Happy Earth Day!  Wednesday, April 22, 2009 marks Earth Day, a day in which we pay tribute to our Mother Earth and remember the things we're supposed to be doing to help keep our earth clean. 

Here in the DC house, we like to go green by making sure we turn the lights off when we leave a room, use fans and open windows to cool the house down, recycle our cans and reuse scrap paper, and we like to buy local produce from the farmer's market down the street. 

There are so many great websites dedicated to helping you make your life more earth-friendly.  Here are a couple good ones I found:

Extraordinary Uses for 16 Ordinary Household Items (REUSE)

100 Ways to Save the Environment

A place to find information and ways to take action - Tree Hugger

Green Daily

From WebEcoist


Educators often implement some Earth Day themes into the classroom.  Some examples may be singing spring songs, acting out environmentally-themed plays or readers theaters, and implementing recycling and reusing in the classroom/school. 

Happy Earth Day!


RA loves Earth!

Check out this video/semi-documentary.  Scroll down the page and look for the video named Response-Ability, it's dated 5/1/2008 .

Philadelphia (PH), Los Angeles (LA), Washington DC (DC)

From top row to bottom row, left to right:

Sr. Jeanne, SHCJ (PH), Ben (PH),
Isiah (LA), Mia (LA), Paulina (LA)
Sr. Joanne, SHCJ (PH), Shannon (PH), Mark (PH)
Colleen (PH), Hagan (DC), Danie (DC), Megan (DC)
Stacy (DC), Sam (PH), Nikki (PH), Katie (PH), Megan (PH)

STAFF

Name: Liz        Site: Headquarters (Drexel Hill, PA)   Undergraduate Attended: Villanova University

Liz is currently the Executive Director of Response Ability.  Prior to assuming an administrative role, Liz volunteered in Response Ability and served as a 4th grade teacher in Washington DC.  This is what Liz has to say about the Response Ability community: “My favorite thing about the Response-Ability community is that it’s like a family – while you are in the program and beyond.  With watching our teachers I love that everyday is different and new.  Even in the most challenging situations, there are successes, memorable moments, and reasons to celebrate.”

SECOND YEAR VOLUNTEERS

Name: Katie        Site: Philadelphia, PA        Undergraduate Attended: University of Maryland

    In her first year as a volunteer in Philadelphia, Katie taught 3rd grade.  She has remained at her school as the 3rd grade teacher in her second year as a volunteer.  Katie’s favorite thing about teaching and living in community is that she has new and exciting experiences everyday.  She also likes being able to make a difference.  

Name: Megan         Site: Philadelphia, PA        Undergraduate Attended: Crown College

    Megan has remained at her first volunteer site, serving as the Kindergarten teacher at Our lady of Blessed Sacrament in Philadelphia.  She enjoys working with the little ones and loves being able to bring stories home to share with her mom, a 2nd grade teacher.  She loves seeing her kindergarteners learn something for the very first time.  Megan shares: “I love when they enjoy learning so much they turn a lesson into a rap!”

Name: Danie        Site: Washington, DC        Undergraduate Attended: Loyola Marymount University
    Danie taught 2nd grade in her first volunteer year at St. Francis de Sales in North East Washington, DC.  Since it’s closing, Danie has found herself at Christian Family Montessori School in Mount Rainier, Maryland.  She enjoys working with 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-year olds who are impressively independent and intelligent.  She specifically has enjoyed learning about Maria Montessori’s pedagogy.  In community, Danie’s favorite thing is the sense of commitment, presence, and love she feels from and for her community mates.  She also enjoys being able to laugh with her housemates as well as talk about the serious issues that affect inner-city students.  



FIRST YEAR VOLUNTEERS


Name: Stacy                   Site: Washington, DC         Undergraduate Attended: McDaniel College

Stacy comes to the RA program from the Lasallian Volunteer program where she taught at San Miguel Academy in Newburgh, New York for one year. She now teaches Music to students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 8th at St. Anthony Catholic School. Stacy loves the RA program for the support it provides - from professional development and teacher training to building friendships with community members, there's a real sense that we're all in this together. Her fondest memories of community are the "nights in" when everyone could relax, recover and catch up. Her most exciting moment at St. Anthony was producing the annual Christmas program for the whole school and local community.

Name: Shannon     Site: Philadelphia, PA        Undergraduate Attended: Villanova University

    Shannon teaches 6th grade at Incarnation of Our Lord School.  She likes spending recess with her students and enjoys watching and play Jeopardy with her community.  Shannon particularly remembers her students Kevin and Ashley.  Kevin watches Animal Planet and keeps Shannon updated each day on what he’s learned.  Ashley brings pictures of her dog, Patrick, dressed up and wearing sunglasses to cheer Shannon up.


Name: Mark         Site: Philadelphia, PA        Undergraduate Attended: Villanova University

    Mark teaches 8th grade in Philadelphia, PA.  Mark’s favorite part about teaching is the way he can connect with his students, especially when hearing stories from his students’ lives.  He also enjoys taking field trips with his 8th graders.

Name: Mia        Site: Los Angeles, CA        Undergraduate Attended: Loyola Marymount University

    Mia is currently teaching 2nd grade in South Los Angeles.  Mia’s favorite part about teaching is her class.  Getting hugs and seeing her students’ smiling faces brightens her day.  She also appreciates the way her community is so supportive of her.  

Name: Megan        Site: Washington, DC        Undergraduate Attended: University of Notre Dame

    Megan currently teaches 4th and 5th graders in South East Washington, DC.  She values the way her community can laugh together to keep their hearts light when dealing often with many sad circumstances at the places they serve.  

Name: Isiah        Site: Los Angeles, CA        Undergraduate Attended: College of Charleston

    Isiah teaches math and science to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.  His favorite part about teaching is affecting students’ lives in an amazing way.  He appreciates the way his community is present and supportive to him and likes to offer that same support to his community.  

Name: Paulina        Site: Los Angeles, CA        Undergraduate Attended: Loyola Marymount University

    Paulina teaches 3rd grade in Los Angeles.  One part of community living that she enjoys is being able to share stories when she gets home.  She looks forward to going to work because the kids start the day out well, have excited faces, and are eager to learn and share their own knowledge.  One proud moment for Paulina is an instance in her classroom when she forgot to have her students complete an exit slip and they reminded her!  An exit slip is an activity in which students write down something they have learned during the day before leaving the classroom at the end of the day.  She also enjoys it when her students mistakenly call her “Mom”.  

Name: Colleen    Site: Philadelphia, PA        Undergraduate Attended: Villanova University
    
    Colleen teaches 6th, 7th, and 8th grade in Philadelphia.  In teaching, Colleen enjoys the way her students make her laugh.  Living in community is especially great when Colleen gets to go out for sushi and share stories about each community members’ day.  

Name: Sam        Site: Philadelphia, PA        Undergraduate Attended: Villanova University

    Sam teaches 2nd grade in Philadelphia.  Her favorite part about community is the fun and support shared and offered by each community member.  She shares: “After a long day, it is comforting to come home, share experiences, and laugh with community members.”

Due to a technical error, previous postings have been deleted...don't you hate when that happens!?  It is only in this case that saving every 3 minutes might not be the greatest move.  Since I saved every 3 minutes, I can no longer go back and find the older blog posts.  Regardless, this is a chance for a new start. 

This blog is intended to keep those of you interested in the lives of Response Ability volunteers in the loop and well-informed.  This blog is meant to give you a glimpse into the lives of our United States volunteers.  Coming next is a blog introducing you to some of our volunteers who work in our sites around the continental USA.  Hopefully there will be no more technical difficulties!