Hi, this is my first post ever.

Hi, my name is Michael as you can probably tell by my screen name. Also, as you can tell as well this is my very first post so I just want to say "Hello Bloggers!" I would like to tell you a little about myself. I am 17 years old, and I aspire to be an engineer. I am not sure which engineering discipline I should follow, so if any of you guys have any advice for me it will be well appreciated. Well that is all I have to say for now so "Good Bye and Happy Blogging!"

Elle's Movie

I have been doing a movie in Digi High. It was complicated at first but then I got a chance to sit down and understand the process of making and managing the time for my movie. So when I corrected everything that was not in its place, I looked at it and to say It was AMAZING!! I am very proud of myself that I am learning so much in a quick period of time.

After the Bell: Roseland Library/Bookstore

Did you know that we have a Library/Bookstore open to all of Roseland? You can buy adult, teens, and kids books—25 cents for paperback and 50 cents for hardback books. So far, we’ve sold over $40 worth of books! If you’re a reader and would like to donate your favorites so other people can read them, we’d love that as well!

Hours are:
3:00-7:30 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday
3:00-5:30 Friday
10:00-4:00 Saturday

You’re welcome to go hang out in the library, read to your children, buy books, volunteer to help Katrina shelve books, sit and read yourself, etc.

Miss Katrina and Maxine starred in the After the Bell segment on Channel 8 on Monday.

Great job guys!

Youth Expressing Out Loud!!!!!!

Yesterday, the 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade class had a great discussion about what community awareness means and did some brainstorming on possible community service projects. Well, this discussion led into another topic, Black History Month. It was very interesting to listen to the youth and what they knew about history, about the people who contributed to important events. It was a good discussion that definitely needs to be continued…

Along with the discussion, the youth did their daily journal writing. The journal assignment was to write their thoughts on the following quote :

“When a man angers you, he conquers you.”

By: Toni Morrison

Here is what some of the youth wrote:

“When someone angers you, it means you let them take control of you. You let them bully you. You let them do anything they want to do to you.”

By: Ishmael 4th grader

“It means that when a man conquers you, he takes control of your feelings. Like, if he pushes you, you will want to react back, but how you react is the key to who has the true control.”

By: Randy 5th grader


“It means your mind is not working straight. It means the person that is controlling you is taking power out of you.”

By: Joshua 4th grader


“I knew it was a woman because it said “when a man”. Sometimes you get confused because you are thinking about what you are doing and getting mad at the same time. When he or she forces you to get mad the person that is getting mad can’t think straight.”

By: Lewis 5th grader

Martin's Big Words

To honor the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. we read "Martin's Big Words" by Doreen Rappaport for Kidz Lit this week.

Check out Ms. Katrina reading to the children below, their thoughts after reading, and our very own "Dr. Iesha" shares new BIG words she learned. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Dr. King!

We Have Dreams Also...

After we read "Martin's Big Words", each student shared a dream they have for themselves, their country, and the world. Check out their dreams.....

"My dream for myself is to be a Teacher." --Ladaysha, 9 years old

"My dream for myself is to be a police officer." --Aneja

"My dream for myself is to be a doctor or a nurse. My dream for the world is for everybody to have equal rights".-- Tytiana, 8 years old

"My dream for the country is for everybody to have happiness. My dream for the world is for every person to have shelter."--Shamaria, 7 years old

"My dream for myself is to be a doctor. My dream for my country is for every one to help others." --"Dr." Iesha, 7 years old

"My dream for the world is for every to have X-Box 360's and hot dogs."--Lamarcus, 7 years old

"My dream for myself is to be a judge. My dream for the world is for everyone to have food."

--"Mr. Judge" Aviant, 7 years old

"My dream for the world is for everybody to have freedom and less people in jail".--Niesha, 9 years old

"My dream for the country to help those in need and make sure every one gets an education".--Ms. Katrina

"My dream for the world is for every person to have equal access to food, water, shelter, education, technology, healthcare, etc." --Ms. Tameshia

Digital Connectors: Meet Shannon

Hey my name is Shenandoah but most people just call me Shannon because it too hard to pronounce. I'm in the 11th grade WOOP WOOP!!! at North Dallas High School.I LOve math it just comes so easy to me . I also LOVE dancing it's so fun and hard work my favorite type of dance is modern dance. It's a dance style that centers on a dancer's own interpretations instead of structured steps, as in traditional ballet dancing. I love animals they're so cute well some of them. My favorite animal is a white tiger there so unique just like me nice, sweet, gentle, calming. I'm just a relaxing person and I like to have FUN.

Gardener's Apprentice

We've got some great things going on at the After-School Academy!

This morning, Channel 8 featured a segment on our Garden and Gardener's Apprentice program. See it here:




by CHRIS FLANAGAN / WFAA-TV

Posted on January 13, 2010 at 10:29 AM

******

DALLAS — Children in one Dallas neighborhood are getting down and dirty with their "garden of dreams," a patch of paradise that has turned out to be a labor of love.

Ladaysha Robinson and her friends are growing radishes, lettuce and turnips in the shadows of skyscrapers.

"It's hard planting a garden," Ladaysha explained. "You have to water them some days, and you have to put mulch around them, keep them covered when it's winter."

Ladaysha and her friends don't have to go far to garden. It's in their apartment complex at the Roseland Townhomes.

The Gardener Apprentice program, which is run by Central Dallas Ministries' After School Academy, offers the children a chance to learn about fruits and vegetables and to also learn about what it takes to grow them.

"It's a great way to feel like they've done something, to have some success in the growing and learning process," said volunteer Susie Marshall.

The Gardener Apprentice program hopes to encourage the kids to try new foods and get them more excited about fresh fruits and veggies, which may not always be easy to find.

"We decided to do the garden because we noticed a lot of the stores, especially in South Dallas, don't have the produce and the vegetables that are high quality and fresh," said Janet Morrison of Central Dallas Ministries.

Ladaysha and her friends are hoping to soon cash in on the fruits of their labor by selling some of the produce at a local farmer's market.

E-mail cflanagan@wfaa.com


Make sure and watch WFAA, Channel 8 on Monday, January 25 at 6:47 a.m. It will feature our Library/Bookstore!

If you put them in front of a camera.....

Conversations with Joshua and David. Today, Joshua and David did not have homework. They really wanted me to film them and well, I did... Plus, Tuesdays is the K - 1st technology day.

Penguin Glyphs.

Right now, my class is participating in a nationwide collaborative Winter Wonderland Project. One of their projects for the month of January is to create a Penguin Glyph using Power Point.

Check out the glyphs they created below. Enjoy!

What's happening in the Library/Bookstore??

Yesterday, thanks to Dallas After School Network and WFAA, both our Library/Bookstore and our After-School Academy were filmed, kids were interviewed, and we will have a short segment on After the Bell soon. I'll keep you posted.

I've been hanging out at the Library/Bookstore this week helping get it ready for the kids to come back. Tuesday was our re-opening after the holidays. As soon as school was out, three kids came running, huffing and puffing into the library. Miss Katrina asked them, "What are you running for? You really just couldn't wait to see me again?" To which one of the kids looked at her quizzically and responded, "No...I couldn't wait to get to the library!" I don't think her feelings were hurt too bad. :)

While I was at the Library/Bookstore, I couldn't help but get some footage. Katrina's got a great group of kids and I was thoroughly impressed with how engaged they are every time she reads a book. Of course, you can see in the video below that you really can't help but be enthralled by the book because of her great expressions.

This video shows the different things Katrina has the kids doing after school--from story time to sign language.

Back in full force...

Tuesday, January 5, 2010, the youth are back from Christmas break. The ASA is in full force. The video below gives you a little view of the first day back.

On video the following will be seen: youth in full force ready to learn , homework time (1st and 2nd) graders working on math and spelling words, (3rd, 4th, & 5th) working on special projects using technology, and the (k – 1st) doing math activities that includes a short story about:

“The King wants to give the Queen something special for her birthday. The queen has everything – everything except a bed. The trouble is that no one in the Kingdom knows the answer to a very important question: HOW BIG IS A BED? Because beds have not yet been invented. The Queen’s birthday is only a few days away. How can they figure out what size the bed should be?”

Entry 1, "Painting a Picture"

At times the best way to describe a day and in life at the ASA is for someone to get up close and personal, be hands on. Of course that is not always feasible. So I am going to do a series of “painting a picture” of the ASA. So you the reader can visualize what it is like to be part of the ASA.

The best thing about working in the Education Department is that I get the opportunity to be an educator and the student too. Just as the youth learn from us, we certainly learn from them. I am a strong believer that learning never stops, there is no age limit, and there is always something new to learn.

William Ward said it best, “the mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” That is what the ASA is all about. A teacher that inspires, that fits right into the ASA’s mission statement, “Equipping kids to dream and envision who they can and will one day become.” Each day counts, big or small, the day counts, but it is how one makes it count.

At the ASA, 2009 ended well. During the Christmas break some of the youth met and worked on various projects, parent meetings were held, and it was a time of reflection and great conversation on the hopes for the New Year.


Today is Monday, January 04, 2010, preparation day. The youth return to school tomorrow and the ASA will be in full force.
More great stories are to come, exciting new adventures, and so on.



Hello 2010!!!!!!!!!

Christmas Wish by: Ishmael Eddington

(Part 1)
Once there was a boy named Ishmael and he had a bully named Sam Tomphson. Ishmael believed in Santa Claus but Sam didn’t. Every where Sam would go, he saw pictures of Santa Clause on windows, stores, and etc… even at his house there were pictures of Santa Claus.

School was Sam’s playground, especially at Christmas time. Every time he went to school he would beat up anyone who believed in Santa Clause and then call them crybabies. Sam’s mother tried everything from, buying decorated cookies with Santa Claus, evergreen trees, reindeers, and elves. But still, Sam didn’t believe in Santa Claus.

So Ishmael decided that his Christmas wish this year is for Sam to believe in Santa Clause. Ishmael wrote a note in cursive to Santa Clause. This boy once told Ishmael that if you write your letter to Santa in cursive that your wish is will come to come true. Two weeks past, and no word from Santa. Ishmael for sure Santa would reply.

Three days before Christmas there was a knock at the door. A tall, skinny man, name Tom was at the door. Ishmael opens the door and Tom hands him a letter. The letter was from Santa….

Did Santa make Ishmael’s wish come true? Time to leave for Christmas break… We'll continue, January 5, 2010 when we come back from Christmas break to see if Ishmael’s wish came true. Does Sam Tomphson believe?????

By: Ishmael Eddington

The Boy who Never Gave up on Santa

Since Christmas is in two days, I thought all of you would enjoy this short story about a boy who never gave up on Santa Clause.

Once there was a boy named Joshua who wanted a motorcycle but he had a bully name Mickey. Joshua believed in Santa Clause and Mickey didn’t. So Joshua wrote a letter to Santa Clause. Joshua sent it in the mail and went back home. The next day was the last day of school until the New Year. When Joshua went to school the next day was when he came face to face with Mickey. Mickey was holding the Joshua’s letter to Santa Clause. Joshua had accidently sent Mickey the letter.

Mickey was showed everyone the letter. Everyone started to laugh and make fun of Joshua. Joshua was really sad, but did not give up in believe in Santa Clause. So he wrote another letter and made it was mailed to Santa Clause. Joshua was sure that Santa Clause will get his letter in time.

Around 1:00a.m. Christmas morning, Joshua comes running down the stairs and sees him, Santa Clause. Santa Clause was in his living room. Joshua looks around but does not see a motorcycle. At that moment, all Joshua was thinking was that Santa Clause is really in his house. Joshua goes and gets his mom. When they both came down the stairs, Santa Clause was gone, but there it was a motorcycle…

By: Joshua Latham 4th grade

On Tuesdays, our 3rd, 4th, & 5th graders have descriptive writing class. There are other great stories the youth wrote about how they caught Santa trimming his beard in their bathroom and about a boy who never wanted to take his Christmas pajamas off.

Meet Vanessa

I am a sophomore ,I attend Skyline High School, and I am in the Interior Design Cluster. I joined Digital Connectors to help further my knowledge on computers and design. I believe that I will be able to accomplish all things in my life with effort and perseverance. I tend to be very outspoken and I love to speak on topics that interest me. Also I am very intellectual and one day hope to inspire the youth. I motivate myself by trying to stay positive and focusing on my goals. Life is short an I intend to live it to the fullest. Also I believe that bad things happen so that good things may follow.

Being in Digital Connectors is a big opportunity for me to learn some new skills. Those who are interested come join!

At D.C high

At DC high we all ways have and learn new things we also play fun games like the big wind blows, step to the line, zip/zap/zop thats the best one i like. and we alll have fun with each other making eacher other laugh and giggle i also have a new friend name, Mustafa .

DC HIGH 2 DAY!!!

It was a great day and cold, but warm inside DC High. We greeted everybody and greeted our new student!

My First Day

My first day at d.c. high school was very interesting. I got to meet outstanding people, who are trying to do something with their lives. I had a silent interview and it was kind of strange. People who dont know you try to get to know you by just staring at you. Then they ask you questions to see were they right or wrong.