October 2008

Lights On Afterschool
Last year all the students of the After-School All-Stars program celebrated Lights On After-school at Brown Middle School,with each school  showcasing their individual talents through performances.  This year a Lights On celebration took place at every school.  Parks celebrated with activities such as obstacle courses for the kids, face painting, and balloon pumping.  The students of Brown Middle School put on some performances, while Harper-Archer Middle School celebrated with having the kids dance.  The rest of the schools celebrated with ice cream socials.  Also, all the schools had raffles in which students who won received bookbags donated from United Way. 

Bring On The Donations
Kraft, United way, and the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation have been active donors for the After-School All-Stars program.  Just recently Kraft Foods has contributed snacks such as Chips Ahoy cookies, Nilla Wafers, Ritz-Bitz Peanut Butter Sandwiches, and Honey Maid Graham Grackers.  Also, United Way has contributed some book bags from their Gifts In Kind warehouse, filled with school supplies.  In addition, the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation is donating jerseys to the different schools that are part of After-School All-Stars.  Likewise, Nintendo is donating Nintendo Wiis and some games with them to the schools that After-School All-Stars assists.  Furthermore, Nintendo will donate snacks to go along with their contributions of entertainment.  We are greatful for these donations, and so are the kids that benefit from our services.

Cultural Exchange
After-School All-Stars strives to expose its students to unique experiences, and this month provided participants of the program a cultural exchange experience.  Students from Lincoln House School, a school in South Korea, came to America for a cultural enrichment experience.  They put on Korean dance performances and a South American dance performance in front of the Mighty Mustangs, as well as a musical performance with a violin and flute.   Likewise, students from Parks Middle School put on a cheerleading performance to show the students from Lincoln House School.  Students from both schools had a chance to eat together and pursue an international penpal experience for when the students return to South Korea.


September 2008

Voice Your Choice
Parks Middle School hosted a nieghborhood voter registration program for residents of Pittsburgh, where students of the school, as well as their parents, reside.  The purpose of this program was to encourage parents of the Mighty Mustangs to participate in the upcoming elections and advocate for the needs of the community.  Parks also hosted two other events for parents of the Mighty Mustangs, which were "Breakfast On The Go" and a dinner event called "Let's Start Parenting."  These events educated the parents about After-School All-Stars and the various activities offered through the program.  This month certainly provided food for thought to the parents of Parks Middle School.

Wide World Of Sports
The schools served by the Atlanta After-School All-Stars program received free tickets to see the Atlanta Falcons game, courtesty of the new partnership between the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation and Atlanta After-School All-Stars.  Attendance in these games was not just from the students, but also the staff of the schools.  Atlanta After-School All-Stars extends tremendous gratitude to the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation for their support. 

Critical Need: Georgia's Parents Speak Out About Afterschool
The Georgia Afterschool Investment Council hosted an event called the Afterschool Rally, which took place at the Georgia State Capitol Building.  As a key provider of after-school programs for middle school students, Atlanta After-School All-Stars was in attendence of this event.  During this event parents, students, and school personell voiced their support for increased funding for after-school programs.  A major focus of this event was to empower parents to vote on policies that provide additional funding for after-school programs, and the Georgia Parent Teacher Association had a strong presence at this event.  A speech was given by House Representative Howard Maxwell, who supports after-school programs because they provide a safe environment for students to engage in activities that result in personal development.  Furthermore, Jill Reimer, the Executive Director of the Georgia Afterschool Investement Council, spoke about how increased funding for after-school programs results in decreased funding toward incarceration and teen childbearing costs.  Overall, this event had a large turnout and many shared ideas among attendees.

August 2008

After-School All-Stars Kicks Off The 2008-2009 Year
The schools served by Atlanta After-School All-Stars are getting ready for another year of excitement.  They kicked off with events such as field day activities and kick-off dinners.  This year is also the year that Atlanta After-School All-Stars has been introduced to a program called KidTrax, which is a tool that will help the schools more effectively evaluate their programs.  Moreover, this year the schools are working in stronger collaboration with each other, in addition to the collaboration they've built with Georgia State University over the years.  

The Boys At B.E.S.T. Kicked Off The Year With Dinner At The School
The students at the B.E.S.T. Academy for Boys celebrated the After-School All-Stars program by having dinner that took place at the school.  Is your stomach growling just thinking about the food?  Do you wish you were at B.E.S.T. while the students were getting a bite out of that delicious pasta, tasty cake, and the irresistible salad?  Maybe you are getting thirsty just reading that the kids had some lemonade and fruit punch.  Either way, the boys had a fabulous feast, got a chance to listen to the football coach speak about the upcoming year, and are excited about what After-School All-Stars has in store for them this year.P


Summer 2008

Bush Gardens, Here I Come
This summer the Mighty Mustangs of Parks Middle School were able to experience the thrills of summer camp again.  Much of the excitement from last year has come back, along with some new surprises.  The biggest surprise this summer was the trip to Tampa, Florida.  40 of the kids from the Mustang Summer Academy rode with camp counselors from the summer camp and teachers from Parks Middle School.  Their destination was Busch Gardens, which provided them a wealth of rides and attractions to experience.  In fact, Bush Gardens contains 10 total rides, with 5 available roller coasters and 1 water ride, along with a number of animal exhibits, all of which the students from Parks experienced while the camp counselors served as chaperones.  Some of the sites that the kids saw at the park included the Congo, Bird Gardens, and Land of Dragons.  Through the animal exhibits the students were able to see a giraffe, ostrich, hippos, lizards, and many other species.  Overall the kids had an exciting time at Bush Gardens. 

Mighty Mustangs Perform At Coan Park And Get Autographs From Star Of House Of Pain                                                                                                                                               After all the hard work they put in during the summer camp, Parks Middle School's Dance Team tested their skills by performing in front of a large audience at Coan Park.  The audience consisted of students from East Lake YMCA and the Whitefoord Community Program.  Parks Middle School students competed against dance teams from these other schools, and when the results were in, the Mustangs of Parks were chosen as the winners.  Parks Middle School students also participated in field day activities and, to their surprise, got a chance to meet Kyre Batiste, the actor of Kevin in Tyler Perry's "House of Pain."  Kyre put on a dance performance of his own in front of the Mighty Mustangs, and he even autographed their shirts for them.  All of this  was made possible through donations of time and money from Coca-Cola.

May 2008
King Middle School Receives An A+Award for Successful Partnership With After-School All-Stars
On May 14, 2008 the Georgia World Congress Center hosted the 18th annual A+  Award Luncheon.  Sponsored by the Atlanta Partners for Education, a joint program of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the Atlanta Public Schools, this event was held in apprecation of the Atlanta community's commitment to to high-caliber and creative partnerships between schools, businesses, civic groups, and professional organizations.  As a result of its successful execution of the Atlanta After-School All-Stars program, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School had the honor of receiving the Summa Cum Laude Award Award.  This coveted award is designed to recognize a partnership that has been in existence for 5 years or more and has demonstrated school-wide impact, commitment, and sustainability as the cornerstone of its partnership. 

After-School All-Stars Gets $5000 Grant From Georgia Prudential
Emmanuella Ladipo, the Senior Associate of Atlanta Fund Operations at Prudential Real Estate Operations, is a volunteer for the MIRACLES Technology Program for After-School All-Stars and has served at King Middle School by helping students with homework.  After seeing the impact that the technology program had on helping the students of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Emmanuella was inspired to get her company, Georgia Prudential,  to donate $5000.00 to help Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School purchase new computers for MIRACLES.  Over the years, this program has been successful in providing students with opportunities to learn valuable skills such as web design and clay animation.  It is one of the largest programs offered through After-School All-Stars and we all thank Emmanuella for serving with our program.

B.E.S.T. Academy Global Entrepreneurship Fair
As the nations of the world become more interconnected, the value of international trade and learning about other cultures increases.  The B.E.S.T. Academy for Boys represented this idea through the Global Entrepreneurship Fair. Students had an opportunity to develop business proposals for different countries and presented these projectes with diagrams, research logs, and PowerPoint presentations.  Examples of topics included relief efforts for the genocide in Sudan and jewelry sales in Jamaica.  There was also a dance performance that highlight the Harlem Renaissance and Langston Hughes' role int it.

April 2008

The Boys At B.E.S.T. Get A Behind The Scenes Look At The CNN Center
A common site that participants of Atlanta After-School All-Stars go to for field trips is the CNN Center, and this Spring the boys at the B.E.S.T. Academy visited there.  Tours at the CNN Center offer guests the opportunity to look behind the scenes of how the news is told.  The students had a chance to eat there as well, with restaurants such as Wendy's and a Smoothie King.

Wild Times At Wild Adventures
Parks Middle School sent its students to Wild Adventures for a field trip.  Wild Adventures provides its guests the opportunity to go on over 100 rides with 9 coasters, see hundreds of exotic animals, and attend concerts with country, pop, and rock.  Splash Island Water Park is a popular attraction of Wild Adventures, and the kids had a marvelous time there.  While in the area, the Parks Middle School band and chorus performed for an area middle school.

Earth Day Art Contest Promotes Environmental Education
The participants of After-School All-Stars decided to engage in an environmental initiative by having an Art Contest for Earth Day.  Students researched topics such as tree and water conservation, endangered species, and the importance of recycling.  With sponsorship from Bloomingdale's, the art pieces were on display.  The winners, awarded by different stores, are:

Perimeter Store Winners  Noni Ellick from King Middle School
                                            Ladisha Newton from Carson Middle School
                                            Malcolm Woodson from Brown Middle School
Lenox Store Winners-       DeAngelo Bowie, ShaDaijah Jackson, Leonitis Kirkland (all Carson)
 
                                                                                 
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