Thursday Takes an Unexpected Turn

As I woke up at 6:15 on Thursday, I was expecting a long day ahead of me because Mr. May had warned us to expect a later night. But, I was still definitely excited for the second to last day left at KIPP, we still had much to do and many goals to fulfill.
When we first arrived at school, we were told to ignore the buzz of the oncoming snowstorm- it tends to take the focus off of learning. We went about the usual business of making bulletin boards, grading papers, and interacting with the students and staff at KIPP GCP. I was able to begin the day by tutoring a ninth grade student in Algebra as he had missed the last two days. I enjoyed seeing him actually complete the skill and solve problems using the distance formula by himself. But more than that, I learned a lot about him and how he is dealing adjusting to KIPP and the workload there. I later worked with Ya and Nicole grading Algebra quizzes that were quite tedious. Mr. Bills told us that they usually take him five hours to grade... only two class periods!!!!
I then went to eat lunch with the middle school students and sat with the eighth grade for the first time. Correy and I were a little nervous, but we sat down with a group of students and ended up really connecting with them! They were all excited to get to go to the high school next year, because apparently it's less strict compared to the middle school. My favorite part was, once again, having them interact with us normally and comfortably, and also see them act very respectfully and ask a lot of good, thoughtful questions- even though we had been surrounded by this behavior for a week, it continues to impress me every time! When I told them I was majoring in Journalism, one of the boys at the table freaked out and got so excited and told me he wanted to do that too, and we discussed that for a while, which was really so cool.
And then, as many of us were planning to take on the next task, we had a quick meeting where Meghan and our Trip Leaders informed us of the oncoming snowstorm (100% snow with 3-5 inches expected) that was supposed to hit Gaston that night. There was worry about getting snowed in at the Landers house and it was very likely that school was going to be cancelled for Friday. After discussions and calls back to the AB office in College Park, it was decided that it would be safest to leave ASAP... :(
We quickly finished a Spanish bulletin board and tried to squeeze in all our goodbyes. The teachers had been planning a surprise dinner for us- that's why we were supposed to plan for a late night- which was so sweet, ESPECIALLY considering all they do already. The fact that they were going to take the time to thank us and spend time outside of school with us really meant a lot (even though it ended up that we couldn't go). We each received our very own KIPP shirt as we unexpectedly headed out.

Back at the Landers house we packed and cleaned up, after Ann Marie and I put some brownies in the oven. Turns out, it was Rachel's birthday, so we celebrated and sang with the brownies before we said our goodbyes. The Landers were so hospitable and loving and giving, they could not have been better hosts and I think we all will miss them!
We stopped off at KIPP one more time to drop off some thank you brownies to the teachers, and then hit the road.

It was definitely a shock and disappointment to leave early, but the snow did end up coming, so that made the decision a little easier to settle on Friday morning. I am still in awe of the commitment and dedication of the teachers at KIPP, the drive, maturity, and motivation of the students at KIPP, and the family community that they together have established. It was amazing to be able to talk college with seventh graders and seniors, and watch the students appreciate their education and be proud of their work. There were so many highlights throughout the week- I had a fabulous time getting to know my fellow AB-ers, but also learning and engaging with the Gaston community. Thank you to everyone who made this possible and were a part of it, MUCH LOVE (I'm waggling my fingers at you all)!!! I hope to be back in May for the 5k run for KIPP!
<3 Grace

Wonderful Wednesday :D

Chemia

My experience at KIPP thus far has been beyond amazing! I was an education major in previous years, but decided to switch over to family and consumer sciences because I want to be a social worker in the future. While there are many things that remind me of my student teaching days (the long days, bag lunches, grading papers), there are also just as many things that I have done that I never would have even imagined that I would do in a million years.  Just today, I helped lead a chemistry review (considering the fact that I had to take Chemistry twice at UMD, I felt really proud of myself)!

In addition, making connections with the students has also made me extremely happy. Contrary to popular belief, I’m actually very shy…so being in a position where making conversation with KIPP students is a big part of the trip has helped me come out of my shell.  The early mornings have been rough, but once I get to the building I am immediately energized by all of the smiles and positive energy I get from the students and staff.  I’m pretty sure some of them are wondering why the girl with the big hair and sparkly shoes is so happy all the time, but I don’t know what else I could possibly do. I’ll be so sad to leave such a great place and I really hope I can keep in touch with everyone I’ve made contact with! J

Correy

Today the list of daily tasks was just as long as all the other days. Every day when we think we have completed everything possible that could be done at the school a new task arises! Our work during the day never seems to slow down! Today, in addition to grading and making fabulous bulletin boards, I got to beautify some classrooms and meet with some new high school teachers.  Some of the trip members even got to go on short field trips with some of the teachers to local shops in town.  

After class we attended the middle school basketball game. Both the girls and boys teams played and the cheerleaders were there as well.  We cheered and clapped and some of us even tried to “coach” the team.  It was amazing to see all the teachers come and cheer on their students! The whole game experience really showed how close knit the entire KIPP community is. GO PRIDE! 

Tremendous Tuesday!

Hey all - happy Tuesday!

We are definitely hitting our stride at KIPP this week.  All of us are starting to feel very comfortable in the school.  We're making friends with the students, really connecting with the teachers, and today we even got to sit down with the Executive director and Principals of the primary, middle and high schools.   We got to see a perspective of people in charge and how things work on the inside.  Two of the women have even been with KIPP: GCP since the beginning (2001)! It was incredibly informative and enlightening - especially because they gave a lot of good personal and professional advice!

I (Meghan) don't have too much to report... I literally spent the entire day grading the 7th grade science morning work! Even though it was tedious, I really enjoyed taking the time to thoroughly read the assignments, answer questions the students wrote on the papers, respond to comments, and correct wrong answers.  I know this is the type and amount of feedback a KIPP teacher would give, and I really wanted to meet those high expectations.  I definitely have a deep appreciation and respect for what these teachers do on a daily basis - they must be superheros or something!  I'm looking forward to the rest of the week, but it also feels like time is running out!

Hey, it's Jackie.  I have had an incredible experience at KIPP every day, but today was probably my favorite so far.  For the past few days I've endlessly been grading papers for various teachers (which can be pretty entertaining when fifth graders don't know answers and decide to get creative) as well as some other miscellaneous tasks wherever needed.  Grading has given me such an appreciation for the work these teachers (and all teachers) put into their jobs.  About four of us were grading Mr. Zhao's (who's an incredibly awesome teacher) papers and quizzes for hours and still could not get them done in one day.  Anyways, today was especially fun because I got to spend almost the whole day over at the elementary school in Ms. V's kindergarten class, observing her teaching and helping the children.  Interacting with the kids was absolutely amazing.  They are the most loving bunch I have ever met and after a couple hours I was receiving endless hugs and already felt part of the KIPP family.  And as Mrs. Cook-Dwight told us today, by the time these kids reach the fifth grade, they will be two grade levels ahead, which shows how hard they are working, even at such a young age!

As the day goes on, we are awaiting a delicious grilled cheese meal which we will follow with our daily reflection.  Tonight we are also going to watch "Waiting for Superman," a documentary that highlights the problems that children face in areas where a quality public education is unavailable.  This will be a great way to learn more about how incredible the program we have been working with for the past week is for the students there.

Alsooooo... Meghan and I(Jackie), with the help of many others (shout-out to Olivia!) are on 500-piece puzzle #2 and Meghan is very proud that her puzzle skills have increased.  It's also really cool to see how so many of us (Nicole, Ann-Marie, Chris, etc.) are teaching full lessons in the class and taking time now, outside of our school time, to work on the planning.

This is such a hardworking group of people and I can't wait to see how much more we can accomplish in the few days we have left and we all hope to leave a lasting impact on the school, even in our short time here.

~Meghan and Jackie :)

BEST MONDAY IN A WHILE

Hello!

Despite being Monday, everyone felt energized from the relaxing weekend for a hard day of work at KIPP. Everyone seemed to divide up the tasks ranging from the usual grading and teaching, to planning  actual teaching lessons, for later in the week! Ann Marie, Ali, and Idara will all be teaching tomorrow. Ann Marie is teaching 4 classes of 6th grade Civil Rights History (wow, good luck!) and Ali and Idara are co-teaching a high school Spanish class (although they seem a bit conflicting over teaching the class...in a loving AB manner of course).

I (Nicole) did a lot of math today! In addition to talking to Mrs. Coke about teaching 7th grade pre-algebra later in the week, I graded 5th and 9th grade math assignments. I try to give students thorough feedback about where they made errors and how they can improve their work. Chris and I had lunch with 7th graders today. While quiet at first, they warmed up and told us about their music tastes and favorite, and least favorite, teachers at KIPP. In addition, I helped Mr. Bills to "beautify" his classroom, sprucing up the bulletin board inside the classroom and making the room more aesthetically appealing. I ended the day by helping with the usual Algebra is Power class from 4-5pm that I have been doing since the first day. I really enjoy working one-on-one with 9th graders in this class, answering their math questions and encouraging hard work at the end of the day.

Ya here, it's great to finally blog and contribute to this diary of our adventures in Gaston. It's been wonderful here the last few days, and I've definitely become more comfortable with the other participants and students and teachers at KIPP. Shout out to Grace and Chemia for their creative bulletin making skills. Meghan and I also spray glued new year's resolutions inside the student lockers. The cool thing about their lockers is that they're lock-less, in order to build trust among the students.

When the school day ended, we met with two KIPP moms who shared their experiences with us. It was clear that at KIPP, teachers and parents communicate extensively to better the students' education. For example, Mr. May calls each individual parent the summer prior to the school year to start building the relationship between parent and teacher. It was inspiring to see two mothers who were truly invested in their children's success and how that was made possible through a KIPP education.

THEN. We came home and vegged out! We ate a taco/burrito dinner made by lovely Olivia and Aditi, followed promptly by a thorough discussion on our day and how we could continue our relationship with KIPP after returning to College Park. Some awesome suggestions were to start a pen-pal exchange with interested students and coordinate some college info sessions/counseling for the high schoolers. We hope to continue learning the next few days, especially when we meet several KIPP administrators tomorrow! Look forward to more exciting blog posts in the days to come.

Love,
Nicole and Ya :)

Sunday Funday

Today was our only "free" day on the trip (and chance to actually sleep in).  But just because it was a free day didn't mean we had take advantage of our beautiful location.  After catching up on much-needed sleep, our group drove to nearby Roanoke Rapids to walk an old canal trail.  The weather was 75 and sunny (much better then dreary Baltimore), the perfect weather for a fun hike through the woods.  It was a great time to reflect on the activities of the last few days and spend time getting to know each other better.  Even though our group bonded very quickly, our new friendships have grown stronger with each passing day, to the point that we have become a family.  

We are so blessed to be spending the week on beautiful Lake Gaston and what better activity to do today than boating on the lake? After the hike, we all piled into the Landers's boat to further enjoy the beautiful day. As we are a service trip, we all have service on the mind and with the Polar Bear Plunge coming up, some of us decided to test the waters of the lake. Ali, Grace, and I (Gretchen) were the 3 brave souls who jumped right into the (pushing) 40 degree waters. Boy, was it freezing! Never in my life have I been so cold, the second we jumped in my entire body froze and Grace and I thought we wouldn't make it the 5 feet to the dock and our towels! A major shoutout to Ali for swimming 50 feet and for her champion dive! Although thinking of the lake still sends me shivers, I wouldn't have stayed in the boat for anything- what a great experience! Every day amazes me with the new and unforgettable opportunities: the beautiful location, our spectacular group, and the inspirational children we have the privilege of seeing every day. 

After dinner, we sat around and reflected on the activities of the last few days.  A hallmark of this trip has been the unbelievable positivity shown by our group.  Everyone in the group gave a shout-out, thanking our hosts, the drivers, the cooks, etc.  Often on these trips, not everyone in the groups connects, or cliques begin to form  and some participants are excluded.  That has not been the case for the Gaston trip.  Our group bonded instantly and though we like to pick on each other sometimes, we all really care for one another. 

There are a lot of ways to describe KIPP, but I think it can best be summed up in four simple words "Work Hard, Be Nice".  I think this phrase perfectly describes our group.  Everyone in the group works incredibly hard while at KIPP helping the teachers and tutoring the students and does it with an overwhelmingly positive attitude.  It has been an incredibly enriching experience to work along such great people, and we are happy to be along for the ride. (and to have taken the plunge! Haha!)

SATURDAYYY WOOOO

Luckily today we were able to catch a few extra Zzz's. Our day started at around 9 am when we got to the Habitat for Humanity store in Roanoke Rapids. There was a big warehouse run by Mr. Sherman full of used items (furniture, books, and other KNICK KNACKS). This warehouse is run by volunteers who contribute to organizing and selling the various items. All the money made in the store goes into building the Habitat homes.

We worked with Mr. Sherman and the Landers to rearrange and organize the merchandise. There was a lot of heavy lifting and tidying up involved. Among the 16 of us, we were able to accomplish quite a lot! GO TEAM!

Overall, while it might not seem like much, our contributions to Habitat made us feel very accomplished. The Landers and Mr. Sherman were extremely grateful to us, and to be able to help out such a wonderful cause was an amazing experience. It made us realize how much is involved in the building of these homes. It involves much more than gathering materials and putting houses together. A large amount of fundraising is required, and all the work that goes into the store is accomplished through volunteers. We are very grateful to have been given this opportunity to help out such a worthy cause that is doing great things for others.

So.... after working and ambushing McDonalds with the 15 of us chicks (and Chris), we headed back home. We were able to catch the Ravens/Broncos game which was an upset for some and a victory for others. Then we ATTEMPTED to get down at a local hoedown at club Chattahoochie. Unfortunately, the club was closed, so instead some of us learned how to line dance at the house. YEE HAW

Much love ya'll,
Stephanie & Aditi

Fride! (Friday Pride)

We definitely came into the day with more enthusiasm knowing that the sun would still be up when we left at 3:30.  Even though we had a new task list, we strutted into that workroom with a purpose.  Our day started strong as we finished all the previous day's work, and we were not as daunted by the flood of new teacher requests.  (It rained today.)

Ann Marie has become the official bulletin board-maker for the fifth grade, so she began her second board with magKIPPicent ideas in mind.  There will be confetti, so get excited.

Anjuli truly has a newfound appreciation for all teachers.  SHOUT-OUT to fifth grade math teacher Ms. Vacha!  Three interns spent lit-rally six hours grading one assignment, and Anjuli couldn't believe how one person could possibly tackle all that in one weekend while remaining sane.

Fifth graders just finished a project on Night John, a book about slavery, and a few brave KIPP-sters took the hipster route and made plays, songs, and videos rather than traditional posters.  These students proudly presented their creations to their teammates during Pride Time, and received a lot of Pride Love and Support.

The Class of 2018 (seventh graders) enjoyed a presentation by fellow interns Chris, Chemia, and Meghan about life at the University of Maryland.  They posed thoughtful questions on everything from school traditions to how to keep working hard and being good.  The most interesting part for us was when they talked about how they want to be surgeons, veterinarians, and engineers.  The teachers' high expectations of them clearly translated into impressive career goals.

At the end of the day we were privileged enough to sit in on professional development meetings held by all three schools.  We were inspired by the positive attitudes the teachers carried from the classroom straight to the conference room despite it being the end of a long week.  They all work hard, but they all work hard together, and this sense of family is part of what makes KIPP such a wonderful place to learn for students, interns, and teachers.

Love,
Anjuli and Ann Marie