First Snow at Coe!

So for the past week we've been getting flurries but no accumulation.  It has been a bummer because we all want that first snow of the year but keep getting false ones instead.  But last night it finally happened, the snow STAYED.  Heidi and I were so excited, you can probably tell from the pictures below! :)  I'm sure we'll come to despise the snow when it's still here in late January and February but right now, we are pretty content it's here to stay.

Lace Up Those Skates and Hit the Ice

With winter in the air and Christmas just around the corner what would be a better way to spend my Friday than going ice skating?  SAC hosted free ice skating at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.  This was my second trip to the arena because for Orientation week we also got the opportunity to ice skate.  I had so much fun the first time I wasn't sure if this trip could top it or not.

Heidi and I

BUT IT DID.

Tyler and Daken

Coe had rented the rink for two hours on Friday night.  There were a fair amount of people there and everyone was at a different skating level.  Two of my good friends were EXCELLENT skaters because they've been playing hockey since they were little kids.  And for some of my friends this was their first or second time or they just hadn't skated in a while.  I myself ADORE skating and even brought my skates from home!  I can't do any tricks but it didn't stop me from trying.  And so I epically failed.  Fell only five times, so I feel that isn't too horrible.  And it was just fun, relaxing and enjoyable; such a perfect way to spend my Friday night.  When we got back to Coe, Heidi, myself and two friends of ours went to our room for some hot chocolate.  It was fabulous and really hit the spot after skating for so long.

Claudia, Haley and Heidi

So I learned I probably won't become a professional figure skater and win a gold medal in the next Winter Olympics, but I still had a lot of fun skating and I hope to go back soon!

A Stimulating Intellectual Conversation....aka Common Hour

Heidi and I had an adventure today; we attended Coe's Common Hour for the first time.  What is Common Hour you may ask?  Well according to Terry McNabb, who is in charge of Common Hour it's

" Common Hour is meant to bring faculty, students and staff together to learn about issues of common interest to all members of the campus community." 

Today's topic was about academic rigor and culture at Coe.  Heidi and I sat at a table with a sophomore at Coe, three faculty members and one administrator.  Our question we were suppose to discuss was 

"Where else on campus, besides in the classrooms, does academic rigor 'live'?  How are academic expectations communicated by other members of the college community?  How can members of the campus community support each other in their attempts to be rigorous?"  

but we didn't get far on that because the faculty we were sitting with wanted to grill us on what we thought about Coe's academic rigor, teacher expectations, peer support, our college preparation, and much more.  What was great about it was it allowed me to think about and reflect on my opinions of the liberal education I'm receiving at Coe.  I was able to put my thoughts into words and have my opinion be heard; I loved the opportunity I had to discuss the definition of "rigor" and my expectations for the educating I'm receiving.  One of the administrators who was there said he loved that we had such a great passion for learning.  And that's true; I love learning and school.  While people might get overwhelmed by a syllabus, for me, a syllabus excites me; I now know what we are going to cover.  All that knowledge is sitting there on that one piece of paper just waiting for me to dig into it.  I love that. 

Heidi and I left Common Hour feeling intellectually stimulated and excited.  The discussion we had epitomized what we hope to have in all our classes; an atmosphere that allows us to express our opinions and debate or agree with others' opinions.  The back and forth conversation that eats up large chunks of time but to us, seem like only a couple of minutes; a place where time really does "fly."  Although this was the last Common Hour of the semester, Heidi and I have vowed to attend almost every one next semester.          

Caf Creation

All right, so here's the video of the week.  I've entitled this series "Caf Creations" and I hope over the next few months, you'll get to meet a lot of my friends showing you how they spice up the food they see everyday at the caf.  First up is Krista and she's here to show you the industrial easy bake oven the caf owns.  Enjoy! :)

Learning to Read...The Joys of Service Learning

Well it's snowing in Cedar Rapids and the first snow parallels what I was doing this morning.  Part of my first year experience requires me to volunteer 20 hours at a site of my choice.  I chose Garfield Elementary School, just a ten minute drive from Coe.  I volunteer every Thursday and I usually read books to kindergardeners.  They are so adorable, exciting and full of life.  I've read some great books to them so far, my all time favorite is Fancy Nancy.  But today I did something a bit different; the kids read to me.  They've gotten to the point where they know their alphabet and know small words.  The books they read to me were short and often rhymed, but it was exciting.  All the kids I worked with wanted to read to me, they were excited to show me what they knew.  To see them pushing through the words, making sentences, understanding that each letter has a sound, it was mind blowing.  We take reading as a simple thing but at one point we were at that stage, sounding words outs and feeling the accomplishment of figuring out that "tricky" word.  And none of them gave up.  I might have given them some helpful hints along the way but in the end, it was all their work.  I was so proud of them.  And I'm so glad I chose Garfield as my service site.  I've accomplished the goal the Service Learning Program gives each first year student: find a place where you can be passionate about what you're doing.  Because then the service doesn't really seem like service at all; it's just something you love to do.