Once again this year, Paoli students will participate in early release days on the first Wednesday of every month. The first early release day is Wednesday, September 6. On these days, students will be released from class at 12:30 p.m. Teachers will remain on campus for professional development.
At the high school, last year, some activities students participated in were the Peddler’s Market, PHS’s Got Talent, and the Speech Contest.
“First, we need to experience activities that are fun and different from the normal school day. These days give us opportunities to do some things with the student body that we could never do otherwise. Having a great experience here at school makes us enjoy school more. I believe that the more we like where we are and what we are doing, the greater success we will have. The second reason is that the activities we do these days allow us to show the employability skills that the Indiana State Department of Education is emphasizing,” U.S. History Teacher Chris Lindley. “Last year I saw how many of our early release days offered skill development and how students who might not always be top in their classrooms were really using skills like leadership, perseverance, creativity, and collaboration. This was amazing, and I hope we can continue to use these days to build these ‘soft skills’ that any student can use in any workplace.”
On the September day, the Early Release Committee has planned for students to once again participate in the PHS Amazing Race.
“I hope they can see the valuable skills they are practicing and gain more confidence in their abilities. I also go back to my original reason for wanting to head up this committee and get these days planned with activities, and that is I really want PHS to be a place that students want to be. This is my home and my community, a place where I have spent more than three decades. I value our school and our students and staff, and I want it to thrive. Hopefully, these early release days have become and will be an energizing and equipping part of PHS and help make us a school that stands out as a regional leader in educating our youth,” said Lindley.
Future early release day events will be announced closer to each month.
