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After our first meeting we all had to write a narrative reflection about the dog park meeting. So here's one from 'ML'

    Our meeting for the dog park was on Friday September 28th.  The meeting was was at like 8:15 am.  It was in the pavilion at Gowen’s Park in Sanford, ME.  That morning was chilly and sprinkling rain.  We had the meeting for a dog park so we could see how many people wanted a dog park and why they wanted a dog park in Sanford, ME.  We also wanted to know why a dog park in Sanford would be good for the town.  Those were some of the questions we had on the posters.  On the poster there was room so people could write what they thought.  There was about 17 people who went to the meeting including the students and some adults.  The adults that went to the meeting were Ms.Masellas, Mrs.Hurly, Ms.Rapter, Ms.Lytle, Ms.Brure, Mr.Bloom, Mr.Lacroix, and Mrs.Lacroix, our teacher.  For the next dog park meeting we would like to have more people come!

    There are many things that I did at the meeting.  The first thing I did at the meeting was greet people when they got there.  The next thing I did was pet the dogs that came after I greeted them.  During the meeting I handed out dog treats, so people could take them home if they had dogs.  My friend and I made the dog treats.  I asked adults questions like if they had dogs and how many dogs they have.  I also took pictures and videos so we could put then on the website.  And lastly I helped clean the pavilion after everyone left.

    For many reasons a dog park is satisfying for dog owners.  The first reason why is dog owners can meet new people.  They can have time to relax and hang out with other dog owners.  They can find out what events are coming up in town if we have a bulletin board.  Their dogs will be tired from running around with other dogs.  Dogs will get exercise so dog owners won’t have to play with them.

    I think we did an awesome job for our first meeting and we’re looking forward to the next steps for building a dog park.  We did a fantastic job planning the meeting.  The things we could have improved in is speaking  louder so everyone could hear us.  We could have given out more cards, so more people would come to the meeting.  We also could be more welcoming.  I think the next steps toward building a dog park is to meet with senior citizens and town planners to see what they think about a dog park.  We should put more things on the website so people are more interested in a dog park idea.  Our group of students should talk to people in Maine that have built a dog park in the towns of Maine.  We should also learn more about dog parks and see dog parks in person.

Here's a reflection from JAK

    The meeting was on Friday, September 28 at 8:15.  The weather there was kind of drizzly.  The reason why we had the meeting was to find out if we want a dog park in Sanford.  The number of people that were there was 17.  It took place at Gowen park.  The people who attended were Ms. Masellas, Ms. Kapler, Ms. Lytle, Ms. Brure, Mr. Lacroix, Mr. Bloom, and mostly all the ELL students.

    I only did three things things which I thought it wasn't enough .  One of the things that I did was that I was listened to the people and what they had to say about the dog park.  Most of the comments were not negative so that was good.  Another thing I did was that I was friendly to the dogs.  That might of not helped much but the dog could have liked it. Another thing I did was asking people what they think about the dog park idea.

    These are the reasons why a dog park would be good for Sanford tourists and visitors.  One reason is because it will be good for businesses for Sanford.  Another reason is because people could advertise there.  Like the last reason,  advertisements will be good for businesses in Sanford.  The next reason is because tourists will stop by and spend money on their way to the dog park.  Another reason is that it would increase community spirit in Sanford.  The final reason is because some people often bring their pets when they are travel.  So when they travel to Sanford, their dog wants to exercise, and they can go to the Sanford Dog Park without traveling fifty miles.

    There some things that went well at the meeting.  One thing that went well was that people came to the meeting and said they wanted a dog park.  Like I mentioned in the first paragraph, there were no negative thoughts about the dog park idea.  There were also some things that we could have done better in the meeting.  One thing that we could have done was speaking a lot louder.  Another thing was that l could have done was talk more to the adults.  Another thing is that I didn’t do is introduce myself.  After the meeting, we would have to go to the next step.  First we should make rules before building the dog park.  Second make a website to support the Sanford dog park.  Then we should meet town planners and senior citizens to got their support.  Lastly we should start collecting money before the park before building it.


JoK's Reflection 
  On a cold rainy morning at a park on Friday September 28th, 2012 near Gowen’s Park, the SJHS English Language Learners had a meeting. We had a meeting about a dog park and discussed how are we going to get one. There were about 17 people at the meeting who attended, including us, there were about 9 students and there were 8 adults. So these were the adults that attended: Ms.Masellas, Mrs.Hurly, Ms.Rapter, Ms.Lytle, Ms.Bruce, Mr.Bloom, Mr.Lacroix, and Mrs.Lacroix. We created posters and brought some food and drinks to the dog park meeting. We asked the people their reasons for a dog park. That was one of the reasons why we created posters. We wanted to find out why we should have a dog park, so this was why we will have to go to the town hall and figure it out and hope we have another dog park meeting soon. The last dog park meeting we had was fun. I hope the next dog park meeting we hopefully have is a very nice and not cold morning.
        There are a few things I am proud that I did at the dog park meeting. One thing that I am proud of myself was that I had to speak to the whole group at the meeting. I am proud because I’m not really that kind of person to talk in front of people, but I wanted to get rid of that, so I volunteered to read out to the whole group. I read loud enough for the people to hear me speak, I was nervous, but I still managed to still speak out. Another thing that I did at the dog park meeting, I partially cleaned up the pavilion. It is respectful to help and clean up things at public places. You just can’t let one person do all the work. A third reason why I am proud of myself is that I talked to some of the adults to remind them to vote for a logo. I also asked some adults if they wanted some donuts and coffee.  There are some things that I am not proud of that I didn’t do. I didn’t really introduce myself to other adults and shake their hand. I don’t really like shaking other people’s hands that I don’t know, but I should of have done that.
    Businesses in Sanford could benefit for many reasons. One of the reasons is if the dog park had a bulletin board, Sanford Businesses could pay if they want to advertise. So when people with dogs go to a dog park, and look on a bulletin board, they might get that advertisement in their head, and go to that place or to that store they saw on the bulletin board. Another reason why it would be good for the businesses in Sanford is it will mean there won’t be dogs roaming around getting into trash or dumpsters or begging from people. A third reason why Sanford businesses would benefit is because people will go to area businesses to shop. If people with dogs are on a trip, they can find a dog park and on there way to the dog park, they can go and shop and spend money in Sanford.    
    I think we the students and teacher did an excellent job on our first Sanford dog park meeting. We will all and try to succeed on having a real Sanford Dog Park, but that was only our first meeting. We will have another dog park meeting and hopefully more people will come. Our second meeting for a dog park will hopefully be great. When we do have a second dog park meeting, I need to improve on a lot of things. One thing I need to improve on is my talking. Talking is a big thing for me because I am not used to talking to other strangers. I need to introduce myself to more people. I had a real fun time at the first dog park meeting, and I hope we have fun again on our second meeting.   Our next step towards building a dog park? We have to start looking for a good place to build a dog park. If we are looking on having a dog park, we need to find a really good place to have a dog park. We also need to figure out how big the dog park should be. It can be a small dog park or a big dog park. It can be difficult finding a good size place for a dog park. We all have to get busy to make posters and websites and gain support from more Sanford citizens.

JG'S reflection
    It was a chilly early morning, with a small drizzle on the day of September 28th, 2012. We had a meeting for the first ever Sanford dog park.  It was at the Gowen park pavilion where this meeting took place.  We, the students, had been expecting many people to come to this meeting.  Unfortunately, not that many people came. Six civilians actually came to this meeting. In all there were seventeen people in attendance. The reason why we even had this meeting was to find out about what the citizens of Sanford  thought about the idea of having a dog park in Sanford.  The things we discussed in this meeting were the reasons why they think we should have a dog park.
    We did plenty of things at this meeting.  I contributed to it in a few  ways.  Here are some of the ways I helped.  I spoke to the whole group at this meeting about the posters and greeted  people who came to this meeting.  I was the first student to talk.  I carried posters over before the meeting started, I also carried some posters back.  I was also friendly to the dogs that were brought to this dog park meeting.  I pet them if I was given permission.  I held up a poster and read it to the whole group.  During this meeting I made sure that when I spoke everyone was able to hear me.  I also asked people questions to the people who attended to this meeting.  I also took a video for the dog park meeting to see what citizens of Sanford were putting on the posters for feedback.  I was also a very respectful listener when they were speaking.  Finally, I helped clean up the pavilion.
    Not to mention that if you think about the idea, a dog park in Sanford would be very advantageous for the town of Sanford, here are a few reasons why.  One reason would be that there would be less stray dogs running loose bothering the citizens of the town.  Another reason why a dog park would be profitable for the actual town would be the fact that people could walk or drive by stores and places in which they can consume food and buy an object there.  Also it may make the neighbors who have other kinds of pets more satisfied that they do not need to hear constant barking from stray or neighboring dogs. This could be beneficial for the town because this would show that we listen to the people of the town and we are respectful listeners.  Also if you really consult your brain on these issues, you would think back to the point I made about less stray dogs; it would also mean that there would be less waste on the lawns of people who don’t want to clean up after someone else.
    We had this meeting just to get this idea across to the citizens of Sanford, our first meeting was for the most part successful, we are looking forward to planning what is next for this concept.  I did a pretty satisfying job with what my duties were in this meeting I was very reasonably loud at this meeting; so I was heard, and I enunciated.  I was talking quite a bit at this meeting. I was reading posters and talking at the beginning of this meeting, I’d also greeted people.  Plus I was being responsible when I brought some of the things necessary for this meeting to the Gowen Park pavilion. At our next meeting it would probably go a little better with a few things that we could have improved such as introductions; like this one man that went by with two dogs and most-likely didn’t even know there was a dog park meeting. Another thing would be expanding the amount of posters shown at this meeting; considering not all of them had a chance to be. Then the last thing that could have improved was helping the seventh graders out a small bit, considering the things we had done in comparison to what they had done. And here are three of our next steps; First, learn more about dog park design and see a dog park in person. Second, start making regulations for the dog park such as even the smallest things like clean up after your dog. Third, use the web to research the “Do’s” and “Don’t’s” of building a dog park.

 





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