AALEAD's Maryland 'Discovery Portal' Summer Program kicks off

Students in the Maryland Middle School program, as well as other from schools we haven't yet begun to serve, begain their summer program at the Wheaton Community Recreation Center last week. This year's program centers on several on-going projects which include focus on space exploration, computer program and art.

The main focus of our summer program continues to be "Health and Wellness", so student get ample opportunities for outside exercise and we've schedule guest speakers to talk about nutrition and fitness.

After a few team building exercises where we got a chance to meet one another, We've already begun several cooperative programs with Pyramid Atlantic and VisArts that we're hoping the youth in the program will be very engaged with. Check back often for more updates!

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MD Middle School takes a year end field trip to Dave & Busters

Maryland program took advantage of the Dave & Busters 'power card' to get everyone who attended an hour of unlimited game play to go along with some end-of-the-year celebratory snacking. The students really worked hard this year to prepare for MSAs, final exams and finishing their school work, so AALEAD wanted to give them a chance to relax with this trip.

Due to an unfortunately towed car (which contained the camera), there aren't any pictures of our night at Dave & Busters, but be assured, everyone involved had a lot of fun. Look for more events in the near future as we kick off our summer program.

If any AA LEAD students are reading this, please let me know if you have any pictures that you took and we'll be sure to upload some!

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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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Thursday, Jan 8, 2009 Making a Difference Celebration

The Maryland Family Strengthening Program hosted its second annual “Making a Difference” Celebration. The theme this year was “Keep the Positive Fire Going.” Sharon, the MD Family Program Manager (FPM), promoted positive parenting skills and the importance of positive communication between families and community during the celebration. Guests were treated to a very touching video of parents from the program giving encouragement to their children, followed by a children’s portion where the children gave words of appreciation to their parents!

"Making a Difference" Celebration 09




A lighting ceremony also involved representatives from schools, community based organizations, and parents in the celebration. The lighting ceremony represented the “Positive Fire” which can be transferred out to community.

Lighting Ceremony "Keep the Positive Fire Going"

The event took place on Jan. 8, 2009 from 6pm to 8pm and over 65 guests attended the celebration! Along with the 19 families that attended, we had numerous special guests including: Principal from Parkland Middle School, Career Counselor from Einstein High School, and 5 representatives from community organizations (AAHI, ESOL Parent Coordinators (MCPS), APALRC, Cross Cultural Infotech, MVMA.) It was a great opportunity to celebrate the successes of our families together.

"Making a Difference" Celebration 09

Saturday, November 22, 2008 Walk for the Homeless

On Saturday, November 22nd 2008 AALEAD's Mentoring Program, Secondary School Program and MD High School Programs had a group of around 30 participate in the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon. Despite the cold weather, the group enjoyed walking the 5K for a good cause.

October 24, 2008 Community Service: Gilchrist Community Center

Mentors, mentees, and student volunteers gathered on a Friday afternoon to create a Welcome Wall at the Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity!

Here is the wall they were tasked with decorating:

Thanks to donations from Home Depot, there were large styrofoam panels that students used as their base.
Each group was responsible for one of the letters in "W-e-l-c-o-m-e."

Students included flags, maps, and pictures to decorate the welcome wall. The word "Welcome" was also translated into various languages!

The last group was tasked with making the exclamation point, using AA LEAD's logo!

Slowly but surely, the pieces of the wall all came together as students carried their panels into the room.