Elyse’s Update

Elyse’s Update from Big Ol’ KC
Finally getting time to blog!! It has been such a busy week so far… full of driving, math and new adventures! I have been journaling and have lots of stories but Colleen tells me I should only write the highlights… So here goes!

So, we finally got here (it’s a longgg drive! But thank goodness we took it in two chunks- the first night we stayed in Denver and went the rest of the way the next day. We also took lots of stops – mostly due to Laura’s weak bladder… that girl would never make it on one of my dad’s roadtrips…where if we have to go to the bathroom, well gotta wait till the next gas station…). We have been having oodles of fun so far!
I am going to just hit on my school stories…seeing as what this trip is about☺ I will start out by saying Cristo Rey High School is very different than high schools we are familiar with. There are several things that make it so unique: It is a private Catholic school created only six years ago. It was designed as a college-prep school for culturally diverse students and aimed at giving them experiences they otherwise would not have. Being private, the school costs about $9,000 a semester. So if these students come from family’s that don’t really have that kind of money to spare, how do they pay for it?? That is where Cristo Rey’s awesomeness is evident. Upon entering the school, students are given a job in town and one day in their week, they go to their work sites. The money they make in their job goes to pay for their education. Pretty cool right? I wish I could write more about the history and what makes Cristo Rey unique but I better move on- P.S. though, you can check out a little more about the school from the following link. They were features on 60 minutes- they’re famous! But check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ev8kmPnzaY
Focusing on what I’ve specifically been doing…

I am helping out in Ms. Hotop’s Algebra 1 and 2 classes (boy, who made that placement?? 1+1= uh… just kidding but I am not the greatest at math…). Regardless, it has been actually really cool so far! Talk about blast from the past- we’re working on factoring binomials and graphing… exciting! Just wanna say really quick how happy I am to be in Ms. Hotop’s classroom. It is truly a privilege… This teacher has such an evident passion for what she does and that just radiates off her and rejuvenates and excites her students. Another difference at Cristo Rey is the classroom conversation. Ms. Hotop’s classroom is full of learning- you can hear it. If the students do not understand something, heck they “hold up” the teacher and ask for clarification. Ms. Hotop has impeccable classroom management though and can flow these, what some would view as interruptions, into a teaching point.
In short, even though I don’t enjoy math, I loved being in the classroom.

OK, sorry you’re probably getting tired of reading my blog but last thing I have to say- Today was especially awesome because I made a new friend!! Mrs. Hotop asked me to help a girl with her homework and I am so happy she did. (Ms. Hotop probably wasn’t though as we didn’t really get much homework done…shhh…). Her name is IKeyla and we decided I am pretty much the Montana version of her in a sense. We have a lot in common and have many of the same philosophies about life. I got to hang out with her in between classes and felt almost as if I was back in high school myself.
We already are making plans for her to come see what Montana is like☺

But enough from me, Nate is waiting to blog and I have to go make a sandwich for our transition over to Leavenworth tomorrow.
I will hopefully have time to blog again soon and give you more updates!
Thanks for reading!
SLFT (Still Looking For Todo)-
=]Elyse