Impactful Connections October 28th, 2018.

About Colleen Roth’s

Senior Studies Project–
Publisher Application
Assignment
Connections– They’re Impactful
My senior year of high school, I was lucky enough to be in a class
called Senior Studies. This class was a special one because for the
second half of the year, we got to design and present our own pro-
ject on something we’re passionate about.
Since I want to be a teacher, I decided to shadow two of the best
teachers in my life in their classrooms and wright poetry about my Notes from Colleen
experiences and the relationships I built both with the teachers  Here, you’ll get to see my vision
themselves and with the students I encountered in their class- for what my project eventually
became change. Not everything
rooms. The project evolved and changed throughout the semester came to fruition.
I had to create it,.  For anything you don’t under-
stand.. Just know that I was
I presented my poems, stories and what I’d learned to a room full catering to specific prompts for
of family and friends almost two years ago, but it is still something each one of my reflections.

I’m very proud of. Here you’ll find some of my poems, journals-or
’reflections’- I turned in throughout the semester and anything
else I feel will give you a taste of the project– which I called Im-
pactful Connections.

“[H]ow can I, through poetry and writing, showcase those Impactful Connections?”
Tangible– By Colleen Roth
Nothing is tangible
Yet, everything is tangible
I think it’s all in how you look at it
Helping people is tangible
Better teacher/student relationships
are tangible
Weekends are tangible
Things you want are tangible
Love is tangible
Anything you want is tangible
You’ve just got to
Make. The. Effort.
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Guiding Question
How can connecting with
with women in the field as
well as the students I en-
counter make me a better
(future) educator, and how
can I, through poetry and
writing, showcase those Im-
pactful Connections?
Weekly Reflections 1 and 2
Week 1:
I am so excited to do service at Park School!!! I love working with with kids with disabilities and
maybe would want to be a special ed teacher when I grow up! I'm confident that I can share my
positive attitude, kindness and love of people and life with my site, Something that makes me
nervous about my site is the possibility that I might not do a good job or that I'll not take full
advantage of this amazing opportunity, I know that if i communicate and make connections, I can
impact some lives and that makes me really happy :)!!
Week 2:
Yesterday, Sept. 6th, was my first day at Park School as a volunteer. I had a very good time and
met some amazing and passionate people. I learned the schedule for when I'm in the classroom
and I'm really happy with it. First, we're in the sensory room which I love so much and then we
go to math back in the classroom. Yesterday, though, it was an assistant teachers birthday so we
had a little party back in the room. This was a very different experience for me, as I'm usually
assistant teaching musical theater classes in which the kids are very expressive, talkative theater
kids. In my class at Park, a lot of my kids aren't very verbally communicative. I'm a person who
thrives on connections with other people, so I'm very determined to find other ways to connect
with my new friends at Park. There was a moment in which we were all sitting in the Sensory
Room in silence, and I had a little time to reflect on what I was experiencing. At first, I was hon-
estly feeling bad for the kids, and thinking how lucky I am to be blessed with good health and the
ability to communicate and be "normal" (whatever that means). Then, I realized that feeling bad
for them isn't what's going to make the impact. What is going to make the impact is the connec-
tions I can make with the students, even if they are limited. Also, connections with the teachers
are very important to me as well. The teachers at Park are amazing at what they do, anyone who
knows me knows that I absolutely love teachers and I could tell that the teachers I worked with
are so passionate and just great people who I can't wait to get to know more.
 When This Is All Over– By
Colleen Roth

So, what actually happens

When this ends?
I present my project
And can no longer distract
myself
With old friends
With newfound passions
(that I always knew were
there)
From the fact that my life is
about to change so drasti-
cally?
1757 miles…...
I truly don’t know how I’ll
Caption describing picture or graphic handle this transition
Because I’m not good at
goodbyes
Selfish– Midterm Reflection (Excerpt) But for now,
I’ll just continue distracting
...I’ve done this by realizing what I want out of this experience and doing that and not
myself with poems
what I feel like I should do or what will look ‘cool’. In the end, it’s all about self discovery
and learning about something that I am very passionate about. For me, those things are And teachers I love
education, poetry and people. I got lucky, because almost none of it feels like work and And at night, lie in my bed
I’m genuinely enjoying myself. I now have goals and products and a revised and much And pray for minutes to
simpeler timeline.
feel like hours
So today, Ms. Foss wasn’t at school for me to shadow her, so I went home to work on
this reflection and my poems. I like that I get to do that, but also I am a master procrasti-
nator and will fall asleep whenever given the opportunity. That being said, the third learn-
er outcome, ‘Discover a greater sense of personal responsibility’ is something we are all
still working on. Once I found my product, the poems, I feel like I really started being
successful and purposeful in the things that I am doing because I love that so much. I will
never fall asleep on my poems!
“Develop and assert initiative’- this one is complex. I am still not good at asking for what I
want/need but am absolutely getting better, I constantly feel like I am burdening people,
especially because with a lot of this, I’m unsure of what I want and keep changing my
mind on things.I took the first steps to implement parts of my project by, of course, post-
ing on Facebook to see if I had any teacher friends who would be interested, and sending
out emails, the amount of people willing to help me was so nice to see, I am grateful for it
all. Another thing Foss is doing right is being super supportive and constantly saying “let
me know what more you need from me” so I know that she’s willing/eager to do
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Anxiety
After this project was long presented,
I learned that one of the ways that
my disability shows up in me is
through anxiety. I didn’t really realize
this about myself until last year , but
after doing some research I learned
that that is one of the ways that my
rare disorder can manifest itself.
Knowing this:, some of the things I
disclose during this project make a
lot more sense!
Week 10 Reflection (Excerpt)
“Wednesday I really needed a good
day and was so tired of going home.
Foss was here today (side note, I
miss her when she's not here) and
we decided I would come Thursday,
too.I noticed that her vibration was a
little lower this week too, and alt-
hough I didn't push her to tell me
what was wrong, it was nice to know
that I wasn't alone in my funk. We
worked on our dance she choreo-
graphed for us in Dance Perfor-
mance and played a ball game in
DLP. I sat with a student named Nia-
omi who didn't have her gym clothes
and talked to her which made my
day 100 times better. Once again, I
was using my time effectively for the
things that matter to me- Impactful
Connections… Then, to end my week
I went to DLP in which they prac-
ticed for the PACER test and played a
game that Foss loves called Wall
Ball. Again, 2 activities in one period.
I worked with Niaomi again for most
of the class period because she did-
n't have her gym clothes. At the end
of the period, I told her that alt-
hough I love sitting and talking with
her, she should bring her gym
clothes next week because move-
ment is such an important part of
your day!!! I left feeling, for the first
time in over a week, fulfilled. I can
only credit that to a positive and
effective use of my classroom time.

About My Teachers
PJ Egebrecht is a Special Education teacher at Chute Middle School in Ev-
anston, IL. She was my sister’s teacher, tutor and mentor for many years. My
sister is bipolar and has ADHD, so she was very helpful to her.
Jennifer (Foss) Teonic is a PE and dance teacher at Evanston Township High
School who also taught Adapted PE for kids with special needs. My back-
ground is in theatre as well as dance and I want to teach SPED so we have a
lot in common.

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My Personal Favorite Reflection (Excerpt)
It's Not About Me was my motto of the week. I feel like all that I do has a
greater purpose and that is to inspire and make happy those around me. I'm
trying to detach myself and what I want from people from conversations I
have with people. I'm trying to ask people more about themselves and make
things less about me because personally, I'm tired of talking about myself.
And now, let me tell you about my week :)…

(‘Not about me’ became a motto I still use…. Think about people other than
yourself, it can only help you.)

“I feel like all that I do has a greater purpose and that is to inspire and make hap-
py those around me”

Manifested –By Colleen Roth

“C’mon” I notice myself half-yelling
down the hall
With about 8 minutes left in inter-
mission
Yelling… literally why am I yelling
It’s not that serious
I take a breath, look at Sidney and
reflect
I am performing with 2 of my favor-
ite DLP Students
With Maggie in the audience
Doing things for the ETHS dance
company, some of my favorite peo-
ple
And somehow, I’ve manifested this
day
So.. why am I yelling?
It’s in moments like these where I
think maybe special ed isn’t for me
Fast forward 25 minutes, however,
We’d gotten through our perfor-
mance
A couple solo moments blatantly
botched due to late arrival and lack
of preperation
But I soon realized that this day
wasn’t about dancing for me
As much as It was about Naiomi’s
smile
Molly’s contagious laugh
And the way My Maggie looked at
me when I got offstage
Special ed is absolutely for me
And this is what I manifested
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About Michael
Michael’s Place– By Colleen Roth
Michael was a student with Cerebral
Palsy in the Adapted PE class I assis- Sometimes, I’m positive you’re in there
tant taught in. He was non-verbal and
But in the moments when you’re not
in a wheelchair. Although he was
I hope you go to a place where you’re not ignored
hard to access, he for some reason
made an impact on me unlike anyone Where you dance with angels to all of your fvorite songs
else’s all semester. I was told he Where you can play lots of basketball and lift your arms above your head with joy
needed a walker that he could use in
When your ball flies through the hoop, leaving the crowd speechless
class to learn to walk, so I offered to
donate one and was able to be a But you won’t be speechless, you’ll say “Yeah… I knew I had it in me”

part of him getting one. The day he Where you can eat all the lunch your heart desires
got his walker was one of the best
And where the sky is whatever color you want it to be that day.
days of my life because I felt like I
I hope you go to a place where you know how loved and admired you are
made a difference.
Although I perfer when you’re here

I hope you do to a place you enjoy.

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Works Cited
Image 1: Google Images
Image 2 belongs to me.
Image 3: Google Images
Image 4: Google Images
Image 5 belongs to me.

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