Amos House - Lindsey Allcock

Working at Amos House over the past few days has been an eye opening experience. Amos House is an organization dedicated to “helping others help themselves.” Amos House accomplishes this through many different programs and aspects of the corporation all founded in compassion.

Amos House is an organization with many different and complex parts working together to benefit the community. During our time at Amos House we all experienced the different parts of Amos House. I worked in social services, where the 90 day program helps get people sober and off of the streets and into affordable housing. I also worked in the business offices where Amos House’s two businesses, More than a Meal Catering and its own carpentry business, are run. I also worked in the development office doing various projects looking for support from various local businesses. Through each of these different experiences I gained a unique understanding of the workings of a nonprofit business and of how each different part of Amos House works to benefit the people they help.

My favorite part of working at Amos House was getting to meet a variety of people from different backgrounds. The very first day I was in social services, I attended a group meeting entitled “Addiction Education.” This was an amazing experience and a wonderful way to really see and understand the people I was working to help. This session was a discussion of their relationship to a “higher power” and accepting that there are somethings in life beyond human control. I truly enjoyed meeting people through social services or just walking around the Amos House property. I also had an opportunity to eat at the dining hall, the soup kitchen. Here I met and shared a meal with  people from all different backgrounds, with all different looks and situations, and with different personalities just like anywhere else. The relationships I have seen and developed at Amos House has been one of the best parts of my service experience.

The relationships between “guests,” people in treatment, and the workers at Amos house have been truly eye opening. These relationships show true compassion in action. The people working at Amos House, their “guests” and the volunteers all care about each other and keep “helping others help themselves.”

Overall this has been an amazing experience where I have been able to meet a variety of different people and have been able to see true compassion in the world. Compassion shared between guests at Amos House, between volunteers and between permanent staff is what makes Amos House so successful.

Frank Spaziano - Charlotte Powning

I worked at Frank Spaziano Elementary School, and it was a great experience for me. We've helped out the teachers by stapling papers, grading quizzes, and working with the kids, and although it was unexpectedly tiring, I really appreciate the relationship I've formed with the students and the school in general. As soon as I arrived there, the teachers were very warm and friendly, and the kids were extremely polite, holding doors and getting chairs for us. I worked with two classes, a bilingual fourth grade and a bilingual third grade. Some of the children barely spoke any English at all, and I had to rely on my broken Spanish if I wanted to communicate with them. The third grade teacher, Mrs. Hernandez, knew that I was studying Spanish, and intentionally had me working with the "newcomers", the children who had arrived at the school more recently and therefore did not know as much English. It was a really fun way to learn more Spanish, and it was interesting spending time in a setting in which I was the only non-native Spanish speaker, and several people did not know any English. In the fourth grade, I would mostly help students with their math work, and since the kids I spent the most time with in that class spoke English well, I didn't need to use my Spanish as often, though sometimes they would test me for fun. One thing that surprised me was how attached I grew to the children - I found myself befriending the kids of both classes, and I was sad to leave on Friday. When I was about to leave the third grade, I got hugs from all the kids, and before I left the fourth grade later that day, they brought me a card that both classes had signed. One girl made sure to sign the card last so she could write a long note to me at the bottom of the page. I would really like to be able to visit next year and see them again.

Working at the Spazziano School

When I first signed up to volunteer at the Spazziano School for nine days I had no idea what a profound effect the experience would have on me.  On my first morning I was introduced by Ms. Celio, the calmest fifth grade teacher I have ever met, to the class I would be working with: Ms. Pazmino's second grade class.  I was very surprised to learn that I would be spending the week working with a billingual class.  At first, I was very overwhelmed.  The children never sat still and were very talkative.  Some of them spoke English fairly well but others could understand only the simplist phrases.
When Ms. Pazmino gave me a group of five students and asked me to teach them a phonics lesson I didn't really know how to begin.  The kids were so easily distracted.  I learned very quickly that if I was going to teach them, I had to be creative and match their energy level.  By the end of the week I had grown accustomed to the restlessness of the students, had learned how to stay calm and cheerful when they acted up.  I even learned some Spanish!
The aspect of the project that affected me the most was how welcoming the students were.  While their personalities varied greatly, every student was so appreciative and polite.  I remember the morning that each child received a newly sharpened pencil, they were so excited by something I took for granted.  On my second day when I walked into the classroom, one girl, Yenina, stood and pulled a chair over for me so that I could sit with them.  It was small moments like these that made the project so powerful.  There were also many funny moments, such as when Rubelly asked me if I was married and had children since I was so old.
Along with correcting quizzes and teaching small group math lessons, I spent a great amount of time on English writing projects with individual students.  After two weeks of intensive brainstorming, writing, and coloring, Yenina and Kevelyn read their finished projects aloud to their class while I watched like a proud parent.  I was amazed to see how, in just two weeks time, their proficiency in English had improved so much.
Every morning I received hugs and a cheerful "Good morning Miss Stefanie".  By my final day I could name every student in the class.  They surprised me with thank you cards, presents, and an unending amount of hugs.  I couldn't help but wonder what challenges the kids would face in the coming years, and who they would each grow to become. 
I never expected that I could gain so much from a two week long project.  I plan to continue volunteering in education during my college years.  Seeing the smiles on the students' faces when they achieved a good mark on a paper I had helped them with was definitely a highlight of my senior year. 

Maxie Formal- Greenlock Therapeutic Riding Center

Over the past couple days I have been volunteering at Greenlock Therapeutic Riding Center. Both the therapists and clients I have worked with have been great.  The majority of the clients I worked with were ones with physical, developmental, and emotional differences. Mainly they have been having me lead their horses during both hippotherapy and therapeutic sessions. Therapeutic riding uses the magnetic bond  between people and horses to teach such skills as listening, balance, gross and fine motor control, as well as a variety of other skills that help people promote independence and  self-confidence.  Hippotherapy relies on the sensorimotor input  provided by the horse’s rhythmic and repetitive gaits to prompt a neuromuscular response in the rider: a  response that  mimics the  movement a child’s body would ordinarily make while walking. They also have me side walking during sessions in order to make sure the clients are secure on the horses.  My primary responsibilities were more with the horses rather then the clients however I did work with numerous clients through out my time at Greenlock. Finally over the course of the two weeks they had me school numerous of their ponies and hope for me to do so in the future. Today I had a client that I worked with who from the second she gets on to the second she gets off has a smile ear to ear. I swear I could work with her all day, whenever she does a trick or does something the therapist asks she exclaims, tada! I also worked with students from The Wolf School twice a week. At the moment, Greenlock is trying to raise money to put a new roof on their indoor so I decided to organize a bake sale to help fund raise. Currently Greenlock is "Raising the Roof" and their goal is $80,000. Less than half of the cost of services provided is covered by fees. The support of generous donors is vital toward making up the difference and ensuing that Greenlock can continue to provide the care needed by its clients. Overall I had a blast working at Greenlock and plan to do so this summer one to two times a week.

Amos House- Megan Morrow

     I have spent my senior project time at the Amos House.  What was interesting to me right off the bat was how many aspects of life Amos House touches upon.  I was under the impression that they were mainly a soup kitchen but they also have social services, a 90-day program to get people back on their feet, a mother/child reunification program, a carpentry training course and company, a culinary training course and company, a catering business, and even a cafe.  The Amos House occupies almost a whole block. 
    A small portion of my project was in the form of direct service.  I worked the lunch shift in the soup kitchen one day and this was really fun because I got to put some cooking skills to use and I got to interact with the people that benefit from the Amos House.  I also gardened one day which made the staff and patrons of Amos House very happy to see some new growth. 
     However, most of my time was spent doing indirect service.  I did many, many things ranging from printing out available jobs to display in a job binder to looking up phone numbers of Amos House donors.  I went around to local businesses asking for silent auction donations, I began the planning of shopping days for people to utilize clothing donations, and I even organized the Amos House's photo library. 
     My favorite experience at the Amos House was going to a meeting with the vice president about advocacy for the homeless in Providence.  This was a meeting of different people from many different organizations that all aim to help the homeless.  They discussed problems with the lack of affordable housing and how budget cuts could affect the homeless.  This was very interesting and it exposed me to something I had not learned much about before.
     All in all, this has been a very good experience and I am glad that I spent my time trying out all the different aspects of a non-profit organization.

Hayley Kirman - Children's Friend and Service

For my senior project, I worked at the Vincent A. Cianci Head Start Center run by Children's Friend and Service. I worked in a room with seventeen children ages three to five during the morning shift, which starts at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 12:00 noon. Each morning, the children have breakfast and brush their teeth at school. I found this interesting because it does not seem like something that is normally done at school. They then get time to look at books. Many of them asked me to read them books. By doing this, I found out that they do not have many books and the ones they do have are in bad condition. The children also get to go outside and play for somewhere between a half hour and an hour. They then go inside and have free play time, when they can choose to do art, science, or other activities for another hour until lunch.

The children eligible for this program are all in at-risk situations, so their families might have been involved in drug abuse or gangs, for example. Studies have shown that these programs actually help these children on their track to higher education, so although the kids are young, the program definitely has an effect on their lives.

I have noticed that the children enjoy us spending time with them and are excited to see us each day. I was unsure of how this was going to be, because I did not like the idea of being with almost twenty young children, but I actually ended up liking it. Some of the kids were better than others, but all of them seemed to usually have good intentions and wanted to learn.

The teachers also appreciated our help, as they are often overbooked and forced to do more work than they should. They must do home visits and three parent-teacher conferences for each child per year, along with teaching the children each day in class. One teacher described her job as teacher/social worker. I thought it was nice to help give the teachers a bit of a break because they work so hard but hardly ever get recognized for it.

Overall, this has been an eye-opening and rewarding experience.

Ana and I have been working at Wellesley College. We have been interviewing many people like: Director of Disabilities, Associate dean of students, Dean of first-year students, head athletic trainer, and much more. We have been interviewing these people about what incoming students should be aware of and what they want students to take away after completing there four years in college. All the information we have received is very important. Also we have been helping out at the health services with end of the year filing. So far we have had a great time!

Working the the Groden Center's Livingston Center Preschool (Emma Rooks)

For the past 8 days, I have had the opportunity to work at the Livingston Center, the preschool associated with the Groden Center. Here, there are "typical" kids and there are also children with autism. I have been working in the classroom that holds the 4 most severe case that the center has. The class is set up with 4 students and 3 teachers, so with me, it was like a one on one experience for the kids. The children in this room are either 5 or 6 years old, and although they are the most severe cases, their abilities greatly vary. In the classroom only 2 of the 4 children have any language at all. I've always love kids, and I can form an attachment with them pretty quickly, but there was something different about these kids. I love working with the kids, but it is less than an easy job. In the past with "typical" kids, I can understand more of what they want and find a way to entertain them more easily, but with these kids, mood swings are very common. My first day I was a bit shocked when the little boy I had been playing with and who was laughing one second was the next second pushing me and trying to bite me. I've watched a lot of kids in my lifetime, but nothing like that has happened to me. I didn't really know how to feel about it. Part of me was upset because I was bitten, but then I remembered that happy face of his and his laugh. The teachers there have really taught me a lot about the kids. They have taught me not to over analyze the children, and obviously through their work (individualized programs/goals for each student) they want to teach them, and they do love them, but there is no easy way to explain a lot of their actions. Studying special education and eventually working in a place like the Livingston Center is something that I have been thinking that I want to make a career, and this project has just affirmed that feeling.

Corinne Coia Union Street School

Everyday that I have been here has been different. Yesterday was one of my favorite days thus far. We started off the day with meetings but then we got to go teach in classrooms. We went to a 5th grade classroom and talked to them about how to talk to each other in a positive way. We also talked about rumors and did exercises to show what rumors can do and how a lot of the time the story is changed. Then we had our lunch groups with the kids and took them to an animal shelter in the town to let them play with the animals. Students get to go on the trip if they do something well in the classroom and have good behavior; its something for the kids to work towards. When we got back to school we went and taught in another classroom. We talked about how to stand up to bullying and how to deal with bullying. After school I went with an after school group called Girls on the Run. It is an after school program for girls grades 2-8 and they go for runs and train for doing marathons. It also gives them something to do after school while incorporating exercise. They are preparing for a 5K marathon being held at the end of the year. All of the girls were having a great time and it was fun to be a part of it.

Jenna McKinley- Frank Spaziano School

I've been having a great time at Frank Spaziano School. I've been working in a class of about 20 second graders, and they are all just so sweet! Most of the population of the school is Hispanic, with a small percentage of African Americans and Caucasians. It's been wonderful to get to know the kids and see how much they respond to having another person in the classroom to give them care and attention.

I've done a lot of varied tasks around the classroom. I've graded papers, corrected homework with the class, taken inventories, made lots of copies, and worked one-on-one with students who need extra help. It's interesting to see the spectrum of talents in the class. Some kids get 15% on spelling quizzes, while some get 100% with no problem. However, much of the time the problem is not the student's intelligence but their attention span or ability to focus. Often, they just have to be prompted or reminded to keep focus on the task at hand.

All of the teachers I've spoken to have been extremely grateful for our help in the classrooms, and I hope I'm having a positive effect on the students. I'm certainly enjoying my time here!

Alana Payne Children's Friend

Today (May 18) was my second day at Children's Friend which I highly enjoyed. We were at a new location in Providence which was much larger than the one we had gone to prior in Pawtucket. My class was a lot of fun and the children were very welcoming and glad that we were there. The kids were very well behaved and respectful of both each other and the adults in the classroom. It was great that we were able to spend a lot of time playing with the kids because I know that it made a difference for them in some way. Overall I really appreciate the entire experience and believe that people can learn a lot about themselves and about life in general at this site.

Alana Payne

Children's Friends Service Project Blog #1

For my senior project I chose to do Children's Friends. On the first day (May 17, 2011), I went to a Head Start school in Pawtucket, RI with five other girls from my class. I ended up working in a room with Paige Rovnak. When we first got there, the children ate breakfast, so we just talked to them. Then, it was time for them to review the day's activities. They went over the weather, the date, and the day's special helpers. After, they got to play in specific areas of the room. There was a place to play in the sandbox, a place to practice their writing, a place to do science related activities, a place to show their creativity, and a place to play with toys. While they were doing their activities, Paige and I were talking and playing with them. The teachers in the room didn't need us to do too much, besides interact with the kids however. After they were done going around to the different stations, they wanted to freestyle dance as well as do the limbo. When it was all done, they had lunch. They had meatloaf, bread, salad, and mandarin oranges. After lunch, many of the kids went home, because their session was from 8-12. Some, however, stayed and took a nap, before the next session came. Even though it felt like I wasn't being a big help to the three teachers in the room, it was still a rewarding experience. It was great to see how open the kids were and willing to talk to random strangers. There even was a boy there who is usually shy, but today he didn't show any of his shyness-- the teachers were surprised. I never realized how important going to the school was for the children, because they received some of their meals, they had a chance to brush their teeth (after lunch), as well as spending time with people their own age. It was an experience that was worth it.

Catherine Brescia, Lincoln School Class '11

Lincoln Senior Project

Dear Seniors,
Welcome to your Senior Project blog!  This blog is an "open classroom" that will allow you to stay in touch, to learn from one another, and to be your own teachers.

As long as you have requested permission from the contact person on site, please feel free to upload pictures or videos from your project.  Each of you should blog at least once, but you may do so at any time during your project, or prior to your presentations at Lincoln on June 3rd.

The Senior Project experience is yours to create and to share with one another!  I hope it will be a meaningful time for each of you individually, and for you all as a class.

Mrs. Bodell