The Weekly Ranum: Edition #14

Hello!

Our motto this past week was Attitude of Gratitude. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I knew giving thanks and being grateful was much needed and an excellent addition to the YESS curriculum.

Mentoring Monday and Tutoring Tuesday went well. We're still talking about leaders on Monday and students were focused on catching up on missing work on Tuesday.

On Wednesday we created huge lists of everything that we are thankful for. Ranging from friends and family, all the way to the roof over our heads and being able to have possessions. On Thursday we used this list to create giant THANKSgiving Turkey's. Students picked the top 3 things they were most thankful for and those were the feathers. Inside the turkey, students explained WHY they were thankful for these things in their lives. These students did an excellent job of self-reflection and being grateful for the things they have.

On Friday we finished up the Turkey's and watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving to cap off a great week of Attitude of Gratitude!

Have a great Thanksgiving break and enjoy this time with family and friends!

The Weekly Ranum: Edition #13

Hello!

I first want to thank all of the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect our rights and freedoms. Thank you Veteran's and current military personnel!

On Mentor Monday we started researching potential leaders in history that you don't really hear too much about. Mentors are gathering information on these leaders and we're going to dive in and see the impact these people had on history.

Tutoring Tuesday went well. The mentees and mentors did an excellent job of staying on task and catching up in other classes.

On Wednesday the 8th grade mentors took their PSAT's at Westminster High School. It was a long exam but I heard awesome reports about Ranum students especially. I let the 6th graders and 7th grade mentors get a head start on t-shirt designs. They were super excited and came up with some great designs.

On Thursday we had everyone working on t-shirt designs. This may be the most creative year yet!

On Friday I had all students work on Veteran's Day cards. Giving thanks to those who defend this country is a small way we can give back and make them feel appreciated. One of my mentors' grandfather is a part of a VFW so I gave her a lot of the cards to deliver to them.

Overall, another great week and this is the last week before Turkey break! Thanks for reading!

The Weekly Ranum: Edition #12

Hello! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Here's an update from Ranum:

Mentoring Monday was more laid back this past week. We discussed how mentees reacted to the Trust Bridge and if we have seen any changes in their behavior and actions. Mentors saw some small improvements but realize this will take time.

Tutoring Tuesday was a little thrown off because of an anti-bullying assembly. It sounded like a great assembly, but I had to stay back with my classes because they were called out by grade.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday was all about fear and how it effects us all differently. We created lists of our deepest fears, read articles on how to deal with fear and even watched a short (20 min) and spooky film that definitely gave everyone at least a little scare. We had many great discussions of how fear can be good or bad depending on the situation.

Overall it was another great week! Thanks for reading!

The Weekly Ranum: Edition #11

Hello and welcome back to the Weekly Ranum!

On mentor Monday I had the mentors create a TRUST acronym for them and their mentees. They were also in charge of rating on a scale of 1-10 how much they trust their mentee and how much they believe their mentee trusts them. They had to explain why and give examples of why they chose their respective rating number.

Tutoring Tuesday focused on getting students caught up in all their classes. We just had conferences so students were pretty aware of what they were missing and what they needed to work on.

On Wednesday, students finished up their trust bridges. It was fun to see all their creative projects and their hard work paying off. They were all very proud of their bridges.

Thursday, we talked about the difference between a ritual and a routine. Most students were aware of their routines but rituals was harder to conceptualize and apply to their current lives. They enjoyed putting a why to their routines and how it made them feel. Some students were honest about zoning out being on their phones or watching TV and put in some action steps towards not wasting so much time doing those activities.

No Fun Friday was Halloween Charades. Some funny examples were Frankenstein mowing the lawn, a witch getting her hair done and a zombie going through a McDonald's drive thru. Students loved it and everyone ended up participating.  

The Weekly Ranum: Edition #10

Wow, 10 weeks into the school year, crazy how fast time flies!

This past week was a short week (No class Friday) but also long time wise because of parent teacher conferences. It was so great meeting so many parents and talking about how great their kids are and some specific ways we can work together to give their child the best education possible.

Mentor Monday was great. We went through We vs You language to try and emphasize how the mentors need to show the mentee they are on their side and in it together with them. After we went through a few scenarios of how to put that type of language into practice when talking about different topics with their mentees.

Tutoring Tuesday was great, students were really motivated to catch up in other classes. Mostly because they knew their parents would find out during conferences what work they were missing.

On Wednesday and Thursday we worked on Trust Bridges. The whole idea is that we want our mentoring relationships to have a great foundation and support throughout, just like a bridge, so that the relationship can last and withstand the good and the hard times. The students really got into it and created some great bridges!

Thanks for reading and tune in next week!

The Weekly Ranum: Edition #9

Hello and welcome back to the Weekly Ranum!

This past week flew by! Students did great work all week and were really engaged.

On Tutoring Tuesday many students caught up in a lot of their classes. Conferences are this week so that may be part of the reason why.

Wednesday we completed the lesson called Today I choose...This lesson was all about the attitude and actions you want to follow that given day. For example you could say, today I choose to be positive or today I choose to help someone. Obviously we want the students to say something positive and overall I believe the students understood and like the idea of it.

On Thursday we learned about Social Emotional Learning and what it is all about. I told them that is basically the back bone of the YESS program but also for being a good person throughout life. We did a gallery walk where students learned about the 5 components of SEL; Self Awareness, Self Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills and Responsible Decision Making.

For No Fun Friday we played Taboo/Fish Bowl. There were a bunch of random words on paper that was in a box that was passed around in a circle. When it was your turn you had to describe your word to the group and if they got it, you got a point. Each person had a minute to try and get as many points as possible. They loved it!

Another great week in the books!

The Weekly Ranum: Edition #8

Hello and welcome back!

We, the mentors and myself, kicked off the week by creating SMART goals for the mentees and our relationship for the school year. Most mentors really want to grow closer with their mentees and be their go to person.

Tutoring Tuesday went really well this week with most students catching up on some missing assignments and mentors had a chance to see their mentees assignment reports for other classes.

On Wednesday we partnered up and worked on "My Personal Goals". This worksheet had the students dive in a little deeper to see what their world and their values are like and see how those factors lead us towards certain goals.

Thursday we created our own social "networks" to see who are the groups of people we come into contact with every day and how our networks will continue to grow and we need to be able to use them to our advantage when searching for jobs, help or even some advice.

I was out of town on Friday but the substitute played some fun team building games and the report I got back was very positive!

Have a great week!