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.

November 17th - 25th

I can't believe we're approaching Thanksgiving already! The mentors at Scott Carpenter have been working to decide what success looks like for their mentees and for themselves. We started out by defining what success looks like for them and they came up with things like getting high test scores, being respectful, being organized, turning in work, and having positive attitudes.

Then, we examined what success might look like for their mentees, who will probably have a different set of standards. The kids devised a list that included releasing emotions in a healthy way, improving grades, and getting along with teachers, peers, and family. This opened up a good dialogue regarding how people tend to define success differently and I plan to revisit this concept in December to help the mentors think of strategies for setting realistic goals and expectations.

Next, each class created a list of character traits exhibited by successful people. They had some wonderful ideas: optimistic, engaged, open-minded, loyal, and perseverant.

Finally, every student chose a character trait to write onto an index card. I assembled their cards and added them to a display in the room! 

I also had some wonderful visits from Carlo, Helen, Sin, and Holly this week! The support and encouragement I received is extremely meaningful.

The big planning task this week was to create a list of possible mentees. Courtesy of the administrators and guidance department, I was able to give Tony a spreadsheet with more than seventy names on it! I'm hoping that fifty of those students confirm that they are able to participate and I can start matching mentors with mentees next month.

November 10th - 14th

I can't believe the mentors and I have been working together for three weeks already! Time has flown by and the students are starting to understand what mentoring is and why it's important.

Because they are starting to feel comfortable with one another, each class devised a set of "shared agreements," which function alongside regular classroom rules. The process we used to create these agreements involved a discussion about what the students and the group need to create a safe, respectful, productive, learning community. As a group, we brainstormed a list of specific behaviors and then  physically agreed to each item by giving a thumbs up. If a student disagreed with something, we took the time to talk about the item and come to a compromise.

This idea came from a book I borrowed from the YESS office, The 5 Dimensions of Engaged Teaching: A Practical Guide for Educators, written by Laura Weaver and Mark Wilding. I highly recommend it!

In addition to creating these lists, the students voted on a design for the YESS class shirts and researched charities we might work with to complete our service learning project.

Behind the scenes, I've been working with the guidance counselors and administrators to come up with a list of mentees. So far, I have been given 45 names and I'll be meeting these students regarding the opportunity to join YESS.

Next week, we will generate action plans and begin to implement the kids' ideas to address hunger in our community. We'll also be diving into some of the students' fears about becoming mentors and practicing strategies to overcome their anxieties.

November 3rd - 7th

As I get to know the mentors better, I'm beginning to see the fundamental value in what YESS is doing for students. Specifically, I was able to facilitate fascinating conversations regarding leadership and what that looks like. I showed a TED Talk that explained the "Why, How, and What" of Simon Sinek's Golden Circle, then asked the kids to create their own versions. They were tasked with answering the following questions:

- Why are you in this class?
- How do you plan to be a successful mentor?
- What do you think success will look like?

Each student completed their circles and colored them before hanging them around the room. Some of my favorite examples are below.

Additionally, the students took a couple of days to design YESS shirts. Check out their creativity!

This week, we'll be voting on our favorite shirt design and getting it approved by the school administrators. We will also be continuing our service learning project by researching local charities that address hunger.

October 27th - 31st

Holy first-week-of-class, Batman! I haven't been this tired in a long time. That said, I haven't had this much fun at work in a few years either.

This week, the mentors and I spent a lot of time getting to know each other and I'm happily learning the intricacies of their personalities, as well as how their strengths will affect their individual experiences as mentors. Many of the students know each other from outside YESS, so they have come to YESS with pre-formed groups. Because I want all the mentors to be a team, we spent some time playing games like Catch Phrase and Apples to Apples, which is encouraging all the students to speak with each other in a light-hearted manner.

I also challenged the kids to work with people they didn't know very well to build bridges out of newspaper and masking tape. Their goal was to make a longer bridge than the other teams in the class, but with the added challenge of making it structurally strong enough to support a can of food. They had a blast completing this task and we all had some chuckles when testing the bridges' strength.

We also explored the concept of service learning, which combines philanthropy with self-reflection. The kids identified 33 unique problems affecting their community and voted on the most important issue, which turned out to be hunger. Soon, we will research charities to partner with and create an action plan to address hunger in our area. Check out the photo below to see all the dilemmas the students came up with.

I'm really excited for next week's activities, which include a discussion about Simon Sinek's Golden Circle (Click here to see his TED Talk) and creating inspirational messages to decorate the classroom.

October 20th - 24th

Despite a tragic loss in our school community, this was a week full of hope for the future. While I have spent most of my time preparing for the start of class, many mentors came to me for support as they dealt with some very grown-up emotions. Happily, there was a strong team of professionals I could direct them toward (after sharing a piece of chocolate, of course).

I met with several parents, who were delighted about the positive opportunities their kids will be receiving by participating in YESS. Parent/teacher conferences were also a wonderful time for me to speak with parents and start building a relationship with the mentors' families.

Wednesday, I attended a training called "Coaching your Students to Academic Success," which was hosted by the Youth Mentoring Collaborative. I left the seminar with a deeper knowledge of effective listening, how to ask empowering questions, and the confidence that everything I learned about teaching hadn't been lost in the ether of my mind (what a relief). I've already been implementing one of the techniques: validating the speaker's emotions. As I've interacted with students and begun to incorporate the phrase, "it makes sense that you feel that way because...," I've noticed the kids pausing and acknowledging their feelings before continuing the conversation. I'm excited to teach this tactic to the mentors, as I'm sure it will have a positive effect on the way our mentors and mentees relate to one another.

Today, the mentors received their new schedules and have been stopping by my classroom all day. Many students came in just to say "hi" or ask a question about who else was in their class. Regardless of their reason, I could see the excitement on their faces. I feel truly blessed to be working with an organization that inspires kids to help in this way. Even though most of the kiddos are willing to wait to start class on Monday, three mentors wanted to act as student assistants today. I'm pleased to introduce Victor, Brayan, and Sebastian, enthusiastic YESS mentors.

Next week, we'll be doing the typical first-week-of-class stuff like learning rules and playing lots of icebreaker games, as well as choosing a service learning project. We'll also be celebrating the beginning of the program with a burrito party in the morning classes and a pizza party in the afternoon classes. Additionally, I'll be attending the band and choir concert on Thursday to support the mentors participating in those classes.