SSFS
The office was filled with stu­dents, today. The dead­line for pre­sen­ta­tions is quickly approach­ing, so the stu­dents are work­ing dili­gently to com­plete their projects. Every com­puter in the office was occu­pied this morn­ing; not a seat left in the room. When the writ­ing lab opened, the stu­dents imme­di­ately took advan­tage of the writ­ing con­sul­tant and the resources avail­able. Most of the stu­dents have 2 to 3 pages of their research project com­plete. Addi­tion­ally, the stu­dents have begun com­plet­ing their Pow­er­Point pre­sen­ta­tion to accom­pany their APA Research Paper. On Fri­day, the stu­dents will attend a brief work­shop regard­ing pro­fes­sional ways to cre­ate and present a Pow­er­Point. They will be intro­duced to guide­lines and unspo­ken rules about Microsoft Pow­er­Point. Two classes met today: Sports Sci­ence and Entre­pre­neur­ship. They both had great ses­sions; the stu­dents were atten­tive and focused. Whelp, tomor­row should be filled with fun, excite­ment, and hard­work­ing students.

Sum­mer Dream­ers Acad­emy
Wow, what a day. Well, our per­for­mance is in less than two weeks, and there is still a lot of prepa­ra­tion needed. Dur­ing our ses­sion today, the stu­dents ran the first scene of the ‘The Wiz’ on stage. This is the first time the stu­dents prac­ticed their roles col­lec­tively. Although there are only offi­cially 7–8 roles, the other stu­dents are help­ing out in dif­fer­ent capac­i­ties. The stu­dents con­tin­u­ously recited their lines and rehearsed their roles. Addi­tion­ally, the stu­dents reviewed the chore­og­ra­phy for “Ease on Down the Road.” Stu­dents are both singing and danc­ing to this song. Thus far, the stu­dents are doing a phe­nom­e­nal job. Their hard work is com­mend­able and admirable. Keep up the good work, Dreamers!!!

Sum­mer Dream­ers Acad­emy
Excel­lent progress is being made towards the pro­duc­tion of ‘The Wiz’. Stu­dents are chal­leng­ing them­selves to mem­o­rize lines, rehearse songs, and not only learn chore­og­ra­phy, but also add their own cre­ativ­ity into each piece. The final per­for­mance date is quickly approach­ing, so stu­dents are work­ing dili­gently to per­fect their roles. Stu­dents are cur­rently learn­ing chore­og­ra­phy to the songs ‘Ease on Down the Road, You Can’t Win, and Mean Ole Lion. Later this week, they will be intro­duced to new mate­r­ial. Later this week, stu­dents will have the oppor­tu­nity to explore the August Wil­son Cen­ter. This cul­tural excur­sion will truly ben­e­fit the stu­dents as they pre­pare for their final piece.

Sum­mer Study for Suc­cess
Sev­eral stu­dents filled the YES Office early this morn­ing, as they pre­pared to embark on their respec­tive class field trips. The Culi­nary Arts class ven­tured to Savoy, a promi­nent, classy supper-only restau­rant, located in the heart of Pitts­burgh. The stu­dents had the oppor­tu­nity to meet the Sous Chef (Exec­u­tive Chef) and receive a tour of the newly built facil­ity. The stu­dents were amazed at the equip­ment and din­ing room facil­ity. Addi­tion­ally, African Amer­i­can His­tory stu­dents had a Soul Food cel­e­bra­tion at the YMCA. Dur­ing the cel­e­bra­tion, the stu­dents not only enjoyed a won­der­ful meal, but the stu­dents also pre­sented their ver­sion of inven­tions from famous Black inven­tors. The other classes in ses­sion today included Com­put­ers and Tech­nol­ogy, Sports Sci­ence, and Entre­pre­neur­ship.
That’s all folks!!!

Sum­mer Study for Suc­cess
Stu­dents, from a vari­ety of classes, arrived at the YES Office as early as 9:00am to attend their respec­tive class field trips. As the coor­di­na­tor for SSFS, it is amaz­ing to wit­ness the stu­dents’ eager­ness to learn. Today, Law Enforce­ment Stu­dents had a once-in-a-lifetime oppor­tu­nity; they had a chance to observe a court hear­ing and all that it encom­passes. Addi­tion­ally, there were over 25 stu­dents present at the office today. While here, they gath­ered infor­ma­tion for their research projects, wrote in their jour­nals and started prepar­ing their Pow­er­Point pre­sen­ta­tions. Keep up the great work, stu­dents. There is approx­i­mately 3 weeks left.

Sum­mer Magic
Sum­mer Magic went extremely well today. There were many stu­dents present (14), all of which were extremely engaged and focused in the mate­r­ial pre­sented. The stu­dents con­tin­ued read­ing their short sto­ries and nar­ra­tives. Addi­tion­ally, the stu­dents par­tic­i­pated in a plethora of games that sur­rounded math con­cepts, designed to help them grasp the con­cepts more effec­tively and effi­ciently. The stu­dents seemed to have had a great experience.

Sum­mer Dream­ers:
Today is an excit­ing day for Sum­mer Per­form­ing Arts: The Wiz. The stu­dents are eager to learn the roles in which they will play for the upcom­ing pro­duc­tion of The Wiz. Among many things, the stu­dents danced, sang, and began to review the script for The Wiz. As of Mon­day, the stu­dents were placed in their respec­tive roles. In our class ses­sion today, they began to learn the chore­og­ra­phy and stage place­ments. After speak­ing with many of the stu­dents, they seem to have a strong sense of excite­ment; they’re thrilled to work together through­out the com­ing weeks.

Sum­mer Study for Suc­cess:
Omg, it’s already the third week of SSFS. The stu­dents are work­ing tire­lessly to com­mence their research projects. Many stu­dents are in the office today com­plet­ing their the­sis state­ments and skel­ton out­lines. There is def­i­nitely an extreme amount of pos­i­tive energy fill­ing up the office. In addi­tion, the Com­put­ers and Tech­nol­ogy class ven­tured to Carnegie Mel­lon Uni­ver­sity to explore the tech­nol­ogy facil­i­ties on their cam­pus. Many stu­dents are inter­ested in Infor­ma­tion Tech­nol­ogy and are excited to learn more about oppor­tu­ni­ties avail­able in the Com­puter Sci­ence field. On the other hand, stu­dents in African Amer­i­can His­tory are in the process of writ­ing poems about a per­sonal expe­ri­ence that has influ­enced them in some way. Inter­est­ingly enough, the stu­dents are star spo­ken word artists, already. The stu­dents are trea­sur­ing the oppor­tu­nity they have to express them­selves, orally. Whelp, that’s all folks!!!

Today, all three sum­mer pro­grams are in ses­sion. As always, it is excit­ing to see the youth engage in the enrich­ment pro­grams we offer.

Sum­mer Study for Success:

This is the sec­ond week of SSFS. The stu­dents are truly enjoy­ing their expe­ri­ence thus far. The stu­dents are exposed to a wealth of knowl­edge regard­ing their respec­tive elec­tives. Today, sev­eral stu­dents trav­eled on field trips as well as par­tic­i­pated in their respec­tive classes. The two classes that are in ses­sion today at the YES Office include: Com­put­ers and Tech­nol­ogy and African Amer­i­can His­tory. Stu­dents par­tic­i­pat­ing in the Culi­nary Arts class explored Uni­ver­sity of Pittsburgh’s Food Ser­vice Facil­i­ties. Addi­tion­ally, stu­dents tak­ing part in Law Enforce­ment explored the Mayor’s Office, the Coun­cil Cham­bers, and the 311 facility.

Sum­mer Dreamers:

Today is the sec­ond day of the Sum­mer Dream­ers Pro­gram. The stu­dents are thrilled about the oppor­tu­nity to use their artis­tic tal­ents and skills in a space that allows for them to be unique and cre­ative. Although this is only the first week of the pro­gram, the stu­dents are prepar­ing for The Wiz, which is their culim­i­nat­ing project. Over the course of the pro­gram, the stu­dents will read short sto­ries, poems and plays from well-known authors and poets that cap­ture the feel­ings and emo­tions of the 70’s time period.

Sum­mer Magic:

Sim­i­larly, today is the sec­ond day of Sum­mer Magic. There are three com­po­nents of this pro­gram. The three classes the stu­dents par­take in include: Math, Eng­lish, and Phys­i­cal Edu­ca­tion. Stu­dents are exposed to a vari­ety of mate­r­ial regard­ing these three sub­jects. The stu­dents are work­ing on more effec­tive read­ing and com­pre­hen­sion strate­gies. Cur­rently, the stu­dents are read­ing and ana­lyz­ing short sto­ries that are rel­e­vant to their inter­est. Fur­ther­more, the stu­dents are also prac­tic­ing their Math skills, by com­plet­ing work­sheets and par­tic­i­pat­ing in fun games. Once the aca­d­e­mic work­shops are com­plete, the stu­dents get a chance to exer­cise their phys­i­cal intel­li­gence. They enjoy play­ing in the park and engag­ing in boot-camp style activ­i­ties. The youth also get a unique oppor­tu­nity to eat at a local soup kitchen. By doing this, they get a chance to inter­act with com­mu­nity mem­bers and other youth around the city of Pittsburgh.