My week!!

Ok !! So everyday that I am not at my co op I am kind of sad !! This is my second home and it is almost as if I am not seeing my family andI miss that. Being at school is fun, I mean I get to see my freinds and that is great... but as soon as I am in class it is so boring. I realyl enjoy being out there and doing things.

Again this week I am so proud of myself. Cindy has really given me the confidence to do things that I thought I would never be able to accomplish before. Over the last weeks I was unsure whether or not I could make phone calls. I was just unsure of myself. But Cindy reassured me that I could do this. These few weeks I have left I am able to do anything. Any phone calls that have to be made or any confirmations I take care of them now... I am so proud of myself. This took alot alot of my courage. I know your thinking... " wow this girl was afaid to make phone calls". But really it was just another hurdle that I jumped. Life is a race.. there are mutiple hurdles you go to jump in order to finish. I have learned to do that. Any troubles I have you just got to believe in yourself and jump.. well not literally. This week was incredible and honestly CINDY IS THE BEST!! She is my second mom and she takes great care of me and makes sure I am comfortable with what I am doing. Patience is a great gift she obtained. I am also getting close with all the officers Jodi, Bruce, Brenda,Laurel, Mary. It is going to be sad leaving. But I know I am going to see them again !! I promised them on prom night I would come and visit them to show them my dress ! Too bad Cindy is not there, she is done the same day that I am June 15 !


p.s I LOVE MY CO OP !! ( it must get annoying)
" officer lavecchia "

May 25 2007 In class

Today we had inclass. We basically talked about our safety at the initial placement and we got onto bases about our culminatings. Then I got into a little trouble.. becuase I was playing the spongebob game. I was done all my work though.

P.S .. I miss being at my co op... in class is just so long !

Thursday !! May 24

Today I did alot more confirmation for classes and I got to attack the vests again. I got three more done today , the more I do the faster I get. While Cindy taught the classes I did the vests and I got to talk to Jodi, I think I have mentioned her before but besides Cindy she is my second mommy and I love her very much. She was just giving me advice and talking about school and work and it was great. I never really get to see them much any more due to the fact that they are teaching. However I am very sad , this is Jodi's last year in the DARE unit so she leaves when I leave. I am going to miss her very much but I know her and I will stay in touch. The class today I taught was really good, they were so polite and so kind. When I am here I feel like I am a role model and the kids look up to me and this is such a great feeling !!

P.S THE MUFFIN STORY CONTINUED!!

Well Laurel decided to make muffins again .. instead the were "flax chocolate chip muffins". So Cindy enjoyed her muffin today.. actually alot. Mary and I watched her eat this muffin . Mary told me to go to the bathroon with her and I saw her laughing and I was not sure what was wrong. She explained that Laurel used the SAME RECIPE FOR THE MUFFINS ,BUT SHE PUT CHOCOLATE CHIPS INSTEAD OF RAISANS, SO CINDY DID EAT THE SWEET POTATO MUFFIN !! I LAUGHED SOO HARD !! Cindy probabley thought Mary and I were crazy.

Preparing for golf tournament !! ( May 23)

There was no class today due to the fact that the teacher cancelled her classes. So we took today to prepare forEach year Halton Regional Police Sevice holds a golf tournament and all the money raised goes towards to DARE program. Cindy and I had a few boxes to look through ... basically stuff that had been used over the years and determing what could be used this year. Aftet this I got to confirm classes for next week! I am really proud of myself I can call schools up on my own !! These individuals I have worked with have given me the courage to do anything and I cannot thank them enough. I LOVE THEM ALL !!

p.s

The story of the muffin
Laurel is a person who enjoys and healthy eating lifestyle ( we call her the health food freak)and is always eating healthy food, so she made the sweet potato muffins. The name sounds kind of gross but they were soo good.. actually really good . But Cindy would not eat it so she secretly gave the muffin to Dan ( morning student) and saved a crum. Laurel knew what she did and was so disappointed .. but little di she know that Laurel would get her back .... to be continued......

Tuesday May 22!

Well back from the may 2-4 weekend !! I have to say I missed being at my co-op, I hate not being here , I just miss everyone even if it is for only a few days ! Today what Cindy and I did was teach another class. Each time I teach along side with Cindy I get a little better. For myself I have noticed that I am not shy or scared to approach the children and correct them on their mistakes. Cindy consistently encourages me and this is a great help ! Also along side this Jodi needed some help on taking apart these vest she had , basically I have to take the volunteer adhesive off. To be frank this is so tedeous and takes alot of time .. I think I got two done within a thirty minute time frame. I had a fun time .. I got to talk with Brenda a Laurel and got talking about prom and an incident that occured on the weekend and they called me a hero for .. it was nice to here ! They all said I am doing my work a little too soon !!

annmarie

My week, the better me !

So I have to say that this car suites me pretty well !! This is my future ride :D

I can honestly say I have become a better person. Over this past week I have grown again, Cindy took me under her wing and gave me the guidance I needed to over come my fear of being a strict person. And I did it , it was hard but I did it. She constently encourages me to push myself and to do better and I love that about her. The relationships I have developed are also amazing. On my first days it was a no go for Laurel and Jodi, they just did not come off the right way. But honest to God , besides Cindy , they are truly my favourites. They are all like mothers to me and I have such a great time with them . I have never felt so welcomed, they even mentioned that I was the only student that was outgoing on the first day and I was shocked. This made me feel soo good !! Also another officer I get along with great is Bruce , he is like a father figure, my dad is sick so I do not really have that relationship in my life at times and Bruce takes on that role. He and I can talk for hours and he is also a person who encourages me and pushed me to go farther. I also found out that bruce was one of the officers that was at my house when they had to take my father away... it is just so wierd how everything falls into place. to be frank I think this was fate, this career choose me, this is my calling in life and I am so thankful I got it now rather than later.

P.S I HAVE PICTURES OF ME IN A POLICE CRUISER !!! WOOHOOOO

officer lavecchia

Thursday.. charged batteries and taught another class .. Plus a visit by mr grace !

I have come along way over the past few months and I am so proud of myself! Teaching the class today was alot easier, I came over my fear which was a big accomplishment. I took charge and did the best that I could. Being strict was actually alot easier then I thought, you just have to make sure you are the leader and maintain that authoritative figure. After we taught classes Cindy and I put the Bikes away and placed all the batteries out on the side to be charged again. Then Mr Grace came , it was really nice to have Cindy talk about me the way she did, she is like a second mother to me and I love her to death. I hope I leave an imprint here , I hope I am a reminder to them , I just want to be that student that they will never forget. It was just so nice for her to say how I am such a great student and person , these words will continue to make me who I am today.

P.s

Thank you so much for saying that nice stuff to my mother it means soo much to her and I!

officer lavecchia

Wednesday The class !!!

Oh my goodness, all I can say is that I am so proud of myself! I was having a really hard time with the bike safety program . But I realised I can do this , it is just another hurdle I had to jump over. And that is what I did. So the next class arrived and I took charge. When the arrived I measured the children in order to take the heights for the appropriate bike to be used. During the program Cindy told me that I had to be constantly on the move. So that is what I did, it was hard at times though. You have to be strict with this program and take and authoritve figure role. That is what I did, I caught alot of mistakes this time and reassured the children of what they were doing. Cindy took note of that and noticed a great improvement. I was really impressed with myself today and thought I did an incredible job !!

annmarie

CLEAN UP !!

After police day there was alot of cleaning that had to be done and alot of packaging that needed to be done again. Well when we got back from the weekend , lets just say the village was not in place. Things were not done and alot of the things were out of place. So Cindy and I did a little cleaning . First her and I tidied up the classroom a bit, cleaned up any garbage that was lying around. Then we went into the hydro building, all the police signs that were taken out needed to be wrapped again !! So here we are again Cindy and I placed several bags over each sign and wrapped them and put so much tape around them .. no joke. Then we placed my Elmer away. We placed a bag over Elmer and he is ready to go for next year, it was kind of sad. I worked so hard on this and I remeber just talking about it .. but now it is done. Cindy looked over at me and said " This is your legacy your leaving behind and I will tell everyone my previous student who is now a police officer did this" this made me so happy. Well once again we got things done , like we always do .

officer lavecchia

POLICE DAY !!!

Instead of doing a weekly blog I hope it is ok to talk about police day .. I mean I think it ties into what I have been preparing for all week. It was INCREDIBLE and I had soo much fun. The little kids we so great and the parents were very kind and understanding. So I had three jobs while I was there , to give out wrist bands, maintain the lines ( they called me the line police officer) and to place cars back after each turn. It was alot of work but it was so much fun. Cindy was also very understanding, she let us go for breaks and made sure each of us got to take turns. On our breaks each of us went and got a little food and took a look around at the many different displays. Throughout the day we saw multiple TRUE demonstrations ( Halton Regional Police's SWAT team) it was AWESOME !! They came in on this police van and all the officers were ridig along side the wehicle and then this HUGE bomb went off !! It was so scary at first I think I jumped a mile high. Then lastly Cindy was so kind enough to let John( her previous co op student) and I to go take pictures in a police car it was so much fun ! Sir I have pictures.. BUT I am waiting for John to send me them .. in the mean time I have some pictures of the TRUE TEAM !! I am so glad I got to take part in this day... it just reinforces what I want to do !

Officer Lavecchia

FRIDAY !! Prep for police day !!

WOW!! It is finally here .. well I mean a day away but still POLICE DAY IS TOMORROW !! I was so excited. Today what Cindy and I did was all prep work. The phones were ringing like crazy and it was so incredibley busy. Never have I been so busy in order to prepare for one big day. What I did was place all the batteries in the cars, spray all the wasps nests, wait for al lthe hot dog buns to arrive, take calls for Cindy, carry all the signs in needed for police day and to basically hold the fort down. It was insanely busy in the village... but Jodi and laurel kept me sane. They were so nice and made me laugh as usual. For the first time ever Laurel gave me a hug and I was so suprised. Her and I are starting to get along just great and I am really happy about that. Also today Bruce and I confirmed the date to do the parent night! I am really excited about this .. this is something I love to do and I know I am going to do great !! YAY POLICE DAY TOMORROW WOOT WOOT !!

annmarie

A sad day...

Today we did not do very much at the village, Cindy and I did not have a class scheduled so her and I did a little preperation for police day, and I think I confirmed a few classes for next weeks visits to the village. It was a very sad day. I noticed that the flags were at half mast today by the police station near my house and at the village. Then it hit me she was gone. Jennifer was a Staff Seargeant at Halton Regional Police. Over the last year she had developed cancer which had spread through her entire body . Sadly there was nothing the doctors could do, so she was given a time frame. She had told the other officers she was going to pass. This was a hard thing for everyone to deal with, she was such a great individual. Jennifer would always come to work regardless of the pain , all her life all she ever wanted to do was become a police officer and all she wanted to do was spend her last days doing what she loved most, her career and being with her family. I came into my co op today and I have never seen police officers and Cindy cry and I wish I could do someting but all you can do is reassure them everything will be ok. I decided to talk about her in my blog because she meant alot to everyone , I hope you do not mind Mr. Grace, I just wanted to pay my respect towards this remarkable and courageous lady. For her I will live out my police career, she did not get to fufill all her time but I assure everyone I will live out her dream for her.

officer lavecchia

Communications

Today was alot of fun, it was so sad though the time went by so fast. I am not allowed to talk about it due to confidentiality reasons but I can talk about what I did. So for about two and a half hours I got to sit with the 911 communicater. Goldie was her name and she and I took 911 calls. It was so cool to see how it works. After that the 911 calls go through to the dispatcher where he of she will then dispatch an officer to a call. It was so cool to see how everything works. Out of all the things I have done this was by far one of my favourites. Just seeing howeveryting come together. So what happens is that the communicator will take the calls, and then the calls will then go through to the dispatcher and then police are notified. Now when ever I see a police car , or ambulance or fire truck I know where the calls come in and the people that recieve them . This people are incredible and have a great amount of courage and patience.

annmarie

Tuesday... ALOT was done !!

I was suppose to go to communications today , but it was a little busy and they had asked for me to go tommorrow so I am very excited about that , but still happy at the same time I got to stay with Cindy. We accomplished alot today. Today we recieved our shipment of books for the bike safety program FINALLY ! We have been waiting for this shipment for such a long time and we finally recieved it today . So I brought all the boxes into the buiding and we counted out books for the next class. I then put all the bikes away from the bike safety program that was taught in the moring and took down all the flags. Then before police day I had to do a few touch ups on Elmer and might I say he looks INCREDIBLE !! Dan and I did a great job and we are both excited that we are going to be leaving a legacy behind !

annmarie

Monday.. Classes again .. not liking very much

I still love my co op to death, however I am not a big fan of this bike safety program . It is very different from the regular kindergarten program that I was so used to teaching. The thing is you must stay on top of the children, if you do not pay attention something is bound to happen. what we try to enofrce is that by catching the children making a mistake you are able to show them where they went wrong. But for me it is a little difficult to constantly be moving.The thing is that I was so used to staying in one spot but now I have to keep moving around. Cindy was not mad but you can tell she wants me to get the hang of things. I think I need a bit more time with the program to get used to it. For me it is alot to take in in a short period of time. I know I can do this , it is going to be a little rough but time will help!!

alav !!

The week!!

This week was very different for me. I was able to accomplish things that I never thought I would be able to before and I am really proud of myself. This week my biggest accomplishent was being able to makea phone call , for some reason I was so scared to do this. I guess I did not want to mess up because Cindy does such a good job and I did not want to disapoint her , but it turns out she was really impressed by the work I did do and that is all the matters to me. It just meant alot to me that I was able to accomplish somethingthat I was not able to before.

I also got a chance to experience my first class this week and as said in a earlier blog annmarie is not to fond of the class. It is ok but it is just alot of work compared to the kindergarten program. You get so used to teaching one thing and then all of the sudden bing bang boom, you are on to a new program and it is like starting on my first day. It is going to take a week for me to settle into this program but I am excited. It is another thing that is going to make me a little more able to face anything. Life is pretty cool right now .. I have a new found confidence I did not know I had and I am able to accomplish anything..especially with the support I recieve from the people I work with !

annmarie

Friday!!

Ok so first of all let start off with the funny things ? Well today I took down the flags, as usual, which is a part of my routine I noticed something on the flag pole. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something move... it was a HUGE BUG... so I started to scream. Jodi, the police officer that I am really close with was coming back from the village from head quarters and saw me and ran over and was like annmarie what is wrong .I was laughind so hard and she looked on the pole and started to laugh and began to tell me that I was so much more bigger then this bug. Then we have this Robins nest on top of the traffice light .. and yes she laid eggs. So she is very protective, and Jodi decides to make the squaking noises and I am just standing there and this bird is getting so mad. Then jodi went back into the office and left me outside by myself .. so I hadto put all the bikes away having this killer bird watching me... it is kinda scary. I went back in and Laurel had drawn a robin picture on the wall saying killer robin, I have to say it was pretty freaky!! After that I made a phone call to a school to arrange a trip to the village. I have to say I am alot more confident in making these phone calls !! :)

The Killer Robin Rests here

annmarie aka officer lavecchia

My first BIKE safety class!!

Oh my goodness... let me just say it is not what I expected at all!! I was actaully thinking I was going to enjoy this program, but it turns out it is not one of my favourites. This program is alot of work. You always have to pay attention and there is alot of communication with the students. Another aspect that takes a bit of time is the intial set up and clean up it takes a little time to do so. What I noticed was that the children tend to talk back a bit too much. I was scared to intially say something but I think it was the best thing. They know that you are a figure of authority and will listen.. I just have to get use to it!! So after this first class I needed some critique and Cindy was awesome with guiding me and giving me the guidance I wanted and needed to hear. She recommended that I constently move around rather than focusing on one spot, which I understand. There is so much activity that you cannot just focus on one area. This is a new experience for me and it is going to take some time to get used to !! But I know I can do it !

annmarie aka the officer lavecchia

Wednesday PHONE CALLS AND FINISHING ELMER ! :)

I am sooo proud of myself. Guess what I finally did today? I phoned the schools to confirm the dates and to be honest I did a pretty good job at it and I am really excited about the outcome. The worst part was proababley over thinking it to much, and the truth is the people were very nice and I am glad I did it. I learned something new and I over came my fear. Cindy was really great in helping me and I honestly respect her and look up to her very much. She is such a role model and inspirational figure in my life!

WE GOT ELMER DONE ! He is finally finished today and he looks amazing. Today , Ivor, the maintenance employee mounted the sign up onto to the pole and he looks amazing. I am so excited for police day and the reactions I am going to get from the little children. I am going to be leaving a legacy behind here and Cindy will be seeing five years done the road, oh that was work from one of my students ... she is a police officer now. I am so excited to hear those words !!


officer lavecchia

Tuesday! Fixing Elmer

Elmer the elephant is very close to becoming done. He is almost finshed and the out come looks incredible. He looks so professional. What I had to do today was add the paint on the sides to protect the wood. It actually looks really cool though almost as if he has a shadow. Painting the sides took a really long time. It was very tedeous and time consuming. It was just the factor that you had to watch where you placed the paint just for the fact that it could hit the surface that was all ready painted. Turns out I did hit the top one time and we have to do a few touch ups, but other then that he is BEAUTIFUL and I am very excited for you to see the out come!!

After this was done Cindy and I headed to head qaurters to check her emails. There is alot of volunteer work with the police that was asked from her in the emails and she asked for me to take part in this and I am so thrilled and excited ! I cannot wait to do this, I am getting my name out here and that is a big thing for me. I want to work with halton when I am older !

annmarie

Monday April 30th

Annmarie got to do the greatest job the today!! No... just joking. All the tables needed a good cleaning and guess who got to do that, me ! I guess from the previous program there had been marks left over on the chairs and the desks that needed to be removed. There is this special cleaner that is used to specifally clean the tops of multi purpose surfaces. So I got to clean all the desks and chairs in the class. Never would I have thought that they could be so hard to clean. I did this for about 2 hours, mind you it was a time consuming job. After this Cindy was attimet about getting me to use the phones. This is something I am not that comfortable with using yet and Cindy was understanding of that, so what she did was ask me to observe. I felt really comfortable with this decision and I felt confident that I could do this the next time I was asked. This is a new skill for me , I enjoy working with people and doing things in person rather than over the phone. But I feel now that I can do this !! What do you know... I learn something new here everyday! Sir, I just wanted to say that the people here make it alot easier for me and I really do appreciate their patience !

annmarie