My final project of the year -- Reflection! ♪♫

Hey everyone! Well I'm here to announce that I have done my piano tutoring session. This was a project I did on my own.

At first, I envisioned this project to give me the chance to help students improve on their piano. I saw it as a fun project because piano is my passion and I one day will want to teach piano lessons as well. I would work with the students on whatever they wanted or needed help on such as a piece or theory. They would come to my house where I would be able to teach them and have resources such as books if they needed to use them.
Looking back now, the piano session was a bit more complicated than I had thought in the first place. What was really hard was that a lot of things I had expected the students to know was not actually engraved in their minds. They were still struggling with the very very basics such as notes and note values. Instead of being able to look at the note and say its a C, they had to count lines and spaces to figure out what it was. (i don't blame the beginners though. they are still learning) It was also hard because of the different levels the students were at. I started asking them questions and testing them to see where they were at and I was shocked literally. Either their teacher didn't really give them a good foundation on the basics or they just weren't getting it.
Although I have completed this stretch of my project, it is not over yet. I will continue giving the kids lessons every other week to keep up with them and help strengthen their weaknesses. I feel that it will be a good opportunity to really get those basics nailed into their little brains. that will help a lot when their music gets more complicated and they advance.

As a leader, there are many areas where I need improvements on. I believe there is always room of course.  I think a major obstacle as a leader, especially in this project, is patience and flexibility.



 This is cute little Ryan. He is a beginner in piano.

 This is Dylan. He is trying to learn a new song called Vivace.

 This is Kyle. He still has to learn his note and rest values before trying to learn his new song -- the theme song of the Peanuts.

Help 3 ish..... Prom Committee yeah!

This 3rd help isn't super official (since we only needed two helper projects) but I did help Olivia with her Prom Committee project. She ran some ideas by me and then I made posters to promote Prom Committee this last week. I feel Prom Committee is a great way to get the Juniros involved in planning out one of their biggest events and high school memories! And since Junior year is super duper stressful, this will hopefully lift some stress off the class captains.

Help 2: Elective Survey

I helped Michael and Jonathan A. on their project of taking surveys of the electives in school. The survey included ratings on a) how much the student learns b) how challenging the class is c) how much fun it is d) its overall rating. I helped them pass out, collect, and tally up the results of the surveys. It was a lot of fun to see what the students had to say about their elective. I feel that the survey was a good idea to have because it gave me and will give other students a better insight on what being in the elective is like and therefore help the student choose which elective will best fit them.

(there were no defined milestones for this project. Milestones of giving out and tallying the surveys were met during the week of 6/13 to 6/17)



Milestones reached

Both the 6/5/11 and 6/12/11 milestones have been reached.

I was successful at having my lessons during the two weeks.
I was able to help out five kids with their music. This included teaching them basics and learning new music and trying to better their current pieces.

I was only able to fit a lesson for each person, but steps are being taken so i could provide more help in coming weeks throughout the summer.

Milestone #1

Completed by 5/27/11

I was able to talk with people and ask them if they would want me to help their kid.

I was successful at meeting this milestone. I got in contact with people I knew at my old school who have children that play piano. So far, I do have four kids I am able to tutor. Times have been set up for me to help them. So I am good to go.

Next steps are to have the lessons. Lessons will be approximately 45 minutes.

What happened at Masters?

The team did a great job! Unfortunately, they did not place, but nonetheless, it was fun and a great experience for all of them!
Congratulations to Rachel P. for placing 2nd individual in the 5th grade Dvision II! Great accomplishment!

New Project!! ♪♫♪

Piano Tutoring

Hello all. I am introducing my second lead project!

Project time table: 5/22/11 - 6/12/11

Milestone dates: 5/27/11, 6/5/11, 6/12/11

Advisor: Giao T.

______________________________________________________

*Describe what I see as the end result of my project. What will it look/feel like? How does my project align with our mission ond goals as a class?

What  I would like to do in this project is to help kids in my community improve in their piano skills by giving them a piano help session. This could mean helping them on their theory and pieces for their recital, performances, or talent shows.  I would especially like to offer this to those I know who only could provide lessons for their kids on a minimal basis due to financial reasons. To me, it is my chance to use my talent to give back and help others. It is something I enjoy and have a passion for.

I know as a kid, while going through piano lessons, I went through a hard time where I needed extra help at home with practicing my pieces. I was fortunate to have a close uncle who helped me out and helped me improve tremendously. Now I want other kids to have the opportunity too.

*What are the obstacles and or challenges that you are anticcipatng when working on your project?
♪ I need to find an easy way for the student to understand what I'm trying to bring out in their piece
♪ sometimes getting the student to focus could be a challenge (as seen in my previous project)
♪ I need to explain my thinking on how they could improve their piece in a clear manner
♪ getting the student to play it with their feelings (dynamics, technique, phrasing, etc..)

*What are the milestones I am going to meet?
by 5/27/11 - I would like to ask various people if they would like me to help out and schedule the lessons by then.

by 6/5/11 -  I would like to have part of the lessons done by this time.

by 6/12/11 - Finish all the lessons

*How will I ensure that I reach my project milestones on the dates listed above? How do I think I will overcome these foreseen obstacle?

I will ensure I reach my project milestones by not procrastinating and keeping a planner/schedule so I could keep track of everything. I would also start as early as I can and not wait until the last minute to fulfill my milestones.
I think I will overcome the foreseen obstacles by just realizing ahead what is going to stand a challenge. since I do not know what the student will be like, not much is in my control right now. I could gather any books or resources I might need to refer to now. Once I have scheduled a student, perhaps I could ask them their musical background so I know what I may want to teach them or help them with.
*What materials am I going to need to be successful in my project?
Well, I just need a piano. And I have taken piano for about 12 years now. I may need some theory books to help me when a student needs to understand theory.
*How many people will need to help me in my project?
I will be able to do this myself with the supervision of my advisor.

*What is my plan to hold myself accountable for the success of the project?
My plan is to stay on top of everything. I am going to start finding people and planning out lessons as soon as I can. Futhermore, I need to make sure beforehand that all of the materials I need are with me so that I am prepared as well. After each lesson, I would also blog about it so I could be updated.

Update on the Math Club @ state

I just wanted to update everyone on the math club! Well they are over in Moses Lake tonight getting ready for the big day tomorrow! Four students, chosen by the highest test scores, were able to represent the St. Bernadette 5th Grade Math Club at the Masters state competition. They are Rachel P., Dylan H., Nathan H., and Jack H. Congratulations to these kids for their work and dedication! I will let you know how they do!

Goodbye Math Club Tutoring!

Hey everyone! Well I'm here to announce that I am finished for the year with math club tutoring sessions. I will miss them and miss seeing the kids but it was a great experience for me. This was a project I did on my own.

At first, I envisioned this project to give me the chance to help math club students out so they could improve and have to time to do their homework and ask questions. I noticed that at the beginning of the year, many kids did not turn in their homework due to circumstances such as "I didn't have time" or "It was too hard and I didn't know what to do". Some students were not able to receive help from their parents either. I wanted to change all of this. I wanted to get the kids excited, help them improve so they would enjoy being there. It was my chance to give back to the school where so many other patient teachers have helped me out through my early years of school. In terms of what was going to happen in the session itself, I wanted it to be homework time, ask questions time, challenge time, and time to have fun. I also wanted to have conferences with each student to see how far they are in their math material.

Looking back now, the session was a bigger challenge than I thought. One hour was not enough for me to fit in everything I wanted to do with the kids. I needed more time...  The kids were really squirmish since it was Friday afternoon. It was also really hard to keep them under control. I thought 5th graders would be different and they would pay attention but I really went wrong there. I wasn't able to conference with the students like I had originally planned, which was a big disappointment. Furthermore, the help these students needed was way more than just a few minutes with me on a certain problem they needed help on. What they really needed was a whole session for individual help, but I couldn't provide that for them. A lot more kids also showed up to the session than I had thought. it really shows how dedicated they were to learning math and willing to get help which really made my day.

Although I did have a challenge for myself, there was a lot of great moments that I will treasure. I felt  the kids did improve in learning certain concepts and trying to figure out challenge problems. During many of the sessions, I was able to go over previous tests and visit the problems that posed a challenged to the kids. I walked them through step by step and got them involved as well. I didn't just stand up there and say "here this is how you do it" and showed them. Instead, I made them think it out and try to figure it out on their own as I guided them through the problem. As Mr. Kumakura says it, don't spoon feed the kids! let them think cause that is how they truly learn! Thank you Mr. K!

I love those moments where the students would be like "Ohhhhhh! I get it now! oops I thought it was this way instead" or when their faces light up and a light bulb just switched on in the heads. Those moments, priceless. It gave me a good feeling inside knowing that I am able to help these students one step at a time.

As a leader, I still have a lot to work on. I need to really know how to work with others to grasp their attention. I need to inspire and get other excited about what I'm doing. Most of all, I think I need to learn patience. Patience is truly important. I know as a leader, I want everything to be done. But reality is, everything takes time and I have to be more patient with those I work with.

All in all, one word I would describe learning experience as "wow". This project has opened my eyes to so many new dimensions of leadership that I hadn't really thought of before. I didn't know kids could be so hard to handle! Why don't teachers get paid more?! Because let me tell all of you, being a teacher is NOT easy!! It is very tiring and hectic. I truly have more appreciation for my teachers now. Through this project I was able to get a glimpse of what being a teacher is like. Except my experience is way way way less than what a real teacher has to go through! Imagine dealing with kindergarteners, 5th graders, or even worse... teenagers! Not for just an hour, for a whole day! Thank you Mrs. Fitz for being patient with us students!

Help #1: Campus-Clean Up Reflection

On Friday, May 6th, I helped out with Rangsey's Campus Clean up. We all were assigned a room to clean. There were I believe about five people there. I got to clean Mr. Hoehne's room and a little bit of Dr. Katims's room :D . We cleaned desktop, computer areas, swept the floor, and wiped the boards. I had a great time even though it was cleaning :P

Just looking at the tabletops I was like "what happened here?!". I could see that many of the tables were written on with pencil and pen. Sometimes scrubbing the table didn't help :/
Cleaning the rooms, it felt good inside knowing that i'm helping the teachers and students. It's the happy feeling when you get to help others in some small way. I know I always like it when the classrooms I go to are clean and neat.

Perhaps I should consider applying this cleaning method to my own room D:

I encourage all of you who are viewing my blog to do a small act of kindness or service this week! Help a teacher or a parent out by offering to run an errand or washing the dishes after dinner. I guarantee it will not only make the person you helped out happy but you as well.

Campus Clean Up, Milestone reached

Today I was able to go around to most of the clubs with Rangsey and gather fellow students who were interested in helping out. This milestone was reached and we were able to speak to the majority of the clubs. Clubs with AP students were not spoken to because of AP testing on the week of the clean up. We were able to get an average of a couple recruits from each club. Not very many people were interested in attending though. :( or they had other plans that afternoon.

The project is still on though! There are enough people to help out with the contribution of Interact Club and several students from Leadership.

Thanks to all those who signed up!

Help #1 Campus Clean Up: Milestones

I am helping Rangsey T. with her lead project Campus Clean up. I will be helping her talk to  people and classes about the campus clean up. The project will allow students to earn 1 hour of community service along with helping different teachers straighten up their rooms.

Thursday, 4/28/11 : Go around to different clubs and inform people and get down their contact info if interested

4/28/11 - 5/5/11: sometime in this time frame, reminder emails will be sent out to those who signed up (this will be done by Rangsey)

Friday, 5/6/11: Day of the clean up. I will be helping Rangsey assign students to various rooms and help clean as well.

Goals for Math Club Tutoring

The tutor sessions have gotten better since they started. The kids are being more attentive now but I would still like them to improve on paying attention. With the last competition success, there is a lot to be done!

Goals for myself as the tutor:
* learn to be patient: Being patient is hard especially when it is the end of Friday and everyone just wants to go home.
* Be productive and effective: I am only able to work with the kids for an hour but I want to be able to help them as much as possible. This must involve everyone's cooperation though.
* grow better as a tutor: This is a pretty broad goal. To break it down more here are some things I want to do:
-  be able to explain problems better so the kids are able to grasp the material and understand more easily
- get everyone involved. I'm trying to get everyone involved in trying to help solve problems to make sure everyone is on the same page.
- be able to give more one on one time. With so many kids in the session, finding time to help everyone with a one-on-one conference is harder than i thought.

These goals are not exactly easy to reach within a day. Over time, I believe I will be closer to achieving these goals once I try different strategies to see which works best in teaching a class like this.

Goals for the Math Club:

* Grasp the material better
*PAY MORE ATTENTION: this definitely is a big one. It is friday and I know everyone can't wait to get to the weekend. But hold on! If youre at the tutor session, then you need to listen up because you need help.
* Learn to work with each other
* be more experienced with math competition problems
* put in the effort to practice, practice, practice. It will help!

Math Competition! Success!!!

Hello everyone,

I'm here to update you on our recent math competition this past Friday on the 18th. It was really fun! It was the Math is Cool competition at Mt. Rainier HS. I am happy to report that the team is going to state!!!! The team received 3rd place in the II division, which guarantees them a spot in the Masters (which is state) to be held at Moses Lake. Rachel P. also received 4th top individual in the II division.

Congratulations to everyone for their hard work!

2nd Semester Updates

Hey everyone! Yes I'm back for the 2nd semester. Just to remind all, I am continuing my Friday Math tutoring sessions for 5th grade math club. This is one of my lead projects for this new semester.

Last friday, the 11th of February, I tutored the math club and there were two new students who would like to join math club! It was a laid back session and I gave the students the "Peanut Problem" to work on. I still have to work on my keep-the-kids-calm skill though. They can be very very-- did I mention very?-- squirmy group of kids. It is quite hard to keep them all engaged and calm. They aren't very good at sitting still and following directions. But we have all been there before.

Let's Get Together Freshman/Sophomores (Help#3)

For the third project I helped with, I helped Jennifer Hong with her Freshmen/Sophomore get-together. I made posters and hung them around the school. I also bought soda for the party. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the get together.

I heard they all had a great time watching the movie and enjoying the food. I feel that it is great trying to bring the different classes together to form a closer AHS community.

Please I'm trying to teach you math

Well I am here to keep you updated on my tutoring sessions with the 5th grade math club.
I have been able to work with the kids and I have to tell you, it is quite the work out.
It is the end of Friday so the kids are really squirmish at this time.
What I have been able to accomplish this far is go over quizzes and tests, review, challenge, and answer questions. I believe the children are benefitting because they are begginning to understand the math material.
It is frustrating at times because the students usually talk a lot and do not really give their full attention to me when im trying to help them.

Shhhhh... this is a library

I completed the second project that I need to help out with. I went to the Renton Library and helped out there. Tyler C. was the leader of the project. The job my team and I were given were to help people use the new self check in and self check out systems.
Many of you probably know how to use the self check out system but the system changed a bit.... as in it became more complicated. As for the check in system, it was located in the back corner of the library which was somewhat inconvenient for some of the patrons.
I was able to help out a number of people who were unfamiliar with the systems. I had the opportunity to work with people who ranged from frustrated and confused to being a regular user.
From this project I found it a great way to work on my people skills. Sometimes it is not easy to help and talk to everyday people you don't know. Most of those I was able to help appreciated the assistance. The experience also allowed me to help out the community. It was an overall good experience and the librarian invited us back if we ever wanted to do it again :)