So, we all had to say our "goodbyes"... for now. It was great to meet (re-meet) everyone's parents and get to share my appreciation for their son or daughter being a part of COSMOS.
I loved every minute of COSMOS and will miss it even more on Monday. It was a great way to spend my summer - to get to know and work with exceptional students and faculty. We truly had the best cluster faculty - it was evident from Day 1 that they all cared about the students and each other. Teamwork and community were a key part of the success we had. I believe that the students felt that we cared about them because we did! Everyone was a valued person in our cluster community. Joe immediately set that tone from Day 1 - technically, pre-Day 1 when we had our opening day events. I am so appreciative to be allowed to be a part of an awesome team. It was an intellectually and personally growing experience. I know it will help me in my teaching practice this fall and the future. Thank you for allowing me to be your Teacher Fellow. I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Congratulations to all of Cluster 1's students in completing their projects and proudly showcasing their work today for everyone. I spent almost all of the Expo morning in the lounge where we had our backboards and EVERYONE was very impressed with our students' work and in awe. Each project got rave reviews. You should be incredibly proud of what you acheived in four weeks time! Congratulations to Albert, Tiffany C. and Ale for receiving scholarships!
Please keep in touch and let me know how you are doing! Remember, you have until the end of September to submit a proposal to COSMOS to receive Intel's Researcher Grant of $500 for a science fair project idea. If you need help, please feel free to contact me! I am more than happy to help. The world needs to benefit from your ideas and hard work. This is one way to get some grant money to do it! You could use your COSMOS experience as a starting point for a future project!
The following are some lyrics from "For Now" from Avenue Q. I thought it fitting - with my sadness about the end of COSMOS (compounded by the end of the San Diego run of Avenue Q tomorrow - yes, I saw it again tonight, one last time here, it made me feel better about the conclusion of COSMOS). This song makes feels me better. As a background, Princeton (the main character) just graduated from college with a B.A. in English. He is trying to find his purpose in life - with no luck. This the final number from the musical and all the characters sing in it.
Why does everything have to be so hard?
Maybe you'll never find your purpose.
Lots of people don't.
But then- I don't know why I'm even alive!
Well, who does, really?
Everyone's a little bit unsatisfied.
Everyone goes 'round a little empty inside.
Take a breath, Look around, Swallow your pride,
For now...
Nothing lasts, Life goes on, Full of surprises.
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes.
You're going to have to make a few compromises...
For now...
But only for now! (For now)
Only for now! (For now)
For now we're healthy. For now we're employed.
For now we're happy... If not overjoyed.
And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid, for now...
For now...
Only for now! (For now there's life!)
Only for now! (For now there's love!)
Only for now! (For now there's work!)
For now there's happiness! But only for now! (For now discomfort!)
Only for now! (For now there's friendship!)
Only for now (For now!)
Only for now!
Don't stress, Relax,
Let life roll off your backs
Except for death and paying taxes,
Everything in life is only for now!
Each time you smile...
It'll only last a while.
Life may be scary...
But it's only temporary
Everything in life is only for now.
Here's to life being "full of surprises" in the future! I'm sure our paths will cross in the future - perhaps, when that happens, I'll be able to do the brain twister yo-yo trick! Hopefully at next year's Intel International Science and Engineering Fair or California State Science Fair. =)
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Friday, August 3, 2007
Presentations and Goodbye...
"The Unknowns"
"The Apocolype"
"The Chick-A-Ds"
"Team Sunset"
"The Juggernauts"
Today was presentation day. The students demonstrated how much they learned from their four weeks here. They showed they came a long way from the first day. I'm proud of them! After presentations and lunch, it was time for the long awaited viewing of everyone's movies! It was great! It was further proof of what can be accomplished by working as a team and what they learned. Students have so much potential and they got to taste was it was like. They have so much more to explore. So much awaits them in their future. I hope they carry this experience forward in the lives - all that they learned both in the classroom and personally.
I can't believe COSMOS is done. It has been an absolutely wonderful experience and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned a lot and remembered a lot. I got many ideas to use in my classroom in the future. Despite working the last four weeks, I feel invigorated for the Fall. It has been an absolute pleasure and privilege working with everyone - students and faculty. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Thank you all for sharing your lives and talents! It made for a richer experience.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Avenue Q!!!!
Each time you smile, it'll only last a while..." -- Avenue Q
I saw Avenue Q tonight! I love this show. My husband says that I'm on a theater high. It renews my spirit. Gives me hope. It's life reaffirming. I love the music, the characters (talk about great character development) and the story. It won the Tony for best musical in 2004. The first stop of the tour is here in San Diego and it's been here for about 5 weeks. It ends on Sunday at 2pm. As two of the characters say in the show, "That makes me sad."
So, last time I saw it, I happened to run into one of the actors in the show as we were leaving the theater. I said "hi" to him and told him how much we enjoyed the show. But that was it. So, this time, we walked over to the side where they exit, which is on our way to the parking garage, and a few of the actors were already out. I got to meet Robert McClure, Minglie Chen, and Christian Anderson from the show. Robert plays the lead character Princeton as well as Rod. Minglie plays lots of different characters such as Mrs. T and Bear. Christian plays Trekkie Monster and Nicky, among others. They have my utmost respect and admiration. They not only sing, dance and act, but they also have to be puppeteers. They do such a wonderful job having their emotions and body language carry over to the puppets that they play/hold/act with. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I talked with Robert a bit, he's my favorite. I am in awe of him - so talented. He plays two COMPLETELY different characters and you quickly differentiate the two, despite seeing him man both (often at separate times on stage, however there are occasions where both his characters are on stage). Anyway, I also got their autographs on the Playbill for the show and a picture. This is the first time I ever got a picture with the actors from a theater show I saw. I'm getting "fearless" in my "old age". My philosophy has become, it never hurts to ask! Anyway, here is my picture! =)
From left to right: Christian, Robert, me and Minglie.
From left to right: Rod, Princeton and Lucy. Robert plays both Rod and Princeton.
Alright, on to COSMOS stuff. The students finished A LOT of stuff today - their backboards and movie. I'm very proud of how their backboards have turned out. We practiced their presentations and videotaped their practice. I hope they practice, it will only improve their presentation. I saw some of their videos and I loved them. The creativity and hard work put into the videos are apparent. I know they put in a lot of time and energy -- you will see it paid off! You should be proud of all you did. Everyone accomplished a lot in a short period of time.
So, one of the quotes I opened with "Each time you smile, it will only last a while...". I love this quote. It's from the song "For Now" from the show. "Everything in life, is only for now." Now, if we told students at the beginning of COSMOS that you'd be sad for a little while, that the uncomfortableness would only last a while, they probably wouldn't have believed us. Even if some of that remained throughout COSMOS, COSMOS is "temporary". It's only four weeks of their lives - an important four weeks mind you - but they will return to the comfort zone soon enough. Very soon! If you think about it, we are only "happy" for a while. Everything comes in waves, big waves, small waves, still waves. But smiles will come again! Because sadness/frustation/indifference/etc. only lasts a while. It's reassuring. I guess I look at it as "glass is half full".
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Look! It's a new month!
Oh my gosh, it's August already! That tends to happen the day after my birthday. =) It still amazes me that its already August, that means the summer is almost over. I report back to school at the end of the month. I actually go back about a week earlier than that for Link Crew training. If you don't know what Link Crew is, it is a when current juniors and seniors "link" with incoming freshmen (and sophomores in our school as well) to do orientation. The juniors and seniors are trained on icebreaker activities, give the campus tour, do orientation activities, etc. We (the class advisors -- the Junior Class Advisor) train the Link Leaders before the registration day for the incoming students. It's a great "club". The juniors and seniors have been nominated by their teachers, so it's great students. They have a lot of fun as well.
It's been media authoring all day. They have lots of work to do before the deadline tomorrow. It's really coming along. I'm so impressed with all of their work. They have come a long way from the first day of COSMOS -- both in content and their personal growth.
I've reviewed all their materials for their backboard. Good foundations. I provided feedback and their backboard is due tomorrow.
Beth Simon came in and discussed metacognition today. I thought it was very cool how it was tied to CS. I'd be interested in doing that research for my PhD work. Hmmm... I found her page on the UCSD and will read the papers that were listed. They all seem fascinating to me. It's a blend of my CS and education backgrounds. In the future, when I move on from teaching at the high school level, I'd love to teach at a university. I don't have any interest in switching high schools, but when I feel it's time to move on, I'll look at university/college positions. I've occasionally looked at what I would need to position myself eligible for it, so it's been in the back of my mind as I further my own education. I would love to teach at UCSD one day. I wonder what I would have to do to accomplish that goal - and what department would it be in? I guess I have to figure that part out first, before anything else. So, basic goal is there, I just have to focus it a little more so I can hit that target.
Today is yo-yo-ing Part 2. I'm excited. I've been practicing. I've been able to do the brain twister twice! Not that anyone saw me, so there are no witnesses. But believe me, I was shocked that I pulled it off --- all the way! Since then, I've gotten about half way through the trick.
It's been media authoring all day. They have lots of work to do before the deadline tomorrow. It's really coming along. I'm so impressed with all of their work. They have come a long way from the first day of COSMOS -- both in content and their personal growth.
I've reviewed all their materials for their backboard. Good foundations. I provided feedback and their backboard is due tomorrow.
Beth Simon came in and discussed metacognition today. I thought it was very cool how it was tied to CS. I'd be interested in doing that research for my PhD work. Hmmm... I found her page on the UCSD and will read the papers that were listed. They all seem fascinating to me. It's a blend of my CS and education backgrounds. In the future, when I move on from teaching at the high school level, I'd love to teach at a university. I don't have any interest in switching high schools, but when I feel it's time to move on, I'll look at university/college positions. I've occasionally looked at what I would need to position myself eligible for it, so it's been in the back of my mind as I further my own education. I would love to teach at UCSD one day. I wonder what I would have to do to accomplish that goal - and what department would it be in? I guess I have to figure that part out first, before anything else. So, basic goal is there, I just have to focus it a little more so I can hit that target.
Today is yo-yo-ing Part 2. I'm excited. I've been practicing. I've been able to do the brain twister twice! Not that anyone saw me, so there are no witnesses. But believe me, I was shocked that I pulled it off --- all the way! Since then, I've gotten about half way through the trick.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
July 31
Today started with a Discovery Lecture on art and technology. It reminded me of a NUMB3RS episode called "Provenance". Charlie (the mathematician) used mathematical analysis to determine the authenticity of a piece of art that was stolen. This is what imdb.com has as the episode description: "The robbery of a painting that unexpectedly turned to murder, has the team exploring a disputed provenance and possible insurance fraud." It's a powerful episode about not only math and how it can be applied in the art world, but history and the Holocaust.
Students got time today to work on their backboard presentations. Many were doing revisions after my "lecture" on backboards. I showed them pictures of my backboard for my master's presentation. I really do practice what I preach. I firmly believe that if I expect my students to do something, I should do it too. It's a two way street.
The day ended with a wonderful surprise. They threw me a surprise party. Today is my birthday. Joe and Krista pulled off a wonderful thoughtful surprise. We had cake and drinks. Cluster 1 is the best cluster. I don't see us just as faculty and students - we are a community. It's evident in the offering of extra-curricular activities for our "Computer Scientists are Real People Too", in the participation by students and faculty, and the little things - that mean big things like today. Thank you so much to everyone. It made my birthday all the more special.
This evening, I went out to dinner with my husband and my parents. We went to Mimi's Cafe. One of the nice things about that restuarant is the bread you get when you sit down -- a french sourdough and carrot bread. Not all together in on loaf, two separate ones. Yummy. My mom mentioned to some people at her work that it was my birthday, and they asked her, "How old is she?" She simply replied - "She's all grown up." Giving them my age will give them a frame of reference for hers. Why would she want to do that? Especially when she looks younger than she is! =)
Students got time today to work on their backboard presentations. Many were doing revisions after my "lecture" on backboards. I showed them pictures of my backboard for my master's presentation. I really do practice what I preach. I firmly believe that if I expect my students to do something, I should do it too. It's a two way street.
The day ended with a wonderful surprise. They threw me a surprise party. Today is my birthday. Joe and Krista pulled off a wonderful thoughtful surprise. We had cake and drinks. Cluster 1 is the best cluster. I don't see us just as faculty and students - we are a community. It's evident in the offering of extra-curricular activities for our "Computer Scientists are Real People Too", in the participation by students and faculty, and the little things - that mean big things like today. Thank you so much to everyone. It made my birthday all the more special.
This evening, I went out to dinner with my husband and my parents. We went to Mimi's Cafe. One of the nice things about that restuarant is the bread you get when you sit down -- a french sourdough and carrot bread. Not all together in on loaf, two separate ones. Yummy. My mom mentioned to some people at her work that it was my birthday, and they asked her, "How old is she?" She simply replied - "She's all grown up." Giving them my age will give them a frame of reference for hers. Why would she want to do that? Especially when she looks younger than she is! =)
Monday, July 30, 2007
Music!
"Music! Food of love, emotion, mathematics, isolation,
Rhythm, power, feeling, harmony, and heavy competition" - Rent
So, today's extra-curricular activity for "Computer Scientists are Real People Too" was Karaoke Revolution, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and Guitar Hero games for the PS2. Not only was it music - but it was Computer Science in action! It was a lot of fun. Just see for yourself!
DDR and Karaoke all-in-one! No one wanted to try both at the same time! So, we made it a two player effort!
Guitar Hero!
DDR was played by all: those who loved the game, and those who did it for the first time! I hope everyone who wanted to play got a chance!
I had a blast! It's always fun to play these games, especially in a group. Everyone was so encouraging and supportive - even for those of us (i.e. me) who can't seem to dance and trip over ourselves when we try to play. I think that says a lot about our cluster -- supportive and encouraging of others, such truly wonderful qualities. The applause and laughter was all done in good spirits. Like I said, I had a blast!
Yesterday, I went and painted pottery. It was a lot of fun. After, we picked up dinner and karaoked (is that a word? Well, it is now!). I'll see how they turn out in about a week after they are "baked" and "kilned" (I think that's the word). Anyway, I painted a square plate with blues and purples and some yellow. No real design, just abstract I guess. I made up my design/pattern. I'll put up a picture when I get it back. I should have taken a "before" picture, but I didn't. But here are some of my friends and family at Color Me Mine.
My mom painting a very intricate design. She did an AWESOME job! I'm so proud of her!
My friends Shane and Ana. Shane made a "matching" (when you handpaint something, doesn't come out exactly the same, but it came out pretty darn close!) set of mugs. Ana painted a "box" that was flip flops. Very cute, she drew her own butterfly on it.
My friends Sarah and Donna. Sarah painted a big seahorse (she did an awesome job) and her mom Donna painted a soap dish with little duckies on it and a horse - very cool, I think that when it's baked it will look great!
Today was the first time I ate at the Price Center since I went here as an undergrad. My brother (who doesn't live here) was down for the weekend for my birthday. Since he'll miss my birthday tomorrow, he stayed an extra day and we had lunch. It is always great spending time with him.
I had a great weekend and Monday was a lot of fun. Today was how Mondays should be!
Rhythm, power, feeling, harmony, and heavy competition" - Rent
So, today's extra-curricular activity for "Computer Scientists are Real People Too" was Karaoke Revolution, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and Guitar Hero games for the PS2. Not only was it music - but it was Computer Science in action! It was a lot of fun. Just see for yourself!
DDR and Karaoke all-in-one! No one wanted to try both at the same time! So, we made it a two player effort!
Guitar Hero!
DDR was played by all: those who loved the game, and those who did it for the first time! I hope everyone who wanted to play got a chance!
I had a blast! It's always fun to play these games, especially in a group. Everyone was so encouraging and supportive - even for those of us (i.e. me) who can't seem to dance and trip over ourselves when we try to play. I think that says a lot about our cluster -- supportive and encouraging of others, such truly wonderful qualities. The applause and laughter was all done in good spirits. Like I said, I had a blast!
Yesterday, I went and painted pottery. It was a lot of fun. After, we picked up dinner and karaoked (is that a word? Well, it is now!). I'll see how they turn out in about a week after they are "baked" and "kilned" (I think that's the word). Anyway, I painted a square plate with blues and purples and some yellow. No real design, just abstract I guess. I made up my design/pattern. I'll put up a picture when I get it back. I should have taken a "before" picture, but I didn't. But here are some of my friends and family at Color Me Mine.
My mom painting a very intricate design. She did an AWESOME job! I'm so proud of her!
My friends Shane and Ana. Shane made a "matching" (when you handpaint something, doesn't come out exactly the same, but it came out pretty darn close!) set of mugs. Ana painted a "box" that was flip flops. Very cute, she drew her own butterfly on it.
My friends Sarah and Donna. Sarah painted a big seahorse (she did an awesome job) and her mom Donna painted a soap dish with little duckies on it and a horse - very cool, I think that when it's baked it will look great!
Today was the first time I ate at the Price Center since I went here as an undergrad. My brother (who doesn't live here) was down for the weekend for my birthday. Since he'll miss my birthday tomorrow, he stayed an extra day and we had lunch. It is always great spending time with him.
I had a great weekend and Monday was a lot of fun. Today was how Mondays should be!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Three Fridays Down... Wow!
July 27th, 3:20pm, Pacific Standard Time, I can't believe three weeks went by so fast. I'm reminded of the line from Rent, "December 24th, 10pm, Eastern Standard Time, Can't believe a year went by so fast." The next line is, "Time to see what we have, time to see, turn the projector on..." Of course, that's for next Friday. =) I should have saved that for next week. Oh well.
They have spent all day working on their videos and presentation. Several groups had a chance to go to the media center here on campus to film with a blue screen. The footage that the groups have so far are very cool. I'm anxious to see their finished work.
Today, I'm taking the Juggernauts and the Unknowns to the movies. This will be a late night for me. I'm not much for going out at night. When I do, it tends to be to the theater, not the movies or anything. The idea that I'll be out until 10pm at least already exhausts me. But the groups deserve it and I want to reward their good work.
I'll practice this weekend with my yo-yo. Hopefully, I won't hurt my hand or arm again. Who needs to lift weights or do bicep curls when you can yo-yo? That's what's working out my bicep. Of course, only one arm is getting worked out, so I'll be lop-sided. Oh well.
My plans for the weekend... I'm doing a "Girls Day Out" where we will go to Color Me Mine and paint ceramics. It's a combination of "Girls Day Out" and my birthday. If people are interested, we're going to karaoke afterwards. Then I'll get to bring karaoke to COSMOS on Monday. Yea! I think it will be fun!
They have spent all day working on their videos and presentation. Several groups had a chance to go to the media center here on campus to film with a blue screen. The footage that the groups have so far are very cool. I'm anxious to see their finished work.
Today, I'm taking the Juggernauts and the Unknowns to the movies. This will be a late night for me. I'm not much for going out at night. When I do, it tends to be to the theater, not the movies or anything. The idea that I'll be out until 10pm at least already exhausts me. But the groups deserve it and I want to reward their good work.
I'll practice this weekend with my yo-yo. Hopefully, I won't hurt my hand or arm again. Who needs to lift weights or do bicep curls when you can yo-yo? That's what's working out my bicep. Of course, only one arm is getting worked out, so I'll be lop-sided. Oh well.
My plans for the weekend... I'm doing a "Girls Day Out" where we will go to Color Me Mine and paint ceramics. It's a combination of "Girls Day Out" and my birthday. If people are interested, we're going to karaoke afterwards. Then I'll get to bring karaoke to COSMOS on Monday. Yea! I think it will be fun!
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