and like Buffalo chicken sandwiches. My personal favorite. I would say the Asian line or like the taco bowl, because it like fills you up and they give pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 17:51

Listen, I was at Matanzas for lunch Monday, and though those bowls were gigantic, right? And so sometimes we gotta think about portions, right? Because I know you guys are growing and you know you you need a lot to fuel yourself, and so we're thinking about portion. But what does lunch look like at Flaggle Palm Coast High School?

SPEAKER_00 18:13

So, for those of you don't know, the FPC line's just the whole cat or what's the uh the um kitchen? The kitchen, the dining line. Yeah, it all just got remodeled, so it's a lot different, a lot more open. And I will say last year you could get everything every day, like there was not um, I guess, a limit, but now it's you can still there's still a lot of options, like there's still chicken every day, there's um burgers, uh Chinese every day, and then you can still get salad and pasta every day. But the tacos, that's my personal favorite. Um, you can only get those on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the only downside about that is last year we did use, and I don't know if it's just because they just started, so that could also be why, but we used to get bowls how you guys did, and that would fill me up. But now the portion is smaller, but then again, they just started doing it, so things could change. But yeah, I like FPC lunch. I think there's a lot Hottison said for picky eaters, especially just like the Increscibles or something like that. And then my go-to is tacos.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

Your go-to is taco. Yeah. Well, I appreciate you ladies so much um for coming and having a conversation with me. I'm going to welcome you back to have another conversation. But for the two of you, if there's something that you want to talk about and really have an authentic conversation as you lead through your presidency on your campus, please reach out. Let's come back. We want to make sure we're addressing the needs of our schools and we want to hear the voices of our students and you represent those voices. So thank you so much, ladies, for joining me. Thank you so much for taking part in today's conversation. Next month, we will take a look at how school choice makes a difference here in Flagler Schools. We will have an opportunity to chat with one family as well as hear all the different options that we offer here in Flagler Schools related to choice. We will be joined by our choice specialist, Miss Susan Kennedy. Flagler Forward, the podcast, comes to you every month on our Flagler School social media pages and on our Flagler School's website. And everywhere you listen to your favorite podcast. Have a great school year and Flag Look Forward.