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Friday, December 10, 2010
St. Angela students support Rep. Ford’s food drive
No More Hunger
No more hunger, No more pain,
We can help it, make a change.
A world without hunger,
How can it be?
Well, I can tell you, donate with me.
Some may not know or may not care,
No matter what reason, it is still there.
Just come and donate, give what you can.
Spread the word to others,
They’ll understand.
I think of that woman just
down the street,
Caring for three children who just want to eat.
Or maybe that man who is sick with hunger.
If he had just one meal, he would be starving no longer.
When you have no money,
you may not give,
But when you do have it,
think of how others live.
No need to go to Haiti or way out of town,
Hungry people are everywhere,
Just look around.
Now do your part and place it in
your heart,
Don’t look the other way,
Join the fight today.
By Cierra Robinson
8th Grade
St. Angela School
1st Place Winner in the Catholic Charities
World Hunger Poetry Contest
December 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
RYERSON 3rd GRADE TEACHER RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL HONOR
wn as the Oscar for Teachers. Nominations for the annual award are neither solicited nor accepted by the sponsoring Milken Family Foundation. The names of each year’s recipients are kept secret – even from the winners – until the announcements are made in each teacher’s school.
This year, only 55 teachers nationwide are being named Milken National Educators, and only one in the state of Illinois.
That outstanding instructor is Dexter Chaney, a 3rd grade teacher at Martin A. Ryerson Elementary School, 646 North Lawndale Avenue in West Garfield Park.
The announcement was made November 29 in the school auditorium to an assembly of students and his teaching colleagues. In recognition of the prestige of the award, Dr. Christopher A. Koch, Illinois State Superintendent of Education, was on hand, as were Chicago Board of Education President Mary Richardson-Lowry, and 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett.
After a dramatic build-up by Dr. Jane Foley, Senior Vice President of the Milken Family Foundation, the Ryerson auditorium erupted into a roar of approval when the name of Dexter Chaney, the quiet, mild-mannered transplanted Texan, was announced. Chaney came forward from his seat with his class and wiped tears from his eyes as he tried to compose himself to receive the award and speak to the assembly.
Chaney receives a cash award of $25,000 – about which he commented quietly, “Well, now I can buy some pencils.”
“Mr. Chaney’s wealth of knowledge on differentiated instruction and his expertise in using data to improve teaching and student learning has been invaluable to both students and his colleagues at Ryerson,” said Dr. Christopher A Koch, State Superintendent of Education. “The Milken Family Foundation’s ability to seek out and recognize teachers of Mr. Chaney’s high caliber is very much appreciated. This award is an excellent opportunity to showcase a talented teacher who is striving to make a difference in students’ lives.”
According to the Milken Foundation, Chaney uses the manners he was taught as a child in Texas to model respect and engage his colleagues, students’ families, and members of the community. He firmly believes that parental and community involvement is directly linked to successful learning.
Chaney is known for his pursuit of professional development activities and opportunities that help good teachers become better teachers, according to the Foundation. His dedication to continuously seeking methods that will best help students succeed has earned him the reputation of an outstanding mentor who has earned high levels of respect from colleagues, administrators, students, and families.
“He serves as a role model to not only the children in his classroom, but to every child in the school,” says Lorenzo Russell, his Principal. “Dexter is highly visible to every student because of his tireless efforts, his work in the community, and his participation in after-school and extracurricular activities. Our students know they can count on him.”
A teacher for six years, Chaney is known for his dedication to helping students succeed. Although school doesn’t officially begin until 9:00 AM, Chaney is always at Ryerson by 7:30 AM to let children in any grade come to his classroom. Chaney provides tutoring if needed but, more often, he provides an ear and a safe environment for the students of Ryerson.
Dexter Chaney superbly represents the rebirth of Martin A. Ryerson School under the creative leadership of Principal Lorenzo Russell. In his three years at the helm, Russell has actively recruited male teachers, introduced single-gender classes to promote student focus on academics, tied athletics directly to scholastic performance, raised test scores from 40% to over 76% of students performing at state norms, and brought Ryerson from one of Chicago’s worst schools for attendance to one of its best.
Monday, December 6, 2010
JAMIAH ON FIRE & THE RED MACHINE WINS CHICAGO BLUES CHALLENGE & TRIP TO MEMPHIS
Jamiah On Fire & The Red Machine won a trip to Memphis, Tennessee, where they will perform in a Youth Showcase with bands from across the nation at the International Blues Challenge on February 3 & 4. The competition is sponsored by the Windy City Blues Society. All three band members of Jamiah On Fire & The Red Machine are residents of Calumet City and play numerous engagements throughout the year. For booking information, call 312/810-2657.
JOB CORPS STUDENT, GLENN GROGAN, SERVING GRAPHIC DESIGN INTERNSHIP AT THE VOICE
Glenn Grogan came to the Paul Simon Job Corps Center on Chicago’s West Side 14 months ago from his home in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was 17 years old and high school wasn’t working out for him. He was falling behind and cutting classes, so his mother encouraged him to enroll in the Job Corps for employment training.
Glenn says he was very skeptical at first about going to the Job Corps because he thought it was going to be like a boot camp. But, he decided to pursue training in Graphic Design and was, therefore, sent to Chicago because the Paul Simon Center is the only Job Corps campus in the country offering training in that career field.
“I earned my GED at the Paul Simon Center and received my Adobe Certified Associate credentials (ACA) by completing the course,” Glenn explains.
As a requirement for completing his course, Glenn needed to serve an internship utilizing the skills he had learned. He chose THE VOICE Newspapers, where he is working under the supervision of Senior Graphic Designer Jeff Potter in ad trafficking, ad design, photo retouching & processing, and page layout.
“I am being introduced to a lot of new programs in a real life work setting, helping publish a major weekly community newspaper,” says Glenn. “I see that it really takes a team to produce each issue of the newspaper and everyone’s job is important.”
He says Jeff Potter is giving him good advice on potential career paths in Graphic Design. Glenn plans to attend college when he leaves the Job Corps and continue studying Graphic Design.
Friday, November 19, 2010
MINDLESS BEHAVIOR IS THE BIG NEW R & B GROUP TEENS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR
Stars of Mindless Behavior: (from left) Ray Ray, Roc Royal, Prodigy & Princeton. (Photo by Andrew Griffin)
Mindless Behavior is a dynamic new group of charming and magnetic young men armed with limitless talent, drive, energy, and a passion for music and performing. Barely into their teens, Mindless Behavior’s style of pop, hip-hop, and R & B has the potential for transforming the musical landscape.
The group is comprised of three spirited 15-year-old boys: Roc Royal, Princeton, and Prodigy, and a 14-year-old – Ray Ray. They are in the process of wrapping up production of their debut album - #1 Girl. It is guaranteed to establish Mindless Behavior as the New Boys In Town! Their new single, My Girl, is climbing the charts as you read this.
When asked how the four met, Princeton told me their managers, Keisha Gamble and Walter Millsap, held an audition two years ago where he and Roc Royal met. A couple of months later, their choreographer, Dave Scott, found Prodigy on You Tube. Ray Ray came to the studio and auditioned two weeks later.
“Walter took us to meet Vincent Herbert and Jimmy Lovine and we signed with Streamline/InterScope Records,” Princeton relates. Jimmy Lovine discovered Lady Gaga and produces her music.
The boys admit they “have a crush on a certain celebrity girl.” But, first things first. “We have to keep our careers going, especially at this early point in the game. We have to do our schoolwork. And it’s hard to keep up with our friends and stuff. We have girls we call, but we don’t really date.” (The boys are home schooled.)
While in Chicago, the group tried to do some shopping at River Oak Mall, but girls spotted them and came running by the hundreds, chasing them. The guys loved it!
They stopped in at Horizons for Youth, a school at 703 West Monroe Street, meeting and performing for excited students.
The members of Mindless Behavior have much in common. They love to sing and dance, and they were all influenced by Michael Jackson. In describing them, I would say they are charming, playful, funny, sensitive, and creative.
Mindless Behavior delivers a high-energy performance – singing, rapping, and dancing with thrilling stage presence. When they step onstage, teen girls especially go wild. Their forthcoming album, #1 Girl, contains songs about teen love, introspective ballads, and some hot up-tempo party songs for dancing.
Princeton says their single, My Girl, is about how much the girls love them – “She texts us all the time – send us a 1-4-3.”
Since the breakup of B2K, the music industry has been on a search for the next big Boy Group. The search is over – meet Mindless Behavior!
Members of Mindless Behavior meet students of Horizons for Youth. (Photo by Andrew Griffin)
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BILL & TAMMIKA GET MARRIED
Friday, November 12, 2010
The City of Chicago renames the categories and changes the rules, but Sam and Angela Taylor keep winning the City of Chicago Garden Contest, part of Mayor Daley’s Landscape Awards program. This year, the Taylors won 3rd Place in the Citywide Vegetable Garden category. They were presented their award at a ceremony November 6 at the Hyatt Regency.
Sam and Angela have been tending their garden at 4427 West Fulton for seven years. The combination flower and vegetable garden comprises two city lots. Their garden has truly become a community project as the Taylors invite neighbors, local children, students from nearby Al Raby High School and the Neighborhood Youth Garden Corps of East Garfield Park to tend plots in the garden.
The Taylors are serving as community consultants to the Garfield Park Conservatory, providing advice and assistance to block clubs and residents seeking to start community gardens. The Taylors are also working with an agency opening a restaurant with a training component for unemployed persons wanting to enter the culinary industry to learn and earn at the same time. Sam and Angela are helping establish a garden adjacent to the restaurant that will provide homegrown crops for the menu.
The Neighborhood Youth Garden Corps of East Garfield Park at work in the Fulton Community Garden.
Sam & Angela Taylor are surprised with a cake by friends & well-wishers at the Fulton Garden.
Angela & friends look at cabbage plants.
Mike Tomas of the Garfield Park Conservatory and Ald. Ed Smith pay a visit to the Taylors’ Fulton Street Community Garden.
Sam & Angela Taylor enjoy giving away much of their community garden’s bumper crop to neighbors. They have also taken up canning vegetables for use year-round.
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