NY Leadership Conference Day 4

We're back at it! Day 4 may have been my favorite yet!
  We started the day off pretty early by loading luggage into the bus to head into NYC. I was pleasantly pleased to see members of the NY 9 helping to load luggage, they were the primary volunteers. Ms. Skye filled us in on the long history of central park. (NYC wanted to be like Europe, Europe suggested getting a large green space, so they blew out everything that existed on the space and put in we we know as, Central Park. The kids enjoyed this time, they ran around, played, chased each other. We have started to understand how green space is crucial to a New Yorkers life! The boys found a pretty fountain, which Caleb then deemed, "The Fountain of the Opera". )Next stop was The Museum of New York City. We spent our time at this museum in the Future City Lab. This portion is an interactive exhibit that challenges the students to think of creative ways to fix 'problems'. Some of the students focused on housing, green space, transportation, and wide life. The students we asked to defend some of their choices (I think I got a live video of this process). They then were able to use tech simulations to actually build their ideas! They were aiming to get a 'green' score in: affordability, mass and environment. We had a group get 2/3 all green! I did get a live video of them during this process! While they were working, another leader from a fellow Summit group approached and asked me, how old our students are. When I replied, she stopped and said, "They are so well spoken. They're not afraid to speak and are so articulate." You just cant beat a teacher comment!! This section of the museum had an exhibit the kids didnt have time for, called, "What if". I am loving the idea of this and am hoping to bring it to our classroom this next year. I would like to incorporate it into a journal before we leave as well. People were challenged to write a dream of theirs on the "what if" side, and then complete it by filling out the "then" side with what exactly the consequences of their if would be.  We were all very sad to leave :(. We then walked the 20 minute walk to The Met! (They didnt love the walk, but did appreciate that it was a nice, wide, tree covered sidewalk!
      We ate lunch Gossip Girl style, on the steps. We were able to pick from a variety of food trucks and alot of the kiddos finally got to experience the famous NYC hot dog. After this, Kurt picked us in the bus for our hour long drive to TarryTown! They seem much more like a bus family now - even picking a bus name! I was able to get a few of the boys back for the sleeping pictures, round 2! Once we finally arrived to dorms, they got all set up and we headed to a big welcome with ALL the conference people. Then we set out for their first session of the summit! The kiddos are now on one of four colored teams. Each team will be sending one group to the finals for the design. As of now, this process is still a bit fuzzy for me, but I'l know more tomorrow! You'l definitely want to ask your student which color they are: navy, pink, blue, or purple. Though you'l probably notice their bandanas in the photos these next couple days. Innovation teams also got matching EF bandanas to wear. At dinner, the kids sat with new friends. None of them even wanted to sit with me!
    Following dinner we were suprised with fun outside activities! They even had a cotton candy guy! They had: sand vollyball, giant chess, giant bowling, blow up twister, popcorn, a blow up obstacle course, "competitive napping" squares, and other fun games. I wish you all could have seen the happiness on these guys faces! They played with new friends and Goddard friends the entire time! I did a live video showing some of the fun things when we arrived outside as well. (Sorry again about my yelling in your ear if you were watching live & for future watchers). I got quite a few videos, which wont load on this space, but check the group page! We were sad when it was time to walk back to our rooms. We hunted for a lost key and turned in for the night. Tomorrow, we hear from Clint Smith and they begin to really dig into the design process with their teams. Because, they are now with innovation teams, I wont see the kids as much as I have in these past few days (I think I'm experiencing a slight bit of what you all felt when you sent them off with me for 6 days!) Here are the quotes the day! Try and guess which kid may have said what:

"Its supposed to look like a mustache, but its more like a smile. So, its a smiley mustache"
"Hmm.. here Mrs. Rush, let me check and see if there are any flights out for him tonight"
"What if Skeeters laid eggs in there?"
"Mrs. Rush, the trick is, when you shake it, you have to wait until all the bubbles stop."
(More pictures to come tomorrow!)

NY 9 Leadership Conference day 3
        We woke up here in NY to rain, alot of it. Luckily, we had our ponchos and umbrellas. The kids decided to start calling themselves, The Rain Trash Bag Buddies, not sure if thats copyrighted yet or not. On our way into NYC, you'l remember yesterday, I snapped pictures of a few of the boys sleeping, well they got me back! Apparently I slept the entire time we were in the Lincoln Tunnel. They were awfully proud of themselves, labeling the photo, "revenge for yesterday - Ben and Caleb" Our very first stop was the Museum of Chinese Americans. Everyone descended onto the gift shop before we ever even started looking around! The kids found an instant favorite, Pockeys. These snacks appear to be alot like a pretzel dipped in chocolate, though I'm sure they are made of something else. One of us also, bought himself a recorder :) We spent an hour with a guided tour focusing on many aspects of many decades of life for Chinese immigrants. The museum even had a 'music room' where the staff shared favorite cultural music- this was a popular place as it had bean bags and our feet are aching! The museum guide kept reporting, how engaged our NY 9 were, and I wish you could have heard them answer all the questions! Dont worry, we only corrected her or stumped her with knowledge bits every so often ;). We learned the figure we often refer to as the Chinese dragon, is in fact, a Chinese lion. The kiddos were able to pick their own lunch venue, though most went with a safe choice and got Mcdonalds. The girls and I tried some delish Italian. Next stop was a walking tour of China Town with our museum guide. We were able to observe a real Chinese chess game in progress, learned that Chinese checkers arent Chinese at all, and ended this tour with a stop to a Chinese candy shop. The boys were insistent that we all try the dried shrimp candy, many, including myself, went on to suffer the consequences of listening to 7th grade boys :)
       We were able to test out the Brooklyn Bridge (safety check from the NY 9). I heard many comments addressing the magnitude of it up close and some concerning how the lanes are divided. (half is for bikes, which are going quite fast - we found out the hard way, though none of the children were injured, only scared!) They were surprised to hear that a woman executed the final design! We noticed that NY squirrels dont look like Goddard squirrels. After the hike back to China Town, the kiddos were given some shopping time. The group in general tried many different activities: shopped, ate new foods, and got foot rubs (which I do recommend :). They all seemed to enjoy the experience! We ate traditional Chinese food at the Golden Unicorn restaurant for dinner. This meal was much better received than last nights!
     We ended our day with a visit to the 9/11 memorial. Our tour guide Skye took time to explain the background of this event with the kids (we've covered it with  and adults were able to share, where we were when this event occurred. This is a portion of our visit that really gets me in the feels, the kids know that and asked insightful questions, respectfully.
    The main thing I noticed today, we're making new friends! The girls are enjoying their new "Texas friends" and the boys all sat with new Arkansas friends at dinner! Often today, they engaged in conversations with others. They went to lunch with others and shopped. I'm proud of them for stepping out and meeting new people! Tomorrow, we visit the Museum of NY and head to day 1 of our conference!!

NY 9 Day 2 - New York Leadership Confrence
   We started our day off with a long bus ride to Harlem. I caught a few sleeping :), those pictures were pretty fun! We walked around Harlem and viewed landmarks like: the Harlem Hospital (where MLK Jr. was fixed up), the Harriet Tubman statue, Adam Clayton Powell Jr.'s statue, and a fun mural celebrating Harlem's African Americans. We experienced the world famous Apollo theatre with a very wise and charismatic Mr. Apollo. The kids were even given a chance to try a 'mock amateur night' 3 of our kids were able to muster the courage and give it a try! We were able to quickly view the signature wall at the Apollo (apparently there wasn't enough time to let me search for the Jackson 5 :(. ) We then headed to a soul food restaurant for lunch, Monna's. This one also received mixed reviews for the kids, apparently we have specific taste!
   We then spent our afternoon learning about Spanish heritage! We were able to take a salsa lesson, granted it was a little long - 45 minutes, we got our cardio in for the day. The boys gave it a fair shot but were trying to convince me they had an injury to sit out a round or two. (Theres a picture that really captures their true Salsa feelings.) We also painted our own masks after a lesson on what masks represent in Spanish culture (ask your kiddo!) After that, we took our very first subway ride! We witnessed a dance skit and began to understand how the subway can be a viable alternative for New Yorkers. Next up, Time Square! The kiddos did alot of shopping, big hits were: M&M store and Lids.
    We all made it in time for our Broadway show! The Phantom of the Opera was enchanting, even the boys were singing the main song when we left. For the most part, it received positive reviews. Some did mention it was hard to understand some of the singing, which certainly makes sense. It was a late one for us all last night, we walked over 9 miles yesterday and the kiddos were feeling it. Day 3 is all about Chinese culture in America!

NY 9- Leadership Conference Day 1 (6/11/19)

                                                            NY 9- Leadership Conference Day 1 
Hi Everyone!
   My name is Kylie Rush and I am Mrs. Potters very first guest blogger :)! I'm here to show and tell about the New York leadership conference. Our Goddard NY 9 have just completed our first day in New York. Our journey began at 4:00 a.m. in Wichita. We got all checked in, only to find out a few of our bags had to be checked, including mine, oops! We made it through security and were pretty excited to try this airplane bit. Our first flight was a short one, taking us St. Louis. Luckily, we stayed at the same gate, left us plenty of time to get in a game of 'holiday' uno! R.J. won, incase you were wondering. We landed in New Jersey around 11:30, after going through the Lincoln Tunnel (which none of the kids remembered from Elf, by the way!) we were able to meet up with the rest of our group at Rockefeller Center. We grabbed lunch, mostly pizza and sandwiches, which were given glowing reviews "It was like Heaven". We took time to learn about Atlas and the competing vision of St. Patrick's cathedral. We headed over to one of our personal favorites, The New York library! The kids took time to meet the lions that are featured outside the library. We learned they have names! Patience and Fortitude and got a great group photo. We made music with some instruments there as well. (Look for that video to come). Next stop - Grand Central Terminal! We learned about the big oops, the architect made with the constellation painting  and what caused all the pollution (smoking!). We had a wonderful dinner at Schnippers, where everyone got a chocolate milk shake! Finishing up our day with a visit to the top of the Empire State Building!! It was windy up there but so extremely enchanting. We have tired legs and pink cheeks from all our walking today. We did a live video of our debrief, they took time to talk directly to parents and tell you about their favorite part!
        What I noticed the most on our adventure today, was how I couldnt have asked for more from our NY 9. Today they represented their parents, their school, community and themselves, with the utmost respect. Certainly times today, others in our presence did not. At our evening debrief, I made sure to let them know, how proud we all are of the choices they made and continue to make. They were the first students to volunteer to help with luggage, to help others with mistakes, and take in their surroundings.
                      Quotes:
 1. "You're never going to guess where I got this.... I traded a pocket knife for it"
2. "I'm older than you and I'm going to get a drivers license first"
3. "I also looked up the doctor that birthed me. I asked my parents"4." So, just for that all that money, all you get is the better view?"