SOI

So, we had our weekly meeting again and nobody has finished their poster except for me. I feel that this shows my commitment to the group, which is ultimately helping me to meet my learning outcomes. Jade gave us the period to continue working on our posters, so I decided to help another group with theirs because they seemed to be confused as to how to set it up. All in all, nothing really got accomplished this group, but I do think I am showing my dedication to the group because I have shown up for every meeting and I've gotten things done when they were due. I think I am one of th eonly people who has shown up to every meeting, and I know I am the only person who has taken responsibility in getting the poster done. After vacation we are planning on watching a documentary, possibly "Food, Inc." and we might be planning for some more bake sales to continue raising money. I hope the posters work out, and I can't wait to see them hung around the school when everyone else has completed theirs.

SOI.... I finally finished my poster!

Today, at SOI, we didn't really do much. I was the only person who had finished my poster, and Jade loved it so she showed it to the group as a template. I think this is showing me completing my goals, because I am actually putting effort forth in the group, which is good. I have noticed that the size of the group is dwindling, but I hope that everyone else gets their posters done soon. I might volunteer to do another one if nobody else turns theirs in by next week, but we will see.

More Poster Stuff at SOI

Today, only four people came to SOI, so we basically decided to just discuss our posters and start working on them. We came up with the idea for Marissa, Brianna and my poster, to get a picture of a dragon and knight fighting with a carrot, or something creative, because our poster is on organic myths. We started looking at poster templates, and I think we have decided on one. During the week I am going to try to get my poster completely done so that they can be hung up around the school, and we can start spreading awareness. Although it was kind of unsuccessful that almost nobody showed up to SOI today, we still got a decent amount done for only four people being there. I feel committed that I was one of the four people as well.

Poster Planning at SOI

Today, we discussed our ideas for posters, because we have decided that we are all going to make special organic posters to hang around the school, giving details about the organic lifestyle and such things. I am going to be working with Marissa making one about "organic myths." We decided that we should make the posters on computers, and we will send them to Jade, who is going to print them out as very large posters. This way they will stand out more than the empty pieces of paper floating around on our school walls. I will be researching organic myths so that on Monday during our food festival, we can all discuss these things.

Real Planning at SOI

Today at SOI we talked about how on Monday only one person who had signed up to do a bake sale actually brought things in for the bake sale. I think this taught us a bit of a lesson, and showed us how important every member of the group is. I think from now on we will be able to collaborate more effectively, and we are going to send out reminders for when we have bake sales. We also decided to only have bake sales on Fridays for now, but in the future we want to try and maybe take over the school's office bake sales and make everything organic.

The Monday before thanksgiving we are planning to have an international organic food feast, as a pre run for a food feast we are planning during mid-terms. This feast is only going to be the SOI people, but every single member is designated to bring in something. I hope we collaborate and make this work.

SOI

Today, not too many people showed up to SOI, but we discussed some issues which we found out about. Apparently the school has decided bake sales are unhealthy, so we have decided to come up with an alternative bake sale approach, selling fruits, and hummus, and other sorts of things. I will be working the bake sale next Friday. We also decided that we should make awareness posters, and we were divided up into groups of three people to do this. We have to come up with ideas for our posters by the next meeting, and then we will move on to making the actual poster itself. I am excited to get doing this, because my ideas will begin to be expressed.

A Day of Planning for SOI

Today during SOI we had a meeting to discuss what we wanted to do for the future year, like what our goals would be. We decided that it would depend on how much money that we make throughout the year. If we make enough money, we want to plant an organic vegetable garden in the spring, and we also want to replenish the school with healthier eating options for snacks. We plan on having bake sales every Monday and Friday, and I volunteered to work them on Friday, which I think is good because it will help me meet my learning outcomes, by putting myself out there more. We also discussed that we want to have an organic food feast, where everyone can either bring a dish, or pay five dollars at the door. We plan on doing this someday at the end of midterms, so that everyone has something to look forward to during the week of midterms. We might also do one of these "test runs" right before thanksgiving break to see how things go. We have a bake sale next Friday during break, so I will post back and see how things go.

First Day of Spanish Tutoring

Today, I met with Chris to tutor him in Spanish. He had previously told me that he was awful at Spanish, and that there was no way that I could help him. However, when we met, I was amazed at how good he was. I mean, he wasn't perfect, but he definitely was better than I had thought. We reviewed for a quiz that he was having the following day, on verb tenses. It seemed as though he was getting the hang of it pretty well, and I think that I benefited from it as well because it was very good review for me. When I talked to him today, he had told me that the quiz was easy, and that he thought he did good. So I feel pretty accomplished. We also had time to do a worksheet that he was struggling with; I think that this will be a good year for tutoring him, and I think we will both benefit.

SOI bake sale WOO!!!

Today during break SOI held its first bake sale/ tea sale, and surprisingly it did very well. I worked the sale along with some other SOI members. I thought it was really cool how many people actually came and bought things from us, even though Mrs. Todoroff was still selling things in the office. I think that by doing this bake sale I also became more apart of the school, which is something I don't normally do. I had to speak up, and help out, which is something I usually struggle with.

First GSA Meeting

Today was the first day I attended GSA, and when I walked in I was amazed by the large crowd, although that may have just been because it was national coming out week. There was also a guest speaker, who was a member of the CIGSYA house, and we discussed transgender people. I think this was interesting because it definitely broadened my horizon a little bit, while giving me some insight into how these people may feel, and how amazing they are for doing what they do. This meeting was nothing like I thought it would be, in a good way. It was like, nobody was afraid to say what they were feeling- somewhat like a huge family of friends. Although there was only myself and one other senior there, I think I am really goign to enjoy this group, and I look foward to making friends with people who I wouldn't normally talk to because of the difference in grades.

SOI planning day

Today we opened our SOI meeting by reading an article from the newspaper about organic farming and it's effects. I think that this article actually informed me of a lot of things that I kind of already knew, but wasn't so sure of. The article was basically about a study conducted on children, comparing children who ate organic foods versus non-organic foods. It was found that the non-organic foods had a lot more toxic elements in them, which were harmful to the children. The organic foods didn't have any.

We then discussed our plan for a bake-sale type thing, and we set the date to be Wednesday. Everyone worked together as a group to compromise what they could contribute to this sale, and we decided that something we would sell would be organic tea. I volunteered to work the bake sale, because I think that this will help me to get more out there, rather than just staying behind the scenes and donating food. I am looking forward to our first bake sale of the year, and I hope it is a success.

The First Day of SOI

Today was the first meeting of SOI. IT was basically made up all all seniors, and one junior or sophomore. We discussed oru goals for the year, and what events we would like to plan in order to raise money for independent organic farming. We also discussed trying to raise awareness of living organically by maybe having "organic pot-lucks" during lunch sometimes, where anyone is welcome to come and try out organic foods. We talked about a bunch of different sales that could happen at break, and how we might raise money to make these things happen. There is going to be a short meeting every week during lunch, where we can just check in with eachother and read a newspaper article that one of us brings in. The rest of the group is going to rely on us doing what we want and working together as a group to raise money. I'm definitely excited.

My Last Day at the MSPCA

Today was my last day at the MSPCA, and I feel like I have accomplished a lot while I was here. I definitely have opened up my views towards animals, and I am able to see and understand their need for love. Also, durin the course of my time at the MSPCA I have endured getting dirty, which I usually hate completely. But while I'm here, I realize that I need to get dirty in order to get the job done, and that is what I did every day at the MSPCA; I honestly didn't mind it either.

Today, I cleaned the cat room as usual, and I finished early, which made me feel acoomplished, because I usually finish at the last minute. I think my partner and I really worked well together to make the room perfect, in a reasonable amount of time (about 3.5 hours instead of 4.) I'm glad that I took the oppurtunity to volunteer here, and I think that I might come back in the future, as something to do for fun.

Progress At The MSPCA

Today was another day at the MSPCA. I worked with the girl who I had showed what to do last week, and we made a lot of progress working as a team. I improved a bit, as I transfered almost every single cat, even after I got scratched by one. There was one cat who was new, who was very shy and didn't want to be touched, so instead of taking her out of her cage, I left her there, and worked around her. Although I was a bit nervous of what she was going to do, I continued doing it and realized she wasn't going to hurt me. I think that I have definitely been gaining a lot fromt his experience at the MSPCA, and I am meeting my goals. I'm definitely stepping out there and doing things I wouldn't typically do, and I'm actually having fun doing it. I'm really glad I chose this as something to do, and I can't believe I actually benefitted from it. I thought it was just going to be some sort of thing that I would dread going to every week; but its not that at all. I'm gonna miss it when I don't come back anymore. I wonder how my next week will go. I hope I can say that I compeltely acheived my goals.

Leadership at the MSPCA

Today was an amazing day, progress-wise, at the MSPCA. A new lady came in, and I got the priveledge of training her and showing her what to do in the cat room. It was so wonderful, she was a rally sweet woman, and we got along very well. I felt as though I had to take a lot of responsibility in my duties, and complete them correctly. She asked me questions about what to do, and I was the one who had to answer them. It was kind of neat because I remember when I used to be the one asking questions.

We cleaned the cat room, like usual, and I took a lot of responsibility with the cats. I did the majority of the transfering, and I was proud of myself. There was even one cat which I managed to transfer, which I never would have before. I used to be afraid of this cat because she was very timid and would always claw people. But I did it, and I didn't get clawed.

I feel as though I am definitely growing and developing new skills by working at the MSPCA, and I'm glad. I'm going to msis it when it's over...

I won't be able to work at the MSPCA the next two weeks, because of college visits, however, I plan on going back on August 21, and I hope that I still have as much confidence as I did this week.

Frustrating Day at the MSPCA.

Today, I got put to work in the holding room for cats, rather than the usual cat room that I work in. This is generally a job for one person, but today, two people did it. I felt like I was doing a lot of the work, while my partner just sat around and didn't do much, also our ideas kind of conflicted, because the way I was trained to do cat cages was different than the way she was. This kind of forced me to open up my mind to her ideas, and try to compromise so that we could get things done in time, while keeping all of the cats calm. This was difficult at first, but by the end of four hours working there, I discovered that a huge part of working at the MSPCA is relying upon eachother for hep. I also found out that you must be open to new ideas and accept them as they come. I think I grew from this experience, even though it was slightly frustrating at first.

More Responsibility at the MSPCA

Today, I feel as though I made a lot of progress working at the MSPCA. I feel as though my independence and responsibility as an individual grew a bit, because I didn't rely on my partner as much as I usually do. I think that every week, my role helping out grows a bit, because I am starting to feel more comfortable in my surroundings, while realizing that I have the capability to help out. I enjoy going there, and showing love and affection to the cats, while before I simply couldn't wait to get out of there. I used to hate holding the cats, because I was afraid, but today I felt a certain love for them, where I knew they weren't goin to hurt me, because I knew I could transfer them on my won without the help of my partner. I hope that next Friday I will feel even more accomplished, and I'm hoping that soon I will be able to go work with the dogs, and take on new positions there, although the cat room is quite difficult, because it takes more time than doing dishes, etc. I think that the MSPCA is definitely helping to increase my awareness of what I am capable of, and I'm very happy for that.

A Good Day At The MSPCA

Today was another day at the MSPCA, I cleaned the kitty room again. I think I showed a lot of improvement, as I transfered almost all of the cats on my own, without asking for help from the other person who was doing the room with me. I was a bit nervous at first, that I would drop one, or I would get clawed, but I let them warm up to me and was able to do it easily. I'm really proud of myself because I see it as a huge accomplishment. We also finished the asics of the cat room about a half hour early, so we were able to spend time cleaning up some of the fur that was on one of the cat-climbing things. I worked from 8:15-12:00, like a normal day, but I feel as though we were able to get a lot done because we worked together more than usual. We helped each other out a lot, and it allowed us to get things done in time before the shelter opened.

An Inspiring Day at the MSPCA

Today, I went into the MSPCA to volunteer, as usual. I did my usual duties: cleaning the cat room and their cages. For some reason things seemed to be going a lot slower than usual, probably because it was a hot day outside. However, there was a group of men outside who were powerwashing the outside of the MSPCA, to make it look more presentable to the public. These guys were amazing, they volunteered all of their work, and they didn't get paid a dime. Then, they noticed that everyone was a bit down at the MSPCA and they brought over donughts and coffee for everyone. It was so sweet of them, and it definately got everyone's mood up. While I cleaned the cat cages, I tried my best to show love to all of the cats, rather than just throwing them in and out of their cages. I'm not a big animal person, but I really think that this experience has made me become more attatched and caring towards animals. I also think that I have grown a bit as a person, because usually, I hate getting dirty. And every week, I walk out of the MSPCA, covered in dirt, and gross things from the cats. It makes me feel good about myself that I can actually do that, because normally I would be like "ew, this is discusting. There is no way I'm doing that or getting sweaty."

Also, I cleaned the cage of a cat who had gotten sick and thrown up everywhere. I think this was a big step as well, because I had to push myself to do this. Normally, I would have asked another volunteer to do it, but I wanted to do it myself and prove to myself that I could.

Another Day at the MSPCA

Today, I had another day of volunteering at the MSPCA. I was put in the same kitty room as I was the first day, and I sort of trained another volunteer in the cat room. But then, another lady who works at the MSPCA came, so we worked on the cat room together instead of the new volunteer. It was kind of neat to be able to show someone else what to do, because it made me feel as though I had learned something, and had the authority to do that. So, I spent four hours working and cleaning the cat room, and I felt very accomplished in the end. there were much more cats today than there were last week, and several new ones. I did a lot more handling with the cats that I had been nervous to touch last week, and I realized that they were actually nice and loving cats. I also cleaned a cage while the cat was still in it, because he didn't want to come out. Last time that the cat didn't want to come out, I had another volunteer clean it for me, but this week I did it on my own. I felt accomplished, and I was glad I could help the cats. Maybe next week, I will improve my skills even more.

The Kitten Adventure; MSPCA

Today, I helped out at the MSPCA again, and I worked cleaning the cat's cages again, except in a different room that wasn't for the public to see. I cleaned the cages of the "holding room." There were about ten little small kittens there, and then many more large adult cats. Today was a bit more challenging than last week however, because I had to work alone. I think that I did a pretty good job though, although a few of the cats were hard to transfer into different cages. One baby black kitten, which was about 3 months old, was very frisky and kept trying to get out several times. One time he did get loose and I had to catch him. But other than that, I had a very good day at the MSPCA, and I was glad to help.

MSPCA... the kitty room

Yesterday was my first day volunteering at the MSPCA, and I really enjoyed it. I worked from 830 until 12, and I was placed in the kitty room. I spent the first half hour or so acquainting myself with the cats, so that they became familiar with me. Then, after a little while, a lady named Mary came in to show me how you clean the cat cages and basically the room. She explained to me the procedures that you have to do, and where to find all the necessary supplies. Then, it was time to get to work. We took ever cat out of the cage, and put them into a holding crate while we cleaned their cage. We had to take the dirty linen out, and then scrub the cages. Then, we would dry them, put clean linen in, and food, water, and a new litter box. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, and I definitely got much more dirty than I thought I would have. We also had to clean the kitty room itself, because there are six cats who are free to roam around without being in a cage. There were litter boxes, food dishes, and toys which we had to clean in the room as well. Once all the cages were cleaned, we had to mop the floor of the room, because we had made a mess with water and cat litter and food. This part was pretty easy, and it made everything look resentable to the outsiders who were coming in to look at the cats. Overall, I would say this was a fun experience, and I can't wait until next week to help some more.

More help with Gabe

This morning, I spent about a half hour going over the same LAQ with Gabe. I think he understands it a lot more, because he was able to identify the basics very quickly. We worked mostly on evaluating strengths and weaknesses of the experiment that he chose to do. We also started to outline a different answer to the LAQ, but he decided that he felt more ocmfrtable with the one we had originally been working on. I think that I have seen a lot of improvement with Gabe, because I remember when I first started to help him, he struggled to identify simple basics, and now he is able to go much more in depth, and gain higher marks. I think that he feels a lot more confident in answering questions, because he says what the thinks the asnwer is, rather than hesitating.

Helping Gabe With a Psychology Essay

Today, Gabe came to me and asked for help with psychology, because he wants to re-write his long answer question from the mock exam, so that he can get a better grade. I have helped him write LAQ's (long answer questions) before, and I noticed what his basic problems were. He tended to struggle between the differences in outlining the method of a study, verses the procedure. However, today when I looked at what he wrote for his mock exam, he was able to write down a method... the only problem was, he identified the wrong variables and small things like that (but he still got a method down, instead of a procedure, which was a big plus from when I last helped him.) I helped him to correctly identify the variables of the study he chose, and he was able to explain to me why those were the correct variables. Then, we discussed the most important part of LAQ's- evaluation. He was good at identifying strengths and weaknesses, we just needed to work a bit on how they tied more directly into the study. 

We also briefly went over a short answer question which he was going to re-write today, and he informed me that he got 6 out of 8 marks on it, which is very good. I think I am going to help him more with te LAQ tomorrow though as well.

MSPCA orientation meeting

Today was my first meeting at the MSPCA. We basically just sat down in a room with the manager of the MSPCA in Centerville to discuss what is in store for the future regarding volunteering. We all filled out "applications" saying which parts of volunteer work interested us most. I wrote down helping with the animals, doign things like cleaning their cages and feeding them; I picked this option because I thought that it would be beneficial to the animals as well as the MSPCA. I also chose the option of walking the dogs and playing with them because I thought that it would be a fun and enjoyable experience to get close with animals, while also giving them the love and care that they need.

While at the "orientation" meeting today, I learned a lot of things about the MSPCA program. We were explained the euthenasia process which I think affected me a lot. By volunteering at the MSPCA and helping the animals, it helps to prevent the euthenasia. There is a 90% adoption rate, which is a remarkable success, and it is hugely based upon the volunteers. I'm hoping that by volunteering there, I will be able to keep this rate up and make it increase even more. I was told that in a couple of weeks we would be notified regarding when volunteering will begin. I am definitely looking forward to this.