It's Crunch Time!

I cannot believe there are only 23 days left until school is over! That means that the presentation for this class is right around the corner. This week and next week I am really going to have to work hard, in order to prepare for this final. This class is about the only final I really have to take because all others I am exempt from! I need to really put together my brochure and print out my blogs and journal entries, so that way I can hand them all out to my evaluators. It's hard to believe all of this is coming to an end, and boy am I nervous for this presentation! Hopefully, all the good comes out of this class! (:

Rain Rain, Go Away...Come Again Another Day!

Rain is Falling

Rain, rain, its always raining,
Rain, rain, I end up saying,
Rain, rain, please go away now,
Rain, rain, just leave right now,
Rain, rain, don’t know how,
I don’t care how, To make my rainy day just go away…
So I stand, in the pouring rain,
So I can, feel the growing pain,
Of having rain, coming down like the Armageddon flame.
I can see raindrops playing their game,
Even though they look the same,
I know that there is more to rain……

Relatives grieve for Texas woman with flu who died

I read an article about a 33 year old lady from Texas, who died from swine flu, after giving birth to a healthy baby girl. She was hospitalized for two weeks, after the doctors reported she had some kind of flu, they just didn't know exactly what kind. Since her state borders with Mexico, the flu is spreading slowly but surely into the US. Many people were very upset when she passed away and they had to celebrate her daughter's birth, but Judy Trunnell's death. Trunnell was also a teacher who taught disabled children, so imagine how her students feel and what they have to go through now. I think it is crazy how the swine flu basically appeared out of nowhere. Now with the technology today, we can treat people who have swine flu, in order to save lives. Since she died of the flu, now we know symptoms and everything of this illness, which makes it a lot easier for the doctors to detect!

Here is the link to the article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090506/ap_on_re_us/us_swine_flu_texas

My Sponsor..

It has been a little while since I've visited my sponsor, although I still have been e-mailing and staying in touch with her. The elementary school is taking the NJASK test, so that is why I am unable to visit there. I won't be able to go back until next week, the week of the 11th, which is a problem too because the senior trip starts that week. =/ So I will have to wait until the following week to go back. When I go back I will be teaching the students a math lesson, possibly using the SmartBoard. My sponsor and I have been going back and forth with what to teach and when, so I am in the process of putting the plans together! I cannot wait to get up and actually teach the lesson because it will be at that moment, that this all seems real! (:

Quotes & Sayings That Caught My Eye (:

If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job. ~Donald D. Quinn

The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth." ~Dan Rather

A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others. ~Author UnknownLeave it to Beaver-->

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~William Arthur Ward

The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book. ~Author Unknown

“I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.” Lilly Tomlin

My Anecdote

My third and fourth grade teachers were the inspiration I have to become an elementary school teacher. They made class fun and worth being there. In elementary school I loved going to school because my teachers were like my mother, they seemed to love their job and have a true passion for it. My fourth grade teacher, Ms. Basile really inspired me to pursue a career in teaching. She actually gave me teacher's edition books because in my spare time when I was younger, I used to play school with my younger brother and cousin. They were my students and I was always the teacher. My playroom was actually set up as a classroom. I had everything- from the chalkboard and whiteboard, to student desks and a teachers desk. It was just something I loved to do and that is why today I really want to be a REAL teacher!

Softball Today...

Today, we have a great chance of beating one of our teams in our conference- Paulsboro! (: I am really excited to go towards a win because it would make me feel great. I cannot wait for the game today, I am definitely stoked for it. Our team needs to work together, as a team and we will be set! Each and every player needs to get in their "game mode" and put on their "game face." We need to go out there willing to play our A-game and be on our toes for being competitive. (: Hopefully, it will be our third win of the season!!

Almost at the end..

This school year is almost to an end. That means that the BIG presentation for this class is coming up. Now that is a scary thought. All of the work I have put into this project has to be drawn all together and made into a 40 minute presentation. I have to make sure that everyone can make it to my presentation, which will be on June 3 at 11:30 am. I am quite nervous; however, I hope that everything goes well and comes together nicely. I have to talk to my sponsor and mentor and go over it with them. Some things that worry me are not being up there long enough, or not being able to talk in front of all those people; many thoughts are going through my head about this final part of this class, although I am going to have to overcome those fears! Just wish me luck! (:

Peom I read to the class

A stranger you were once.

Then, with a gentle look you took my hand.

As our lives engaged,

you lit my life and I held both your hands.

Now that decades have passed,

our souls have indeed become one.

How fortunate we are

that we have found the love so true

that everyone dreams about.

I read this to the class today, in respect for National Poetry Month. (:

Beginning of a great week (:

Even though it is Monday, I just feel like this week is going to be a good one! I believe that the weather has a lot to do with it. Since it is so nice out, everyone just seems to be in a good mood! (: I woke up on the right side of the bed this morning and so far everything has gone the right way! Hopefully we win our softball game today against Camden because that would just make me even happier. This week will be a good one and I plan on being in this great mood all week. Even though we have 6 games this week, it will still be good and hopefully we win some of them! Also, I hope that the weather stays warm like this because it brightens everyone's mood! (:

What's going on...

So I had my weekly meeting with my mentor yesterday and we talked mostly about my big presentation coming up, too quickly. I was telling her that I am going to put together an actual lesson plan and teach it to my sponsor's third grade class. Miss Oswald thought it was a great idea and I also mentioned to her that I wanted to teach math! Then, I began telling her that Mr. Abrams was mentioning how I could use the SmartBoard. She then showed me some really neat things with the software. There are so many little things to learn about it and so much to use and do; I cannot wait to teach myself how to use the SmartBoard, but most of all to actually get up and teach the students. I do need to come up with an exact date for my sponsor, so that way she can give me a topic that the students are learning. This way I will be on point. I am going to talk to Miss Oswald today and get her opinion on when I should do my lesson plan. I'm going to need enough time to make up my lesson plan and prepare it for my presentation. Can't wait to actually get this all rolling!! (:

The Dictionary Game

Today we played a game in class to help us better our skills in public speaking. First, Mr. Abrams showed his skills by talking about the word, ding-dong. Turk randomly opened the dictionary and pointed to the word ding-dong and that is why Mr. Abrams had to get up and talk about it. He went on for about 2 minutes, with no problem at all. After he was done, he then picked a word for Cindi, which was improve. She got up in front of the class and talked about what it meant to improve and examples of improvement. Cindi talked in front of us for a little over a minute, she hesitated a little bit, but I definitely give her props for getting up at all!
This game was to help us be able to public speak better. We are going to need all the practice we need in order to make our big presentations at the end of this class. It gets very nerve racking having to get up and talk in front of people- and I HATE DOING IT! Maybe if we play this game several more times before our presentations, it will better prepare us. This game might just be the trick to help motivate us to get in front of people and speak with no problem. Everyone always has a problem with public speaking, but once you have the experience, you will do fun. The key to it, is just to HAVE FUN!! (:

letter to ms. carroll

Dear Ms. Carroll,

Senior Project Seminar is a class that lets everyone’s personality come out, in the way they want to be seen. For example, I would like to become an elementary school teacher; therefore, I picked elementary education for my project. My product part of this is to develop a lesson plan and actually teach my sponsor’s third grade class. I feel that this will provide me with great experience in my field of study. After I teach the third grade class, I will present my lesson to my Senior Project class, and maybe they will learn something as well. My project is unique and creative because it gives me a way to express the teaching techniques I have learned from sitting in Mrs. Teti’s class. Also, this will be a way to get a feel of what I would be in for, if I definitely decide to become an elementary school teacher.

By completing this project, I will learn and develop many skills in the field of my choice. For example, so far I have learned that being a teacher is not an easy job at all! There are some students that just don’t care and will do whatever they can to get attention from the class; in my opinion that is just absurd. However, by seeing the ways that Mrs. Teti deals with those students, it has shown that if you know what you are doing in the field of education, then you can deal with them easily. Also, there are so many different styles of teaching, and I have learned different sayings and games to play; instead of just getting up in front of the class and lecturing. To help me with my project and product, I have asked my sponsor and mentor to guide me along the way; however, it is all on me to get it done and the way I want it. I’m sure along the way I will encounter problems; for example, time I have and need to put into it, and the knowledge of the study to make my lesson plan polished. An elementary school teacher is not an easy job!



Sincerely,

Aliccia

Question & Answer

Q: What are you going to do over break to keep your project's music playing?

A: Over break, it will not be possible for me to see my sponsor because Lindenwold schools are closed for spring break. Therefore, in order to keep in touch with her I am going to be e-mailing her over the break. I want to ask her questions about my lesson plan because I brought up the idea to her and she thinks it's a great idea! She just wants to know what week I would be teaching, so then that way she can get me a topic that will correspond with what the students are learning at that time. She also gave me the choice of what I want to teach and a list of the times when each lesson is taught. So hopefully over break I can make a final decision of what subject I would like to teach and the week that I want to teach it. As soon as I decide, I will be on my way to producing my product. After I define and polish out the lesson plan, I can have it finished and ready to present to my Senior Project class; hopefully, they will learn something out of the lesson as well!
To keep in touch with my mentor over break (Ms. Oswald), I plan on seeing her basically every day. Since she is one of the softball coaches, it is easy to talk with her on the way to games and at practices. There are five games over break, so I will be seeing plenty of her. (: Maybe she will have some helpful input on what I should teach and a week I should teach it. Well this is what I plan on doing over the break to keep my project rolling, now I just have to keep up on it the entire time!

My Product

So I have thought more about my product I want to present along with my project. I was going to e-mail my sponsor to see if she could give me one of her lesson plans to look off of as an example. I really want to see if I can make up my own lesson plan and use the smartboard, which would mean getting to learn how to use that too. After I make my lesson plan and everything is finalized, I will not only present it to the class, but see if I could really teach the lesson to Mrs. Teti's class. Therefore, that would mean I would need to get a lesson topic off of her, so it would be something the class is learning at the time. This would really keep me interested and would be great experience in the field! Before I make this a definite idea, however, I want to talk to Miss Oswald (my mentor) and see what she thinks about the idea. Or maybe she will have more ideas! I will never know until I talk to her today (:

When I met up with Oswald today, I brought up my idea of my product to her. She thought it was a great idea and would give me wonderful experience! I definitely think I am going to do this, so I will e-mail Mrs. Teti today and see what she thinks. Hopefully, she can provide a lesson that I could develop a plan for, in order to teach her class. I cannot wait to get this product rolling because this will actually keep me interested! (:

My Idea for my Product...

I don't know exactly what my final product is going to be. I mean I have ideas for it, but I don't have a definite idea of what it will be exactly. My whole project deals with elementary education, so there are many different topics about it- but what exactly could be my PRODUCT!? I have no idea! Maybe I will talk to my sponsor and see if I could develop a lesson plan. I could pass out a copy to everyone of my lesson plan and prove to them what I would want to accomplish for the lesson... this is a start, but I don't know if this would be good! So let me know what you think (:

Finally.. (:

We finally handed our 6-page research paper in, and it feels like a lot of weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I was just excited to get it away from me because I was beginning to get frustrated over the matter. However, I was not happy at all with my finished product. It did not seem like quality material to me. I did do most of the paper ahead of time and worked on it a lot the past week in class; it just still did not seem complete to me! So I would like to work on the paper more because my sponsor is supposed to give me a lot of cool information supporting my thesis- that information might make my paper much better! (: When I receive the information from her I will add it to my paper and keep you guys updated!

My Research Paper

Since our research paper is due on April 1st, I want to start it before it is due because I tend to wait until the night before to start projects and papers; well not this time! I have my outline done to the fullest, all I need to do now is put it into a paper and make my thoughts complete. I have enough information and articles to make 6 pages, I think. Before I start really getting into writing the paper, however, I want to get input from my sponsor and mentor because they may have some really good information about my topic. Maybe they will know a good book or two that I could use, rather than using all electronic sources. I did though already write my first paragraph, so I am kind of on my way! Haa (: Once I really start on this, I am going to be so happy!

Friday was a no-go! =/

So on Friday, I was supposed to go to my sponsor because I haven't met with her in a while! I decided to e-mail her and set up that I would come see her on Friday around 1:30. Well as usual, I left school and went on my way to School #5. When I got there, come to find out Mrs. Teti called in sick and was not there. So instead of returning back to school for half an hour, I decided to go home and run some errands. She had e-mailed me and told me to come this week and that she would let me know when she was planning on returning to school. Hopefully, this week I will get to meet up with her and catch up on the time lost. Although, after this blog I am going to e-mail her and ask her a few questions I have on my research paper. Maybe she'll give me some good input on that and that way I can be on my way to writing a good research paper! (:

St. Patrick's Day

Today is Saint Patrick's Day, and even though it is on a Tuesday this year, many people will still be out to celebrate it. Over the weekend that just passed, on Sunday, there was a Saint Patrick's Day parade and celebration held. I heard it was a lot of fun and very tiring, one of my teachers told me so.

Many people think of St. Patrick's Day as little leprechauns and pots of gold and all that fun stuff; however, it is a religious holiday that the Irish have been celebrating for over a thousand years. The first St. Patrick's Day parade was not held in Ireland, but in the UNITED STATES- crazy, right!? Since the holiday is celebrated during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families tend to go to church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Since Lent makes people not able to eat meat people dance, drink, and feast on Irish bacon and cabbage.

People would never really think of Saint Patrick's Day like this, however, this is the TRUE meaning of the holiday. It is a time to have fun! (: