I.S. 126 Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Today’s guest blogger is Elizabeth Ward from the I.S. 126 City Year team in Long Island City, Queens. Elizabeth, 23, is from Astoria, Queens and she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Stony Brook University. Elizabeth also graduated with two minors in English and Journalism and has a passion for blogging.

Corps members (L-R) Jessica Ewing, Elizabeth Ward, and Jacqueline Oregel lead parents and students through a trivia game about Hispanic celebrities and countries.

Homemade empanadas, dancing and pounds of hard candy were all part of I.S 126’s celebration for Hispanic Heritage Month last Thursday, October 13^th. The I.S. 126 City Year team hosted a potluck dinner to honor and end the final week of National Hispanic Heritage month. The first floor cafeteria was decorated with student projects and hand-drawn posters of Spanish speaking countries and celebrities. Over 40 guests attended including parents, students, faculty and staff.

The night began with a bilingual summary of the origins and timeline of Hispanic Heritage Month. Next, City Year corps members presented guests with brief biographies of notable Hispanics in media and sports.

Team Leader Vashti Valerius and corps member Raymond Chin served traditional Hispanic dishes to parents, students, and staff.

Lastly, a trivia game engaged parents and students in friendly competition where guests were awarded with candy for their participation. “I’m happy City Year did this,” said Lesli, an 8^th grade student at I.S 126. “Everyone was treated nicely and every country was represented.”

The night ended with dinner served by corps members, after- school staff and the assistant principal. Fried chicken, rice and beans, arroz con leche, corn bread and tostada’s were just a few of many dishes that parents brought to the potluck. Students and corps members danced to bachata and merengue music as parents relaxed and enjoyed their dinner.

PS 213 Hosts College Spirit Week

Today’s guest blogger is Stephen Grodski, Team Leader for the National Grid Team serving at PS 213 in East New York, Brooklyn. Today’s post gives a recap of the PS 213 team’s College Readiness Spirit Week held at the end of September. National Grid sponsors the 11 corps members who are serving full time at PS 213, supporting student achievement in Attendance, Behavior and Course Performance in Math and English.

Stephen Grodski, PS 213 Team Leader, graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in Classical Studies.

A major reason I came back to City Year for a second year was to build upon the service I provided with my teammates last year. Last year, my team was notorious for having a never say die mentality in the face of whatever was put on our plates, and this year’s team is continuing that tradition by giving 100% to the students and school community of PS 213. As we wrap up our first school wide event, I feel as though this this team has equaled and possibly bested what the team produced last year.

My team created and implemented a college spirit week for the whole school that ended with a college readiness pep rally. The purpose of the week was to promote the idea and importance of college throughout the school and make it apparent to every student that they are all very capable of going to college and succeeding.

Week of Events – Over the span of three days, we engaged over 250 students with college prep activities.

• The College Atmosphere could be felt throughout the school where we made and hung more than 50 college pennants.
• College Fact of the Day was included in all morning announcements.
• College Prep during Lunch time gave students time to make college logos, play college readiness bingo, play PS 213’s own College Chutes and Ladders Board Game, and take a college interest survey to see what their potential major could be someday.

PS 213 power greeted and exited the students into the College Readiness pep rally! The students were encouraged to join in!

Pep Rally – The coup de gras for the spirit week was the College Readiness Pep Rally, attended by 300 students, faculty and staff.

We power greeted the students and faculty walking into the auditorium – much to the delight of the students. After a lot of “pumping up”, students were inspired by testimonials from college grads from the CY team and the school administration, chants, and a college slideshows.

“I thought it was inspiring for the kids. These kids are not regularly exposed to things like that, so it is great when City Year can provide it for them….I guess if I had to sum it up in one word, I would say it was motivating.” -Nick Grammenos, Teacher at PS 213

The students looked at us with glossy eyes as if we were famous and started reciting our college chants as they left the auditorium. I got chills when City Year said, “Who’s going to college?!” And the entire auditorium screamed back “WE ARE!!!!”

I am extremely proud of my team for putting this together. This week truly instilled the fact that everyone of our students are very capable of going to college – It was positively a success.

National Grid representatives Mauri Myers-Solages, Ken Daly, and Eileen Cifone with the PS 213 team on Opening Day.

Heading Back to School

Last Thursday, New York City students went back to school and we were excited to share with our community a short video that gives a look at last year’s impact and some of the new innovations that we are bringing to our service this year. Check out the video if you have not seen it yet.

One of the new and exciting announcements in that video is that our corps members will be working on the ABCs in two NYC high schools, implementing Diplomas Now. Diplomas Now is a school turnaround collaboration between City Year corps members, Communities In Schools (CIS) and Talent Development at Johns Hopkins University.

Anna M. Philips, writer at the SchoolBook (a blog that also launched last week by the NYT and WNYC, which will rinclude stories, information, and conversations about NYC schools – If you are interested in education in NYC you should bookmark this site), visited one of these new partnerships, Sheepshead Bay to talk to students and teachers about kicking off the new year. Read full story HERE.

“We have more help this year, and you can’t say no to more help,” he said, gesturing to the City Year members. “The school has been getting better every year, and this will probably take us over the edge. We’ve got a 63 percent graduation rate, and we’re trying to get it to 68 percent this year and then raise it every year.”

Five Things Friday

1. Remembering 9/11: It’s almost hard to believe that it has been 10 years since the 9/11 attacks. To honor the victims, survivors, and the many that rose in service in response to the 9/11 tragedy, MyGoodDeed is partnering with the HandsOn Network to co-lead efforts in hopes of organizing the single largest day of charitable service in United States history. (via City Year Blog)

The City Year New York community will spend next Sunday volunteering in schools and NYCHA Houses on the Lower East Side. We encourage everyone to take a moment on 9/11 to remember those whose lives were changed forever and find a way to give back.

Visit the 911day.org website to learn more and share your #IWill tribute on twitter or Facebook.

2. Back to School Month: August is “Back to School Month” and for City Year that means welcoming and training the 2,000 Corps Members who will be serving with us this year, in 22 cities across the USA. Our CMs will be entering some of our counties most underserved schools, working with students who are struggling in three key areas – Attendance, Behavior and Course Performance in math and English.

Over the past weeks, the City Year Blog took a look at these three critical areas and the role CMs are playing, getting our students back on track. Please click the images below to learn more.

3.  High School Voice: A former City Year New York Young Hero, now 17 years old High School Student, has recently named the Editor for The Huffington Post’s newest “High School Section.” This new section will feature High School Students (14 – 18 years old) who are interested in getting their voices heard. Please read Myles’ announcement earlier this week.

Any young people who are interested or what to learn more, email Myles at highschool@huffingtonpost.com

4. Four!: Our Third Annual Golf Tournament is just a few weeks away. Still undecided about attending? CLICK HERE to read the recap and see photos from last year.

5. Have you joined the conversation?: We want to stay connected to you! If you haven’t already done so, FOLLOW us on twitter to ask questions and see what’s happening here on the day-to-day.

JOIN the City Year New York Facebook group to learn more about our corps, find out about upcoming events and read about our service in schools. To join a larger national service conversation and network with all 22 City Year sites, LIKE the City Year Facebook page.

And while you’re at it, check out the City Year YouTube Channel for video recaps of events, FAQ videos, and other fun videos throughout the year. AND check out our latest photos on City Year Flickr.