Nellie fields questions as she settles into her internship

Meika, Theresa, Alex, Nellie, Maria, Brandi, Kristen, Nicole, Sam

I can’t believe that our first week at our internship is done & gone! Although the days are long, and we wake up even more exhausted than when we went to bed, the days have flown by. I’m having a great time working with the 5^th graders, they have so much enthusiasm and are still in that malleable stage where they are completely open to new concepts and quick learners. I initially came to Christel House to work with the art teacher, and it doesn’t look like that will pan out, but I’ve really found my niche with the 5^th grade, today their math teacher Ms. Bonni made sure that I knew that any time the inspiration to teach something, or try something new, just let her know and she’ll help me make it happen!

After three days, I still don’t quite understand Christel House’s rhythm. What I’m used to is a daily schedule almost out of 1984, periods that end at times like 11:23, and TVs all over the school that read out how many minutes have passed and are left in the period*, at Christel House their beat is syncopated and frankly rather unpredictable. They’ve had Life Skills (otherwise known as track practice) every morning on the big field, which already put them a few periods behind, and then after that the schedule was changed via email three times. I’m fine with being spontaneous, especially the first few weeks, so the constantly shifting schedule doesn’t bother me so much as it confuses me. The kids are great though with answering all of my questions, and will repeat the schedule for the revised after-lunch classes as many times as it takes me to comprehend and remember it. The students are bursting with questions, which I have conveniently put into a pie-chart.

*Don’t believe me? https://tv.stapleshigh.net/tv.php?location=shs