This Week in Saturday Acadmey:

Gearing Up for the New Year

Upward Bound is ready to continue molding our college bound students for another successful academic year. Last weekend, new and returning students and parents attended the back to school Saturday Academy orientation. Participants and their families were acquainted with instructional staff and HEC Upward Bound support staff, who will work with youth this year.

We did more than handle academic business. In an effort to better serve the students in the program and their families, we took a little time to have breakout sessions for parents and students. Students and parents enjoyed team building activities that allowed them to connect with other program participants and allowed us to gather data on ways to improve our service.

With the turn out and participation last, HEC Upward Bound is destined to have a fantastic 2015-2016 school year. See for yourself below with pics from our staff teambuilding activities and the program orientation.

First Official Saturday Academy: Oct. 10, 2015

 

Pics. 1-4: Staff team building; win, lose, or draw!

Student/parent orientation.

Student session led by Mr. Armstrong.

 



'15 S.A. Chronicles:

HEC Goes to Washington D.C.

"Where are we going this year?" students asked with mounted anticipation at the Summer Academy opening orientation in June. As parents and students hung on the edge of their seats, we were pleased to announce that we would culminate our summer with an academic and cultural tour to Washington D.C.

The primary mission of the trip was a college tour, and the mission was certainly accomplished. We visited historically black colleges and universities that exposed our students to various types of higher learning institutions. Hampton University, Bowie State University, Morgan State University, and Howard University were only some of the schools we toured.

"After school," so to speak, we spent time traversing classic Washington D.C. monuments, including the Capitol building, White House, and various war and public figure memorials. Museums included the Smithsonian Institute and the Museum of Crime and Punishment just to name a couple. The list of amazing attractions we visited goes on and on.   

From college tours to museums and monuments; sightseeing to delicious food; Washington D.C. broadened HEC Summer Academy students' horizons and was the trip of a lifetime. See for yourself below! 

'15 S.A. Chronicles:

Harris Stowe State University

Students got the college experience at Harris Stowe State University during Summer Academy. Staying in dorms, attending classes on campus, and utilizing university resources exposed our students to different aspects of collegiate life.

During this experience, we were quite busy. Students finalized and presented class projects. They also prepared for our closing ceremony by polishing their original presentations, including mimes, poetry, short films, vision boards, and photo slideshow. In our recreational time, we even hosted our first HEC Summer Academy talent show, in which students displayed a variety of talent. Staff even joined in on the fun and left the students in a comical uproar with their surprise performance. 

From hard work to good fun, Harris Stowe State University was a great way to culminate the academic portion of Summer Academy!

Students with the Summer Academy director in Emerson Theatre
following the talent show.

'15 S.A. Chronicles:

Speaker Series

Throughout the summer program, academics and activities were only some of the good times we enjoyed. Students and staff also had the incredible privilege of hosting several speakers, and they certainly left their marks on us.

Our speaker series allowed an amazing group of local professionals to share words of wisdom with our young people. Topics ranged from self confidence and self presentation to college tips and teamwork. 

The array of topics reflected the various professions from which each speaker came. We heard from a STEM educational advocate, a professor, a professional dancer, an actress/stage director,  a motivational speaker and author, law enforcement officials, and others. Regardless of their fields, they all came to encourage, motivate, and inspire HEC Summer Academy students.

Speaker leads students through an active listening exercise.

'15 S.A. Chronicles:

Yearbook Club

Students, do you remember the epic water balloon fight you all had? What about taking photos during speakers or during lunch break? To the mere outsider, these memories seem totally isolated. To HEC Summer Academy, however, these things all point to the yearbook club in action.

Mr. Bullard, our College and Career Specialist, and Mr. Brown, our science teacher, led Yearbook Club this summer. One of their major directives was giving as many students as possible the opportunity to play photographer and capture snapshots of our special and everyday events. Those images were then edited and arranged to appear in our Summer Academy Yearbook. Also, each student designed a page in their yearbook as their ultimate assignment. Students got to see all their hard work when they received their own copies as memorabilia of the time they invested in their education.

Discussing yearbooks without showing photos is counterproductive. Below are some candid shots of our students in a rare water balloon fight designed to help them decompress and just be kids after a long day of academics. After all, it was summer; a hot summer.  You can tell from the smiles on their faces that yearbook club’s activities did not disappoint.   

 

'15 S.A. Chronicles:

Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes Jewish Hospital

Tour guides and hosts share Goldfarb's history with students.

Monitors, machines, mannequins...oh my! In hopes of expanding HEC students' interests in STEM fields, Summer Academy visited the prestigious Goldfarb School of Nursing for one of the field trip Fridays excursions. 

Staff and nursing students shared their medical experiences, but what captivated HEC students the most was the Simulation Institute. This state of the art, training lab fully equipped with mannequins that simulated human responses, including beating hearts, breathing, and giving birth among other functions. 

Nursing staff and students guided Summer Academy participants in small-scale procedures that allowed our students the opportunity to get hands-on in medical training modules that left a positive, memorable impression on our students. HEC Summer Academy had a blast at Goldfarb School of Nursing; see for yourself below!

Learn more about Goldfarb's Simulation Institute. 

'15 S.A. Chronicles:

Poetry Club

Snapshots of students writing
and reciting poetry over the summer.

HEC prides itself on providing a rich, rigorous, rewarding academic experience in the classroom. To balance that out over the summer, we provided students to with the opportunity to flex their creative muscles in extra-curricular activities held after classes. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors found and expressed their voices in the poetry club. 

Some students leaped at the chance to write and share their original poetry while some others were reluctant for various reasons. One student felt, "I'm not really a writer." Still another admitted, "All the poetry I've read is hard to understand; I just don't get it." Regardless of their preconceived notions and experiences with the art form, poetry instructor Ms. Lyles urged students to simply try, and the results were well worth the effort. 

Each week, students were given a poetic challenge to conquer, and each week, they rose to the challenge. Their memorable verse included poems that ranged in topics from life as a high school student to social justice. Students even practiced writing in the poetic form called haiku. 

Students poetry was so creative, thoughtful, and captivating select burgeoning poets were invited to share a poem at the closing ceremony at Harris Stowe State University in front of HEC staff, family, and friends. Job well done to all our teen poets!

'15 S.A. Chronicles:

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company

Students testing out a copper pot.

On our very first Field Trip Friday during Summer Academy, students made some sweet memories while visiting the Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Company. 

The company is a local, family-owned business that opened in 1981 that offers tours and product sampling. So along with touring and tasting, the company also gave our students, who dream of opening businesses or entering the culinary arts profession, a firsthand look at what it is like operating a business. The tour even provided a bit of academics, too.  

We got a little bit a science lesson while there. Tour guides explained how the art of making chocolate is quite scientific. Certain sweet treats should only be cooked in certain metals due to the treats' chemical reactions when heated. Careful attention is given to ensure that products don't stick to the pots or burn, so every sweet delicacy is the highest of quality. With all the fun, knowledge, and treats, this field trip Friday left a sweet taste in our mouths. 

Students and staff having a laugh before the tour.

Curious about what our students saw behind the chocolate factory doors? 

Take a look here.