EAS & the Celebrities in the Subway PEP rally

Last March 25, our Bancroft and Thomson students had the opportunity to participate in the national Subway PEP rally (P-Play more, E-Eat right, P-Push away the screen). The students enjoyed meeting and playing with kids from other DC schools, totaling almost 300 participants. They engaged in the different games and sports such as basketball and soccer.

















The kids also had the opportunity to meet Ms. Laila Ali (daughter of Mohammad Ali) and be coached by Tab Ramos the Olympic Soccer Champion.


They also enjoyed personally meeting Jared Fogle the Subway spokesman. The celebrities creatively encouraged the students to be physically active and eat healthy food even in their young age.

EAS Thomson Students & the Heroes at 13th Street

After a week’s themed lessons about superheroes, Thompson students had the culminating experience of meeting real, live superheroes in their neighborhood. Last March 13 our Thomson students had a tour at the Fire Station at 13th Street. The personnel of 13th Street Fire House presented to the students their daily activities and explained some of the equipments they use in this profession. They also allowed our students to tour their facility and experience first hand getting inside the fire truck.

Ice Skating at Wheaton Ice Rink

Students from Argyle and Parkland Middle Schools spent an afternoon getting to know each other and skating around Wheaton Ice Rink this past Thursday. It was a good opportunity for students to know more about the other members of AALEAD's after school program. As it turned out, several already knew each other, but didn't know that the other was in AALEAD at their school. We had some initial difficulty in getting everyone laced up:

...and then there was a lot of nervous grabbing the wall and a few falls, as we began...

..but, eventually everyone got the hang of skating and ended up having a great time.

The Circus is in town...

Last night, a handful of lucky AALEAD students got to enjoy a night at the Ringling Brothers Circus. None of the students from Maryland had ever been inside the Verizon Center, let alone had a chance to see a circus full of tigers and fireworks, so it was a night of firsts for everyone...

Everything, from the trip on the metro ride, to the clowns piling on their bicycles, elicited laughs from the younger members of our group and everyone took care of one another and had an enjoyable evening...well worth missing bed time by a few minutes.

A special thank you to Easter Seals for helping us secure tickets to the event. You can be sure that AALEAD kids put them to good use!

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SSP Lock In March 6 - 7 2009

On March 6th, 30 AALEAD youth met at our Community Center in Columbia Heights for some quality bonding and fun time! The Lock In was a success - with games, movies, and food planned for the whole night.

Youth had this to say about their experiences:

Eduardo -"I enjoyed the lock-in a lot because we had a chance to meet and get to know people better. We did stuff like ice breakers where we introduced ourselves and said something about ourselves. We also watched movies and played taps. Late at night we played a game where we had to be honest and answer some questions. In the morning we cooked breakfast and then left - which was the worst part (besides no sleep!)"

Jimmy - "The lock-in was fun and exciting. It was a way for us to bond and get a long. Hanging - talking about problems - so we can help on another. My favorite part of the lock in was our Guys Time. The worst part was leaving for home."

Thanks to all the staff that spent the night - Don Kim and Jonathan Henry! and of course the staff and volunteers that supported us at various times in the night - Kelly, Miori, Yamir, and Kendra!

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AALEAD makes bagged lunches for those less fortunate

Students from AALEAD's Maryland High school and Middle school programs worked hard to make more than a hundred sandwiches for bagged lunches which were then donated to The Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless. Each bagged lunch contained a sandwich, a piece of fruit and a bag of pretzels...it will provide a nutritious lunch to someone who otherwise would have to go without.

All of the AALEAD students gave up three very valuable hours of their spring time Saturday to come work hard to help others. We'd like to thank everyone that came out to help and we definitely appreciate the fact that all these kids decided to come help out on the weekend.

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Dave and Busters

The students at Einstein High School have all been working hard recently, so AALEAD treated everyone to a night at Dave and Busters!

A couple snacks and then everyone was off with their cards for an hour of unlimited play in the arcade. Everyone had a great time, including a lot of races that came down to the wire. All-in-all it was a good evening and a great chance for AALEAD from DC and Maryland to get to know each other and the students from Einstein. Students will be talking about Dave and Busters for awhile, not to mention how long they'll be talking about how badly Jonathan beat Don at Madden '08 (Go Steelers!)

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Mentee Talent

One of our mentors, Julie Chao has been teaching her mentee, Rongjing how to bake. They have been spending some of their outing time learning the skills of baking. Rongjing had never used an oven before meeting Julie and now she has started to master her skill. Take a look at the beautiful and tasty looking cake Rongjing baked for her mother on her birthday. I do not know about you, but I certainly would like a slice of that delicious cake!! Bravo Rongjing!

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Lunar Chinese New Year Celebration Party of DC Family Strengthening Program

On January 27, 2009, DC Family Strengthening Program (FSP) invited participating and prospective parents, as well as some of our community partners to join the event of celebrating Lunar Chinese New Year. Thanks to the support of Chinatown Community Cultural Center (CCCC), at whose facility the event was held, closer to where most of the parents live. Dinner, activities, and book store gift cards for children were provided.

FSP began to hold monthly parent group meeting at CCBA (Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, 510 I St. NW, Washington DC) since February 2009. Communty Partners will be invited as guest speakers. Our upcoming parent group meeting has been scheduled for 3/17/09, from 3:30 till 5:30 p.m., and the guest speakers are from the Asian Pacific American Legal Resources Center and Housing Counseling Services, Inc. In addition to presentations by the guest speakers, FSP program manager, Sue Chen, will provide handouts and facilitate discussions on parenting issues. The topic of discussion with the parents will be "how to mangage anger effectively to avoid lashing out at your children" for the 3/17/09 meeting. Please contact Sue Chen at 202-884-0322 ext. 110 if you're interested in joining FSP's monthly parent group meetings.

Students attend Capitol Movement Project Event at Lincoln Theatre!

Thanks to one of AALEAD's Board Members (Jimmy Lynn), five students were invited to attend an amazing dance performance at the Lincoln Theatre on Saturday, March 7th, which was presented by the Capitol Movement Project. Their mission is to build better lives through dance by partnering with community organizations to provide disadvantaged youth and underserved citizens the chance to participate in and patronize the arts in Washington, DC.

After enjoying a dance performance ranging from hip hop, modern dance, and more... students were invited back stage to meet some of the performers! It was an inspiring event, especially since the four high school students are hip hop dancers themselves. They not only had a chance to learn some new moves, but were able to see different opportunities that lie ahead in the world of performing arts!

February is “Loving our neighbor month for EAS”

By supporting a clean and green community…..
The cold winter did not hinder our students to show their love to their neighbor. They started their indoor gardening in partnership with the City Blossoms, an organization that helps students creatively use their skills to grow a functioning garden. We started an indoor gardening project through which the students learned in a creative and enjoyable way the basics of gardening. The students also learned responsibility by having assigned students to water and monitor their plants.

By honoring the elderly….
Our Thomson students celebrated Valentine’s Day last February 13 by preparing Valentine cards, candies, and plenty of hugs to the elderly people of Asbury Methodist Church. The senior citizens and children also mutually enjoyed the opportunity to play board games.

By honoring the parents…

The Bancroft students honored their parents by giving lovely picture frames with their own pictures and love messages and designs.