"That's another story"

Dear friends who are tired of hearing me rant about how amazing ASE was,

You probably don't want to read this blog post. That might sound a little odd, because there's a good chance that you read all the ones that I posted last year, but I promise that this one isn't for you. You don't want to hear about my wonderful weekend in Gettysburg, reconnecting and reminiscing with old friends. You don't want to hear about the memories that are back at the forefront of my mind even stronger than before.

You don't want to hear about the trip down, when Hadley and I wove through the back roads to Houghton College to pick up Elizabeth and thought that we had made a wrong turn because all that surrounded us were tiny towns and stretches of emptiness until a college suddenly appeared on the hills beside us, or how we jammed out to the perfect radio station amid stories of our senior years, or how Elizabeth and I bounced in our seats when we got close to the restaurant.

You don't want to know how loud our group was when the three of us finally arrived at almost 10 o'clock, or how a few of the girls leaped out of their seats to greet us, or the tears and laughter that mixed when we all got to see each other again for the first time in almost a year. You don't want me to describe the instant sense of wholeness we felt, as if 10 months had not gone by since we were all together. You don't want me to tell you how excited I was to finally see Megan after she handed in her senior thesis, or that we crashed minutes after and slept straight through the night.

You're not interested in our brunch at the Ugly Mug, or our trip to the campus art gallery. You'd rather I didn't describe our tour of the town, where we took pictures with Lincoln's statue and then stopped in a candy shop before grabbing ice cream at a favorite local haunt. You'll probably tune out my play-by-play of our visit to Gettysburg National Military Park and our tour of the battlefield, led by Emma with occasional help from Bobby and Rachel H. because they get too excited to stay quiet when we're talking about something that means so much to them. You aren't interested in hearing about our dinner at the Lincoln Diner, with the waiter who split the check more smoothly than any of us ever believed would be possible.

You don't care that I spent a quiet night in with Hadley and Megan, doing homework and catching a breath, or that homework eventually spiraled into the easy conversations we had had all of last spring. It doesn't matter to you that we turned in early so that we could get up and get ready for the trip home before we met Emily and Rachel P. for brunch. The picture I took with Megan so I could hold onto one more moment together before we said goodbye again doesn't mean anything to you.

But that's ok, because it means the world to me. The pictures, the friendships, the memories - they are some of the best parts of who I am, and seeing them again felt a little like coming home. No matter how tired of my stories you have become, I will never be tired of telling them. ASE friends, I love and miss you all. Next time let's meet in Bath, ok?

Love,
Melanie

Giving Thanks

I know, I know - this is a little late. Thanksgiving was 2 days ago, but between all the travel and then spending time with family, I never got around to blogging like I had hoped. But hey, better late than never, right? So, here it is: a list of (a few of) the things I'm thankful for this year.

This year, I'm thankful for music. I've been singing with Roc Hakol since my sophomore year, but this year we're finally starting to come together. There are so many amazing opportunities opening up for us, and as excited as I am for all of those, the best part is spending time with these amazing girls. Some weeks, we spend more time laughing and joking around in rehearsals than actually singing, but we still get our work done. I'm so grateful to have them in my life.

This year, I'm thankful for dance. Dance has been my place of refuge for as long as I can remember, but after a few injuries during high school (and then a repeat my sophomore year of college), I wasn't really sure that I would be able to keep dancing as much as I wanted. Simply stepping back on stage this fall was a blessing, and being able to do so with some of my closest friends was more incredible than I could ever imagine. There's something so special about the bonds I've formed with these dancers through hours spent together. I can't imagine how different my life would be without them, and to be honest, I wouldn't want to try.

This year, I'm thankful for adventures. I had the amazing opportunity to spend 4 months abroad this year, and I can't begin to explain how incredible this was. The people I met and the places I went have become such an integral part of the person I am. In truth, the semester I spent in Bath was one giant adventure in the littlest ways. I've barely gotten to see the others who were on my program since we got back, but that doesn't lessen the space they hold in my heart.

This year, I'm thankful for friends. I've already mentioned Roc Hakol, dancing, and my program abroad, and to be fair, these three groups have shaped who I am in more ways than I can count. However, others have also played a role - friends from my trip to Israel, friends who have moved away over the years, even a few friends from high school who are still around - and I'm so happy that they have.

This year, I'm thankful for family. My siblings and I were never close growing up, but now that we're older, we get along a lot better. I don't get to see any of my family as often as I did when I was living at home, which makes the we spend time together even sweeter.

This year, I'm thankful for change. I'm not the same person I was 4 years ago. In fact, I'm not even the same person I was at this time last year. The person I am today is a combination of all of the amazing experiences I've had and the choices I've made, and I am so thankful that I can say I have no regrets and that I am truly being the best version of me that I can.

Lucky Number 4

As I tried to sit down and write this post, I was at a loss for words. I didn't know where to start. There seemed to be no way to sum up the time I had spent abroad. No way, that is, until I started to think back further to my trip to Israel. That's when I realized today's date, and suddenly, everything came together.

Exactly 4 years ago today, on June 23, 2010, I left on my first trip abroad. I packed my giant suitcase and a small overnight bag and piled into the car. At JFK Airport, I met the 25 other students I would be traveling with that summer for the first time, and boarded my first international flight. We studied and traveled together for 45 days, and I will never stop being grateful for the friendships I made and the ways that travel changed me.

Fast forward to today. Not only has it been 4 years since my first trip began, Saturday marked 4 weeks since my semester abroad - which lasted 4 months - ended. A journey that started when I first landed in England on February 4 came to its conclusion at JFK Airport, where my first journey had begun.

At times, it feels like lifetimes have passed in the last 4 years. I'm so different today from the girl I was then. Even spending just 4 months abroad has changed me in so many ways. In the weeks since my return, I've started to pick apart the 4 months I spent in England, and here's what I've boiled it down to.

Number of visits made to St. Andrew's: 10 (to a class of 23 students)

The school placement program was one of the main reasons I had initially chosen to apply to ASE. I liked a number of things about the program, but the education program had been the first thing that pulled me to it. Thanks in part to friends in Rochester who listened to me rant about ASE and another program that had accepted me, I eventually decided to go to Bath for the semester, which was the best decision I could have made. The students in Year 4 welcomed me with open arms, and I had a fantastic time joining their class every week. 

Number of formal essays written: 6 (plus a 40-plus page education portfolio)

That's right, I did take classes this semester. It's called "STUDY" abroad for a reason. I did plenty of reading, took lots of notes, and even learned a few things in the classroom. As torturous as my Shakespeare class was, it taught me quite a bit. My Tudors and Stuarts course was equally as informative, although significantly more enjoyable thanks to a friendlier environment. My favorites by far were the education courses (one theory and one based on our placements) when the seven of us in the education program basically just hung out with Mike Rix and Andrew Butterworth. 

Number of cities visited: 19 (spanning 6 countries)

Traveling, whether with the program or for personal reasons, was one of the most fun things I did all semester. I took more train rides than I can count, and saw more landmarks and museums than I'll probably remember. I got a taste of so many incredible places, which only made me want to see more. 

Number of blog posts related to my trip: 38 

Even though I knew not many people would probably read my blog posts, I was so glad I decided to write about my journey. I would get back from a new place and pour all the memories out. I realized I became a bit of an adjective junky, but I simply couldn't find any other way to describe all I had seen.

Number of photos uploaded to Facebook: 1252 (plus 1 video)

Where words failed, my camera at least came closer. So many people have yelled at me for not being in many of my own photos, but as cliche as it sounds, I loved the way that the world looked through the lens of my camera. There were so many moments I wanted to capture, and looking back, I'm so happy I did. 

And, of course, the reason you all probably read this post, my grand total.

Number of miles logged: 269.28

I still can't believe all of the experiences I had this semester, or how long it's been since I returned. Looking back to my first summer abroad, I never saw this coming. I never imagined these opportunities, or the wonderful people I would meet along my journeys.

Here's to my next 4 amazing years.  

St. Andrew's Visit 10: The Teacher's Role

Focus: The Teacher's Role

It's hard to believe this is my final journal for St. Andrews. 10 visits have absolutely flown by, and as I entered the school for the final time, I knew it would be a tough goodbye.

I arrived in the morning to find that Mr. Barry had a few tasks for me to complete before the students arrived for the day. He hoped that the busy work of photocopying letters and sharpening pencils could be done before the day even began, so I set about preparing the materials he asked for. When the students did arrive, they brought frantic questions; "Are you leaving today? Is today your last day? Why are you leaving?" I was touched by their concern, and when I confirmed that yes, this would be my final visit, they were quite subdued. The excitement of the moment gone, they sat on the carpet to learn about the physical aspects of the painting that they had been studying as part of the Take One Picture program. They then incorporated this information into a short paragraph (about 3 sentences) to be part of longer reports on all they had learned about the painting chosen this year, including its history, style, painter, and religious significance.

During guided and independent reading, Mr. Barry asked me to prepare the materials for a display board on the sunflower challenge he is coordinating. For the challenge, 4 participants from each of the school's tree-based houses (1 student each from years 3 through 6) have devised strategies for growing sunflowers outside the school. The sunflowers will be measured every 2 weeks from now to the end of the school year.

After a break, the students prepared for maths. They have an assessment coming up, so for the first time, I got to see them in the mode of preparing. They grumbled and complained as Mr. Barry drilled one question after another, pushing them in the hopes that they will recognize the  questions when the assessment comes. R refused to participate altogether, and he stormed out of the room when Mr. Barry attempted to confiscate the book he had decided to read instead.

My skills in interacting with R were tested at this point, as Ms. Bryant asked me to sit with him in the hall after she had no luck. When I entered, my first task was to convince him to decide to come down from an apparatus he had climbed. My second was to ensure that he didn't climb back up. I breathed a sigh of relief when he finally settled on a spot on the floor, and when Ms. Bryant returned, she praised his choice as well as congratulating me on a job well done. Though he still refused to return to class for the end of maths (by this point he had missed nearly the whole lesson) he did eventually decide to join Ms. Bryant in the library, which was a good idea since the Key Stage 1 students would be arriving for lunch any minute.

During lunch, Mr. Barry expressed his frustrations regarding R, whose behavior has become increasingly difficult lately. Although he no longer assaults his peers when he becomes frustrated, he has learned that if he does not want to comply, he can generally leave the classroom, and the school has little power to stop him. Mr. Barry described feeling like a babysitter, especially since most days R does not complete any academic work or even attempt to join the class.

After lunch, the students changed into their PE kits for my lesson on isolations. They had a bit of a scare when Andrew Butterworth, who had arrived to observe my work with them, was introduced as a representative from a "school for naughty children," described as being "like prison, but a bit worse." J in particular became fixated on the idea, only letting it go when Mr. Barry revealed that it was just a joke.  The lesson had its ups and downs, featuring a few moments of near chaos alongside moments of perfect peace. The machine game, which has always been a favorite of mine, proved to be a success among the students as well. After the lesson, I brought them back into the classroom.

Back in their uniforms, the class presented me with a card and a gift to thank me for being there this semester. A cluster ran up to give me a giant group hug. I answered a few questions that they still had about me, and then we released them for a few minutes of extra playtime. They ended up having even more time than anticipated when the day's assembly was cancelled. RJ and M convinced me to skip rope for a few minutes with them, and I laughed as they sang the "Teddy Bear" tune I had skipped to when I was their age. I left them to detangle M, who had gotten tangled in the rope ladder on the playground. Mr. Barry commented that there's no one quite like her, with which I concurred. We talked a bit about the character of the class, filled with its diverse students, before discussing a bit about my hopes for the future.

I shared a few of my observations about the teachers here, such as the larger role they play with their students. Though I would only be expected to teach the academics in a school in the states, teachers in primary schools in the UK also play the roles of art, music, PE and ICT instructors. In a school as small as St. Andrew's, they also take turns looking after the students during the midmorning break. One of the secretaries double as the nurse, and the other serves students during lunch.

As I dismissed the students at the end of the day, many of them expressed their sadness to see me go. For the first time since I have started working with students, I realized, I would not be seeing my students again, and I wished them all the best of luck moving forward. I thanked Mr. Barry for the invaluable experience and for his encouragement all semester, and he saw me out. In the blink of an eye, my day - and my experience - came to an end.

"If I had a Roman Sword, I'd run on it!"

As April turned to May, ASE - and particularly my Mythologizing Shakespeare class - got ready for a slew of Shakespeare exposure, starting with our class's study trip.

As with most trips, our class's outing to the Globe Theater started early in the morning. North Parade was the first pick up point, where we were joined by Andrew Butterworth, our chaperone for the day. Next was Widcombe, followed by Northampton, where we hit our first snag of the day. Because of a miscommunication, we waited for 20 minutes for Carrington, who had already traveled to London the previous evening and would be meeting us at the theater. Not the most auspicious start to the day.

Regardless, we set out for London, where we arrived a few hours later. We hopped off the coach and walked around the corner to the theater, although we managed to pass the street the first time around. When we finally arrived at the Globe, we met our tutor Brian Hazel, his wife Ruth, and the elusive Carrington. We were escorted on a tour of the theater and explored the neighboring exhibition before breaking for lunch. Megan, Chelsi, Carrington, Bella and I grabbed a bite at Wagamama, a noodlebar around the corner, and then headed back to the theater to rent cushions for the show.

The doors opened, and we took our seats for a particularly gory production of Titus and Andronicus. I couldn't watch much of it (as my classmates discovered, I don't exactly do well with blood), but the rest of the group seemed to somewhat enjoy it. We gathered at the gift shop following the show, where Andrew did a final head count and we said goodbye to Carrington, Kendall and Ola (who would all be staying in London) before we walked back along the river to where the bus would pick us up.

As we waited at the curb, Uriel spoke up from the back of the group. Somewhere between the theater and our pick up point, we had lost one of our classmates! Uriel and Miranda turned around to find him, and Andrew rushed after them. The bus pulled up a few minutes later, so those of us who had remained piled on, scouring the sidewalk for our classmates and chaperone. A few minutes later, Uriel, Miranda and Andrew returned with Brian and Ruth in tow. Andrew, unfortunately, looked extremely frazzled as he searched for his phone to call the student. As it turned out, the student would be staying in London for the evening and had neglected to tell Andrew. As he walked onto the bus so we could finally leave, Andrew blurted out the title of this blog.

The rest of the evening was uneventful, and before long, we were gearing up for our 3-day residency in Stratford-Upon-Avon starting on Tuesday. We piled onto the bus, where I took a seat next to Kris as we set out on our way. About halfway through the trip, Ali blurted out "Look whose face I'm wearing" from across the aisle, at which point I decided to start collecting potential blog titles. Keep a look out for those throughout the post.

We unloaded the bus and gathered in the park, where we sorted into groups based on our Bed and Breakfasts for the week. I scoured the crowd for Kendall and Rachel, my roommates for the week, and together we joined the rest of the Adelphi House group. Lindsay escorted us across the road and dropped us off with the owners, who welcomed us openly. Once we found our rooms, we returned to the park, which would be our meeting point for the week.

We split into two groups and took a quick tour around Stratford, which is a fairly small town. The tour ended in front of the Shakespeare Center, where we would need to meet for lectures during our visit. We broke for lunch, at which point Megan dragged me off to have my first fish and chips of my trip here (in my defense, I don't eat french fries, and I'm not a big fan of fried foods).

Our first lecture began with Brian Hazel, who discussed the history of Stratford and the theaters. His wife Ruth took over halfway through to introduce Henry IV part I, the first of 3 plays we would be seeing that week. After the lecture, a few of us visited Shakespeare's birthplace. A few of us grabbed a light bite before returning to the Royal Shakespeare Theater for the show. Jonathan and Lindsay met us at the entrance to distribute tickets. We found that our seats constituted 3 clumps - one group sat in the Orchestra (referred to as the "Stalls" here) and two groups sat on either side of the Mezzanine (which they call the "Circle"). After Henry IV part I, we split into smaller groups to either go out for a drink or go back to the B & B's. As Emma, Alyssa, Grace and I walked past the Dirty Duck - one of Stratford's best-known pubs - we started to talk about the name. This, of course led to a discussion of pub names in general, at which point Emma asserted that "If something sounds fairly improbable, it's probably the name of a pub".

Wednesday started early once again, this time with breakfast and a morning lecture. As in Oxford, breakfast was a chance to see other students in the program we might not otherwise see, in this case those staying at the same B & B. Lucy, who was staying at our B & B, walked us back to the Shakespeare Center, where Ruth led a talk-back session on Henry IV part I, followed by an introduction to Arden of Faversham - the non-Shakespeare play we would be seeing on our second night - with Brian. After the lecture, we had free time, so Emily, Rachel, Megan, Jasmyne and I grabbed sandwiches and set off on our adventure of seeing the city!

We started at the Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare was baptized and later buried.The church was much simpler than many we had previously seen, which was a welcome change. From there, we walked down the street to Hall's Croft, which had once been the residence of Shakespeare's granddaughter. One of the most interesting parts of the house was actually outside of it, in the gardens. The flowers that have been planted in the garden all come from Shakespeare's works, and a sculpture in its center features the two heads of Bottom - human and donkey - fused into one.

From Hall's Croft, we visited Nash's house, beside which New Place once stood. The former was the home of Thomas Nash, while Shakespeare lived in the latter. Nash's house featured a dress-up station, which we of course latched onto. As I prepared to photograph the rest of the group wearing crowns, Emily turned to me seriously and said, "You may bow to us". This elicited a round of laughter from us all, and we continued through the exhibit, testing our knowledge of Shakespeare's plays (which sadly was fairly low). Unfortunately, New Place was destroyed many years ago when its owner became tired of the multitude of visitors who would flock to the site. However, the gardens behind the house still remain, and we wandered through, visiting the various sculptures depicting scenes from Shakespeare's plays. From there, we crossed the river Avon to visit a monument that once stood in the courtyard of the Royal Shakespeare Theater. When fire destroyed the original theater and it had to be rebuilt, the monument was moved to its current location. We stopped in the theater on our way back to the park, where we met Lindsay and Lucy for a trip to Anne Hathaway's Cottage.

Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's wife, grew up about a mile outside of Stratford. The house in which she lived remained in the family for over 400 years. Surrounding the house is a vast garden, including a small lavender "maze" shaped as the comedy mask. We eventually walked back into town, picking up Sarah on our way. As we got ready for dinner, Emily yawned, which Sarah pointed out, saying "Let's go take you a nap". We were all so exhausted from the long days that it took us a moment to realize what she had said, but eventually we caught it. I split off from the rest of the group I had been with to meet Kendall and Rachel in the park. We had decided to get dinner that night at a local Greek restaurant, which was definitely one of the best meals I ate all week. Afterwards, we walked to the Swan Theater (a small theater right beside the Royal Shakespeare Theater) for the performance of Arden of Faversham.

We mingled as we waited, and suddenly, Sarah turned to me and aggressively asked "DO YOU HAVE A DOG NAMED HUMPHREY?" (for the record, she insisted that I use all capitol letters). Sensing her disappointment that I did not, in fact, have a dog named Humphrey (or any dog at all for that matter), I attempted to help her determine whose dog she was thinking of, recalling the conversation from when I sat beside her the previous night. We soon discovered that Humphrey (as well as a dog named Teddy) belonged to Emma, who had been sitting on my other side for Henry IV part I. We had decided that their names, "Humphrey and Teddy," sounded like a sitcom, which was why it had stuck in Sarah's mind. After the show, we milled about the lobby, deciding what to do next. Emily and I opted to go back to the B & B while others went to the Dirty Duck. When Bobby was asked what he would be doing, he looked at us and replied, "gotta ask the boss lady", waiting patiently for Emma to join us.

On our last day in Stratford, we packed our bags before we assembled for breakfast, sad to have to say goodbye to the wonderful hosts of our B & B. Brian began the morning's lecture with a talk-back of Arden of Faversham, followed by an explanation of what we would see at Kenilworth Castle that afternoon. The lecture ended with Ruth's introduction of Henry IV part II. We broke for lunch, taking with us instructions to meet back at the park just after noon so we could load our cases onto the coach and ride to the Castle.

The first thing we did when we walked off the coach was take a group photo, after which we spent the afternoon wandering through the remains of Kenilworth Castle. I had a wonderful time practicing my photography skills on some of the ASE students as we climbed through state rooms, dungeons, and more before finally strolling through the Elizabethan Garden. A few hours after we arrived, we loaded back onto the coach to return to Stratford, thoroughly exhausted.

Before our final play of the week, most of us grabbed dinner at a local pub called the "Golden Bee", which is part of the Wetherspoons chain. The UR students gathered in front of the Royal Shakespeare Theater to take a picture with our mascot Rocky (our first time all semester!) before we watched Henry IV part II. By the time the show ended, we were ready to go back home and happily piled back onto the coach for the ride back to Bath, where we finally arrived at nearly 1 AM. Our last big adventure had come to an end.

St. Andrew's Visit 9: Teaching a Lesson (2)

Focus: Teaching a Lesson

One of the best parts of having come in on a Friday was that I got a little bit more continuity than usual, especially in science and maths. I worked individually with I during microwriting, talking him through the brainstorming process by asking probing questions and recording his responses on a whiteboard. When he went to write his sentences, he was able to pull from the words he had already generated.

While the students read independently, I went into the library and collected additional information for their animal mindmaps, part of their current unit in science. I rejoined the class in time for maths, where they were adding geometric shapes to their preexisting work with coordinates. Mr. Barry offered three levels of difficulty for the lass to practice labeling points and drawing geometric shapes. He and I had a fun moment discovering another difference in our vocabularies - I learned when he drew on the board that what he referred to as a "trapezium" we call a "trapezoid". I wandered around the room answering questions and observing the students. One interesting interaction I observed was between J, G and X, who sit around the same table. J is one of the top students in the class in all subjects; G is excellent in literacy but struggles in maths; X is a good student when he actually does his work, but he's easily distracted. When I approached their table to answer a question from G, J helped me to explain it to her, and together they helped X understand it as well.

I sat with I for the end of maths, who was having particular difficulties labeling points. After a few minutes of struggling, however, it finally clicked, and he breezed through the remainder of the exercise. Not only did he finish labeling the points without assistance, but he was able to then build his own shapes based on coordinates he had been given. As difficult as it was to watch him struggle, the moment he finally understood was that much sweeter.

After maths, the students pulled out their mind maps to begin writing reports on the animals they had researched. By the time they left the room to eat lunch, they had completed their first topic sentences. During lunch, Mr. Barry and I discussed some of the morning's happenings, including the story I mentioned of J, G and X. He was glad to hear that his plan for seating them together was working. He also explained that just sitting next to M has brought out a better work ethic in A as well as increasing M's social skills. He also explained why W had been pulled out of the classroom starting at the middle of maths. As with a number of the students in Year 4, W's home language isn't English. St. Andrews was interested in seeing whether the difficulties he was having in class were because of the language barrier or because of an underlying problem, so a specialist was testing him as well as a few other students facing the same issues.

After lunch, the students returned to their reports for a bit before changing into their PE kits for dance. The brain dance warm-up took an extra twist this week: in preparation for our lesson on levels, they were required to do the whole thing sitting down. Afterwards, the students moved across the room at different levels. Interestingly, when I lined them up at one side so that I could give instructions, they turned it into a bit of a race. Students edged forward, ready for my cue to go. They then made poses with a partner using the same concept of levels. I dismissed them back to the classroom in pairs so they could get ready for assembly.

After the students were dismissed, Mr. Barry and I spent a few minutes talking about the lesson I would do on my next and last visit. I mentioned that I hoped the boys would enjoy it, knowing that whether they enjoyed it could make or break their behavior. Mr. Barry explained that this year, 6 out of the 7 boys in Year 4 don't have dads at home, compared to 2 out of 12 in his class last year. We talked a bit about the difference in the boys' behavior and role modeling between the two years - while he could previously count on the majority to model good behavior, this year it had fallen almost entirely to him.

St. Andrew's Visit 8: Teaching a Lesson (1)

Focus: Teaching a lesson

Because of the program's schedule, only 9 of our 10 visits took place on Tuesdays, so I popped in on a Friday to round off my semester.

The morning began with a bit of confusion on their part - they weren't used to seeing me on a different day - but they quickly settled to finish labeling and correcting maps they had drawn. I sat with A to help him complete his Venn Diagram, walking him through the process by which he would determine whether an item fell in one of the circles or in the overlap area. Students who had finished their maps and their Venn Diagrams completed a short microwriting session or added to the previous day's writing.

At 9:30, students engaged in quiet reading time. I pulled out K and I (and later M and J) to assess the progress they had made in reading comprehension since an intervention had begun for them in November. They each read a story that was 2 levels higher than where they had been initially and answered a few questions. If they answered all the comprehension questions correctly, they then tried another level up.

Mr. Barry later explained that the assessment was, in part, to test the method's effectiveness for each of the students as well as to determine their current levels. For many years, the school had simply thrown a variety of resources and supplements at students who lagged behind, hoping that something would work without knowing for certain. In recent waves of accountability, the focus has been on figuring out which interventions work and which ones don't. Interestingly, students who had tested on the same level initially and have been exposed to the same intervention have not all made the same progress. Some struggled with the initial test (2 levels higher than where they had started) while others excelled and completed tests at 3 or even 4 levels higher without issue. To me, this simply proved that students learn in different ways, and not every plan will work for every pupil.

For the rest of the morning, both before and after the break (which was sadly inside because of rain) the students researched different animals for their current science unit on food chains and predator-prey interactions. Mr. Barry explained to the students how they could create mind maps to organize the information they collected. I sat with W, who was eager to learn about sharks regardless of his partner R's absence.

Rain continued through lunch, forcing the students inside again. Containing the students within the small classroom proved treacherous as it removed their ability to put space between them and potential conflicts. More than one disagreement erupted as a result. Ms. Bryant and I took turns removing students from the classroom when the need arose. I had a particularly interesting interaction with J, who I would describe as introverted, but not shy. She has no issue interacting with other students, but I've seen her at times opt to work alone on an assignment when there is an odd number of students. She had been building with a pair of other students during the midmorning break and during the first part of the lunch hour (they eat their lunches right in the middle of the lunch hour, allowing them a chance to play before and then again after). During the last part of the lunch hour, she continued to build, but this time she gathered some materials and then found a quiet corner of the classroom away from other students. I checked in with her briefly and discovered that she was happy to be on her own. What I assessed as contented, however, Ms. Bryant thought to be loneliness. She subsequently tried to convince J to join other students, which she eventually did reluctantly.

After lunch, the students completed a short session of micromaths, followed by a chance to choose their own activities. 9 of the girls joined me for a dance lesson, although I ended up having to send 2 of them back to the classroom when they refused to listen to instructions. For those who remained, I opted for the animal game (in which they embody an animal and others try to guess) followed by the food chain game (a version of rock-paper-scissors that helps them understand the pyramid-nature of a food chain as only one person ends at the top and many more are at the bottom, with a medium number at the middle level) until it was time for the afternoon assembly.

St. Andrew's Visit 7: Planning a Unit of Work

Focus: Planning a Unit of Work

"A unit of work (sometimes described as a scheme of work in English schools) describes what earning is planned for students over a period of time"

This Tuesday was the first school day after a two-week holiday, so I was prepared for the students to be a little off their game. Their entrance was particularly morose (no one likes coming back to school after two weeks off) and the excessive chatting throughout the day indicated that their minds certainly had not joined their bodies in returning from the break.

Microwriting started the day, which went about as well as could be expected. Although the students all completed the assignment, they struggled to begin, so Mr. Barry tried to do a set on the board with them. He focused on adjectives and adverbs, which I decided to continue in their dance lesson that afternoon. As they completed microwriting, we collected their jotters and distributed FIFA World Cup sticker booklets, which they'll be using for their newest maths unit.

For the next few weeks, Year 4 will be learning to analyze and visually represent data. All the data will come from the booklets, which Mr. Barry was able to find for free. The data was particularly engaging for the boys, especially H, which was exciting because he either engages completely and does wonderful work or he doesn't engage at all and barely completes his assignments.

The assignment Tuesday was to choose four teams, find out the number of goals they had scored during the qualifying rounds, and draw a bar graph with the information. They then used the bar graphs to answer a series of questions. As is routine, Mr. Barry and I circled the room, providing assistance as needed. Unfortunately, many of the students hadn't been paying full attention when Mr. Barry had explained the instructions and the basics of bar graphs, which meant that I had to re-explain much of what had been covered all over again.

After lunch, Mr. Barry implemented micromaths for the first time, which is a series of short maths problems meant to keep the students' skills sharp and enhance their mental maths capabilities. They then changed into their PE kits for dance.

I led the class into the hall, where we started with the brain dance. Once they had warmed up, we talked briefly about the functions of adjectives and adverbs before they moved across the room based on different words. However, when I tried to put them into groups for the next part of the lesson - guessing adjectives I assigned - chaos ensued. It took nearly 7 minutes for them to settle, forcing me to rush the instructions.

After my lesson, we attended an assembly led by Mrs. East, the head teacher. She asked the students how their holidays had been and then taught them about William Shakespeare in honor of his birthday. After the assembly, Mr. Barry tested the students on time, which they had been learning before the holiday. He asked them each to answer a question before leaving, making sure that they didn't start to lose the progress they had previously made.

Spring Break Part 5: "I've never been serenaded by an accordion on the French metro"

I arrived back in France on Saturday morning and made my way to the hostel on the metro. Once I arrived at the right stop, however, I got a bit turned around and ended up heading in the wrong direction. Luckily, a number of kind locals helped me get back to where I needed to go. Megan and her sister Mackenzie arrived not long after I did, and we set off for the center of the city.

To get back into the city, we hopped back on the metro. Just after we got on, a gentleman stepped on carrying a speaker and an accordion. As the train began to move, he began to play, swaying with his music. Megan, Mackenzie and I just turned to each other, at which point Megan made the comment I pulled for the title.

Our first stop of the day was the Tour Eiffel, where we ate lunch. They served the food picnic style, basket and all, with each dish in a small tuperware. Although it was a bit expensive, how many times will you get the chance to eat a meal on the Eiffel Tower? The view was incredible and well worth the trip up. Although Megan and Mackenzie decided to continue up the rest of the tower, I opted to go back to the base. I wandered through the garden behind the tower for a bit and then met them when they returned. We decided it was time for a snack, so we found a stall selling crepes and at them as we walked along.

Our next stop was the Arc de Triomphe, which unfortunately was covered in scaffolding on one side. We walked along the Champs Elysees, passing the many restaurants and shops along its route as we headed toward the Louvre. We walked by three palaces on one corner and monuments to Charles de Gaulle and King Louis XIV (or maybe it was XVI?). We meandered through the gardens that led us to the Louvre, where we finally arrived. Although we didn't have the time to go in, we did get to see the courtyards and the pyramids within them.

Our stomachs started to growl, so we found a creperie around the corner and grabbed dinner there. After we ate, we found a bakery a few streets away so that we could buy macaroons to eat as a snack later that night. Snack in hand, we returned to the river bank beside the Louvre and bought tickets for a hop-on-hop-off boat tour that would bring us past many of the monuments. We hopped on at dusk and rode first to the Tour Eiffel, watching as it lit up for the evening, showered in gold light. We stayed on for the full tour, riding by the Notre Dame as we came around to the Louvre again. There, we hopped of for just a few minutes to see the pyramids again - now lit - and devour our snack. One of my favorite moments was standing in front of the Louvre and being able to look all the way down the Champs Elysees to see the Arc de Triomphe glowing at the other end. We rejoined the next boat to arrive, which brought us back to the Tour Eiffel so we could take the metro back to our hostel.

When we woke up Sunday morning, we had enough time to grab a leisurely breakfast and pack our things before heading back to the train station. We took the chunnel back to London, then the tube to Paddington Station, and finally a train back to Bath. Spring break had come to an end.

Spring Break Part 4: Hamburg, Germany

As night began to fall in Venice, I rolled my suitcase onto my first night train, which would take me to Munich. From there, I jumped on a train up to Hamburg. I took the tram to my hostel before I set off for the small neighborhood of Harburg.

You're probably thinking - why Harburg? It's a valid question, and one that I was asked often. Each time, I had the same response.

In the late 1920s, my grandmother was born in the suburb of Harburg-by-Hamburg. Her family fled in the mid 1930s to America, and she's never looked back. She'll tell us stories about growing up in New York, like how her older brother used to sneak her under the subway turnstiles, or about the day that she got home and met the man she would later marry studying with her brother, but Germany is off limits. To this day, my grandmother has never returned to the town where she was born. In fact, to my knowledge, none of the family has been back.

Until me.

I couldn't do much while I was there. Because she won't talk about her old life, we don't know exactly where she grew up, or what school she went to, or anything like that. I was, however, able to find a few buildings that were built in the late 1800s, old enough to have seen my grandmother's childhood. I wondered often whether she ever knew they were there.

After an emotional afternoon in Harburg, I returned to the city center and wandered through the botanical gardens. After the flowers in Italy had been in full bloom, it was amazing to see the buds in Germany just beginning to open up. I took the trams back to the hostel and found something to eat before going to bed.

The next morning, I set off just after breakfast, leaving my suitcase in luggage storage once again. I spent the morning near the center of town, exploring the Brahms and Telemann museums, honoring a pair of musicians who called Hamburg "home" at different points in their lives. From there I saw St. Michael's, the most famous church in Hamburg, and then it was off to the old town hall, called the "Rathaus" (which I pronounced as "rat house" but I'm not sure if that was right), where I picked up a late lunch.

I spent the afternoon down on the harbor, including a visit to the Miniature Wonderland. I'm not an artist, so the precision of the work there was absolutely incredible. Tiny people lived in little houses. Day became night and then day again. The USA area was particularly entertaining, featuring Mount Rushmore and Las Vegas as the main attractions.

I took the trams back to the hostel to pick up my bag and then went back to the central train station, where I bought dinner until it was time for my train. The second night train would take me to Paris, the last stop on my spring break.

Spring Break Part 3: Venice, Italy

From Florence I took a train to Venice, arriving in mid afternoon. I checked into my hostel and then set off to explore the beautiful city. Although you can get a map of Venice, they don't help all that much. It's easier (and more fun) to just follow the signs from one place to another. I spent my first few hours just exploring, wandering through the narrow streets and over the innumerable canals.

Unexpectedly, I found the old Jewish quarter on my travels. After learning about it in my Mythologizing Shakespeare class (we covered The Merchant of Venice among other plays), it was intriguing to see its remains. To this day, the area is populate by Jews. The restaurants in the area are kosher, as is the little grocer's stall. Shops sell Jewish jewelry and art. Around every corner was a sign wishing residents and visitors a happy Pesach. After exploring the area a bit, I noticed the sun had begun to set, so I headed back to the hostel to grab dinner and get to bed.

The next morning, I woke up early. I packed my things and brought my bag to the luggage storage that the hostel provided before grabbing a cup of tea and a light breakfast. I set out for the Ponte Rialto and the Piazza San Marco, two of the most famous aspects of Venice. One of the greatest parts of waking up early was that when I arrived at the Piazza, very few tourists had woken up. I got to see the monuments without the crowds that would appear later in the day. I wandered around for a bit and then headed for Academia, an area filled with art schools and galleries. I found a cafe for lunch, and then treated myself to gelato before going back to the Piazza to go into some of the monuments I had seen earlier in the day.

I started with the Doge's palace, which was probably my favorite site of the day. I especially loved the golden staircase, so named because of the gold leaf covering much of the ceiling. After spending a good portion of the afternoon there, I toured the inside of the Basilica and then walked across the Piazza to a museum made of rooms that were once the Empress's chambers. It was so interesting to see the two different living areas on opposite ends of the square. Though originally inhabited at different times, they both had the same royal feel.

Finally, I made my way back toward the train station. I grabbed a bite to eat and picked up my bag, moving my belongings around so that I would be ready for the train that would take me to my next stop: Germany.

Spring Break Part 2: Florence, Italy

On Sunday, I spent much of the day traveling by train, first from Cannes to Ventimiglia, then Ventimiglia to Milan, and finally Milan to Firenze. Each leg of the trip was vastly different, but I have to say that the first two were my favorites of my whole trip. From Cannes to Ventimiglia, I chose a seat on the top level of the train, settling in next to a window that faced the south. We rode along the beautiful coast of France, by far my favorite scenery from my journey. The trip to Milan was my other favorite because of the actual train. I walked onto the train and discovered that it was made up of compartments stretching off a long corridor. Each compartment held 6 seats in two rows facing each other. Being the nerd that I am, I realized that this was my first ever trip on a train in the style of the Hogwarts Express. Even though no one came through with a trolley of sweets, I had a wonderful time on the ride.

I arrived at the Santa Maria Novella train station just as dusk began to fell and was glad that my hostel was just a few blocks away. I found my way there in just minutes, dragging my small suitcase behind me. There, I met up with a group of students on my program, some of whom had forgotten that I would be joining them for a short part of the break. They greeted me enthusiastically, and after dropping my bag in the room where I'd stay, I sat with Mila, Katie, Clare, Amy and Bella outside in the cool night air. We sat up talking until it got late, laughing and joking loudly.

The next morning, we took advantage of the free breakfast at the hostel before setting out for the Piazza Michelangelo, the highest point in the city. Along the way, we paused briefly at the covered market to pick up some fruit, which would be the perfect snack that afternoon. We walked past the Santa Croce, where Galileo is buried (among others). We crossed the canal and walked down a few small side streets until we came to the base of the stairs leading up to the Piazza. Halfway up the climb, we paused to explore a sculpture garden before finishing the journey. The view from the top was worth every step, and we roamed around of a bit. We were glad to have left our jackets back in the hostel as the warm sun shone down, illuminating tulips already fully in bloom.

I split off from the group, descending the stairs and walking back over the canal toward the palazzo vecchio, where I met up with Elizabeth for lunch. One of my favorite parts of visiting with other people who are abroad is that they tend to show you their favorite places off the beaten track, and in Elizabeth's case, a deli and a gelato shop were in order for the day. We grabbed paninis and caught up on our semesters so far. Our stories grew toward more distant pasts as we realized how long it had been since we had last seen one another - just over a year by our calculations - and we brought our gelatos along as she showed me the Palazzo Republica, famous for its arches and the carousel that has been erected in its center. After, we made our way back to the palazzo, where we sat until it was time for Elizabeth to head to class.

I met back up with the group at the Ponte Vecchio, the city's most famous bridge. We found a cafe (they hadn't yet eaten lunch) where we sat for a bit, happy to be off our feet after a long morning of walking. After our break, we walked back over the bridge to the Duomo. The cathedral rose before us, and we waited in line for just a few minutes before being admitted to explore. I marveled at the ceiling, high above us, painted so clearly that the details were clear, even from the ground.

We returned to the hotel for the afternoon, sitting out on the porch and breaking into the morning's fruit.We relaxed for much of the rest of the day, venturing out only to get dinner and gelato. I was glad to have a chance to catch up with some of the people on the trip, realizing that even with Oxford, there were so many people I simply never got a chance to talk with. I said goodbye to them that night, as they would be leaving early the next morning to continue their journey through Italy to Roma.

The next morning, I met up with Olivia. I dropped my suitcase in her room so that I wouldn't have to drag it to lunch and such. I had my first taste of Italian pasta for lunch, and then we sat in a park near her apartment until I had to go to the train station and she had to go to class. I loved getting to see her and catch up - we had last spent time together a year and a half earlier - and I was sad to have to go. At the same time, I was excited to see what the next stops on my break would bring.

Spring Break Part 1: Cannes, France

I had initially thought about writing one massive blog post for my spring break, but I have far too much to write in each one for that, so I've decided to separate the different cities. The result will be 5 shorter blog posts instead of one exceptionally long one.

The first part of my spring break brought me to Cannes, France. I arrived at my hotel late Friday evening, where I checked in and grabbed a bite to eat before settling in for the night. The next morning, I set out for the Hotel Martinez, where my sister Stephanie and her husband Jeff were staying.

To say the Hotel Martinez was a step up from the places I stayed during my break would be an understatement (perks of being on a college student's budget). The hotel, which sits along the beautiful Cannes boardwalk, caters to the stars during the famous Cannes Film Festival. I entered the ornate lobby and rode the elevator up to the seventh floor (which Jeff liked to refer to as the penthouse, as it was the top floor of the building).

We went down to breakfast together, indulging in the hot and cold buffet. We then decided to take a walk along the boardwalk toward the harbor. I relished the warmth of the day, which contrasted starkly to the rain we had endured in England leading up to my departure. We strode casually from the harbor through a local craft market before walking along the streets just inland. There, we found a bakery selling fresh macaroons and picked up a box to have as a snack later in the day. We found a cafe and sat down for lunch before doing a bit of shopping for the early afternoon.

In the middle of the afternoon, we returned to their hotel and opened the macaroons on their rooftop terrace. I have to say, the view from the terrace was magnificent. Definitely something to which I could have grown accustomed. After a short period on the terrace, we returned to the lobby for happy hour and then walked back along the boardwalk to find something to eat for dinner. I was sad to say good night at the end of the evening, but took comfort in the knowledge that while their trip was coming to an end, mine was only beginning.

St. Andrew's Visit 6: Lesson Planning

Focus: Lesson Planning

Because of the upcoming holidays, my latest day was a bit...different. The day started out the same; Mr. Barry called the role and announced the special day (it was W's turn) while the students finished work they had started the day before or continued with more challenging maths. At about 9:20, however, however, the class had to grab their coats and line up. Aside from the foundation stage students, the whole school (about 150 students total) walked to the church a few blocks away, where they held a two-hour rehearsal of the Easter service happening on that Thursday afternoon.

Two hours is a long time for kids to sit without a break, so we anticipated at least a few disciplinary problems over the course of the rehearsal. For the first hour or so, they were ok. They sat quietly and paid attention, listening to their head teacher. However, as the rehearsal progressed, the students slowly lost focus. I was in charge of the class by this point (Mr. Barry had returned to the school to get R, who had arrived late), so it was up to me to keep them quiet. I had to separate a few of the chattier students after warnings, but for the most part, they listened to me when I asked for quiet. Though I had been particularly concerned about some of the more energetic boys, many of them really surprised us with their good behavior. X in particular sat quietly through the whole rehearsal, for which he earned an extra house point when Mr. Barry was informed.

When the rehearsal finally ended, we walked back to the school just in time for lunch. I took the time to put together my first co-curricular lesson, supplementing their current science unit on food chains and predator-prey relationships. The class changed for PE quickly after they returned from lunch, and off we went to the hall.

Because it had been so successful previously, I started with the brain dance once again in order to establish a regular routine for them. Once they had warmed up, I narrated a prey story followed by a predator story in order to help them embody each one. They then paired off to create interactive predator and prey poses. To cool down, we moved from the biggest predator down to the smallest prey, working our way down the food chain.

After my dance lesson, the class returned to our classroom for a brief maths lesson, continuing what they were learning about number lines. Because they had already started the unit, Mr. Barry assigned additional questions so that he could assess which students fully understood the concepts and which ones needed further explanation or additional practice.

Other lessons I've observed in Year 4 have generally started with the students sitting on the carpet for the introductory instructions. This may also include examples of questions and solutions or other prompts. After the students have received their introduction to the material, they return to their seats to work individually, in pairs with their neighbors, or in small groups at their tables. As this occurs, Mr. Barry circles the room to provide additional assistance or pulls a chair up to a student who he knows does not understand. Later, he'll mark their books, commenting on the work they had done, and return those that need corrections. 

"I broke Oxford"

For the record, I didn't actually break Oxford. And don't worry, I'll include the story of this title in this blog post.

For one week every semester, the students of ASE move to University "Univ" College in Oxford. The residency started this year on Saturday morning, when the coach pulled up outside of Nunes House. We loaded our cases under the bus and hopped on board, prepared for the hour and a half the ride would take. We rode through the English countryside for most of the time, eventually reaching our destination. When we pulled up outside of the College, we had to quickly unload the bus and clear the sidewalk, so everyone just grabbed any case and brought it into the main quad, where we redistributed all of them to their rightful owners. The staff picked up our keys and directed us to our rooms, where we had time to unpack and get settled.

Once we found our rooms, the process of settling in was quick, so many of us began to wander back out to the courtyard looking to find where others would be staying for the week. I met up with Megan, Katie, Heather, Chelsea and Tory among others. We wandered to Megan and Heather's suite, which had a large common room between the two bedrooms, and found seats on the various chairs and couches. Katie slid behind the massive desk and began to play with the drawers, at which point one of the knobs fell off. We were able to screw it back in, but only after she announced to the room that she had broken Oxford, hence the title of this blog :)

Our next stop was Tory's room for M & M's (no one had eaten since breakfast early that morning) and then we were off to the JCR (Junior Common Room). The JCR was ASE's "headquarters" for the week, where we could grab a cup of coffee or tea, use the computers or printers, and gather when we weren't in class. Once everyone arrived, the ASE staff reviewed various rules for our stay and distributed academic timetables so we could find our classes. Luckily, they completed all of this quickly and released us to lunch.

During my week in Oxford, despite all the other things that were going on, I found that breakfast and lunch were my favorite parts of the day. Because we didn't have access to any cooking facilities aside from the small kitchenette in the JCR, we were provided with two meals a day in the Buttery (the dining hall). We ate in Univ's beautiful dining hall, sitting on benches pulled up to long tables. For the first time since we arrived, the whole program could spend time together. I had the opportunity to interact with people I don't usually see, and for that I was incredibly grateful.

After lunch on our first day, we attended a lecture by one of the Univ fellows, who provided a formal welcome to the college. Subtle jokes wove through his speech, unheard by all but a few of us, whose laughter rang out regardless of our peers' inattention. The lecture was followed by a tour of the library (which I'm sad to say I didn't take as full advantage of as I could have), the college grounds (where we learned quickly to keep off the grass) and the town of Oxford. We had a bit of time remaining, so Amy, Chelsi and I took a trip to the Eagle and Child, where CS Lewis and JRR Tolkein used to meet. On our way back into town, we stopped into Blackwell's to explore the huge bookstore. We grabbed dinner at a pub just around the corner before heading back to Univ for the night. The day ended with a small party in the campus bar, which I actually attended for once. I spent most of the night on the dance floor until it was time for bed.

On Sunday afternoon, we had our first real adventure of the week: punting. For those who don't know, a punt is a type of boat, similar to a gondola, which is driven by a long pole or "punt". I volunteered to be the first driver of my boat, trusting my ballet training to provide the balance I would need to stand on the flat back of the boat. I pushed us out onto the river, but within minutes, our boat began to turn sidelong and we wedged between a set of docked boats and the river bank. Although we caused a bit of a traffic jam, we eventually escaped with the assistance of a few other boats. I continued to attempt to guide us toward our destination, but it wasn't long before I handed the task over to Hadley.

Though reluctant at first, Hadley turned out to be our most accomplished punter, skillfully navigating us along the next stretch of our route. As we reached the bend in the course, however, our pole became stuck in a muddy patch. Instead of tumbling overboard, Hadley released the pole. We drifted for a few short moments until we were able to paddle our way back. However, just as we reached the pole again, the sky clouded over and down fell rain, quickly turning to hail. Within seconds, we were all cold and drenched. Megan managed to maneuver us around the bend after the current almost dragged us out toward the Thames, after which point she handed the pole to Ashley to have a go. Halfway down the next stretch Ashley turned it over to Tory, who eventually handed it back to Hadley to take us home. After two hours out on the boats, another boat came out to rescue us, taking us back along the last stretch. We emerged, grateful to be back on land, and trudged back up the road to Univ. There, we changed into fresh, dry clothes before heading to Pizza Express for dinner. We made it back in time to catch ASE's showing of "Shadowlands", a movie chronicling CS Lewis's relationship with Joy Gresham.

Classes started up again on Monday, and we each had an individual opportunity to sit down with Chris Pelling, ASE's head of academics, for a few minutes. Megan and I met up with Alyssa, Grace and Emma for dinner at a local Thai restaurant. The evening featured a lecture from another of Univ's fellows, who outlined the history of Oxford and of the college in a talk about "Bloody Oxford". Because we were in Oxford, Tuesday didn't include a visit to our placement schools, so Megan and I spent the morning beginning the Oxford Challenge, which was a competition to see all 38 colleges that make up Oxford University. We started by searching for the furthest colleges and slowly spiraled around, moving steadily inward toward the center of town. We found about half on Tuesday morning and finished the challenge the following day.

Tuesday afternoon, we took a more extensive tour of Christ Church, one of the more famous colleges. We began in the Dean's Gardens, which hosts the original "door to Wonderland". Alice Liddell, who inspired the main character of Lewis Carroll's famous story, was in fact the daughter of the college's Dean, and our guide sprinkled snippets about her life and her father throughout our tour. We next explored the main quad of the campus, which featured a statue of Hermes at its center. Our next stop, the old dining hall, had particular significance for those of us who enjoy the Harry Potter series. As we stepped inside, a wide stairwell confronted us. We instantly recognized it from the first movie, where Harry and his peers first encountered Professor McGonagall. Though it did not open into the Great Hall of the film, the old dining hall at the top of the steps was almost certainly an inspiration for the film set, sharing many of the same architectural features. The last stop on our tour was the beautiful, ornately decorated Christ Church cathedral, one of the best-known aspects of the campus.

That evening, most of ASE gathered for dinner at a local Indian restaurant, which seated us all in a room upstairs. As I mentioned earlier, meals were a fantastic source of socialization, and this evening was no different. I sat among girls I usually wouldn't see, and we spent most of the night laughing and joking around, free from the bonds of academics and relishing in seeing one another. Even though we don't all get the chance to see each other often, or perhaps because of this fact, the moments that we spend together have imprinted on my mind. The rarity with which I interact with some of the others on the program may be regrettable in some ways, but I have come to cherish the moments I'm granted, and I'll remember that evening for a long time.

As incredible as it was, our week in Oxford had to come to an end at some point, and Wednesday and Thursday flew by. Thursday evening, we gathered together once more, dressing smart for a three course meal. Tablecloths, candlesticks and fancy silverware breathed an air of formality into the Buttery as our week came to a close. After dinner, we moved down to the bar for one final evening before we all returned to our rooms to pack our things and get ready to say goodbye to Univ.

St. Andrew's Visit 5: Special Needs

Focus: Special Needs

Year 4 has a few students with special needs in our class. A few have learning disabilities of some kind, and I've previously mentioned R, who has autism. Because of this week's focus, I tried to spend at least a few minutes just working with each of them.

Just after he called role, Mr. Barry pointed out to G, who has dyslexia, that she needed to get a laptop at the start of the day from now on because she would need it to do her micro-writing - a new provision on her IEP. Her reading level, interestingly, is at the top of the class, although her writing lags behind it. During micro-writing, I served as the scribe for A, which I have done in previous weeks as well. He has no trouble coming up with different ideas, but when he tries to write them himself, the physical task challenges him. He also proved that he understands the relevant rules of grammar when he read it back through. As his scribe, I had to leave out any capital letters, commas, speech marks (quotation marks) or full stops (periods) unless told to include them. When he read the sentences back to me, he would point out places that he needed these.

After they did micro-writing, it was time for micro-maths, a set of short word problems using basic arithmetic. I pulled I out to work one-on-one in the ICT (information and communication technology) suite because he wasn't getting along with the girls sitting near him. Originally from Bangladesh, his first language isn't English, which is why our teaching assistant Ms. Bryant is technically assigned to him. As soon as he was in a quieter setting, however, he was able to begin working with me and started to at least understand what was required in the task.

Guided reading followed micro-maths, so I took my group into the ICT suite to work. When they were done, we went back to class in time for their midmorning break.

After the break, the students worked on their Take One Picture stories. A little more than half the students worked on their stories on laptops, but since there weren't enough for everyone, I took a half students into the ICT suite, including G. I supervised and provided spelling assistance as they wrote. Aside from needing a bit more spelling assistance than her classmates, G didn't have any troubles with the assignment. Some of the students had a lot of ideas. M and V, for instance, each wrote more than the rest of the group combined. This didn't surprise me, considering that the two girls are at the top of the class for most things. Other students, particularly D, had much more trouble with their task. I'm not sure whether she was intimidated by other students who were further ahead or if her language barrier came into play (she speaks Polish at home), but she became increasingly frustrated and uninspired until lunch finally rolled around.

After lunch, the students had creative time until my dance lesson began. I found it was much more successful to give my initial instructions before we left the classroom, although their first instincts upon entering the hall was still to run around for a bit. They warmed up with the Brain Dance. Tentative at first, I found that once a few of the students started to engage with it, the rest of the class followed suit. Once they were warmed up, I led them through an exploration of positive and negative space. Mr. Barry and I had a wonderful time watching the students create crazy shapes together. After a twenty minute lesson, we had to go back to the classroom so that the Year 3 class could set up for their class assembly. They were so good during the dance lesson that Mr. Barry decided that they could have a little extra break time until assembly, which they loved.

At the end of the day, R's mother came in when she picked him up. She asked Mr. Barry about how R's week had been so far. Her visit signified the school's commitment to working with parents of children with special needs and to keeping them up-to-date regularly on their children's progress.

#sprig

One aspect of my classes I neglected in my earlier blog posts is our study trips. Essentially, each class gets to take a field trip to add some experience to the material they're learning. My first study trip was to the Montacute House in Somerset with my class on Tudor and Stuart England.

The Montacute House is an Elizabethan mansion and expansive garden. It sits on what was once monastic lands, which were bought by a local landowner when the monasteries were dissolved as part of the English Reformation. (See, I have been learning, I promise!)

At the start of our day, the little coach picked up the class, and we started our hour-and-a-half journey. When we pulled into the gravel lot at the Montacute House, we found our tutor John sitting on a bench. He waved as we parked and stood to greet us. He led us to the back of the house first, which is a bit deceiving considering the driveway that connects it to the road. He explained that the house has seen virtually no alterations since it was first built because its owners, the Philips family, soon fell out of favor at court and therefore could not afford it. While they may have considered that a negative aspect, it turned out to be a blessing for historians!

We walked around to the front of the house, which opens onto the main gardens. As was tradition, the path by which visitors would have come when the house was occupied was separated from the house itselve by a small fenced in garden. The front of the house features 9 statues, three each from biblical, classical and medieval traditions. We entered the house and immediately walked up the stairs to the long hall.

The long hall, or the top floor of the house, is currently home to selections from the National Portrait Gallery's Tudor and Stuart collection. There, we saw original portraits of Henry VII and his wives, as well as well-known figures from the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages. The Tudor features were particularly interesting as we have just finished studying that period in our class and are beginning the Stuart reign this coming week. Once we had wandered through the gallery, we descended to the second floor, where a library caught our attention. Colorful stained glass crests adorned the windows, a beautiful contrast to the dark book bindings. We also had a chance to wander through a few of the bedrooms.

Having spent sufficient time inside the house, we drifted out to the gardens, where we imagined the lives of the house's original residents and guests, transported back to the Elizabethan age. Once we completed our exploration of the gardens, we gathered in the cafe to eat our lunches, and ASE treated us to tea and cakes.

For the afternoon, John led us from the house through the town. We saw the remains of the gatehouse I referenced earlier, as well as the only other small building, which once housed the doves kept by the monks for eggs and meat. A small pond, which once held fish, also remained on the premises. We also got to peek into the local church, which still functions under the 39 Articles of Faith established by Queen Elizabeth I and in which the Philips family is entombed.

On the walk back through the town to our bus, we passed a sign advocating local events and sites of interest. It leaned on the typical "I (heart) _____", but instead of a heart the image was of a small branch, We debated the proper term for it as we passed through the parking lot and agreed on a "sprig" which should be used to describe things which are particularly close to our hearts, hence the title of this blog post.

Our ride back to Bath was uneventful, and we arrived at our residences in mid-afternoon. I took the time after to pack for Oxford, our next big adventure!

Cheers!

"How many waffles can you eat in a weekend in Brussels? Challenge accepted"

After the success of Scotland and Ireland, it was time for a different kind of challenge: language. Megan and I decided that in honor of my birthday, we were going to take a trip to Brussels, the land of waffles and chocolate.

We started our journey by hopping on a train from Bath to London Paddington first thing Friday morning. Once we arrived in London, we briskly walked across town to St. Pancras station (about 2.4 miles), where we had our passports checked for our ride to Brussels. We arrived in Belgium in the early afternoon, and we immediately set off toward the center of the city.

Anyone who has ever visited Brussels will probably tell you that you need to see the Grand Place, and when that was the first stop on our journey, we could tell why. We had opted to walk from the train station, and the roads leading up to the Grand Place weren't really anything special. All of a sudden, however, the streets emptied into a large courtyard. Ornate buildings lined the sides of what was once a central market square. Small streets around the edges led to restaurants, cafes, and shops. We wandered around until we found a cafe, where we grabbed lunch, and then we looked for a good waffle shop.

Waffle 1: banana and chocolate

After we found our first waffles, we continued our quest for Belgium's other indulgence: chocolate. We found a little chocolate shop, and then we bought some chocolate ice cream before walking up to our hostel. We checked in and relaxed for a bit there, letting the day catch up with us. After a short while, we left the hostel in search of Greenwich Tavern, a traditional Belgian pub recommended by my brother's old roommate. Dinner was delicious, and I got to brush up on my French vocabulary, since the menu wasn't in English. This meant that I ordered for both myself and my roommate, which I was proud to have done successfully. Afterwards, we headed back to the Grand Place for dessert, which was of course going to be waffles again :)

Waffle 2: nutella

We walked back up to the hostel, waffles in hand, and turned in for the night. The next morning, we decided to get an early start so that we could cram everything else we wanted to do in before our train back to London. When we left the hostel, the streets were completely deserted. The city was absolutely silent. It was incredible. We made our way back to the Grand Place, where we got breakfast - waffles, of course - at a little cafe.

Waffle 3: banana and whipped cream

After breakfast, we discovered a huge chocolate shop, where we purchased our souvenir chocolate, aka my birthday present to myself. I must say, I've never had a celebration quite as sweet. Our next stop was the Museum of Musical Instruments, which was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever been to. We got audio guides at the entrance, which activated when held over symbols in front of many of the display cases. However, instead of the typical history or descriptions of the instruments in the cases, the audio files were actual pieces of music played by the instruments in question. The museum's collection included an incredible array of instruments in beautiful condition. The featured exhibit explored the history of the saxophone.

After spending a bit of time at the museum, we continued on our route to see the last few big shops. We stopped at Place Royal and the Palais Royal (royal palace). Our last big stop was the Place du Petit Sablon, an adorable little park. We walked back to the Place Royal to grab one more waffle for the day.

Waffle 4: whipped cream

After our last waffles, it was time to head back to the train station. We retraced our route through the Grand Place. We stopped for tea on the way back and then grabbed sandwiches at the station for a late lunch. We checked in for our train ride back to the UK and passed through border security. Our train to London went smoothly, and then we bolted across town to Paddington station so we would have time to grab dinner (a pair of bagels) before we hopped on the train to Bath Spa. Once we got back, we broke into our chocolate before we went to bed, ready for some well-earned rest after a successful birthday celebration :)

Dalkey and back to Bath

After two straight days in cities, we were definitely ready for someplace a little quieter. After grabbing a quick breakfast at the hostel, we packed our things and checked out. About half the group rented a locker to store bigger luggage while we were away from the morning. We walked across the river to the train station, where we purchased tickets to Dalkey, a small town about 30 minutes outside the city. As soon as we stepped off the train, we started to walk towards the coast. However, because we didn't have a map, our only indication of the coast's location was the general direction we could determine from our train ride.

We set off, keeping to one path so that we would have fewer roads to remember. As we came around a bend, we saw the sea out on the horizon. We continued on our journey, finally reaching the town's small marina, where we stopped to take pictures and explore. Our fun was short-lived as it began to rain, so we gathered our bags and started to make our way back to the center of town, where we had walked past a number of cafes and restaurants. We checked the prices on a few displayed menus before deciding on a small american diner, where we grabbed a quick bite before it was time to head back to Dublin.

As soon as we returned to Dublin, we split into two groups to grab remaining luggage and the last few souvenirs. We met back up at the bus stop just in time to watch it pull in, and soon we were off to the airport for our third flight of the weekend!

We passed through security quickly and said goodbye to Cae, who would be going back to her program London while the rest of us returned to Bath via Bristol. However, just as we dropped her off, we ran into Chelsea, who had spent the weekend in Ireland visiting her older brother. As it turned out, she would be taking the same flight as us, so she joined us in waiting to board the plane.

When we landed in Bristol, we grabbed something to drink at the airport cafe while we waited for the bus that would bring us back to Bath. Unfortunately, the sign was a bit confusing, so we thought we had missed the 5:00 bus, but it was actually a 5:30 bus. When we went outside just before 6, we learned that the next bus would leave at 6:30. Already tired, we were certainly not happy. Luckily, when we finally got on the bus, our journey took just under an hour, and by 7:30, we were safely back in Bath!

Dublin

On Saturday morning, we were glad to have turned in early when our alarms went off starting at 5. We quickly rolled out of our beds, dressed, and packed our things. Within 30 minutes, all seven of us jogged down the stairs to drop off our keys and walked back to the bus stop where we had been dropped off. We had to wait just a few minutes for our bus to pull up and take us to the airport, where we arrived at 6.

The airport, which had bustled on our arrival two days prior, was quiet at this early hour. We breezed through our passport checks and walked quickly through security. As we waited, we picked up breakfast at a cafe and sat patiently, watching the departure for the gate number of our 8 AM flight. Just after 7, we watched it pop up on the board. We said goodbye to Katie, whose flight back to Bath would leave a few minutes later, and walked down to our gate.

Our flight was smooth, and it wasn't long before we had landed in Dublin, where my passport was stamped for the first time since my arrival in the UK. We picked up bus tickets so that we could get to Isaac's hostel, which we found with almost no difficulty (the smartphone certainly helped). We weren't able to check in yet, but the hostel allowed us to drop our bags if we so desired.

To kill some time, we decided to get a jump start on our site-seeing and made our way to Trinity College. The beautiful old buildings starkly contrasted the modern city around, as if time on the campus had stopped while the city went on. We walked around for a bit until we decided it was time for lunch, at which point we began to walk down Grafton Street. Street performers lined the road on both sides, entertaining us until we discovered a small cafe at which we ate.

After lunch, we continued our journey down the street. We stopped into a small jewelry shop so that Cae, Hadley, and Megan could buy clada rings before we walked into the beautiful park at the end of the block: Saint Stephen's Garden. A small lake featured in the center, surrounded by statues hidden among the vegetation. We wandered around for a bit, taking a bit of a break from the bustling city we had entered, before we walked back to Isaac's hostel along the same route we had come.

Back at the hostel, we collected our keys and found our 6-bed room. We were glad to not need to share the space for the night, glad that we could lock our belongings away without risking theft. We took a short break, resting after our early travels, before we walked back out, this time with a further destination in mind: the Guinness Storehouses.

Even though I don't drink, walking through the storehouses was pretty cool. We explored the history of the company and watched its process. Their exhibit on advertising featured some of their greatest commercials from various decades, and the bar on the top floor was surrounded by a 360-degree view of the city. After we stopped in the gift shop, we walked back toward the center of the city for dinner at the Porterhouse, which had been recommended to us by a friend of Allison. Dinner felt very Irish, especially as a live band played, so I ordered an Irish stew, which turned out to be a wonderful decision. After dinner, we spent a little time wandering around and weaving through the Temple Bar area on the long route back to the hostel. Once we arrived, we began to plan for the last stage of our adventure: a morning in Dalkey.