November 30- December 4th

This was our first week back from Thanksgiving break and the students came back motivated and ready to finish the semester strong. This week the mentors created a three-week goal plan for themselves as well as their mentees.  On Wednesday the mentors went over the goals they had set and helped the mentees collect missing work, as well as work on the missing assignments they had.

On Tuesday we did an activity called, "Who are you at_____." This is where students reflect on who they are when they are around different people and different environments. During this activity there were a lot of "ah ha" moments where students realized that they act up in from of their friends for attention, and they act a different way at home because they know they will get in trouble.  Many of the YESS students told me that they wanted to be true to themselves in all situations, and around all people.

Also this week, the students did "Self-esteem graphs." This is where students graph their self-esteem through out the day. It was nice to see that most students had higher self-esteem during the YESS class.

Overall, we had another successful week!

Self Esteem Presentations 

Special Edition- Nuggets Night

On Friday November 20th 2015, Five Shaw Heights students attended the  Denver Nuggets Vs. Phoenix Suns game. One mentee and four mentors were able to enjoy a night of fun at the Pepsi center. In order for the students to attend the game they had to have no missing assignments, no suspensions, and have been dedicated to their success this school year. The students had a great time meeting some Denver Nugget cheerleaders, and even had a moment with the Mascot on the big screen. I missed this moment because it happened so quickly, but it was definitely a memorable night the students will not forget. 

Nov 16th - 20th

Thanksgiving is approaching and the YESS students of Shaw did a week of reflection. On Monday the mentors looked at a women's immigration story. They learned how this women came to the United States to give her children opportunities she did not have in her home country. The mentors then discussed their personal family immigration story, weather it was their grandparents, parents or themselves. Students discussed  how they are thankful for their parents and grandparents' decision to come to the US. Students came to the realization that their success is their family's success.  This gave the YESS mentors motivation to succeed and to help their mentees succeed.

On Tuesday the students did a house building project called "Poverty and Wealth." The students where divided into three teams. One group was considered the wealthy group, another was the middle class group, and the last group was the poverty group. Each group was given different supplies according to their wealth.  The wealthy group had access to paint, a cardboard box, all supplies in the art cabinet. The middle class group had scissors, glue, and all scrap paper (which was a lot), markers, crayons, and colored pencils, and no brand new art supplies. The poverty group was given an envelope full of a handful of scraps, no glue, no scissors, and 5 crayons. All groups had a goal of creating a home.

In this project students could get more supplies, as long as the whole group decided on going to college. If they decided as a group to advance themselves through education they could earn more supplies to build their home.

Poverty

I was very amazed as I watched the students build their homes. Some students donated supplies to the poverty group as well as assisted the poverty group with ideas on building their home. On Wednesday the students did a group discussion on what they learned. Here are some of the students' responses:
"It wasn't fair seeing some students have more school supplies than others."

Middle class 

" Even though we were in poverty, we still built a better house than the middle class and wealthy group. This just shows that you can be successful no matter where you come from."
"Education can give you more opportunities, when we said we wanted a bachelors we got more supplies."

To finish up the week, the students made cards for people they are thankful for. Overall, this was another successful week at Shaw.

Wealthy 

November 2nd- 6th

Belly Breathing, Time management, Goals, and Self-Reflection

This week was a week of reflecting on our goals and dreams, setting goals to reach our dreams, and to learn about healthy alternatives to relaxing. 

On Monday the students had groups. Mentees went to the "Why Try" class, while mentors stayed with me and learned about a boy named Amar. This boy is 14 years old and lives in India. He works two jobs, with a total of three shifts per day, attends school, and still manages to get his homework done. The young boy starts his homework at 10:15pm every night. Students listened to this boy's story and reflected on their time management, and compared their schedule with Amar's schedule. 

Students discussed how they felt watching this short 9 minute film. Students said things like, " I feel so lazy."  Some students also said, " I have no excuse in not doing my school work. If Amar can do it, so can I." 

The next day the mentors helped their mentees schedule their day and better plan their evenings. Some students realized that they spend more time playing video games than studying, some realized that they nap too much.  It was great having the mentors talk to their mentees about scheduling more time for studying and school work. One 2nd year mentor taught the class, which he enjoyed doing. 

On Wednesday the students did belly breathing exercises and listened to medication music. After students focused on their breathing students reflected on their daily stresses and weather or not it was out of their control.  Students realized that parents getting divorce, family dying, moving, and family dealing with sickness is out of their control. Students realized that the need to take more time for themselves, even if it is 15 minutes a day to just breath and be alone. Students loved this activity and have requested that we do it once a month.  

Thursday, the students made ESMART goals and decided if it was a good goal, or if they need to set new goals.

Today students will be doing an activity called "Heart. Mind. Soul." Students will label a human body and answer the following questions:

Head: dreams or goals we have

·         Graduation?

·         What you want to be when you get out of school?

·         What you want for your future?

Ears: things we like to listen to

·         Types of music?

·         Singers? Bands? Rappers?

·         Sounds? Wind, water, city noises…

Eyes: How we like other people to see us

·         A good friend?

·         Funny?

·         Smart?

·         Tough?

·         Beautiful?

·         Talented?

Shoulders: problems you may have to face.

·         Balancing work and school?

·         Gossip?

·         Staying caught up with school?

·         Taking care of family?

Right Hand: things we like to make or do (with our hands)

·         Art? Poetry Music?

·         Winning passes?

·         Food?

Left Hand: the things & people we rely on for support/help

·         Family?

·         Teachers? Coaches?

·         Friends?

·         Church?

Stomach: things we like to eat

·         Favorite dishes?

·         Snacks?

·         Restaurants?

Heart: things we feel strongly about

·         What is important to you?

·         Who/what do you love?

Right foot: places we go

·         Where do you go now?

·         Your neighborhood? The park? Favorite places?

Left Foot: places we WANT to go

·         Where do you want to go in your life?

·         Anywhere in the world: for vacation, to live, to visit

                           

   

October 26th- 29th

This week the students at Shaw learned more about one another. Now that students really know one another and have a relationship with one another, the students created picture collages. The students brought in pictures from their early childhood and shared their pictures in class. Some of the stories student shared included: divorce of parents, death of loved ones, vacations and celebrations, incarceration of loved ones,  and other significant moments in their lives. When students shared personal things with the class, the class comforted the students and thanked them for sharing. It was great to see students supporting one another.

On a Side note , this week students in my homeroom (academic enrichment class) competed in a Dia De Los Muertos Door decorating competition.  We will find out next week who won! 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM YESS AT SHAW! 

Oct 12- Oct-16

5 Core Emotions and Team Building 

This week the students looked at the 5 different core emotions. Students read through scenarios and  examined how the people in the scenario felt in the story. Student then shared experiences with one another and examined what emotion they felt at the time.

Today the students did a team building activity called "The Egg." I would throw the egg and students would work together to make sure that the egg didn't crack. Through this activity the students reflected on their listening and communication skills, as well as examined what kind of  leader they are, and if they worked well as a team. It was a fun Friday here at Shaw.

Sept 23rd- Oct 2nd

Monday Classes, Philanthropy, and Recognizing Beliefs

This week we started the Monday leadership/ wellness class. Mentees go with Community Reach and learn the "Why Try" curriculum. While mentees are with CRC, mentors are with me learning about different leaders in history, and will examine their leadership styles. We started learning about leadership by looking at the organizers who brought forth the LA walkout in 1968.  (We watched a short clip on the 13 who made change in the LA schools). Student will soon look at the leadership styles of Corky Gonzales, Cesar Chavez, Rejes Lopes Tijerina, and Delores Huerta. Next month we will look at the Civil Rights Movement and essential leaders in the movement. After Christmas break we will fast forward to looking at leaders today, such as Malala Yousafzai. By spring time students will research an influential leader of their choice and describe their leadership style, how their leadership style is the same, and how they plan to continue their leadership in the future and make an impact with their mentee. 

This week students learned about philanthropy and are voting on a community project they would like to do this fall. Some students want to do a 2nd annual clothing drive for A Precious Child. Some students want to make key chains for children with cancer, and some students want to make Christmas cards for the troops. We are in the process of reaching out to organizations that we can collaborate with. 

At the end of the week we reflected on beliefs we have about ourselves, how we learned these beliefs about ourselves, and how we can learn to empower, motivate, and be positive about ourselves, Overall, we had a great week this week.

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