Birgit Preuss

Today we prepped for innovation night in both Culture and Conflict and Intro to Lit. I was so excited to go and see what all the students came up with for their final projects. 

  Today I had both Culture and Conflict blocks first. The students worked on their projects for innovation night. I mostly walked around and helped whoever needed it. I then went to senior seminar at 11. I had a quick lunch and headed to Athletes in Lit. During that block we watched Saltwater Buddha the movie. This was important to jog students memories on the book so that they can succeed on their final projects. I got to learn a little about grading freshman tests before dinner. With about 3:30 hours of work, it was a good day!  

My second week of Senior Project was a success. I have learned many things both as a student and a teacher. This week I got to focus more on the teaching aspect of being a TA. I got to help create tests for Intro to Lit as well as create questions for a harkness in Culture and Conflict. However, I mainly helped Mel by making sure everyone was on track with their final projects for all five classes.  I have really started to connect with all the students in the classes, even the freshman. This week, Athletes and Lit was pretty normal and so easy to manage, we even got the opportunity to go out for ice cream during one of our blocks and simply have a conversation on our book. I have finally started to get used to both Intro classes, they are full of wild freshmen, but have been making sure they are getting their work done and am excited to start grading the tests Mel and I created for them. My favorite class this week was definitely Culture and Conflict, where I simply got to sit, listen

I had a nice and slow morning today since I didn’t have a class till 10:10. The first class was E block Intro to Lit. It was a day for students to catch up on work for their capstones. I walked around and made sure everyone was on track and if not, I helped them get there. I went to lunch and then got vaccinated. During Culture and Conflict we listened to Kelly present on her winter final, and she did amazing. Mel and I then walked over to F block Intro, where the students took the 57 Bus test. It was good day! I worked about 4 hours.  F block Intro to Lit 

 I started off my day by attending Culture and Conflict, where the students engaged in an interesting harness for American Spy. I created some of the questions with Ellie on Monday. For the second C&C block, students spent time in the library working on their final projects. After this I went to senior seminar at 11. Mel picked me up at the meeting house with her Athletes in Lit class to go on a little field trip to get ice cream. During the drive we talked about Saltwater Buddha and created clay figures related to the book. I ended my day by making sure the Athletes in Lit class students have been writing their journals for homework. It was a lovely sunny day with about 4 hours of work completed. :) 

Today I went to E block Intro to Lit, where the students took the test Mel and I created for them. While I made sure no one was cheating, Mel and I started creating the F block test for Friday. Because Mel was not teaching any other blocks today, it gave me a chance to catch up on my reading. I read Saltwater Buddha the most, because it is such and inspirational book. After seminar this evening I helped Mel crate a gimkit for one of tomorrows Culture and Conflict blocks. Overall I completed 3:30 hours of work. :)

 I started off my morning by attending Intro to Lit E block. During this class we clarified a few things on the end of term project and the students did the gimkit I created. After lunch we did the same thing for the F block Intro to Lit class. I then attended Culture and Conflict, where we listened to Ayla's concentration presentation. Once that was over, although it was our plan to simply work on our final project, we instead had a conversation about current events, which was quite interesting and I loved hearing all the students inputs on this. After senior ball Mel and I met to create the E block Intro to Lit test on 57 Bus . A great day with about 4 hours of work once again. 

  This morning I attended both Culture and Conflict blocks. The first block, we finished watching Invictus. The second block, students got   started on their final projects and I assisted with setting up people’s noodletools. I also helped Ellie come up with questions for a harkness discussion Thursday on American Spy . After both lunches I went to Athletes in Lit, where everyone caught up on reading and journals, while I finished reading  57 Bus . After seminar, I created a Gimkit based on the last reading of 57 Bus, for the freshman to enjoy. Overall I completed about 4 hours of work. It was a good day!  

My first week of Senior Project was a success. I have learned many things both as a student and a teacher. As a teacher, one is always learning alongside their students, simply to be able to teach. Learning about conflicts between Africa and the United States with Culture and Conflict, or simply reading the same books alongside the students in both Intro to Lit and Athletes in Lit, to be able to have conversations about them in class as well as creating activities,  are just a few examples of how I learn alongside the students.  I truly enjoyed attending classes and seeing the dynamic of each block unfold. For Athletes in Lit, which is such a small class, it is calm and easy to manage and has a more open schedule. For both Intro classes, they are full of wild freshmen and there must be set tasks to do or else they will never get work done. Culture and Conflict being an honors class, it is easy to have lengthy conversations and arguments about the book with and they are able to be left

 This Morning I woke up to leave for an Intro to Lit field trip at 8am. On the bus we handed out clay to make shapes representative to 57 Bus. We got to a books store in Warner NH, where the students learned about sustainability and how buying books from a local book store helps support local economy. On the way back, the students presented the meaning of their clay figure and answered some quiz questions. For F block, we did the exact same thing for the other Intro class. This took up about 3:30 hours of my day, and I am still active on the reading for all other classes. 

 I went to Intro to Lit at 10:10. I got he opportunity to look over some theses and help the freshman out with their capstone projects. I then attended Culture and Conflict, where I helped Ellie look over some ideas for college essays. This made me reflect back on my college essay and think of what I could have done better. After Culture and Conflict, I went to the second Into to Lit class, where I did pretty much the same are earlier, but also got to play kickball with the freshman for Friday Funday. I worked for about 4 hours. It was overall a good day and had fun reflecting on my freshman year Into class with Mel. 

 Today I attended both Culture and Conflict blocks in the morning. For the first block, we listened to a few students present on the intro sheet for American Spy. We also discussed the final project and students got to pick the African countries they would like to present on. For the second block, we watched part of  Invictus with Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, to get some insight on apartheid in South Africa, before diving in deeper into that country and many more. After lunch, we met for Athletes in Lit and walked down to the river to reflect on our years at proctor just as Jaimal does in Saltwater Buddha. Over all it was a successful day, with about 4 hours of work done. 

 This morning, Mel and I went on a little expedition to buy snacks for the Tennis team. This gave us a chance to talk about the classes. For Athletes in Lit, because it is such a small class, we plan to make the classes as fun as possible and have group conversations about the book and how religion and sports combine. We also planned classes for both Intro to Lit blocks on Friday. This will consist of a scavenger hunt on 57 bus and other random activities, to engage while having fun. Overall it was a good outing and a  good time to get to talk about classes, writing and the books. After Tennis at 1:15, I went to the Library with Kingsley and Olivia to get some of the reading for Saltwater Buddha done. I worked for about 4:00 hours today and am excited to assist teaching 3 classes tomorrow. 

This morning after seeing my advisor for some Dunkin' Donuts, I decided to go to the art room to do some work in an environment I enjoy. While Kerri decided what she was going to paint, I looked over the Intro to Lit Seesaws for their path of life field trip. I made sure they all did their assignments correctly.  After first Lunch I had some time on my hands and continued with my reading of Saltwater Buddha and American Spy . I took a break from reading and took Flynn on a lovely stroller walk before tennis. After senior seminar I had a meeting with Mel on the reading, the freshman work and making the final for Culture and Conflict more engaging. Altogether I worked about 3:30 hours. Although it was a calm day, I enjoyed managing my time and getting work done. 

 On my first day as a teachers assistant I got to attend 2 classes and catch up on some of the reading that I am required to do, to better help teach these classes. I sat through Culture and Conflict after assembly at 10:10. Since I have been taking this class all year, I understand how Mel and Ellie work, and I simply listened while they gave a little preview on what the next two weeks will look like, learning about Africa and reading the book, American Spy.  After first and second lunch I attended Athletes in Lit, where I once again simply listened as Mel explained the next few weeks and the final project after reading Saltwater Buddha . After that class, Mel and I met for a while to talk about how to make the final projects for both Culture and Conflict, and Athletes in Lit more engaging. Overall, I spent about 4:00 hours attending class, meeting with Mel and reading. Today made me really excited to have chosen this as my Senior Project and I am eager to see what I will learn from t