Final Days: Yearbook Debut and Backpacks for all

Another amazing fun filled week that has left me absolutely sunburnt and exhausted. Monday began with more yearbook activities at La Casa and preparing for the BIC backpack delivery later in the week at NPS. The lead teacher at NPS asked that we help lead the development of a welcome banner for the event, so arts and crafts has been our focus for most of our final week. The yearbook committee at La Casa is enthused and focused…they are coming up with great ideas and have a lot of energy that they are pouring in to it. Its really nice to see them happy about an activity like this, being that its those types of things that will set them apart from their peers in middle and high school.

Tuesday was another trip to Hurricane Harbor with 30 1^st graders. Many lessons learned on the first trip left me feeling prepared and things went much more smoothly. I was able to assist the teachers in organizing the trip based on my previous experience in the park. We were also able to get two kids over their fear of heights by taking them on the tallest waterslide. They were terrified  but begging for more by the time the reached the bottom. Wednesday was a field trip to the Jackals game with NPS, which was a repeat of the Newark Bears game I chaperoned in the beginning of our internship experience. A lot of running up and down the stairs, back and forth trips to the bathroom/snack bar/gift shop. All in all a great day for the kids. I think they were in awe of the stadium and appreciative of the opportunity to see such a sight.  They were also able to snag autographs at the end of the game, which left them feeling like they had just met celebrities.

Thursday we wrapped up yearbook activities at La Casa and worked diligently to ensure that we had a final product to deliver at the PJ Party on Friday. The goal was to have the kids watch the video during the party. Mission completed….they loved it. And the sense of pride and accomplishment on the yearbook committees faces was priceless. BIC Backpack Day was adventurous, with 500 kiddies showing up from multiple schools to receive backpacks filled with school supplies that had been donated by BIC. The kids were ecstatic, and couldn’t wait to get their supplies opened and organized in to the different compartments of the bag. What an amazing feeling to assist with the delivery. One girl told me she had the same backpack since Kindergarten (still had Barbie on it). She was extremely grateful for the gift.

Friday, Friday, Friday. Final hours.  La Casa’s pajama party was slightly disorganized with Ms. Hazel absent, but the teachers showed movies and had goodies for the kids to snack on. We were able to showcase the video yearbook for all three classes, and although incomplete, the students loved it. Octavio and I agreed to stop in once a week for the remainder of the summer to help the kids finish it. I look forward to the final product. The hours at Abington seemed to fly because of Seminar cutting into our time there.  I had any students that didn’t finish their name signs to do so…it amazes me how much seeing their name on paper, bold and colorful, invokes such a positive response. I will laminate them all over the weekend and deliver them on Monday. The on to our final surprise of icies for all the kids. We had placed the order with the bodega the day before to ensure they would have 100+ in stock. The kids were floored. It awesome to see what a quarter can do J

I will miss my time in both placements. In the beginning, I was unsure of how I would fit in in both schools. Will the kids like me? Will I make a difference? Will I get along with the teachers? Will I be able to withstand the heat? I soon realized that I worry too much. Working with kids is a very natural thing for me, and they seem, to like just about anyone who is willing to invest the time and effort into getting to know them. They are easy to talk to and fun to listen to. It was a joy and an honor to be a part of both summer experiences. I would like to look into working for the programs in the years to come.

Now on to  sand, sun, sleep and time with my family...

Arivaderche.