A Belated Valentine's Day Dance

Well, Vare Middle School’s Valentine’s Day dance is officially two days away… I’m sure you just paused a moment to check out the date. It is, in fact, 8 days after Valentine’s Day, meaning this dance will be taking place on February 26. Makes perfect sense, right? We had originally scheduled the festivities to take place on a more appropriate date – February 12, to be exact – but record setting snowfalls paid an untimely and unfortunate visit to the Greater Philadelphia area. A few days off from school may have thrilled the students, but my team and I were less than enthusiastic about the idea of prolonging our stress another two weeks.

Yet, here we are, two weeks later, confirming chaperones, hanging banners, building floral arches, inflating countless balloons, and answering endless questions.

“Can I wear high heels?”
“Wait, so you mean I can wear skinny jeans?”
“Will there be a disco ball?”
“Who’s the deejay?”
“Can we do ballroom dancing?”
“Will you play slow songs and party music?”

You’d be amazed at the sheer amount of questions middle schoolers can come up with when given the opportunity. Our heads are spinning, but we also feed off of our students’ excitement. Yesterday, I caught myself thinking that we might actually be able to pull this thing off. But then, I saw the weather report, predicting more snow in the next few days.

Will we survive? The saga continues. Pray for us…

(Erin Reimer)

Behavior Binder

It was 4:45 am on February 16, 2010 and I was waking up to go to work just like every other day for the past seven months. I put on the Weather Channel, took a shower, and got dressed. This day was just like every other. I left my house at 6:15 to catch my regularly scheduled bus which was late, as usual. I made my way down to City Hall and then to my service school and met up with my team at 7:45 am. My team and I greeted the children like we do every morning as they arrive to school. "Good Morning, please stop sliding down the banister." "It isn't nice to hit guys!" "No, you may not play in the snow." We proceeded to our assigned classrooms and worked with the kids that we work with every day. I got the usual, "Reading is dumb Ms. Dee," in the beginning and then the never shocking "I like this book," in the end. It goes without saying that my schedule is pretty much set, but every once in a while a student proves me wrong and throws a stone in my river, changing its course.

Drew, a notorious 6th grade student is quite a handful. I usually expect to call his name a few hundred times before lunch. He is very funny and quite talented, none of which have kept him out of trouble thus far. But today was different. He was excited to talk to me when I walked into the classroom and he called me over to him. He told me that he was dating a young lady in the class and that she told him that his behavior has to improve for them to keep going out. He then followed it with "So Ms. Dee, can you make me a behavior binder, so you can help me work on it?" I agreed. Usually when Drew gets into trouble we talk about taking responsibility for our own actions and then he gets into trouble again, so I was quite surprised to find that my words were heard. I was very happy to see Drew taking initiative to do better and as promised we worked on making his binder.

Working in the school and following such structured schedules sometimes gets repetitive. Some days I feel as if I am doing the same thing as the day before. However, the changes in my students' behavior and class work is a reminder of City Years importance in the school. Along with my cooperating teacher, I hope to leave a lasting impression on not one, but many of the students I have had the pleasure of working with this school year.



Deirdre R. Denson
Lincoln Financial Foundation Team | Morrison Elementary

A Memorable Experience

My name is Antonique Blair from the YHNE team. One great experience for me this year was the recent overnight retreat for the CCYH Team and the Heroes Team. It was great! The corps members worked really hard to organize interesting workshops for the Heroes, despite some hectic weather. It felt good helping with the retreat and I can't wait until our YHNE retreat in May. The kids were great and the energy level was awesome. Events like these make my City Year experience memorable.
 
Antonique Blair, YHNE Team, Corps Member

Life Changing Experience

On September 8th, my City Year Team began its partnership with Jay Cooke Elementary School. At first we weren’t sure of what our journey would entail, however we all had something in common; we wanted to make a difference and that’s what I do in my class everyday. Even though there are some days when I get discouraged and even lose my hope, other days I see my students progressing. The children’s attendance has increased because they know that if they don’t come to school, I won’t stop calling them. Their behavior is much better because they know I respect them and they respect me. Their grades are improving because they know I won’t let them give up. Everyone on my team has had these moments and I feel as though our idealism has continued to fuel us. We’ve only been in these student’s lives for four months and we still have five more to go, but I know already that our passion and dedication will leave an everlasting impression. I look forward to knowing that not only did I change their lives, but also that they are changing mine too.

Abby Hartshorne, Jay Cooke Elementary, Corps Member

A Great Young Heroes Retreat

On December 4th and 5th the City Heroes team launched the start of its program with their very first retreat. City Heroes is a leadership development and service learning program for high school students from in and around Philadelphia. During the retreat, workshops were focused on leadership, diversity, personal identity, national and international service, as well as City Year culture. The City Heroes team worked hard to ensure that the workshops were engaging and informative. The team also worked day in and day out to “in-kind,” or solicit donations, for as much delicious food for the students as possible. This year, 151 students and 36 group leaders came out to the retreat. The group leaders did an amazing job leading the Heroes and we could not have had such meaningful workshops without their help. Thanks to everyone who helped make the retreat a success!
 
Tiffany Yuh, Corps Member, Clenmede Team, City Heroes

From the heart of Texas to the heart of Philly

30 degrees in mid-October cannot be a sign of a reasonable winter. Although I must admit, my standards may not be designed for a northerly climate, I'm still glad I came.

You see, my name is Alex Harris and I am an Austin, Texas native. Last summer marked a rite of passage, my graduation from high school into the so-called “real world”. At the time, I felt unprepared to make a well-informed decision about college. My only clear conviction was that I wanted to avoid the blueprint of the hurry up and settle down life. I wanted, in a word, adventure.

A picture of what I didn’t want did not advance my college plans, it only kept me anchored in the present, with the clock ticking away. I obviously needed some time to think over my options, and felt this time period in my life a formative time for my perceptual lenses. Furthermore, I had a friend, near relative whom I’ve known since first grade in a very similar situation, so we set our sights for City Year Greater Philadelphia.

I served as an AmeriCorps member with City Year Greater Philadelphia. I am often asked “Why Philadelphia?”, and quite honestly I don’t have a clear answer. Perhaps the best one is “Why not Philadelphia?”

Initially City Year seemed rather overwhelming but now it makes complete sense to me. Being assigned to Elkin Elementary helped to affirm my reasons for joining. I worked with a first grade class, a bi-lingual second grade class and a fourth grade class in the afternoon. My fourth graders are quite a unique bunch of students. I remember being overwhelmed, with a sense of pandemonium that seemed like a parody of school room chaos seen in television shows or in movies, but amidst the distracting scenery there were a few students quiet and earnestly interested in their work. I wrote them personal notes, thanking them by pointing out their good behavior and hard work, and the reactions were magical. The students absolutely lit up and beamed with pride, while many others noticed my now signature “Mr. Alex notes”. The next day, an especially rambunctious young girl, Kayla was in her seat doing her work. She wanted a note as well. Attention is something these students soak up, and I prefer not to speak unless it is meaningful. Needless to say, those are complimentary tendencies.

Now that I’ve had some time to reflect and engage, I have a more concrete idea of what my plans will be, and I know that the lenses through which I view life will forever be altered.

Alex, 18, SAP team at Elkin Elementary

CY 101: Strong Circle

The Strong Circle Power Tool allows for effective communication between the members of small to medium sized groups. All members of the group stand shoulder to shoulder in a tight circle. No one stands inside the circle and no one is outside of the circle. There should be no food or drink in the circle, either, only notebooks and pens. The Strong Circle allows for inclusivity, because with everyone able to make eye contact and see and hear one another, there is a forum opened to allow for free discussion of a topic.

The Strong Circle is used all over City Year. Every day, teams will start off with First Circle, a check-in and announcement time. Circles throughout the day, especially on service days, can help keep everyone on the same page. Final circle can provide a great space to debrief the day.