By Kia Chatmon | Development Officer
Can you believe May is here?
We have not talked to you since February, so we thought we'd check-in and let you know what your support has enabled us to accomplish at SLAM...
Here in Washington, DC we recently enjoyed the cherry blossoms reaching their peak, temperatures slowly creeping into the 70's, and more people taking their lunch breaks outside. But before the sun began to shine, and temperatures began to rise, SLAM students enjoyed their 2nd Annual Tubing Trip to Liberty Mountain Resort. Travelling out of the city, 40 excited students slid, tumbled and glided through the powdery snow with their colorful tubes. The day culminated with a delicious lunch and snack supplied by the Alpine Market Food Court. Students were so excited, they want to try snowboarding next year!
Our partner, Romans Robots, introduced the SCRATCH Coding Program to our youngest students. Those in grades K through 2nd learned to create SCRATCH scripts incorporating graphics, photos and sound for digital storytelling. As they are increasing their comfort with technology, they are also improving their literacy skills. Later this year students will conduct a SCRATCH-OFF and unveil their interactive and animated stories. Stay tuned…
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Club Scientific regaled our students with a special session on Valentine Science. Using the top secret "Love Potion #9," participants worked together to create chemical reactions, including changing the color of flowers. Club Scientific returned and taught students the science of balloon and airburst rockery (see pictures). Using Newton’s Third Law, they built rockets while interpreting how force creates reaction, and how air pressure is both created and used to launch rockets. They had a blast! (Pun intended)
In the area of health, our partner Healthy Living hosted an Iron Chef - style competition for our culinary scientists. Their final cooking challenge focused on celebrating the Chinese New Year - Year of the Goat/Sheep. Team Jaguar’s Asian Rice Noodle dish was victorious!
Another partner, Zenful Bites also helped us to celebrate the New Year by offering an interactive Chinese New Year Multicultural Celebration. Students learned about the longevity of Asian culture, and how broken noodle stir-fry is a tradition believed to bring good health and luck in the New Year.
We continued to expand students' cultural horizons by introducing the beauty and deliciousness of Nigerian cuisine with our instructor, Ms. Odom. Students learned that Nigerian dishes are comprised of grains, bulb fruits, seeds, vegetables and fruits, then put their knowledge to the test by preparing Ewa Agoyin (Nigerian refried beans), Jollof rice and chicken for the entire CBM-SLAM family.
Finally, sparked by the movie Selma, one of our SLAM clubs, the Library Remix Crew, initiated a group discussion on slavery and the Civil Rights Movement with their peers. Students also began reading the graphic novel March by Congressman John Lewis, which chronicles the Civil Rights Movement through the use of compelling artwork and animation, while making the storyline fascinating and fun. We find that by introducing books with topics/storylines such as these, we are helping students not only improve their reading comprehension, but also increase their knowledge of history in a fun and engaging way.
As you can see, we've been busy, and we THANK YOU for being part of the team that makes providing these activities and experiences to our children possible. If you’ve been following us closely, you may have noticed that we recently increased our fundraising goal to $7,500. This is because summer camp is right around the corner, and Global Giving is offering a Bonus Day.
Those of you who contributed to us for the first time last June did so at a time when your donations were MATCHED, and that time has arrived again.
ALL donations made on May 13th between 9:00 am and 11:59 pm EDT will be MATCHED by Global Giving!
Will you please consider renewing your support for our program on May 13th? Every dollar you give on that day will go even farther in helping us to provide a free, fun, and safe camp experience this summer.
Please, add it to your calendar, and click http://globalgiving.org/projects/cbm-summer-camp on May 13th.
If you share the link with your friends, family and colleagues, their donations are matched as well.
On behalf of the students and families served by SLAM, I thank you once again for your support. Should you ever have any questions about the program or the May 13th Bonus Day, you can reach me at 202-783-6119 or by e-mail at kchatmon@cbmnational.org.
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