Another 2 1/2 Hours at School

Today I went back to Newark to do some more community service in the classroom. I got to the school around 12:20-12:30, and started the afternoon off by making a poster. The Newark Public School System is supporting the Dominican Republic that was just struck by a hurricane. Each student is requested to bring in an everyday thing such as: shampoo, soap, mirrors, aluminum foil, and things of the sort. Since most of the Dominican Republic was devastated, the school system is trying to get the students to donate things to help rebuild the country.

First I wrote down everything that the students were requested to bring in. Then I cut them up into squares and threw them into a hat. [At the end of the day, students were asked to randomly pick a piece of paper.] Then, I made a large, colorful poster with each product listed on it and a check box next to it. The objective is to get everyone to bring in something for the Relief fund.

I finished the cutting and poster around 1:45, and class ends at 2:55, so I still had a little over an hour. The teacher gave me a notebook and requested that I go to the back of the classroom and take each student individually and have them read one paragraph to me. She had me check if the student read fluent or if he or she had a "word attack," which is if they stumbled on a certain word or if they had to sound-and-blend a few words. I liked this activity because it gave me the opportunity to finally get to know some of the students. There are about thirty children in the class, and it is very hard to remember all their names but to know their faces is a pleasure.

Around 2:45 I handed out the bag with the names in it and made sure everyone knew what they were requested to bring in for the Relief fund. The teacher was helping a group of students towards the end of the day, so she asked me to get the students ready to go to their lockers. Each group of five was dismissed to their lockers around 2:50 and I had to watch them pack and make sure they all reported back to their seats to put their chairs up.

Tomorrow, there is a Social Studies test, so the teacher asked me to help her grade them because it is the last day of the cycle and all grades are due. Report cards will be distributed next week, and she says that she really needs help grading.

Until tomorrow!!!!