Summer Vacation

After the graduation ceremony, the kids obviously stopped coming into HCZ and the staff has been alone for the past few days. This week and a half break from the kids is called "Summer Orientation", and it has consisted of several all staff meetings and much time creating the curriculum for the summer program. During the all staff meetings, we learned about all the different logistical procedures we must adhere to as responsible supervisors this summer. For example, we were taught how to properly load and unload 50+ kids onto a subway car, where we are allowed to take trips with the kids and where we are prohibited from going (example- water is strictly prohibited for liability reasons), the proper dress code for work (the only requirements are that we wear sneakers and comfortable clothes so that we can work out with the kids during Fitness Time), the daily schedule for the entire program, and any other things we could get fired from our jobs for. We also participated in several ice breakers and "get to know you" activities that were intended to not only bond us as a staff, but also give us ideas for activities we could do with the kids. After the all staff meetings, we broke up into small groups based on what age group we will be working with over the summer to create the curriculum for our kids. I am working with 2 other staff members, Paul and Julie, with the incoming 8th grade group. The 3 of us have created a curriculum for our more than 50 8th graders based on the program-wide theme of the summer, "Me, Myself and I". Our goal is to help the 8th graders start to make the connection between their own personal health and fitness and the overall health of their community. As 8th graders these students will be "Health Ambassadors", whose job is to reach out into the community and spread the knowledge they have learned in their previous 3 years at TRUCE. Thus, our curriculum for the summer involves, in addition to the daily journals that the kids will keep to monitor their own personal progress on a goal they will set for themselves in the first week of the program, several mulitmedia presentations created by the kids to spread information to the community about healthy eating and how to work out. The presentations will be in the form of a brochure with information, a work-out video that will be given away for free to community members, and a large poster-board to be presented at community gatherings. Additionally, we aim to spend a great deal of time teaching the kids presentation skills so that they can accurately and effectively spread the information they have learned to a larger audience. This curriculum is in addition to the general curriculum of the entire program, which involves and hour a day for Fitness, as well as weekly time for art, drama, cooking, and yoga on top of weekly Thursday trips to places such as the Bronx Zoo, Liberty Science Museum, and Six Flags Great Adventure to name a few. Overall, it is going to be a packed summer for these kids!

In addition to the curriculum planning and staff meetings of summer orientation, we also helped to set up the summer gardening project that TRUCE has participated in for the past 2 years. A Professor from Cornell's Agriculture College came to TRUCE one day last week (it just happened to be the hottest day of the summer thus far, but we stuck it out!) to help us set up the hydoponic technology to grow our tomatoe, corn, pepper, and green bean plants. It was very interesting to see how the staff reacted to this educated, sophisticated Jamaican man who came to teach them about this new technology. Despite the fact that he shared the same skin color as most of the TRUCE staff, they were clearly uncomfortable with the way this man spoke, the way he dressed, and his intense passion for his work. However, after he showed us how to go about planting the crops and we got to work as a team, the awkwardness dissipated and the comraderie of the group helped us get the job done fast and with lots of laughter. I had a great time bonding with my fellow TRUCE staff over this project, and I am looking forward to participating in this garden project throughout the summer, as it is the 8th graders who will be in charge of the maintenance and success of the garden. Staff orientation proved to be not only extremely educational and preparatory for the summer camp, but it was also a wonderful chance for me to bond and get to know the other staff members on a more personal level. But as much as I loved getting to know the staff at TRUCE, the real challenge starts next week when the kids come back...