Hot Buttons & Hot Cider!

It is so very hard to believe that is will be our final posting for the YESS blog at Shaw Heights for the 2016 calendar year! Time has really flown by this semester as I got to know each and every one of our YESS scholars. As I write this, I am already missing my time in the YESS classroom, for being with our scholars is truly a rewarding experience.

This past week we did a lesson on "Hot Buttons"-- on what, exactly, makes us angry. Many of our scholars were looking forward to this lesson as they all stated how much the worksheet revealed about their tendencies to get upset, and how empowered they all felt after identifying their major triggers. Our mentors are really stepping up at this point in the semester, taking a lot of ownership over their mentees' work and celebrating their mentees' successes. While this lesson certainly brought up a lot of emotion for all of our scholars, our mentors did a wonderful job guiding their mentees through the assignment.

We wrapped up our year by having a wonderful donut and hot cider party which was hosted by Tony Streno. Our scholars were overjoyed at the sight of the delicious donuts, and many had never heard of hot cider, let alone had any. We were so very thankful for Mr. Streno's generosity. To wrap up our discussion on EQ vs. IQ and the need to establish healthy skills such as self awareness, social awareness, self management, and relationship management, we watched the movie "Elf" while enjoying our treats. In the film the main character is an "elf" named Buddy, who is really a human who was adopted by elves as a baby, and is on a journey to find his real father. Therein lies the conflict of the film, however, as Buddy is very emotional but has no boundaries, and his real father is driven by his desire to make money without care or cause for the feelings of others. Our scholars loved watching the film and we paused throughout to point out the need for Buddy to be more socially aware, or for his father to work on relationship management skills.

The front of the YESS holiday card.

The back of the YESS holiday card.

All in all it was a wonderful end to a fantastic year with our YESS scholars at Shaw Heights, topped off by the display of artwork on behalf of our Shaw Heights scholars on the YESS company holiday card. Many of our scholars turned in impressive drawings of what YESS means to them in relation to the holiday season, and four were chosen to be on the card this year. We are so proud of our amazing artistic scholars.

Here's to wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season--we cannot wait to be back together in January for the new year!

EQ vs IQ: What is Emotional Intellegence?

This past week in our YESS program at Shaw Heights we wrapped up our projects on the four key skills--Self-Awareness, Social Awareness, Self-Management, and Relationship Management--by having each group present their poster to the class. Our mentors and mentees did a wonderful job working together on their presentations, and I was quite impressed with how outspoken and confident our mentees were during their presentations.



Yuliana and Ximena hold their group's poster on Social Awareness

All of the groups from each class were able to answer questions about their subject in addition to being able to provide a personal account of a time when he or she either used or ignored that particular skill, citing their experiences with evidence. It was so impressive to see our scholars apply information such as relationship management and social awareness to their own lives, especially in relation to how they will act in the future now that they are equipped with this knowledge. (For instance: one of our YESS scholars referred back to a fact we learned last week when I asked how social awareness may help us succeed; he was able to recall that 85% of us do not feel valued/respected by our peers, and that if we are aware of this, we may be able to approach a situation at work or school more sensitively, which may increase our chances of succeeding).

Once we completed our presentations, we moved on to a discussion centered around EQ (emotional quotient). Many of our scholars were familiar with the term IQ, though only a handful had ever heard of EQ (and many of these scholars were in YESS last year). We went over a packet of information about EQ and IQ, including a map that details which countries around the world have the highest and lowest EQs.




Isai shows off his results from the EQ Self Assessment

Our scholars were then asked to take a self-assessment to determine their current level of emotional intelligence. The assessment consists of four categories--self-awareness, self-control, empathy, and responding with integrity. We had a couple of scholars who scored perfect scores in some of these categories, and most of our scholars scored well in all of these areas. It seems, however, that self-control is the category our scholars need to work on the most! We will continue to work on skills to increase our self-control.

We are all looking forward to break next week!

5 Core Emotions & EQ

This past week in YESS we began our discussion on emotional intelligence (EQ) by talking about "nature vs. nurture" and the curious story of Phineas Gage, a man who lost a portion of his brain after a traumatic accident. Our scholars debated whether we are in fact a product of our environment or if we are born and destined to act and/or behave a certain way. Many were able to touch on the fact that it is a combination of the two factors that influence our behavior, though we agreed that the environment plays a crucial role in one's development.

We read the story of Phineas Gage to better understand the science behind our emotions, for Phineas Gage was a man of good character who was admired by all who knew him--that is, until he was injured on the job by an explosion which sent a 42 inch metal rod through the lower half of his skull. Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly to our scholars who now understand the brain!) Phineas was able to talk, breathe, and walk right after the accident. He not only survived but made a "full physical recovery." However, when it came to his mental and emotional well being, he was forever changed. As my scholars pointed out, only part of his brain was damaged, which is why he was able to do math, have a conversation, and continue working at his job on the railroad. What he could not do was relate to others in any capacity, for the portion of his brain that was damaged was the one responsible for regulating emotions.

Once we unpacked the story of Phineas Gage, our scholars began a research project on the four key skills necessary for dealing with our five core emotions (anger, happiness, sadness, disgust, and anxiety). The four key skills are: Self-Management, Relationship Management, Self-Awareness, and Social Awareness. Scholars worked in teams of 4-6 to figure out the definition of their key skill, why it is important for our EQ, and what we can do to strengthen that particular skill. The groups were then required to design a poster with all the relevant information for their skill which they will be presenting to our class this week.

Everyone did a wonderful job both working together and creating an informative poster, and I am proud that our scholars are taking this work so seriously. We have many mentors who are really looking forward to our lesson this week on "Hot Bottons." Stay tuned!

Presedential Elections & Student Leadership

We had an exciting week in our YESS program at Shaw Heights this past week as we held our class "Co-Presidential" elections. As a school we are working on providing more leadership opportunities for our scholars, and everyone was buzzing this week as we discussed these new roles and how they can positively affect our classroom environment.

One mentee's flyer for elections!

One mentor's flyer for elections!

Before we got into the elections, though, we had Mentor Monday and Tutoring Tuesday. Our mentors really enjoy having a day set aside for just their needs and concerns as mentors, and I always look forward to our discussions on Mondays. Meanwhile, our mentees are really getting into the WhyTry program, which is a wellness class hosted on Mentor Monday. This special, differentiated time on Mondays allows us to address the needs of our mentors and mentees in order to best support each and every scholar.

Our Tutoring Tuesday was a bit quiet this week as our 8th graders were attending the career exposition and were out for the majority of the day. Even still, our mentees did a great job of coming in and getting right to work on their academic goals. I am seeing so much growth in our mentees, especially when it comes to being more focused and organized with their assignments.

A mentee gives a speech for our class presidential elections.

Once we were all back together as a class on Wednesday, we got into unpacking the roles and responsibilities of a class president. We brainstormed in our journals to see what each thought our co-presidents should do for our class. As each scholar shared out, I drafted a Word document in order to ensure each class has a specified set of roles for their presidents. The scholars loved getting a say in these new roles and responsibilities, and they really liked that each class drafted their own document.

Dejah and Jalius, both mentors, pose with the class contract after winning.

The following day we hosted campaign speeches, which was a great opportunity for our scholars to speak to the class about his or her strengths--and weaknesses. The speeches were really wonderful, and many did a great job handling speaking to the entire class about his or her specific weakness. Following the conclusion of all the speeches (anyone who was interested was welcome to make a speech to the class!), we hosted the elections.

Not every class period had enough time to vote, so we will wrap up once we return from Thanksgiving break.
Our class co-presidents are:

3rd period-- Aliyana and Gio
4th period-- TBD
5th period-- Breann and Advino
6th period-- Kiana and Quan
7th period-- Dejah and Jalius

Thoughts vs Emotions & Positive Affirmations!

This past week was quite an emotionally charged one for our YESS scholars at Shaw Heights. Many were reeling from the news of the election, and so we spent the week unpacking these emotions by trying to better understand the connection (and disconnect) between thoughts and emotions. We talked at length about the fact that emotion and logic are regulated by different parts of the brain, and studied different images of the brain in our efforts to understand the complexity of thoughts and emotions.

The more we talked, the more our scholars were able to touch on the demarcation point between logical thought and emotions. Several shared out experiences from when someone had crossed his or her "personal boundary" and the fight that ensued as a result of feeling very emotional and reactionary in that moment. We discussed, as a class, how thoughts and feelings are different, and took the Thoughts vs. Feelings quiz to gauge our understanding of why, "I feel anxious," is a feeling, and, "I feel as though I am being torn apart," is a thought. This was a tricky topic for many, and it took two days before our scholars had a solid understanding of thoughts and emotions. Each day we began by rereading the quote on the board:

"When dealing with people, remember-- you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion." --Daniel Carnegie



One scholar's list of "10 Positive Affirmations"

Our scholars agreed that we are all certainly creatures of emotion, and we further discussed how some thoughts can begin to ruminate in the brain, becoming dangerous to our health. Everyone seemed to agree that ruminations are unhealthy and are unwelcome, yet we all seem to fall prey to these emotionally-charged thoughts. We touched on the fact that positive thoughts, or affirmations, can actually help break this negative cycle.

In order to better understand how logic and emotions affect one another, we watched a short film called "The Quiet," in which a young, half-deaf girl gets bullied while riding home on the school bus. The young lady becomes emotionally overwhelmed and storms off the bus, leaving her cell phone behind. Her mother had texted her to let her know that a man named John, driving a blue van, would be picking her up that day, but the young lady never saw the message. Instead, she saw the blue van waiting on the road and panicked, taking off into the woods in fear. John tried to catch her, which then turned into a wild chase through the woods, as the young lady grew increasingly frightened. In the end, she falls and gets hurt, and is later found by a search party. The movie plays off the fear of the viewer, and afterwards we discussed how fear, in particular, can be a very strong emotion which often overrides our ability to think logically.

To wrap up the week on a more positive note, we each spent the last day of the week drafting a list of 10 positive affirmations. Once each scholar has a completed this list, they were then asked to pick their favorite affirmation to illustrate for our classroom. We all enjoyed this activity as we talked about how positive thoughts can help break the negative ruminations and thought patterns that can occur in our minds.

Personal Boundaries & Trust Walks

This past week in YESS we continued our unit on relationships by discussing what our personal boundaries are- how to identify these boundaries, how to set healthy boundaries in our various relationships, and how best to clarify our expectations for personal boundaries and what to do should someone violate our boundaries and, "cross the line." The scholars were quiet at first, but as each individual shared out at least one personal boundary, the class excitement and energy grew. We made a list of all the "no-go" boundaries in our lives, and the list kept growing as we continued to talk. Many began opening up as to why they felt they needed a certain boundary, which in turn encouraged other, more reserved scholars to open up about their needs and experiences.

We discussed different types of boundaries--mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual- and the need to communicate our desires about these boundaries to others in order to form healthy, balanced relationships. Some commonly shared boundaries amongst our scholars were against negative behaviors and/or beliefs that they feel act as boundaries to personal success. Examples include individuals who lie, cheat, steal, abuse others, use drugs, smoke cigarettes, gossip, bully, homophobic individuals or those who do not believe in LGBTQ rights, aggressive individuals and gang members. We also discussed boundaries against behaviors that make us physically uncomfortable, such those who invade our personal space without asking by way of hugs or intimate touches that feel unwarranted.

Overall, the classes thoroughly enjoyed our talks on personal boundaries. Many felt validated when I told them they had a right to feel upset should someone cross one of their personal boundaries. Perhaps the most pertinent part of the lesson was not necessarily identifying these boundaries, but our discussion on what to do next if someone crosses a personal boundary. When I asked how it felt when an individual crosses one of our personal boundaries (and what one should do), I was met with a pretty unanimous feeling of frustration and anger. Very few were able to articulate what they say and do in this situation; the majority said they tend to be reactionary once someone has "crossed a line."

We took a day to unpack these feelings around boundaries and how to proceed in a manner best suited to progress-that is, not falling prey to reactionary emotions in that moment. We identified, as a class, ways to cope and to protect our emotions. Scholars noted the need to clarify what one's boundaries are from the start of a relationship so that issues don't just "crop up" suddenly; rather, each person is certain what the other's boundaries are, and, more importantly, what will happen as a result of crossing this understood boundary. We decided that the best method would be to distance ourselves from those who fail to respect our boundaries, and that we need to be cautious and clear communicators when forming new relationships.

To complete our week, we did a "trust walk" where the mentees and mentors each took turns being blindfolded and lead through the maze by simply listening to the voice of his or her partner. I even participated with my student assistant's help, and everyone was over the moon with laughter and joy as I blindly stumbled around the classroom. Afterward we all discussed how the blindfold made us uneasy, though everyone trusted that his or her partner would take them safely through the maze. It was a very fun day to bookend our week discussing boundaries and trust in relationships!

Tutoring Tuesday & A Word to the Wise...

We have really been enjoying our new unit on relationships in our YESS classes at Shaw Heights this past week. So many mentors were eager to get into this unit in order to have their mentees gain more insight as to why these relationships in particular- mentor and mentee- can really be impactful IF we are considerate about the needs of others. We have been slowly delving into several topics around forming healthy relationships, and this week we reflected back on our lessons on listening, exhibiting an equal effort in relationships, and honesty/trust. Our scholars noted how these characteristics were imperative to forming lasting relationships with their mentor or mentee, and we had a wonderful conversation about the need for direct communication- not just in our classroom, but in every area of our lives.

Building on our discussion of the need for direct communication, we played the "telephone game" as a class in order to see first hand just how convoluted a message can be when relayed from person to person. Many scholars touched on how this game reflected the "rumor mills" or "gossip trains" that run rampant through social circles at school and even beyond, on social media. With this in mind, our scholars each wrote a personal letter to either their mentor or mentee(s), stating their feelings about YESS, their expectations for one another, and some of their fears and worries. While some found it difficult to get started, we soon had every scholar working hard on expressing his or her feelings and desires.

Since the weather has been so warm lately, we headed outside on Friday afternoon to share letters with one another. So many were nervous to hand off their carefully crafted letter as these letters were certainly emotionally charged and held private information that some individuals were hesitant to share. With a little encouragement everyone received and read their letter, and it was great to see so many re-reading and even gushing over the letter he or she had received. There were some beautiful moments of bravery and courage as some mentors really opened up to their mentees, and the gratitude on the faces of some of these mentees was so incredibly genuine.

In other news, our scholars have really begun to benefit from our "Tutoring Tuesday," a time set aside every Tuesday where mentors help mentees get caught up on assignments from other classes, and all scholars have an opportunity to get a handle on their classwork and future tests and quizzes. The mentees have really been able to see just how lucky they are to have the support of YESS and their mentors as the school year continues and assignments become more difficult. We are all growing so much!

Delving into Relationships: Listening Skills & Apple Pie!

This week in YESS our scholars began a new unit on relationships. We started our unit with a lesson on listening as many of our mentees are struggling to listen to the advice of their mentors. Our journal prompt asked the scholars to contemplate the following Turkish proverb:

"If speaking is silver, listening is gold."

We shared out our ideas about what this meant and how it pertains to our YESS classroom. Scholars pointed out that while speaking is valuable, one can learn much more by listening, which is the greater asset of the two. I then passed out the a listening quiz which each mentor and mentee pair did together. There were 28 questions which asked each individual to consider how they act when someone else is speaking to them. Once they were done, we went over the scores together as a group and discussed why we thought we earned the scores we did. One could score a total of 140 points on the quiz, and there were three different "levels" for listening skills. The majority of our students fell into the level 2 category, scoring between 81 and 111 points.

Many of our scholars struggle to listen when the speaker is controlling the conversation and/or they feel bored by the subject matter. Many also struggle to focus on the conversation at hand when they are either on the telephone or are surrounded by other people conversing. A very large number of our scholars admitted to daydreaming or fidgeting while trying to listen to someone else. Yet all agreed that healthy listening is imperative to the success of their mentor/mentee relationship.

The next day were able to put this information to work by creating skits in our mentor/mentee pairs. Each was asked to select a listening level to act out for the class while keeping that level a secret. It was great to see the scholars exhibiting these behaviors in our classroom so that we are able to comment as a class on what works well and what does not.

While I was away for my sister's wedding the scholars went over a lesson on "Apple Pie," a worksheet which details the necessity of forming equal relationships. Many of our mentors were looking forward to this lesson for quite some time as they really connect with the need to form healthy, balanced relationships. It was wonderful to see mentors remembering lessons and sharing the importance of those lessons with their mentees.

This week was also our spirit week as Shaw Heights and so many of our YESS scholars dressed up for the occasion. Pictured are outfits from the Hippie or Preppy day and the Night In or Night Out day.

Defining Success & Student Conferences

We finished our first unit this week in our YESS program at Shaw Heights by wrapping up with a lesson on defining success. Scholars brainstormed a list of individuals they knew to be successful (no celebrities allowed!) and had to indicate why they believed these people were successful. When we shared out our ideas as a class, we touched on the values and characteristics these individuals possessed that helped them become successful. Many noticed that there were shared values such as grit and perseverance, organization and responsibility, and the ability to ask for help when necessary.

With this in mind, the scholars started working on a detailed worksheet about success. They worked in pairs and collaborated as tables to discuss various questions such as: 

What is the difference between success and failure?

What does success look like for you when you are 25? 45?

What are the three dominating factors that will contribute to your success right now?

The following day we regrouped to have a class discussion about the worksheet and the answers each scholar had provided. Using the Kagan technique of "No Hands Up," I called on students by way of shuffling index cards with each scholar's name so that everyone contributed equally to our conversation. It was wonderful to hear the opinions on what success looks like and how each believes they will achieve success. By far the most rewarding part of the lesson was when we went over the questions pertaining to future success. Our mentors and mentees were very eager to share their visions and dreams for their futures, and their hopes and desires provided meaningful framework for our  discussion about how we can implement changes in order to be more successful in the present.

As we discussed success, little did I know that our Community Reach liaison, Lorainne, had planned a special gift and surprise to honor my winning the staff member of the month award at Shaw Heights. She organized a beautiful assortment of gifts from the scholars, and she also had each write a very sweet message congratulating me on all the hard work which had lead to this success. I even had several scholars point out that I had won this award due to my awesome grit as I had to work through two surgeries this month. What great timing with this week's lesson on how to attain success!

This week we also had our first Student Conferences for the year, so we spent time as a class filling out a script which asked each individual to evaluate their performance thus far. Mentors and mentees were asked to grade the following: attendance and readiness to work; participation; demonstrating grit/perseverance and respect; organization; and lastly the academic work each has done by way of assignments, journal prompts, and projects. We will use student numbers to display each scholar's current progress on our new classroom charts, which will allow for more transparency in our classroom.

It was so wonderful to be able to meet so many of the family members I had heard so much about in class. Our conferences lasted from 5:00 until 8:00 the first night, and until 7:30 the second night. We had a great turnout and a lot of families said that they had heard so much about YESS and were so excited to come into our classroom. Next week we will delve further into relationships in our lesson plans!

Trust Bridges

This week in YESS we did an amazing art project centered around trust. We began by doing a journal entry on trust. I asked the scholars to use a circle map to brainstorm words they associated with trust- adjectives, synonyms, even the names of people they actually trust. After we shared out some of the ideas we had come up with, we broke into mentor/mentee pairs to complete a worksheet on trust. The worksheet asked the scholars to identify certain people in their lives--such as parents, siblings, friends, teachers, counselors, and mentors--and to indicate how much they trust those individuals--never, sometimes, mostly, or always. There were several questions on the worksheet as well as to why they trusted certain people and not others, and whether they believed they were considered trustworthy by their peers.

The scholars really took to this topic as many are struggling to trust others. We discussed how people can earn or break your trust, how time is a major factor, and how trust can be repaired. We then discussed the objective of constructing a trust bridge to visually represent how each mentor and mentee felt about trust and why. After we took some time to come up with our initial designs I let the scholars get to work on their projects.

It was so wonderful to see so many taking creative initiative on this assignment. We had a ton of innovative designs and concepts, and once everyone was done (we took almost two days to complete these amazing projects!) we did a gallery walk and share out. Scholars were asked to identify a trust bridge other than their own with which they connected. They also had to speak as to why they felt a connection with that particular bridge. We had a couple of class favorites from each period as the art and design students really excelled with this lesson, yet all the scholars said how much they enjoyed doing this project.

We are looking forward to next week when we will be wrapping up our current unit with a lesson on defining success before moving on to our next unit on relationship management.

Facebook Questionnaires & 6 Word Sentences

This week in YESS we worked on the Facebook Questionnaire, which each student filled out according to whatever her or she currently likes- favorites, family information, future dreams, and fun facts. These worksheets were a great exercise for scholars who were in YESS last year because they provided perspective as to how one's interests can change over time. For those new to YESS, the worksheets were a fun exercise which allowed for us all to get to know one another better.

When the scholars finished filling out the worksheets (with quite a bit of information!) we then moved on to making Google slide presentations. Each mentor and mentee pair exchanged Facebook Questionnaire's in order to create a slide show on his or her partner. We spent a day in the computer lab putting the slide shows together, and then had a day of presentations. The scholars were all quite nervous to present, but did a great job using our new Smart TV. We all learned a lot about each person and many realized they had several things in common with people they did not know very well.

We also did a lesson this week on "6 Word Sentences," where the scholars had to use 6 words to provide a summary of themselves, a relationship that they value, and what they would NOT want their mentor or mentee to ever say to them. After brainstorming some ideas out with circle maps we got to work on the sentences. It was a slow start for some as they worked out sentences and whittled them down to only 6 words, but once they got the hang of it they really started writing very poignant sentences. Here a few that really resonated with some of our scholars when we shared out in class:

"I miss you, its lonely here." -Andres Armenta
"Make me smile, make me cry." -Ingrid Duran
"Try hard, work harder, gain more." - Robert Montes
"Lost trust, lost them, forever hurt." -Stacey Tejada Sandoval
"Full of deep thoughts, seeking happiness." -Ava Martinez
"Artistic and hardworking- effort is important." -Julianna Romero
"Everything was fine until now- darn." -Brisa DeAlba Gonzalez
"People in disguises...trust very few." -Haley Gonzalez

I would also like to mention that two of our YESS scholars have been selected as Student of the Month here at Shaw Heights. Cora Walters was 7th grade Student of the Month for August, and Juilanna Romero was just selected as 8th grade Student of the Month for September. We are so proud of our YESS leaders!

Building Trust: Why Mentor?

This week in YESS our scholars discussed why mentoring is an important part of a successful, thriving community, particularly in relation to building trust and showing support for others in order to rid our communities of acts of microagression and cyberbullying. We spent the beginning of the week discussing mentoring and how it can help strengthen individuals and those with whom they come into contact. Our scholars then designed a map of their community and indicated where they thought mentoring should be adopted and why.

Once we got the conversation started, many offered out ideas as to where they thought mentoring might be helpful: in businesses and offices such as the police station, firehouse, and local government; in the realm of athletics on different sports teams and at local recreation centers; at local parks and other popular hang out spots (favorite restaurants, local stores, and neighborhood blocks); at home in the form of mentors who can support older siblings; and finally during times of transportation in our community, such as the bus ride or walk to Shaw Heights. A couple even mentioned that they would like to have a mentor at King Soopers to show them what sort of healthy foods they should be buying, and how they should prepare meals at home. It was a wonderful conversation that really got our mentors thinking about how they can affect positive change outside of Shaw Heights.

After we completed our community maps, we got to work on our Facebook Questionnaire and Google slide presentations. Each scholar filled out a worksheet which resembled a Facebook page, filling out information on what their favorite subjects are, who is in their family, and what they dream about achieving in the future. Mentors and mentees then switched papers in order to begin building a slide show presentation about their partner. The scholars did a great job of including the important information about his or her partner while adding fun clip art and other images to really make the presentations pop. We will be presenting them to the class this week, and everyone is so excited to use the giant "Smart TV" to present their work to the class.


Several of our scholars entered the YESS "EmoTroll" Art Contest, and we are eagerly awaiting the results. The contest asked one to reconsider the "EmoTrolls" used in the YESS curriculum to come up with a new take on the art work and to redraw the faces of at least three characters with names (and matching emotions) such as "Bomby," "Vengy," and "Smiley." We have so many talented artists in our program, and it was wonderful to see the creative and unique entries that were submitted.

This week we will begin to move into deeper discussions around defining success and relationship management. Stay tuned for more pictures once we present our Google slide shows!

Speed Matching- Mentors & Mentees!

What an exciting week we had as we finally were able to match our mentors with their new mentees! Our scholars have been anxiously awaiting the news as to whom they will be working with for the duration of the school year. On Wednesday we did the “Speed Matching” lesson where our mentors interviewed the mentees to see how well suited they may (or may not be) for one another. It was a day full of energy and excitement as the scholars asked and answered questions about what their favorite class was, what they were struggling with in school and/or at home, and what their academic and/or personal goals were for the year. Each mentor spoke to each mentee for one minute before recording their thoughts and moving on to the next individual. At the conclusion of the lesson, each scholar wrote down their first, second, and third choice for either a mentor or mentee with whom they desired to work, and indicated why they chose those individuals.  

It was a long process as my student assistants and I worked to pair the scholars up according to the desires and needs of each individual. We also created thoughtful seating charts so that our mentors and mentees can begin to not only support each other, but other pairs in class as well. Once we had settled the details, I was able to announce the pairings to the classes, and was met with widespread approval- everyone was so thrilled to finally be matched!

                Our mentors have begun the process of getting to know their mentee’s schedules and are getting a handle on what the needs of their new mentees are so that they can begin to implement plans to start working towards goals as a team. Our mentors and mentees have also begun working on an art project where they get to design their community and identify where they would like to see mentoring in that community (beyond the YESS program at Shaw Heights). Many voiced their desires to have mentors on their sports teams, in their church groups, and several even nominated the idea of having “sibling mentors”- a way of taking the responsibility of being a sibling to the next level. It was wonderful to see how much our scholars value mentoring.

                Lastly, I would like to congratulate Erin Ballew and Ava Martinez, two of our 8^th grade mentors, who won the YESS t-shirt contest with their concept of a black and white “jersey” style shirt with a large “03” on the back, indicating the number of years YESS has been at Shaw Heights. Julianna Romero also deserves a shout out for her amazing hand drawn design of a Shaw Heights falcon which was widely admired.

      We are all looking forward to getting deeper into our work with our new mentors and mentees next week!

Time Capsules & T-Shirts

Our scholars have been hard at work this week designing the YESS t-shirts for this school year in addition to building a class time capsule. Our scholars each got a chance to design a t-shirt logo on a sheet of paper. They were invited to include drawings of the school mascot, inspirational quotes, unique logo designs, and were required to include both the YESS and the Shaw Heights Middle School logos.  We’ve had some wonderful, innovative designs and we are looking forward to voting on our favorite design next week. 

This week we also filled out questionnaires for our time capsule regarding our current favorites- such as favorite artists, favorite foods, favorite class—to gain some perspective come May when we will open the capsule as a class. Each student also wrote a personal letter to include in the capsule, which will be so interesting to read at the end of the year. While some struggled to fill out the work sheet, others really connected with the assignment. Several scholars wrote personal letters that were more than a page long!

 

We wrapped the week with a “Fun Friday,” where the YESS scholars were able to chat and connect over board games after completing a 20-minute study hall. They really love being able to play these games to unwind after a busy week at Shaw Heights Middle School, and it is a really wonderful time to chat with each scholar about what is going on in his or her life.

We are going to be doing “Speed Matching” next week, which is when our mentors and mentees will finally begin to pair up! The scholars could not be more thrilled to get this underway. We also have several student assistants who will be co-teaching the “Speed Matching” lesson. Stay tuned!