Forum is a twenty-minute period during which Middle School faculty and administration announce important things. Forum also allows students and adults to participate in “Word of the Week.” It is an educational moment where the presenter, a teacher, or a student tells the audience the definition and origin of a word, how the word is used in context, and lifts reasons why they’ve selected that word.  

During forum on February 6, Poly History Teacher Caesar Fabella decided to switch it up in multiple ways. Instead of following the traditional layout and selecting one word, he decided to honor his Filipino roots by picking words we use today that originated from the Filipino culture. These words were “Jeep,” “Yoyo,” and “Boondocks.” This was a great way to incorporate Filipino culture into forum and engage students in a fun history lesson. This isn’t the only thing he did differently. Instead of passing it on to a student, he passed it on to Ellen Martinez, a Poly Spanish teacher who did the word “like.”