Friday, December 16, 2016

December 12th - 16th

It truly is the most wonderful time of year at Scott Carpenter. This week, we cruised through Monday and Tuesday with our usual routine. Then, we continued exploring financial literacy by playing Bank Balance Bonanza. In this game, students practiced writing checks and balancing a checkbook. By the end of the lesson, they were able to fill out a check and find their bank balance with ease. The best part was they had fun while learning!




On Thursday, the students got into the holiday spirit by watching Elf. Today, we had a party, complete with a hot chocolate bar! Mr. Streno generously funded this and David, our representative from Westminster Schools catering department, made sure the scholars were able to enjoy the beverages all day long. The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Thank you!


Tuesday, December 13, 2016

December 5th - 9th

Our first full week of December was rather exciting! Monday was fairly typical, except that some of the mentors are relying on their peers for personal problems, as opposed to only YESS issues. I'm extremely proud of how the scholars offer support and advice to one another in a non-judgmental way.

Tuesday, students worked on their classwork and I got to witness two special things: 1. One mentor tracked her mentee's work by contacting each teacher to rate how well the mentee was doing and 2. A mentor who was struggling to complete his assignments in a class made some real progress! The vast majority of students utilize this time effectively and I'm so proud of their efforts.

Wednesday, we watched part of a film all about finances. Students learned how to make their money work for them by distinguishing between wants and needs, setting savings goals, and using banks to manage their funds. Quite a few students said that nobody really teaches them about money, so I'm hopeful that they will remember some of this vital information.

We had a guest speaker on Thursday! Lila Rodriguez, Operations Manager at Young Americans Bank, came to talk with all the students regarding banking terminology. Young Americans Bank is the only bank in the world designed specifically for kids. It was started in 1987 by Bill Daniels, known as the "father of cable television," because Mr. Daniels read about a group of students who were unsuccessfully attempting to get a bank loan for school. Since he had earned so much money in his career and he wanted to help, he decided to start an educational bank that offered real banking opportunities. Young Americans is a special place for many reasons, but mostly because their goal is to teach kids how to manage their money, not make a profit. You can find more information about the bank here!


On Friday, we practiced demonstrating gratitude by making thank you cards for Lila and then participated in team building activities.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

November 28th - December 2nd

I can't believe how quickly this week went - I guess time really does fly when you're having fun! On Monday, the mentors analyzed their leadership style. They reflected on their lives to determine if they were Natural Leaders, Silent Leaders, or Bottom-Up Leaders and discussed the benefits of each type. I also assigned the mentors to a task, which challenged them to discuss their behavior and academic standing with their teachers.

Tuesday, as usual, was devoted to tutoring. Now that the students have learned how much they can accomplish in just one class period, they are really using their time to complete assignments. I'm extremely proud of their work ethic!

On Wednesday, we did a lesson on cyber bullying. We explored what cyber bullying is, as well as why it's harmful to the target. Then, we did an activity that inspired students to devise ways to use their "bystander power" to help the victim when they see cyber bullying. Check out this poignant video we watched to highlight what positive and negative behaviors we may see online!

Thursday and part of Friday were dedicated to helping other kids be happy. We discussed how some children were stuck in hospitals during the holiday season. Then, I introduced the organization, Cards for Hospitalized Kids, and asked if anyone wanted to make a card for a sick child. Naturally, almost all of them were enthusiastic about brightening someone's day! My favorite aspect of working here is how philanthropic our students are and how well they use their creativity and empathy to help others. Take a look at some pictures below!








Once all the students were done with their cards, we played a really fun game called Musical Wardrobe. It's similar to Hot Potato, but instead of passing an item, participants pass a bag of clothing items around the circle. When the music stops, the person holding the "wardrobe" has to put something on. It was a ton of fun and the kids enjoyed the bonding experience of wearing goofy clothes!

November 14th - 18th

In the past week, we talked about how to build and maintain trust. Monday, the mentors discussed how their expectations in class would affect their ability to be positive role models. Many students realized how their reputations could cause their mentees to question their authority in YESS and that they would have to work hard outside our classroom to keep their positive status. I was proud of the eighth graders on Tuesday because they went to the Career Expo and learned about career opportunities. Wednesday and Thursday, the mentors and mentees created Hand Contracts to one another. In this project, they spoke about the things they needed from one another in order to be able to have a trusting relationship. Then, they produced artistic renderings of their promises. Friday was spent building teams and playing games. All in all, this was a successful way to end our time together before going on Thanksgiving holiday!

Monday, November 14, 2016

November 7th - 11th

This week was all about trusting one another and learning how to build trust with others. On Monday, the mentors brainstormed ideas to create a feeling of family in the classroom. Some highlights include: Using Kagan structures to learn tidbits about all their classmates, as opposed to only their mentor/mentee; implementing a "Random Act of Kindness" Challenge, in which each student does something kind for someone in class, then the recipient tries to guess who did it; and creating posters that encourage their peers to give compliments. Their thoughts were insightful and we've already implemented some of them to great avail.

On Tuesday, we continued our tradition of tutoring. Many students breathe a sigh of relief when they see the agenda on these days, as they feel pressured to get everything done and don't always know how to do the work. I also enjoy these tutoring days because I encourage the scholars to teach me something I don't already know, so I've learned quite a bit of math and social studies the last few weeks!

Wednesday and Thursday were our YESS curriculum days. We began both days with exercises in mindfulness, which is a practice of being calm and in the current moment. Naturally, some students are initially resistant to these activities, but the atmosphere of peace when we're done proves the scholars are benefiting. We took advantage of the calmness and opened up a dialogue between the mentors and mentees around trust. They talked about who they trust, as well as what characteristics they look for in trustworthy individuals. Then, students created a mini-obstacle course within the room and took turns guiding each other through the path. It was great fun - Take a look at some photos below!





On Thursday, I assigned a Kagan challenge to one of the core YESS lessons: The Trust Bridge. Students worked with their cooperative learning teams to create a metaphor for trust. The traits of people they don't trust went below, while the positive traits of trustworthy individuals acted as a bridge over those troubled waters. They students did a wonderful job of working together and solidifying their new cooperative teams.




On Friday, YESS participants got to experience working with other students in the school by visiting other classes.

Monday, November 7, 2016

November 1st - 4th

Even though last week was short, we enjoyed a productive time together. One of the more interesting achievements was that I assigned students to new cooperative learning groups. Even though mentor/mentee pairs remain in tact, sitting with a different pair creates a new feeling within the classroom. Some groups are already getting along famously, but others are working to overcome obstacles. The goal is that all students will learn how to positively interact with their peers, even if they don't always agree.

We began with Tutoring Tuesday, during which students brought homework from other classes or practiced their literacy skills in NoRedInk. Many of the YESS scholars brought math or social studies to work on and much progress was made.

I allow our students to journal at the beginning of each day and I require them to use the PEAL process (this is a framework for creating thoughtful paragraphs). Through this work, I have discovered that many students struggle with providing evidence for their answers and then supporting that evidence with an analysis. This is something we will focus on during the coming weeks.

The YESS Institute lesson we completed was called Time Capsule. Ordinarily, this is something we would do at the beginning of the year, but I wanted to students to be able to contemplate how their school year has been going so they may set stronger goals. Once the scholars completed the task, they sealed their time capsules and gave them to me. I'll keep everything safe and secure until we revisit them at the end of the year.

On Friday, we participated in team builders like Fact or Fiction (students tell two truthful statements and one false statement while their team tries to guess the lie), Alphabetical Lists (teams collaborate to create a list of items based on a category), and 4 Corners (a running game that lets kids burn off some energy).

Overall, it was a fabulous week and I'm looking forward to more adventures!

Monday, October 31, 2016

October 24th - 28th

This week, our students continued exploring what makes individuals successful. They finished their Success Brochures, in which they described traits of successful people, the six steps to success, and they wrote PEAL paragraphs detailing examples of successful individuals. Take a look at some of their work below!




In addition to this difficult project, scholars bid a fond farewell to their cooperative learning teams. Beginning tomorrow, they will be working with brand new teams (while, of course, staying with their current mentor/mentee partner). The students are developing some strong bonds with their mentor/mentees, as evidenced by the sweet letter one mentee wrote for his mentors. I'm excited to see how they continue to grow as they achieve the success criteria associated with the district personal/social learning targets.


Monday, October 24, 2016

October 17th - 21st

This week, our scholars studied success. We discussed how many of us have different values, which causes our definitions of success to differ. For instance, some students value family so they deemed success as taking care of one another and getting along. Other scholars value financial stability so having a good job and being able to afford quality housing were included in their definition. Nearly all the mentors and mentees identified education as being vital to being successful.

We also talked about how our definition of success may alter as we grow and our goals change. Now, many students prioritize their education and home life. As they enter adulthood, many scholars recognize that starting their careers will become their primary focus.

To hammer home these concepts, the kids are working on creating tri-fold brochures that include information like the Steps to Success, Traits of Successful People, and brief biographies of three successful adults (no sports players, singers, or actors!). This cross-curricular project is giving students the opportunity to practice using Google Docs and PEAL writing (a literacy technique).

Monday, October 17, 2016

October 10th - 13th

We're starting to get into a routine now that the mentor/mentee pairs are becoming more and more familiar with each other. I've begun giving the mentors "homework" each week and this week, they were tasked with memorizing their mentee's schedule. My goal for this is to encourage conversation between mentors and mentees that will enable the mentors to gain in-depth knowledge of their mentee's lives.

This was the second week for the mentees to work with Katrina, our Community Reach Center partner, and the kids love what they're doing, so far. I'm really lucky to be able to work with her, as she does such an excellent job of meeting the students' needs.

Tuesday, we conducted Tutoring Tuesday. Most of the scholars are grateful for the opportunity to stay on top of their studies. Any kids that don't have homework from their core classes are given assignments in No Red Ink, which helps them meet their learning targets for literacy.

We created "6 Word Sentences" on Wednesday. It was neat to learn how the scholars described themselves. Many were humorous, all were insightful.

Thursday was the highlight of my week, since we completed a team building activity I learned about during a professional development day. I dubbed it the "Poster Challenge" and the kids had to work collaboratively to create a new species of bird. Each teammate had an important role within the team and nearly all students rose to the challenge. Take a look at some of the teams working and their creations below:







Monday, October 10, 2016

October 3rd - 7th

On Monday, before our mentees embarked on their Outdoor Ed excursion, we had our very first Mentor/Mentee Monday. Mentees worked with Katrina, our Community Reach partner, and mentors met with me to identify where they were in the mentoring process. Many have moved through the initial introductory stage into the more difficult trust-building phase. They were relieved to hear other mentors were facing similar challenges and I was proud of how they supported one another.

Tuesday, we did the Facebook Questionnaire. The kids really enjoyed doing this activity and learned a lot about each other.

After our mentees departed, we took some time to strengthen our teams even more. We participated in several Kagan team builder games like Squares and Word Find. Take a look at some of the kids having fun while practicing their personal and social skills!





Monday, October 3, 2016

September 26th - 30th

This week was chocked full of Kagan, Kagan, Kagan! The cooperative learning strategies we've been learning about are perfect for YESS mentoring pairs, as well as giving me a platform to implement support systems for each mentor. When I created teams of four to five students, I was able to put one strong mentor with a younger mentor. I'm already observing some of these less-experienced mentors making great strides in how they interact with their mentees.

On Monday, we focused exclusively on team building exercises. Students invented a team name, team mascot, and a team high five. The trick was achieving consensus, which the scholars know as: An agreement we all can live with.

Consensus was achieved later in the week, too, when we created our Shared Agreements. Like last year, all students will sign the contract and will be held accountable for honoring the agreements they made.

Monday, September 26, 2016

September 19th - 22nd

This week, the scholars worked on a project that allowed them to discuss where they'd like to see mentoring in the community. There were many quality conversations around this, as well as some opportunities for clarification regarding what exactly goes into a mentoring relationship. They did a fantastic job on their posters and I, as always, appreciated their thoughtful insights.


The students also found out who their mentor/mentee partners would be! They were really excited and I'm looking forward to putting them into Kagan Cooperative Learning groups, so they may all support one another.

Friday, September 16, 2016

September 12th - 16th

This week, the scholars got to make their voices heard in the mentor/mentee matching process. On Monday and Tuesday, the students participated in stations. They worked with different partners for each activity to encourage them to meet people they may not have known well.

On Wednesday, the students completed the Speed Matching activity, during which each mentor interviewed each mentee and vice versa. They were tasked with rating their top three potential partners and I will now work to balance their desires with their educational needs.

Yesterday, the students were split into four-person teams to complete a project called Building a Community. For this, they will discuss how mentoring is used outside YESS and design an imaginary neighborhood.


Today is "No Fun Friday" and we're playing games that get the scholars working together and reinforcing our positive classroom environment!

Next week, the mentors and mentees will be matched up and the real work can begin. Can't wait!

Monday, September 12, 2016

September 5th - 9th

This week was shortened due to Labor Day, but no less busy! On Tuesday and Wednesday, students drew entries for our YESS 2016-2017 t-shirts. Nearly every scholar entered a design, which was voted on. The winning entries will need some minor tweaks, but they look fabulous and I'm excited to get the shirts printed!


On Thursday, we used some Kagan activities to compare and contrast our values. We also practiced a Kagan structure, Round Robin, to ensure each student's voice was heard. The kids thoroughly enjoyed working with each other in this manner.

Friday was our very first "No Fun Friday!" The scholars were keen on the irony of the term and we had a wonderful time during "Pass Right, Pass Left," during which students passed dice while listening intently to a story. Then, we played "Wanna Buy My Monkey?" This game allowed students to be silly and make others laugh. Of course, they had the most fun when I was the monkey and had to sing, dance, and hop like a frog. Pride is overrated, right? 

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

August 29th - September 2nd

This week, we completed the Coat of Arms lesson, which allowed students to ask: "What makes me unique?" The assignments also targeted the Personal/Social learning target that teaches scholars to create and adhere to a personal timeline to complete a multi-step task. They did wonderfully and showed immense creativity in their artwork, however many struggled to follow their timeline. We'll definitely practice creating timelines in the future.





On Thursday, we took some time to complete our Student Pre-Surveys during class. In the evening, students brought their families to Back to School Night. It was a lovely time and, as always, I enjoyed meeting the kids' parents.

Friday, we built Spaghetti Bridges. The students were tasked with teaming up with someone they didn't know very well and I was impressed with how well they functioned!



Friday, August 26, 2016

August 22nd - 26th

There are already some bonds being forged by the scholars and, even though we're still missing some mentees, this was a successful week! For the first several days, students worked with a partner to create an artistic representation of their similarities and differences.The kids did a great job. Thursday and Friday were spent doing teambuilders. We played Four Corners and the M&M Game. Additionally, we had a tower building contest today. The winning tower was more than four feet!




Next week, we'll be diving into some academic enrichment centered on writing and its importance.

Friday, August 19, 2016

August 16th - 19th

We're off to a great start at Scott Carpenter! The mentors are eager to be paired up with their mentees, who are still joining the ranks. I'm already pleased with the level of professionalism being shown by the mentors. This week, we did a lot of relationship-building. Games were the name of the, well, game! We played Who Am I?, which encouraged students to ask each other good questions. We also completed two classmate scavenger hunts before beginning a small art project. The project highlights similarities and differences between students and their classmates and provides an opportunity to introduce multiple Kagan Structures and Thinking Maps.

Ready for kids!

Students' work will be displayed here throughout the year!

These scholars are doing a wonderful job!


Friday, May 27, 2016

May 23rd - 26th

What a whirlwind of a year! The kids showed some real growth over the last few months. The scholars that improved their Scantron scores were especially proud of themselves, as was I! 

This week, we welcomed Michael Azira of the Colorado Rapids to speak to all the YESS students. He spoke of the many challenges he overcame to achieve success and how setting good goals was vital for him. The kids loved hearing him talk and enjoyed taking photos afterward. 


During this mini-assembly, we announced winners of various awards the YESS kids voted on. All the winners were ecstatic to be recognized by their peers for being positive, motivated, energetic leaders!





In class, we revisited our time capsules. The students made these at the beginning of the school year and delighted in reflecting on their progress. Some students even commented on how much better their handwriting became, while others thought their penmanship got worse!



As always, there were group photos galore. I'm beyond proud of the family these kids have become and I can't wait to see how they continue to grow!



Friday, May 20, 2016

May 16th - 20th

Our last full week of school was an interesting one! The mentors and mentees had their final split Monday and Tutoring Tuesday. Next week, Michael Azira, a Colorado Rapids player will speak to all the YESS students. In order to prepare, the scholars researched Uganda (his home country) on Wednesday and Thursday, then presented their findings today. We're all excited about the end of school, but I'm pleased with how focused the kids were.

Friday, May 6, 2016

May 2nd - 6th

I can't believe the end of the year is so close! The kids' energy is unbelievable, but many scholars are holding it together and working hard. This week, we had another Tutoring Tuesday to help make sure everyone is meeting their learning targets. We also created YESS superheroes! The students demonstrated immense creativity when devising their heroes and I'm proud of their efforts.

Enovy and her hero, Super Meme!

Alex works with his sidekick to beat his arch enemy, Mr. Mean!


Friday, April 29, 2016

April 25th - 29th

This week, YESS students continued working academics in our "Tuesday Tutoring" day. Mentors are doing an excellent job of assisting their mentees with everything from literacy to math to science. The focus on academic achievement is going a long way to ensure students' success. Discrimination was the topic of discussion the rest of the week and scholars participated in a lesson on microaggression, as well as an activity that reinforced the idea that stereotypes are labels that are unfair and not entirely true. They did a great job and the conversations we had were extremely insightful!

Scholars writing examples of stereotypes

Friday, April 15, 2016

April 11th - 15th

It's great to be back at Scott! The kids have made the transition from "full-time mom" to "working mom" much easier, thanks to their enthusiasm and positivity.

This week, we got back into the swing of things with Mentor/Mentee Monday Meetings. During that time, many mentors expressed concern that their mentees were behind in school work. We agreed that a weekly homework day would be extremely beneficial, so as per their suggestion, mentors will collect mentees' work each Monday, then tutor the mentees during YESS on Tuesdays. I'm extremely proud of their investment in the success of their mentees and how well Ms. Coleman strengthened the bonds between all YESS students! On Tuesday, we began implementing our homework day. Wednesday, I had the privilege of honoring some of the students with an ice cream party, which they earned through their hard work while I was away. Thursday and Friday were spent studying truancy and creating solutions for students who ditch school. They are creating slide shows that provide details of a program to increase attendance, then presenting them to the class.


Josiah explains his group's solution to the attendance problem.

Enovy and Juan are working hard to create their slide show!
This group had the audience participate in an activity their program would include!