Training Log Archive: barb

Control hanging for NEOC Boojum Rock meet. Isak designed the courses.

Isak designed some tasty courses for tomorrow at Boojum Rock! Hope to see you there!

Biking: home and back a couple times. Dentist.
Then to that tough class at Kennedy Longfellow school.
This time I brought Vince and Geoff. There were 4 teachers and 8 kids. Still a bit rowdy.
Activities today: first, find coin envelope controls in 4 teams of 2. You can only take yours. Then open envelopes and put together a puzzle. Puzzle says to get the treasure from the backpack I'm wearing (it was mostly pictorial; a self portrait). The treasure was individually bagged snacks. Wow, they really settle down when you give them snack! They sat there for 10 minutes just eating a few grapes, carrots and crackers!
After snack, find 6 regular controls and punch a card, any order, any square. Then we made up a hiding game.

The Chinese boys really did take immediately to Vince. When they saw him, they were clearly very interested in him, and hung out near him and smiled and talked to him.
Vince doesn't speak much Chinese but he could understand OK. Once one of the boys just spoke to me in Chinese and I asked Vince what he said, and Vince was able to explain.
Vince is quiet and very reserved, like Jeffrey.
I think this photo says it all (that is Vince on the left):

First part of CSU Park-O. Got some running in.
I am tired.

Park-O - Splits

Met with VLUS teachers and agreed to provide an orienteering event for the entire 7th grade on June 20th. Met with nearly the full teaching team.

Got a phone call while at VLUS: the summer program has been funded! $3k for expenses (including leader), plus salary for all the kids who participate.

Biking today: to work, to VLUS, to work, to class, to home. The bike needs work, so it takes more effort than it should.

Class at Rindge Ave did not go well, and that hasn't been a problematic class in the past. Sigh.

A very good class today. And I have a new helper for the difficult class.

Today I taught the Upton Street Community School class at Dana Park (on the map that Isak made, thank you, Isak). Isabel set up 13 controls using a set of courses I designed last fall for the same class (thank you, Isabel). Ed had mentioned to me the idea of having the school league be relay based (thank you, Ed). I had the kids run once around the circle path. Then I handed out pinnies to make 3 teams = the number of teachers I had (me + two staff from the community school). I gave each teacher a map and explained: they were to take their team around the park, figure out what the symbols on the legend meant, and check out the controls. So we did that for a while, it was fun; really worked in the smaller group. I chose to work with Olive, Willow, Callie, Catalina, and one or two other girls. It was a good size of group for that activity.

Teams got points for correct guesses on the legend. They were very engaged with this, all 3 teams. One came running to me: we got it! we got it! ... Just about the legend.

Next, the competition: each team gets one punch card. Relay; each person goes out of circle, gets one control, comes back, checks the punch with the teacher. If the punch is wrong, the team has to start from control #1 and a fresh punch card. This happened twice with the Red team.

Controls 1-13, and it took a while - like 10 minutes, maybe more, for the race. It was super exciting; the team members strategized and helped each other by pointing out where to go. The race to the first controls was exciting, and the fastest boy lost out; maybe he was being polite. Gotta have multiple punches at the first control next time. And maybe at the second. Reminds me of that rogaine, that time. They did great. I got photos of each team, and will share at some point.

Then I had them do control pickup. One girl brought a control back on the branch Isabel had tied it to. I posted that photo on Instagram, check it out.

When I got home, email said that Vincent, an 8th grader, has agreed to come and work with me in the difficult class, where I have the 2 kids who speak Chinese. (Thanks in advance, Vincent!)

I want also to remember to bring food. Something simple like fruit and crackers.

C • Carrots 2

I thought you might enjoy seeing the summary of the feedback that I am compiling. This is based on over 50 responses to a 6-question survey, filled out immediately after the end of the two-day school orienteering program.

I'm pretty sure the school will want to repeat the experience again, and if we figure out how to do it right, we could perhaps use them (along with the Mayor's Program) as a seed to start a school league.