Started my day off again with a run outside this morning 🙂
Through an unfortunate series of events, my coffee spilled ALL OVER my kitchen this morning and I did not have time to fully clean it up. Sent my roommates a nice “I’m  so sorry our house smells like coffee and our kitchen floor is so sticky” text this morning 🙂
Day 2 of ELA MCAS today at Sullivan Middle School. I was on bathroom duty again this morning, but luckily me and Ally were paired together today.
After school, I had one session in the Writer’s Workshop, working on a history paper. Then, I headed up to Hogan to meet with my 20 volunteers for SPUD. My SPUD site is the Nativity School of Worcester. Every Thursday night from 5:30-6:30, I go to Nativity’s evening study to help Alvin with his homework. This week he finished all his homework, so we spent the rest of the time trying to save a rubik’s cube…we never got it.
After SPUD, I headed home for dinner and to watch “A Million Little Things” with my roommates!
Today was an eventful Wednesday! Instead of having class for our Pre-Practicum class for TEP, we observed a college level class in our discipline, so I observed Professor Cecil’s Calculus 1 class. Even though I have him as a professor this semester, I am usually too busy copying notes and trying to understand new concepts that I am unaware of the teaching strategies he implements into his lessons. By observing, I realized that all of the little things he does in class, even just using different color chalk, are done intentionally to make the new material clearer.
Since SPUD has so many members and sites, it is nice to get together with my program directors as often as I can to touch base and to hear what they are doing at their sites and if they have made new friendships with the people they work alongside. These reflections bring the work we do back on campus and bring life to the attendance log including all 46 sites.
After one more class and some time for homework, I was excited to get off campus to go to my second SPUD site, the Nativity School. Last year, I worked with a member of the Mveng class who is now in the sixth grade, and this year, I am working with a member of the Grande class who is in fifth grade.
This past summer, I was fortunate to work at Nativity through the SPUD Summer Internship Program. Nativity has an extended school year, so for three weeks in July, students come to school for Summer of Service. The school day comprises of math, reading, and service learning classes in the morning and then off campus service site visits in the afternoon.
I worked with the sixth grade during the morning and then a group of fifth, sixth, and seventh graders in the afternoon. I loved getting to know all of the students and am grateful that I get to continue working with them throughout the school year. The faculty, administrators, and fellows taught me so much about what it means to be a teacher, the inner-workings of a school, and the importance of dedication to one’s mission statement.
Nativity’s strong community stems from the dedication all members have to the four pillars: strength, scholarship, character, and service, and I am grateful to be part of it.
Hi everyone! In addition to being in the Teacher Education Program, I am also a Math major and plan to teach high school math. I’m placed at Doherty Memorial High School for my student teaching and am so excited to be at Doherty full time in the Spring but am enjoying my last semester of classes at Holy Cross right now.
Today, like any day, was definitely busy. It started off with my alarm ringing at 6:30 am, so I could make it to Shrewsbury in time for Orangetheory. Once I got there, I was happy to see some of my friends from Holy Cross were there, including my friend, Meg, who I met on my Spring Break Immersion trip to Chicago last year. If you are considering SBIP, I would highly recommend it. I met some of my closest friends on the trip and learned so much about social justice in context.
After working out, I ran a few errands and made it back to campus for Topics in Geometry. It’s a requirement for TEP Math students, so it’s nice because I have class with both Kat and Ally. We’ve been on the same track with classes throughout our four years and have done our observation hours together, making it feel like we are in a cohort. This year, we are all at different schools and therefore aren’t as attached at the hip anymore, so I was excited today when I got to drop Kat off at Burncoat Middle School for her observation hours in between classes today.
After classes, I had my bi-weekly meeting with one of the chaplains on campus, Marty Kelly. I am the lead intern for Student Programs for Urban Development (SPUD), and he is the adviser to SPUD. Marty is our biggest supporter and helps us maintain our relationships with our community partners.
Fittingly, after my meeting with Marty, I headed straight to one of the SPUD sites I volunteer at, Boys & Girls Club (BGC), with two of my friends. We work in the Homework Help Room and strive to make it a place where students can get their work done and receive support.
After our two hours at BGC, Deirdre and I had a nice and quiet dinner of Chinese takeout and realized how much work we should have done over break!
I am so excited to share about my SPUD (Student Programs for Urban Development) site, Ascension After School Program. The students, grades 1-6, go to Union Hill School and are so filled with life, love, and energy. This program truly gave me the confidence to change my major and affirm that I wanted to be a teacher. I have been going to this site weekly from 3-5 PM for four years now. We spend the first half of the afternoon playing with the kids in free time. Then, we work on homework together. Sister Pat, who runs the program, was actually my dad’s first grade teacher☺
After SPUD. . .
Pasta dish recipe: Broccoli, kale, olive oil, spinach, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, onion, garlic, garlic powder, dash of salt, pepper.
9:00 AM: Pre-Practicum– Today, we learned about an active learning strategy, Four Corners. We discussed an article on the Finnish education system and compared it to ours. When I saw that my professor made my class cookies, I knew it was going to be an awesome day!
10:00 AM: 20th Century America– We submitted hard copies of our 5-7 page papers on the Redemption era and continued our discussion on the Gilded Age.
11:00-1:30: Black Biographies Seminar– In class, we learned about Marcus Garvey’s life. Then, we made Jamaican patties for lunch! My professor always makes us food because our class is during lunch time– it’s the best.
2:00-3:15: Urban Education– We learned about what solidarity means.
After classes, I met my younger sister, Catherine, at the gym to go for a run. Then, I did homework at Starbucks with a friend.
Apartment Tour!
I also wanted to show you my room and what my apartment looks like! Here are some pictures.
In addition to my bedroom and our living room/dining area, my three roommates and I also have a full kitchen (with a dishwasher, fridge, and sink), a bathroom, and a shower.
Pro-Tip: You can tell how long it is going to take you to get to school when you live on city-side of the building. This video shows how you can see the traffic on the major highway, Interstate 290, that takes you across Worcester. It’s great!
For breakfast, I made oatmeal using gluten-free oats, chia seeds, hemp seeds, cocoa nibs, strawberries, blueberries, black raspberries, dark chocolate sunbutter, and a little granola on top. So delicious!! I only drink decaf coffee (with a little coconut milk) but I love to start my day with something warm to drink.
Lunch:
For lunch, I packed a salad with spinach/kale blend lettuce, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, and some pumpkin and sunflower seeds on top.
Dinner:
I ate dinner in my apartment with my two roommates, Lexi and Sarah. This was a true “comfort food” dinner. I have to admit, the soup wasn’t homemade– I used a tomato soup from Panera in the Holy Cross Lobby Shop 🙂 But it sure did the trick!
Besides Food. . .
Today I worked in Dinand again from 8:30 AM-12 PM (here’s my view– can you tell I LOVE my job?!) and then I had a Personal Research Session with a research librarian for a paper at 12 PM. Then, I met up with friends in Lower Kimball for lunch. After lunch, I registered for a parking pass decal for my car from Public Safety.
For the afternoon, I did some homework and worked out. My day ended with a super interesting seminar, Student Mental Health, which goes from 6-8:30 PM! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post where I share an apartment tour.
I’m so excited I get the opportunity to start the College of the Holy Cross Teacher Education Program (TEP) blog takeover series for the week. Today, I spent three hours at  Sullivan Middle School in Worcester where I work with 7th grade history students.  I am only spending three hours a week this semester there, but in the Spring I will be there full-time. For today’s post, I really wanted to focus on giving a little tour of what Sullivan Middle is like— hopefully the pictures below bring it to life!
Break down of today:
Here’s a little run down of how my schedule went today:
8 AM: Wake up, shower, breakfast, pack lunch, some homework
10 AM: Class (20th Century America I)– We learned about the Gilded Age and what makes a corporation unique.
11 AM-2 PM: Sullivan Middle School– I observed and assisted with small tasks and one-on-one help in class. I get to carpool and spend lunch with my two friends Ally (Math) and Hannah (English), who are also in the TEP. Â We are all part of the 7th grade team.
2 PM: Office hours– Went over a few questions for a history paper due Wednesday with my professor.
3 PM: SGA Meeting– Since I am Treasurer of the senior class, I met with the class president, Brandon, and our advisor, Simone, to plan more Senior Ball details.
4 PM: Â Writer’s Workshop Appointment— I met with a trained student worker to make some edits for my paper (the same one I went to office hours for earlier!).
5 PM: Gym and dinner– Even a short run on the treadmill helps 🙂
6-9:30 PM: Work– I work 10 hours a week in Dinand Library as a Student Reference Assistant.
10 PM: Manic Monday– My roommate, Lexi, is an amazing singer and my friends and I always go to cheer her on at the Monday night Delilah’s performances in Hogan Campus Center.
Overall thoughts on the day:
Today was a great day! It was super busy and scheduled down to the minute but I really enjoyed spending most of it with my students at Sullivan Middle. I’m still getting to know their names and personalities, but I’m getting better each week. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post where I talk about what I eat in a day as an “almost” student teacher!