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Last Week at C@P, where does the time go?

Hello Everyone,

I decided that since this is my last week at the Membertou C@P site, I thought I would recollect on my times here at this great site.

Let me start off by saying when I started this position on June 24th, thoughts of doubt were crossing my mind as if I could handle this sort of responsibility and since we are attached to a youth centre and dealing with many children ranging from different ages the question ran through my mind if the children will like me.

However, after a few week my doubts were diminishing and the question if the children will like me was answered a few weeks later especially after C@P day. Before that I think the children just seen me at this tall guy with a beard with an infatuation for wrestling t-shirts, however after C@P day at the site they started to call me by my first name and always asking me to play computer games with them mainly from a website called Roblox.com and to other games with them like pool, ping pong and four square. I have to admit after working at this fantastic site my ability to play pool has gotten slightly better. 

I should also point out how helpful everyone that works at this site both on the C@P site and the youth centre side as they made me feel more than welcome everyday that I came into work. May I point out as well there is nothing more rewarding then coming into work at this site and the children asking you to play games with them and at a rare time getting greeted by a hug from one of the kids.

With that I would like to talk more about my memorable summer at this site, but I don't wish to fill up this whole page with this reflective blog. But I have to say that I hope the person that gets hired on at this fantastic site will have as much fun next year as I did this year!

Sincerely

Roddie- Membertou 2013 C@P Intern

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Another Great Summer

It's been another great summer here at the Mira Seniors and Pensioners C@P Site.  My 3rd summer working here has been one of the best yet.  I got to meet a lot of great new people- coworkers and people in my community- and got a sense that I was helping in my community a lot.  I loved it when people came in for help and I was able to help them with their problems and they were really grateful.  It just goes to show how much these sites mean in rural communities like Marion Bridge and all over Cape Breton.  

I enjoyed helping the seniors throughout the entire summer with any events/activities that had planned and got to know a lot of them.  I also really enjoyed C@P Day this year at our new location in Membertou with all the different activities we had.  Parades and grading day at the mall were a lot of fun too.  My favourite times were when we all got to get together at all the different events; it's nice to get out and see everyone when you're in your site most of the time.

This summer was by far the busiest one at my site since I started here 3 years ago.  A rough estimate would say that I had over 100 people use the site since I started here at the beginning of June, more than last year and the year before that. I had a really enjoyable robotics camp, which I found putting the robots together and programming them just as much fun as the kids did! I also got to have 3 cyber camps this year, more than any other year. The kids seemed to really enjoy them too.

I always say that working for C@P isn't like your ordinary student summer job, because you get to really enjoy your job and meet some really great people.  You don't consider people your bosses or coworkers because they're more like friends at the end of the summer.  Sadly, this is Jill's last summer with C@P and I had a lot of fun working with her the past 3 summers. But we'll all be sure to keep in touch down the road!

Thanks for a great summer everyone!

Steven, Marion Bridge

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Yesterday, I had a nice lady contact me from Port Hawksberry. Her name was Eleanor, and she was once a resident of Port Morien. She had mentioned that she heard we were working on a Digital Archive of Morien and was interested about it. After letting her know what we were up to, she happily gave me a brief history lesson about her family. Where they came from, where they went, and all of the good stuff. I had fun listening to her story, and she was happy to speak. She said that she would have to come and check it out during the Morien Memories festival in 2015. Maybe I'll be able to meet her again in the near future!

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Had a furry friend come in to the site yesterday! One of the patrons brings her dog with her everywhere and she came inside the site yesterday. I don't know if this picture does it justice, but she is one of the smallest dogs I have ever seen. She startled one of the other people at the site who thought it was a rat because of how small it is! She provided some much appreciated entertainment for a bit yesterday while her owner was using the computer!

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Ready, set.....BUILD!

The last two days at East Bay I was lucky enough to help out with the Robotics camps. A total blast all the way, the kids enjoyed every minute, including us "older" interns. We had a great group of kids, all excited to learn. I really enjoyed seeing their enthusiasm, it reminded me of what it was like being a kid again. The fundamental things still hold true; something to build, a little teamwork, and lots of imagination! That's all you needed to have a fantastic time. 

We had a great team to help out with the camps as well; with Cara to teach the camps, and Yurij from Big Pond's C@P Site, and of course myself. It was great experience all around, and we got to learn a thing or two as well!

It was amazing to see kids sad to leave; when the camps were over. Parents seemed very impressed with the robots that their kids had helped to build and program within their groups. 

All in all, a day well spent. Good job kiddies! :) Hope to see you all again soon.

-EastBay C@P Intern.

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Hello everybody. This week was more or less a regular week. However, an interesting event happened this morning. I received a phone call from 103.5 The Eagle and they asked to do an interview. I thought it was a strange request, but they had read about me doing some work for the Morien Digital Archives in the paper, and wanted to know a little bit more about it. For one, I had no idea I was in the paper, so I was a bit nervous. I got to talk about what we were looking for, what we are expecting to do, and when we had hoped to be finished, etc. I also got to mention C@P and talk about some of the great  things that we do! If your listening to 103.5 this weekend, you may hear a tidbit about the Project!

Brandon - Port Morien

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Helping out the Seniors

So lately things haven’t been too busy here with few patrons coming in this week. I guess the nice weather we’ve been getting is to blame! But there’s still always stuff to do around here because the seniors always have stuff going on and never stop. Last week they had a breakfast so I helped set up a bit for that, but today is their monthly country market. There’s a bake sale, crafts, canteen, and all sorts of other stuff too.  Having not much else to do I gladly help them out with whatever they need done, whether it’s moving tables or setting up chairs.  They really appreciate it too because they all work really hard out here year round and could use any break or help they can get.  I really do consider myself lucky to work in this C@P Site because I have the nicest people who come in and to work with.  So cheers to having hard working seniors in your community and just remember next time you’re at any community event that there’s a group of people who worked really hard to make it happen!

Steven, Marion Bridge

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Eat Your Own Face Machine

It's been a long time since I've done a Tumblr post but I found this and thought it deserved some recognition. 

While searching for some cool examples of 3D prints to show the kids at our upcoming 3D printer camps at the main office, I came across this article and video about a guy who created an "Eat Your Face Machine". At first glance I thought it would be just like our 3D printer and it would just pour the chocolate layer by layer, but it basically uses a picture of your face to create a 3D model and then the machine CARVES IT out of a block of chocolate. HOW COOL IS THAT!? There's lots of food 3D printing happening out there, but I have to say that this is one of the coolest I've seen so far (maybe it's just because I'm a chocolate lover).

I don't know if I would want to eat my own face, but making models out of chocolate just brings 3D printing up to a whole new level of deliciousness.

Be sure to check out the article and video by clicking on the link above!

- Jillian, Youth Intern Coordinator