Through important revisions and colorful touches, new supervisor Allison Kolish has changed the Write Place to improve appointments and the atmosphere of the resource for this school year.
Before a student even enters the room, the greeting board outside displays informal, yet inspirational, quotes and quirky drawings that match the new persona of the Write Place itself, as well as Ms. Kolish. Other attractions in the room include the colorful Writer’s Tips board, a jar of mints, and posters on the walls.
“I just brought some color, you know?” Ms Kolish said as she smiled about the room’s design.
Although she seems to fit right into the room full of bright new colors, Ms. Kolish took over the Write Place for Anne Malecki this year, and she brought some important changes with her.
For one, appointments can now be made online, so it is easier for students to make an appointment and get the help they need. There are also now two English teachers, Ms Kolish and one other teacher, in the Write Place at a time, as well as the occasional student tutor. Both Ms. Kolish and the English teacher in the back of the room are available to help students with their appointments.
Write Place student tutors also spend a couple days a week in the room to help out with extra appointments as well. The student tutors and the teachers all do the same job, according to Ms. Kolish.
“[Having two English teachers] gives us more time to work with all our appointments, and lets us have more appointments in general,” she said. “I would say that’s the biggest and most important change.”
Ms. Kolish mentioned that many teachers have given her positive feedback about the online sign-ups, which many students benefit from and is easier than making an appointment in person. To make an appointment, students should go to lhswildcats.org, click the link “Library,” go to “Write Place,” and then click the link “Click here to sign up” in order to make an appointment.
If the student has not previously made an appointment, the website will guide them through making an account for sign-ups. After making the account, the student can create and change appointments whenever and wherever (i.e. at home, on a chromebook, on a cellphone).
As an English teacher and a previous tutor herself, Ms. Kolish does not find the one-on-one environment of appointments intimidating at all.
“I was so excited [to take over]. Writing is my thing, and I love it,” Ms. Kolish said.
However, the one-on-one environment isn’t so comfortable for everyone. Student tutor Cynthia Capota said that it can be a bit “mind-bending” at times, though overall it helps both the student and the tutor.
“Ms. Kolish is super nice and fun, and she is definitely approachable!” Capota relayed. “She also knows her stuff about writing! She’s great!”
Not only does she know her stuff about writing, she also knows how easy it is to get sucked into Netflix. Her favorite show is “30 Rock,” and she confesses to having watched all the seasons several times. On her desk is a jar of mints, with a little sign offering them to any student who was up late reading or watching Netflix.
“Mints to me always clear my head and keep me awake, so I was thinking for you guys, with your grueling day at school, come in here and have a mint, and you’ll wake up for like 5 minutes,” Kolish laughed.
Additional changes to the Write Place include the hallway board’s quotes, which now features more small facts and interesting ideas to think about, or a sketch to get students and staff to smile. Last year, the board had daily quotes, though this year the board has more graphics. The inspiration comes from a book called How to be Interesting by Jessica Hagy, which Ms. Kolish thinks is just “perfect” for the board.
The room’s comforting atmosphere, Ms. Kolish’s friendly and approachable personality, and the calming colors all give the Write Place a brand-new, welcoming feeling. The room is open to everyone, not just those with appointments or students who need help on their English papers.
“You can come in here for any type of writing help, it doesn’t have to be an essay… It could be a paragraph for, you know, AP Art, or… a health paper,” Ms. Kolish wanted everyone to know. “I feel like a lot of times we just get English coming in here, but we can help you out with anything!”
