My apologies for the missed week, everyone! Life has been an absolute whirlwind with the end of the year and an amazing opportunity to co-host a two-day presentation at the Colorado Mentoring Summit.
Over the last two weeks, we took quite a bit of time to close out our mentoring partnerships. Students identified the three things they enjoyed about their mentor/mentee, as well as their hopes and dreams for their partners. In addition to these conversations, students received their Time Capsules from the beginning of the year. The kids always love opening these and reminiscing about their lives from eight months ago.
This week, we're continuing to bid one another a fond farewell. Speaking of that, many of you already know I've been promoted to Director of Operations here at YESS, which means I'll have the chance to support all the Program Managers in various schools in the area. I'm extremely excited for this next step in my career, although I'm saddened to leave the classroom. Working with the staff and students at Scott has been the highlight of my career and I'm so grateful for my time here. The YESS program will continue to operate next year and we are currently in the process of recruiting and hiring an outstanding teacher to facilitate the class.
Warmly,
Sara Sankovich
Monday, May 21, 2018
Monday, April 30, 2018
April 23rd - 27th
This was a big week for YESS, as we hosted our annual fundraising breakfast on Wednesday. Two SCMS scholars shared their stories and did a lovely job speaking in front of a large crowd. I was extremely proud of their work!
In the classroom, we practiced the steps to peaceful conflict resolution and worked on plans to work through a conflict outside YESS class. The kids are nearly always resistant to this lesson because it's hard to talk to someone about conflict, take accountability, and then accept consequences. Fortunately, most students were able to identify a way to apply this concept to their lives. The task this week will be getting them to follow through with resolving a conflict! Stay tuned!
In other news, we're nearly done with the recruitment process for our next batch of mentors! Also, we'll be hosting our annual End of Year Celebration at Ranum MS on Monday, May 7th. Families are welcome to attend this event and, of course, the kids are excited to be able to join forces with the other middle schools to celebrate their accomplishments!
Monday, April 23, 2018
April 16th - 20th
Gimme a "TEST"... Gimme an "ING"... What's that spell? One tough week for our kids. I was extremely proud of the percentage of students who said they tried their best and worked harder than they ever had before, but I could tell they were zapped by Friday. What's so amazing about YESS, however, is that we can provide opportunities for kids to process how they're feeling and work on some "art therapy." The kids reveled in the fact that they were able to come to room 101 and create something beautiful while also hitting a teamwork target for Empower.
On Friday, we continued the teamwork theme by playing team building games. The first was Sentence Makers, in which the team works together to create grammatically correct sentences that have a designated number of words. It was cool to see how creative they were with adjectives! Second, students played another team builder called Let's Make Squares. This is a game where each team member receives three strips of paper and they have to work with their team to create squares. Finally, we went to the small gym to play The Great Wind Blows. This is one of my favorite class builders (and the kids love it, too!).
On Friday, we continued the teamwork theme by playing team building games. The first was Sentence Makers, in which the team works together to create grammatically correct sentences that have a designated number of words. It was cool to see how creative they were with adjectives! Second, students played another team builder called Let's Make Squares. This is a game where each team member receives three strips of paper and they have to work with their team to create squares. Finally, we went to the small gym to play The Great Wind Blows. This is one of my favorite class builders (and the kids love it, too!).
Monday, April 16, 2018
April 2nd - 13th
Greetings! I'm sorry for the missed entry last week. There has been A LOT going on over here!
As always, we've been participating in Mentor/Mentee Mondays, as well as Tutoring Tuesdays. During our YESS lesson days, we've been studying accountability. My favorite visual for teaching this concept is the Accountability Ladder and it's always enjoyable to share stories of times students were on various levels of this metaphorical ladder.
Because of testing, we've been incorporating loads of Kagan structures and we've definitely reached the time of the year when scholars are dragging their feet. In one class, we hosted a restorative circle to amend our Shared Agreements and refocus our energies on learning as much as possible.
On the plus side, I have two students who will be speaking at our annual YESS Road to Success Breakfast, which will take place on April 25th. They're thrilled to be able to share their story of empowerment with the attendees and I couldn't be more proud of their progress!
As always, we've been participating in Mentor/Mentee Mondays, as well as Tutoring Tuesdays. During our YESS lesson days, we've been studying accountability. My favorite visual for teaching this concept is the Accountability Ladder and it's always enjoyable to share stories of times students were on various levels of this metaphorical ladder.
Because of testing, we've been incorporating loads of Kagan structures and we've definitely reached the time of the year when scholars are dragging their feet. In one class, we hosted a restorative circle to amend our Shared Agreements and refocus our energies on learning as much as possible.
On the plus side, I have two students who will be speaking at our annual YESS Road to Success Breakfast, which will take place on April 25th. They're thrilled to be able to share their story of empowerment with the attendees and I couldn't be more proud of their progress!
Monday, April 2, 2018
March 19th - 23rd
We left for Spring Break with an uplifting project called 13 Reasons Why Not. The students created posters that highlighted thirteen people, places, and things they love. They really enjoyed being artistic and talking about all the reasons they enjoy being on Earth! Once they completed their posters, they were asked to write a PEAL paragraph about the most important item/person in their lives. This proved to be a difficult task for many scholars! It was intriguing to talk with them about the emotions that were coming up (mainly guilt) and ask, "Why do I feel this way? What am I afraid of?"
Monday, March 19, 2018
March 12th - 16th
What a week! We began in our typical manner, with Mentor/Mentee Monday and Tutoring Tuesday.
Our topic on Wednesday, Thursday, and part of Friday was bullying. The kids were skeptical when I initially presented the topic because they feel like they are bombarded with anti-bullying messages. However, we took the time to dissect the reasons for bullying and the ramifications of this type of behavior. The most impactful exercise was called "Crumpled Hearts." There are 3 steps to completing this activity:
First, we drew a heart and wrote words we'd use to describe an innocent, sleeping baby.
Next, the scholars found partners who would write things that we had heard said about ourselves (these tended to be rather negative) and crumple the heart.
Finally, students identified "shields" that adolescents might use to protect their sensitive hearts.
By the end of this process, each student had a crumpled, ripped, damaged heart. The message, of course, is that we are capable of learning how to deal with hurtful things, but our hearts will never be as pure and unharmed as when we were babies. Additionally, we never know the condition of someone else's heart. We must use caution when interacting with other humans.
This led to some really neat discussions about personal identities and how to intervene when witnessing bullying behavior. Most YESS students have been told to simply call the bully out on their behavior, but that's really difficult! So, we watched a short video (click here) about other ways to assist a victim. We did some role-playing, during which I transformed into my evil twin, Sherri, and bullied volunteers while their classmates practiced intervening. Big fun!
Friday, we finished our bullying activities and performed team builders in the gym. I had as much fun bouncing balloons as the kids!
Our topic on Wednesday, Thursday, and part of Friday was bullying. The kids were skeptical when I initially presented the topic because they feel like they are bombarded with anti-bullying messages. However, we took the time to dissect the reasons for bullying and the ramifications of this type of behavior. The most impactful exercise was called "Crumpled Hearts." There are 3 steps to completing this activity:
First, we drew a heart and wrote words we'd use to describe an innocent, sleeping baby.Next, the scholars found partners who would write things that we had heard said about ourselves (these tended to be rather negative) and crumple the heart.
Finally, students identified "shields" that adolescents might use to protect their sensitive hearts.
By the end of this process, each student had a crumpled, ripped, damaged heart. The message, of course, is that we are capable of learning how to deal with hurtful things, but our hearts will never be as pure and unharmed as when we were babies. Additionally, we never know the condition of someone else's heart. We must use caution when interacting with other humans.
This led to some really neat discussions about personal identities and how to intervene when witnessing bullying behavior. Most YESS students have been told to simply call the bully out on their behavior, but that's really difficult! So, we watched a short video (click here) about other ways to assist a victim. We did some role-playing, during which I transformed into my evil twin, Sherri, and bullied volunteers while their classmates practiced intervening. Big fun!Friday, we finished our bullying activities and performed team builders in the gym. I had as much fun bouncing balloons as the kids!
Monday, March 12, 2018
February 26th - March 9th
Due to a wildly busy week, I wasn't able to get to this task. So now we've got a BOGO offer going on. :-)
The week of February 26th was fairly typical, in that the mentors studied leadership while the mentees worked with Ms. Katrina. We postponed our tutoring day and took time on Tuesday and Wednesday to learn about EmoTrolls, which are the things we become when we mishandle our Hot Buttons. For instance, if we feel powerless in a situation and decide not to advocate for ourselves, we may become a Stuffy by refusing to acknowledge our emotions and pretending everything is all right. On the other hand, we may become Bomby and explode on someone. There are nine trolls, in all, and it was great fun to share stories of times we behaved like trolls.
I was out, visiting family, on Thursday and Friday so the students were able to participate in their tutoring day. Most scholars worked on finishing their Button Trinkets and did a magnificent job! I hope they remember to utilize these tools when their buttons get pushed. On Friday, they were asked to write a skit that demonstrated troll behavior so we could make puppets and perform with them.
We resumed our regularly-scheduled programming on Monday and Tuesday, the 5th and 6th. Puppets were created on Wednesday, then performances were given on Thursday. The kids had a fabulous time acting for their peers and I, especially, love puppets because my less-outgoing kids are able to find their voices through play. Good stuff!
The week of February 26th was fairly typical, in that the mentors studied leadership while the mentees worked with Ms. Katrina. We postponed our tutoring day and took time on Tuesday and Wednesday to learn about EmoTrolls, which are the things we become when we mishandle our Hot Buttons. For instance, if we feel powerless in a situation and decide not to advocate for ourselves, we may become a Stuffy by refusing to acknowledge our emotions and pretending everything is all right. On the other hand, we may become Bomby and explode on someone. There are nine trolls, in all, and it was great fun to share stories of times we behaved like trolls.
I was out, visiting family, on Thursday and Friday so the students were able to participate in their tutoring day. Most scholars worked on finishing their Button Trinkets and did a magnificent job! I hope they remember to utilize these tools when their buttons get pushed. On Friday, they were asked to write a skit that demonstrated troll behavior so we could make puppets and perform with them.
We resumed our regularly-scheduled programming on Monday and Tuesday, the 5th and 6th. Puppets were created on Wednesday, then performances were given on Thursday. The kids had a fabulous time acting for their peers and I, especially, love puppets because my less-outgoing kids are able to find their voices through play. Good stuff!
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