As of today, I’ve had four meetings with Kimmie and have been able to make more progress towards my goal of learning 15 different poses! In the first two sessions, we focused more on laying a basic foundation so I could work on a few poses at the same time. For my third and fourth mentoring sessions, we continued building on the poses I learned in the beginning, focusing more on my technique than actually executing the pose properly. For example, I often forget to point my right foot during routines, so we’ve been working on improving my grace in that area. In addition to this, Kimmie teaches me a few new exercises I can work on at home that will improve my coordination, strength, and flexibility. We’ve also been working on warm-up exercises I can do on the hoop, such as shoulder shrugs (hanging from the hoop without feet touching the ground and shrugging your shoulders so you lift yourself up and down), and front balance (I believe that I talked about this in my last post, but it’s basically just balancing on the hoop with your stomach).
I’ve also learned several new poses and variations to poses that I’ve learned previously. For example, Mermaid has a variation where you cross one leg over instead of keeping both legs together. Since it’s a little hard to describe the poses I’ve learned, I’ve included two new progress videos where I’ll list each pose in order:
Progress Video 2 (February 9):
This video includes Mermaid (single leg variation), Tree Branch, Arm Chair into Split-Step, Man-in-the-Moon, and Amazon.
Progress Video 3 (February 16):
This video includes Mermaid, Arm Chair (with a knee-cross variation), Tree Branch, Man-in-the-Moon into Amazon, and Reverse Angel into Running Man.
Post #3 Questions:
1) What went particularly well during your mentoring sessions?
Overall, Kimmie (my mentor) is a kind, approachable mentor that encourages my growth in a positive manner. No matter how tired I might be, Kimmie is always patient with me and is willing to let me take breaks to get water if needed. At the same time, she encourages me to do my best and makes it easy for me to put all my effort in. If I’m having trouble with a particular pose or trick, Kimmie will say something like “You got this!” or “You can do this!” to help me push through. If a pose needs correcting, Kimmie will give constructive criticism and pointers in a gentle manner that allows me to improve and fix whatever I’d been doing incorrectly. During a mentoring session, I feel comfortable enough to be able to ask for help when I need it (which, me being shy, is quite a big deal), and always feel welcomed by both Kimmie as well as the circus school where I attend my lessons.
2) What logical challenges affected your communication? What factors affected your ability to interact effectively?
Most of the time, the communication between Kimmie and I tends to be quite smooth – Kimmie gives clear advice and instructions and if I don’t understand something I usually ask for clarification. However, due to other classes going on in the background, the circus school we meet at can become quite noisy and it can be hard to hear what Kimmie is saying. It can also become quite hard for my mentor and I to communicate if I am on the hoop.
3) What three strategies could improve the quality of your mentoring interactions?
I could spend more time asking about Kimmie’s career as a circus instructor/performer. Due to the nature of our mentoring sessions, we tend to focus more on learning new tricks or poses, but we don’t often have time to talk outside of this.
We could talk more about how to execute poses while I’m not on the hoop. This would allow me to absorb more information.
I will continue to ask for clarification if I don’t understand something.
I’ve begun the first stages of my aerial hoop lessons, and met with my mentor Kimmie for the first time on January 19th. Prior to meeting with my mentor, I was quite nervous since I didn’t really know what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised with how well it went! We met at the circus school where my mentor teaches, and started by introducing ourselves and going over paperwork. Then, Kimmie led me through a basic warm-up where she taught me some exercises that stretched out the muscles I would use the most on the aerial hoop and help me warm up and ease into the lesson. Then, we moved onto the hoop and my mentor demonstrated two different ways to get up onto the hoop (through pike and through straddle). After I learned how to mount the hoop, we went over two basic poses: Mermaid and Man-on-the-Moon. Both of these poses were ones I’d learned on the trapeze, but I quickly discovered were vastly different on aerial hoop – the hoop was much harder to hang onto, and easier to slip off of!
Once I felt decently confident with my first two poses, we moved onto other poses such as Push-Out Split (holding onto the top of the hoop with both hands, then using one foot to push the hoop until you’re leaning into it with straight legs and lifting the other leg into a split), and Tree Branch into Cradle (leaning into one side of the hoop and letting one arm and your legs dangle). Kimmie also taught me exercises on the hoop to strengthen my lower back muscles for a pose called Front Balance, which is when you balance on the bottom of the hoop using your stomach without support from your arms or legs.
We finished off our first meeting by conditioning and stretching, and I went home. It didn’t take long for me to discover all the bruises I’d sustained from aerial hoop, not to mention the fact that my hands were torn and blistering since I’d lost all of my callouses from previous circus lessons! My hands stung so much that I could hardly use them for the rest of the day, but luckily they got better a few days after the first lesson 🙂
My right hand after aerial hoop
Kimmie and I met for the second time on January 26th, and we followed the same schedule as our first meeting: warm-up, working on hoop poses, then conditioning and stretching. I found that everything was much easier for my second lesson – the blisters and sores from my first meeting had strengthened my hands so I had more endurance when I was on the hoop. Another thing that we did during our second lesson was film a progress video – I used five of the poses that I’d learned, and we choreographed a mini routine! I’ve included it below and my form (and hair) is quite messy, but I know that it was only my first time filming a progress video and I’ll improve more throughout our lessons. The poses in the routine in order are Mermaid, Push-Out Split, Tree Branch into Cradle, and Amazon.
(PS: There was a flying trapeze class in the background, so there’s probably a lot of shouting from that. Sorry!)
Mentorship Questions
1) How did your mentor gain their experience/ expertise?
After graduating from UBC with a degree in engineering, Kimmie started her journey with circus at the age of 23, with aerial hoop being her first discipline. Interestingly enough, Kimmie trained at Vancouver Circus School, which is where I also started taking circus lessons. At Vancouver Circus School, Kimmie was a part of the Ring Masters program – a professional program that prepares passionate students for a career in circus arts. Kimmie is currently a certified artistic gymnastics instructor, and specializes in aerial hoop, aerial silks, and contortion.
2) What were those experiences like for your mentor?
Ever since meeting her for the first time, it was clear that Kimmie has a deep passion for circus arts. Kimmie believes that circus is a great way to get exercise and improve strength, balance, flexibility, and coordination in a non-competitive environment that encourages your skill development. Kimmie also said that circus helped her overcome her fears and become more confident in her abilities.
3) What wisdom have you gained from your mentor so far?
Always condition and stretch after a training session. During our first meeting, Kimmie showed me how to stretch and “warm down” so that I wouldn’t injure my muscles. I can honestly say that this has greatly helped me – previous classes would never leave time to stretch, so I always felt quite stiff and sore afterwards, but Kimmie has shown me how to reduce DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) and relax my body after a lesson. Kimmie has also taught me that it’s okay to take breaks and return to a resting position on the hoop in between poses so I don’t exert myself when I’m learning something new.
2. The second thing that Kimmie taught me during our first meeting was that everything – your endurance, strength and flexibility – usually gets better the second time around. Kimmie was right too – during our second meeting I found that mounting the hoop and executing poses that I’d learned from the first lesson had become much easier than before! “Sometimes,” Kimmie said, “letting things percolate a bit really helps.”
4) What have you learned so far, in terms of facilitation strategies, that might contribute to your own development as a mentor?
The facilitation strategy that I noticed most from Kimmie was her patience. No matter how long it took me to execute a pose or to understand how to properly slide into a position, Kimmie was always patient and encouraging, never losing her temper. If she ever had a suggestion for me, she was always gentle about it and never put me down for not completely getting a certain trick right away. This is definitely something that I want to apply to myself if I ever have the opportunity to mentor someone. Another thing Kimmie did to help me feel comfortable was to remain positive and friendly – her upbeat, kind energy helped me become less shy around her and feel less afraid to make mistakes (which, as a perfectionist, is quite a hard thing for me).
For my In-Depth project this year, I am going to be learning some basic poses in aerial hoop. An aerial hoop is a kind of aerial equipment used in circus – it’s basically a large steel hula hoop that is suspended by the ceiling. The hoop is quite versatile – it can be used static (staying in one place), swinging, or spinning. I plan to learn my skills and acquire a mentor through the individual teaching private lessons at the Circus Lab – a circus school in Langley, BC. This past Thursday, I have sent an email to the Circus Lab requesting private lessons as well as a mentorship, and I have made two phone calls. I have not gotten a response yet, which is quite frustrating, but if they don’t respond or don’t have private lessons available there are other circus schools that offer private lessons so I do have a backup plan. My specific goal is to learn 15 beginner poses on the hoop, then film a routine with what I’ve learned. To monitor my progress I will film semi-regular “progress videos” and upload some of them with my regular blog posts. I will have my routine filmed by May 19, and I will present the routine at In-Depth night on May 25. I have chosen aerial hoop for my In-Depth field of study because I am involved with circus but never had the chance to discover hoop. I also hope to gain confidence by building on existing skills in circus.
About Lucy Maud Montgomery. n.d. 30 November 2019 <https://www.lmmontgomery.ca/about/lmm/her-life>.
Bradley, Brian. Author Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Troubled Years in Toronto. 1 March 2018. 30 November 2019 <https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/once-upon-a-city-archives/2018/03/01/author-lucy-maud-montgomerys-troubled-years-in-toronto.html>.
I used this source the most for researching Montgomery’s death and mental health issues for my intro blog post. I found this article quite informative, as it specifically addressed what might’ve been factors that fed her anxiety and depression. The article gathered evidence from Montgomery’s journal pages to convey exactly what the author was feeling at the time, and has been published fairly recently. This article was extremely helpful to understand the more taboo side of Montgomery’s life.
Brown, Daniel. L.M. Montgomery’s original manuscript reveals P.E.I. author’s creative process. 8 August 2019. 30 November 2019 <https://www.trurodaily.com/lifestyles/lm-montgomerys-original-manuscript-reveals-pei-authors-creative-process-339782/>.
This source was instrumental in terms of revealing Montgomery’s abstract thought process. The inferences that the author of the article made came directly from the original manuscript of Anne of Green Gables, so the evidence was close to coming form Montgomery herself. Since Anne of Green Gables was rejected five different times, Montgomery would’ve had to considerably change the original manuscript. From this article, I was able to see her original ideas and what specifically might’ve caused the book to be initially rejected. However, this resource was written in the form of a news article, so there is a chance that the article was slightly dramatized to become a news-worthy piece.
CBC News. L. M. Montgomery Suicide Revealed. 22 September 2008. 30 November 2019 <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/l-m-montgomery-suicide-revealed-1.723426>.
Devereux, Cecily and Andrew McIntosh. Lucy Maud Montgomery . 15 May 2018. 28 November 2019 <https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/montgomery-lucy-maud>.
I used this article mainly just to check my other sources of information and get a general idea of Montgomery’s life. Because this page came from a well known Canadian resource, I found the information to be trustworthy and informative while managing to be succinct. It was also helpful that the article identified debated topics and looked at all sides from a neutral point of view.
Engelhart, Katie. A Tale Told by Facts Alone. 8 October 2009. 30 November 2019 <https://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/a-tale-told-by-facts-alone/>.
Heritage Minutes: Lucy Maud Montgomery . Dir. Stephen Dunn. Perf. Meghan Greeley and Nadia Tonen. 2018.
This was the video that I used as an introduction of sorts for my blog post. The entire script quotes Montgomery’s journal pages, so it really gives a feel of Montgomery’s personal life while she was alive. The video also allowed me to have a distinct view of Montgomery’s voice, which I used as somewhat of a reference point for my speech.
Lanzendorfer, Joy. 14 Facts About Anne of Green Gables Author L.M. Montgomery. 28 November 2014. 30 November 2019 <https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/60282/14-facts-about-anne-green-gables-author-lm-montgomery>.
Lucy Maud Montgomery. Unknown. 28 November 2019 <https://www.dal.ca/about-dal/dalhousie-originals/lucy-maud-montgomery.html>.
Rubio, Mary Henley. Dictionary of Canadian Biography. 2018. 28 November 2019 <http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/montgomery_lucy_maud_17E.html>.
This biography was my primary source of research throughout the entire project. I mainly used it as information for Montgomery’s childhood (the focus point of my speech), but it was generally the most informative resource I had. The biography was written by Mary Henley Rubio, who is a trustworthy professor that has completed thorough research on Montgomery’s life. Once I read it, I had a clear and comprehensive understanding of Montgomery’s struggles and accomplishments.
Some people go through life trying to find out what the world holds for them only to find out too late that it’s what they bring to the world that really counts.
From the day she knew how to hold a pencil, Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote. Journals, news articles, speeches, novels… there was hardly a day in Montgomery’s life that she wasn’t writing. Perhaps the most famous of all, Montgomery breathed life into the fictional Canadian icon Anne Shirley, a free-spirited girl whose life was full of imagination and mischief. Montgomery was, and is, a Canadian icon who rose to fame during a time that female authors were disregarded as worthy contributions to literature.
Born on November 30, 1874 in Clifton, Prince Edward Island to Hugh John Montgomery and Clara Woolner Macneill, Montgomery was a privileged little girl. Both the Montgomerys and the Macneills were powerful Scottish families who held the majority of the real estate in PEI. The Montogmerys and the Macneills had comfortable ties to powerful Scottish Clans, were financially secure, prominent in PEI’s politics, and even had a few distinguished authors in their ancestry prior to Montgomery.
Despite this, Montgomery’s childhood was not an easy one. Montgomery’s mother passed away from tuberculosis when she was only 21 months old. Not long after, Montgomery’s father left her to be raised by her maternal grandparents Alexander Marquis and Lucy Ann Macneill in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island. Her grandparents, old-fashioned as they were, were cold and unloving towards Montgomery as they raised her.
Montgomery was an intuitive, highly sensitive child with elaborate mood swings which, much to her grandparents’ dismay, earned her quite a reputation amongst her town. Despite her harsh upbringing, Montgomery’s childhood was a happy one, having many friends and cousins to play with. Never one to spend too much time indoors, Montgomery spent hours on end playing outside in PEI’s many fields and beaches. This kindled a love for nature, causing Montgomery to feature it in the majority of her stories later in life. While she enjoyed playing with the other children, Montgomery also enjoyed her alone time and would spend much of her youth reading and writing. Her most famous influences were Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women) and Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (author of Alice in Wonderland). Both of whom greatly inspired her work later on, most notably Anne of Green Gables.
Reaching adulthood, Montgomery was struck with the sudden realization that it would be difficult for a woman to ever make it as an author, so she decided to become a teacher, which was quite popular for women at the time. She spent two years studying to teach young children at Charlottetown’s Prince of Wales college, and obtained a teaching license. In July of 1894, Montgomery began teaching and found she loved working with children. In her free time, she continued to write and publish stories and articles for her town’s local newspaper.
Instead of continuing down the lane that most young women her age took (teaching until they found a worthy spouse), Montgomery chose to save up her money (with the help and encouragement from her grandmother) and attend Dalhousie College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was there that she met Archibald McKellar MacMechan, who saw Montgomery’s capabilities and fed her passion for literature. After a year, Montgomery could no longer afford college and was forced to drop out. This made her feel quite disappointed and frustrated, especially since one of her male cousins was given the money and encouragement to continue on while she wasn’t given any further praise or funding.
Montgomery returned to the world of teaching which offered little pay, and was promptly engaged to her cousin Edwin Simpson. Montgomery despised Simpson, and felt little affection from him. Longing for a loving husband and children of her own, Montgomery fell into loneliness and depression. After Montgomery’s engagement was cancelled and she had an unsuccessful affair with George Herman Leared, Montgomery returned to Cavendish where she earned praise and respect by caring for her recently-widowed grandmother. Montgomery soon found the time to write again in Cavendish, and running the town’s post office helped Montgomery listen to the town’s gossip and find inspiration for stories. Montgomery finished writing her debut novel Anne of Green Gables in 1901. Her novel had five rejections, many of which almost prompted to give up on her dreams. Determined to succeed, Montgomery continued trying until its eventual success. For nine months, Montgomery worked for Halifax’s Daily Echo, writing many intriguing stories and articles that captivated anyone who read them. In 1902, however, Montgomery returned to Cavendish to fight a legal battle for her grandmother after her uncle tried to force her out of the house due to old age.
In 1903, Montgomery developed an interest for Reverend Ewen Macdonald, the local Presbyterian minister. Macdonald’s feelings turned out to be mutual, and the two were secretly engaged in 1906. One year later, Montgomery finally published Anne of Green Gables. In 1911, Montgomery and Macdonald were finally married, and spent their honeymoon in Scotland and England where Montgomery found more inspiration for her writing.
Shortly after, Montgomery moved to Ontario where she continued to suffer from various mental health problems including insomnia, depression, and anxiety. After suffering multiple losses and stress due to both World Wars as well as a loss in her novels’ popularity, Montgomery passed away on April 24, 1942. The exact cause of Montgomery’s death is unknown, but it was mainly written off as illness due to her mental health and weight loss.
Lucy Maud Montgomery was an incredible author, feminist, and journalist. Her works have, had, and continue to be read by audiences of all ages through their unique characters and choice of setting. Montgomery overcame discouragement and criticism to become the influential woman she is today. The majority of her works featured trouble-making, free-spirited young girls who weren’t afraid to speak their mind, which was vastly uncommon for her time and inspired other famous characters, including the lovable Pippi Longstocking.
***
I have enjoyed reading Montgomery’s work, and having visited Prince Edward Island over the past summer, I spent a lot of time exploring the Anne of Green Gables house and became quite interested in the life of Montgomery and what obstacles she overcame to become a published author. Personally, Montgomery inspires me to never give up on my passions and continue chasing my goals even when it’s difficult to find hope.
Next, I will research Montgomery’s influences and pick one person or thing to focus on. I will also look back to my vacation photos from summer 2019 to see if I can use any of them for my Learning Station during Night of the Notables.
Green Gables Heritage Place in Prince Edward Island
1. How might your digital footprint affect your future opportunities? Give at least two examples.
Your digital footprint might affect your future in a variety of ways. Whether you’re applying for volunteering, a job, or a university, someone will probably google your name and check your social media platforms to see what kind of person you are. Depending on how wisely you spent your time online, this will help your employer or the people reviewing your job/university/volunteer application decide whether or not to accept you.
Also, if you talk about someone behind their back on the Internet, that person may eventually find out about what you wrote or posted and could possibly decide to report you or no longer be friends with you. If they choose to report you, this could again impact your position in existing or future jobs or universities.
I’ve described the ways that your digital footprint can impact you negatively, but you can also leave a positive digital footprint on the internet. If you are conscious about what you post, don’t give too much information about yourself, and are kind to others, this will be nothing but good news for your future, your friendships, and the overall impression the Internet has of you.
2. Describe at least three strategies that you can use to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe.
One strategy that you could use to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe is asking a trusted adult to check your comment or post before you post it yourself. Adults have been around a lot longer than we have, so they know a lot more about what’s appropriate and inappropriate to post or comment. Plus, if you get into an argument on the internet, it would be best to ask an adult to help you solve it.
Another thing you can do is to keep your social media accounts as private as possible. Most mainstream social media platforms have privacy settings, and you should always turn these settings on – no matter what. With privacy settings on, only people who you give permission to follow you can view your account and what you post. And even if you do have a private account, it’s best not to post pictures of yourself and any of your personal information.
Finally, always think before you post or comment, especially if you choose to make your account public. A good guideline to follow for this is the acronym “THINK” – is it Truthful, Helpful, Important, Necessary, and/or Kind? If your comment or post passes the THINK criteria, then go ahead and post! But if it doesn’t, stop and assess again.
3. If you could go back in time, is there anything you would do differently online? Think of what type of advice you would pass on to your younger self or other students. How could you go about explaining it to them?
If I could go back in time, there’s nothing really that I would do differently online. I never really joined any social media platforms until last year, and the only ones I use currently are YouTube and Instagram. I don’t do anything other than subscribe to videos on YouTube, and I’ve never posted anything personal on my Instagram. However, I do have some advice for my younger self and that is to be more patient with my parents and their rules of the Internet. I used to get so frustrated when I was one of the only people in my class that didn’t use social media, but I see now that if I had gotten social media at the same time as my friends, I would not have been mature enough to handle it. Knowing me, I would’ve ended up posting a lot of embarrassing things that my present self would regret, and would also be on the Internet forever.
If I were to tell my younger self this, I would probably try my best to tell her gently, but still explain that things I would like in Grade Six probably wouldn’t be the same several years later. I would also tell my Grade Six self that I would get social media soon enough, once I was older and mature enough to handle it.
3) Tool Bar – In your toolbar you can “Add Media” and “Add Documents” into your posts, this is the best way to create visual representations. You can also change fonts, hyperlink, etc.
4) Publish – Here is where you control what items are public and private. You can also control when they are published to your website.
5) Categories – Here is where you choose where you want your post to go. This is your digital binder with all of your subjects. Make sure to categorize each post with the relevant subject. E.g.Categories -> English
6) Tags – Here is where you tag posts with one or two of the most readily applicable Core Competencies. These tags can help you find things quicker on your blog and help you stay organised. E.g.Tag -> creativethinking
7) Publish – When you are done, simply “Publish” it. If it has been edited, press “Republish” to update with the latest version of the content.
