An End of the Year Reflection
Dear City Year,
As my days in the program are now numbered, I want to say a few things about this year. This has, without a doubt, been the most intense and stressful year of my life. Walking in to City Year, I had an idea of what it was going to be. To say the least, I was devastated. I am not one to sing songs and chants. I’m not a fan of team-builders or uniforms. If you could have chosen anyone to be a skeptic, it would have been me. But, I stuck with it. I almost quit so many times, but I made it.
One of the main reasons that I have stayed is because of the support of my team. I know that AJ, Grace, Jo, Kasey, Kylie, Laine, Lizzy, and Molly would kill me if I left them hanging. I don’t want to sound self-important, but I believe that we embody a “team”. We have each other’s back and for some reason work as one. When it’s time to work, we work hard. And when it’s time to have fun, well… we have a ton of fun. I want to thank them for being the amazing people that they are. I would not have made it this far without them.
My kids. What can I say about them? They brighten my day. I don’t want to say that they are all perfect angels, because they weren’t. But kids are kids. I love my kids. Three of them, in particular, I will remember for the rest of my life. My boys, lets call them Paul, Keith and Chuck were my world at Broadmoor. They are three of the most amazing kids on the planet. They are intelligent, funny, and kind. I know that are going to grow up to be amazing adults. Everyday, I tried to instill in them the value of not only education, but also respect for self and others. I’ve seen them struggle and sometimes fall, but they always get right back up and keep going.
Last, I’d like to speak about City Year overall. The goals of City Year are so large. At times, I felt that they were unattainable. I know that I’m not going to help every kid at Broadmoor or even all of the 6th graders at Broadmoor. I know that there are kids that I have made a difference with by being in City Year. And hopefully they will have a positive impact on society. As a corps member, did I solve all of the problems within a school? No, but I did my part. I’m glad that I was a part of something greater than myself. I know that this will be an experience that I will never forget. So, maybe in a few years, when I clean out a spare closet and see my boots I’ll think back on all of the things I did. I hope to become a teacher, maybe I’ll teach one of my students in high school and see them graduate. I’m not sure what the future holds, but I know that I won’t regret having City Year as a part of my past.
For the last time,
Sara Ross
Corps Member, Proudly Serving at Broadmoor Middle School
A Visit from the Firefighters of Station No. 6
By Brendan Copley, Corps Member Proudly Serving at Capitol Middle School
Back in December, my teammate Cherie Cancio and I started up an after school club called Cougar Corps, named after Capitol Middle School’s mascot. The primary goal of the club is to provide students from all grades and of all abilities an opportunity to get some extra help on their homework. Students meet us in our classroom right after the last bell of the day has rung, and unwind from a long day of school with a snack and some cold milk. In case you were wondering, chocolate milk is a hot commodity, and runs out quickly.
Once the students “campfire” (City Year lingo for cleaning up after yourself when you leave an area), we start working on whatever homework the students have for about 45 minutes or so. This is usually enough time for them to complete all the assignments due the next day. However, Cougar Corps is not over at this point. Apart from providing a productive environment where students can work on their school work, we wanted Cougar Corps to be a place where they can just, well, be kids. Every afternoon of Cougar Corps features an engaging, educational enrichment activity. Over the past few months, different enrichment activities have included: team builders, touch football, themed scavenger hunts, arts and crafts, wiffle ball, other games, and gardening in Capitol Middle’s very own community garden built in October of last year.
While sports are a popular favorite among the students, we’ve been wanting to diversify the kinds of enrichment activities we do with the kids. Kyrie Oliver, also serving at Capitol Middle, thought to contact the newly-constructed fire station across the street, and ask for a team of firefighters to come over and teach our students about what they do every day to protect the people of Baton Rouge.
On a recent Thursday afternoon, the firefighters arrived in the school parking lot. They started off with introductions and a quick presentation on fire safety and the kinds of emergencies to which they respond (besides fires, of course), as well as a demonstration of how to put on their firefighting gear. After a short question and answer session, our students explored the fire engine from top to bottom. They posed for pictures wearing some of the firefighters’ gear, and climbed inside the cab of the truck. A lucky few were given the privilege of blowing the engine’s horn, a privilege which they abused to no end.
Our students all had a blast, including Johnny* who, despite acting “too cool for school” at first and absolutely refusing to participate, eventually came around to posing with a firefighter’s helmet. And I’d be completely lying if I didn’t say I learned quite a bit from our time with the crew from Station No. 6. We really appreciate them for coming out and sharing their time with us, and especially for all the great work they do for our community!
*Name changed for privacy
Hot Topics
Twice a month, the City Year Baton Rouge Corps comes together as a whole group for Leadership Development Days. This year, the corps members have been really instrumental in creating programming for these days. They have created “Hot Topics”, a series of Leadership Development Days organized to focus on important topics and concepts that are controversial, sensitive, or simply not addressed often.
A few of the topics that have been covered thus far are Racism, Learning Disabilities, Sexism/Gender, Homelessness, Classism/Immigration, Heterosexism/Homophobia, and Domestic Violence. The Hot Topics series has provided corps members with a safe space to discuss complex hot-button issues, as well an opportunity to respectfully hear and consider each other’s unique viewpoints.
So far, these days have been great successes. Many students that corps members work with deal with many of these issues, either directly or indirectly, on a day to day basis. By focusing attention on these hot topics, corps members are better prepared for their work in schools. Additionally, they have the opportunity to present information on a topic they are really passionate about.
Science and Social Studies Fair!
By Jo Reddick, Corps Member Proudly Serving at Broadmoor Middle School
Wednesday night was Science and Social Studies Night at Broadmoor Middle School. Students brought in presentation boards with visuals of different social studies topics and were able to present their projects to parents and students that attended the event. For the science portion, parents and students, participated in science experiments including making a mini/kind of lava lamp.
I hosted this lava lamp table, where we mixed oil and water, added an alka seltzer, and watched the magic happen! Both the parents and students enjoyed the event and prizes were given out for winners of the social studies fair and for parents that attended the event.
Broadmoor’s Got Talent!
By Jo Reddick, Corps Member Proudly Serving at Broadmoor Middle School
On Friday, March 9th, the 6th grade Social Studies teacher at Broadmoor Middle School, Ms. Howard, put on a SHOW! Ms. Howard worked hard for weeks, planning and holding after school practices for talent and fashion show participants. Students sang, danced, rapped original songs, and recited original poetry. There was even an appearance from the drumline! The show featured nine talent acts, two themed fashion shows, and a few performances from Ms. Howard’s dance team. Over 200 tickets were sold and many parents and students came out to support the performers and enjoy a good time.
Everyone who came out enjoyed themselves and the show ran smoothly!
Special thanks to the corps members who came from other schools to help set up, clean up, and help out with other tasks throughout the show.
Mentally Healthy
Hello! Jordan C. here!
It’s been a while. Have you missed me? No? Ok…
Well, I guess I should give you an update or ten on what we’ve been doing at CYBR. March has certainly been a busy month for everyone. I know at Merrydale, we’ve been preparing for our big event at the end of the month: The Math Olympics. We were supposed to have the event March 14th, but it got moved to the 28th. We are totally ok with that anyway… more time to make the event a HUGE success!
That’s just a little info on Merrydale’s schedule, but I know every team across Baton Rouge has had a pretty stressful month.
So, on Friday we had a nice day of fun and relaxation. In the morning, a few corps members presented on some of the mental health issues that affect our students. In the afternoon, the corps took a trip down to the Louisiana state capitol park. We played football, ultimate Frisbee, and soccer. Laine H. led us in meditation, and Danny M. led us in yoga.
Some of the ladies (myself included) suntanned for a bit, and I now have a farmer’s tan from the mid-thigh down! SUCCESS!
It was a great day and I think everyone enjoyed the fresh air and easy afternoon. We’re in the home stretch, so it was nice to take a step back and enjoy ourselves before we really get the ball rolling!
In Service,
Jordan
A Starfish Story
By Kylie Cannon, Corps Member Proudly Serving at Broadmoor Middle School
One of the hardest things about working in a public middle school is letting go of the things you can’t control. There are going to be students who come to school every day with problems you just can’t solve. My starfish today is one of these students.
Collin* was held back in the fifth grade after he failed to pass the LEAP test. He stayed there until his school decided that he was too old to be in elementary school, and Collin was promoted to the seventh grade. Collin tries harder at school than most of my other students combined, but his learning disabilities are so crippling that he has failed to score above “Unsatisfactory” on a single test this year.
Collin has severe short-term memory problems, the result of getting hit by a car when he was younger. Collin and I will talk about composite shapes for an hour and a half on Wednesday, but come Thursday he tells me he’s never heard of composite shapes before. At home, Collin has a mother who loves and supports him, but his mother does not want him to be stigmatized by enrolling him in Special Education.
I have often been at a loss as to what to do with Collin. Though he’s never been a behavior issue, I find him one of the most difficult students to work with. In these past few weeks, however, I have finally made some progress with Collin. The way that I have done this: drawing. Whenever I can show Collin a way to solve a basic math problem through drawing a picture, he can find the correct answer. Two weeks ago, for the very first time, Collin was able to sit down at the beginning of class, take out a pencil, and complete over half of the day’s warm-up by himself using the picture-drawing strategy we’d come up with.
I know that this is a short-term solution to a larger problem. Pictures are not always going to be a reliable way to solve math problems. And even using our newfound strategy, Collin did not pass the EduSoft Unit test. Nevertheless, I chose Collin as my Starfish today because even after failing time and again, Collin can find it in himself to attack new problems with confidence and hope. I think that we all have something to learn from him.
Save the Date and make sure to attend City Year Baton Rouge’s annual 2012 School House Rock on May 2nd!
School House Rock is our annual gala, a very fun event that brings together more than 200 supporters and partners to celebrate our 40 amazing corps members who are dedicating a year of their lives to serve as full-time tutors, mentors and role models to help children stay in school and on track in East Baton Rouge schools.
Here are the details of the event:
Where: Lamar Advertising Company
When: Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 6pm-9pm
6:00-6:30 Registration and Cocktails
6:30-8:00 Appetizers, Auction, and Program
8:00-9:00 Dessert Bar and Celebration
Music by: The Michael Foster Project
For questions, more information, and to RSVP, please contact Mellie Bailey at 225.663.4222 or mbailey@cityyear.org.
We’re excited to see y’all there!
The Great Saltine Challenge
Middle School’s Got Talent!
Hi there, Sara here!
Let’s keep it short and sweet this time, shall we? It’s seems to be that time of year again: talent show season! Both my school, Broadmoor, and Capitol are having talent shows soon. Jo and I held auditions today. We were amazed at the talents of our kids.
There were dancers, singers, comedians and rappers. We were blown away by a few of them. Natasha* had a great comedy act where she was somehow able to tie in Benjamin Franklin, Mike Epps, Rosa Parks, Harry Potter with Walmart. Dancers were popping and locking while each rapper wrote all of third own lyrics.
I have no doubt in my mind that the students will be thrilled and fully entertained by the talent show. And who knows, maybe I’ll dazzle the kids with some of my own talents…
Sara Ross
