Richelle Andrae, AmeriCorps VIP at Taylor Mountain
This month at Taylor Mountain, we are planning lots of learning, and plenty of fun! Clubs on Friday, January 7th were a great success. We began practicing for Cool Sports: Basketball, which has 32 students extremely excited! So excited, in fact, that they are willing to put in the time and energy to run lines, and repeatedly practice passing and dribbling drills to get ready for the big event at the end of February.
We also had a Flamenco club, wherein students learned about traditional Spanish dancing, and even got to try out a few moves themselves.
Students in the Tea Party club made their very own tea bags by mixing a variety of spices and dried fruit, and also made crowns as they learned about English customs.
Harry Potter club was especially fun. Thanks to the acquisition of the magical sorting hat, students were sorted into different houses according to Harry Potter tradition. They also played Harry Potter Jeopardy, and are looking forward to learning how to play Quidditch!
We invite visitors to come check out clubs throughout the month to experience the magic of Taylor Mountain first hand!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
VIP's are making a difference in California!
A picture of Volunteer Infrastructure Project (VIP) Team Leader Rachel Osias from CSU Monterey Bay is featured in the Californian for participation in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade in Seaside, CA. Behind her in green is VIP Ben Bruce and children from his VIP partner agency, Community Partnership for Youth.
Check out the picture here:
http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=J2&Dato=20110117&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=101170802&Ref=PH
Learn what CalPoly San Luis Obispo VIPs did for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, one of AmeriCorps’ National Days of Service! Their project was featured in this article among other projects at California State Universities.
Check out the article here:
http://www.calstate.edu/pa/News/2011/Story/MLK2011..shtml
Check out the picture here:
http://www.thecalifornian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=J2&Dato=20110117&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=101170802&Ref=PH
Learn what CalPoly San Luis Obispo VIPs did for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, one of AmeriCorps’ National Days of Service! Their project was featured in this article among other projects at California State Universities.
Check out the article here:
http://www.calstate.edu/pa/News/2011/Story/MLK2011..shtml
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Volunteers are VIP!
Lauren Serpa, CalSERVES VIP Leader
The mission of the CalSERVES AmeriCorps Volunteer Infrastructure Project (VIP) is to increase the capacity of diverse non-profit and educational organizations to serve the highest-need children and families across the state. Our AmeriCorps members create effective volunteer infrastructure to serve needs that would otherwise be unmet.
In other words… we love volunteers! We do what we do at VIP because we know that every volunteer, every hour and act of service make a difference. We see the impact our members make in the lives of children and adults through community services, schools, universities, botanical gardens, food banks – at every one of our partner sites!
Many programs and projects that serve communities throughout the state depend solely on volunteer effort. Two of our AmeriCorps VIP members working with HandsOn Central California, Ashley Cole and Jonathan Munoz, coordinated one such project. By mobilizing 425 volunteers for their recent two-day event, Hope for the Holidays, they enabled 834 homeless school children and their families to celebrate the holidays with a hot meal, crafts, flu shots, entertainment (including Santa Claus himself!), and a wrapped gift for every child. Every one of the 425 volunteers made a difference to the hundreds of children and families who attended.
Team Kids, one of our partner sites in Irvine, understands that even children make a positive impact by giving their time. At one of their community outreach events, children gave their time by writing inspirational notes to sick children. Some children even volunteered to help deliver the notes. These young volunteers were engaged, and the sick children were encouraged by the volunteers’ time and care.
At VIP, we also know just how important it is to appreciate our volunteers. We value our volunteers and the impact they make every time they show up to give their time and their skills, and we like to make sure they know it! Many VIPs have made a point to appreciate the volunteers they have recruited in gestures or words of gratitude or in organized events. Alyssa “Zaylia” Pluss, an AmeriCorps VIP member serving at Aids Project East Bay, played a key role in organizing the First Annual Consumer (client) and Volunteer Appreciation Holiday Party: the organization’s first event geared toward appreciating and retaining volunteers. Alyssa remarks that “in the days following the party, I have noticed volunteers who did not previously know each other becoming friends, and many people have mentioned how uplifting the party was. We appreciated volunteers at the event by giving each one a certificate of appreciation and further appreciated two volunteers by presenting them with awards for ‘outstanding volunteer 2010.’ One volunteer, who is also a client, received an award for being an outstanding volunteer - this re-invigorated his participation in the organization while setting an example for others. In all, the event was a great success.”
Do you volunteer? Your time, your skills, and your consideration of others can make a huge impact.
Volunteer today!
 |
| CalSERVES AmeriCorps VIP fellow Steven Goings with volunteers from BSU at CSU Monterey Bay. |
The mission of the CalSERVES AmeriCorps Volunteer Infrastructure Project (VIP) is to increase the capacity of diverse non-profit and educational organizations to serve the highest-need children and families across the state. Our AmeriCorps members create effective volunteer infrastructure to serve needs that would otherwise be unmet.
In other words… we love volunteers! We do what we do at VIP because we know that every volunteer, every hour and act of service make a difference. We see the impact our members make in the lives of children and adults through community services, schools, universities, botanical gardens, food banks – at every one of our partner sites!
Many programs and projects that serve communities throughout the state depend solely on volunteer effort. Two of our AmeriCorps VIP members working with HandsOn Central California, Ashley Cole and Jonathan Munoz, coordinated one such project. By mobilizing 425 volunteers for their recent two-day event, Hope for the Holidays, they enabled 834 homeless school children and their families to celebrate the holidays with a hot meal, crafts, flu shots, entertainment (including Santa Claus himself!), and a wrapped gift for every child. Every one of the 425 volunteers made a difference to the hundreds of children and families who attended.
Team Kids, one of our partner sites in Irvine, understands that even children make a positive impact by giving their time. At one of their community outreach events, children gave their time by writing inspirational notes to sick children. Some children even volunteered to help deliver the notes. These young volunteers were engaged, and the sick children were encouraged by the volunteers’ time and care.
At VIP, we also know just how important it is to appreciate our volunteers. We value our volunteers and the impact they make every time they show up to give their time and their skills, and we like to make sure they know it! Many VIPs have made a point to appreciate the volunteers they have recruited in gestures or words of gratitude or in organized events. Alyssa “Zaylia” Pluss, an AmeriCorps VIP member serving at Aids Project East Bay, played a key role in organizing the First Annual Consumer (client) and Volunteer Appreciation Holiday Party: the organization’s first event geared toward appreciating and retaining volunteers. Alyssa remarks that “in the days following the party, I have noticed volunteers who did not previously know each other becoming friends, and many people have mentioned how uplifting the party was. We appreciated volunteers at the event by giving each one a certificate of appreciation and further appreciated two volunteers by presenting them with awards for ‘outstanding volunteer 2010.’ One volunteer, who is also a client, received an award for being an outstanding volunteer - this re-invigorated his participation in the organization while setting an example for others. In all, the event was a great success.”
Do you volunteer? Your time, your skills, and your consideration of others can make a huge impact.
Volunteer today!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Day ON…not OFF!
Katie O'Looney-McCormick, Supervising Teacher at Wright Carter
On Monday, January 17, 2011, 25 CalSERVES AmeriCorps members participated in a National Service Day called “Day ON…not OFF!”, a day where citizens are encouraged to go out into their community and make a difference on the MLK holiday we celebrate.
We cleaned portions of the Santa Rosa creek near the intersection of Stony Point Road and Hearn Avenue. Members arrived eager and ready to clean up lots of trash! We picked up garbage for a little over 2 hours and there was still more out there! We found tires, shopping carts, coolers, baseballs, soccer balls, tons of candy wrappers and lots and lots of garbage that the winter storms had brought to the creek.
We are very fortunate for our partnership with the City of Santa Rosa and their Creek Stewardship program; a program that cleans up the creeks in Santa Rosa and teaches the importance of water and the environment to many. We’re all geared up and ready to make this a bigger 2nd annual event next year!
Thank you CalSERVES members for coming out on your day off and definitely making a difference!
On Monday, January 17, 2011, 25 CalSERVES AmeriCorps members participated in a National Service Day called “Day ON…not OFF!”, a day where citizens are encouraged to go out into their community and make a difference on the MLK holiday we celebrate.
We are very fortunate for our partnership with the City of Santa Rosa and their Creek Stewardship program; a program that cleans up the creeks in Santa Rosa and teaches the importance of water and the environment to many. We’re all geared up and ready to make this a bigger 2nd annual event next year!
Thank you CalSERVES members for coming out on your day off and definitely making a difference!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Night
Come and join us for the Annual
CalSERVES Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Night!
Friday, January 14, 2011 6pm - 9pm
Taylor Mountain Elementary School
1210 E. Bellevue Ave. Santa Rosa CA. 95407
This year features guest speaker Ernesto Olivares, Mayor of Santa Rosa, as well as performances by CalSERVES students. For awhile now, AmeriCorps mentors have been working with students to teach them about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the values he taught. In the process, these kids have developed original poetry, plays, songs, and artwork to express the feelings they have about equality and diversity. They will blow you away!
Listen to what they have to say:
Monday, January 10, 2011
CalSERVES is awarded a PE grant to support Healthy Behaviors Learning Centers
Julie McClure, CalSERVES Program Director
The Napa County Office of Education and partners have received funding from the U.S. Department of Education to run a comprehensive physical activity, health and nutrition program to directly serve 2,000 K–8th grade students in 20 elementary and middle schools.
The program will also expand the CalSERVES’ Healthy Behavior Learning Centers to support the implementation of comprehensive PE, health, and nutrition education in after school across California. This program will provide support to after school programs across the state in their efforts to provide high quality PE and nutrition programming to those most in need.
HBI provides each partner school with
The Learning Centers will offer training, site visits, and follow up coaching to all California state-funded after school programs, impacting 300 additional staff each year and exposing them to best practices in physical and nutrition education particularly in the after school setting.
This program will fill the gap created by insufficient PE time during the school day, which in turn will help students make progress towards a healthier lives.
The first Healthy Behaviors training is on 1/20/2011 in Santa Rosa, CA is open to all after school staff in any state funded after school program in California. Registration is now open:
www.sonomacan.org/trainings.php
The Napa County Office of Education and partners have received funding from the U.S. Department of Education to run a comprehensive physical activity, health and nutrition program to directly serve 2,000 K–8th grade students in 20 elementary and middle schools.
The program will also expand the CalSERVES’ Healthy Behavior Learning Centers to support the implementation of comprehensive PE, health, and nutrition education in after school across California. This program will provide support to after school programs across the state in their efforts to provide high quality PE and nutrition programming to those most in need.
HBI provides each partner school with
- physical and nutrition education material and supplies
- funding for innovative physical education and nutrition instruction
- training for staff members
- equipment to support the curricula
- follow up coaching, feedback, and evaluation of progress
The Learning Centers will offer training, site visits, and follow up coaching to all California state-funded after school programs, impacting 300 additional staff each year and exposing them to best practices in physical and nutrition education particularly in the after school setting.
This program will fill the gap created by insufficient PE time during the school day, which in turn will help students make progress towards a healthier lives.
The first Healthy Behaviors training is on 1/20/2011 in Santa Rosa, CA is open to all after school staff in any state funded after school program in California. Registration is now open:
www.sonomacan.org/trainings.php
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Roy L. Kingman vs. Humpty Dumpty: Students learn about the legal system
Jenna Rafalow, AmeriCorps Team Leader at Wright Charter School
A few weeks ago, the 7th/8th grade After School Class at Wright Charter performed a prepared mock trial. The trial was the controversial case of Humpty Dumpty's mysterious fall off his wall. The question needed to be answered: was Dumpty pushed off his wall, or if he fall off the wall himself?
The 7th/8th graders discussed and practiced the trial a week before, and they were able to explore the components of a court room. The Tuesday mock trial turned into a full courtroom experience when the 5th/6th grade class came in to be the jury for the trial. They listened to each lawyer’s plea as well as what each witness revealed about what they knew about the case. The jury found the defendant, Roy L. Kingsman, guilty for the crime of pushing Mr. Dumpty off his wall – it was a unanimous decision after an intriguing debate amongst the jury members.
The 7th/8th grade class thoroughly enjoyed the court room experience and were thrilled to be able to perform the trial in full costume attire! Good job to Lauren Tarlton, their mentor for such original and inspiring enrichment!
A few weeks ago, the 7th/8th grade After School Class at Wright Charter performed a prepared mock trial. The trial was the controversial case of Humpty Dumpty's mysterious fall off his wall. The question needed to be answered: was Dumpty pushed off his wall, or if he fall off the wall himself?
The 7th/8th graders discussed and practiced the trial a week before, and they were able to explore the components of a court room. The Tuesday mock trial turned into a full courtroom experience when the 5th/6th grade class came in to be the jury for the trial. They listened to each lawyer’s plea as well as what each witness revealed about what they knew about the case. The jury found the defendant, Roy L. Kingsman, guilty for the crime of pushing Mr. Dumpty off his wall – it was a unanimous decision after an intriguing debate amongst the jury members.
The 7th/8th grade class thoroughly enjoyed the court room experience and were thrilled to be able to perform the trial in full costume attire! Good job to Lauren Tarlton, their mentor for such original and inspiring enrichment!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
What's Cookin'? Tuesday - Take a Wok on the Wild Side
The CalSERVES Nutrition Program presents "What's Cookin? Tuesdays"!
The Harvest of the Month vegetable for January is Broccoli
.
Broccoli Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 cup, chopped (91g)
Calories 31 Calories from Fat 3
% Daily Value
Total Fat 0g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 30mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 2g 9%
Sugars 2g
Protein 3g
Vitamin A 11% Vitamin C 135% Calcium 4% Iron 4%
Reasons to Eat Broccoli
One cup of raw chopped broccoli provides:
Quick Stir Fry: Take a Wok on the Wild Side
Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces lean ground turkey (93% lean, 7% fat)
4 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
3 cups frozen vegetables (such as
broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, pea pods)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions:
The Harvest of the Month vegetable for January is Broccoli
.
Broccoli Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 cup, chopped (91g)
Calories 31 Calories from Fat 3
% Daily Value
Total Fat 0g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 30mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 2g 9%
Sugars 2g
Protein 3g
Vitamin A 11% Vitamin C 135% Calcium 4% Iron 4%
Reasons to Eat Broccoli
One cup of raw chopped broccoli provides:
- More than 130 percent of the Daily Value for Vitamin C, promoting healing and a healthy immune system.
- A good source of Vitamin A, a central component of vision health.
- Several important phytochemicals, including beta carotene, to boost the enzymes in our bodies that detoxify and prevent the formation of cancer-causing carcinogens.
- A source of potassium, folate, iron and soluble fiber, which aid in everything from vision and growth to circulation and digestion
Quick Stir Fry: Take a Wok on the Wild Side
Makes 4 servings.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces lean ground turkey (93% lean, 7% fat)
4 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
3 cups frozen vegetables (such as
broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, pea pods)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions:
- In a heavy saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice and cover the pan. Reduce heat to low. Cook 30 to 40 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove pan from heat using a pot holder.
- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add ground turkey. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes or until meat is no longer pink. Reduce heat to low.
- Stir in soy sauce.
- Add cooked rice, vegetables, and black pepper. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender and mixture is hot.
- Spoon even amounts onto 4 plates. Serve.
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