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. 

Blenheim Palace

Friday morning one last Oxford breakfast, we piled our cases back onto the coach to head back to Bath. On our way back, we stopped for a short day trip to Blenheim Palace, just outside of the city where we had stayed for a week.

Blenheim Palace is the only palace in the UK that was not built by royalty. Queen Anne rewarded John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough, with the land and money to build his estate after he won a decisive battle in Germany against the French during the War of Spanish Succession. His wife oversaw the process, which took 28 years from start to finish, while he was away with the military.

As we pulled up, the imposing building stood before us. We piled off the coach and wove through school groups, also there on a field trip, to start our tour. The guide took us through the ornate east wing of the house (the family still lives in the west wing), which houses the former state rooms and a large dining hall that can seat over 40 people around its table. The space is used once a year for the Duke's annual Christmas dinner because it is the only room in the estate that can hold all of the invited guests.

Our tour dropped us at the long library. From there, we explored the Winston Churchill exhibit. In addition to being the cousin of one of the Dukes, he was born prematurely when his mother and father attended a banquet at Blenheim. Churchill spent quite a bit of time at the estate growing up and considered it a second home.

Having completed our exploration of the palace, we grabbed a quick bite at the cafe and then set off to traverse the grounds. Megan, Emily, Rachel and I began with a single goal: to find the tree from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The flashback scene of James, Sirius and Severus was filmed beside a lake on the property, so we scoured the banks, searching for a clue as to where it may have been. Sarah and Jessica joined us in our quest, and we finally found it just across a small bridge. We flocked there, photographing our discovery with joy.

For the remainder of the afternoon, we explored the grounds, reveling in their beauty until we noticed clouds begin to roll in. Knowing the change in the weather that would follow, we began to walk back to the coach, quickening our pace as the sky continued to darken. Though the six of us stepped on in time to avoid the rain, others got caught in the downpour, which quickly turned to hail in typical English fashion. By the time we had driven a few minutes from the site, however, the sky had cleared again, which was how it remained for our return to our home, Bath.

"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 :)

What Are All The Miles For?

On my recent trip to Scotland and Ireland, I sat with a small notebook and a pen in my hand, updating my list of all the places we had walked during the day. One of the girls I traveled with asked me what I was doing, and I explained that I wanted to have the list so I could track how many miles we had walked during the weekend. The girls all realized that I was referring to my posts in "Run for the White House for Childhood Cancer Awareness 2014," which popped up on their newsfeeds but had never come up in conversation. It was then that I first encountered the now-familiar question: "what are all the miles for?" I discovered that many of my friends were asking the same question, so here's my response, along with my answers to a few other Frequently Asked Questions.

What are all the miles for?

"Run for the White House for Childhood Cancer Awareness 2014" is an awareness campaign started by Brian Jones, whose son Lincoln was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and has since become one of the loudest advocates for childhood cancer in the country. In January 2013, he and friends began to track the miles they ran, covering the distance from Brian's hometown to the White House. Word spread, and the event grew to include runners, walkers, cyclers, and more from every state as well as international partners.

As the event grew, teams formed to recognize different children. Team Smashing Walnuts runs for Gabriella Miller, an incredible advocate who lost her battle with DIPG - an inoperable brain cancer - at the age of 10. Brian's son Lincoln is the inspiration for members of Running For Lincoln. Many of the teams are running toward specific goals, while others are just uniting in support. Those of us who aren't on a specific team - like me - run for Team Follow Me or just for Our Kids, which means that our miles count toward the total but not to any specific child's team. The team name "follow me" comes from the phrase at the center of the campaign - follow me to the White House!

The event has also expanded beyond running. Participants can credit hours of zumba or yoga, lifting weights, stationary bikes, and more. My contributions are the miles I walk on campus or, more recently, the distances I walk while I'm traveling. I post 1.6 miles every Tuesday, which is the distance I walk to my school placement and back to the flat.

Last year, Brian and other runners gathered at the White House during Cure Fest, presented by TheTruth365. That day, they literally ran to the White House, cheered on by the hundreds of attendees. After taking a short break in the fall, Brian restarted the event for 2014. The goal this year is to run 1 million miles, and it's on track. In mid-February, the campaign reached 100,000 miles toward the goal, and it continues to grow every day.

How did you get involved?

The first time I encountered childhood cancer, I was in the second grade. Early in the year, the nurse came into our classroom to talk about our classmate Eeva Crannell. We learned that she had been diagnosed with cancer a few years earlier, and that she had missed Kindergarten because of her treatments. I later learned that Eeva's diagnosis had been Leukemia, a blood cancer, and that a bone marrow donation had saved her life. By the time I met her in second grade, however, Eeva was in remission.

All through school, Eeva was there. We shared a few mutual friends (Maddie comes to mind), but we were never close. As was the case with many of my classmates, Eeva was someone I rarely saw after I was put on the advanced track. In eighth grade, we took a class field trip to Lake Compounce, a local amusement park. When we stepped off the buses, everyone looked around for their friends, since the bus assignments had been alphabetical. I found mine, but before we left, we noticed Eeva standing alone, still looking around. The students she usually hung out with had all opted not to come on the trip, so we invited her to join us. She became part of our group for the day. A few weeks later, Eeva's mom ran into Maddie's mom and expressed how glad she was that we had invited Eeva to join us, and what a difference it had made. What had felt like a run-of-the-mill decision had turned out to be the highlight of her day.

High school was tough on Eeva. It's not easy for anyone, but for some people it's worse than for others. Eeva's past had never been a secret, but in high school, it became a weapon. At one point in the fall of our freshman year, Eeva was bullied off her school bus because she had had cancer. She stopped taking the bus after that, opting instead to be driven to and from school. I learned about this during a peer mentoring retreat in March of my sophomore year, from a fellow mentor who had sat silently on the bus as it occurred and wished he could go back and change that.

By the time I heard this story, Eeva had already relapsed and had been in treatment for a few months. She passed away on May 12, 2009, when she was just 16.

In the months that followed Eeva's death, I started to look for answers. I was frustrated and confused, and I needed answers. The facts I have learned are startling. 1 in 5 children diagnosed with cancer pass away within 5 years. After those 5 years, the death rate continues to increase, and the ones who live aren't in the clear. The treatments children receive can cause secondary cancers or heart failure. Children are plagued by hearing loss, poor vision, and depression and survivor's guilt. Some bear the physical signs of their treatments. The worst part, perhaps, is that these kids don't get the support they deserve. 4% of the government's budget for cancer research is dedicated to all 12 subtypes of childhood cancer combined. The American Cancer Society donates less than 1% of its funds to childhood cancer research. Pharmaceutical companies don't bother with childhood cancer research at all. Research is driven by private donations, mostly coming from childhood cancer foundations.

Luckily, there is an effort in the childhood cancer community to change that. When I started looking for answers, I began to follow the stories of many children on Facebook. One of these led me to TheTruth365, a documentary campaign dedicated to uniting the community, increasing awareness, and advocating for more research funding as well as less toxic treatment options for kids. Since last May, I have been coordinating the secondary social media for the campaign, which is how I learned about "Run for the White House." I also learned about the campaign I'll be working on this summer.

What's the campaign you're working on this summer?

Dancers vs. Cancer is a fundraising campaign sponsored by the Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation (the parent organization that sponsors TheTruth365) and the Brad Kaminsky Foundation.

I first got involved with the campaign this fall as they prepared for the inaugural iDance4aCURE marathons, which were held simultaneously at 7 different studios on the East Coast. Collectively, the studios raised $75,000 of which 85% went directly to researchers searching for less toxic treatments. Following the marathons, I knew I wanted to get more involved with the campaign. After all, this was my forte. I have been a dancer since I was young, and I already had experience as an organizer as well as a member of the childhood cancer community. I sent an email to Lisa Kaminsky Miller, who runs the campaign, and included a link to the dance I had choreographed in the fall, which was inspired by Talia Castellano and Erin Griffin, two more loud advocates. (For those of you who haven't seen the piece, you can view it by clicking HERE) Talia passed away in July 2013 when she was 13 after a 6-year battle with Neuroblastoma. Erin, also 13, has been battling DIPG for just over 2 years.

After she received my message, Lisa and I emailed back and forth for a few weeks, and I am proud to say that I will be volunteering full time with the campaign this summer. I've started part of what I'll be doing, which is developing a comprehensive database of dance studios in the United States. I send my progress on the database back to Lisa, who works with other volunteers to contact the studios. Aside from the database, I'll be working as an event liaison this summer for studios that decide to host fundraisers during June and July. My tasks will range from ensuring they receive shipments of shirts and materials to preparing flyers and press releases. When I'm not working on either of those aspects, I'll be drafting a plan to expand the program to college and professional dancers and the organizations with which they associate. This will mostly require adjusting the plan that has already been developed for studios to fit the needs and abilities of older dancers. My final goal is to connect the campaign in some way to the major dance publications. Ideally, the hope is to have the campaign featured during September, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.

So, what are all the miles for? 

They're for Eeva, who should have graduated high school with the rest of us. They're for Talia and Gabriella, whose incredible advocacy still ripples through the community after their deaths last year. They're for Lincoln and Erin, who are still in the thick of the fight. They're for the 36 children whose families will hear the words "your child has cancer" today. They're for the 7 children who will earn their wings today. They're for all the kids who have lost their battles, all the ones who have emerged victorious, and all the ones who are still fighting for their lives and their futures.

They're for you to ask exactly that question.