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.

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!

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!

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.

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!

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

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!