Blog 11: Mentorship 10 hours Check

Content:

1. Where are you doing your mentorhip?

I am working on my mentorship with Pomona Valley Special Olympics. I am currently working with Greg Oberon (coach), Russell Evans (Area Director), and Beth Oberon (coach).

 

2. Who is your contact?

Any of the three.

3. How many total hours have you done?
I have completed 97.5 hours.

4. Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.
For the 10 hours of work that was done in the summer I helped plan, shop, and attend the Special Olympic Summer Picnic. I went shopping for the food and supplies that was needed. I attended meetings so all of the coaches and volunteers were on the same page. I also got to go to the picnic and help set up, clean, serve food, and clean up. I also go to hang out and help the athletes.

5. Email your house teacher the name and your contact and their phone number.
OK.

Special Olympics Christmas Party! Senior Update 1

 On December 15, the annual Christmas party was held at Lantermen Developmental Center. All of althletes from Pomona Valley Special Olympics were invited as while as the resident's who live at Lantermen were invited also.

Athletes on the dance floor having a great time!

An athlete named, Robert and me.

Senior Project Update

Content:

(1) What are you currently doing in your independent component?

I am a coach for bowling. I have been a certified coach for about 4 months. I have been at all of the bowling practices and help the athletes and guide them. I have been helping plan and arrange the annual Christmas party, which will be held at Lantermen Development Center in Pomona on December 15. I have helped in deciding which bowlers will attend fall games in Fountain Valley which is in December 8. Fall games takes extra planning because at this event the athletes spend the night.

(2) What is a piece of research 9article, interview, or audio-visual) that have you reviews you would say was significant in helping you understand where to go next in your senior project? The piece of research should be something you reviewed in November. Please explain what you have learned and where you are going next because of this piece of research.

"Special Olympics Delaware." Special Olympics Delaware . Web. 01 Nov. 2012. http://sode.org/>. This article really helped me understand that a lot of athletes have horrible dental care. Many athletes who live in group homes do not have private dental insurance; they only have Medical which no longer covers routine dental care. This piece of research is important because if athletes are to become socially competence they need to know how to properly take care of their teeth. It is very hard for athletes to become socially competence if they have cricked teeth, bad breath, or if their mouths hurts due to infections. Most if them are aware of their dental problems, they are totally aware and are self conscience. A lot of athletes have dental problems due to heavy medication they are on.

(3) Provide evidence from your independent component or the piece of research as something you recently did. For example, a photo something you are working on for your independent component or notes from the video you watched.

This is a picture of some athletes at bowling practice. This has to due with my independent component because I am coaching them.l

 

Science Fair Proposal

1. What is your topic?

Special Olympics


2. What is the driving problem behind your experiment and the quote by an expert to support that problem? (Expert citation must be MLA format.)

The driving problem in my experiment is athletes who arrive late to practices do not perform their best and their scores will suffer. "Meeting." Personal interview. 8 Sept. 2012. Russell Evans is an expert because he is the Area Director of Special Olympics he has had this position for a couple of years and has been involved with Special Olympics in general for years. When I heard about the science fair I started to research on the internet but I found it most helpful to hear it in person from the Area Director who  has personal experience with athletes.


3. What is your hypothesis? (Must be in If-Then form.)

If all athletes of all ages and genders arrive at least 10 minutes late to bowling practice their bowling scores will suffer.


4. Write a paragraph summary of how you will perform the experiment. Include the tools you plan on using.

This project will take a few weeks to complete. I will arrive to Pomona Valley Special Olympics time and see the athletes who arrived on time which is 9:00AM and watch the athletes bowl. Then I will watch the clock and see the athletes who come late to practice and write down what time they start to bowl their first game. Once everyone has bowled their two games I will collect everyone’s scores and keep. I will highlight the athlete’s names that arrived at least 10 minutes late. From there I will evaluate their scores.


5. Select one of the following Project Categories for your experiment:
Behavioral/Social Science

EQ

(1) What was the working EQ you used during your presentation?
Does Special Olympics contribute to the athletes social competence?

(2) Did you decide to revise your working EQ after your presentation? If so, write your revised EQ here. If not simple write "I am not going to revise my EQ at this time".
I am not going to revise my EQ at this time.

(3) What are possible answers to your current working EQ? 
Special Olympics helps athletes not only improve in sports but in their everyday lives. For example: social skills, becoming more independent, and having a positive attitude.

Special Olympics gives the athletes a voice. For example becoming more confident.

Opportunities to interact socially with their peers and others of different age groups.

Rough Draft Presentation 1

10 minute rough draft presentation

Independent Study Component

1) Write a description of what you plan on doing for your independent study component.

For my independent study component I plan on becoming a coach for Special Olympics Pomona Valley. I attended a workshop which discussed ethics, code of conduct and rules of the game. I am now a coach and started teaching practices.

2) Describe in detail how you think your plan will meet the 30 hours work required.
The workshop to become a coach was six hours. Each week I help teach the practices which are from 8:30-11:30. About once a month there are tournaments that are usually about seven to eight hours. Also, every month there is a coach's meeting.

3) How does your independent study component relate to your working EQ?
My independent study component relates to my working EQ because I am teaching the athletes new skills, not just in a sport but for their everyday lives.  I believe that assisting the athletes will increase their social competence.

Second Interview Questions

1. When did Pomona Valley, Special Olympics first start?

2. In the beginning how was the program ran?

3. Has the budget changed since the economy has changed?

4. How does each chapter receive their funds?

5. What if one chapter raises more money than the other?

6. How are records and information transferred between the main office of Special Olympics to Pomona Valley?

Working EQ

The Pentagon:
(1) Positive Statement: A positive thing that has happened as a result that I have completed so far is interacting with the athletes. I am building relationships with them. It is nice to talk to them and to know their likes and dislikes.

(2) EQ Content: My interview with Beth Oberon has helped me a lot. She gave me a lot of background information about Special Olympics. More importantly it has taught that if people did not volunteer their time, there would be no Special Olympics, Pomona Valley. All positions within this area are volunteer positions.

(3) Something that that worked for me is attending all Special Olympic bowling sessions. This enables me to work directly with athletes, coaches, and other volunteers.

(4) I have not been able to see and volunteer in some of the other sports that are available through Pomona Valley.

(5) Finding Value: Based on your experience so far,  

· I would like to know if athletes that participate in Special Olympics have better health that those who don't. Also, I would like to know how much health and fitness ties into Special Olympics.

· My end goal of this senior project is to spread awareness about Special Olympics and to people with special needs. This is my main goal because hardly anyone knows about people with special needs. Research says 1 in 10 families have a child with special needs.

· I would like to talk to Lorie Oberon next. She is another coach at bowling. She has been with Pomona Valley Special Olympics for several years and is always giving back.

 

Blog A: Problem Statement

1. Topic: Special Olympics

2. Problem: Some of the athletes do not eat healthy snacks.
Plan to solve: Giving the athlete a healthy snack between their games to see if they improve their eating habits. I would talk to their family or care givers to see what types of healthy food they like. This is important because some athletes need guidance and support on what to eat.

3. Problem: Many people used the "R" word.
Plan to solve: Taking a survey on what people think the "R" word means, how do they use it in a sentence, and explain what they mean by that. This is important because the "R" word is a medical term and it is most of the time being used incorrectly. Then educate people on what the word really means.

Interview Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview? Why?
I plan on interviewing Beth Oberon. I am going to interview her because she is the head bowling coach for Special Olympics, Pomona Valley. I feel like she knows a lot about the organization. Beth has been coaching bowling and bocce ball for several years. She has a lot of experiences with athletes also.


2. You have to ask 5 questions. What additional questions do you plan to ask?
I also plan on asking: How did you become involved in Special Olympics?
                                   What experiences made you want to become a coach?

Working Bibliography

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ArZeKIJ-DYRTdDZ2d2FJQkNFRmhmN2pjWW9sVlFNQmc#gid=0

Topic Choice

a. My senior topic is Special Olympics. I chose this topic because I believe awareness needs to be brought to this organization. There are a lot of assumptions and bad information about people with intellectual disablities. I hope by sharing this topic with my classmates and teachers these negative assumptions will go away. Special Olympics is a great organization where people with intellectual disabilities can come, have fun and not be judged.

b.

• iPoly Citizen: I plan to learn how Special Olympics helps the athlete become more socially competent. This relates to me improving as an iPoly citizen because I will have an understanding of how Special Olympics influences the athletes, their families and their communities

• Effective Communicator:  I plan on becoming a better communicator by interviewing coaches, athletes, and volunteers from Special Olympics. This will make me more effective as a communicator because I will be able to teach others about Special Olympics.

•  Effective Learner:  I plan on interviewing people, using the internet and local library to research more information regarding Special Olympics. This will make me more effective as a learner because I will be able to evaluate and interpret the information found.

• Effective User of Technology: I plan on learning new skills at the library such as searching for periodicals. This will make me more effective as a user of technology because in the future I can research more topics.

Blog 1: Summer Mentorship Component

Assignment

Literal (Know)
10 Hour Mentorship Log and Contact Information

Literal (Need to Know)

• How is Special Olympics funded?
• Where does Special Olympics get their athletes from?
• How do athletes get to and from practices and events?
• Who has a paid position in the organization?
• Does a caregiver need to stay with an athlete at practices and events? 

Interpretive

The most important aspect I learned from volunteering at Pomona Valley Special Olympics is that the athletes truly want to be at practices and events.  For many of them, going to practices and events is the highlight of their week.  Where they come to have fun and enjoy time with their friends.  They also enjoy the bonds and friendships they have established with coaches and volunteers.  For many athletes, Special Olympics is their second or only family. 

Applied

My volunteer experience with the athletes of Pomona Valley Special Olympics had a profound affect on me.  These athletes are just like you and me.  They want to be loved, praised, and be accepted.  As I worked with this organization, I realized that Special Olympics plays a huge role in their daily lives.  In many ways, this organization is the only thing they have to look forward to.  It is because of these reasons that there needs to be awareness of Special Olympics.  I have selected Special Olympics as my project in order to spread awareness and hopefully bring new athletes and volunteers to this wonderful organization.