December 15th - 19th

The first semester was a smash and the staff, students, and parents at Scott Carpenter Middle School are looking forward to the next phase of The YESS Institute! This week, the mentors prepared for a school-wide initiative, which will take place in January and worked hard to analyze and improve their listening skills.

Monday and Tuesday, we walked through some of the #IRiseAbove lessons and discussed ways in which the mentors could lead their classmates through difficult topics regarding stress and anxiety. Each group did a great job of talking about their own issues and identifying ways in which they could help peers.

Wednesday, we took a quiz to gauge how well we listen and it turns out...we don't do well. The students took a quiz, which I adapted from the one found here. Out of 140 possible points, most students scored between 75-90. As you might imagine, the kids were wondering what their score meant and I was able to introduce the concept of "listening levels." We talked about the attributes of each level: Level 1 listeners are more concerned with talking than with listening; Level 2 listeners pay attention to the content, but not the meaning; and Level 3 listeners pay attention to the speakers' feelings, as well as the content.

On Thursday, I wanted to allow the students a chance to dive into this concept a little deeper. I asked all the students to partner with one other person to write a skit. The pairs were tasked with creating and performing a short skit that demonstrated one of the listening levels. Check out one of the scripts below:

     Derly: Hi my name is Derly

        Me: Oh hi my name is Diana and I need help on my listening

     Derly: I was trying to do my work but the teacher wouldn't help me...So then...

        Me: Oh yeah that happened to me to

     Derly: He came up to me and asked "why aren't you doing your work"

        Me: Oh, yeah I hate when they do that, that happened to me to.

     Derly: There were five minutes left in class and he said he will help supposibly.

        Me: *Spacing out* What?!

     Derly: Did you hear what I said?

        Me: Nope, sorry

     Derly: You really need help on your listening.

Today, the students have the holiday break on their brains, which isn't leaving much room for much else. We practiced meditation and a little bit of yoga to help keep them calm, then played some games to foster community. 

When we come back in January, the mentees will be starting. I'm looking forward to matching the kids up and fostering some new friendships. 

December 8th - 12th

Kelsey Kyler, a 7th grade mentor, graciously offered to write a synopsis of what we did in The YESS Institute this week. Here is what she had to say:

    "This week YESS talked about how we are going to help Bienvenidos Food Bank. We

     also set our goal, which was 300 cans/boxes. On Monday, our class set personal SMART

     goals for ourselves. On Tuesday, we set SMART goals for Bienvenidos. We made a plan

     to help the charity on Wednesday. On Thursday, we decided whether we were going to

     have a social or have a "student vs. teacher" contest to see who could raise the most

     cans. Finally, on Friday, we began advertising. My favorite thing about YESS is how

     we are learning new things about YESS and how we are preparing for our mentees."

As Kelsey mentioned, we set a goal for how much we wanted to donate to Bienvenidos Food Bank (check out their website here) and the students decided that, as a school, we could contribute 300 non-perishable food items. They also wanted to do something more creative than a food drive, which will make for a little more work, but a lot more fun. Their ideas varied, but they narrowed them down to three options: a social (dance) after school, a homeroom competition, and a student/teacher competition. I'm currently working with the administrators to determine which of these possibilities makes the most sense for our kiddos. Take a look at the photos below to see an example of how we determined our goal and action steps.

Coming up, the YESS mentors are preparing to take a leadership role during a 4-day initiative that will be taking place after the holidays. #IRiseAbove (formerly known as The Colorado Meth Project) will be working with Scott Carpenter Middle School to engage all our students in some emotional intelligence lessons. It's a perfect way for the mentors to step up as leaders in other facets, especially since the topics revolve around stress, peer pressure, and making positive choices. They're really excited to be able to help their classmates.