Last Week of School

This has been a very hectic week. Originally this week I had planned a mock 10 year reunion (on Monday) and was given an okay to do this a month in advance.  I had originally asked for upcoming events so that I could plan accordingly. The gym class had planned a hike but because of weather they had to cancel and schedule for the day I had planned on doing this event.

On Monday when I was originally planning to have the mock 10 year reunion the P.E class took over 200 students to Boulder to go hiking, therefore I had to cancel the reunion. I had lots of professionals from around the Denver metro area planning on attending the reunion but had to cancel. Next year, I plan to do the reunion in January so that I will not have conflicts with testing and other field trips. The students did a  College in Colorado activity where the students had to research a college and career. For the reunion the students were going to play the part of who they would be 10 years after high school. Students were going to play career bingo and meet professionals who were working the fields they were interested in. Hopefully next year this event will be successful.

This week on Monday many students were gone hiking, however we had pizza and breakfast burritos for the students and ran groups as normal. On Tuesday my last class was cut short for locker clean outs. We were creating YESS success summer plans. On Tuesday I also met with all of next year's mentors and had all students sign a commitment statement. All of the mentors for next year are excited to meet their mentees.  On Wednesday there was a "moving on up ceremony" and an obstacle course game for the whole school. Thursday all of the 8th graders went to Eliches and today there is an award ceremony, talent show, and a volleyball game. This week was not a normal week, but I was glad to say good by to some awesome mentors, and plan next year with my new mentors!

May 11th- May 15th

This week was a very busy week at Shaw. We had a parent breakfast, YESS end of the year celebration, final grade checks, and a guest speaker..

Earlier in the week, the students learned about discrimination by participating in the "blue eye/ brown eye" experiment. I separated students by eye color and gave privileges to one group and none to the other, The next day we watched the short 10 minute clip of the experiment. We discussed why it was important to be advocates and speak up for those who can't. We also discussed why it is importart to be a leader when no one else is standing up for others.

On Wednesday we had the YESS celebration, Shaw had a great turnout. Students shared some of their "selfies" with me

\

Today Amanda Orta from "Young Woman United" came to speak to my students about inter-sexual identity and the historical roots of Chola/o style/ identity,  It was great for students to openly discuss how they identify and what makes them unique! 

April 27th- April 30th

This week was another successful week at Shaw. On Monday the students had groups, and the mentors did a fun team building activity. The mentors were given one piece of paper and had to make the tallest tower. The mentors could not use glue, scissors, or tape. All mentors worked well together and did an awesome job of communicating with one another.

This week the mentors prepared a lesson  review for their mentee. The mentors reviewed a lesson with their mentee based on their mentee's biggest struggle. Some students did a hot button review, and some did  a lesson on organization and time management . 

On Wednesday the mentors led the lesson, "The face game." Mentors did this lesson last semester and wanted their mentee to do the lesson as well. Many of the mentors were tired of the language the mentees used and wanted the mentees to be aware of their own microaggressions 

On Thursday we discussed power and oppression. Overall, this week was a great week.  

April 20th- April 24th

Time management has been a struggle for most of the mentees and mentors this year. Many students have responsibilities outside of school that include: homework, taking care of younger siblings, chores, and some of the 8th graders already have part time jobs.


One of the activities this week was prioritizing most important to least important things to do, and figuring how much time one needs to dedicate to: homework, after school activities, and  part time jobs. In this activity some students realized that they do not study enough, or that they need to spend less time with their friends and more time with family or their school work. Students are practicing using a master schedule chart and will let me know next Thursday how using a schedule has helped them.

This week I was able to work with the mentors and do a team building activity at Ranum. We did an activity called, "The disappearing circle."  In this activity all mentors had to fit in the circle. As the circle became smaller, the mentors had to rely on one another for support. Through this activity the mentors learned that it is okay to ask one another for help, and the everyone needs to support one another, The mentors felt more confident in asking for help after this lesson.

April 13th- April 17th

This week we had more testing, which meant we had a different schedule. This week the students did the Apple Pie lesson and loved it .Students were to reflect on their relationships with family, friends, and mentor and find out if they give more in a relationship or little in a relationship. I had a few students mention to me that they wanted to tell their family and friends about this lesson.


Also this week we discussed being a "role model" and how we can make a positive impact. Many of my mentees will be mentors next year, or are applying to be mentors next year and have made a commitment to being an excellent role model next year.


We did a review on communication with some extra time we had in class. The students played "telephone" and remembered how important it is to talk directly to the person you have a conflict or issue with. This was a great reminder for the students because students are participating more in gossip these days.

Also, this week I had the opportunity to meet with  some of the students at Ranum Middle School. The students are working on self-portraits. This is an awesome lesson because students can reflect on how they feel, what their favorite environment is, and to let other know a bit about them,

April 7th- 10th

What a busy but productive 4 day week the mentees and mentors had!

This week the students began researching a career that interests them. Students are to find out what kind of education it takes to have their dream job, and students are learning how much these job make annually. After students have figured out how much they will make, students will take their annual salary and figure out how much they will make per month. From their monthly salary the students have to create a monthly budget. The students have to figure out what kind of house they can afford as well as a car, health insurance, car insurance, cell phone, gas, groceries, etc,. The students are finding out that they NEED college.

Over Spring break I assigned homework. Students were to create YESS superheros. The students were very creative ( below is a picture of one of my favorites).

Finally, Christian Munoz spoke at the YESS Road to Success Breakfast and did an excellent job. Christian will be speaking at the next board of education meeting on April 14th, and he will be speaking to Shaw staff on April 16th.

Good news in the YESS Institute:  Brenna Torres was a awarded a cash prize from the La Raza Youth Leadership Conference and will receive this award on April 18th.  Twenty-three YESS students will be attending the conference next Saturday!

Brenna Torres, La Raza Scholarship winner! 

YESS Superhero

Christian Munoz

March 23rd- March 27th

This week the students at Shaw Heights Middle school did make up testing,  a cardboard challenge, and on Friday the 8th grader had a movie day and there was an assembly. This left me little time to work with the mentees and mentors but we did have some great discussions in class.

This week the students discovered what EMOdwarf they are. Students were really interested in the topic and every student participated in conversations. The next day we discussed, "what is anger?" Students discussed what hot buttons are pushed and how they become angry. Students opened up about personal stories that have happened in their past. For example, a students said becomes angry when people say she is a liar. She get mad because her father use to lie to her all of time, she does not want to be like her dad. Talking about this issue helped her discover the history behind her hot button.

On Thursday Valencia Santistevan, Nathalie Montonez, Mitzy Gonzalesz, and Zack Martinez let my 5, 6,and 7th period classed. They lead the discussion on stress.Today, students started making their YESS superhero and will be working on this during spring break. Student will present their super hero on April 7th.

YESS Superhero

6th grade boys working on their homework during lunch