Weekly Media Roundup - April 30, 2014

Learning From the Habitat Outside Your Door (Herald and News, Oregon)

Pelican Elementary School will soon be home to a wildlife habitat, and even though it is not entirely complete, second graders in the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers afterschool program are already enjoying it.  With guidance from local Klamath Watershed Partnership and Great Outdoors Alliance educators, students are getting hands-on learning experiences right outside their classrooms.  Maureen Lundy, a teacher who has been heavily involved in planning the schoolyard habitat, told the Herald and News that “the idea is to have this cool habitat right outside Pelican’s door” where students can collect samples and engage in engineering design in a different learning environment.

Los Lobos Recruit White Elementary Mariachi Program Members to Open Tucson Show (Arizona Daily Star, Arizona)

Much to the delight of parents and students alike, the afterschool mariachi program at John E. White Elementary School opened for rock band Los Lobos at the Rialto Theatre last Friday.  Hearing the band was coming to town, Bill Mark, the program’s advisor, told the Arizona Daily Star that he emailed Los Lobos to see if they could speak to the kids, but Los Lobos took his request one step further and asked if some of the afterschool students could open for the band.  Mark told the Arizona Daily Star that he “Wasn’t really expecting a response, so this was a huge surprise.” 

YMCA Teaches Empathy through Animals (Daily Independent, Kentucky)

An afterschool program featuring some furry friends is helping students translate their compassion for animals onto their fellow students.  The program teaches young people to be calm, confident and caring through dog-related activities that help develop inter-personal skills that can later be used in the classroom, at home and even in the workplace.  Norma Meek, YMCA board member who prompted the introduction of the Mutt-i-gree curriculum, told the Daily Independent that “Children realize that all pets come in different shapes, sizes and colors.  All pets have strengths and feelings…There are Pedigrees and Muttigrees, some are mixed breeds, but they’re all wonderful – just like people.”

High School Students to Rock Homegrown (Duluth Budgeteer News, Minnesota)

The Duluth Homegrown Music Festival welcomed performances by local middle and high school students earlier this week.  The students, some in bands and others performing solo, were well prepared to showcase their talents thanks to the many hours spent practicing after school at the Music Resource Center (MRC).  Students were given their own hour-long time slot during the eight-day festival.  Emily Haavik, program manager of the MRC, told the Duluth Budgeteer News that “we want to give kids with a passion for music an avenue to advance their skills, compose, practice, record, learn.  It’s also a place to go after school where they can hang out while developing their skills.”