June 24:
I emailed Mrs. Boutillier about my idea and what I wanted to do. She was extremely proud of my ambition and how passionate I was about this.
June 28:
I started looking up some organizations that I thought would be good causes to donate to. This was very crucial because I didn't really know what kind of organizations were out there. I ended up finding out about the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence. I got in contact with them and told them who I was, where I was from, and what my idea was. They absolutely loved it! They were more than happy to take on my idea and the lady i was talking to sent my contact information out to the proper people.
June 29:
I reached out to Steve Goodrich, my volleyball coach, and asked if on September 22nd the game we play could be all about sexual violence and hold fundraisers and such. He absolutely loved the idea and wanted to help in anyway he could.
July 20:
I reached out the the Suffield Volleyball Captain, Jenna Apanowitch and let her know what was going on the day we were playing them. She was so excited to be a part of it and will tell the team on my behalf.
July 25:
A woman from the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence contacted me to learn more about what I’m about and get more details about what I wanted to do. She then connected me to the Hartford Representative so I could have someone at my game to represent the organization and a lady to educate.
August 11:
A woman contacted me about tabling the volleyball game. We talked about what I need to do for the event and what she was going to do. She mentioned closer to the day she would send me a piece of literature that I could add to and tweak that I can read at the game.
August 20:
My mom found a suicide prevention walk in East Hartford on September 23rd (the day after my game) so I decided to incorporate that into my project too. I then made a team in which I was the team captain and started to raise money and have people sign up to walk.
August 28:
I talked to Ms. Schmitt about the volleyball game and she approved of it and said she would make a donation of the gate entry money to the organization.
August 29:
I talked to the volleyball team about the game and the walk and they loved it. We all decided to get teal shirts to wear to warm up in. The girls on the team have been super supportive signed up to make things for the bake sale for the game.
September 1:
I ordered teal wristbands to sell. They are teal with white writing that says Teal Power on the front and SMSA Tigers on the back. I purchased 130 wristbands for $99.70. I plan to sell the wristbands for $3 and then reimburse my mom cause she payed for it and then give the organization the rest of the money. I also got in contact with a women from CCMC and she agreed to be my mentor. She was really nice and like my idea so I’m really excited!
September 2:
Mrs. Bout told me i need to start promoting my game and get it out to the public. So, I called and emailed Fox, NBC, Channel 8, and The Hartford Courant. Most of them said they would try to make it but they can't make any promises but it will be in the agenda. The man I called from the Courant was actually the one who covers volleyball, so he said we would definitely be in touch about it so i have high hope that they will come!
September 12:
So we finally received our “teal”shirts for the game and they are nowhere close to teal. But we are just going to wear them because it's something different. Goodrich even offered to photoshop the t shirts to be teal for my pictures.
September 14:
I got my wristbands and have sold 26 so far. I have come to realize with the help of my mother that I will not make a lot of money off them because I have to pay my mom back $100. That okay tho because I am still raising awareness and I don’t necessarily need to make money for it.
September 17:
I got my 50/50 raffle approved by Mr. Colon and Mrs. Bout. I also got Mr. Colon’s permission for the volleyball team to wear the teal shirts to school instead of our uniform with khakis and black shoes still.
September 18:
I put together an announcement and twitter message to go on the school's twitter page. I also wrote up what I am going to say at the game.
September 22:
Today was very stressful, but overall it turned out extremely well. We decorated the gym and it looked great. The bake sale looked and tasted amazing. I made a really good speech before my game that hit all the points without being overwhelming. We got a ton of support from students and people outside the school who came. All my teammates worked together to help me set up and take down everything and were willing to help with everything. I am extremely proud of myself and how it turned out.
September 23:
I went into practice today and Schmitt was there so we counted the money. In total it was $682.24. That includes the bracelet money that I already had from selling them before the game. so I took out the $99.70 I owed my mother so that brought my total to $582.54. Schmitt still has all of it in the safe because she doesn't know if she has to write a check for it or if I can just send in the cash. the 50/50 also went a lot better than expected. We made $120 in raffle tickets, so the winner got $60 (who was actually my cousin who came home from for college for it) and donated $20 back. The walk was really nice, but it was very hard for me and made me very uncomfortable, but it was okay. Through that I raised $500 for suicide prevention. I know I am not technically done with capstone, but it a very big relief to have everything done. I am very proud of the awareness I brought and the amount of money I raised for both events.
September 24:
We still have a lot of bracelets left, so I have to get it approved, but I might sell them at home volleyball games and home football games.
September 25:
Got thank you cards from Bout and started saying thank you to all the people who donated or contributed.
September 27:
There was a meeting for seniors where we talked about who’s doing good on capstone. So I stood up and shared how much money I raised and said thank you to everyone who came to the game and contributed. Also, some of the kids from sports journalism called me down to interview me about how well my capstone project went and some of the highs and lows of it.
October 2:
I made all the thank you cards and sent them out to everyone who contributed. My grandma got especially thankful for the thank you card and it made her day.
October 3:
The YWCA office sent me a thank you note to my house that was signed by not only the people who came to my event, but the entire office. Many of the messages included of how proud they were of me.
October 5:
I’m struggling because I don’t really have anything to do so I am very bored in class. I am just waiting until my mentor comes into school in November. I should probably start my research paper considering the first couple of pages are due in the 13th.
October 27:
I did my rough draft and I know I can do a much better job then I did. I did not cite the references correctly, I just put the links and I know I can do better so I am glad it is just a rough draft.
November 4:
I got my rough draft back with the revisions. I got a D and I cannot say I was expecting to get higher on it. My main thing was I was too focused on telling other people’s stories and not giving actual facts.
November 5:
I utilized the writing center today and it was good. The guy basically told everything I already knew, but we had a good conversation about my topic and some things I needed to improve upon.
November 9:
I spoke to Mrs. Portal and we discussed when it would best fit her schedule for Amneris to come in. Mrs. Portal decided that the program would be most beneficial for her third block class because that class is constructed mostly of males, so they can take the most from it and see how real it is. She gave me the block from December 18-22. That’s only five days and the program is supposed to be 7, so that is the only thing I am nervous about.
November 13:
I sent an email to Amneris telling her everything. She however still has not got back to me so I am not sure what I am supposed to do.
November 28:
As basketball has been starting, I have been thinking of doing another sexual assault game themed for basketball. I have to run it by Bout and Antolini, but I think it would be a good idea.
November 29:
Mrs. Bout called me into her office and showed me a video about consent and I thought it was well done, however I thought it was very corny. I don’t know if kids will take it seriously. I also brought up that I would like to make a PowerPoint presentation and go around to capstone classes and relate it to how we are all going to college soon. I said I would look for another video to try to attach to it, but i was nervous of what kind of videos I would find. I also handed in my final draft of my research paper so hopefully I pass!
December 1:
I got my research paper back and I got an 81! I am very proud of myself and it is another step towards graduation.
December 4:
I made a PowerPoint presentation about sexual assault that I want to go around capstone classes and present. I showed it to Bout and Zamorski and they said I have to slow down. I need to create an opt out form for students incase they feel uncomfortable.
December 6:
I presented the PowerPoint to Bout and Zamorski and they really liked it and thought I presented really well. They liked how I used statistics to convey my point across. They want me to go into more details about how little women come forward about being raped and victim blaming. However, I have to find a way to do it without scaring girls off to the point where they do not want to come forward. I also have to find a survivor story to show the effects of rape and sexual assault on the person.
December 7:
I made an opt-out form and sent it to Bout. I am pretty sure she will send it to all the seniors through email and the ones who want to opt-out can simply sign the form.
December 11:
There is a lot of trouble with the MOU and it is stuck at the board of ed. Therefore, we do not know if Amneris can come in without it or not. I’m worried it is not going to be able to happen and it is very frustrating. I know I cannot control anything, however it is very annoying.
December 12:
I handed out the opt-out form to my first block and explained to give the form to their parents if they do not want their child to sit in on the presentation.
December 18:
I went into Portals class to oversee the activity. Amneris did not show up till 10:30 so I had to improvise. I presented the powerpoint to the kids and told them my story. They are a really good group of kids and it went really well. They are very receptive to everything. We listened to song and broke down the negative language of everything and how normal it is to say it in society today.
December 19:
Today Amneris was on time so that was good! She gave a PowerPoint of sexual assault vs rape. She mentioned that sexual assault was an umbrellas for everything. Also, that sexual assault or rape is the only crime that people ask did it really happen, what was she wearing, how many partners she/has etc., which I thought was very interesting and eye-opening. We also had situation cards in what advice we would give the people who were going through the situation. There was more time at the end of the class and there was no activities to do. I decided to run a fun activity of 7-up to use up the time. This got me a chance to get more comfortable with the kids and have a fun interaction. When I was sharing my story I mentioned about how the police said I would look like a whore if I took the case any further. When I said this, one of the kids turned their head and was like how could you say that. I also am developing a great bond with some of the kids which makes it a lot easier to give them information and the environment is loose.
December 20:
We watched a movie today about a girl who was in an abusive relationship with a very controlling boyfriend who ended up killing her. It was really moving and the kids reacted really well to it. The kids are really starting to get it and it is an amazing feeling. I decided I am going to bring in cupcakes for the kids on Friday and I asked if any of them had allergies and one girl is allergic to peanuts so I just have to be careful about that. I am really excited for how this program is turning out and I cannot wait to see the rest of it. I don’t want it to end!
December 22:
We found out that we had an emergency dismissal in second block so I started freaking out. We got all our classes times changed, so I had to reach out to Amneris immediately to say what time the class was. I was not expecting her to come due to the change of schedule, so i began to frazzle. With the help of Weimer I came up with a lesson plan in 20 minutes. We played a game called telephone and it showed how much the story can change based on the spread of rumors and how much the media can change the story. In the time I had to get things together, I think I did a pretty good job.
January 2:
Today we played jeopardy and it was good because the kids were getting really involved and excited. However, I had to yell at some of the kids because they were all talking in the corner and being disrespectful during the lesson. I knew one of the kids from a previous years, so I decided to hold him after class while Mrs. Portal was there. I simply told him that he needs to act better and he understood and we hugged it out. I am hopeful that they will be better today. Later today I was walking to my fifth block kids, and I saw a bunch of the kids from third block who were messing around and almost late to class so I just looked at them and smiled and said you better get to class or else you are not going to have the gushers tomorrow and they started running to class so it was pretty funny. The kids and I are growing a great, comfortable bond and I really enjoy it.
January 12:
The program ended and I am actually very sad. The program was great and the group of kids were even better. They really opened up to me and I developed a great bond with all of them. To wrap up this part of the program up I got a banner and all the kids put their hand prints all over the poster with paint. It came out really cool and it was just a very nice feeling to see it come full circle and see the impact that you can make on someone’s life.
January 23:
I went into the first block class and introduced myself to all of the kids and will start with them tomorrow. They seemed a little on edge about it and weren't really sure how to feel about it so i told them that it was going to be a good time and you were basically going to get out of it what you put into it. Also, I told them I would bring them food sometimes and they all perked up when I said that. I am very nervous tomorrow, but I am going to see how it goes.
January 24:
I was presenting my PowerPoint today and we watched this very powerful poem that the singer Halsey wrote. I think it really touched the kids and it made them realize that it is very real. The class took a very unexpected turn when one of the girls started balling crying and shared that she was sexually assaulted by an old man when she was ten. I didn't know what to really do because a couple of the people in the class started crying as well. Once she shared her story, I lost it, but I did not want to show people that I was crying. She was still emotional after class so I stayed back with her and her best friend during second block and just talked and made sure she was okay. It was a very emotional day, so I think I am going to lighten it up tomorrow.
January 25:
Today was a really easy day and I said a little disclaimer in the beginning that if anyone needs to step out they are more than welcome to. I made a powerpoint about getting to know me and me getting to know them. I didn't even know half of their names, so I thought this would be a good activity. After I got more comfortable with the kids we did an activity when I wrote a famous person's name on an index card and then other kids had to give them clues to who it was. The catch was all of the people on the index cards have either been sexually assaulted or raped. Overall, it was a good day and I think the rest is going to be a good time.
January 26:
We watched the movie Escalate and the only problem was that the kids were talking the whole time, so I had to yell at them a little bit. Also, the movie took up the whole class period so we didn't get the chance to talk about it. I also talked to Portal and she said that she was going to take over the class. I am actually happy she is because I obviously am not a teacher, so she is the expert and they will probably get more out of it. We hung up the banner that the block three kids made and it was a process to say the least. It ended up with me getting on a ladder with the help of four others and we somehow got it up there. It looks really nice and I am very happy with the outcome.
February 9:
I had a meeting with Bout and we were bouncing ideas back and forth. I talked to her about how I want to talk in front of the teachers and administration, but the only problem was I need to figure out how to word it. She doesn't want it to be a big shouting fight to get my anger out, she wants it to have a point and I agree with that.
February 11:
I wrote the story and it felt good to let it all out. It was almost interesting writing the story in the third person. I feel if I convey the story in the third person and then switch to it being me, I think it would be really powerful. It almost is like now when people ask what happened I can just give them this paper and not have to repeat everything over and over again. Zamorski read the story and told me I need to give off more. I was very surprised when she said this and almost a little confused. I wasn't sure what parts she wanted me to expand upon or which ones I couldn't. Zamorski was there through the whole thing, so she knew there was more and told me to let that out. I am not sure how much detail they want me to go into.
I emailed Mrs. Boutillier about my idea and what I wanted to do. She was extremely proud of my ambition and how passionate I was about this.
June 28:
I started looking up some organizations that I thought would be good causes to donate to. This was very crucial because I didn't really know what kind of organizations were out there. I ended up finding out about the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence. I got in contact with them and told them who I was, where I was from, and what my idea was. They absolutely loved it! They were more than happy to take on my idea and the lady i was talking to sent my contact information out to the proper people.
June 29:
I reached out to Steve Goodrich, my volleyball coach, and asked if on September 22nd the game we play could be all about sexual violence and hold fundraisers and such. He absolutely loved the idea and wanted to help in anyway he could.
July 20:
I reached out the the Suffield Volleyball Captain, Jenna Apanowitch and let her know what was going on the day we were playing them. She was so excited to be a part of it and will tell the team on my behalf.
July 25:
A woman from the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence contacted me to learn more about what I’m about and get more details about what I wanted to do. She then connected me to the Hartford Representative so I could have someone at my game to represent the organization and a lady to educate.
August 11:
A woman contacted me about tabling the volleyball game. We talked about what I need to do for the event and what she was going to do. She mentioned closer to the day she would send me a piece of literature that I could add to and tweak that I can read at the game.
August 20:
My mom found a suicide prevention walk in East Hartford on September 23rd (the day after my game) so I decided to incorporate that into my project too. I then made a team in which I was the team captain and started to raise money and have people sign up to walk.
August 28:
I talked to Ms. Schmitt about the volleyball game and she approved of it and said she would make a donation of the gate entry money to the organization.
August 29:
I talked to the volleyball team about the game and the walk and they loved it. We all decided to get teal shirts to wear to warm up in. The girls on the team have been super supportive signed up to make things for the bake sale for the game.
September 1:
I ordered teal wristbands to sell. They are teal with white writing that says Teal Power on the front and SMSA Tigers on the back. I purchased 130 wristbands for $99.70. I plan to sell the wristbands for $3 and then reimburse my mom cause she payed for it and then give the organization the rest of the money. I also got in contact with a women from CCMC and she agreed to be my mentor. She was really nice and like my idea so I’m really excited!
September 2:
Mrs. Bout told me i need to start promoting my game and get it out to the public. So, I called and emailed Fox, NBC, Channel 8, and The Hartford Courant. Most of them said they would try to make it but they can't make any promises but it will be in the agenda. The man I called from the Courant was actually the one who covers volleyball, so he said we would definitely be in touch about it so i have high hope that they will come!
September 12:
So we finally received our “teal”shirts for the game and they are nowhere close to teal. But we are just going to wear them because it's something different. Goodrich even offered to photoshop the t shirts to be teal for my pictures.
September 14:
I got my wristbands and have sold 26 so far. I have come to realize with the help of my mother that I will not make a lot of money off them because I have to pay my mom back $100. That okay tho because I am still raising awareness and I don’t necessarily need to make money for it.
September 17:
I got my 50/50 raffle approved by Mr. Colon and Mrs. Bout. I also got Mr. Colon’s permission for the volleyball team to wear the teal shirts to school instead of our uniform with khakis and black shoes still.
September 18:
I put together an announcement and twitter message to go on the school's twitter page. I also wrote up what I am going to say at the game.
September 22:
Today was very stressful, but overall it turned out extremely well. We decorated the gym and it looked great. The bake sale looked and tasted amazing. I made a really good speech before my game that hit all the points without being overwhelming. We got a ton of support from students and people outside the school who came. All my teammates worked together to help me set up and take down everything and were willing to help with everything. I am extremely proud of myself and how it turned out.
September 23:
I went into practice today and Schmitt was there so we counted the money. In total it was $682.24. That includes the bracelet money that I already had from selling them before the game. so I took out the $99.70 I owed my mother so that brought my total to $582.54. Schmitt still has all of it in the safe because she doesn't know if she has to write a check for it or if I can just send in the cash. the 50/50 also went a lot better than expected. We made $120 in raffle tickets, so the winner got $60 (who was actually my cousin who came home from for college for it) and donated $20 back. The walk was really nice, but it was very hard for me and made me very uncomfortable, but it was okay. Through that I raised $500 for suicide prevention. I know I am not technically done with capstone, but it a very big relief to have everything done. I am very proud of the awareness I brought and the amount of money I raised for both events.
September 24:
We still have a lot of bracelets left, so I have to get it approved, but I might sell them at home volleyball games and home football games.
September 25:
Got thank you cards from Bout and started saying thank you to all the people who donated or contributed.
September 27:
There was a meeting for seniors where we talked about who’s doing good on capstone. So I stood up and shared how much money I raised and said thank you to everyone who came to the game and contributed. Also, some of the kids from sports journalism called me down to interview me about how well my capstone project went and some of the highs and lows of it.
October 2:
I made all the thank you cards and sent them out to everyone who contributed. My grandma got especially thankful for the thank you card and it made her day.
October 3:
The YWCA office sent me a thank you note to my house that was signed by not only the people who came to my event, but the entire office. Many of the messages included of how proud they were of me.
October 5:
I’m struggling because I don’t really have anything to do so I am very bored in class. I am just waiting until my mentor comes into school in November. I should probably start my research paper considering the first couple of pages are due in the 13th.
October 27:
I did my rough draft and I know I can do a much better job then I did. I did not cite the references correctly, I just put the links and I know I can do better so I am glad it is just a rough draft.
November 4:
I got my rough draft back with the revisions. I got a D and I cannot say I was expecting to get higher on it. My main thing was I was too focused on telling other people’s stories and not giving actual facts.
November 5:
I utilized the writing center today and it was good. The guy basically told everything I already knew, but we had a good conversation about my topic and some things I needed to improve upon.
November 9:
I spoke to Mrs. Portal and we discussed when it would best fit her schedule for Amneris to come in. Mrs. Portal decided that the program would be most beneficial for her third block class because that class is constructed mostly of males, so they can take the most from it and see how real it is. She gave me the block from December 18-22. That’s only five days and the program is supposed to be 7, so that is the only thing I am nervous about.
November 13:
I sent an email to Amneris telling her everything. She however still has not got back to me so I am not sure what I am supposed to do.
November 28:
As basketball has been starting, I have been thinking of doing another sexual assault game themed for basketball. I have to run it by Bout and Antolini, but I think it would be a good idea.
November 29:
Mrs. Bout called me into her office and showed me a video about consent and I thought it was well done, however I thought it was very corny. I don’t know if kids will take it seriously. I also brought up that I would like to make a PowerPoint presentation and go around to capstone classes and relate it to how we are all going to college soon. I said I would look for another video to try to attach to it, but i was nervous of what kind of videos I would find. I also handed in my final draft of my research paper so hopefully I pass!
December 1:
I got my research paper back and I got an 81! I am very proud of myself and it is another step towards graduation.
December 4:
I made a PowerPoint presentation about sexual assault that I want to go around capstone classes and present. I showed it to Bout and Zamorski and they said I have to slow down. I need to create an opt out form for students incase they feel uncomfortable.
December 6:
I presented the PowerPoint to Bout and Zamorski and they really liked it and thought I presented really well. They liked how I used statistics to convey my point across. They want me to go into more details about how little women come forward about being raped and victim blaming. However, I have to find a way to do it without scaring girls off to the point where they do not want to come forward. I also have to find a survivor story to show the effects of rape and sexual assault on the person.
December 7:
I made an opt-out form and sent it to Bout. I am pretty sure she will send it to all the seniors through email and the ones who want to opt-out can simply sign the form.
December 11:
There is a lot of trouble with the MOU and it is stuck at the board of ed. Therefore, we do not know if Amneris can come in without it or not. I’m worried it is not going to be able to happen and it is very frustrating. I know I cannot control anything, however it is very annoying.
December 12:
I handed out the opt-out form to my first block and explained to give the form to their parents if they do not want their child to sit in on the presentation.
December 18:
I went into Portals class to oversee the activity. Amneris did not show up till 10:30 so I had to improvise. I presented the powerpoint to the kids and told them my story. They are a really good group of kids and it went really well. They are very receptive to everything. We listened to song and broke down the negative language of everything and how normal it is to say it in society today.
December 19:
Today Amneris was on time so that was good! She gave a PowerPoint of sexual assault vs rape. She mentioned that sexual assault was an umbrellas for everything. Also, that sexual assault or rape is the only crime that people ask did it really happen, what was she wearing, how many partners she/has etc., which I thought was very interesting and eye-opening. We also had situation cards in what advice we would give the people who were going through the situation. There was more time at the end of the class and there was no activities to do. I decided to run a fun activity of 7-up to use up the time. This got me a chance to get more comfortable with the kids and have a fun interaction. When I was sharing my story I mentioned about how the police said I would look like a whore if I took the case any further. When I said this, one of the kids turned their head and was like how could you say that. I also am developing a great bond with some of the kids which makes it a lot easier to give them information and the environment is loose.
December 20:
We watched a movie today about a girl who was in an abusive relationship with a very controlling boyfriend who ended up killing her. It was really moving and the kids reacted really well to it. The kids are really starting to get it and it is an amazing feeling. I decided I am going to bring in cupcakes for the kids on Friday and I asked if any of them had allergies and one girl is allergic to peanuts so I just have to be careful about that. I am really excited for how this program is turning out and I cannot wait to see the rest of it. I don’t want it to end!
December 22:
We found out that we had an emergency dismissal in second block so I started freaking out. We got all our classes times changed, so I had to reach out to Amneris immediately to say what time the class was. I was not expecting her to come due to the change of schedule, so i began to frazzle. With the help of Weimer I came up with a lesson plan in 20 minutes. We played a game called telephone and it showed how much the story can change based on the spread of rumors and how much the media can change the story. In the time I had to get things together, I think I did a pretty good job.
January 2:
Today we played jeopardy and it was good because the kids were getting really involved and excited. However, I had to yell at some of the kids because they were all talking in the corner and being disrespectful during the lesson. I knew one of the kids from a previous years, so I decided to hold him after class while Mrs. Portal was there. I simply told him that he needs to act better and he understood and we hugged it out. I am hopeful that they will be better today. Later today I was walking to my fifth block kids, and I saw a bunch of the kids from third block who were messing around and almost late to class so I just looked at them and smiled and said you better get to class or else you are not going to have the gushers tomorrow and they started running to class so it was pretty funny. The kids and I are growing a great, comfortable bond and I really enjoy it.
January 12:
The program ended and I am actually very sad. The program was great and the group of kids were even better. They really opened up to me and I developed a great bond with all of them. To wrap up this part of the program up I got a banner and all the kids put their hand prints all over the poster with paint. It came out really cool and it was just a very nice feeling to see it come full circle and see the impact that you can make on someone’s life.
January 23:
I went into the first block class and introduced myself to all of the kids and will start with them tomorrow. They seemed a little on edge about it and weren't really sure how to feel about it so i told them that it was going to be a good time and you were basically going to get out of it what you put into it. Also, I told them I would bring them food sometimes and they all perked up when I said that. I am very nervous tomorrow, but I am going to see how it goes.
January 24:
I was presenting my PowerPoint today and we watched this very powerful poem that the singer Halsey wrote. I think it really touched the kids and it made them realize that it is very real. The class took a very unexpected turn when one of the girls started balling crying and shared that she was sexually assaulted by an old man when she was ten. I didn't know what to really do because a couple of the people in the class started crying as well. Once she shared her story, I lost it, but I did not want to show people that I was crying. She was still emotional after class so I stayed back with her and her best friend during second block and just talked and made sure she was okay. It was a very emotional day, so I think I am going to lighten it up tomorrow.
January 25:
Today was a really easy day and I said a little disclaimer in the beginning that if anyone needs to step out they are more than welcome to. I made a powerpoint about getting to know me and me getting to know them. I didn't even know half of their names, so I thought this would be a good activity. After I got more comfortable with the kids we did an activity when I wrote a famous person's name on an index card and then other kids had to give them clues to who it was. The catch was all of the people on the index cards have either been sexually assaulted or raped. Overall, it was a good day and I think the rest is going to be a good time.
January 26:
We watched the movie Escalate and the only problem was that the kids were talking the whole time, so I had to yell at them a little bit. Also, the movie took up the whole class period so we didn't get the chance to talk about it. I also talked to Portal and she said that she was going to take over the class. I am actually happy she is because I obviously am not a teacher, so she is the expert and they will probably get more out of it. We hung up the banner that the block three kids made and it was a process to say the least. It ended up with me getting on a ladder with the help of four others and we somehow got it up there. It looks really nice and I am very happy with the outcome.
February 9:
I had a meeting with Bout and we were bouncing ideas back and forth. I talked to her about how I want to talk in front of the teachers and administration, but the only problem was I need to figure out how to word it. She doesn't want it to be a big shouting fight to get my anger out, she wants it to have a point and I agree with that.
February 11:
I wrote the story and it felt good to let it all out. It was almost interesting writing the story in the third person. I feel if I convey the story in the third person and then switch to it being me, I think it would be really powerful. It almost is like now when people ask what happened I can just give them this paper and not have to repeat everything over and over again. Zamorski read the story and told me I need to give off more. I was very surprised when she said this and almost a little confused. I wasn't sure what parts she wanted me to expand upon or which ones I couldn't. Zamorski was there through the whole thing, so she knew there was more and told me to let that out. I am not sure how much detail they want me to go into.