Family Involvement Family Art Day

Families from Stevenson, Roosevelt and Burnett Elementary schools, which are currently on intersession, gathered at St Luke’s on Monday, April 2nd to do a Welcome Spring Arts and Craft Social.  After learning about College Readiness for four weeks and working really hard on In-Home Education for eight weeks, the parents and children enjoyed sitting and sharing together a social time where they were able to laugh and play with other families. They were very creative and did fabulous decorations including bunnies, flowers, Easter baskets and many other crafts. Everyone took home their creations as well as Easter eggs and candy. To see me more photos of this event CLICK HERE.

YMCA SAFE Program

How does the After School Programs educate and bring awareness about what it means to be healthy?  SAFE! Students and families participated in the S.A.F.E program last year. SAFE stands for Students Assets for Fitness Education. Students and families learned how to make healthy choices
 from active activities to what they should eat. Students participated in the SAFE program in the after school program where parents attended parent classes.  Student’s had better attitudes and behaviors towards healthy lifestyles. Over 1,000 children and families engaged in various nutrition activities and lessons.  Family and children are now able to utilize this information to make healthier choices regarding what to eat. Being active is important in the after school program, students learned about benefits of being physically active and the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle, both physically and nutritionally. Students are playing more and staying active. The after school programs family fitness nights where students and family members can come to the program and play games with a nutrition focus.  Families were dancing to Zumba, learning Karate, taste healthy foods and more. The YMCA S.A.F.E. Program addresses several issues facing today’s urban youth. Healthy lifestyle choices are a combination of healthy habits, nutritional habits and physical activity. See the slideshow above for photos!


For more information about the SAFE Program contact Trang Truong. 

Food Drive at Longfellow Elementary

Ali Carias, a 1st grade program leader at Longfellow Elementary, had an idea this holiday season. She wanted to help those in need in the Longfellow Community. Ali and her students decided to collect canned goods and other food items for families who wouldn't be able to afford a Thanksgiving Meal this year.  It was a service learning project that started with one program leader and her twenty students, but when the other program leaders heard about it, they and their students bought into the idea as well. When all was said and done, what started as an idea to help out one Longfellow Family has turned into a program wide initiative that will help over ten families. Each family will receive a box similar to the one pictured above, as well as turkeys from money that was also donated. We would like to thank all of the families who donated to make an impact to our community. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

AAUW STEM Career Conference Field Trip

My name is Samantha, I am an 8^th Grader at Burcham K-8 School. On Friday, February 26, 2010. I went on a field trip with my YMCA/WRAP After School Program to Long Beach City College (Liberal Arts Campus) for the annual AAUW (American Association of University Women) STEM Career Conference. I had a great experience. Before we went on the field trip, we had to fill out a paper and choose which career workshops we were interested in. There were so many choices to make. The choices were architect, banker, chemical engineer, computer programmer, coroner, horticulturist, marine biologist, and public health nurse. I had to pick my top three I wanted. I picked coroner, chemical engineer and marine biologist. The conference was in the new building at LBCC. When we arrived to LBCC, there were many different girls attending from different schools. There were a lot of middle school girls and also high school girls.

In the beginning, we all went into the main building we listened to a keynote speaker. She was talking to us about what she did and that she had a very challenging life growing up and that she was not ashamed to tell us girls her story. She told us that she had a boyfriend that was a gang member and he got her pregnant and it messed up her life. She shared that she really wanted to finish her education. She said she was no longer with her gang member boyfriend and she finally did graduate from Cal State Dominguez. Her story meant something to me because she went through a lot of challenges but she pushed forward to finish her school and go on to finish college. I want to finish high school, go to college and accomplish my goals. She told us not to give up, to finish college and not to hang out with street boys or have boyfriends in high school. We should focus on school and achieve all goals.

The two workshops I attended were the chemical engineer and the coroner ones. Chemical engineering was a fun experience because I always thought that the factory would be harmful to us. The speaker was one of the employees of the factory and she told us why she works there. One reason she told us when she was a kid she wanted to create make –up and the perfect acne product. After she told us how the factory works, she then had us do an experiment that was so fun but slimy. We made some type of goo that is easy to make at home. The Coroner has a job that you have to have guts for to do. I would try to handle the job but the lady that was our teacher had courage. The fist step to take care of the dead body is that she has to check how did that person die. Second step if their friend or someone in the car survives they have to put their name on the toe tag. There are different types of death like suicide, murder, and overdose. I enjoyed the coroner a lot because I didn’t know that there was a coroner I thought that the police or ambulance paramedics took care of dead people. It really opened my eyes that people there are people in charge of just finding out how people die. The coroner was very funny and I learned a lot from her.

Both of the subjects that I attended were fun and I can’t pick a favorite. I learned so much from and I loved it. This experience gave me ideas on what kind of career I can have. It was an experience I will not forget.

For more information on AAUW, visit their website: www.aauw.org

Written By Samantha T.

After School Professional Development

On Monday, February 21, 2011, after school programs in Long Beach were closed in observance of Washington’s birthday. The Community Development branch took this opportunity to provide sixteen of our newest staff with training in the areas of Youth Development, Child Development, and Behavior Management. The staff were introduced to the Community Network for Youth Development model and participated in exercises designed to highlight the importance of the messages we send to our youth on a daily basis. The group then broke out into teams and assessed the current culture of Youth Development at their sites, discussing how to take the site from good to great!

After a short break, the staff came back together and explored the developmental theories of Erik Erikson and Jean Piaget, identifying how the work from these two theorists is relevant to our school-age programming. Following that, the staff worked in grade-level teams identifying both developmental markers for the age groups they work with and age-appropriate enrichment activities connected to state content standards. The workshop ended with a solution-driven conversation focused on responding to challenging behaviors. By the end of the three-hour session, everyone had the opportunity to learn something new, share a strategy that has been successful for them, and network with fellow after school colleagues!

By: Mark Marano, After School Program Coordinator/CASDP Director

My "Y" Story

The following are real stories from students we serve at the Community Development YMCA...

The YMCA is a fun place to learn because we get to play games, pick our own clubs, and have water day with a huge waterslide. When we make good choices we get y-dollar store. I love the YMCA so much that I want to tell you about my story. The YMCA is a place where we have math, literacy, and stations to have fun. - Jamie S.

I like the YMCA because we had a water slide at school one day. We got to play, swim, and blow bubbles. We ate watermelon and brought a change of clothes. Water day was so much fun and I can’t wait till next year. - Jocelyn C.

I think the YMCA is a fun place for kids. You get to have fun while they help you with homework. Last summer I went to camp and I really loved riding the horses. My horse’s name was Bullet and he was really fast. The teachers are cool, active and really care about me. - Unknown

The YMCA is a special place for me because we learn how to do new stuff and explore all the subjects. One day I got a Student of the Week award and my mom and dad were so proud of me. - Unknown

To me, the YMCA is a place for learning about math, reading and writing. It’s also because I used to not get good math grades. When I came to the YMCA I started passing my tests. In reading I was in the middle of 3^rd grade and now I’m in the middle of 4^th. I used to write so sloppy that I couldn’t read my own writing. This is why I love the YMCA! Homework has been a lot easier now too. - Tais G.

I started the YMCA when I was in second grade. At first I didn’t know anyone but as I got to know the other kids we became friends. I don’t have a lot of friends on my street at home so it was really nice to have them to talk to and do my homework with. We have a lot of fun activities to do if we are good like movie nights, playing the Wii if we get Student of the Week, raffle prizes and clubs. - Jocelyn E.

The YMCA is a fun place to make true friends. That’s why we need people to donate money to the YMCA. So if you’re a millionaire and you’re reading this please give us money. - Diana C.

This is the best program that I have ever come to. It is a place to fill your brain with things to make you smart and care for other people. The YMCA makes reading fun for me and it takes me less time to do my homework. - Oscar M.

In the YMCA I learned how to build a car out of Legos. First we learned about the inside of a car and how it works. Then we made our cars and they came to life. I really like cars so this really made me happy. - Luis O.

When I think of the YMCA I am happy and grateful. In the YMCA we get to play Recreation where I can learn new games. One of my favorites is a soccer relay. Its fun to meet new friends and find out that we like the same things. The program leaders help us with our homework and projects that we have. We also have healthy lessons on Fridays - Brian C.

My mom put me in the YMCA so I could meet more people, have more friends, and be more active so I’m not sitting at home watching TV all the time. She also put me in the YMCA so they could help me with homework and make sure that I am safe. - Jo-Jo H.

I come to the YMCA everyday because it is fun. It is full of lessons and activities that we can learn from. The YMCA is cool because you learn science, computers, art, math, and music. The YMCA is super fun for sportsmanship games like basketball and kickball. This is why the YMCA is important to me. - Samantha G.

This is my story… the YMCA is fun for me. I come everyday after school. The YMCA is very safe for us kids. So far the YMCA is my best friend. It is a big opportunity for my classmates and me. It is good for growing too. You also get to learn great things that help you in life. I think I am going to be famous some day. It is very cool to me. - Olivia B.

When I come to the YMCA it is fun and interactive. The team leaders are so fun and you can tell that they care about us. When I went to Camp Oakes I was so scared when I got there. The counselors were so nice and welcoming that I forgot about all my fears. I made so many friends there and I can’t wait to go again next year. - Eilyn M.

Staff Spotlight: Roselynn (Rosie) Rios

Roselynn (Rosie) Rios, has been working with the YMCA/WRAP After school program since January of 2007. As a 1st grade Program Leader at Roosevelt Elementary, she has been able to help many students achieve their academic goals as well as instilling in them the YMCA Values. Rosie has also participated as a Camp Oakes Counselor and SKC Campaigner. A graduate from California State University, Dominguez Hills, she hopes to someday become an elementary school teacher. Her work ethic and dedication shows the true meaning of what it means to be a YMCA YOUTH DEVELOPER.

By: Eddie Gardiner - Associate Program Director

LBUSD Superintendent Visits the CD YMCA's Community School

On January 25th, 2011 Long Beach Unified School District Superintendent Chris Steinhauser visited the Stevenson Elementary Community School along with Carolyn Denham, one of the grant writers for the Community School grant. During the visit, our guests got the opportunity to listen to various stories from the principal, YMCA staff and Stevenson parents, that demonstrated how our Community School model works and the different events and activities we have held for our community and families. Our visitors were very impressed with all of the great work that is being done at Stevenson Elementary. Go Stevenson Team!

In Photo: Chris Steinhauser and Al Rodriguez

By: Al Rodriguez - Associate Program Director