PSA Story Boarding

Students met in their Blue, Pink and Purple groups. Each group decided on their PSA topic and had to storyboard it. Groups will present their storyboards on Monday.

REBT Presentation

Paulette came into the Family Group and gave us a presentation on REBT: Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. She explained that people respond to stressful situations in different ways. They are being "Demanding," "Awful-izing" (thinking about how awful things are), "Self Doubting" or "Disputing or Debating." She provided scenarios and asked the class to consider what REBT responses the people in the scenarios would have. Here are some of the scenarios she gave to us:

1) X is a 19 year old first term student at school. The new term started two weeks ago. However, X was absent for the first two weeks. Before class he yelled to the teacher, "Hey! I want to make up work because I want an 85!" X gave in one of 10 makeup assignments he was given and was absent for the midterm.

Then Paulette asked us: "How would you categorize this person's behavior? Was he "Demanding," "Awful-izing," "Self-Doubting" or "Disputing and Debating"?

Based on our answer to that question, a counselor would develop a rational strategy for responding differently. For instance, if the student was "Demanding," a counselor would help the student figure out how to rationally get the work done, rather than find themselves in that frustrating situation.

Another tool Paulette gave us was the following list of questions. These are questions that the person with the problem would need to ask themselves:

1) What were you most disturbed about (what feelings did you have in that situation)?
2) What type of REBT response are you having?
3) What rational belief do you need to have, instead?
4) What actions can you perform that would have different results?
5) What feelings would you (or do you) get from those different actions?

Here are some other scenarios:

2) X has two brothers, one is an honor pre-law student and the other is an honor pre-med student. X appears to be very artistic. For example, he can play any song without any musical training, and his portraits of people are very realistic. X drops out of school in the last term of his senior year, turns to drug use and sleeps all day.

3) X has lost a lot of weight. She was 50 lbs overweight. She would like to lose another 20 lbs by the end of the month. Therefore she is now on a "Vitamin Water" diet. During lunch she tells her friend, "Lately, I'm having faint feelings and cold sweats. I just have to lose the last 20 lbs. You know, both my sisters are very slim, and I am fat, like my mother."

4) X is an 18 year old transfer student. She meets someone who is outside the school each morning. Instead of going to school they go to a friend's house. X has plans of graduating in February, and then going on to college. She has not applied to college, nor taken the SAT.

5) X has worked at Best Department Store for five months. She works very hard and is willing to work overtime. She is no longer attending high school daily. She overhears that the manager is leaving. Therefore, X tells the attendance teacher who calls her home that she will not be returning to school, because she believes that she will be made the new manager.

6) X likes basketball, and one can find him, every day, on the basketball court. Each morning he will play with anyone who comes to the court. He has been to school four times. He says, "I want to go to college and play basketball for the University of North Carolina. My uncle works at the college."

7) X is 19 years old and is dating a married man who has three children. She has made no career plans. She states that after graduation she will marry this man and move to Alaska because he is transferring to a new Army post.

Preparation for your Thanksgiving quilt square

Be prepared for Friday's creative project by planning what you are going to put on your quilt square.
1.What are you thankful for?
2.Who are you thankful to?
3.What visual symbols, pictures or colors can you use to express those feelings of thankfulness on your quilt square?

Coming Up With Our PSA Topic

On Monday Sarah re-introduced the discussion about PSA topics. Each student was required to write in their journal about a possible topic for our PSA. Today we had a discussion about those topics. We have consolidated our responses, and have created a list of possible topics for our PSA:

Verbal/mental abuse (target audience: 13-30 year olds)
Obesity (target audience: Americans, possible solution: eat organics, eat healthy food)
Dental hygiene
Hygiene in general
How to prevent STD's (condoms, female condom, abstinence)
Signs of STD's
Teen pregnancy - teen moms say what it's like to be a teen mom
Boys having a say in a girl's choice to have a baby
Boys being involved in decisions about childbirth
Boys supporting their girlfriends in their choices about childbirth
Gay marriage
Tolerance for gay, lesbian and bisexual people
Drug use: drugs being illegal
Prescription drugs can be addictive

Topics for Our PSA

Topics for PSA Brainstorm

Obesity
Ideas for Healthy Snacks
Teen Pregnancy
Age of Consent
Drugs
Alcohol Use
Drinking and Driving
Domestic Violence
Testing for STI's (Sexually Transmitted Infections)
Gun Violence
Smoking more dangerous than Marijuana

What is Mental Health?

Be optimistic
Don't stress yourself out
Stay focused
Stay positive
Be happy
Be in a good mood all the time
Don't talk to yourself outside (don't be crazy)
Don't get stressed out about every little thing
Maintain stability
Be aware of your inner and outer emotions
Have control of yourself and the things you do
Ignore negativity
Keep a positive attitude
Smile
Be stress-free
Don't lose your mind
Be mentally present, don't have memory blackouts due to drugs or alcohol
(Memory loss can be caused by trauma, as well.)
Don't "down yourself" 24-7.
Challenge yourself. When you reach one plateau, challenge yourself to reach the next one.

Journal Writing

Respond to the following question:
What is Mental Health? What behaviors does a person have to practice to be mentally healthy? What behaviors does a person have to avoid?

Wellness Brainstorm with Sarah

We discussed Wellness with Sarah. Here are our notes:

Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of, and making choices toward, a more successful existence.

What is Mental Health?

What is Physical Health?

What is Sexual Health?
safe sex, abstinence, monogamy, checking HIV and STD papers, birth control, condoms, sex ed: you should know about it, be mature about it, educate yourself, Google things to learn about them, have a positive attitude, don’t have an apathetic, careless attitude, don’t be silent, talk to your partner, communicate, don’t be emotionally abusive.

The Writing Assignments Thus Far

1) React to the Obama speech
2) College: Why or Why Not?
3) The perfect high school would be...

All essays should be two pages in your notebooks.

Birthdays and How to Have a Discussion

Today we sat in a circle and ate cookies during Family Group. The topics were chosen by the students. Some students are more likely to dominate the conversation than others. How do we have a civil discussion, where people don't interrupt one-another? Do we need a "talking stick"? Can people be quiet and hear each other? Family Group members may feel reluctant to talk if they think others will shout over them, even if those others don't intend rudeness. How can we be respectful of one-another, while allowing people to be themselves and express their personalities? We need to talk more about this.

We briefly discussed the "cook-off" idea. Alicia suggested that we do it for Thanksgiving, and that way there will be a way to keep things hot.

Someone should be a note-taker for each class session, so we keep the blog updated.

Camilla brought the Family Group pizza for lunch in celebration of the September-October birthdays.

Topics for Family Group

Philosophy of life: Where are you headed? What do you want to do with your life?

College Now: If you're interested, see Jose. If you got a 75 or above on the ELA
Regents you are eligible for the College Now program. That means you take college courses at John Jay, and they are FREE!

Jose is having a trip to the SUNY College Fair at the Javits Center on Thursday, Sept 24. If you are interested, see him. We will leave the school at 3:15 that day, and I plan on being a chaperone. Join us!

NOW is the time for you to begin planning for college. Start your research! What are the entrance requirements to your schools of choice? Do you have to write an essay as part of your application? (If you do, see me.) When are applications due? We will be using the computers to research colleges and courses of study.

Name Game, Sarah from Dr. Oz's Health Initiative, Cooking, Birthday Pizza

1. We played the name game and learned each others' names.

2. Sarah, from Dr. Oz's Health Initiative, visited the Family Group. She said that she is available in her office, which is on the first floor in the same suite of offices as Global Kids. If you have any questions about health, or wish to make a suggestion about health programs you'd like to see here, see Sarah.

3. We discussed cooking. Andre discussed his prowess with spaghetti sauce and baked ziti; Camilla, Matthew and Jose talked about cooking ribs; and Joseph also spoke about making spaghetti. Should we have a Family Group cook-off? How would we keep everything hot? This needs to be explored further.

4. Isamar wants pepperoni pizza in celebration of her birthday this Thursday. If we are going to do that, it would have to be at lunch, so the pizza can be gotten beforehand. I am willing to consider it. It would be in celebration of the September and October birthdays.

Welcome to Family Group, Fall 2009, Cycle 1

Hi, Family Group members. Welcome to Fall 2009 at West Side High School.

This year, each member of our Family Group will be required to keep a journal. Your first assignment is to listen to President Obama's speech welcoming students back to school. You can view the speech here.

Write a two-page written response to his words in your journal.

Assignment, Week Two:
In your journal, respond to the writing prompt: College: Why, or Why Not?

What do you plan to do in your future? Do you plan to go to college? Why or why not? What do you plan to do in your future? Write a two-page response in your journal.

Cycle 5 - Project 2

1. Go to the following websites:

www.whitehouse.gov
www.cspan.org
www.bbc.com
www.cnn.com

2. Find a CURRENT EVENTS story with global or national implications. This cannot be a purely local story, and it has to be about politics or social issues, (not art, music, sports or fashion).

3. Print out and read materials on your chosen issue. You may also watch videos that appear on any of the above three websites to add to your knowledge of the subject.

4. Write a description of your issue. You may add your opinion at the end of your write-up.

5. Use your notes and materials to create a presentation on your issue, using PowerPoint. The presentations should have at least ten slides and should include pictures.

In order to attain credit, you must meet the following deadlines:
Write-ups must be completed by Thursday, April 30th.
PowerPoint presentations must be completed by Tuesday, May 5th.

Jose - modern-day pirates
Matthew - modern-day pirates
LaShaya - voting in South Africa
Hazel - Miss California and gay marriage
Andre -
Devani - Environmental jobs, green roofs
Isamar -

Where I’m From Made Me Shaya

Where I’m From Made Me Shaya

I am from my private space in my tub.
I am from my first heartbreak, hating love.
I am from the late night manhunt and slapbox.
I am from the stereo blasting with 112 & The Lox.
I am from the morena that speaks good Spanish.
I am from where around Lita & Buela my color vanishes.
I am from North Carolina & Dominican Republic.
I am from where both sides of my family can never get along in public.
I am from my first heartbreak being my father.
I am from because of this trusting guys is harder and harder.
I am from losing a grant man from an overreaction.
I am from losing out on my heart’s passion.
I am from grandma dying on my birthday.
I am from finding out about best friends the worst way.
I am from addiction to Saks 5th and Bloomingdales.
I am from a house where everyone yells.
I am from being born grown.
I am from losing my virginity alone.
I am from break it up, clean it up, collect the shells if you blast it.
I am from chipping in, don’t steam, just pass it.
I am from being a live wire, mean broad.
I am from where accepting my mother’s side of the family is hard.
I am from having my stomach cut open at 17.
I am from never living out my little girl dream.
I am from doing a bid because of a snitch.
I am from a motivation of society’s poor, but living rich.
I am from rubber grips, Smith and Wessons, and dirt bikes
I am from Range Rovers, fly guys, Polo v-necks and put in work right.
I am from slicing, stabbing, shooting, shocker and he still won’t die.
I am from losing my baby and I still haven’t broken down to cry.
I am from my daughter, basketball and rapping is my life.
I am from denying Curtis’ proposal to be his wife, twice.
I am from a heartbeat in my brain that’s constantly
beating, breaking,
breathing, bleeding,
hard, harder,
fast, faster,
loud, loud, louder.
Then it stops, just when I think it’s the end,
It replays in my mind where I’m from all over again.

- Shaya

Cycle 5 - Project 1: The School Newspaper

Alias proposed that the Family Group create a school newspaper. The group named it "The Word - West Side's What's Up."

Assignments selected by students:
Andre on Peer Pressure
Devani on College Admission Requirements/Procedures
Janay on Teen Pregnancy
Hazel on Fashion
Benito on The Obama Presidency
Jose’s Puzzle Page
Melinda’s Poetic Minds poetry page
Matthew on Global Warming
Alias with his Spotlight on Staff
Isamar on Celebrity Gossip
Alicia on Suicide Prevention
Jean on The Legalization of Marijuana

Task: Write an article about the issue that you have chosen, or create a page for the game or artwork that you are providing to the newspaper.

In order to attain credit for this cycle, this and all required projects must be completed.