Yesterday I returned to Martinez Elementary! I was very excited to see my students. We began by writing down chords in their journals. Writing down chords is a new skill we have been working on with them so they can make the chords on the guitar themselves using their brains and not teacher assistance! They have improved a lot on third diagram skills and Im so proud of them!!!!!! Some of the kids were having some anxious behavior because they are taking the STARR test the next week. We saw this and talked a lot about stress coping mechanisms that could apply both to playing guitar and to taking tests! I hope that we made them feel better and more confident for next week. Learning outcome 4 was very relevant to this experience. It is show commitment to and perseverance in a fieldwork experience. I feel that my commitment to the growth of these kids is very important to me and all I want is for them to succeed !!!!

Martinez!!!!!!!

Today I went back to Martinez  after winter break and J-Term! I missed getting to go see my students every week! My one concern going back was that they would forget everything from last semester. I went back to Martinez and was welcomed with all of my kids screaming "Ms. sushi, we missed you!" They have nicknamed me ms. sushi because I like sushi and that is 4th grade humor at its finest. I felt like returning to Martinez really aligned with earning Outcome 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in a fieldwork experience.The kids forgot most of what we did last semester, which was kind of a let down, but I toughened up and lead a review for the kids of everything we did last semester. It was difficult making them all focus and work hard, but eventually they did and caught up to where they were at the end of last semester.

First Day at Clemente Martinez!!!

Last week I received an email that Hope Stone, the organization I intern with, is no longer teaching at Browning Elementary. I was devastated because I had bonded so much with the kids there and wanted to return and see how much my students have grown over the summer. I was informed that Hope Stone's program was being moved to Clemente Martinez Elementary School, just down the road from Browning. Instead of teaching 4th grade ukulele and 5th grade guitar, I was told I was teaching a mixed 4th and 5th grade guitar. It was going to be shift, but I was excited for a new experience and the opportunity to impact more children.

The first day went very well! The group of kids I have is amazing! They all seem interested and willing to learn! To me this whole shift aligns with Learning Outcome #4, demonstrating that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process. I will admit that shifting schools in such a short period of time was challenging, but I learned how to adapt and think on my feet!

I am excited to see these new students grow!!!!

Chicago Audition Prep

While at summer camp this summer, I learned that my theatre was doing a production of Chicago in the fall and the audition was soon after I came home. The genre of the show was different from things I had performed in in the past. Chicago is set in Chicago in the 1920's and has many themes of love, fame and murder. The show also has a ton of dancing, so I did a lot of research and practice into the dance style of the show, which was very technical. I did a lot of research into the style of Fosse and songs I could use for the audition. I decided to sing the song Maybe This Time from the musical Cabaret because the musical styles of the two shows were very similar. I learned the lyrics to the song and practiced any time I had the chance! This connects to Learning Outcome 4, show commitment to and perseverance in a fieldwork experience. I was committed to doing well in the audition and showing that I had done my research into the show and practiced my song to perfection. I am excited for the audition process and I hope my work pays off!

Tulane Tour

Last weekend I went to New Orleans and Toured Tulane University! We flew in on Friday afternoon and left on Saturday evening so we only spent like 24 hours there. We toured campus and I loved it! Im glad that I am touring colleges ahead of time so I won't be stressed touring at the last minute! This aligns with Learning Outcome #4, show commitment to and perseverance in a fieldwork experience. I feel that I have been very committed to making the college touring and application process as efficient and smooth as possible! I really enjoyed Tulane and I am excited to potentially go back!

CAS- Walking over Thanksgiving Break

Over Thanksgiving Break every year I visit my grandparents in Burke, Virginia. Going there is a nice escape from living in such a big and loud city like Houston. Outside of their house is a kind of hidden trail that takes you through the back of the neighborhood, behind all the houses and through the trees. It is such a beautiful and kind of secluded trail, so I take the opportunity almost every day I'm there to take a walk by myself and take that time to reflect on my day and think about things I need to do and just really take that time for myself, since over Thanksgiving break, there are 10 people living at my grandparents house. I feel that my daily walk ties into Learning Outcome 4, showing commitment to and perseverance in a fieldwork experience. The consistency of my walks shoes commitment to
leading a healthy lifestyle and taking tome to myself to reflect.

Browning

This week of my internship was more difficult than some of the others. It is the week after Halloween and we are on the verge of holiday time, so many of the kids were very hyper and a little inattentive. Also, many of the kids forgot to being their instruments, and to add onto it, we haven't seen the kids in two weeks, so their skills were a little rusty. My co-teacher and I had to use a lot of learning outcome 4, working collaboratively. Despite some setbacks and possible obstacles we faced today, we tried our best to catch the kids up and let them have fun and learn. We had to review things over and over to catch them up and we had to sacrifice our personal instruments for the kids. Today was hard, but the teamwork between me and my co-teacher helped us create a great (but stressful) class!

CAS and Internship Week 2

This past Wednesday was the sequins week of my internship for the year. The kids came to class this week prepared and excited to learn. Rachel and I had a pretty well thought out lesson plan for the week, but had to learn to be adaptable because you never know how kids are going to feel that day or want to do. The guitar students wanted to have in impromptu jam session and wanted to talk about songwriting. When they came in the classroom, all of the ukuleles form the last class were still out of their cases and scattered throughout the room. Rachel and I have to work together and collaborate to make sure everything runs smoothly and the class is still organized and engaging fir the kids. So while Rachel jammed out with the kids and taught them about writing songs and played some of her original songs, I had time to put all of the ukuleles away and in the closet and get out all of the guitars and put them on stands to prepare for the kids to use them. This connects with learning outcome 4, working collaboratively with others. Rachel and I work together to create a smooth, engaging and fun class for the kids, so they can grow to their fullest potential.