Getting things done for the Recovery School District.

This past week my team and I have been working at different schools throughout the recovery school district here in New Orleans. Here’s a recap.

Tuesday

We worked at George Washington Carver Elementary and went on a field trip to the wetlands. It was really great getting to work directly with students. They were funny, intelligent and a bunch of them are characters. Before going to the wetlands we met the principal of Carver. She is an inspiration, from the stories I’ve heard she has really turned the school around. She talks with children individually and gives them her attention she knows most of their names and seems to genuinely care. She showed us around the classrooms and had the kids recite poems for us.

At the wetlands we planted native species and transplanted some more to help restore them. We worked with an organization called Bayou Rebirth. The kids had a great time and jumped into the water. They seemed excited to be able to leave the classroom for the day.

Wednesday

In the morning we went to Second Harvest, which is a food distribution center. We prepared food boxes to help families in areas affected by the oil spill. It was cool to be able to do something with tangible results. We worked with some members of Blue 6, they’re really great and it was nice to be able to work with different people.

In the afternoon, we went to John MacDonogh high school to start bleacher removal. Troy our site supervisor was able to get a company to donate a new gym floor. For the majority of our first day we tried to figure out what we was needed to be done. We didn’t have instructions and had to figure out the best way to remove them. Obviously, it’s not the most complicated thing in the world, but we did learn that we had to work from the bottom up instead of the top back.

Thursday

We continued bleacher removal in the morning and in the afternoon we went to Fannie C. Williams elementary school to help with a field day. I helped with the face-painting booth. I probably unknowingly painted gang signs on some kids. It’s hard to think that kids that young already know about that stuff. That they are aware of how real it is. I refused to paint teardrops under one kids eye. I did paint a number of black and gold fleur de lis. I didn’t even know how to draw one until that afternoon. It was kind of crazy. It was cool to see the kids get a chance to do something fun at school. They all seemed to enjoy it. Our unit leader was also around for our mid-site visit. My team leader knows where we’re going but can’t tell us yet. I’m hoping to know soon. I’m going to call it now and say that it’s likely we’re going to Baton Rouge. But I won’t know for sure until she says so herself. I might apply for a composite team for fourth round. It depends on what the project is, and if I can find out about the application process.

Friday and Saturday

We worked on Bleacher removal both Friday and Saturday. Our quickest removal was 2 hours and 10 minutes. I was sick Friday and Saturday so I went to the doctor and they gave me two shots. One shot was Cortisone and I don’t know what the other is. I’m kind of concerned that they didn’t tell me. Troy thinks it was B-12. I felt really well yesterday but today I feel worst. I’ve never heard of getting shots for a head cold.

This weekend, I’m not doing much of anything but next weekend I’m heading out of town. I’m excited to go on an adventure of a different sort. It should be a mix between relaxing get away, fun filled weekend, and finding a job and apartment. I’m hoping to figure out some sort of plan for my next step in the next couple of months, seeing as I don’t have much of a choice. In the meantime I’m going to make the best of what I have, because what I have is pretty wonderful.