This week has been incredibly busy! It seems like from the time I wake up at 6:45am each morning until bedtime (around 11pm), I do not stop moving! It's been crazy but exciting! Read below to find out what I've been up to since my last post!
Tuesday, October 20th
Today we had “unit time” first thing in the morning where we switched temporary teams and played some icebreaker games. I am really starting to bond with the girls on my floor (who are all in my unit) and the rest of the Fire Unit as well. I am meeting some really great people!
In the afternoon, our session was called “Community Mapping.” This was a practice of something we are going to be doing when we leave on our “spikes.” Basically, community mapping is something you do as a group when you first get to your community. You identify important places of interest (hospital, grocery store, laundry mat, etc.) as well as some basic information about the community (demographics, sources of income, potential independent service project hours – ISP’s for short.) This is to help us get better acquainted with the areas we’re going to be working in.
In the evening, I attended the “Grassroots Club” meeting, which is a club aimed at helping NCCC be more sustainable and also more eco-friendly. We set up recycling bins on all of the floors in the hallways, talked about buying Tupperware to pack lunches in as opposed to using plastic bags each day, and also planned a time to organize our recycled uniform room. The nighttime clubs are organized by some of our team leaders and give us something to do at night.
Wednesday, October 21st
Today we woke up to snow for the first time since our arrival! It was just a light dusting, but still enough to break out the boots and heavy clothing.
Our training today was on general safety in the morning and tool safety in the afternoon. It was kind of boring, sitting in a room watching PowerPoint slides and video clips all morning, but it was important for us to learn the do's and don'ts before we get working. In the afternoon, we played some games and did a relay race with our PPE (personal protective equipment - eye glasses, coveralls, face masks, hard hats, gloves, etc.). We also learned the names and uses for many of the tools we might encounter during our projects.
After dinner, I attended the "Diversity Club" meeting. Because it was only our first meeting, we spent most of the time going around the room introducing ourselves, talking a little bit about our background, and mentioning why we joined NCCC. The aim of this club is to talk about the issue of diversity within our current Corps, but also to brainstorm ways to increase diversity within AmeriCorps so our 230-person demographic better matches the national population. Our program is predominately white females, so we discussed ways to recruit members of different social/cultural groups.
Megan and I both went to this meeting and afterwards, we spent several hours in our room talking about different diversity issues and activities that we participated in during college. We had some great conversation! We also talked about different service trips and leadership retreats that we've been to.
It was during this talk that I grew more determined to incorporate service learning into my future career. I think it's so important for children and young adults to be active in their communities in some way, and I have decided that I WILL some day work in a school district that will be conducive to this passion.
Ideally, I would like to work as a school district service-learning coordinator, where I coordinate community service projects with the existing curriculum to enrich the educational experience of the entire district. Since I am not sure if this exists currently in any K-12 districts, I am willing to start by incorporating service-learning into my own future classroom. Whether that means taking my homeroom to volunteer at a local non-profit once a month, or assigning service projects as part of my lesson plans, I will incorporate service and community involvement into my future classroom.
After realizing this was my passion and talking for hours with Megan, I made a poster to hang above my bed to remind me of this goal. Below is the quote that keeps me inspired each day.
"I will lay my head on my pillow at night happily exhausted, knowing that I have done everything within my power to move the mountains in my path. As I sleep, the same dream that dominates my waking hours will be with me in the dark. Yes, I have a dream. It is a great dream, and I will never apologize for it. Neither will I ever let it go, for if I did, my life would be finished. My hopes, my passions, my vision for the future are my very existence. A person without a dream has never had a dream come true." - The Traveler's Gift, page 88.
Thursday, October 22nd
Today we had four different sessions throughout the day. I was very tired and could barely keep my eyes open during the morning ones. The topics were: Equal Opportunity, Awards and College Credit, Using your Educational Award, and Service at the National Level.
I learned some useful things during these sessions. I applied for a national service award that I will be eligible for at the completion of NCCC. I learned that I can earn 6 free college credits: 3 in "service-learning" and 3 in "diversity training." We also had great conversations during the "Service at the National Level," which was a history of service organizations throughout the past century.
The evening was pretty low-key. Megan and I rented a movie on NetFlicks and went to bed early.
Friday, October 23rd
Today was an awesome day! It was our first service project as an entire Corps, and we were very excited to get out of training and start working in the community.We worked with the Denver Public Schools as well as the Volunteers of Outdoor Colorado at the local middle school and elementary school for the day.
My team was assigned to work in the elementary school, and I was assigned to a kindergarten ESL (English as a Second Language) class. It was so amazing! I spent the day sitting cross-legged on the floor with five-year-olds who spoke very little English. I used my small Spanish background from college and tried my hardest to communicate with them.
The teacher, Mrs. Doyle, was great and made me feel totally comfortable. She even made me in charge of a center during rotation time. She gave me a copy of a children's book that she had read to the kids in Spanish the previous day, and my job was to read it to them in English and quiz them on the English words for things. It was great because the kids helped me with my Spanish, and I helped them with English!
After rotations I got to go to recess with the kids, which was great, and I spent most of the time running around chasing them. As soon as I would stop to rest, I crowd of them would be screaming "ASHLEY" from the slide, and off I would go again.
As we were lining up to come back inside, I had an interesting conversation with one of the little boys. His name was Kevin, and I remembered from my reading group that he spoke very little English. Our conversation went something like this (and it was ALL in SPANISH!):
Tuesday, October 20th
Today we had “unit time” first thing in the morning where we switched temporary teams and played some icebreaker games. I am really starting to bond with the girls on my floor (who are all in my unit) and the rest of the Fire Unit as well. I am meeting some really great people!
In the afternoon, our session was called “Community Mapping.” This was a practice of something we are going to be doing when we leave on our “spikes.” Basically, community mapping is something you do as a group when you first get to your community. You identify important places of interest (hospital, grocery store, laundry mat, etc.) as well as some basic information about the community (demographics, sources of income, potential independent service project hours – ISP’s for short.) This is to help us get better acquainted with the areas we’re going to be working in.
In the evening, I attended the “Grassroots Club” meeting, which is a club aimed at helping NCCC be more sustainable and also more eco-friendly. We set up recycling bins on all of the floors in the hallways, talked about buying Tupperware to pack lunches in as opposed to using plastic bags each day, and also planned a time to organize our recycled uniform room. The nighttime clubs are organized by some of our team leaders and give us something to do at night.
Wednesday, October 21st
Today we woke up to snow for the first time since our arrival! It was just a light dusting, but still enough to break out the boots and heavy clothing.
Our training today was on general safety in the morning and tool safety in the afternoon. It was kind of boring, sitting in a room watching PowerPoint slides and video clips all morning, but it was important for us to learn the do's and don'ts before we get working. In the afternoon, we played some games and did a relay race with our PPE (personal protective equipment - eye glasses, coveralls, face masks, hard hats, gloves, etc.). We also learned the names and uses for many of the tools we might encounter during our projects.
After dinner, I attended the "Diversity Club" meeting. Because it was only our first meeting, we spent most of the time going around the room introducing ourselves, talking a little bit about our background, and mentioning why we joined NCCC. The aim of this club is to talk about the issue of diversity within our current Corps, but also to brainstorm ways to increase diversity within AmeriCorps so our 230-person demographic better matches the national population. Our program is predominately white females, so we discussed ways to recruit members of different social/cultural groups.
Megan and I both went to this meeting and afterwards, we spent several hours in our room talking about different diversity issues and activities that we participated in during college. We had some great conversation! We also talked about different service trips and leadership retreats that we've been to.
It was during this talk that I grew more determined to incorporate service learning into my future career. I think it's so important for children and young adults to be active in their communities in some way, and I have decided that I WILL some day work in a school district that will be conducive to this passion.
Ideally, I would like to work as a school district service-learning coordinator, where I coordinate community service projects with the existing curriculum to enrich the educational experience of the entire district. Since I am not sure if this exists currently in any K-12 districts, I am willing to start by incorporating service-learning into my own future classroom. Whether that means taking my homeroom to volunteer at a local non-profit once a month, or assigning service projects as part of my lesson plans, I will incorporate service and community involvement into my future classroom.
After realizing this was my passion and talking for hours with Megan, I made a poster to hang above my bed to remind me of this goal. Below is the quote that keeps me inspired each day.
"I will lay my head on my pillow at night happily exhausted, knowing that I have done everything within my power to move the mountains in my path. As I sleep, the same dream that dominates my waking hours will be with me in the dark. Yes, I have a dream. It is a great dream, and I will never apologize for it. Neither will I ever let it go, for if I did, my life would be finished. My hopes, my passions, my vision for the future are my very existence. A person without a dream has never had a dream come true." - The Traveler's Gift, page 88.
Thursday, October 22nd
Today we had four different sessions throughout the day. I was very tired and could barely keep my eyes open during the morning ones. The topics were: Equal Opportunity, Awards and College Credit, Using your Educational Award, and Service at the National Level.
I learned some useful things during these sessions. I applied for a national service award that I will be eligible for at the completion of NCCC. I learned that I can earn 6 free college credits: 3 in "service-learning" and 3 in "diversity training." We also had great conversations during the "Service at the National Level," which was a history of service organizations throughout the past century.
The evening was pretty low-key. Megan and I rented a movie on NetFlicks and went to bed early.
Friday, October 23rd
Today was an awesome day! It was our first service project as an entire Corps, and we were very excited to get out of training and start working in the community.We worked with the Denver Public Schools as well as the Volunteers of Outdoor Colorado at the local middle school and elementary school for the day.
My team was assigned to work in the elementary school, and I was assigned to a kindergarten ESL (English as a Second Language) class. It was so amazing! I spent the day sitting cross-legged on the floor with five-year-olds who spoke very little English. I used my small Spanish background from college and tried my hardest to communicate with them.
The teacher, Mrs. Doyle, was great and made me feel totally comfortable. She even made me in charge of a center during rotation time. She gave me a copy of a children's book that she had read to the kids in Spanish the previous day, and my job was to read it to them in English and quiz them on the English words for things. It was great because the kids helped me with my Spanish, and I helped them with English!
After rotations I got to go to recess with the kids, which was great, and I spent most of the time running around chasing them. As soon as I would stop to rest, I crowd of them would be screaming "ASHLEY" from the slide, and off I would go again.
As we were lining up to come back inside, I had an interesting conversation with one of the little boys. His name was Kevin, and I remembered from my reading group that he spoke very little English. Our conversation went something like this (and it was ALL in SPANISH!):
Kevin: Do you have brothers and sisters?
Me: Yes, I have 1 brother and 1 sister.
Kevin: Where are they?
Me: In Michigan.
Kevin: Why?
Me: That's where they live.
Kevin: Why?
(Insert me scrambling with my Spanish, trying to find words to explain this!)
Me: Umm, because they are in school in Michigan.
Kevin: Why?
Me: Because that's where I used to live before I came to Denver.
Kevin: Do you not like your brother and sister?!
Me: Haha! No, I like them a lot.
Whew! This conversation was hilarious. I realized how frustrating it is when you can't convey your thoughts to someone clearly (especially and five-year-old who speaks mostly Spanish and thinks you dislike your siblings!)
I was one of only a few AmeriCorps NCCC members who worked in classrooms. The other 200 Corps members worked with the middle school students to build a track around the soccer field. I found a really nice article/video on the Denver Public Schools website that explains the project. Check it out in my next post!
Me: Yes, I have 1 brother and 1 sister.
Kevin: Where are they?
Me: In Michigan.
Kevin: Why?
Me: That's where they live.
Kevin: Why?
(Insert me scrambling with my Spanish, trying to find words to explain this!)
Me: Umm, because they are in school in Michigan.
Kevin: Why?
Me: Because that's where I used to live before I came to Denver.
Kevin: Do you not like your brother and sister?!
Me: Haha! No, I like them a lot.
Whew! This conversation was hilarious. I realized how frustrating it is when you can't convey your thoughts to someone clearly (especially and five-year-old who speaks mostly Spanish and thinks you dislike your siblings!)
I was one of only a few AmeriCorps NCCC members who worked in classrooms. The other 200 Corps members worked with the middle school students to build a track around the soccer field. I found a really nice article/video on the Denver Public Schools website that explains the project. Check it out in my next post!
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