Journal Entries
September 1, 2016
I started to finalize my idea, and I talked to Mrs. Boutilier about my idea and she gave me the idea of doing a show at the end of the year, and to only do classes on Wednesdays. She also gave me the idea of doing more than just ballet and tap, so now I am doing ballet, tap, jazz, and modern.
September 2, 2016
I talked to Mrs. Weimer after school about using her room on Wednesdays. She said that I can use her room and that she will be my supervisor.
September 6, 2016
The class had to share what progress we made with contacting people. I shared with the class that I can use Mrs. Weimers room. I also shared that I talked to Mrs. Boutilier and she helped finalize my ideas. I texted my mentor Ms. Jen, but she never responded.
September 8, 2016
When I got home I created my flyers. I also started to look at costumes. I decided that I will look for one inexpensive costume for the show, and that I am going to sell tickets for the show to pay for the costumes.
September 9, 2016
Everyone in the class had to share where and when we will do it, our mentor, supervisor, how we will step out of our comfort zone, and how we are helping our community. I shared that I will be doing my classes after school with the middle schoolers here until 4 pm in Mrs. Weimers room. I shared that I asked my mentor, but she never responded. I will step out of my comfort zone with this project because I have never taught my own
September 13, 2016
I talked to Mrs. Boutilier about my flyers and she said that she would look at them. She told me that I should show Mrs. Bertero the flyers and to talk to her about when I can speak to the middle schoolers during Tiger Time about my club.
September 14, 2016
I emailed Mrs. Bertero my flyers and she said that she loved my idea, and that she was excited for the club to start.
September 15, 2016
I went to Mrs. Bertero's office and talked to her about the club. She gave me a list of classes that I can go to tomorrow during Tiger Time to hand out flyers and explain to them what we will be doing every Wednesday. She told me that we can have a meeting in the band room with all of the middle schoolers that are interested in my club, so that I can explain my idea more in depth, see if anyone has experience, hand out permission slips and blue forms.
September 16, 2016
I went into middle school class rooms and told them who I am and about my dance club and that our first meeting is this coming Wednesday in the music room during Tiger Time. Almost twenty kids took my flyers and most of them seemed really excited about it, which made me even more excited to start and to teach them. I was surprised that there were more boys interested in it than girls. I told some of them that if they play football, that dance is a good cross training because it really teaches you balance and coordination. That made even more boys interested. I am now really excited to start yet and also happy that a lot of them were brave enough to say they were interested even if they were the only one in the whole class that was interested. This weekend I have to make my permission slips and on Monday and Tuesday I have to get blue forms.
September 17, 2016
One of the boys that was interested in my club emailed me on Saturday morning. His name is Trevor. He asked me if he could do more than one style, if we were doing any competitions, and if I would be teaching them step by step. I told him that everyone will be doing all four styles, because they relate to each other. I also told him that we sadly will not be doing any competitions. I told Trevor not to worry about being able to pick up the steps, because I will be teaching them slowly.
September 21, 2016
I had my first meeting in the middle school wing. Mrs. Bertero forgot about having the meeting in the band room, so we had it in the middle school lobby. At first there were three girls that showed up and they said that they were definitely joining the club. The only question that one of them had was what time it ended because she has soccer games at 5 pm. Then after they left around ten people came. Half of them were boys so that made me excited because I haven never taught boys before. Then I told them all of the information about the club and they were all pretty excited to start.
September 22, 2016
I went to see Mrs. Bertero to see what classes we missed yesterday. She said that I didn't talk to the middle school running club. So I went down to the locker room area at the end of the block. I told them about my club and how we're doing a show at the end of the year, and none of them were interested in it.
September 26, 2016
Today I choreographed another thirty seconds on their modern dance. It is kind of hard for me to choreograph for kids that young, that don´t know how to dance because I have never done that before. Normally when I choreography a dance it is for myself so I know what I can do and what looks good for me. But because I have never seen them dance and I know that they don't know how to dance, it is hard for me to make an easier dance. I am happy that I am doing this project because now I have something to look forward to every Wednesday. I also made a playlist for Wednesday that we can stretch to because it is more fun to stretch when there is fun music to stretch to. I also wrote down the lesson plan for the first day and I started to write down their modern dance so I don't forget it.
September 27, 2016
I started changing the lesson plan for Wednesday by adding an activity where they can learn each other's names. Also, I started adding more stretches that I forgot about. I downloaded an app called Ballet Class where it has all sorts of good ballet music that I can use for barre. This helped me with their lesson plan because now I can make a playlist in the order of their warm ups. Tonight at dance I asked my studio manager, Mrs. Leah, if I could put out a box and collect old dance shoes for the people in my club. She told me that I could.
September 28, 2016
Today is my first after school meeting and I am really excited. I have everything ready, I just hope that people don't forget about it. Mr. Laverty has been making announcements everyday and I reminded Mrs. Weimer that today is our meeting.
After school I waited in the lobby of the middle school wing and waited for the kids. Then I went to the music room and Mrs. Weimer's room to see if they were there. No one stayed after. I was pretty disappointed because there were 13 kids that went to the meeting last week so I knew that kids were interested in it. Mrs. Weimer said that I didn't announce the club enough so I need to do that better. Also Mrs. Boutilier thinks that kids might be mixing up my club and the pep squad. I am now going to ask Laverty to announce it more and make sure he says it's after school. Also I am going to get the number or email from all of the kids.
September 30, 2016
During tiger time the pep squad seniors, and I went around to all of the classes and explained the difference between dance club and pep squad. We think that some of them are mixing up our clubs so hopefully this will make them less confused.
October 4, 2016
Today during Tiger Time I went around to two class rooms to see if kids wanted to sign up for my club. I recognized kids in both of these class rooms that I knew wanted to do my club because they came to the meeting I had last week. The kids that I know are interested would just look around and see that no one else in the class raised their hand so then they didn't say anything. I went to go see Mrs. Bertero but she wasn't there. I don't know what to do because my first meeting is Thursday and I need to take to all of them so I will know if they can make it to the meeting this week or not.
October 6, 2016
Today I was supposed to have a meeting but it never happened because most of the announcements were wrong so I think that the girls were getting confused.
October 12, 2016
Again I was suppose to have a meeting after school in Mrs. Weimers room but none of the kids showed up. Mrs. Boutilier and Mrs. Weimer gave me ideas on how to involve kids in the club and how to start it. Mrs. Boutilier told me that I shouldn't get discouraged because starting the club up is going to be one of the hardest parts. She told me that it would be a good idea to try and move the club to Tiger Time. I thought that that was a great idea because it can be hard for middle school students to have a ride home. I talked to Mr. Laverty if it would be fine for the students and me to come dressed down and then get changed after, and he was fine with it. I am really excited because I feel like the students will actually come to the meetings because it is easier for them.
October 18, 2016
I went to Mrs. Bertero to see what she could do to help me start the club during Tiger Time. She said that she thought it is a good idea that I am now doing the club during Tiger Time because most of the kids get bored so now they have something to do. She said that she knows two girls that are interested in my club and they are Angie and Shinning. They are both sixth graders. She called them down to her office so that I can talk to them. Both the girls seemed very happy and excited for my club. Seeing and hearing that they are excited for it, made me even more excited to finally start my club.
October 19, 2016
I realized that I need a room to do it in. I remembered that Mrs. Wagner doesn't have a first block so I emailed her introducing myself and seeing if she could supervise me. She agreed to it, which made me really happy because everything is now falling into place
October 20, 2016
I asked Mr. Laverty if it is okay if my girls and I came in dressed down in gym clothes for Friday. He said that it is okay as long as I give them time after dance to change back into their uniforms.
October 21, 2016
Today is the first meeting of my club. I have been excited since I woke up. I am a little nervous that no one will show up, but I know that Angie and Shinning are interested. Right when I got to school I went to Mr. Laverty to see if he could make an announcement about my club at the beginning of first block. I went to Mrs. Wagner's room as soon as the bell rang and no one was there. I started to panic a little bit because I assumed that they both forgot about it. Then later into the block he made the announcement and they can down. It was Angie, Shinning, and Ailyn. I was very excited that they came but I was even more excited that there was a new girl. I introduced myself and had them write down their names and Tiger Time teachers or email addresses. Then I explained general information about the club. I gave them the blue forms and told them they have to have their parents sign them before the next meeting. Since we only had around 15 minutes to actually dance I just decided that we should stretch. So I just did basic stretches like head, shoulders, rib cages, hamstrings, quads, and calves. Once the meeting was over I was really happy and excited that there were girls actually really interested in my club. I am hoping that the girls will come down earlier next Friday so we have more time. Also, I hope that there are most boys and girls interested in it, but I still very happy with three girls.
October 26, 2016
Today started to edit the picture permission slip forms so that they are ready for the girls to give their parents on Friday. I already wrote them but since I changed the plan and I'm now doing it during Tiger Time, I have to edit the information in my permission slip.
October 28, 2016
Today we had a club meeting. I had Kenzie come in and stretch them out and talk about ways to prevent injuries, since that's her capstone project. Kenzie passed out permission slips to make sure their parents are fine with her taking pictures and including it in her capstone website. Kenzie told them about different stretches and how to do them safely. I also added input about hamstring stretching and how to prevent those injuries, because I have pulled my hamstring several times so I told them what it feels like when they are hurting their hamstrings. After we stretched I asked them if they wanted to do ballet barre or start their modern/ lyrical dance, and they said that they wanted to start their dance, so I thought them about 30 seconds of their dance. Overall I think that the meeting went very well, and there was a new guy that joined and his name is Joevanni. I am very happy that I have a boy because I have never taught a boy dance. I know that it might be hard for me because it's something new, but I just need to talk to my mentor Jen about it.
November 2, 2016
Today was another meeting for the club. All of the normal 3 girls and Joevanni came but there was a new girl Emily. Today we stretched for a little bit then we did ballet barre for a little. Most of them seemed pretty shy because there were two other students in the room while we were dancing. After that we started our jazz dance. Most of them picked up the dance pretty quickly and kept telling me to teach them more and more. I am very excited because I do see a lot of potential in these kids and I can't wait to see how much they will grow as the year goes on. For the next meeting on Friday I just want them to understand that we are all a team now and I really want every student to feel comfortable with everyone else and me.
November 4, 2016
We had a meeting today but Ailyn and Angie were not there because Angie had the basketball meeting and Ailyn was sick. I didn't want to add on to any of the dances because I didn't want them to be behind or miss anything. Angie emailed me the night before and told me she wasn't going to be there and she also reminded me to bring a speaker which was very nice. This club is really turning out great because all of the kids are really enjoying it. So today all we did was stretch for a little bit, then we went over the jazz dance just to make sure they remembered it and that they don't have any questions. Then we went over the lyrical dance because Emily didn't ever learn the dance because she joined late so I just taught that to her and added on a little bit. I am surprised at how fast they are all picking up the dances and that none of them are confused with many of the steps. Any time that I add on I make sure I watch them try to do it so I know they actually know what they are doing. I always ask them if they have any questions and they always say no. Overall I am very happy with how the meeting went today, all I want to improve about this club is that I want them to feel comfortable, but I think that will come with time.
November 7, 2016
In class I choreographed around 15 seconds of their dance. I am just struggling with how I want to start their dance because there's a lot of instrumental at the beginning and I don't know if I should cut it out or just choreograph something with it. I think I am going to ask my sister or Mrs. Jen because they're both really creative with choreography.
November 9, 2016
I tried to have a meeting, even though I knew that Angie had a meeting and she couldn't come. None of the other kids told me that they weren't able to come, so two of them showed up. I guess Joevanni wasn't in school and Shinning was at the same meeting. Emily told me that in 5 minutes she had to go to the same meeting so then it would just be Ailyn in class, so I told them to not worry about it and I will see them next Wednesday.
November 13, 2016
I choreographed more of their jazz routine. I am finding it to be easier than I thought to choreograph for them.
November 16, 2016
We had another meeting today. Jacki came to take pictures and she actually had a really good idea to take videos so I can see their progress over the year. I started by stretching with them, as always. Then we started to do their jazz dance. We just reviewed it because they weren't here last week so I figured that they forgot it. Then, Emily asked if we could do the lyrical dance. I was excited that she spoke up and is excited for the lyrical dance, because most of them are more excited about the jazz dance. I asked them for songs that they liked that we could warm up to and none of them had very many ideas.
November 18, 2016
Today we went over the jazz and lyrical dances just to refresh their memories a little. We didn't end up videotaping this meeting because I honestly just forgot. But I want to try and videotape every class so at the end of the year I can show it to them and maybe even show it to the parents so they can see their kids progress throughout the whole year. Maybe before the show I can invite all the parents in and have them watch clips of the videos from the beginning to the very last class. I think this will really show how much they have learned and what skills they are taking out of these classes.
November 23, 2016
It was just Emily and Angie because everyone else was either absent or had another meeting which is totally fine because I assumed some people would be absent because it’s the day before Thanksgiving break. So all we did is listen to Christmas music and talk about our plans for the holiday weekend. We also started to look at costumes because I want to get them costumes that they actually like. We also talked about idea for fundraising. I had the idea of us all baking pies and desserts around Christmas and selling them. Both of them didn't really have many ideas but at the next meeting I want to talk to everyone and get their ideas because we need to get tap shoes soon.
November 30, 2016
Today when I went to go to Mrs. Wagner's room she said that she just got a Tiger Time class so we can't dance in her room anymore. Then I went to go tell all the girls and Angie, Emily, and I all went to wait for Mrs. Bertero because she wasn't there and she needed to find us another teacher that doesn't have a Tiger Time. By this time I was starting to get frustrated because a lot of time went by before she got to school. But when she got here she told us that the room across from Mrs. Wagner is open and that Mrs. Pocoski is fine with us using it. That made me feel a lot better because now I don't have to stress over finding another supervisor. But by the time all off this was done and I went to go get the other girls and Joevanni, we had like 10 minutes left of the block. There was no time to dance, so we just talked about fundraising ideas. We came up with selling muffins and coffee to the teachers in the morning, and also a bake sale. They all want me to see if Laverty will let us do a dress down but I don't think he will be very happy if I ask him that.
December 2, 2016
I was suppose to have a meeting just like normal days, but when I went to the class only Joevanni was there. I then asked him where everyone was and he remembered that they had a pep squad meeting. I suddenly got very upset because I haven't danced with my kids since last week. I then went to their meeting and saw Emily and Angie there. I then told Madi and Alexis that they stole my girls and that the very least they could have done is texted my last night and told me about it. I then stormed out of the room very upset because I love dancing with my kids and I got upset because it's been a little while since I danced with them. Then they told me they send the girls to the office because their meeting was only 10 minutes long. I had already changed because they didn't tell me their meeting would be so fast. I then just went and talked to Emily and Angie because they sent them to the office. I just apologized to them because today was really a mess. They started to apologize to me and I repeatedly told them it wasn't their fault. I really don't want them to feel bad about it. I just feel bad because I was getting mad and I don’t want them to think I am mad at them.
December 5, 2016
I emailed Mrs. Boutilier about my fundraising idea and I sent her a write up that she can send to Mr. Laverty so he can approve it.
December 7, 2016
Today I thought I was going to have a meeting, but I guess they don't have Tiger Time on half days. I totally forgot about that and I went down to the room and then one of the teachers told me that there's no Tiger Time. I'm starting to get a little frustrated because I really need to dance with my kids because I have only started 2 out of the 4 of their dances. I know that I have around 5 months left but we really can't keep missing days. I know that it will all work out but I just want to dance with them more.
December 9, 2016
Today we had a meeting but Ailyn was sick and Shinning and Emily both had a professional students meeting. I just talked to Joevanni and Angie about how we haven't danced in a while and we had the idea to also start meeting on Monday mornings. I hope that this will work so we can dance more. But today we went and talked to Mrs. Boutilier about the fundraiser and she said that we should do it on Wednesday and Friday next week so we can make more money. After we talked to her we went back up and we stretched out and Kenzie lead some of the stretching. Then Bella came in and took pictures of us and a few videos of us doing our jazz dance. Overall I was just happy that I finally got to meet with them and work everything out. We also decided that we're not going to do a ballet dance in the show and that were just going to do more ballet barre in class.
December 14, 2016
Today was our coffee and muffins fundraiser for teachers so we could get money for costumes and shoes for the show. I made 4 dozen muffins and brought them in and then Mrs. Bout brought in coffee that we made in the coffee maker. Teachers would call down and tell us their orders then we brought it up to them. Joevanni sadly wasn't there. We sold them for $1 a piece. Many teachers were giving up more money than they needed to pay. It was very nice of them. Mr. Butler helped us out a lot. The only problem we had was Mrs. Weimer was upset because she bought $4 worth of stuff and she handed the girls $5 and they didn't offer to give her change. She called me and just said to teach them a lesson and she said that she was going to give us $5 but they should have offered. Overall it went really good and we made $45.
December 16, 2016
Today we had the second day of our muffin and coffee fundraiser. I made another 3 dozen muffins last night, because we had some left overs from wednesday. All of my kids were here today which was good, because wednesday Joevanni was missing. At first it was going slow. There weren’t many people calling down. Mr. Laverty and Mrs. Wagner ordered muffins and coffee on Wednesday that they wanted today, so we delivered those. At first I was kind of scared that we weren’t going to make much money, because not many people were calling down. It started to pick up speed and there were more teachers calling down. Mr. Butler was a huge help. Ailyn and Angie started making some flyers and handing them out to teachers that they were close with, and that brought in a few orders. I was really proud that my kids were really getting into this. There were also a few teachers that gave up more money than they actually needed to pay me, which was really nice. Overall it was a success and we made $90 between the two days. It's not enough for the costumes, but it is a great start.
December 19, 2016
Since Shinning and Joevanni weren’t here today, I didn’t really think it was the best idea to dance and add on because then we would just have to reteach everything. I decided that we would just stretch and then try and find costumes that were good. It is kind of hard to find costumes that are totally appropriate because almost all of the costumes are mostly leotards which isn’t appropriate.
December 21, 2016
We found a good lyrical costume which was only like $30 and they had 4 different colors which is what I wanted so that each girl could have their own color. It was kind of hard that I had to tell them no to a few costumes because they were pretty inappropriate. I found one that everyone liked so that was good, but they said they still wanna look for other options.
January 4, 2017
All we really did today was talk about where we are at. We decided that we are just going to do a jazz and lyrical dance for the recital. I think that this will just be a lot stressful on them and on me. The tap dance would be too hard because I still need to put the shoe boxes in my studio to get tap shoes, and then I would have to buy Joevanni’s myself because there are no boy dancers in either of the studios. I also know that the kids don’t really like ballet as much as they like jazz. I was thinking about doing a hip hop dance that was kind of more fun for them. I was thinking that I would put a piece in where they all just get to improvise. I am just worried that maybe the kids will get insecure during the show.
January 9, 2017
Today we stretched a lot. The kids are getting more vocal with each class. Which is good but they can talk over each other when we are making plans. I am very happy that they are comfortable now, because in the beginning they wouldn’t talk at all. We did barre which I know isn’t their favorite, but we have to do it so that they have good technique. Joevanni and Shinning really do have amazing technique. I am so happy that they joined, I hope that they do continue to dance after this because they both have amazing arches in their feet and their overall technique is really good for someone just starting dance, even though they have both had some dance background.
January 11, 2017
Today in dance club Angie was absent but I know that we need to practice because winter break was long so some kids lost memory of some of the dances. We started by stretching, then we went over the jazz dance. We just marked the dance then we did it full out. They did remember it for the most part, we just needed to do some cleaning.
January 15, 2017
Today I started thinking about the show, and I was thinking more about how this hip hop dance might work out. I really need to run it by the kids when we have a meeting. I don’t know if they will want to do that, but I think that the parents will enjoy it.
January 18, 2017
We had a meeting today, and all of the kids were here. I was really happy everyone was here because Angie has missed a lot of meetings and I’m worrying that she might forget some of the dances. We just reviewed jazz and started adding on some. I don’t like adding on when there are kids missing, but I need to add on so there's nothing I can do.
January 20, 2017
Today was a good meeting. We talked about some fundraising ideas. It makes me excited that the kids are really getting involved and wanting to help fund raise. Joevanni really wants me to ask Mr. Laverty if we can do a dress down, but I know that he probably would say no so I don’t really think that it's the best idea. One of the kids brought up the idea of doing a bake sale. I really like that idea because everyone can bring in something different to sell. I had the idea of doing one for Valentine's day.
January 21, 2017
Today I had dance practice so I stayed at the studio for an extra 1.5 hours, so I could get help from my teacher choreographing and to add on. I just made Leah watch it once and then she helped me just clean up some moves, then I kept adding on. The dance is almost done so I feel a lot better about that.
January 23, 2017
Today Angie was absent so I didn’t really want to add on because i don’t want to have to reteach everything. I need to choreograph more so that in the next meeting we can really just add on. We started to look for other costumes for jazz. There weren’t many that we all liked. Emily was picking some costumes that were too short and I had to tell her that they need to be appropriate. Most of the costumes that dance websites have are two pieces or they are leotards, which we can’t have. I really want them to look beautiful because this is their first show and I want their parents to be happy. The girls were talking about the day of the show and how they should do their hair, and we decided that we're all going to do buns and I’m going to do all of their buns, since they don’t know how to do them. It made me really happy thinking about the day of the show and how they are already thinking about the little details like that. I really can’t wait for the show. I’m so excited to see how everything plays out.
January 25, 2017
Today we started by stretching. Everyone was there except for Angie, but I just needed to keep on going. We rehearsed jazz like 3 times, then I started to add on. Joevanni and Shinning were picking it up quick. When I was adding on Emily kept on talking to Ailyn and it was upsetting me because she wasn’t paying attention at all. I then just stepped aside and told them to do the part I added on. Emily had no clue what she was doing because she wasn’t paying attention. The other kids picked it up fast, so she needs to just pay attention more. I just told her Emily pay attention more, and then she stopped talking.
January 26, 2017
Today I talked to Mrs. Boutilier about our fundraiser idea. She told me that I should have Jason join in because he is selling sugar free chocolates for diabetes. I asked him and he said that he will do it. The fundraiser is Monday February 13, after school. I wrote a write up about it so that she could get it approved by Mr. Laverty.
January 30, 2017
We were suppose to have a dance club meeting, but we had a senior meeting that I found out about that morning, so I had to cancel it. I was disappointed because I really wanted to dance with my kids.
February 1, 2017
We were suppose to have a meeting, but there was a teacher that was using that room for their class so we couldn’t dance. I texted the kids and told them, but Emily came into my class and asked me why we didn’t have it. I felt bad but there was nothing I could do. I just hope that the kids aren’t confused or disappointed.
February 3, 2017
We had a meeting today and we just went over the dances. I am starting to get stressed because i haven’t set a date for the show yet or ordered any costumes.
February 6, 2017
We had a meeting and just went over the dances. I'm starting to realize that some of the kids are more dedicated to this than others.
February 12, 2017
I went to the store and bought all of the supplies for my bake sale on Monday. I spent around $10 on everything. Then I had to bake everything. It took me around 4 hours to do everything.
February 14, 2017
Today was the bake sale after school. It went really well. We made $54 overall. The cupcakes sold out very quick and then I had a few pretzels left over. I might have to do another one because I don't know if I have enough money for all the costumes.
February 15, 2017
We had a meeting and we just talked about how the bake sale went and I thanked them for helping me. We picked out skirts that we wanted for the costume which cost $91 for all of them. We have $150 so that's not bad.
February 17, 2017
We had a meeting today. Emily was absent so we just talked about the game plan for the end of the year and did the dances.
February 22, 2017
We figured out a costume for Joevanni because that's the hardest part. Then I went to the mall and bought the shirts for the show. I spend $27 and now I just need to buy pants for Joevanni. I need to order the skirts and then figure out if we can wear the skirts for jazz too.
February 23, 2017
I emailed Mrs. Schmidt and talked to her about what days are best for the show at the end of the year. Right now we're planning at the end of March or early April.
February 27, 2017
We were suppose to have a meeting today but we couldn’t because Angie and Giovanni couldn’t go so there was really no point.
March 1, 2017
We were suppose to have a meeting but Joevanni and Shinning weren’t in school, Emily had gym, and Angie sprained her ankle, so I just said we would all meet on Friday.
March 3, 2017
We had a meeting today and Joevanni, Ailyn, and Shinning were there. Emily said that she had gym but I told her that she needs to be there for the meetings. I don’t want to be strict, but she needs to practice with us. Then Angie sprained her ankle so I told her not to dance. We finished the jazz dance and Joevanni helped me choreograph the ending and it made me happy because he was giving me ideas and that shows me that he’s actually learning how to dance. So the ending of the jazz dance was partily choreographed by Joevanni. I was just so proud that I taught him that. Mr. Laverty told me that Mrs. Bout was talking about my project in class and saying how hard it is to teach young kids how to dance and choreograph dances from start to finish that are easy for them. That made me happy that she can see how hard it is, because it is.
March 4, 2017
Today I ordered the costumes for the show. It made me feel so much better to have that already done.
March 6, 2017
We had a meeting today and there for kids in Mrs. Pocoskis room and there were a few students in there. Joevanni told me that when they were leaving the room last week the other kids in there were making fun of them. That honestly pissed me off because my kids work so hard and they are confident for being in middle school. Joevanni asked me if we were going to dance because he didn’t want to dance with these guys in the room. We danced and they were fine but I just was upset that they let those kids get to them. I went to Mrs. Bout and she said that she talked to Joevanni and he said that I was amazing and that I accept him for who he is. I know that he is going through a transformation and I just really like him and accept him and I am happy that he sees that. I want him to come to me with any issues he has. Mrs. Bout told me I should have Megan come in and talk to them about being accepted and I think I should have Shaniyah come in too. Bout said I should have some of the seniors come in and have my kids perform in front of them, so they can build their confidence.
March 9, 2017
I started figuring out how to cut the music and I choreographed more of the lyrical music.
March 10, 2017
We had a meeting today in the classroom and Emily was absent again. It's just annoying that she keeps skipping because she's the most lost whenever we do the dances so I don’t know why she isn’t coming.
March 13, 2017
We had a meeting today and Emily wasn’t there again. I told her that she needs to come or else she can’t be in the show because it is in 2 weeks. Mrs. Bout came in and talked to my kids about me and dance club. They all said that they loved dance club and that they were learning a lot. Joevanni and Ailyn said they liked it because it was something that is fun and new. It made me feel great because that’s exactly what a wanted is for them to have fun.
March 17, 2017
Today we met in the gym so we could practice it with more room and with that floor. Everything went good except Angie wasn’t there. It just makes me nervous with the show being so close. I told the whole group that the next week is mandatory or else they can’t be in the show. Its mean but it is what has to be done. When we were in the gym some of the boys were having basketball practice in there so we had to use a small space, and some of the kids were nervous to dance with the,m in there. I said that the shows soon and there will be way more people there and that it doesn’t matter what other people of them. Joevanni and Shinning have really come out of their shells. It's so beautiful watching them grow with the dance training I give them. It just feels great that everything is falling into place with this project.
March 20, 2017
We had a meeting today and Angie was late. She hasn’t been to a meeting in a month so at least she came for some of it. It is exciting because our show is in two weeks. It is kind of nerve racking because some of the kids still don’t totally know the dance.
March 22, 2017
We had a meeting today and Joevanni wasn’t here because he was in the hospital. We all were concerned about him because he was there for two days. It was good to just have time to go over the dances really slow because some of the girls don’t know the dance as well as Joevanni. So we went over the dances really slowly together.
March 24, 2017
We had a meeting and everyone was here today. We went over jazz and lyrical a few times. Then we went over the spanish dance were doing at the end that Joevanni is teaching us. It is so cool that he is teaching us this new style, because I've never taken a class like that, and it's so awesome that one of my students is teaching us all something brand new. Then at the end of the show were putting on Shake It Off by Taylor Swift and we're just going to dance around and have fun.
March 27, 2017
In our meeting today we were just finalizing all the plans for the dances. Joevanni had an idea of adding another spanish song that he knows a dance to. The last two dances of our show are just going to be us dancing around and having fun. I feel like the kids are feeling some pressure for the show. I don’t want them to feel nervous, but that’s real life. If they have never performed before then it's clear that their first performance will be nerve racking. Our show is now in 3 days and I am so excited. I just need to figure out a way to mash the music together and put it on a CD for the show.
March 29, 2017
We had a meeting today. Angie and Joevanni weren’t here but we still danced because of how close the show is. We did the dances a bunch of times and then we just danced around. The kids started writing that they love dance club on the board. Then I told them to write one thing they love about dance club. All of them were telling me they love me and that they love being able to do this every morning. I told them how much I love doing this and how I will miss all of them so much next year. Ailyn came up to me and hugged me and told her I am one of her best friends, and that she is going to cry at the show because that’s the end of dance club. Just hearing that re-assured me of how much I love these kids and teaching them dance. It makes me feel like such a good person knowing that they all love this club and having me teach them. I really don’t want to have to say goodbye to these kids. I see this club as my dance family because of how close we have all grown together.
March 31, 2017
Today is the day of our show. It feels so surreal that it is finally here. I am sad that it is ending, but I am so excited to see how the show goes. We had practice today and it went well. We just rehearsed all of the dances a bunch. All of my kids were pretty excited but nervous. So when it came to after school I got them out of class early so I could do their hair and so they can practice. Everything went smoothly after school, except Ailyn left school early but she came back in time. I was now just so excited for the show. Parents started showing up then we started the show. Everyone was doing the dance so well. I had to do the dance on the side where they could see me just so they wouldn't forget it. I was so proud of them and what they have all accomplished. All of the parents came up to my after and thanked me for bringing dance into their lives because it is so rare. Joevanni's mom came up to me and said it was so beautiful that she almost cried because she's never seen him dance like that. She told me that he is always dancing at home but it was great to see him this way. I was getting very emotional because this is more than I thought that I would gain out of this club. Having their parents thanking me and telling me that I affected their child, made me proud of myself. I truly love these kids and I will miss them so much next year. I don't want dance club to end, but I know that I just need to smile and be proud of my kids because they changed the way that I see myself. Before this I never thought that I was the type of person that could be a leader, but now I know that I can do it, and it makes me more confident in the skills that this project clarified I have. Overall, this project changed the way that I look at myself because I do have the power to affect peoples lives and that is exactly what I want out of life.