Students are Learning to Love Reading

Mia Petersen, AmeriCorps Team Leader at RL Stevens

The time of year when the leaves are changing is just like our students attitudes toward reading. “I don’t want to read! It’s too hard,” was a complaint heard far too often in September. However, after months of practice and with the support and motivation of their mentor, students now ask, “How many books can I read today?”

Although in Sonoma County, the leaves are golden and the sun is shining, newfound enthusiasm for reading is most exciting and beautiful change I have witnessed this autumn for the students at R.L. Stevens.

Tutoring on the Polar Express

Kara Shelton, AmeriCorps Team Leader at Wright Charter 

On December 13th, students in the Wright CalSERVES' tutoring program experienced a magical ride to the North Pole on the Polar Express. This event took place as part of our annual Winter Theme Day, where we celebrate the season while practicing reading and writing skills. With a little rearranging of the desks and chairs, and some help from our imaginations, Room 18 was transformed into a train car on the beloved Polar Express. The students, "passengers," received train tickets that were punched by a "conductor," and they enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate and cookies while they listened to a mentor read Chris Van Allsburg's The Polar Express.

After the train ride, students had a few different activities from which to choose, including a game of sounding out and spelling words about winter as well as a writing activity on snowflakes that are now hanging on our reading tree. However, the most exciting activity of the afternoon was surely sight word ice fishing. Students held fishing poles (yarn with paperclips attached to yardsticks) to "fish" for sight word cards that mentors attached from behind a table. Students tried to catch as many as they could by reading each word. If they missed one, they had to throw the fish back into the sea and try again. Students and mentors had fun with this game, especially when students caught a "big fish" or two fish at one time!

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience for everyone who participated - a nice break from the ordinary for mentors and students alike.

Every Roseland Student is a STAR!

Charlie Ruda, AmeriCorps Team Leader at Roseland Elementary School

It’s Wednesday at Roseland. The students are sitting quietly behind the library. There is an anticipatory buzz surrounding the children as the mentor concludes her announcements “….this student has shown tremendous improvement and is responsible when he does his homework. He is respectful to other students and always has a huge smile on his face….this months 3rd grade STAR is…..”

The crowd goes wild! The student makes his way to the podium. Beaming, yet humbled, the student accepts his award. He now knows his hard work has not gone unnoticed, and is proud of his effort to achieve and succeed. This student truly is a STAR.

Starting March 2010, Roseland CalSERVES afterschool has implemented the STAR award. STAR is an acronym standing for Successful, Thoughtful, and Responsible. STAR students are chosen based on their effort to achieve success and their ability to display respect towards other students. Each week, during our Wednesday assembly, a mentor from each grade comes before the students to announce the weekly STAR award winner. This simple positive reinforcement technique has proven to be extremely successful.

“When I got a STAR award, it made me feel happy because I know Ms. Shura saw me working hard,” stated Nicholas Flores Luna, a 3rd grader at Roseland. “I want to keep working hard on homework.”

Every student has the ability to be a STAR. At Roseland, we recognize this, and embrace our students for being the successful, thoughtful, responsible people they are.

Volunteers Get Involved!

Melissa Moore, CalSERVES Supervising Teacher at RL Stevens

The success of most nonprofit organizations depend in large part on volunteer support from the community. The level of volunteer involvement is a great indicator of how much the community buys into the goals of the organization. Here are some of the voices of volunteers at R.L. Stevens Elementary.


“The CalSERVES program is a great way to get involved and do something for the community. Volunteers get to help out in the after school program that gives hands on experience working with elementary school level students. From helping with math and reading to drawing flowers and making cards, the day always brings something different that the both student and volunteer can benefit from.” ~ Corinne

“Volunteers got me where I am today. It’s my responsibility to help the next generation.” ~Danielle

“I’m excited to get to work with energetic individuals!” ~ Travis

“This is a great opportunity to get the experience I need to change a child’s life.” ~Mallory

New On-line Trainings for Inclusion

Emily Mann, CalSERVES Program Coordinator

This year, CalSERVES' After School Inclusion Project launched it's new on-line training series. This exciting use of technology allows after school staff from all across the state to attend trainings - something that was impossible before.

The trainings focus on making connections with people in a student's life to help them be successful in After School - parents, teachers, administrators, and specialists. By creating a team of people to help the student and the After School Staff, kids with special needs - whether physical, or behavioral, or developmental - can integrate and participate in all the fabulous activities programs offer.

To learn more about the trainings being offered, and to register, please visit:

http://www.californiaafterschool.org/Inclusion_webinar.html

VIP Stateside Service

Sara Sitch, CalSERVES AmeriCorps VIP Program Manager

A short two and a half months into their year of service, Volunteer Infrastructure Project (VIP) Fellows across the state have already dived into their year-long volunteer recruitment project by holding large-scale service projects in the communties they serve.

During the month of October, VIP Fellows from all over the state participated in Make a Difference Day: a service day that utilizes community involvement to meet targeted community needs. These projects were all united in their goal of mobilizing community volunteers.

Owen Martin, one of the VIP Fellows at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, put together a very successful Make a Difference Day, with over 400 volunteers who helped 28 different agencies across the county. Independentsector.org estimates a volunteer hour in California is worth $22.79. Based on this figure, the time served volunteering that day was worth approximately $36,000. Owen says: “On October 23, individuals and groups from around San Luis Obispo County came together in the spirit of community and volunteerism to lend a hand to local nonprofit agencies. Their help and support made this year one of the most successful Make a Difference Days in its twelve-year history in San Luis Obispo County.”

In addition to Make a Difference Day, many VIP sites have gotten the ball rolling and held additional large service projects. For example, this past September Volunteer Center of the East Bay worked with Civicorps Schools, one of its partner organizations, to host the Creek to Bay Day event to clean up an Oakland park. Ursula Machado, the VIP Fellow at Civicorps, coordinated the event with City of Oakland staff and recruited an incredible 500% more volunteers for this year’s event compared with last year! All of the Volunteer Center of East Bay’s VIP Fellows also showed up to rally around Ursula and help make the park beautiful.