It seems like we blinked and November came and went. I’m happy to report that there have been many lessons and meaningful connections in November that I should mention.
This past month the students completed lessons about Conflict, Fear and Miscommunication and of course we talked about Gratitude! I think that in order to for mentor-mentee pairs to increase their connection and work as an effective team then these lessons must be tackled, sooner rather than later.
The students now have an idea of the difference between being in conflict with a peer versus having a miscommunication break-down with a peer. I think that many students learned that some conflicts aren’t truly real and that they simply need to clear things up with someone instead of getting angry and defensive.
The students also learned about fear and the consequences of ignoring it. I think that fear is normal and an important part of survival however it should exist as an instinct rather than a state of being. Living in a constant state of fear is not healthy or normal and I hope my students learned that there are ways to cope and manage the feeling of fear.
There are a couple of students who have made some significant improvement in the program and I feel the need to share a little bit about each of them!
There is a 6th grade student named Jaylene who has made such growth and progress in YESS and I think that it is partially due to the influence of her YESS partner. Jaylene was someone who struggled to come out of her shell. She was incredibly shy at the start of the semester, she was not comfortable sharing her opinions or even discussing how her day went. These last 3 weeks she greets me and her students with confidence and will volunteer information about how her day is going and how she is feeling. I’m so impressed with the growth and progress that she has made!
I also have an 8th grade student who has turned her behavior around in the last two weeks. She was quite, easily irritated and had a reputation for getting into physical fights quite often! These last two weeks she’s been focused in class and she’s distanced herself from students who don’t have a positive impact on her. I feel fortunate, that I get to witness this transformation and I hope she maintains her focus.
I had to save the best for last (insert drumroll) and mention that the YESS students of ACMS now have access to clean water that does not “taste like bleach!” The water in commerce city taste awful and it’s up for debate as to whether or not the water is completely toxic! I know for a fact that access to clean water is a human right and will allow students to feel hydrated and nourished so that they can focus on their health as well as on their grades and test scores. I have to say thank you to Carlo, Sara and Jamie for their efforts! The kids are enjoying the Culligan water and it gets used every single day by a YESS student! Thank you to the YESS admin team and thank you to Peter Grady. The kids are very appreciative and so am I!
