December School Wide Service Day!

On December 23, 2010 during periods 1-3, buildOn teamed up with Banana Kelly teachers to run three service projects for the entire school. The purpose of the day was to introduce the idea of doing community service to all students at Banana Kelly. Following the three service projects, buildOn provided a celebration lunch in the cafeteria for all students and teachers that participated.  A total of 215 students and 21 teachers each gave 3 hours of service.

In period one, students made “Books of Hope” for children in Haiti. These are simple alphabet books for children in the community where buildOn will be building a school. The Banana Kelly students going to Haiti in February will be delivering these books.

During second period students made holiday cards for residents of local senior centers and nursing homes. buildOn students regularly volunteer at these centers, and now more Banana Kelly students are aware of these organizations and the people they serve.

During period three students made “Appreciation Cards” for people who have helped, encouraged or inspired them in the school community. Jocelyn, the Banana Kelly art teacher used the Appreciation Card project to make cards for Paul Griffin. He has worked in the Banana Kelly lunchroom for many years, and was recently attacked by a group of teenagers near his home. He is in the hospital with injuries to his head, arms and legs. Jocelyn’s students, who know Paul well, made beautiful cards for Paul and delivered them to him at the hospital.

One group that had extra time made t-shirt bags. This project uses old t-shirts and recycles them by turning them into reusable tote bags. One student in particular, Stephanie Garcia, liked this project so much that she made two bags: one was a gay pride bag. It was important for her to participate in a project that not only had meaning for her in terms of the environment, but in which she was able to comfortably able to express her identity.

It was exciting to see students and teachers working together on these projects, as well as students working in groups. Teachers were inspired to create related projects, such as Appreciation Cards for fellow students, and more elaborate Books of Hope. Many teachers were also able to make curricular tie-ins with the projects. One of the 9^th grade science teachers (Norval Connell) expressed how grateful he was to be connecting with his students in a creative and interactive way, which will help him in the classroom throughout the year.

Following the three periods of service, buildOn and Banana Kelly staff joined together to serve pizza in the cafeteria. Several students who don’t usually eat lunch in the cafeteria because they get bullied, were able to participate because they felt safe (and really like pizza!).

As teachers and students returned supplies to the buildOn room at Banana Kelly, several of them thanked us for putting together the day. Several students expressed their desire to participate in service activities in an ongoing basis, after this, their first experience. It was a fantastic day of service, and a big step in creating the Youth Engagement Zone at Banana Kelly. Please see photos below.

My internship by Valerie Cazares

BuildOn Internship 
    Feb 7 & Feb 9   

    Being a Senior comes with lots of responsibility and I felt that taking this internship would have an impact in my life in many ways. When we all got to La Penisula I wasn’t really sure of what I was getting myself into until I saw the smiles in the kids faces. Their smiles light up a room and when I can feel down and in doubt I look at them and realize that even when things may be at their lowest there is always still hope for the future. On Monday I was able to see what I was going to expect from my class and I was actually surprised how much I loved it. I was really grateful to know that my kids are probably the best that I will ever have they do not give me hassle, if at anything they opened their arms wide open with lots of love. On Wednesday, there was one specific little boy that cached my eye completely and his name was Joel. The reason why is because he is so smart and understands everything that is being said but does not dare to say one word. During playtime I decided to play with him and he gave me the biggest smiles and laughed with me; This made me leave knowing that little by little I may be the one he opens up too. While walking home I replayed every second in the classroom with them and saw that these small faces were having an impact on my life. That impact was something that I never expected. Just already being there only for 2 days I have learned a lot and gained much more patience that what I came in there with J I honestly love this and very glad that I gave this a chance to show me what it could really offer me.

Welcome!

Welcome to the buildOn Youth Engagement Zone at Banana Kelly High School! We are doing service learning projects throughout the school, and are excited to share our experiences with you. Students will be posting entries and photos over the course of the year. We started our work in November. And we've done a lot since then! Take a look.