Check out these trophies!
Jayleesha and Arianna received math trophies during the last week of school. They both agreed that participating in Operation SMART after school helped them do better in math during the school day.
“Operation SMART helps girls learn things they didn’t learn yet in school so they can get prepared. Or if they already learned it in school they can practice more at Operation SMART. Like subtraction or addition. We did both of those at Operation SMART. My mom wants me to do well in school so my mom helps me with math, too.” – Jayleesha
“Yes, Operation SMART makes you learn more. And learn better. If you get 100% you might get a trophy, too.” – Arianna
LaShawn’s got game!
Because of her outstanding play during the last season of basketball, Girls Inc. member LaShawn Sweet was selected to play in the 9th Annual Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands/Nebraska Army National Guard 5th Grade Girls All-Star Basketball Game. The game will be held on April 8th at Benson High School. You go, LaShawn!
Girls In the Kitchen
On Saturday, March 19th the Junior League of Omaha treated Girls Inc. members to a Kids in the Kitchen nutrition fair – complete with healthy snacks (yogurt parfaits!!), hands on activities, and a gift of a pedometer for each girl. In addition to learning about healthy eating, the girls learned about careers in food such as nutritionists, dieticians, chefs, food scientists, and more. Some of the girls even learened a new skill – peeling fresh carrots for the first time!
The Junior League of Omaha prepared this slide show of the day’s events: http://bit.ly/htnzXz. And to see our Facebook album for more photos, click here: http://on.fb.me/gJ6sii.
Charlie & The Chocolate Fondue
What time was it when the girls in the book club finished Charlie & The Chocolate Factory? Time to write a letter to the author, watch the movie, and dive into some chocolate fondue.
One of the girls reads her letter to the author: http://bit.ly/grbSaH
The recipe for the fondue revealed: http://bit.ly/e1Dv1o
What’s better dipped in chocolate – marshmallows or bananas?: http://bit.ly/dIJmAa
Can’t quite reach…
This little artist couldn’t quite reach the ceiling of the “cathedral”…
Parent Sharing
The Girls Inc. staff hosted a parent sharing day on Saturday, March 12 for the girls attending the Emma Lozier Center in South Omaha. With an international theme, parents and girls were treated to a meal with foods from around the world: fried chicken for the USA, Ethiopian food and bread, and pupusas from El Salvador. Girls Inc. staff shared information about the program and the girls’ activities with Spanish and African dialect translations. Girls and families had an opportunity to create a craft project together. The turnout of parents was fabulous!
At the sharing, the GIRLStart parents and girls took over the second floor of the center to participate in a read aloud of Everybody Bakes Bread. The girls were able to sample breads mentioned in the book and to participate in accompanying craft projects. From Barbados, the girls tried coconut bread. And then they created a seashell craft project (although for many of the girls it was more of a glitter-sequin-glue project with a seashell thrown in for good measure…). The girls had challah from Italy, cornbread from the USA, and Italian bread from Italy (thank you Orsi bakery!).
Reading, Writing, & Rapping
As part of the Black History Month celebrations, the girls in the GIRLStart literacy program read a book about Rosa Parks and wrote letters of gratitude to her bravery. Symphany’s letter is below.
The 9-12 year old girls chose famous African Americans to honor with rap songs. Want to see some of the raps? For Martin Luther King, Jr. – click here: http://bit.ly/gPtMBN. For Bill Cosby, click here: http://bit.ly/h8rRt0 For Oprah, click here http://bit.ly/dENPHq.
When Harriet Met Sojourner
The girls did a variety of activities to celebrate Black History Month. Here is one:
The GIRLStart girls read books, like When Harriet Met Sojourner. This book tells of the meeting between the two women. Although we know it occurred, we don’t know what the two women actually discussed as there were no witnesses to the meeting. The girls imagined what such a discussion must have been like and then wrote about their imagined meeting. Lauren wrote and illustrated what she thought might have happened between Harriet and Sojourner (which sounded like “Sir Journal” to her – good atempt at phonetically puzzling it out!). “Freedom for all!”
Madeline Visit
“In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines, lived 12 little girls in 2 straight lines…the smallest one was Madeline.” She was also – by the way – the bravest! The GIRLStart literacy girls have a Saturday field trip to the Omaha Public Library to hear the book and visit with Madeline.
The girs hear a read aloud (and they have a good ear for the rhyming words!) http://bit.ly/fthNmA and then then visit with Madeline http://bit.ly/gwiwBW.
Lego League Robotics Team
The Girls Inc. team participated in the regional competition last Saturday where they presented their research, were evaluated on their teamwork, and put their robot through pre-programmed missions. Ryleigh tells you what they learned and how they feel about their experience: http://bit.ly/gdaLO1 No trophy this year but the girls were champions of learning and taking risks. Bravo team!
Here you can see some video clips of their preparation.
Hunter assists Sienna with a mission: http://bit.ly/hIZiNy
The girls run a successful mission as the clock runs down… http://bit.ly/fGURnh (Love the fact that the little girls are lining up for dinner and observing the older girls in action – maybe becoming inspired to join the team in a few years!)
Here Hunter, a seasoned veteran on the Girls Inc. team, helps Layla, one of the younger team members with a mission. Love the leadership legacy! http://bit.ly/hzoohJ
Layla gets “The Syringe” mission right! http://bit.ly/gkZ3Yo
