Wednesday, April 22, 2009

SHERWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL CADET UPDATE

On Saturday, April 18, 2009 Middle School Cadet Corps teams competed in the 2009 MSCC Drill and Color Guard Championship and it also included a "Knock-Out Drill". The teams looked great and performed in an outstanding manner. The attendance and support by family, friends and supporters was awesome. The cadets worked long and hard and it showed that they are all winners. A special thanks to Carver Military Academy for hosting the event, to SFC Garrett for great competition planning/execution and to all that supported the conduct of the competition.

Overall Drill and Color Guard Competition Winners: 1st Place - Harold Washington, 2nd Place - South Chicago,
3rd Place - Eberhart

Drill Competition: 1st Place - Harold Washington, 2nd Place - Lowell, 3rd Place - South Chicago

Color Guard Competition: 1st Place - South Chicago, 2nd Place - Harold Washington, 3rd Place - Eberhart

The names of the Knock-Out winners and other scoring information will follow in separate email.

LTC Harrell

Community Play Workshops at the Children's Museum

FREE WORKSHOPS FOR PARENTS AND EDUCATORS

Please have people register by e-mail to gracielar@chicagochildrensmuseum.org. Note the workshops are specifically designed for parents as well as for educators.

OLYMPIC WEEK UPDATE

Chicago 2016's Olympic Week Partnership Program

Chicago 2016 has established partnerships with multiple cultural organizations throughout the city to enhance your Olympic Week. The events below will also have Olympians and Paralympians in attendance! If you are interested in taking advantage of the partnerships below, please contact Sara Mouw at smouw@chicago2016.org and 312-784-6041. We'll also be announcing several sports partnerships this week!

The Peace School

3121 N Lincoln Avenue

Chicago, IL 60657-3111

May 4-8, 2009

Each day the Peace School will offer a variety of activities that all relate back to peace. On Tuesday the school will conduct a Peace Circle Art project that takes place at a participating school and lasts for 45 minutes. On Wednesday, there will be hour long classes on Peace breathing and Olympic Values at the Peace School for groups of 50 students. On Friday, they will have hour long sessions on Peace Martial Arts at The Peace School for groups of 50 students.


Swedish American Museum

5211 North Clark Street

Chicago, IL 60640

May 4-8, 2009

The Swedish American Museum will offer guided tours through museum with a teamwork theme and Chicago's ethnic communities. They will also teach the students the history of activities that become professional sports in Sweden and offer an Olympic-themed craft and a Swedish Meal. The program will last 2.5 hours and the cost would be $5 per student. Monday the program will be offered at 9:00 am and 12:30 pm. Tuesday through Friday at 10:00 am. The group size would be 45 students plus chaperones.

Bronzeville Historical Society

11431 S. Forrestville Ave. #1

Chicago, IL 60628-5901

May 4, 2009

The Bronzeville Historical Society will be talking about the value of working in teams in a morning presentation. They will celebrate three Chicago Black Olympians: Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, Ralph Metcalfe. A park district volunteer will be present to do a basketball demo on teamwork. Ralph Metcalfe, Jr. will also be doing a presentation.


American Indian Center

1630 W. Wilson Ave.

Chicago, IL 60640

May 5, 2009

The American Indian Center will be giving a tour of the center and conclude with a craft project. The program will last 1.5 hours and start at 9:30 am and 12:15 pm. The price will be $5 per student.


Balzekas Museum

6500 S. Pulaski Road

Chicago, IL 60629

May 6, 2009

The Balzekas Museum will allow students to tour through the Museum Exhibits such as the history of Lithuania, Children's Museum and the Art Gallery. The program would wrap up with a documentary about contemporary Lithuania. The program will last 1.5 hours and will start at 10:00 am and 1:00 pm. The group size would be 30 students plus chaperones. The price will be $4 per student.


Mitchell Museum of the American Indian

3001 Central Street

Evanston, IL 60201

May 6-7, 2009

The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian will start with a presentation by an American Indian, John Low. The students will then be able to view the exhibits, play a game and do a craft based on the American Indian Heritage. The program will be 1.5 hours long will start at 10:00 am and 12:00 pm. The cost will be $2 per student. The group size would be 45 students plus chaperones.


Irish American Heritage Center

4626 N. Knox Avenue

Chicago, IL 60630

May 8, 2009

The Irish American Heritage Center program will offer a short Irish history lesson complete with music, dance and art. They program will be 1 hour long starting at 10:00 am and 1:00 pm. The cost would be $1 per student. The group size would be 50 students plus chaperones.

Urban Gateways

Urban Gateways Center for Arts education can make your arts and culture day come alive! Let them help you embrace the Olympic Movement by creating customized programming for your school. Contact Naomi Sheridan at 312-922-0440 at ext. 2757 or nsheridance@urbangateways.org with questions.

3) Scheduling Your Olympian and Paralympian School Visits

Gold medal schools have earned the right to host an Olympian or Paralympian! As stated earlier in the email, please provide us with your schedule of events for Olympic Week. Also, please provide us your top three preferred times for the Olympian/Paralympian to visit. We will do everything in our effort to find an Olympian or Paralympian who can visit during these preferred times. This visit will last no longer than 90 minutes.

4) Alderman Visits to Your School

Chicago 2016 wants to showcase your hard work for Olympic Week to your local government leaders. We are currently working with the aldermanic offices to coordinate aldermen school visits during Olympic Week. If you are hosting an Olympian/Paralympian, the visit will be scheduled for then. For other schools, it will be during the Opening Ceremony.

5) What is your local community newspaper?

Do you have a local community newspaper that often covers school events? If so, please tell us the name and contact and we'll spread the word about your activities to them!


6) Chicago 2016 Merchandise Discount

From now until May 8, Chicago 2016 is offering a 40% discount on T-shirts and Hats at its online store, Chicago2016.org. At the checkout, where it says Gift Vouchers/Discount Coupons insert the CHVOL109 code.

7) Olympic Kits Go Out Friday!

Chicago 2016 will be shipping out your Olympic Kits on Friday. Expect to receive them by the Wednesday before Olympic Week!

ITS Focus Group at Sherwood

In an effort to outline specific strategies to ensure the successful implementation of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) group, CRM is forming a focus group comprised of our stakeholders. ITS Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is seeking the input on developing this most valuable service. Principals and other CPS Administrators will be having a meeting in the library on May 12th from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30am. Please limit the noise in the hallways. Thank you for your support!

BLACK STAR PROJECT REMINDERS...

Four Days Left until Founder's Day! Join The Black Star Project on Saturday, April 25, 2009, at 3509 South King Drive, Chicago, Illinois, as we celebrate 13 years of serving children, families and communities, 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm!

Dear Friend of Children,

More than ever, The Black Star Project needs your help as we work to educate and save our children with some of the best student, parent, male-involvement and community-support programs in the country.


Some of the programmatic highlights for The Black Star Project this year include:
The Toyota/Black Star Parent University, where we have provided more than 450 parenting courses, since the beginning of the program in 2004, in English and Spanish.
Parent Resource Fairs, where we have connected parents to more than 50 parent-improvement resources.
Parent of the Year Awards, where we honored more than 75 top parents in Chicago.
The Golden Parent Awards, where we honored the three top parents in Illinois.
The Fathers Club, which helps thousands of men bond with their children at educational and recreational venues.
The Million Father March in 475 cities with 600,000 men taking their children to school last year.
The Door-to-Door Parenting Campaign, where we distributed educational and child developmental materials in low-income, high-violence communities.
The League of Black Parents, an advocacy group working to create better Black parents.
The Black Star PTA, the first community-based PTA in Illinois.
Levels at which you may invest in the Founder's Day are:
$100.00 as a Friend of Progress
$250.00 as a Supporter of Progress
$500.00 as a Sponsor of Progress
$1,000.00 as a Champion of Progress
Please become a supporting member of The Black Star Project today and your gift will be doubled thanks to the Circle of Service Foundation's commitment to match it. You can become a member online through our website. Please visit our membership page
HERE for more information about membership levels and click HERE to become a member now!
Or you may mail your membership contribution to:

The Black Star Project
Attn: Membership
3509 South King Drive, Suite 2B
Chicago, Illinois 60653

For more information, please call 773.285.9600, email us at
blackstar1000@ameritech.net or visit our website at www.blackstarproject.org.

May You Realize Your Best,

Phillip Jackson
Executive Director

Please call 773.285.9600 for more information or to volunteer your time, talents or treasure to the cause of educating Black children, and all children.

You may send your investment in the future of children to:

The Black Star Project
3509 South King Drive, Suite 2B
Chicago, Illinois 60616
or click here to invest in our work on-line

The Black Star Scholars Educational Services
is offering
a Mandarin Chinese Language Class, a Math Masters Boot Camp and
a Reading Warriors Boot Camp

Education never stops in the world in which we live, and effective parents never stop giving their children opportunities to learn.

Most American schools do not prepare Black children to be globally competitive. The Black Star Project does! We can help ensure that your child is exposed to world-class information and skills and is ready to compete globally.
Black children who learn only Monday through Friday between 9:00 am and 2:45 pm are at a severe, competitive disadvantage compared to their international counterparts who study longer, harder, more purposefully and who get additional support from their families, schools and communities.

Black children will not be able to compete in the new global educational arena unless they are supported to match the effort and intensity of their global classmates.

Register your child for:

Class One - Mandarin Chinese Language -Students from 3rd to 8th grade will be introduced to Chinese language, culture and history from 6:15 pm to 7:45 pm, one day a week, for 6 weeks, every Thursday, beginning April 16, 2009. This class needs a minimum of 6 students and will have a maximum of 10 students. This class will end with a dinner at a popular Chinese restaurant. The cost for 6 sections is $150.00 per student.


Class Two - The Mathematics Boot Camp - This class will be offered on Sunday afternoons between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm with a 3rd-, 4th- and 5th- grade section and a 6th-, 7th- and 8th-grade section. Each section needs a minimum of 6 students and will have a maximum of 7 students. Classes will consist of grade-level and above grade-level materials with a major focus on mastering basic mathematical operations. Classes begin Sunday, April 19, 2009. The cost for 6 consecutive 2-hour sessions is $150.00 per student.

Class Three - The Reading Warriors Boot Camp - This class will be offered on Saturday mornings between 8:00 am and 10:00 am with a 3rd-, 4th- and 5th- grade section and a 6th-, 7th- and 8th-grade section. Each session needs a minimum of 6 students and will have a maximum of 7 students. Black Star reading classes are designed to help students become aggressive, independent, successful and confident readers who are able to read, write and think critically while comprehending a vast array of materials from prose to poetry, politics to Plato. Classes begin Saturday, April 18, 2009.
The cost for 6 consecutive 2-hour sessions is $150.00 per student.
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All of the above classes will take place at:

The Black Star Project
3509 South King Drive, Suite 2B
Chicago, Illinois

To register your child or for more information, please call:

The Black Star Project
773.285.9600

Students will register on a first-come, first-served basis. The Black Star Project would like to expand our educational services to the North Side, the West Side, the Southern Suburbs, the Western Suburbs and to other parts of Chicago and Illinois. Parents are invited to stay during each class.

EARTH DAY ACTIVITIES

In honor of Earth Day, Communities In Schools of Chicago reminds our school partners that plenty of green programs are available for students at no cost. Here are 3 ideas to consider:

Cook County Farm Bureau: CCFB offers 4th graders “Ag in the Classroom,” a one-hour session in which students learn about agriculture and agribusiness. To learn more contact Haley Loy at (708) 354-3276 to schedule.

Green City Market: Are you looking for an outdoor education program for students? Green City Market offers “Edible Gardens,” a field trip which provides hands-on experience in the following areas: soil preparation, planting, compost-making, harvesting, weeding, etc. To schedule a Wednesday or Thursday field trip contact Jeanne Pinsof Nolan at (847) 636-2720.


The University of Illinois Extension offers urban gardening and horticulture programs for students, parents, and school staff. Topic areas include: urban youth gardening, bare branch detectives and pine tree detectives, worm composting, live insect petting zoo, houseplants, carnivorous plants, community gardening and water quality. To schedule contact Matt Kostelnick at (847) 818-2901 x 202 to schedule.