November, 2019 -- The Grind Continues..

Good Morning West Community!

We are in the final stretch of the year and our students here at WLA have really undergone a wild October. Up top is a photo of the senior class of our football team, who played their last game on Friday, November 1st. I am proud of all of them, including 4 of our YESS senior mentors. 

First and foremost, I want to start off by thanking all of you who have reached out to the class here at WLA. Your support, positive energy, and kinds words have been helpful for all of us as the year is now in full effect. From reading these blogs that I write, to sending emails or commenting on the work that has happened in here the past month, to simply stopping by the class to say hi. All of it, no matter, how big or small it might be, is always appreciated.

Also, a special shoutout to all of my friends and colleagues who helped the football team here at West achieve the fundraising goal $3,000 dollars! We are truly blessed and thankful!

In this blog, I am going to outline 3 topics:

1.) Daily Journal Entries created by our Mentor Leadership Team. 

Here is what the week looks like in my class. On Mondays/Tuesday's, we do a daily journal in the class. The topics vary week-to-week, however the one constant that remains is our students are learning how to process and reflect their lives through these journals. We have been doing them through the past two months all under topics that I feel like are appropriate for our students. However, recently we made a change. All of my mentor leaders turned in a journal topic for their classes!

Here is what their classes wrote about:

2nd period: Viviana Torres

What is something you regret and why?

5th period: Joe Escareno

Write about something that makes you happy when you feeling upset. Ex: family, dog, music, friends, etc.

7th period: Fernando Torres

What would you wish for if you had 3 wishes?

8th period: Fantasia Garcia

What is the hardest truth you’ve ever learned?

9th period: Naisett De Leon

What is some advice you wish you would have received? Have you given this advice to anyone else?

This class is supposed to be for the kids, by the kids to build the community. By giving my MLT this responsibility, I believe that we are empowering them to have a say in the agency. From here on out, it is their responsibility to come in prepared with journal topics for the class for the week. 

Spaghetti Tower Challenge:

One of the fun lessons we did in the class was the spaghetti tower challenge. I gave teams of four, twenty sticks of spaghetti and ten marshmallows to see who could build the highest tower! Here are some photos:

2.) Two students who have excelled in the classroom. 

The first student I want to highlight is Mahamoud Camara, aka "Mo"

Mo is part of my 4 senior boys who played their last season of football for West High. (Chris, Mo, Jacob, and Fernando)

This is my second year with Mo and I have to say that it has been a pleasure working with this young man. Mo played Defensive End/Tight End for the football team this year here at West. Mo had a great season, as he became a reliable athlete that we could count on every game. No questions asked, Mo was ready to grind every game and have his teammates back, no matter the outcome.

Apart from being a three-sport athlete, he is also one of the top students here at West. Ranked 11th in his class, he is involved in top tier classes, and not only that, Mo is a gentle human being. During tutoring time on Tuesdays, Mo is always willing to help students out with work that they might not understand. He is always willing to lend a helping hand, a trait that some students simply are born with. You can't coach that type of skill or openness. The student comes in with it. We are lucky to have him.

There is not a day that I do not see this young man and say that I am proud of him for all he has done.

What has stood out about Mo has been his capacity and willingness to grow into the shoes he has stepped into. In other words, Mo has grown up right before our eyes to be a respectable, young man who is not afraid to take on a challenge head on. This year, Mo has applied to several colleges already and has been accepted to the University of Northern Colorado (UNC)

Here are some of my seniors updating their scholarship/college application count chart in my class, which is a way that not only myself can keep track of, but also anyone that walks into the room can see the work and effort my seniors are putting into making a life outside of high school.

And lastly, Fantasia Garcia.

When I took over the mentoring program here at West, Fantasia has already been hired by the previous teacher. I decided to keep her on because she was able to show me, the new guy on the block, how the class was being ran before. She was able to speak her mind freely and recommend ideas as to how the class could be more effective. In my own experience, not too many students tend to speak up about how class could be done better, they tend to just let the class flow as it is, especially if it mismanaged. That was not Fantasia’s approach to the class. She has taken ownership of her role as Lead Mentor Leader in my class. However, the most important thing that you need to know is that once she is committed to a responsibility, she follows through with it. Fantasia, who has embraced the idea of going off to college, challenged herself with higher level classes, and has maintained the grades while still working two jobs. These are facts. They are not opinions.

I think I speak for everyone when I say that we are all very proud of her.

3.) Homecoming Week, Trick-or-Treat Street here at WLA, and Dia De Los Muertos!

We had a great bonfire for our homecoming week: Check out the photo below.

Trick-Or-Treat Street:

My two Mentor Leaders, Naisett and Viviana, took the lead on headlining the hallways here at West when we had our annual trick or treat street. They walked around the halls and gave out candy to kids from all over the Westside. 

And lastly, Dia de los Muertos! 

"Dia de los Muertos—the Day of the Dead—is a holiday celebrated on November 1. Although marked throughout Latin America, Dia de los Muertos is most strongly associated with Mexico, where the tradition originated.

Dia de los Muertos honors the dead with festivals and lively celebrations, a typically Latin American custom that combines indigenous Aztec ritual with Catholicism, brought to the region by Spanish conquistadores. (Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, minor holidays in the Catholic calendar.)"

We had a whole day dedicated to the holiday here at West, where we had performances from Grupo Tlaloc in the morning to get the energy going. 

In the afternoon, we had a performance by Semblanzas de Mexico, a Colorado Dance Comp. as well as Mariachi Sol de Mi Tierra. 

This month, we will be covering Healthy Relationships. Below are some of the topics that we will be overseeing in the class. 

As always, thank you for reading the blog and supporting the program here at West Leadership Academy.

Happy reading, y'all.

Cowboys, out.