Delegate team meeting, November 21st, 2014

Today was our second ISSE team meeting.  Each of us was assigned to create a 'me' bag for this week, and five out of twelve of us had time during this meeting.  Mrs. Jones, Alexander, Henry, Lauren and I shared with the team.  My bag included a hockey puck, a baseball, a picture of my gerbil, a picture of my family from when we went on a hot air balloon ride and a science fiction book.  Another thing we did was to brainstorm ideas for mini-lessons and the cultural performance that we will give at the school in Australia.  In the parent meeting, the adults decided that we are going to Sydney for three days to tour the city before we take a smaller plane to Melnourne.

Delegate team meeting, November 15th, 2014

Thursday, November 13th
Today was our first delegate-only ISSE meeting.  It was fun because we got to play some team building games with the 10 delegates.  We played a name game to help us learn a little about each delegate and some kind of bingo game.  We also got really cool paper journals with the flag of Australia on the cover (see pic).

All of the parents still had a separate meeting after ours was done.  I can now name all of the kids in the delegate team.... the seventh graders are Luke, Saul and Haley.  The sixth graders are me, Henry, Sadie, Samantha, Ryan, Lauren and Alexander.  The two teacher coordinators are Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Jones.

Here is a picture of one of the residents of Australia that I really want to meet.

Homework for next thursday: Create a 'Me bag' to share with the team.

First team meeting (with parents)

We found out that our team of ten delegates will be meeting weekly until we go to Australia.  Our parents will meet every other week or so.

The next step

The letter

Interviewing

When it was my turn to go for my 15 minute interview, I had to leave my first day of art class.  That bummed me out.  As I walked down the hall, all the seventh graders were out of class so I thought when they saw me that they thought I was heading for detention.  I was pretty nervous that I would mess up in the interview.  I was afraid that I was going to forget what I wanted to say for each question.  

Preparing

That friday the 17th, all of the ISSE candidates and I got an email stating that interviews would take place on tuesday the 24th.  They emailed us a list of 13 questions that they would be asking.  

ISSE DELEGATE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Tell us a little about yourself.     

2. What kind of activities are you involved in at school? Outside of school?

3. What are some responsibilities you have at home?

4. Why do you want to go on this trip?                                   

5. What are some things you would like to show or share with students in Australia?

(Ideas for a mini lesson plan and our cultural performance?)                                                       

6. What would you do if you became lost or separated from our group?                                                      

7. What is the longest time you’ve been away from your parents? Where did you go?

How long were you gone?

                                               

8. Do you know what homesickness is? How would you deal with homesickness, or help

another delegate who was experiencing homesickness?                                         

9. Do you have any unusual eating or sleeping habits?                                                      

10. Are you comfortable in front of a large group?                                                     

11. Are you willing to try different foods?

12. How do you deal with conflict between you and your friends?

13. Is there anything else you would like us to know?

I looked them over a few times, and then I did practice interviews three times before the interview day.  Did I have any strange eating or sleeping habits?  No I did not.

The essay

Why I Should Be Chosen For ISSE

Everett Serke 10/16/14

I would like to be part of the ISSE delegation because I believe I have all of the qualifications of an ideal candidate that ISSE is looking for.  I have good grades,  am responsible, am a team player, I would like to make friends that don’t live in the United States, and a lot more.

     

I feel that I would be a valuable member of the ISSE delegation because I know what it means to properly represent our school, community and country.  I like to make new friends and enjoy trying new things from cultures that I am unfamiliar with.  For example, I went to Mexico and went to a beach side restaurant.  A mariachi band came and played for my family while we ate a lava cauldron full of fresh seafood.  I also feel that I could really show the students and teachers in Melbourne, Australia what it means to be from Lafayette, Colorado, USA through my words and actions.

To me, life in Colorado is all about being active outside in our beautiful state.  Coloradans like to hike big mountains, bike, run, backpack, and ski or snowboard. Our climate allows us to be outside all year long.  I would like to talk to my new friends about the culture of Colorado, such things as the past influences of Native Americans and Mesa Verde.  In Boulder County, we get to go to places like NCAR and Pearl Street.  In Summit County, I have learned about mining, railroads and the history of Lake Dillon.  I often travel to visit family and friends in Florida and Chicago, Illinois so I feel like I have experience with the differences in culture across several locations within the United States.  Chicago is on Lake Michigan which allows you to swim, go on a tall ship, or ride a ferry.  Chicago is a lot busier than Denver and it is never really quiet.  In Florida, I went on an airboat in a swamp and watched alligators, birds and snakes.  Florida is also surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and is home to Disney World and the Kennedy Space Station!

I feel that I am fairly good at keeping track of all of my responsibilities in my homework planner and on a family calendar.  Even when I have a lot to do, I have been able to tackle one thing at a time while allowing time for the other tasks on my list.  Besides school, I play hockey and baseball and participate in after-school clubs, such as robotics.  My way of keeping up seems to work because my grades are great, I have all A’s and one B.  I am responsible because I get all my homework done on time and I have never been late for class or missed a day of school.  I am certain that I could make room for any possible ISSE responsibilities by keeping organized in the ways that I just described.  

In closing, I am very excited about the possibility of being a valuable member of the ISSE delegation to Melbourne, Australia.  I hope from this essay, my recommendation letters and just getting to know me that you will consider choosing me to be a member of the ISSE team.

Applying

The application process involved a simple one page general application form, writing an essay, getting two letters of recommendation from non-family members, turning in a report on my grades and doing a 15 minute interview with the Angevine ISSE adult members.  The whole application packet was due back to ISSE on October 17th.  After deciding with my parents that this is what I wanted to do, I worked on writing the essay over four nights after school.  My parents helped me edit it.  I asked a teacher and one of my hockey coaches if they would write a reference letter for me and they both agreed!  Several days later I got very good references, printed my grades and went over my essay one last time.  On the morning of the 17th, I handed in my packet.  There was nothing more I could do until the next step in the process.

Taking a chance

Hi, my name is Everett.  I am a 6th grader at Angevine Middle School in Lafayette, Colorado, USA.  When school started this year, my parents told me about an opportunity to be a foreign exchange student through my school's International School to School Experience (ISSE) program.  The program would send 8 students from my school to Melbourne, Australia in the spring of 2015.  During fall of 2015, students from Australia would come here.

This is my first time writing a blog, but I wanted to tell you about the experiences I had when I decided to apply for the exchange program.  It wouldn't be easy to go through the application process, but I decided to take a chance......