Today was such a rewarding day. Working on the farm and seeing all of the rescued animals touched my heart. The work we did really felt like we were marking a difference for the animals and the farm, and it group is great. The dynamic is hilarious, and we're just a bunch of goof balls. That made the work more fun. The group of people really made the trip a rewarding and enjoyable experience. I will most definitely be applying for more trips!
From another perspective (aka student): Today we shoveled poop. Eventually we figured out a partner system to make it go faster. The tour we went on after was fun, learning about all of the animals on the farm was super interesting. Refinishing the barns was a good time and it allowed us to interact with the horses and get to know each other better. I love our group!
Showing posts with label -2015 Spring Weekend Trips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label -2015 Spring Weekend Trips. Show all posts
Weekend Trip to Union Missouri
Today we arrived at our Extension coordinator's house in Union, Missouri! Our coordinator's name is Dave and he took us out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in town. It was really good food and awesome getting to know Dave, his wife Robin and all the girls in my group.
Tomorrow we are volunteering at Longmeadow Rescue Ranch and we are all ecstatic. I hope to spend some quality time with the animals and create a better bond with my group.
St. Louis - Children
The trip began at 2:30 on a nice Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed everyone’s company in the car ride even though there was some minor bullying going on and our site leader couldn’t figure out what time it was. Then we stopped at Wal-Mart to buy a mega-pack of pop tarts. We tried to hide the cart, but it was found. For dinner, some people in our group had shark and chicken for the first time. Our first service was a lock-in at the local 4-H club. There we did bonding activities, ate cookies from strings, and licked applesauce from the container. Even though the sleeping accommodations weren’t the best, we still got some sleep (Thank God, or we would not have heard the end of it from Chris!). When we woke up, we answered any questions the students had about college. The kids had some huge dreams! Our next adventure is at the Special Olympics….
Platte Co - Environment
Over the next two days of service we'll be working on clearing the honeysuckle from land protected by the Platt Land Trust. Hopefully we'll be able to put honeysuckle to bed.
"I think I'm going to dream of honeysuckle tonight."
Now this wasn't said by any 60 year old plant fanatic or even by a botanist that we just happened to stumble upon. No, this was a quote from a college-aged girl.
When we arrived at the Platte Land Trust in Platte County, MO earlier today, we were greeted by a team of people eager to have us. And they were equally as passionate about the challenges of conservation here in northern Kansas City: honeysuckle.
Pettis County, MizzouEd Weekender Graduate Student Trip - Mental Health
Day 2 Graduate Student Trip – Mental Health
We began our morning with a quick breakfast before heading out to set up for Safe Kid's Day! Safe Kid's Day is an event promoting prevention strategies to help parents and kids stay safe. The event was organized by the Pettis County Health Center, and we were so excited to help run some of the activities! When we arrived, we were assigned to stations where would would do activities with children and families to get them engaged while also giving them valuable information to prevent injuries and accidents. At the first station, our participants discussed ways to help parents be aware of dangerous substances, and we provided information to prevent ingestion of harmful substances and how to intervene if their child was to ingest something poisonous. The next station was dedicated to fire safety, where children and families would win prizes if they could answer questions about their fire safety plans. Parents were provided with additional information to add to their pre-existing safety plans. The fire stations provided a fire safety house as well to teach children in a hands-on environment what to do if their house was on fire. The next station focused on safety in sports; they spoke about traumatic brain injuries and concussions briefly, and they spent a lot of time on how to stay hydrated when playing sports. The next booth was showing children how to be a safe pedestrian and how to use crosswalks and read street signs. The next station we assisted at was covering more general home safety, and students had to point out safe strategies in a house versus situations where kids may not be safe. The event included another station where kids received free bicycle helmets, and the helmets were fit on each child individually. Lastly, Safe Kids Day organized for car seat checks, so parents were abe to get their child's car seats checked by trained professionals to make sure they were installed properly.
The event this day was much less scheduled and jam-packed as what we had done on our first day, so we really enjoyed working with those in the community outside of the school environment in a more laid back location. Our entire team had a blast; we were able to educate both kids and families about safety. When we first planned out trip, we were hoping to have a more mental health focus, but we were ecstatic to have this opportunity to volunteer in the community this way. After reflecting on our experience, we felt that there was so much more we learned from the activity than we had originally thought. School psychologists have a focus on prevention and early intervention of problematic behaviors and conditions, and we were essentially providing preventive education for these families in an engaging way. We also took away many aspects that we will keep in mind for our future practice as school psychologists. We were able to witness how important community work is, and this inspires all of us to be active in the communities we will work in. It is easy for school professionals to stay in that environment exclusively, but making more connections in the community has extreme benefits for improving home and school collaboration and overall school and community climate.
We were able to eat a famous Sedalia restaurant for dinner, Kehde's Barbeque, which is fashioned from a 1920's train car. The food was absolutely incredible, and we were sad to leave our undergraduate teammates behind as we set off to return to Columbia. We cannot believe how quickly our trip went by, and we felt so honored to be able to serve Pettis County, specifically the city of Sedalia. We are truly inspired by the people we connected with in the city, and we look forward to other opportunities to get involved in the community! A special shout out to MizzouEd and the Mizzou Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Department for supporting us on this trip and helping us develop professionally!
Day 1 Graduate Student Trip-Mental Health
The morning began at 5:30 am when we all met at Townsend to take off. Everyone was in good spirits and the drive went quickly. We arrived at Sedalia Middle School around 7:00 am so we had plenty of time to prepare for our 7:45 start time. The first professional development on mental health went really well. We built in several opportunities for discussion and brainstorming and the group of teachers was not shy about sharing concerns or successes. Our team felt like we gained so much in terms of understanding teachers' frustrations and stressors concerning mental health. The first presentation did not get very far because the group was so talkative and engaging. However, many of their early concerns were brought up in the powerpoint so I feel we did a good job picking our topics. Teachers barely had time to fill out the evaluations but they quickly completed them for us. During the break, we reviewed their feedback. It was overwhelmingly positive!
On the break we were able to prepare for the next session and eat a quick lunch. The second round of presentations also went well. This group was less talkative and supportive than the first group but still engaged and shared concerns, especially one team of teachers. A few shared that they were really overwhelmed by the level of mental health need this year. We worked to validate their concerns in the PD and discuss ways to collaborate with others to support students. The School Counselor sat in on this presentation which was great because many suggested on the previous evaluation that the School Counselor attend. We were able to pull him into our PD and have him discuss his rationale and the referral process. There were several concerns brought up regarding their referral process in both PD sessions and in the second PD the group was able to develop an easy solution to several of the concerns. It felt so good that we were able to facilitate this needed discussion and let the teachers and counselor find a solution themselves. One of our first year students stepped in at the end and gave a rousing speech about the power of prevention and how teachers can support protective factors with students. This ended the presentation on a high note. We all felt great about this presentation as well and the feedback on the evaluations was also positive.
The presentations were completed around 2:00 and we were completely drained! We must have been on an adrenaline rush during the day and then the exhaustion hit us all at once. We were planning to go into the community in the evening but we were too tired. In the afternoon, several participants went on a walk around downtown Sedalia while the co-leaders went grocery shopping. The undergrads and grad students cooked a large spaghetti dinner and all ate together around a large table. It was really nice to share a meal together after the crazy day we survived together. Two participants had birthdays so the co-leaders purchased ice cream cakes and we sang Happy Birthday.
Afterwards, we completed a large reflection together. The reflection flowed naturally and there were many observations and take-aways. Many School Psychs learned how teachers have students' best interests in mind and want to learn strategies to help them. Grad students also reflected about systems change and how it is a difficult long process but felt that we helped play a role in systems change that day. They also felt that the PD was the most beneficial when we let the teachers discuss amongst themselves and solve their own problems. They felt it was really rewarding to hear teachers discuss their concerns. One School Psych stated "Today taught us that collaboration is important" and another stated regarding professional development, "it is better if we are not giving the school a package, it needs to fit to the school." The undergrad future teachers discussed how they realized that promoting social-emotional development and positive relationships is crucial within the classroom. Many discussed the importance of supporting students and making them feel comfortable within school and classroom, especially regarding bullying. They also learned a lot about their skills as future teachers and learned what was effective. Overall, both grads and undergrads learned the importance of school climate, communication, and support within the school and all felt that the day was extremely applicable to their future careers.
After dinner, the grads kept the reflections flowing and discussed desires to complete professional developments throughout the year. They also called for working with school counselors on professional developments to offer a more interdisciplinary perspective. The hands-on experience within the school had a large impact on all grad students and increased our confidence and desire to continue working with teachers and gaining new perspectives. Grads also discussed how they appreciated the support from the Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Department to take this trip and we can't wait to tell our faculty members about the experience.
Adair - Environment (2)
The La Plata and Kirskville community received us with arms wide open.
Yesterday, the MAB Adair trip started its morning by having some of the best donuts we've had a in while -- sorry Strange and Harold's! We traveled to an Amish store near la plata and got homemade donuts for free! We then went to a store run by an Amish family and browsed throug traditional goods.
Shortly after, we headed to the Green Theatre to work on renovations. We started by cleaning up part of the theatre that the members of Friends for La Plata preservation will use for their meetings. Within a couple hours, the place looked completely new! Arlene and Cindy, the two leaders of the preservation group, were immensely grateful for our contribution. They are incredibly passionate about the theatre and service in general, and we definitely fed off their wonderful energy.
MAB Adair then went on and scraped windows, walls and doors, cleaned bathrooms, floors and shelves... We did so many things, and have a ton of fun working! We're so happy to be part of the restoration of such a historic theatre that has compelled many people to get involved. We were surrounded by amazing community members who, in some way or the other are part of the effort. Many people stopped by to bring food for us or just to say hi and cheer us on.
At night we got to work with members of an organization that caters to individuals with disabilities. We all cleaned up after a dance for people they serve.
This morning, we got up early to work on a trail Rotary built for two senior living communities. We met the president of the Kirksville Rotary chapter and one of the founding members. We pulled weeds and cleaned the trail -- it looked so amazing after only a few hours of work!
Elsie Gaber, one of the Rotary members, then treated us to lunch and shares many stories with us. We're so thankful for this weekend and the fantastic people we shared it with. We definitely want to come back.
MAB Adair
Yesterday, the MAB Adair trip started its morning by having some of the best donuts we've had a in while -- sorry Strange and Harold's! We traveled to an Amish store near la plata and got homemade donuts for free! We then went to a store run by an Amish family and browsed throug traditional goods.
Shortly after, we headed to the Green Theatre to work on renovations. We started by cleaning up part of the theatre that the members of Friends for La Plata preservation will use for their meetings. Within a couple hours, the place looked completely new! Arlene and Cindy, the two leaders of the preservation group, were immensely grateful for our contribution. They are incredibly passionate about the theatre and service in general, and we definitely fed off their wonderful energy.
MAB Adair then went on and scraped windows, walls and doors, cleaned bathrooms, floors and shelves... We did so many things, and have a ton of fun working! We're so happy to be part of the restoration of such a historic theatre that has compelled many people to get involved. We were surrounded by amazing community members who, in some way or the other are part of the effort. Many people stopped by to bring food for us or just to say hi and cheer us on.
At night we got to work with members of an organization that caters to individuals with disabilities. We all cleaned up after a dance for people they serve.
This morning, we got up early to work on a trail Rotary built for two senior living communities. We met the president of the Kirksville Rotary chapter and one of the founding members. We pulled weeds and cleaned the trail -- it looked so amazing after only a few hours of work!
Elsie Gaber, one of the Rotary members, then treated us to lunch and shares many stories with us. We're so thankful for this weekend and the fantastic people we shared it with. We definitely want to come back.
MAB Adair
Pettis - COE Mental Health (2)
Anxious. This is one word that would describe how I felt after our final planning meeting. As a senior SYOSP student in a Title I school, I feel pretty confident in my abilities to teach and manage a classroom. However, fear ran through my body when I found out I would be in the classroom solo with 31 middle schoolers.
I went into the middle school feeling excited on Friday morning. In my student teaching experience with 5th graders I have had moving conversations about bullying and race. I looked forward to seeing how bullying has affected a different demographic of students.
Overall, the day far exceeded my expectations. Students were engaged in the lessons and had honest conversations. As I reflected on the day I thought about what I took away. The most eye opening thing to me was the loss of community when students transition from elementary to middle school. You could tell students didn't have a good sense of where they belonged within the school and classroom. There were several times in the day where one student didn't know the name of another student in their class. This was amazing to me because these kids have been together since at least January. This has me thinking about how I can better prepare my current 5th graders for their upcoming transition.
This experience reiterated the importance of a community and all school staff to work in order to develop children in all aspects, not just academically. Students at this school felt like there was a big bullying issue in the school. The anxiety that accompanies those who are bullied hinder learning. Many of the staff knew change was needed but didn't have the time or resources to start this conversation. We provided a platform for not only students but also staff to talk about bullying and mental health.
Finally, I learned the importance of creating an environment and building relationships so students feel comfortable reporting issues to me. Students need to trust that I will not only listen to their concerns but also follow through with them.
As a senior who is graduating in just a few short weeks this experience was amazing for me. It gave me the opportunity to work in a rural school, collaborate with my fellow COE peers, and help plan and execute an anti-bullying curriculum. In addition to the service, it gave me a chance to reconnect with three fellow orange blockers who I started Phase II with.
Kristin Brouillet
I went into the middle school feeling excited on Friday morning. In my student teaching experience with 5th graders I have had moving conversations about bullying and race. I looked forward to seeing how bullying has affected a different demographic of students.
Overall, the day far exceeded my expectations. Students were engaged in the lessons and had honest conversations. As I reflected on the day I thought about what I took away. The most eye opening thing to me was the loss of community when students transition from elementary to middle school. You could tell students didn't have a good sense of where they belonged within the school and classroom. There were several times in the day where one student didn't know the name of another student in their class. This was amazing to me because these kids have been together since at least January. This has me thinking about how I can better prepare my current 5th graders for their upcoming transition.
This experience reiterated the importance of a community and all school staff to work in order to develop children in all aspects, not just academically. Students at this school felt like there was a big bullying issue in the school. The anxiety that accompanies those who are bullied hinder learning. Many of the staff knew change was needed but didn't have the time or resources to start this conversation. We provided a platform for not only students but also staff to talk about bullying and mental health.
Finally, I learned the importance of creating an environment and building relationships so students feel comfortable reporting issues to me. Students need to trust that I will not only listen to their concerns but also follow through with them.
As a senior who is graduating in just a few short weeks this experience was amazing for me. It gave me the opportunity to work in a rural school, collaborate with my fellow COE peers, and help plan and execute an anti-bullying curriculum. In addition to the service, it gave me a chance to reconnect with three fellow orange blockers who I started Phase II with.
Kristin Brouillet
Pettis - COE Mental Health (1)
We arrived at the school with no time to spare. Everyone rushed to their assigned classrooms to greet their students. We introduced our mission for the day, to create a school-wide campaign to advocate kindness. The kids in each class worked as a team to create a poster for their campaign. On this poster was their slogan, logo, and ways to implement their campaign on a daily basis. The students learned from us, but we learned from them as well. Each student shared their own experiences with bullying, and we brainstormed some ways to stand up and make changes in the school that would last long after we leave.
At the end of the day we were exhausted, but the experience we each received outweighed the work we put in. As future educators, we all valued the experiences gained in our classes today. We plan to take them back with us and implement them in our future classrooms.
Adair - Environment (1)
Our trip to La Plata, Mo., was probably one of the shortest car rides any MAB group has done. Within an hour and twenty minutes after leaving Columbia, MAB Adair was parking in front of the La Plata Food Pantry -- our first service site.
There we met Carlos, a volunteer at the Food Pantry. That facility serves about 180 people from several counties. It's a small place but it's packed with all sorts of food items -- including many, many packs of Oreos.
We had the chance to clean up part of the pantry and paint one of the walls a beautiful bright red. The new color definitely brought a lot of life to the place! We're so happy we met Carlos and other people who serve their community, like Arlene and Scott. We're definitely hoping we can come back in the future!
-MAB Adair
There we met Carlos, a volunteer at the Food Pantry. That facility serves about 180 people from several counties. It's a small place but it's packed with all sorts of food items -- including many, many packs of Oreos.
We had the chance to clean up part of the pantry and paint one of the walls a beautiful bright red. The new color definitely brought a lot of life to the place! We're so happy we met Carlos and other people who serve their community, like Arlene and Scott. We're definitely hoping we can come back in the future!
-MAB Adair
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