What you missed in athletics over the weekend.

Saturday Samuel J. Green and Langston Hughes Academy played each other in football. Coach Richardson has led Green to 4 consecutive championships, riding an undefeated season each time. On Saturday, Green lost for the first time in four years. The team’s reaction at the end of the game: to applaud LHA for a great game, shake hands, and walk into the team huddle with their heads held high. Saturday’s game was not only a fantastic display of respect, but demonstrated the lessons of self-control and pride Coach continually instills in our young athletes. 

 

Big congratulations to LHA’s flag football team for defeating Green!

Also this Saturday was the Tipitina’s Foundation Rhythm and Blues 5K run. The race was hosted by the Tipitina’s Foundation in partnership with New Orleans Track Club. Proceeds from the run went towards supporting the purchase of marching shoes and uniforms for New Orleans area school marching band programs. Check out our Dibert scholars who ran as members of Youth Run Nola.

The Joseph S. Clark Preparatory Bulldogs took home a victory against Ben Franklin on FridaySeptember 27th. Bulldog quarterback lead the team with 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries while going 1-for-3 for 35 yards. Go Bulldogs!

Clark Prep student moves to next round for Posse Foundation Scholarship

Clark Prep nominated 10 students for the prestigious Posse Foundation scholarship, one of which moved to the next round.

The Posse Foundation (Posse) works to develop tomorrow’s leaders, as one of the most comprehensive and renowned college access and youth leadership development programs in the nation. Posse identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Posse scholars receive four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships to a Posse partner university. Posse New Orleans partners include Bard College and Tulane University.

Congratulations to our one of our very Calvinisha Pep for making it to the second round of interviews. We are wishing her the best of luck!

Langston Hughes Academy Kicks off Fall with Reading!

LHA’s Scholastic Book Fair started this week. The fall book fair is open from September 16^th through September 20^th at Langston Hughes Academy. Each LHA scholar will receive a $5 Scholastic Dollars gift card to use for book purchases!

In addition to the book fair, PRIME TIME kicked off the fall semester on Wednesday September 18^th with a special presentation from author Alex McConduit.

PRIME TIME Family Reading Time at LHA will meet every Wednesday until October 23^rd. The program is a unique family literacy program designed for students, ages 6 to 10, and their families. Each week a storyteller reads an illustrated children book consisting of culturally diverse stories from around the world spanning fairy tales, folk tales, fables, historical accounts, and other narrations of real-life circumstances that are familiar to adults and children alike. Following the reading, the discussion leader or scholar, guides the group to make personal connections. The program demonstrates how literature can enrich one’s life, models strategies for continue family bonding through reading, and provides families critical information on school and library resources for continued reading.

PRIME TIME Family Reading is a part of FirstLine’s Comprehensive Literacy Initiative. The initiative aims to affect literacy not just during the school day, but also at our student’s homes.

Introducing NOLA Tech!

 This morning Reginald Coleman, Principal of NOLA Tech (and founding Principal of Clark Prep) was on WWL-TV to talk about NOLA Career and Technical Academy.

NOLA Career and Technical Academy (NOLA Tech), opening for the 2014-15 school year, will offer a compelling pathway to students interested in pursuing a career directly after high school graduation.  Through a partnership with Delgado Community College City Park Campus, NOLA Tech will provide students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and technical certificate concurrently.  

NOLA Tech will also focus on soft-skills for the workplace, career awareness, character development, community service and independent living skills.  The creation of this high school will help diversify the range of educational program offerings for high school students in New Orleans.  

NOLA Tech is an innovative model for expanding workforce development capacity in our region by preparing high school graduates to take advantage of opportunities in burgeoning industries across New Orleans, the state of Louisiana, and beyond.

We are excited to be opening this new school in New Orleans next year. The NOLA Tech website will launch in early November - and we'll continue to share information here, as well.  

Watermelon Day!!

 A first grader teaches Farmer Ben the Spanish word for
watermelon: sandia!

Where did the seeds in watermelons go?
Do watermelons grow on a tree, a bush, or a vine?
Are watermelons good for you?

For students at three FirstLine Schools - Green, Arthur Ashe, and Langston Hughes Academy - these questions have been a part of their regular garden and cooking classes. Friday, September 13, was Watermelon Day, an annual celebration of all things watermelon organized by Edible Schoolyard New Orleans as part of their Farm-to-Table program. With a truckload of at least 100 jubilee watermelons, Farmer Ben Burkett and others arrived from Mississippi. Farmer Ben has become a fixture of Watermelon Day over the past few years, but what many may not know is that he’s an inspirational leader of the Indian Springs Farmer Cooperative, and has been building community, empowering farmers, and acting as a force of radical change for over 30 years.

Students roll watermelons in the Watermelon Relay Race

During their recess and garden classes, students visited with Farmer Ben, learned about watermelons, and played games like the watermelon relay race, in which they rolled watermelons, answered trivia questions about watermelons, and cheered each other on. And, of course, everybody got a slice of watermelon, a refreshing treat on such a hot afternoon.

Watermelon Day is not only fun for the students, teachers, and farmers who participate. It's yet another way that ESYNOLA collaborates with FirstLine teachers to get kids moving in healthy ways, teaches integrated core academics, and connects kids to fresh foods that grow locally and to farmers like Ben Burkett and their stories. But because Watermelon Day is so fun, kids may not realize that they're forging relationships and learning things that will influence the choices they make for years to come.

 ESYNOLA garden teacher Mr. Jahmal poses a
watermelon trivia question: "Name a cousin of the watermelon."
 It takes her a second... "Squash!