October 27th- Ocotber 31st

FIRST WEEK OF CLASS!

This week was the first week of class here at Shaw Heights Middle School. It was nice to see the mentors everyday. Each class has a  unique dynamic. I have 5 classes and some students schedules were changed so one class has 7 students when another class has 12. Luckily, my class of 12 is a really great group of kids and everyone gets along well. When I am talking they give me their attention and they work well with one another. 

 

On the first day we discussed ground rules for the class, and we brainstormed ways I can hold the students accountable for breaking these rules. 

This week we focused on doing some team building exercises. We did a spaghetti tower using marshmallows to keep the noodles together. The classes competed against other classes for snacks. The class with he highest tower won! 

Another activity we did this week was a number game. I put numbers on the student's back and the students had to arrange each other in numerical order without talking or gesturing.

Next week we will continue to do some more team building activities as well as transition into the curriculum!

October 20th- 24th

October 20^th- October 24^th, 2014

This week was a very productive week. I had a meeting  with the principal and the director of student services. Classes will begin on Monday October 27th. I will have only the mentors this semester. We also started to identify mentees. All staff will give me 5 recommendations and I will meet with the mentees during my lunch, academic enrichment, and during 4th period. The goal is to have all mentees identified by December 12th. 

 

On Wednesday I attended a workshop at North High school called, “Coaching your Student to Academic Success.” I felt that this was an awesome workshop that will be beneficial for me on how I can guide students into furthering their education as well as how to speak to a student so that the student knows I am concerned about them and their issue. We discussed the 5 levels of listening , which is something I will want to teach my mentors. 

Today, students received their schedule changes and are excited and ready to start on Monday!

 

October 13th- October 17th

October 13^th- October 17^th

This week at Shaw Heights I worked on schedule changes. Now I know how many students I will have per class period, and what class period I will have these students.

1st period- 9 students

2^nd period- homeroom Academic Enrichment- If I need mentors more or Mentees more I will have this period

3^rd- 10 students

4^th - lunch break

5^th – 9 students

6^th- 9 students

7^th- 11 students

The first semester will be just mentors. We are still waiting for the class to become a part of educate and infinite campus in order to begin the program. I have a few spots open because some students have to take ELL or literacy intervention and do not have a free elective. I am looking to fill these spots in the next week.

 I have an academic enrichment class of one student.and his name is  Chrisian. He is my little helper during 2nd  period and he is assisting me in preparing for the program.He is making a YESS sign that the students will sign on the first day of class along with their class expectations agreement.

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Also, the secretary at Shaw Heights connected me with a woman named Belen who is looking for students to participate in a community project. Belen is a Shaw Heights alum and is now running a program at the Double Tree Hotel in Westminster. The program is “Teaching Kids to Care.”  Students who participate in this art project get to have their projects on displayed at the Double Tree and win a free night stay for their family. November 15^th is the day we will come together to work on a project. Today we had a meeting to discuss how the mentors can show leadership through working on her art project. This is national recycle day, so we are brainstorming on what the outcomes of this project is and how we can come together to make an amazing art project that will be displayed at the Double Tree hotel.

On Thursday, I attended the Emosmart  Leadership for Youth and Role Models workshop in Boulder! 

October 6th- October 10th

PIZZA PARTY!

This week at Shaw Height we celebrated the mentors that have been accepted into the program. All 50 mentors have gone through the application process, interview process, and parents approval for the course. I believe in all 50 mentors. They each have something unique and special to offer to the program.

During the pizza party all students asked questions about the program and I went over what to expect in the following weeks to come.

All of the students are excited to be mentors, and are proud to be apart of YESS!

September 29th- October 3rd

This week was another successful week! I was able to have a meeting with the principal, vice principal, dean of students, and the two counselors at Shaw Heights  to discuss the students I have picked to be mentors for the program. During this meeting it was brought to my attention that some students will not be able to participate in the program because they are in literacy intervention and an ESL class (which means they do not have electives). Luckily, one of the counselors sent me a list of  15 students to meet with on Wednesday. On Wednesday, I did all day interviews, and these interviews were with 8th graders. I feel like I have the best support here at Shaw Heights, and I have picked some amazing mentors for the program here as well.


Next week, I am planning on having a pizza party to congratulate the mentors that were selected for the program. During the pizza party I will  give the mentors a pull out schedule, which will happen until the course becomes available on educate.

Also, this week I received some school supply donations from the community liaisons, also know as "The Julias." These kind ladies  gave me :

12 boxes pf crayons

•  2 boxes of Kleenex
•  48 erasers
• 12 boxes of colored pencils
• 37 scissors
• 16 notebooks
•  And 10 glue sticks

 

I priced these items on office depot. This would have cost 186. 76 This also includes the supplies they gave me a few weeks ago. Which also included writing utensils and art supplies.

Also, to insure that elective teachers are not upset that I am pulling 50 mentors from their classes. I have given students a form for their parents to fill out that says it is okay for the student to drop electives such as choir to join my class. I have not had any push back from this. In fact, I have had parents call me to talk about the opportunities their child will have by being in the YESS program and the parents are excited about their child becoming mentors.

All in all, this was a busy but great week!