Camp Raeleigh- The Results!

Last month, I posted a flyer about my program called Camp Raeleigh. As scheduled, it ran for 3 days, from the 23rd of June to the 25th. Overall, it was a huge success! The teachers, volunteers and students enjoyed it alike. On the last day, I was approached by the assistant principal who was so impressed she wants the camp to return next year. I am already so pumped for the second annual Camp Raeleigh, especially with my new found knowledge on what works and what doesn't.

This year, each day was themed with different activities to match. The first day was beach themed, so all volunteers and campers wore leis and made jelly fish during arts and crafts! We also had popcorn for a midday snack.

The second day was sports themed so I requested that my volunteers wear their favorite sports gear, and for arts and crafts, we decorated paper plates to make colorful baseballs, basketball and soccer balls!

This day's snack was especially fun; we gave the campers Oreos, frosting, and various candy toppings and let them decorate the cookies with whatever they want! It was so good!

On the last day, it was Camp Raeleigh t-shirt day. We delivered the shirts to all of the staff members. It was so heart warming to see all the everyone wearing them together. Some of the teachers actually tie-dyed theirs! 

Also, on the last day, we played a very long game of kickball. While we played kickball everyday of the camp, this day was especially intense since it was held outside with the older campers. 

We also hired a face painter to come for some of the campers! She was so nice and the kids really loved it! One camper brought up his favorite toy plane and asked if she could replicate it--of course she could! Another student asked for a heart with his sister's names on the top and bottom. The face painter happily obliged! You can find her information here.  Even the volunteers got a little artsy!

On the last day, Quatrice Nobles was able to attend too; she is the woman pictured on the shirt. Raeleigh, the girl the camp is named after, is Quatrice's little sister. Raeleigh recently passed away from hydrocephalus and the name of the camp is in memory of her.

Finally, on the last day, we had a wonderful lunch for both the volunteers and all of Ackerman's staff. It was delicious! My volunteers enjoyed the experience and many said they would return next year. We will have a planning meeting this summer so there can be more events hosted during the year! I would like to thank all my sponsors, my supporters and the teachers for helping me provide a memorable camp.

Camp Riley!

I am so happy to be hosting a summer camp at Ackerman Elementary School this summer! I've dreamed about having this camp for over a year now, and everything seems to be coming together perfectly. I have lined up a total of four sponsors so far, and the amount of volunteers is steadily growing! Below is the flyer for the program. I can't wait!

Moulage Experiences

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I occasionally work as a Moulage actor! I have been participating for almost a year now, and I absolutely love it! Hearing doctors describe how they would assist a patient in dire need has taught me so much. After listening to the physicians work the scenario, I am able to ask questions about different medical terminology. The facilitators are also really friendly, and I've even gotten contact information after a session. My mentor, Jennifer Irving, provided me with this opportunity and would like me to share it. If you are interested in participating, please email me at ashleemarnae@gmail.com.  You can checkout my other article here to learn more about what Mrs. Irving does. Below are a few pictures from Moulage!

The key to succsess: Grit

Today, my mom sent me an amazing article about the importance of innate intelligence to succeed in both school and life. Surprisingly, researchers have found that one's natural intelligence isn't the most important attribute at all. Studies have shown that students with determination and perserverance rather than a high IQ tend to get better grades in their classes. Personality matters more! There's even a Ted Talk about the importance of grit!

Read about it here: https://agenda.weforum.org/2014/12/what-do-successful-students-have-in-common/

An Overdue Update

I apologize for this overdue update of Grades and Grit! This year has been crazy hectic and I will be sure to keep the blog updated from this point on--consider it my New Year's resolution! The next few posts will be about all of my experiences this past year. This summer I volunteered for Variety Club's Adventure camp, shadowed in the emergency room of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and frequently participated in moulage. Since the school year has begun, I have attended Mini-Medical School at Washington University and I even got a job! For the next couple weeks I will be posting about each activity/event that has taken place in the past few months.

This post will be about my time volunteering for Variety Club's Adventure Camp. Adventure Camp is a camp for kids with intellectual and physical disabilities. I worked as a counselor and partnered with a camper for 2 weeks. Attending this camp was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I made a real connection with my camper that I will never forget. I actually wrote about the experience and I feel this essay best conveys my time at Adventure Camp. (Sorry if the wording sounds a bit peculiar-I was assigned to use specific vocabulary words!)

            I never expected that the in the first summer where I did not travel would be the most prodigious and eye-opening summer of my life. This past summer in 2014, my mother told me that I have too much work to do this summer and would have to sacrifice vacation for a period of service and preparations for college. Suddenly, I had an epiphany; if I was going to be stuck in St. Louis all summer, I might as well find something entertaining as well as helpful. I then set out to find volunteer work to keep me occupied.

Within the next week, I found Variety, the Children’s Charity, a charity which focuses on the needs of children with immutable mental and physical disabilities. On their front page was an application for their summer Adventure Camp that I promptly filled out and submitted. Next thing I knew, I was at Richmond Height’s recreational center for training. After filling out countless forms, I was ready to go!

The first day of camp was extremely awkward; I was the new girl and it felt like all eyes were on me, from the campers and the counselors. However, my reluctance began to relent as soon as I met my camper, Erica*. She welcomed me with open arms like she had known me forever. Erica has a neurodevelopmental disorder called Williams Syndrome and one symptom is an unusually cheerful demeanor and ease with strangers. Erica is far from brash; she is easy to get along with and, although very indecisive, will go along with anything. Unfortunately, due to her constant complaisance, she became a target of one of the other campers. He would always hector her. He knew she was claustrophobic so he would always try to push her into small places or block her from where she wanted to go. She would be upset for only a moment, though, and soon she’d be back with her merry disposition.

There was never a boring day with Erica. One moment we were traveling up precipitous hills to play tennis, the next we were recumbent, lying down reading a Curious George book. However, some things never changed. At least 3 or 4 times and hour, she would ask people to smell her hair or her hands. Everyone knew to always respond with either ‘coconut’ or ‘rosemary.’ I didn’t realize until the end of the first day that the smell she was obsessed with was actually her hair spray! She loved that spray so much, she would put it on every day in the morning and after she was done swimming. Among other things she loved was getting her hand scratched. If she was ever hesitant to do something, all you would have to do was offer to scratch her hand and she was fully on-board! 

Erica is one of the sweetest girls I have ever met. Her kindness and big heart truly touched me in ways indescribable. Honestly, all the campers and counselors made me feel this way. It was such a loving community! I can't wait to go again. 

*Name has been changed. 

Well, that's my essay! Speaking of Adventure Camp, there is a Winter Camp coming up in about a week and I just signed up to be a counselor again! I am so pumped to be reunited with the campers' familiar faces. 

You can find out more about the Variety Club here: https://www.varietystl.org/. I recommended to all students in Saint Louis! 

Get to Know Candice Love!

As I have mention in previous posts, a young woman named Candice Love has come to nearly every meeting, teaching the students about Essay Etiquette and prepping them for their future college essays. After last weeks meeting, I briefly interviewed Candice concerning her interests, hobbies and life goals.

Candice is 19 years old and entering her sophomore year at Washington University in St. Louis. She attended a boarding school, Phillips Exeter Academy, from 9th-12th grade. Although she attended high school in New Hampshire, she was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended elementary school in North County. During her senior year, she worked as an intern for the United States Senate in Washington D. C.

Candice is currently majoring in English and hopes to become a teacher in an urban setting. She also has a strong interest in politics and is a proud libertarian; she is a writer for Washington University's political magazine. Fun fact: Candice is a fanatic Cardinals fan!

Ms. Love has been an essential member of this program and words cannot express how grateful we are to have her!

Week 4 of Summer Seminar!

July 16th, we had our fourth meeting. Summer Seminar is slowly becoming more rigorous each week! Last meeting, I asked the students to complete a small worksheet about the extracurricular activities they participated in during the 9th and 10th grade. This week, I presented a small power-point pertaining to college resumes. Also, Candice Love came back to discuss, what she called, 'Essay Etiquette.' Participants learned about basic essay format and specific Microsoft Word configurations.

Previously, on July 2nd, Candice had the students write a half-page essay to use as a diagnostic exam. During her free time, she read and corrected these writings. She planned to come back this week with a new prompt based off of their original papers, however, there were too many technical problems at North Tech. We switched rooms 3 times, and due to construction, the network connection for all of the computers was dysfunctional. I had also planned to help them utilize their worksheets to build their college resumes. Unfortunately, this also required computers and was not able to be completed. This weeks meeting, while productive, was very difficult and we were not able to accomplish all of our goals. Next week, we will have a guest speaker and catch up with writing!

Also, Candice Love will be highlighted this weekend! She has been so helpful with the program and I look forward to more of her lessons!