Oct. 8

This week is spirit week. Tuesday Annie and Caitlin dressed up as Elliot and E.T. and rode their bikes to school! Pretty clever girls...

 Busy talking about differentiation in our Tues. morning seminar. 

Jumping In!

Hello blog followers!

Annie here, with my first blog post!  It’s pretty daunting to sit down and try to sum up everything that’s happened to me here in the past two months (TWO MONTHS?!)  The phrase that comes most to mind is ‘jumping in.’  I feel that that is really all that TTA is.  We constantly push ourselves and are pushed by other to jump into new situations.  One of the reasons that I wanted to participate in TTA is because in my interviews there was so much discussion about how taking risks leads to growth.  This really resonated with me.  And in the two months that I have been here, I have felt that this school not only talks this talk, but walks this walk.  To me, ‘jumping in’ fits with this because jumping can feel like taking a risk, but also contains the excitement that goes along with it.  Here are some of the ways I have gotten to ‘jump in.’

•      -Living at the dorm was a huge ‘jump in.’  I went from having no kids to 21 teenagers in a day!  Living with them definitely presents its challenges (21 is a lot to parent) but is also so rewarding and fun.
•     I joke that my relationship with the other interns has been 0-60.  We went from not knowing each other to being friends, co-workers, roommates, parents, students and adventure buddies.  We have been having a blast and learning a lot from each other.
•     I have totally jumped (or dived!) into the hot springs of Idaho.  I have already visited five and am looking to ramp up that number.
•     My relationship with my mentor, Chad, is really special.  We have gone from having never met to spending all day together in less than two months.  It is a relationship that I am already learning so much from. 
•     Today, I taught most of the lesson in government.  This was especially exciting because it was Parents’ Day!  I was definitely nervous but by the end parents were even participating in the discussion which was a blast.

I could continue but I know that I have already gone waaaaaay more than six words.  Life here is exciting, dynamic, challenging, hysterical, wild and fun, and right now, that is perfect.

-Annie

Caitlin and I try to do a jumping photo at Alice Lake.  I missed the time...

p.s.  I’ll come up with my six word story at some point!

From hardwork comes memories, laughter, growth

Several months ago I sat in a staff meeting and tried to come up with a six word story to describe my Spring Break to the other teachers gathered in the room. This assignment was given to me by Janet, the Elementary Head of School.  Ernest Hemingway had once been challenged to write a six word story and came up with "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
I want to put this challenge to our Dream Team-come up with a six word story to describe their experience here. Either in the valley, at the school, or in the Residence Hall. Oh, and Dream Team-- see if you can't make it a little more uplifting than Ernie's... 

From hardwork comes memories, laughter, growth.

I'm 98% hardwork counts as one word. It's ONE word...anyways--

This year has been a challenging one for me. Adjusting to a new role and managing so much all at once has thrown me out of my comfort zone. I constantly grapple with ‘balance’ in my life- knowing the scales will never be perfectly equal because I work in a pretty non-traditional boarding school and let’s face it, there is no clear line between home and work, personal life and school life, friends and co-workers. I have realized that through my hardwork (one word) I can experience growth, happiness, and a sense of achievement in my personal and professional life. When I heed my Grandma Gloria’s advice and  ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ I can find the humor in all situations and move on. I am not an example of perfection and I don’t strive to be. I work hard (two words) and that is all I can expect from those around me. What a rich experience this has been so far; I have made so many wonderful memories with those I live and work with!

I wouldn’t trade it for $1,000,000.00. (one word)

Our first care package...

Thank you Deb Yates!!!

Photo Update!

The Goldmine is a favorite destinations during downtime...

Annie climbing 'Thigh Master"...kinda.

Teaching Fellows on the first day of School!

Blogger-tunities

With the ever changing technological advancements, we have to keep our language current. Instead of 'Kodak moments' we have been looking for 'blogger-tunities'- any moment that should be captured and what is the point of pictures if there is no blog to upload them to? So here are a few from our orientation week so far.

Interns arrived to a smoke filled Sun Valley

Melanie and Annie on the River Run chairlift. We rode the gondola up and had lunch at the Roundhouse.

Our first Outdoor Trip-- to the secret hot springs!

Caitlin and Melanie - Go Yotes!

Weixia- "I have never made a sandwich." "This is definitely a blogger-tunity!"

Weixia, Annie and Oliver

Hang on! It's going to be a wild year!

Guiding Priciples

I love the discussions about our school mission, our defining characteristics, and our guiding principles. I think this is because I have seen educators at all grade levels and in all subject areas at Community School living these principles in their classes everyday! It's inspiring! One that speaks to me naturally working in the Residential Hall is #3- "we extend the classroom to wherever our students are exploring and learning." =) 

(3) We use the whole environment to foster learning and personal growth. Our classrooms are dynamic places that draw on the outside world through innovative uses of technology, visitors, simulations, and real-world projects. Further, our learning environment is not restricted solely to the classroom The world outside our buildings serves as an important laboratory for learning. We encourage a global perspective and local and worldwide travel. As such, we do not count the number of days spent sitting in chairs in the classroom; rather, we extend the classroom to wherever our students are exploring and learning.

Welcome Weixia, Oliver, Caitlin, and Annie! Melanie, welcome back!!! What an impressive group of interns! Thoughtful, articulate, funny, and love Green Team already. Community School welcomes you to become part of our family. We will inundate you with an overflow of information about your life at Community School as an intern for the next two weeks. Your life will be very busy and full of joy!

Today Ben spoke about our guiding principles. Which guiding principle spoke to you the most? Why? Have you ever had an educational experience that was or wasn't an example of one of these principles? What do you remember about it? How did it affect you?

Long ago, in a galaxy far away, there was an elementary school named Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in Oklahoma City. In a first grade classroom, a young towheaded Nancy sat in her reading circle. I remember sitting on a HARD chair and swinging my feet because they didn't touch the ground. I also remember my first grade teacher, Miss Hoefackett. She was a large woman with massive hands and feet. She had cat eye glasses that she wore on a chain around her neck. She was a no-nonsense, get-to-work child terrorizer, in my book. I know you won't believe it, but I loved to talk to my friends in class. Apparently, I loved to talk even in reading circles which, according to Miss Hoefackett was some kind of grievous sin. In the midst of my chatting (instead of reading or listening), I felt a stinging slap on my skinny, white calves from the large Hoefackett palm descending swiftly across the circle. Crushed and mortified, I hung my bright red face, tried to look at my book and act as if I were reading, and cried. That was one reason that I didn't like reading circles for a long, long time. That is also one reason why principle four sings to me.

Principle four of a Community School Education:

(4) We provide intimate learning environments, defined by small classes, informality, close faculty-student relationships, respect and compassion toward others, tolerance of difference, collaborative learning, and classroom participation. We aim to meet students where they are, intellectually and developmentally, and to nurture intellectual, emotional and moral development.

Hellooooooo 2013-2014!

Summer is coming to an end over, which can only mean....

New Interns!

NPB, JS, and I have been working hard to prepare for this year's round of interns. We are still working on a name for them since they can't be 'Pioneers'. Any suggestions? Maybe, Frontiersman? That would be pretty comical since we have a team of four females and one male! Anyway, the name is in progress.

We have an exciting Orientation planned, about ten days worth! Interns will be learning everything they need to know from our CS school mission to weekend activity planning and blogging 101. Stay tuned.

Idaho

Well, February is gone. That's terrifying. 

All is going well on the dorm front. Admissions is the busiest we've been all year. From reviewing applications to granting financial aid - we haven't been bored! 

Luckily, I've budgeted time for some fun Idaho firsts. It was my first time on skis, yurt trip, on a snow mobile, boiling snow for water, playing hockey and addition of a new my family member. 

February -Month of LOVE

Well I can't believe it is already February! Where has the time gone? I feel like it should be November- though I'm glad we are a little closer to Spring and warmer weather =)

Life has definitely been eventful in the Valley of the Sun. I'm in 3rd grade full time now and loving it! I miss those kindergarteners and it is always fun to see them at recess or walking through the halls. I've also been sending them mail once in a while, just to make sure they can't forget about me ;)
The Residence Hall has been bustling with kids- it seems strange to have everyone home at the same time for a few days since the skiers have been traveling so much. They had a competition at home last weekend and all did really well! It was great to see them do so great at home and was good for them to show us that all their hard work is paying off!
Also big news in the dorm --we have a new intern-- Melanie Palmer who attended the College of Idaho with me. It has been so much fun to have her in the program.
Honestly...it's been a lot of girl time with Melanie and Team Sarah. I'm talking smoothies, magical potato soup,  long walks on the freezing cold bike path, a day trip to Stanley, and HOT SPRINGS! And probably the most important, Coyote Muffins. I'm not going to talk about them any more in the blog; you have to come to the dorm on a Saturday or Sunday morning to be let in on this secret recipe. (by morning I mean no earlier than 9:30a.m.)
So anyway- Welcome Melanie and Happy February to all y'all!

Here are some pictures from our trip to Stanley. What fun!

"Interns" a documentary.

Here is a documentary style video created by CS SVSA Senior Chris Nalen on the topic of the TTA internship program.  The documentary features Hannah Mangham, Sarah Thompson, and Connor Wade!

"Interns" by Christopher Nalen from Community School on Vimeo.

Just a lovely snapshot from the valley...it may be cold (in the negatives!) but the sun is wonderful.  The ski racing season is well underway, and our athletes are traveling the U.S...and even Europe!  I've gotten to go on two trips so far with them (and am currently writing from Schweitzer, ID in the panhandle of the state) which have been really great.  It's so fun seeing them race, and just chillin' afterwards.  Going to these ski races brings back so many memories of my own races at these same mountains, and it's so cool to be on the other side of it and see it from a whole new perspective.

Winter Wonderland

Before break we surprised the students with a study hall break at the hot springs!

Made sure to get some quality mountain time...

Made cookies...

...more cookies.

Gave presents (Thanks Jenna!!)

and got ready to go home!

Salt Lake City then to Boston!

Was greeted with a Christmas explosion.

Spent time with my sister

and my brother

And my sister

and more family

Found the only person with more Christmas cheer than my mother.

Made MORE cookies...

Celebrated my beautiful grandmother!

Learned that underwear is not a toy...

the hard way...

Made new friends.

Went for a trip with friends...

Brought in the new year with style!

took a dip

Said farewell to friends and headed back to Idaho!