Graduation!

Graduation was on June 1st, 2017. This was a great day with many current YESS senior and past YESS students graduating. I was very happy to see that Leonel was the main translator for the ceremony and Guadalupe was the salutatorian speaker, as well as an honorary board of education awardee.

Lupe's speech was very motivational. She talked about how she will be moving across the country to soon start her life, then she thanks her mom for being up early with her during the week so that she could heave breakfast and get to school early.  I loved that she did her commencement speech in English and in Spanish.

Jennifer from engagement center also gave a commencement speech and talked about how you can do anything as long as you set your mind to it. It was great seeing so many YESS students speak at graduation as well as graduate in the top 10.
I am very proud of how hard the seniors worked this year. It was a very joyous moment to see those students that did struggle walk across the stage. I know all of the mentors will do great in life and no matter what they choose to do, they will be the best at it.

Final two weeks

For the past two weeks students have been working hard to get their grades up, and to complete missing assignments for all of their teachers. It has been amazing to see and hear mentors motivating their mentees to work hard.  Yesterday I was signing senior check out sheets and a student told me, "Ms. I can't believe I am graduating! If I had to do it all over again I would have tried harder. I didn't really care and I only wanted to get by. I try to tell my mentee to not be like me and to really make an effort." I was surprised that we were having this conversation, and what made this conversation even better, was that his mentee was listening to the conversation.  This student went on to tell me that his "ah- ha" moment was when teachers, counselors, and Emily asked him about what college he was going to. That moment made everything real. He had to start thinking about his future.

He went on to tell me that he was looking at school requirements and he did not meet these requirements. He then looked at his mentee and said, "don't close all the doors for yourself now, you don't want to be a senior and wish you could go here or there."

These last two weeks have been long and very busy, and something I have learned while being at North is that mentors really own up to the role of being a mentor. These mentors care for their mentees, not just academically, but really care for their future and life.  I am very impressed with these students. It has made my transition from Shaw Heights Middle School to North High School easy.  I am excited to see many mentees become mentors next year!

5/8/17- 5/12/17

This week was a very busy week for students at North. Many mentors were busy taking AP tests, and many students were finishing projects, taking tests, and turning missing assignments in for their core classes. Luckily a few students got the opportunity to see Chris Brown, thanks to tickets that were donated to YESS.  Sabrin, Lupe, Hannah, and Julianna went to see Chris Brown on Monday evening. They had great seats and a great time!

Mentor leaders worked very hard in preparing for the YESS End of the Year Celebration. Mentor leaders talked to Mr. Wolf about speaking at the event, made arrangement with one another to finish tasks such as interviewing Todd Davis #51, and also assisted in putting together the script.  I am very proud of all the work they did in making the event successful. From North main campus we only had 9 students absent from the event!

At the event we had four scholarship winners. The winners were: Leonel, Sabrin, Marivel, and Jaquikeyah. North High School had the most winners. I am very proud of all scholarship winners. They deserved it.
Sabrin won a 2,000 dollar scholarship.  She mentioned to me that she was shocked that she won. However, she did not think she should take the scholarship since she has all of her college costs taken care of. She felt in her heart that she should give Leonel, mentor leader her scholarship since he will be attending school of mines. Sabrin has such a big heart in giving her scholarship to Leonel. YESS has honored her wish and is allowing her to give her scholarship of 2,000 to Leonel. Leonel will be the second student in many years to attend School of Mines! It is moments like this that make me proud to be apart of YESS and moments like this! Overall, this was a great week in the YESS classroom at North!

5/1/17- 5/5/17

This week students began their final project. Their final project is to create a personal brand that represents them. Students are to reflect on all of the material they have learned through the school year and create a brand that represents them, Students are to create a resume, a business card, a log, and a presentation that states their personal mission and vision statements. These presentations are due next Friday. I am excited to see their presentations!

This week students worked hard on their homework support day. I noticed students were more focused and ready to get those grades up because there is not much time to turn in work. I am glad tht students are ending the year focused.

4/24/17-4/28/17

This week was a very busy week for YESS students. This week students continued to work on learning about credit and debt, how to budget and save for things they want, and also learned about investing. We discussed how loan programs can have higher interest rates because of ethnicity and race.

On Wednesday, the YESS breakfast took place at the PPA event center.  Casianna from 6th period talked about the impacts of losing her mother at such young age. Casianna spoke about grief and how it lead to carrying around anger. She discussed how the anger would come out at school and on others. I was very proud of her for speaking about losing her mother to breast cancer and how she has tried to do better this school year. Many of the people at my table cried and told me what an amazing young lady she is.

Eight other seniors attended the event and networked and made some amazing connections. Throughout the week I have had many people emailing me asking me about a some of the students that attended the breakfast. One has offered Casianna a basketball scholarship, and another person has offered to help another student with making connection at a school he will be attending in the fall. Overall, this was another successful YESS breakfast.

4/17/17-4/20/17

With only a month left of school, students are getting to the end of the new YESS Curriculum. Currently students are working on financial literacy. This week students discussed the value of money, as well as reflected on what they spend money on when they are sad, happy, have anxiety, and as a class we discussed why we spend money on the things we do, when we feel a certain way. Students also worked on goals they have with money and set short tern, midterm, and long term financial goals. This week students began to do research on credit and debt. We will continue to work on financial literacy next week.

This week mentor leaders at North met mentor leaders from West High School, Adams City High School, and from Lincoln High School. The mentors from all 4 high schools met to discuss the end of the year event, who should be awarded mentee and mentor of the year, and decided on which students will share their story. Students also put together the outline of the event, who will speak, and what they will say. I am very excited to for the event and see all of the hard work mentors leaders are putting in to make this even happen!

4/10/17- 4/14/17

Students in YESS mentoring have been working diligently on the YESS curriculum. Last week we discussed stereotypes and labels. We discussed situations where we have been stereotyped or labeled, and how it made us feel. After students discussed this last week, students came up with the idea to express who they are through art. Students spent some time catching up on missing work while also working on self-portraits. Students presented who they are beyond stereotypes and beyond labels.

Also this week, we finished our nutrition lessons and discussed  how we continue to put our health first based on the research that was done during nutrition 101. Many students expressed how hard it is to eat healthy because they live in a food desert, a location where there are no grocery stores. Students also mentioned why eating healthy is hard. One student said, " I get 20 dollars a week, so I can only spend 5 dollars each day on lunch. Salads cost more than burgers or fries, so I have to budget what I can afford into my lunch." Some students made suggestions of packing lunch from home, but some students argued that the food at home is not healthy either because of money. This was eye opening because it can be easy to make suggestion and tell students to eat healthy, however everyone's circumstances are different. Healthy food costs more money than fatty foods, and at a young age, it is very hard for students to control what goes into their bodies. Students made plans on walking more and being more active during the day.

Overall this was a great week in YESS at North. Students were able to create a work of art that demonstrates who they are, as well as learned more about how to care for themselves, not just emotionally, but physically.

April 3rd- April 7th

This week students returned to North after a week of Spring Break. Students came back ready to work. this week students returned ready to talk about food and feelings. We discussed food and the impact these foods will have on our bodies and minds. Student then had a long discussion about food and emotional eating. Many said that sometimes when they study they eat so that they can stay awake. Some said they eat just because they are bored or sad.

The next lesson we did this week was "Labels and Stereotypes." We defined labels, stereotypes, and microagressions. Students discussed times they were stereotyped, labeled, or judged. Student then shared who they were. Some answers varied but one that stood out to me came from Mary. She said, "Some people would think that I am uneducated and in a gang. But I love school and care about my education. I am smart!" .

This week Emily came to help students apply for a summer job opportunity as well as remind students about their Always Up scholarships.

                                                         

35 days of school left! 

March 20th- March 27th

With one week until spring break the students in YESS mentoring at North are powering through their homework days and turning in work for their core classes. Not only are students focusing on getting their grades up, but Seniors are giving words of encouragement on finishing the semester strong, and how important grades and GPA really are.

On Monday March 20th, mentor leaders did a college lesson with Emily, YESS college navigator.  In 6th period  Saul, mentor talked about how he has changed from 9th grade till now, and what his motivation for finishing the school year strong is. Saul said, "I kind of felt like I didn't care anymore because of all the pressure that was put on me this year." He went on to talk about how stressful it was to take multiple AP classes, apply for scholarships, and apply to colleges. He then told the whole class that the only reason he is trying is because he wants to be a great example for his mentee.

Also, this week we had parent teacher conferences. Many of the counselors directed parents to the YESS table to talk about the program and how their student can join for next school year.

We will finish off the week talking about how we can love ourselves.  We will do a lesson called "Love thy self." Students will talk about what they do to take care of themselves, as well as what do they associate the word love with.  When we return from spring break we will continue to talk about self-care.

On another note, Mentor Leader Guadalupe Tarango- Garcia has been accepted into Colorado College on a full ride scholarship, as well as accepted into Cornell, and was awarded the Daniel's Fund this week! Congratulations Lupe!

March 13th- March 17th

This week was a fun week at North High School. This week students discussed boundaries with one another. We discussed the spoken, unspoken, and written agreements we have with others. We also discussed why it is important to have boundaries with people we may not know that well, as well as what kind of boundaries we should have with friends versus family. The discussion piece was great. Students gave examples of why they may need to set boundaries with friends, and what unspoken agreements they have win their lives.

Also this week, mentor leaders thought it would be best to let students have an extra day of homework support. They carefully looked through each student's grades and realized that some have low grades simply because of missing assignments. Mentor leaders would like to have all students caught up by spring break, so that they may go on break without any stress or worry.  Next week we plan to talk more about college with Emily, our college navigator, as well as discuss in depth-"How to love ourselves." Overall, this week was a great week of learning and reflecting!

March 6th- March 10th

This week students worked on their Love Cups. Students self-reflected on what is draining them in their everyday lives. Some students mentioned that applying for college is draining, and other mentioned: family, friends, grades, work, and paying bills. It was amazing to hear the different issues that drain our students. As we reflected on what drains us, we also reflected on the things that make us happy. It was great hearing the different ways students cope with stress, make themselves happy, and if they did not have anything that made them feel great, mentors and mentees shared different ways they can make themselves happy.  One conversation that stood out to me was between a mentee and a mentor. The mentee has been struggling keeping his grades up this semester because he has been very depressed. The mentor asked him, "It looks like you have a lot that is draining you, is there anything I can help you with?" The mentee replied, "no, there is really nothing you can do. My grades are bad because I don't have enough energy to get caught up, and everything else is a family problem." The mentor listened to the mentee as he worked on his love cup. After about a minute of silence the mentor replied, "You know, I can come to your house in the evenings and work on homework with you, or if you need to get out of your house you can come to my house. My mom can cook dinner and we can work on anything you want."  The mentee smiled and said, "I would like that!" The mentor quickly comforted the student and said, "We all go through stuff, and I am your mentor. I have your back!" Moments like this are amazing to see and hear. The "Love Cup" is a great activity where student can self-reflect, as well as connect with their mentee/ mentor about what is going on in their lives. Students don't even realize how much they open up during this activity, but by the end of the project student seem to have a a sense of relief and a plan on how they can tackle the "holes" in their cup. This week was a great week of working on our love cups! On our block days students worked on getting their grades up in the classes that they are struggling in.  Students are coming to class prepared and are working hard!

2/27/2017- 3/2/17

I am

This week students worked on on their " I Am" poems as well as presented their poems to classmates. I was very impressed with their final product.  Through their poems students were able to voice who they are, what they want in life, and what is on their minds.

Also this week we worked on homework and missing assignments. This week a mentor leader helped a mentor with his mentee because he is failing almost every class. One day on their own time a  mentor leader and a mentor helped a mentee develop a plan on how he can get his grades up. I was very proud to hear that these student met up on their free time to make sure the mentee would be successful. I am also proud that this particular mentee was taking the initiative and was being accountable for his school work.

To wrap up the week the mentor leaders on main campus will continue the discussion on accountability and will have students work together to reflect on the excuses they use in their everyday lives, and how they can be more accountable for their actions. In engagement center we will begin discussing boundaries. We will reflect on spoken and unspoken agreements, By the end of this lesson students should be able to  determine if some of the unspoken agreements in their lives are working for them. Overall, it was another successful week here at North,

2/20/17- 2/24/17

This week was a short week at North. Students participated in a career day, and students were also given a day to make up work in classes that they had a D or less in. In between these days students focused on their personal anger. Students were to identify what is anger, what triggers their anger, and how does knowing what their triggers are be helpful in future situations.

In this lesson students discussed what their anger looks like, and how they feel when this emotion takes over. Students shared their different experiences with anger, as well as shared ideas on how they can take control of the situation.

This week we also started a discussion on accountability.  We discussed how we can be accountable for our actions and ourselves. Students shared times it is harder to be accountable and why some times it is harder to take accountability. Overall this week was a great week of reflection and building on our self-awareness.

February 13th, 2017- February 17th, 2017

This week mentor leaders continued to recruit mentors for the 2017-2018 school year. Mentor leaders are doing a great job of advocating for the program and telling the rest of North what a great program and opportunity it will be to be apart of YESS next school year.
As of today, we have 30 potential mentors for next school year. We are hoping to recruit around 60 mentors before spring break. The mentees will be identified by teachers and counselors.

Also this week students continued to reflect on peaceful conflict resolutions as well as worked on missing assignments for other classes  classes. The last lesson we did this week was called "Belief Systems." Students were to reflect on what they think about themselves and how they think others perceive them. Some students said that they felt like they were a failure because they never turn in their assignments for class. We talked about the quote that came with the lesson which said, "What you believe, you are." We discussed that if you think badly about yourself or feel like you are a failure, it will affect your work. We discussed ways we can love our selves by telling ourselves things like, "you can do it." We made a goal of doing daily affirmations to ourselves, and if we forget we can think about what great thing happened that day; for example, getting to class on time, or maybe talking to a teacher about a missing assignment.  Overall, this was a great week full of recruiting, self reflection, problem solving, and developing new beliefs about ourselves.

2/6/17-2/10/17

Mentor leader giving a student a list of missing assignments 

This week was a busy week for YESS students. This week students began to reflect on conflicts and how to solve these conflicts peacefully. We discussed the steps it takes to resolve conflicts without having to resort to violence. We discussed the different conflicts we face on the daily basis. Some of these conflicts include conflicts with: family members, co workers, teachers and administration, and of course with friends. We discussed how it is important to think about the steps we will take in order to problem solve.

This week we also reflected on relationships in our lives through a lesson called "Apple Pie." In this lesson students analyze a few relationships in their lives and determine if each person in the relationship is "eating their part of the pie" meaning are the giving in as much as the other person, or are they eating the whole pie, or crumb eating.

Homework day

On our block days this week students used these days to work on missing assignments as always, as well as work on homework and talk with their mentor/ mentee. We are only a few weeks back from winter break and already I see many mentees from last semester stepping into the role of a mentor and leader. It is great to see mentors and mentees helping out one another as well as supporting one another!

Conflict Resolution day 

Dannikka Blog from North

My name is Dannikka Frazzini, I am the program assistant for YESS at North. This week has been full of self understanding. We have worked on understanding the root of our emotions; where they come from, how they cause us to behave as well as how to control them. We spent some time looking at forgiveness and learning about how a lack of forgiveness can be toxic to our personal lives. These lessons have helped students connect to each other as well as to Tracie and myself. Throughout a typical school day most high school students are never given an opportunity to really evaluate themselves in this manner. Our students used these lessons to create Emosmart goals and refocus themselves. As we are a few weeks into the semester its important to make sure that everyone is staying on top of their school work. At this point of the semester many students start to fall behind in classes, setting Emosmart goals are a perfect way to ignite desire to be successful.

Dannikka Frazzini
Program Assistant    

January 23rd, Jan 27th

This week students in YESS mentoring at North worked on their emotional sculptures/ art. Students were to create art based on an emotion they often feel. So if they are sad, they must create art that will demonstrate what sad looks likes to them. Students have had all week to create their master piece. Students will present their creation on Friday. Overlall this was a creative week where mentees and mentors were able to discuss their emotions and learn more about each other.

Jan 15th- Jan 20th

This week was a fun week full of learning. This week students came back ready to reflect on the work of Martin Luther King as well as how today many people are still fighting against social injustices. We looked at how musicians use their fame as a platform to talk about real issues. For example Billy Holiday's "Strange Fruit," Buffalo Springfield's "For What it's Worth," Then we looked at music today, for example J Cole's "Be Free" song, which is about the Black Lives Matter movement. Students were to reflect on issues that are important to them and write a song about it. Many students wrote about gentrification in their neighborhoods, racism, wealth inequality, police brutality, and how they can be a catalyst for social change. We talked about how their voice and leadership is needed and how it starts in the classroom!

Also this week we began to talk about healthy relationships which is the Unit we will be working on for now. We talked about miscommunication, code-switching, and we had fun doing some team-building by playing charades and "stand up if."

Overall, this was a great week here at North.

January 9th- January 13th

This week was our first week back at North High School. We spent the first day back discussing what we did over break as well as our goals for this semester. Many seniors' goals included: to earn more scholarships for school, and to end with a high GPA. It seems that many of the seniors are anxious for their graduation day.

On the first day of class I introduced rules and expectation for the semester. These are rules from Love and Logic. It seems that the students really liked the rules because it is not a list of "do's and don'ts."

This week we did a short lesson called, "who is your tribe." Students reflected on who their communities are as well as who they can turn to for extra support. We examined if these were healthy relationship or unhealthy relationships.  We talked about finding new members of our "tribe" and what may hold us back from finding out new members of our tribe. Many students had issues with trust and deception. We discussed ways we can let people into our lives. This was a really good lesson for all mentees and mentors.

Also this week we did a team building activity so that students can bond and get to know one another. We had fun playing charades and doing a "Guess Who." game. Students were to list 5 facts about themselves. We then mixed up the cards so students could read another student's card. After the card was read the class would guess who it was. This was a fun way for us to get to know knew things about each other and welcome the new students into YESS.