Preparing for the Sulu Series

The Sulu Series is this Saturday at the words, beats, and life church.
There are 4-5 people performing at it. Me and Alex are one of the 5 performance.
We've been working extra hard on this slam poetry and we have only 2 days until the performance and we barely remembered all our lines. But we have confidence that this will be a great one.
We wrote about how people criticize Asians and how they always get bullied in school and on the streets. So we thought we should say something about it. It will be interesting so if you want to support me and Alex and give us more confidence in our work. It would be an honor to see you at our performance this Saturday.
The church is close to bell multicultural high school. So if you have nothing to do and want to kill time, just stop by. The Sulu Series will begin around 7-9 p.m. So Please please stop by if you get a chance. For more information just search up Dc sulu series or Contact Alex Cena. Thank You
Written By David Nguyen.

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Why I keep coming to aalead.

I felt like coming to AALEAD because there is a lot of stuff to learn from all the staff at AALEAD and they help us with homework and school. The reason i come is i can meet new friends and staff at AALEAD and chill with other people after school because i don't want to be on the computer all the time so i want to come out and hang out with friends and play some ball. After AALEAD program is over and there is always food for u when u come and do a lot of programs like cooking on Thursday, meeting on Wednesday and there is like holiday events for every holiday. There is a lot of helpful staff here at AALEADthat is willing to help people with school work and others like important stuff with and i really got to thank to all the staffs at AALEADthat help me with a lot of problems i had from the past like getting kicked out of school and coming here to AALEAD and they talk to me about why did i get kicked out and i told them that i got in to fights and stuff or not wearing the right stuff for school (jeans and T shirt). The people that i am really thank for is Alex and all the otherAALEAD staffs because they have really helped me on a lot of stuff that i needed help on and if they weren't there to help me with all this stuff i wouldn't even turn out to be a good kid right now but yes there is really a lot of things to learn at AALEAD and helpful staffs that is willing to help you on anything that they can help you on. The reason why i am coming to AALEAD is that i really want to learn about how to become a good kid and not turn out to be a kid that's in a gang or like wannabe gangsta. I am trying to change that and not go that path of being one. There is a lot of things that i am going though but i am telling some of the AALEAD staff about the drama i been though, so some of the staff that can help me with they tells me whats good and whats bad.

Written by Kevin Chen

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Full Circle @ Woolly Mammoth Theatre

Thanks to Woolly Mammoth Theatre, who generously provided free tickets for AALEAD, students and staff got to see an amazing performance of Full Circle. The story portrayed "A journey through East Germany during the fall of the wall."

There really isnt one way to describe the performance, which had audience members moving from place to place. Our students had never seen something like it. One student mentioned that she "thought it was going to be a boring play, where you just sit and watch stuff" but that it was actually quite entertaining and exciting!

AALEAD helps out Martha's Table

On Saturday, November 7, a group of our mentors, mentees, DC & MD high school and middle school students participated in a sandwich making event benefiting Martha’s Table, a local non-profit serving the needs of the DC community.

Before the sandwich making process began, the group had a small lunch and also listened to a small presentation about what services Martha’s Table provides.

With the spirit of volunteerism, the group worked diligently at making and wrapping lean turkey and ham sandwiches. By the end of the event, the group donated a total of 167 sandwiches and 12 pounds of fresh fruit.

Thank you to all the volunteers who came out to participate in such a worthy cause!

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AALEAD HAUNTED HOUSE 2009

On October 27th AALEAD hosted its annual Haunted House at the AALEAD Center in DC. AALEAD invited elementary students from Bancroft and Thompson Elementary to share in an early Halloween celebration. High school students from Wilson, Cardozo, and Bell High school came together and built an amazing haunted maze on the second floor of the center. The Haunted House was filled with everything from students wearing scary masks, strobe lights, tons of spider webs, and scary music.

While elementary students waited their turn to enter the haunted house tour, stations were set up on the first floor to keep them entertained. There were stations to get face paint, play board games, hear scary stories, and to color in pictures. After everyone had gone into the haunted house, the elementary students got to participate in a costume contest and possibly win a$10 Target gift card. For the elementary students, Vy Nguyen won the gift card.

After the elementary students left, the SSP students got to relax with a couple of games, pizza, and music. Olivia Milholo created a scavenger hunt in the AALEAD Center and SSP student searched high and low for the clues hidden in different rooms. Kennedy Nguyen won the Halloween Costume contest and received a $20 gift card to Pot Belly's.
This year's AALEAD Haunted House was big success. We had about 30 high school students help out and around 80 elementary students come by. Thank you to all the staff and students that came out and helped. I look forward to next year's haunted house, which will be bigger and scarier!

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