I can't believe how fast yesterday flew by! Usually, Tuesday's are slow for me and they seem to take forever. However, I had a lot of different activities and meetings going on, which made the day seem extremely short. Here is a quick run-down of what yesterday was like:
From 9:00-11:00, I had work study at the learning center. I tutored a couple of students in math, and even managed to get some of my homework finished.
From 11:00-Noon, I had my class Integrating Technology into the Classroom. We are currently in the middle of presenting our Webquest projects. I had already presented mine during the previous class period, so I just had to listen to other students' presentations.
During the noon hour, I had a meeting for a club I'm in called SWAT. SWAT stands for Sophomores Working at Thriving. This club provides different opportunities to the sophomore community on campus to help them become more involved. At our meeting, we discussed end of the year details and possible new members.
From 2:00-3:00, I helped out with new student registration. This involved escorting the new students to their different appointments. I also had the chance to visit with them to learn more about what they are interested in and what they are considering majoring in.
From 4:00-5:00, I tutored a high school student in Algebra. Because I work in the learning center, I often get requests outside of the college to tutor students. I love this experience, because I feel that it is preparing me for student teaching.
Finally, at 9:30 I had my Orientation Leader meeting. At this meeting, we discussed the rules that we have to follow during orientation week. We also found out who are partners were going to be. I have the same partner that I had last year, so I am pretty excited.
After this extremely busy day, I was ready for bed. The good thing is though is that this was my busiest day of the week. It's all downhill from here.
Until next time,
-Cody
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Time to Pack Up
Mount Marty's spring band concert was held tonight. Overall, I thought we did an excellent job. While we did have quite a few songs, the concert lasted only an hour. However, we were all pretty tired by the end of it. The end of the concert means there is no more band, which is going to be nice this week. As finals draw nearer, the homework load often increases. It will be nice to have the open time slots that band used to fill to get things done.
This week is registration week for all new incoming students. I will be helping with this process everyday. I think it's going to be a great opportunity to meet some of the new students and help answer any questions that they may have about the college experience. Plus, I get payed to do this, and extra cash is always a good thing to have.
I should also start cleaning my room and packing up things this week. It's amazing how much more stuff I have in my room now than I did when I first moved in. It seems like everytime I go home, I bring something back with me. Now I have to try and figure out how I am going to get a good majority of it in my car.
Finally, I have a couple of club meetings this week. Most of them are going to be about end of the year items that still need to be taken care of. On Tuesday night I have my Orientation Leader meeting. At this meeting I will find out who my partner is going to be for the weekend of orientation. We will also receive more information regarding the year's theme. I am pretty excited for this, because orientation last year was a blast!
Until next time,
-Cody
This week is registration week for all new incoming students. I will be helping with this process everyday. I think it's going to be a great opportunity to meet some of the new students and help answer any questions that they may have about the college experience. Plus, I get payed to do this, and extra cash is always a good thing to have.
I should also start cleaning my room and packing up things this week. It's amazing how much more stuff I have in my room now than I did when I first moved in. It seems like everytime I go home, I bring something back with me. Now I have to try and figure out how I am going to get a good majority of it in my car.
Finally, I have a couple of club meetings this week. Most of them are going to be about end of the year items that still need to be taken care of. On Tuesday night I have my Orientation Leader meeting. At this meeting I will find out who my partner is going to be for the weekend of orientation. We will also receive more information regarding the year's theme. I am pretty excited for this, because orientation last year was a blast!
Until next time,
-Cody
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Summer's Creepin' Up
The realization that school is almost over really hit home today when I received a summer check-out sheet. It is hard to believe that I am almost done with my sophomore year of college! It feels like it was only yesterday when I moved in. People say the high school years fly by, but I think college goes even faster.
It is weird to see how close I have become to fellow classmates. I feel closer to many of them than I do to my old high school classmates. I feel like I have known all of them for longer than two years. I guess this is just one of the great parts of going to college. I have developed relationships that I know I will have forever.
With the end of the school year approaching, it is also time for me to start thinking about summer jobs. Students do have the opportunity to stay at Mount Marty during the summer and apply for workstudy. Classes are also offered so students can get a jump start before the next semester begins. However, I think I will be going home this summer, as I do not need to take any of the classes that are being offered. As for my summer job, I recently applied to the local campground that I live by. While I have not heard anything back from this job, I do have another job lined up. For the past two summers, I have helped out at a real estate/insurance business that my uncle owns. I do a lot of computer-type work, including updating their website. Whatever job I may end up doing, at least I will have a form of income coming in.
The next couple of days are going to be pretty busy, as I have two math tests in a row: Statistics and Discrete Mathematics. These two tests are not going to be something that I will be able to "wing." I am going to have to study pretty hard if I want to do well. Looks like I will be living in the library for the next two days.
Until next time,
-Cody
It is weird to see how close I have become to fellow classmates. I feel closer to many of them than I do to my old high school classmates. I feel like I have known all of them for longer than two years. I guess this is just one of the great parts of going to college. I have developed relationships that I know I will have forever.
With the end of the school year approaching, it is also time for me to start thinking about summer jobs. Students do have the opportunity to stay at Mount Marty during the summer and apply for workstudy. Classes are also offered so students can get a jump start before the next semester begins. However, I think I will be going home this summer, as I do not need to take any of the classes that are being offered. As for my summer job, I recently applied to the local campground that I live by. While I have not heard anything back from this job, I do have another job lined up. For the past two summers, I have helped out at a real estate/insurance business that my uncle owns. I do a lot of computer-type work, including updating their website. Whatever job I may end up doing, at least I will have a form of income coming in.
The next couple of days are going to be pretty busy, as I have two math tests in a row: Statistics and Discrete Mathematics. These two tests are not going to be something that I will be able to "wing." I am going to have to study pretty hard if I want to do well. Looks like I will be living in the library for the next two days.
Until next time,
-Cody
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Project Season
Thursday night's choir/jazz band concert was an extremely big success. Everyone that I have talked to about it said they enjoyed it immensely. I thought we did an excellent job performing and everything went smooth. We also had a lot of fun up on stage, and I feel that that is what made the concert so enjoyable.
With the tour and concert out of the way, my stress load has been lightened a little. However, my to-do list is still pretty big. April seems like the month when professors all have big projects due. All of my classmates are either working on projects are getting ready to start them. It seems like all majors have been hit by projects.
Currently, I have three that are coming up. The first one is for my Integrating Technology class. I have to design a WebQuest, an Internet based project, for a certain age group of students. Mine is directed towards high school Algebra/Geometry students, as I plan on teaching math. Basically, my WebQuest involves the students setting up their own lawnmowing business to pay for a trip. They will have to visit different websites to help them in completing the project. For the most part, I have this project done. I just need to proofread it and fix minor details.
The next two projects I haven't even really thought about. One is for one of my education classes. I have to compose a discipline plan, which is my philosophy on how classrooms should be managed and how students should behave. I do not think this project should be too hard to complete. The other project is for my class called Human Relations. My group has to come up with a student generated topic and spend one whole class period presenting it. We are thinking of doing ours on racism and stereotypes, but we have not finalized anything yet.
With the above projects in mind, I guess I can't use the excuse that I have nothing to do.
Until next time,
-Cody
With the tour and concert out of the way, my stress load has been lightened a little. However, my to-do list is still pretty big. April seems like the month when professors all have big projects due. All of my classmates are either working on projects are getting ready to start them. It seems like all majors have been hit by projects.
Currently, I have three that are coming up. The first one is for my Integrating Technology class. I have to design a WebQuest, an Internet based project, for a certain age group of students. Mine is directed towards high school Algebra/Geometry students, as I plan on teaching math. Basically, my WebQuest involves the students setting up their own lawnmowing business to pay for a trip. They will have to visit different websites to help them in completing the project. For the most part, I have this project done. I just need to proofread it and fix minor details.
The next two projects I haven't even really thought about. One is for one of my education classes. I have to compose a discipline plan, which is my philosophy on how classrooms should be managed and how students should behave. I do not think this project should be too hard to complete. The other project is for my class called Human Relations. My group has to come up with a student generated topic and spend one whole class period presenting it. We are thinking of doing ours on racism and stereotypes, but we have not finalized anything yet.
With the above projects in mind, I guess I can't use the excuse that I have nothing to do.
Until next time,
-Cody
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Exhausted!
The choir/jazz band tour is now officially over with, and I am beat. It was a jam-packed two day event, from start to finish.
First, we had to unload everything off the bus and carry it into the school. This involved items such as risers, instruments, microphones, a huge projection screen, robes, etc. Next, we had to set up an arrangement of all of these objects that would work in the school's setting. Third, we performed our songs for the crowd, which was a bit nerve-wracking for me at times. Finally, we packed up everything back into the bus and hurried off to the next school. The process repeated all over again five more times.
Our final concert is tomorrow night here at the college. We will be performing all of our pieces for the audience. (During the tour, we performed select songs due to the time limit.) I can't wait for the college audience to see what we have all been working on and hear what we have accomplished.
Currently, I am sitting at my desk staring at the pile of homework that awaits me. Because I was gone from classes for two days, I am a little behind with my work. I'm not sure though if I am going to attempt starting any of it tonight. As I mentioned earlier, I am extremely tired and I have a feeling I would not get very far on it. I think its going to be an early night for me, as I will probably go to bed soon.
Until next time,
-Cody
First, we had to unload everything off the bus and carry it into the school. This involved items such as risers, instruments, microphones, a huge projection screen, robes, etc. Next, we had to set up an arrangement of all of these objects that would work in the school's setting. Third, we performed our songs for the crowd, which was a bit nerve-wracking for me at times. Finally, we packed up everything back into the bus and hurried off to the next school. The process repeated all over again five more times.
Our final concert is tomorrow night here at the college. We will be performing all of our pieces for the audience. (During the tour, we performed select songs due to the time limit.) I can't wait for the college audience to see what we have all been working on and hear what we have accomplished.
Currently, I am sitting at my desk staring at the pile of homework that awaits me. Because I was gone from classes for two days, I am a little behind with my work. I'm not sure though if I am going to attempt starting any of it tonight. As I mentioned earlier, I am extremely tired and I have a feeling I would not get very far on it. I think its going to be an early night for me, as I will probably go to bed soon.
Until next time,
-Cody
Friday, April 11, 2008
CRAZY Rehearsals
This past week was one full of last minute rehearsals for me. Next week on Tuesday, April 15th, and Wednesday, April 16th, the choir and jazz band are going on their annual tour. Each year, these two groups perform at different towns in the Midwest area. This year, the tour is mainly in Nebraska and one South Dakota town as well.
Since the tour is next week, this week has been packed with trying to get everything ready. Yesterday, the choir had a dress rehearsal for anyone that was interested in coming to watch. This rehearsal gave the choir a chance to perform in the same manner that they will be doing on tour. This was my first time at seeing the whole concert come together. Because there are two different choirs, I had only heard the one choir I was in. However, it was neat at the dress rehearsal to finally get to hear the other choir's songs.
Perhaps one of the coolest things about the choir portion of the tour will be the multimedia presentations going on during the songs. Every song has some form of media playing in the background on a HUGE screen, whether it be lyrics or pictures. One song in particular, "Prayer of the Children", has very moving pictures and I think the audience will enjoy it immensely.
In jazz band, we played a mini concert today for students at a local middle school. It was good experience, as the first time playing for an audience is always the toughest. We have a wide variety of songs this year, ranging from swing to rock-and-roll. I think that every audience member will enjoy at least one song out of our collection, if not all of them.
With all of this in mind, next week is going to be CRAZY. We are leaving bright and early Tuesday morning, as we have to be at our first town a little after 8:00. After two full days of performing, we will arrive back at Mount Marty Wednesday night. Finally, we will end the performances with a home concert which will be held Thursday, April 17th.
Until next time,
-Cody
Since the tour is next week, this week has been packed with trying to get everything ready. Yesterday, the choir had a dress rehearsal for anyone that was interested in coming to watch. This rehearsal gave the choir a chance to perform in the same manner that they will be doing on tour. This was my first time at seeing the whole concert come together. Because there are two different choirs, I had only heard the one choir I was in. However, it was neat at the dress rehearsal to finally get to hear the other choir's songs.
Perhaps one of the coolest things about the choir portion of the tour will be the multimedia presentations going on during the songs. Every song has some form of media playing in the background on a HUGE screen, whether it be lyrics or pictures. One song in particular, "Prayer of the Children", has very moving pictures and I think the audience will enjoy it immensely.
In jazz band, we played a mini concert today for students at a local middle school. It was good experience, as the first time playing for an audience is always the toughest. We have a wide variety of songs this year, ranging from swing to rock-and-roll. I think that every audience member will enjoy at least one song out of our collection, if not all of them.
With all of this in mind, next week is going to be CRAZY. We are leaving bright and early Tuesday morning, as we have to be at our first town a little after 8:00. After two full days of performing, we will arrive back at Mount Marty Wednesday night. Finally, we will end the performances with a home concert which will be held Thursday, April 17th.
Until next time,
-Cody
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Workshoppin'
While the play is now officially over, I thought I would share a picture of the cast members that were involved in scene one just to mix things up a little.
Currently, I am working on a project for my education class called Measurement, Evaluation, and Management. Our project involves creating and developing a workshop on a classroom management theorist. Once we have the workshop planned out, we have to teach it to the rest of our class. Our first step in this project was to create an advertisment depicting what our workshop was about. The goal was to design it in such a way so that it would catch people's attention and inform them about the workshop. As of right now, my group is in the second step of the process, which involves making a lesson plan. This is probably the toughest part for us, because we have never made a lesson plan before. The procedures included in the plan must be specific enough so that another person could come and teach the lesson if they had to. It is a lot harder than it sounds. Once we turn in our lesson plan, we have to then teach our theorist to the individuals who attend our workshop. We were "lucky" enough to be selected to present this Friday. We are going to be graded not only on our professionalism, but also on our delivery and appearance. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly for us.
Until next time,
-Cody
Saturday, April 5, 2008
"The Wakefield Mysteries" - SUCCESS!
Today's performance of "The Wakefield Mysteries" went EXTREMELY well! A lot of hard work went into it, and it all payed off.
I was nervous about having to play my trumpet fanfare at the start of each of the four performances, but I somehow managed to play them all correctly. It was nice to actually have an audience to perform for, rather than an empty field. Sure, there were some mess-ups along the way, but we kept on going and gave an excellent performance.
This play was so different from what I am used to doing. For one, I had never done an outdoor play before this. Also, I had never been a part of such a large cast. Over 90 individuals were in the performance!! The weird thing is, we did not all practice together until yesterday. It was so awesome to see the whole thing come together.
Looking ahead, tomorrow will be a homework day, as I have tons to do. I have a lot of projects coming up, so I need to make sure that I stay caught up with all of my other assignments. I may even try to get a head start on some of the projects if I have time.
Until next time,
-Cody
I was nervous about having to play my trumpet fanfare at the start of each of the four performances, but I somehow managed to play them all correctly. It was nice to actually have an audience to perform for, rather than an empty field. Sure, there were some mess-ups along the way, but we kept on going and gave an excellent performance.
This play was so different from what I am used to doing. For one, I had never done an outdoor play before this. Also, I had never been a part of such a large cast. Over 90 individuals were in the performance!! The weird thing is, we did not all practice together until yesterday. It was so awesome to see the whole thing come together.
Looking ahead, tomorrow will be a homework day, as I have tons to do. I have a lot of projects coming up, so I need to make sure that I stay caught up with all of my other assignments. I may even try to get a head start on some of the projects if I have time.
Until next time,
-Cody
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Center for Academic Excellence
Currently, I am sitting in the Center for Academic Excellence, which is my workstudy at Mount Marty. Workstudy is a program set up through the Financial Aid office that allows students to make some extra cash while attending college. Its almost like a part time job. Some examples of workstudy that Mount Marty offers are food service, facilities, librarian, tutoring, business office, financial aid office, etc. Students may also work under individual professors as well.
The Center for Academic Excellence is the tutoring service that Mount Marty offers to all students. Basically, if a student is struggling in a certain subject area, he or she can come into the center and sign up for a tutor. This service is absolutely free of charge, so many students use it.
The center also proctors exams for students. Sometimes, professors will make arrangements for students to take exams or quizzes outside of class time. If this occurs, the professor usually brings the exam to the center. When the student comes in to take the exam, a tutor will then proctor it for them.
I am glad that I received this workstudy for various reasons. One, it is always nice to be making extra money on the side. Two, tutoring provides me with some great experience of helping others. I am going to be a teacher one day, so I will take all the practice that I can get.
Until next time,
-Cody
The Center for Academic Excellence is the tutoring service that Mount Marty offers to all students. Basically, if a student is struggling in a certain subject area, he or she can come into the center and sign up for a tutor. This service is absolutely free of charge, so many students use it.
The center also proctors exams for students. Sometimes, professors will make arrangements for students to take exams or quizzes outside of class time. If this occurs, the professor usually brings the exam to the center. When the student comes in to take the exam, a tutor will then proctor it for them.
I am glad that I received this workstudy for various reasons. One, it is always nice to be making extra money on the side. Two, tutoring provides me with some great experience of helping others. I am going to be a teacher one day, so I will take all the practice that I can get.
Until next time,
-Cody
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