August 24th - 28th

Things are off and rolling at Scott Carpenter Middle School! The mentors are already beginning to step into a leadership role within the classroom, which many of the 6th graders are visibly grateful for. I'm so pleased with this group of mentors; I've got high hopes for them.

This week was all about team building, which means loads of games. The kids played games like The Great Wind Blows, Who Am I?, The M&M Game, Human Bingo, and conducted interviews. We even incorporated some awesome Kagan strategies and structures into class with Square Balances, Mix-Pair-Share, Team Sentences, and Round Robin. Of course, this week was also important for setting classroom expectations and practicing procedures. We'll continue to explore those expectations for the coming days and weeks.

Mentors and Mentees bonded over a friendly game of Jenga on Friday afternoon!

May 18th - 22nd

What. A. Year.

I'm so fortunate to have gotten to bring the YESS program to the kids at Scott Carpenter. The staff of Adams 50 has been extremely supportive and professional, which has made this experience a joy.

Since it was the last week of school, there were many activities planned and we celebrated our many successes in a variety of ways. Monday, the Student Services department purchased breakfast burritos and pizza. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were spent cleaning the room and wrapping up the kids' experiences. Today, we had an ice cream party and watched a movie.

Even though this is bittersweet for the 8th graders and me, the week has had a celebratory tone and I'm looking forward to working with the new recruits!

May 11th - 15th

I'm still struggling to believe it's the end of the year! This week was extremely busy for the YESS Institute. We celebrated our Year-End Party at Westminster High School on Wednesday and had a wonderful turn-out! It was fabulous to honor the work put forth by all the students and they enjoyed meeting Bronco player, Corey Nelson.

In class, we worked on Emotion Sculptures, which allowed students to choose a basic emotion and then create a three dimensional representation of it. Take a look at some of the kids' work below.

Cristian's "Emotion Tree" represents all the feelings he experiences.

Valerie color-coded all her emotions.

This week, I was also able to finish up the recruitment process and submit a list of names to the school administrators. If all the kids get approved, I'll be able to hand out acceptance letters on Monday!

May 4th - 8th

 Really? There are only ten days of school left?  This week was jam-packed with events at Scott Carpenter. There were field trips, PARCC assessments, and even Cinco de Mayo celebrations. Activities specific to YESS included more mentor interviews, completing our YESS superheroes, and we had a little Cinco de Mayo fiesta, too! Take a look at some of the kids' handiwork below.

On Tuesday, we made paper flowers to honor the Mexican Army's victory over the French Army at the Battle of Puebla.

Mariza, a mentee, wrote me a little note and left it in my mailbox.

Jezzy, another mentee, is working on her YESS superhero, who has two sidekick bunnies.

 Christian has made huge improvements in YESS over the last few months. I'm impressed with his efforts in my class and I'm happy to see him interacting with his peers more often.

These mentors are currently in 7th grade and I'm extremely happy that they've decided to return for the '15-'16 school year. They are awesome leaders!

Speaking of recruitment, there are approximately fifty students who have applied to be mentors next year. We'll be continuing the recruitment and interview process next week, then announcing the mentors during the last week of school.

April 27th - 30th

The kids' energy levels are rising right along with the temperatures this week, which makes me happy to be working with such mature mentors. Most of them are doing a wonderful job of keeping the mentees focused and working, though I have had to speak with a few kids to remind them that school isn't over, yet.

Monday, the mentors and I began our first round of interviews for next year. Each candidate was asked to answer five questions, four of which were posed by current mentors. Everybody was very serious during the process and I'm excited to meet with the next round of candidates. So far, I've received more than forty applications, as well as dozens of teacher recommendations. Next week, the mentors and I will meet with more applicants and speak with the students referred by teachers.

The bulk of class time was spent working on our YESS Superheroes. As usual, I'm impressed with the students' creativity and workmanship. For this assignment, they were asked to identify which EmoDwarfs and Hot Buttons they fall victim to most often and invent a superhero that can help them overcome their issues. Take a look at their efforts below:

April 20th - 24th

I can't believe how quickly this semester is going! It seems like just yesterday that the mentors and mentees met each other for the first time.

This week, we focused solely on Emotional Dwarfs in class. The students practiced looking at pictures and identifying the EmoDwarf on Tuesday, then created comic strips that highlight the behavior of one EmoDwarf. Check out some of the their creations below!

They really did a fabulous job on this project and I can't wait to hang these up in the hallways. Plus, they've been using the lingo in their conversations, which demonstrates that they're learning!

I've begun the recruitment process for the '15-'16 school year and have received more than 40 mentor applications. Most of these students will be interviewed by current mentors and me on Monday. The teachers have been extremely helpful with this endeavor, so far. Next week, I'll be collecting teacher recommendations and working with the students they suggest. Not only are the teachers supporting the YESS Institute, but the administrators have been supplying me with books and a DVD about emotional wellness.

April 13th - 17th

Even though we had more testing this week, the kids were marvelous little learners, in part because the subject matter was so relevant to them. The topics we covered included Hot Buttons and Emotional Dwarves. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we explored which Hot Buttons they had and then discussed ways to turn their Hot Buttons into Cool Buttons.

On Thursday, I had the privilege of introducing the Emotional Dwarves to the students and we completed an activity to learn how each EmoDwarf behaves. Next week, we'll be continuing our discussion and identifying Dwarf behaviors in ourselves and others.