young leaders rising spring 2007 a newspaper of service...

Young Leaders Rising SPRING 2007 A newspaper of service & service learning

Shine On| Spring 2007 | 3

Inside this issue:ShineOn! Advisor Goes National ......... 3

Garden Club ......................................... 4

Young Leaders in an Urban World ....... 5

One Window ......................................... 6

Burnt, But Not “Burnt Down” .............. 7

Learning History from Veterans .......... 8

Pieces of Peace .................................... 9

¿Qué es mi Sueño? .........................9

What Does Peace Mean? .............. 10-12

Building Community .................... 13

Everyday Leaders ......................... 14-15

You(th) Make a Difference ................. 16

Making Change with Change ......... 17

Art Corner ................................... 17

Summer Happenings .................... 18

Cover Art: This issue’s cover art combines the work of Wellstone International High School and Uptown Academy Artists Xia Thao, Ko Yang, Nasro Gutu, Tong Yang, & Tarvanisha Boyd.

Thank you for your support and belief in the students, teachers and youth workers who work

together in leadership, service and service-learning.

You support the unfolding of our stories.

Editor-in-Chief: Rebecca Dallinger

Managing Editor: Sarah Huff

Design & Production: Kirsten Perry

Youth Advisor: Dannah Waukazo

Contributing Writers: Dannah Waukazo, Annie Wood, Asha Mohamed

Contributing Artists: Quintin Joseph, Tarvanisha Boyd

Copy Editor: Ann Holzman

Special thanks to: Brenda Eccleston, Janine Freij, Janet George, Sinda Nichols, Leon Oman, Colleen Sanders, and MPS Teachers and Employees.

Where do YOU read Shine On!?Send us a picture of you and Shine On! Show us where you read it: In bed? In the park? With your class? Upside-down? Surprise us! We’ll publish a new picture of a dedi-cated reader each issue. Be sure to include your contact info with your submission.

Submit to ShineOn!While you’re doing cool things in your community this summer, be sure to document your leadership! Make art. Write up a HOW-TO for your project. Make a collage. Write an article about how the experience changed you as a person. Let your mind run wild! And then share your ideas with other leaders by submitting them to Shine On!

Send submissions to:

Shine On! SubmissionsMPS Youth DevelopmentLehmann Center1006 West Lake Street Minneapolis, MN 55408

Inter-district School Mail:MPS Youth DevelopmentLehmann Center

eMail us:[email protected]

Visit our Website:commed.mpls.k12.mn.us/Shine_On

By Dannah Waukazo

THIS SPRING, I attended the National Service-Learning Conference

held by the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. People of all races and ages came together to help solve problems throughout the na-tion and the world, such as land mines or drunk driving. NYLC had youth presenters and adults alike presenting on topics they found interesting and valuable. The presentations were on topics ranging from youth voice in the media (such as myself) to how youth affect how our cities look today. At NYLC people learn to speak out. There are so many people coming together who have some-thing in common. Being amongst so many kids with the same interest in service-learning was a great opportunity. I got to hear their opinions and listen as they talked about their experiences. It made for great conversations.

The presentations were a major component of how the youth learned at NYLC. I must admit that I was a little disappointed in what people had to offer. It is the National YOUTH Leadership Council, and well, I wasn’t seeing too much of the youth in these presentations. Having the youth involved in presentations or exhibits or even Project Ignition (a service-learning project that encourages students to practice safe driving habits) was a great idea because it is important to get our voices heard too. Sometimes it can be very hard to do so.

It can be hard to know what you want out there to be heard, or what you’re writing about, speaking about, or what you honestly believe. So the first thing you need to know, before you start sharing, is your main focal point—what you want to teach others. When I went to New Mexico with our staff here at Shine On!, our focal point was youth voice in the media, since we’re all writers. We all have some kind of involvement and love for writing, so it was a good choice. We presented on different ways to empower youth voice in media. It can be way harder to get your voice heard if you’re in a lesser-known style of writing, and you aren’t getting published. Presenting in New Mexico really made me aware that no matter HOW you write, as long as you’re doing it, you’re getting your voice out there more than NOT writing, and that’s what motivates me. Keep writing!

Shine On! Advisor Goes National

Dannah at Albuquerque’s Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.

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4 | Shine On | Spring 2007

Students at Patrick Henry have been working hard all year to plan and prepare

for a new garden to be planted on school grounds. It was a long process which

took a lot of work. In order to teach their classmates more about how the new

garden came about, the Garden Club

made a zine. By publishing their

ideas, they hoped to involve more

students in the project.

Patrick Henry High School

Garden Club

zine also ’zine (zeen)

n. An inexpensively produced, self-published, underground publication

Zines are a cheap and easy way to get the word out about your project! The least you will need is a pen, paper and a photocopier.

How to Grow a Garden (and a Zine)These are our trade secrets: the steps to a landscape restoration project which we illustrated in our zine.

1 Develop an idea! — As a committed group we brainstormed and focused on our mutual interest in conservation.

2 Find help—We found an expert to help shape our ideas (Thanks Great River Green-ing and Daniel Tix!). Lots of research!

3 Money—We were successful in writing our grant because we stuck with the idea, were committed, and we were professional and organized when we presented our ideas to the HYPE council.

4 Planning—We worked with Todd, a professional landscape designer. We looked at examples of what was done before and learned the basics of landscape design. We met “the bean” (The ultimate design shape).

5 Design—The keys to designing were many drafts, having our research already done, and having lots of sketches—big picture and de-tailed.

6 Planting—First, we got permission from all the right people: Dr. Kociemba, the engi-neers, the school district, etc. Then we need-ed volunteers to help plant!

You’ll fi nd a color copy of the zine on the inside cover of this issue of Shine On! Follow the instructions on the bottom of page 18 to turn the cover into your own copy!

Who Planted the Garden…and Where…and When…

Elly Lee, 12th Grade

W ELL, AS A NEW MEMBER of the gar-den club, I attended some of the meet-ings at the start of its season. I couldn’t

go to the first few meetings, but I’m happy because I got to learn about the garden club’s plans with creating a new garden. I got to know what a shrub is. It’s a kind of bush. I got to see pictures of how a forest and wetland looks and what kind of animals and insects are attracted to the different plants like wild flowers and grasses.

I, for one, love the different kinds of flowers and beautiful butterflies, but that section is for Amanda and Neeyada, our garden club’s President and Vice President. Jenney and I, my partner, are working on

Jennifer & Jenny Lee

and Tayder Yang

planting.

Above: Kamine Ragnandan, Amanda Sicora and Neeyada Santopietro collaborate on a zine page; below: the Henry High garden space blocked out and ready for planting.

the section, which I called, “the Shadow Section.” Basically, it’s the section that has plants that does not need a lot of sunlight. If there is a lot of sunlight it will die. That’s why this section is near the school building where most of the shrubs will be at.

Now, you people are probably thinking about the five W’s, not including How. But the five W’s are the What, Why, Where, When and Who questions. How we did it is that Sinda Nichols, VISTA leader, who wrote our grant to get the money for this project and also got experts at planning and plants to come help us shape up our ideas. The experts were Dan and a professional landscape designer, Todd. Well, what we are doing like I said, we, the garden club

are planting a new garden with native plants. Why we are doing it? The reason is that we want more students to understand more about plants. Students can also come take some plants to do research on in their science projects. There are 400 different kinds of plants! The new garden was planted on Saturday, April 21st, in front of the Patrick Henry High school on the Newton Avenue side.


Young Leaders in an Urban World

A Young Leader

Trea’sur Canada9th Grade, North Community High School

A young leader in an urban worldcould feel like diamonds and pearls,to feel so important to be able to speak our mind,could feel so good and so kind.

I see other kids and I as leadersknowing someday we could make a difference,to reach out to someone in need, this we couldall achieve, yes indeed.

We are kids of freedom speechwe have so much to learn and lots to teach. We are kids who would one day be idolized.It takes a strong person to realize that we can be America’s dream, like sweet mangos and plumped tangerines.

We have the right to speak our mindsat any place and anytime. We one daywould find a cure for many diseases, so thatpeople can no longer suffer as our world gets tougher.

We are the American dream, any color and nation could become a team,so that we could clean up the mess that our past has created, and when we getolder we could shout to the world—we made it.

How to Be a Leader

Varfee B. Kanneh11th Grade, Lincoln International High School

THERE ARE LOTS of things to do in order to stay afloat.

Maintain your grades and keep a set amount of time to do your homework on time. If you don’t do your homework on time, you are likely to go to summer school or just fail the class. Also, use dead time, like early morning bus rides, to catch up on assigned reading for classes. In maintaining your grades you have to study very hard… I mean study with a focused mind. You will never catch up whenever you are absentminded during study hours. Study for a little while and then test your understanding on what you learned in order to see how far you have gone. This gradual process will lead you through this rocky path of educational achieve-ment. In doing this, you have to avoid those things like drinking alcohol and smoking to keep your mind focused. If you avoid those bad life choices, you will always be on the positive side of your life. If you are involved in those hazardous things, it can be to the great detriment to your social life. You are a very important part of the community. The masses need you. The community in which you reside needs you. Why can’t you make good use of your great opportunity? You are the intellectual blazers who will lead industries and societies. The societies that one day will solve the problems of domestic pover-ties and the ills of world hunger or famine. Don’t let yourself be carried away by peer pressure for they can introduce you to a bad life. Why should you allow those who are killing your dreams eternity to come your way? If you follow these very important steps mentioned above, you can achieve a very lofty position which will let others benefit from your generosity. You can be whatever your heart

desires once you are on the progressive path of life. Have you sat and thought to tomorrow’s life? Your father who was doing everything for you will not be by your side forever. Also, your mother who never saw you get hungry will not always be by your side.

Who do you think will take care of your children and do everything for them like your parents did for you? But if, and only if, you avoid every bad life choice and just focus on your education, you will always remain afloat. In other words, you will serve as a good role model for younger generations.

Tha World Thru My Eyes

Tarvanisha Boyd12th Grade, Uptown Academy

Life through my eyes Is written words with spoken lies,Unjust treatment and stolen lives,Real life treatment that feels like knives,The brutal statements from deep within. Of the honest faces in which most depend,The abused authority that teachers provide,To the bewildered students which in them we confide,The lost soul of a stolen part,The empty hole of a misplaced heart,Being misunderstood with a voice but no one to listen, Being put in an unfamiliar place where your mind is missin’,Being run into the ground by an unworthy president,To being forced to leave your home and put to a new resident,This is just the beginning of the falling of our earth,Next will be the taxed and our dollar worth,The unjust treatment towards the youngsta’s because they’re teens,The goal is to get us off the streets by any means,Well, support us and help us find something new,And you wouldn’t have to worry when we’re around you,Life is worth living and I’m gone live mine out,But as a growing person these are things I have to worry about,So let me be a leader and show you how it’s led,Like the Dr. Martin Luther King whose words were the best said,For me to be a leader you may say it doesn’t look as it seems,But I am a leader from the front and I lead by any means.

In our last issue, we asked you to answer the question,

“What does it mean to be a young leader in an urban world?”

Here are some of the creative responses we received.

Artwork by Quintin Joseph featuring cultural symbols of leadership and peace.

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ACT I: SCENE 5I AM FROM (PART I) an excerpt from “One Window”to be read by several different women

I am from soul food and Sunday dinners From mustard and collard greens and jiffy mix corn bread I am from the 102nd street between May & Aberdeen in Chicago

I am from spices and chilesFrom the gold and sunI am from the cactusDangerous, unique, and a true survivor

I am from Hmong refugee camps,my mom taking care of her two little sisters.Harvesting the crops every morning,carrying her youngest sister on her back.She ran from soldiers who would kill them if they were spotted.

I am from blue cotton jeansFrom Gap to Old NavyI am from Sunday weekly cleaning(Wipe down the walls and around the white porcelain toilets)

One Window: A Glimpse into Broadway’s World

A note from One Window’s

director, Minneapolis public

schools VISTA volunteer Chris

Gregory: “The students began

writing material (about their lives

and being a teen mother) for this

production in the fall of 2006, and

they rehearsed their completed

script from January until their

performances in late March. I

was constantly amazed by their

perseverance, energy, and creativity

during this process. Absolutely every

aspect of the play was completed

by Broadway High School students:

the words spoken, set design, music,

lighting, and acting. Their hopes

and dreams, their struggles and

successes were the raw materials

that formed their production.

Watching their performance gave

our audience a window into the lives

of the young women who created it,

challenging the viewers to see the

world through their eyes.”

I am from the rose bushes and vines that used to climb up the sides of our house I’m from the fireworks in the park and brick-house built females I’m from staying out and kicking it in the streets and lies and deceit From people talking about others to make themselves look or feel better and it’s not what you wear it’s that you wear

From the prison sentence of my aunt. Broken heart and tears. From the consequences of my cousin’s bad decisions in life. Lost faces in the darkness I am from these moments tears down my face—but with hope in my heart.

In my mother’s closet is a suitcase full of photo albums, granny’s old jewelry, and keys to every house they lived in back in the day before I was born. I am from these days that I was able to be a part of, before half my family was buried in the grounds like the roots of my family tree.

All content in “One Window” was created by these students at Broadway High School: Diana Ascencio, Laura Abarca-Duran, Crystal Adams, Sabrina Bell, Eva Bigbear, Nicole Booker, Doris Bowman, Shamika Campbell, Ashalla Clark, Emma Clemente, Tracina Eaton, Maria Estrada, Charice Eubanks, Teanna Franklin, Marketa Gentry, Shanika Grandsbery, Nancy Her, Drew Kelly, Ebony Hill, Shana Hood, Tanya Hunt, Mekhale Jefferson, Candice Jones, Soua Khang, Veronica Lacy, Tasha Logan, Marcia J. Morgan, Valexia McMillan, Falone Owens, Marqueta Patterson, Silvone Rhodes, Tiffany Scott, Mandi Sumpter, Laquieta Spearman, Aelicia Williams, Karissa Williams, and Xee Vue.

Anna Fung paints one of the set flats.

Najimo Bashir performs a monologue in One Window.


In February, North students participated in an essay contest. The charge

was to address the statement made by Councilperson Don Samuels that

North High School should be burnt down. Many people were outraged by this

suggestion. Adults drowned out the youth voice in the controversy. In their

essays, students fi nally spoke out and took a stand on the issue.

The three essay contest winners shadowed Councilperson Samuels on

Monday, March 12, 2007. The students read their work and expressed

themselves with candor and

maturity. After lunch, they visited

City Hall. In the words of their trip

leader, Community Education

Coordinator Beth Lasley, these

young ladies “not only represented

themselves extremely well, but

their families, the school, and

North side as a whole.”

North High essay contest winners meet

Councilperson Don Samuels.

Michelle Berry, 12th Grade, North High

THE FIRST TIME I HEARD ABOUT Don Samuels’ comment was when Mrs. Rasmus-sen gave our AP class a minor motivational

speech on our academics. She used the words of Don Samuels as an incentive: Show the doubtful wrong. Show yourself approved.

Later into the day, I received the magazine article she had been citing; I couldn’t wait to read it.

My perspective is as follows: Don Samuels should not have said that North High School should be burned down. I think that statement was ignorant and was only said for lack of an alternative. That statement, I believe, was not composed of what he was truly trying to say. Because he is human, I can-not hold him by ignorance. I would rather look into his title and how well he fulfills his position.

Because North High School is in the heart of North Minneapolis, I would expect Don Samuels and any other council member to work their hardest in as-suring that my school would not be burned down, because people don’t want to put forth endless effort to bring it to success.

I must admit, I do not know too much about the politics of Minneapolis. What Don Samuels did do, however, was motivate me to really look into the important things of my community, not just hip hop and fashion. Reflecting on Don Samuels’ statement leaves me hoping Don Samuels will step up to all the ups and downs the city of Minneapolis holds, as well as continuously watching the things he says and the way he says them.

An Eye for an Eye

Tierra Hughes, 12th Grade

You judge us by our coverand not by the pages within.You judge us by the rumorsand our patience grows thin.

You judge us by the crime rates and what you see on the news.Our school and North Minneapolisis not to be confused.

You judge us from a distanceinstead of coming inside.To learn more about us soyour beliefs will subside.

You judge us by our disastersour failures and weaknesses.But you don’t look at the achievementsnor do you view our successes.

So we judge you for your ignorance’cause you held your eyes closeduntil the opportunity to find out the truthwas finally proposed then exposed.

We judge you on your hypocrisyand your words that are disbanding.Even though you may sayit was all a misunderstanding.

We judge you on your denials and what of us you perceive.You are no longer an adult, but a childbecause your words are naïve.

We judge you just the sameas you have judged us.It’s an eye for an eye—nothing more to discuss.

Shalanda Staten, 12th Grade

MY NAME IS SHALANDA STATEN, and I am a student at North High. I recently had the opportunity to read an article in the

Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine in which you were featured. There were many points that you made that I disagreed with, but the one that bothered me the most was the comment about burning down North High.

First and foremost, burning down North High wouldn’t solve any of your problems. The problem is with the community, not the school. With all due respect, I don’t think you have the right to say that, seeing that I’ve never seen you enter the building to see what goes on.

Mr. Samuels, I understand your frustration with the Black community. I am a young leader myself, and I too get frustrated with my peers and the deci-sions they make. That doesn’t give me the right, as a young Black person, to degrade my own people. You must nurture them and show them you care. The statements that you made were not nurturing; they were very degrading.

As a City council member, you should be more careful about the metaphors and words you choose to use. The people that you represent were very upset with the comments that you made, especially the students at North High.

If I may, my question to you is are you racist against your own people? I don’t understand why you would want to represent us if you dislike our quali-ties. Instead of focusing primarily on the bad, focus on the good as well. You just made your own com-munity look way worse than we are.

My advice to you is to come and walk the halls of North High, communicate with our students, sit in classes, and watch what goes on before you report to the newspapers. With all due respect, sir, I feel that if you truly want to help us, you should invest in our school system.

The Minneapolis Public School System and North High have offered me so many opportunities, all of which I have taken, to better myself. I am deeply offended because I take pride in my school, and I don’t appreciate being judged by outsiders.

Illustration by Meng Xiong

Burnt, but not “Burnt Down”


Champ Barth

Sheila Thor6th Grade, Northeast Middle School

ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, the sixth graders, from Northeast Middle school went to the Veter-

an’s home. We took 2 buses there—full of happy kids. When we got to the Minnesota Veteran’s home, it was big and wide, like a big hotel. The hallway was narrow like a big school. While we were walking to the lunchroom, we saw some old painting of the war. The Veterans were sitting around tables with the smell of strong coffee. Our teacher, Ms. Beutler, told us to go and find a veteran to interview. It was kind hard to me to find a veteran. So then I went up to one of the helpers and asked if there was a veteran for me to interview. It was quick.

My veterans name is Champ Barth. He was born on 4-17-25. He was in the army branch. The war he was in was WWII. He was drafted when he was 18 years old. He brought a wrist watch from home with him. His drill sergeant was OK and strict. Champ did not get any punishments. Which I’m very proud of. Champ behaved, because it was during war. He was on duty for 3 years. Champ was trained to use the mo-tor 81 MN and 61 MN. He drove the Jeep that weighed 3.4 tons. He was stationed in France and Germany. His rank was Private PVD. Champ’s responsibilities were to take care of the jeep and the motors. The worst food that Champ ever ate was K ration. They came in a box. Champ felt very sad when he had to leave home to go to war. The hardest part of leaving, was saying good bye to his family and friends. Champ kept in touch with his family by mail and got packages from home. Champ was injured in the war, plus some of his friends were injured and killed. He faced the German army. After the war was over, he went back to school. Champ was treated great. His best memory was when he was discharged. The biggest lesson Champ learned from war was to respect authority.

I learned that you should always respect any Veterans that defended our country. I learned this by becoming friends with one. Praise America!

Shelia Thor with veteran Champ Barth.

Off the Bus and Into War

Abigail Resch, 6th Grade, Northeast Middle School

As I stepped off the bus, to tell the truth, I was a little nervous. How was I sup-posed to just walk up to some veteran

and interview him? Well, it all went better then I expected and how I hoped, here is how it went.

Hi, my name is Tom and today I am here to take you through a journey of my life in the war. I joined the U.S. Marine Corps when I was still in high school. I enlisted in to the war mainly because majority of the people in my hometown were going. During the training I disliked my military sergeant. I remember one of the punishments he gave me was to bury any of the cigarette butts that I had found. I also remember one prank I pulled with my friends. It was when we had put a bucket of water in the entrance way, we all thought that it was pretty funny. I served in the war for about… 3-4 years. My stationing was in San Diego. When I started

in the military I was low ranked but eventually that all changed in the end of my service when I became a corporal. As with war you would expect killing. Sadly though, my most important job was learning how to kill. I regret-tably went to war without my family’s approval.

The hardest part about going in to the war was leaving all of my siblings. Even though I left we still kept in touch by writing letters. My dad had sent me a couple of packages and the best one that

I received was a pistol. The war I fought in was WWII (my pistol came in handy for that). One of the worst injuries I got was shrapnel wound in the butt. I don’t have an exact number but a lot of my friends got hurt and some even killed. When I got hurt in the war I got the Purple Heart medal that was what got me home. There really aren’t very many similarities between the war I faced and the

wars they talk about in the movies. When I got back from the war I went into engineering with my dad. I was welcomed home with lots of hugs, kisses, and goodies.

I thought that going back home would be easy but I was wrong. It was hard. There were no specific orders and, it took me awhile to get used to that.

I think that the most important thing that I learned during the war would be that even when the going get tough you need to stay true and faithful to who or what you are. If you are committed to something never, never, never quit!

During this project I learned that when you commit yourself to something you have to stick with it no matter how diffi cult it may be.

“There really aren’t very many

similarities between the war I faced and the wars they talk

about in the movies.”

Abigail Resch with Veteran Tom.

Learning History from Minnesota VeteransNortheast Middle School Students made some new friends this spring. The 6th graders came to interview the veterans about their lives and their experiences with war. They also played bingo with the veterans. “It was fun,” sixth grader Maria Aleman said, “Everyone was cheering. It was sweet because they were like children.”

Later, they returned to read their fi nished stories back to the veterans. Over 60 students were in attendance. They made a party out of it, and iced cookies and drank juice with their new friends.


Left-right: Quintin Joseph, Jason Lee, Taylor Reed

(in back), Dr. Ebadi’s translator, Dr. Shirin Ebadi

and Anne Parrish.

Afrocentric Educational Academy:

Quilting PeaceQuilting PeaceAfterschool students have been involved in the Quilt Project working with master

quilters and mentors. Quilts were donated to agencies that work with homelessness,

teen pregnancy and gang violence prevention. This is the second year of the project.

“ I decided to give a quilt to pregnant teens because to have a baby is to put your life on hold and I think you should finish your goals first.”

–Anonymous Student Quilter

Northeast Middle School students did a quilting project to capture the dreams of students and their parents in an artistic fash-ion. They asked participants to answer the question “¿Qué es mi Sueño?/What is my dream?” by drawing on their quilt squares.

OUR PROJECT IS ABOUT people’s dreams/wishes. Everybody who want-ed to participate (families and stu-

dents) decorated a piece of cloth, and we are going to put them together in two parts: one part is a big quilt and the other part in a double-sided banner. We are thinking about where we can put the quilt and the banner. For example, in the lunch room, in the library, in the hallway, or outside the auditorium. This is just opinions from us. To see where we can put the project we need to talk to Dr. Perry, the principal. We are making this because we want to invite every-body to have a dream.

We think the quilt project is a good experi-ence because from this project we can learn about other dreams and other people’s points of view. We feel like this because everybody has a dream and they want to share it with us. All the dreams are very positive and make us dream too.

Most of the dreams in our project talk about peace in the world, union in the family, going to college, graduating, and having a good standard of living. These dreams obviously talk about success in the lives of everyone. That is why we feel this is a good experience.

We learned a lot of things doing this project. For example, we learned about working in groups. We also learned that everybody has a dream, and the most important is that we also learn to understand other people.

¿Qué Es Mi Sueño?/What is my dream?

—Students in Ms. Malone’s ELL/Language Arts-5th hour

THE STUDENTS WANTED TO MAKE A quilt for the visiting Nobel Peace Laureate, Shirin Ebadi. “I like what she is doing for

the rights of women and children. We wanted to show some love, peace, and kindness,” said Jason Lee, mentor. “She has been through a lot and the quilt shows how we appreciate her. I would like to give a similar quilt to my siblings,” said 7th grader Averi Lee.

This is the speech made to the Nobel Laureate at the PeaceJam conference on April 15th, 2007, at St. Thomas University in St. Paul:

“We are Jason Lee and Quintin Joseph and we are graduates of Afrocentric Educational Academy, a middle school in North Minneapolis. This year we are freshmen at North High School. For our

service-learning project we are working as high school mentors for Afrocentric. We are research-ing issues about gang violence and also teen pregnancy. For our project we are creating story quilts and expressing our voice through art. We are making baby quilts with messages that will inspire teen mothers and their babies to stay strong in their lives and not to forget their dreams. We will be sending Dr. Shirin a quilted gift to say thank you for supporting and caring for us. Thank you.”

Dr. Shirin Ebadi (Iran) received the Nobel Peace Prize

in 2003 for for her signifi cant and pioneering efforts

for democracy and human rights, especially women

and children’s rights. She is the fi rst Iranian and the

fi rst Muslim woman to receive the prize. Her book,

Iran Awakening, was published May 2006.

In My Words

TTHE AFROCENTRIC QUILTING Proj-ect has helped me develop a more positive attitude and improved my

behavior in and outside of school. I am motivated to plan, create, and complete the quilting projects. I am working as a high school mentor because I have been in the quilting project for two years. The middle school students look up to me and ask me to help them sew or find solutions to problems. I have developed skills that will help me the rest of my life. I really like that the quilts are made using our voice and art skills. Also, I like that we give our quilts away to organi-zations that work with teens. That makes me feel good about what I am doing.

-Jason Lee, Peer Mentor, 9th Grade, North High


What Does Peace Mean?Students from Minneapolis Public Schools at the Lehmann Building in Uptown (Uptown Academy,

Wellstone International High School, Minneapolis ABE) entered an essay contest that asked:

What does peace mean to you? Six pieces were named fi nalists. Their writing represents the

efforts of their schools to share the power of peace in their building community.

What Do We Need A Lot?

Blan TadasaWellstone International High School

Every day I wake up with the alarm on my TVAnd the news pops up on the screen of the TV,I open my eyes and every day I see tragedy on that TV.The voice of the reporter from the TV,

Always carries the words “died today”“this many raped and died today”“that many tortured and died today”Oh! God please no more died todayyy…

Oh! How I wish we could change,Instead of tragedy we could hear triumph for a changeWake up from this nightmare for a change.Open, open, open your eyes for a change.

Look at what we have done to even our mother nature.We throw all our excessive waste on mother nature. We cut the trees which are the defenders of mother nature,From ultraviolet rays that attack mother nature.

Come on, today is the time for positive action,To do it all over again for our true satisfactionAll we need is a lot of love and conservation.We all want peace so let’s work toward that direction.

Asha Mohamed, 12th GradeWellstone International High School

THE LEHMANN CENTER IS BECOM-ing an International Peace Site. This is so exciting for us! We have been

working on projects associated with this Peace Site for the last six months. We have gone into classrooms and talked about PEACE and we have talked to community groups. Everybody loves PEACE, but what can we do about it?

We started this project to make a positive change in the world. Mr. Hertz, my counselor, who is a PEACE person, influenced me to do this. We started work-ing together and more and more people started working with us. People ask me if this project has changed the atmosphere in the building. That is hard to say. PEACE is something that starts on the inside and comes out. It comes out in peoples’ ac-tions in the world and this is a slow process that happens at its own pace.

I am from Somalia. Since I was in Somalia, I have been experiencing war. I left my country with my parents and we lived in Kenya for many years in order to survive and to live in peace. While I was in Kenya, I had been hearing the bad news of the war and even witnessing the wounded people, orphan children. I finally moved to the United States in September of 2005, where I am still seeking for PEACE. Af-ter I came to the United States I realized that the word PEACE means something

important to me personally and to the world. Then, I asked myself what I could do about PEACE and decided to cam-paign for PEACE.

Even after grow-ing up in Somalia in a hard life, I still believe in PEACE and I will knock on any door to find it. There is a Somali proverb that says, “Teeth and tongue

are neighbors and they could bite each other, but they have learned to live in PEACE.” Let us work together so we can lift the word PEACE, even if it is heavier than the whole world. Fi-nally, I want to say to all Minneapolis commu-nities that PEACE benefits everybody. Never hesitate about PEACE.

The Lehmann Center is becoming an International Peace Site Peace

Sanghui Jacobson Minneapolis ABE

ALL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD seem to want peace, but the peace we seek isn’t in this world. Peace is

not something we take from the world. It can only come from the peace inside every person living here. My homeland is a country that has lived through war, one that lost many lives fighting for peace and knows the cost of achieving peace.

Though there is war, fighting, fear, murder and drugs, lies are the greatest problem we have today. They keep us from finding peace with each other and with ourselves. My peace comes from prayer, singing hymns and listening to God’s word.

Peace does not create itself. It is some-thing people create with much effort and honesty in their hearts. Only when they are like-minded and throw away their self-ishness, can peace form between people with love.

I believe only when there is peace in our lives, our families and our country, will our world enjoy peace as well. The peace in our hearts will be reflected in our society. That is how we can achieve peace in this world.

Peace is true love, something some people spend their whole lives searching for. It is humility, unity, respect, but most of all, love. Just remember, peace is not impossible. It is our only future.


Peace is a big emotion that can bring together all our nations

Ramadan MussaWellstone International High School

I believe peace can inspire our generation to prevent everyday violation that is happening in our nation.

Peace depends on our dedication.

But how can we bring peace in our world and pass it to the new generation?

We need real dedication to bring peace in our nation and stop violation.

How can we ignore the facts about peace and tolerate daily bloodshed and assassination?

Look at these crying mothers and fathers and let us do our best dedication.

I see mother is crying, father is crying, children were killed by a cluster bomb as they walked to school.

In the Middle East life is not cool, it is really frightful, hateful and cruel because of oil and fuel.

Father killed by explosion as he walked out to work.

Mother left widowed, childless, helpless, hopeless and restless.

I know this is our weakness and everyday we are witness.

I see mother is living full of depression and tired of oppression.

I see innocent people were bitten to confess, wearing no dress, crying louder express and taken hidden place.

This is real transgress, their day and night end up in stress.

In the prison they have no mattress or dress. After released from prison they got no penny for redress.

It is really hard to address because there is a lot of mess. Why do we support war which doesn’t make any progress? I’m not talking to actor or actress, I’m talking to congress

Do you think this is progress?

Look at the world—it ended up in sectarian violence and division of the race.

Day ends in violence and bloodshed, night ends in terror.

In Iraq, Afghanistan, Somali, Palestine and many other countries people forced to live in this horror. But it will not be forever.

Look! Many children killed by bomber. Who is the bomber, there is no answer.

Mother remains in anger. All people exposed to hunger the world became full of beggar

and out of order. Killers have no borders and no order.

They kill elder and youngster.

Mother is calling on you but there is no answer and I wonder.

Mother said how do you feel if you lost your son and daughter?

As you see ready finger with trained soldier pressing trigger to shoot innocent woman as sniper, you really feel terror and horror.

Mother expressed her somber. Somber and somber and somber.

Bad motion

Every body is in a bad motion. How do you expect appreciation from the nation.

Stop your assassination and give up your colonization.

Don’t call it democratization—it is modern occupation

I can see your ambition leading you the wrong direction.

Come back from long destination.

You can’t always follow your inspiration.

Respect human rights and Geneva Convention.

Do not violate United Nation; we need peaceful communication not weapons of mass destruction. It is disaster for our generation.

In our present world we believe in no more occupation.

what peace means to me

Dechen ChontsoWellstone International High School

A time when there is no violenceA time when there are no national boundariesA time when every weapon is garbage A time when there is no fighting.

Peace is the formula to solve the problemsPeace is the calculation to cancel the atom bombsPeace is the evaporation of angerPeace is the root system to stabilize the world.

Peace is absence of those loose passionsSlaughtering the innocent animals,With no thinking that they are the resource, From where we enjoy our meals. We put on furry clothes, we use many daily thingswhen we feel cold and in need.Unbearable suffering they have,uncontrollable tears they shed. But because of human greediness,they are slaughtered mercilessly.

In addition,we human beings have to love them,care for them and preserve them forever.

When everyone lives as brothers and sistersWhen there is great love for each otherWhen there is friendship with all the living thingsWhen there is non-violence.Let peace be in our mindLet peace be in our bodyLet peace be in our soulLet peace be in every movement we make. Let peace rule usLet peace follow usMay peace travel all through the world so thatWe don’t have to undergo World War III.

Dechen reads her poem at the Peace Site dedication.


Nick reads his poem at the Peace Site dedication.

Peace

Nick Jadinak, Uptown Academy

Peace is a sign,it’s the tranquility of mindthe ability to find good in all mankind,to look at people as people, not color or class but just as an equal,’cause I bet we all want respect,

peace is something that we fight for,but shouldn’t have to die to get, if we really wanted peace we’d stop war,it almost seems that peace is just a dream that Martin got shot for,now it would be a crying shame if we let such a giant name die in vain,so we need to teach peace to our childrenbefore our children become just another deceased civilian,cause peace can come from the power of one,we’ve already seen that bullets can be stopped by a flower in a gun,yeah the pilgrims made peace with the Indians then they killed ’em,now we have a feast to celebrate peace and say why we’re thankful for living but shaking hands with a man then taking their land gives a whole new meaning to thanks giving,but you wouldn’t know that if you studied,and like Malcolm said, it’s freedom for everybody or freedom for nobody,so let me just ask this— is peace something that we practice or onlysomething we get when we rest in our caskets?

What Peace Means to Me

Rocio Moran, Minneapolis ABE

Peace on the river that flows quietly.Children and adults like to enjoy clear water.

Women are washing their clothesAnd moving their thighs

At the rhythm of their hands.

Peace on the prairie to watch the green velvet views.

To meditate about peace and how wonderful it is,And at the same time, feel how sun’s rays

Are caressing my face.

Peace is to breathe a clean environmentWithout pollution that all mankind and animals

deserveHow amazing is it to see the colorful dawn

Looking at the sunrise and the sunset.

Peace means a lot of pleasant things such asSerenity, happiness, laughter, joy, music,

Song, air, water, silence, love,Smile, hope,

Calm.

Left: Aztec dancers honor the Lehman Center Peace Pole with a traditional ceremony.

Below: Students watch as the Peace Pole is being honored.

Asha Mohamed, MC for Peace Site Dedication and friend Pam Costain, MPS school board member.


Hale Helpers’ Iraq Project

THE HALE HELPERS is an afterschool leadership project for third and fourth graders at Hale Elementary

School that encourages children to think about ways that they can act to improve their communities and the world. In the past, they have created a peace garden and created a joke book for seniors. This session the students decided to create activ-ity kits for Iraqi children after learning that the Community Education Coordinator’s son, a Minnesota National Guardsman stationed in Iraq, was meeting many children who don’t have pencils, paper or toys because of the ongoing war.

The children brainstormed to develop a small kit that would be interesting to differ-ent aged children. They used a postcard with a line drawing of the USA to show where they lived and on the back drew pictures of Minnesota and messages for the children. Students brought school supplies from home, Hale School donated some unused crayon kits and, after some careful shopping, the students assembled the kits. The kits were then sent to the Minnesota National Guard stationed outside

Steps For Making a Care Package

Stuart Hutt4th Grade, Hale Elementary

1. Find a problem or group of people who need help.

2. Think of some things that they might need. Example, pencils, toys, stickers, paper and gum.

3. Write some notes from you to the people you want to help—draw a picture or put a picture of yourself on it if they can’t read English.

4. Find people to donate things, ask friends or family.

5. Prepare boxes—line up in a line and everyone put something in the pack-age. We made 100 packages!

6. Mail!

7. Wait and see if they liked the package!

Rachel Dietz & Danielle Wright8th Grade, Interdistrict Downtown

THIS YEAR, WE HAVE BEEN working on being Urban Stewards and helping our community, as well as others. It is always

good to help out the community and the eighth graders at IDDS this year have been doing just that. So far this year, we have done two service-learning projects.

Our first quarter we did a project that involved the children of Iraq. Our teacher, Ms. Peterson, has a brother who is a distributor in Iraq. She asked them what the kids in Iraq liked to do and he said that they liked to play soccer, but they didn’t have

any soccer balls or tennis shoes. So, in the first quarter, we orga-nized a project to send soccer balls and tennis shoes to Iraq. For six to eight weeks we had a fundraiser to earn shoes and soccer balls. We were able to get lots of donators from our class, and

Building Community from Iraq to Minneapolis

Hale Helpers (left to right): back row: Liliann Quist, Stuart Hutt, Charley Seebach, Maya Rajacich; middle row: Brid Donovan, Danita Todd, Rachel Stark, Leena Carole, Kath-erine Huber; inside row: Tami McCulloch, Chole Coultrip, Jeremy Youngquist; front: David Haim, Tiffany McCullock.

How We Helped

Baghdad, where they could be given to the children the guardsmen meet on the streets.

The students enjoyed the assembly and creating the messages for the packages. Their feelings can be summed up by one message a student wrote “Peace, I hope you are safe.”

Above: Danielle Wright with her display for Immigration Awareness Day.Left: Rachel Dietz models at the fashion show.

also from outside of school. Most of them were from a church that was nice enough to offer them. We made it known throughout our school, and one of our groups hosted a contest between the elementary students to see who could raise the most tennis shoes. In total, we raised 64 pairs of shoes and 6 soccer balls, and a pump to blow the soccer balls back up. We sent them to Ms. Peterson’s brother in Iraq to distribute them.

For all the efforts that we made, we ended up getting recognized by the television companies and being on the news. It was really exciting for all of us since not many of us have been on the news. It really helped them out in Iraq and it really was nice for us to have helped someone else.

In the second quarter, our proj-ect that we came up with ourselves, was to make people more aware about immigration. We decided to host an Immigration/Dr. Martin Luther King Day Awareness day. The carnival was held at the Mid-Town Global Market on Dr. Martin Luther King Day. We had a cultural fashion show featuring Hmong traditional clothing, rapping, African stepping, an immigration game, Dr. Martin Luther King posters and some of our own projects that we did about the books we read over winter

break (Esperanza Rising and The Maldonado Miracle). I think we all contributed to Dr. King’s dream in that project.

This year, we have worked really hard to be Urban Stewards and help our community. In the 3rd and 4th quarters we are going to be working to help slow global warm-ing. We hope to be as successful as we were in the first semester of the school year. In total, it was just really nice to help out the community in everything that we did. It always feels good doing something for someone else.

Katie Wasko collects soccer

equipment for Iraqi children.

everydayleaders


Personal Leaders & Children’s Rights QuiltAndersen Elementary

Students in Everyday Leaders at Andersen Elementary recognized their personal lead-ers this year. Each of the students chose a

person in their life who had been a leader to them. They made shirts that had pictures of their leaders on the front. On the back they wrote why they were good leaders. Many students said that their parents or family members were their leaders. Some of the things that made a good leader were caring for others, setting a good example, and having a loving heart.

The Bracelet Project Sanford Middle School and Northrop Urban Enviromental

The Everyday Leaders Action Clubs at Sanford and Northrop worked together to design and create bracelets, which were

sold to raise funds for MOCA Minnesota Ovar-ian Cancer Alliance the week of April 16th-20th. Students designed

posters and order forms and set up shop during class time. The project was started last year by the Every-day Leaders Summer Action Club. The students raised over $300 for the 3-day breast cancer walk.

Heifer InternationalDowling Elementary

Dowling Elementary Everyday Leaders helped families all the way across the globe this spring. Students raised $182 to buy a llama, some

chicks, and seedlings for people in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru through the Heifer International Organiza-tion. These gifts will grant several families a better means to support themselves.

Find out more about Heifer International at www.heifer.org

MPS Community Education After School programs

Everyday Leaders also took part in a quilting project about children’s rights. Here is what some of them put on their quilt squares:

“I have a right to have my space.”

“I have the right to have my own room.”

“I have the right to be me.”

“I have the right to help and save animals.”

“My right is to help other people.”

“ I have the right to do my work when I feel like it.”


Thank-You ValentinesMarcy Open School

Everyday Leaders at Marcy spent an after-noon making thank-you valentines for the support staff at their school. As they made

the cards, they reflected on why they were thankful for each person.

Abdifata and Tenzin worked together to make a card for their art teacher, Scott. They said they ap-preciate Scott because he teaches them new things about art.

Youth Day at the CapitolFolwell Middle School

On a day when blizzard conditions shut down most of Minnesota, the “Leaders/Líderes” group braved the weather to

make their voices heard. Folwell students partici-pated in Youth Day at the Capitol along with about 400 youth and adults from across the state. They learned about the legislative process, took a tour of the Capitol, and participated in the youth rally. They also met with their local legislator, who showed them what an actual bill looked like. The students informed him about their after-school program and came away with a new aware-ness of advocacy.

What does it mean to be a Young Leader in an Urban World?

Leaders are responsible; you could be one. It’s possible!Leaders don’t fight, cry, or pout. They help friends and family, that’s no doubt.If you want to be a leader, go on and try. But make sure if you’re a leader, you can’t tell lies.Be a leader wherever you go! Let everyone know you’re a leader from head to toe!

Shardae Robinson, 5th GraderLyndale Elementary

“ I am a Leader by trusting myself. I show others, like 2nd graders, and 3rd and 4th graders, how to act right. I am a leader and do what’s best for all. That’s how I am an urban leader.”

Hibo Ahmed, 5th GradeLyndale Elementary

“ An urban leader is being responsible. You should do what is right, not what your friend tells you to do. You should stand up for what is right and what you believe in. That’s an urban leader.”

Deqa Mahamoud, 5th GraderLyndale Elementary

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Sera made her music teacher, Nancy, a card. Sera said she appreciates Nancy because:

“He’s an artist!” — Abdifata Amakulo

“My favorite is doing animals in art.” — Tenzin Sopa

“She teaches us music and to sing songs.”

— Sera Mugeta

Back: Evin Schultz, Viola Onikoro-Arkell, Siobhan

Reynolds, Daycia McDill, Kierra Case-Allen, Alexis

Ganch, Annabel Slade, Dave Platt, Abdifatah Amakulo;

front: Sera Mugeta, Daryl Yap, Tenzin Sopa, Nathan

MacEwan, Joshua and Anya Lindell-Paulson.


Benefiting Others: Twin Cities Youth Help Hurricane Victims

Annie Wood8th Grade, Anthony Middle School

THE MOMENT MY FRIEND ASKED ME to be on the planning committee for a benefit for New Orleans, I was ecstatic. Ever since

Hurricane Katrina swept the city, I’ve wanted to do something to help. I leaped at this opportunity for youth leadership and service learning.

It all started when my friends—who are in my social justice filmmaking group—went on a trip to New Orleans. New Orleans, once a majestic city burst-ing with life, is now heavy with the weight of this immense tragedy. With all political focus on the war in Iraq, America has forgotten about Hurricane Katrina. My friends, Hannah and Molly, spoke with

You(th) Make a Difference!National and Global Youth Service Day

On April 21, young people all over the world were coming together to make

a difference. Students in Minneapolis participated in service projects

ranging from planting gardens and doing community clean ups to hosting

benefi ts. Just imagine how much good must have been done on this day!

“New Orleans, once a majestic city bursting

with life, is now heavy with the weight of this

immense tragedy.”

studios. We picked this nonprofit because art is so crucial to the culture in New Orleans, and rebuilding the culture is a big step to rebuild-ing the city in its entirety.

When I joined the committee, along with other Twin Cities teens, I had no idea how to plan a benefit. We took little steps and before long we were running with it. First we had to find the venue to hold our fundraiser. Some of the other girls decided Neighborhood House, a community center in West St. Paul, would be perfect. Next, we had to find sponsors. You need a little money to set things up before you can start making money. We sent out lots of letters and made tons of phone calls.

At a benefit, guests cannot just stand around and be bored…they need entertainment! We found performers, musicians, dancers and lots of other groups that were delighted to give their time. We also put together a silent auc-tion…we wanted all items to be New Orleans related, so again we sent out letters to busi-nesses in the Twin Cities and New Orleans and were surprised by all the great donations we got. We got everything from a signed Emeril cookbook to jazz CDS and t-shirts of jazz musi-cians, to a chef’s table at Stella’s Fish Café, to artisan tiles!

The next step was publicity and ticket sales. Now that we had all these great things lined up, we wanted people to come! We wrote to many news stations, newspapers and radio stations. We got announcements on a couple of radio stations and articles in Twin Cities newspapers.

Planning the event has been a powerful ex-perience for me. It has taught me that even as a kid, I can have an impact on someone’s life. The people we have talked to and the stories of the people of New Orleans have driven me through the process with endless inspiration. I feel it is my time to help, and I’m grateful to have this opportunity. I really hope that the benefit is a success and we raise awareness not only about the current state of New Orleans, but also youth volunteerism and what a difference we can make in the world.

The Anwatin Community Service Team is 16 students who like to be together. They like it so much, they made a PowerPoint

called “Work Together Because It’s Better” and showed it to the Student Council.

They have a class every day. They do different things every day, and it is always a TEAM project. Everyone participates, even if he cannot talk or she cannot move her muscles by herself. His and her friends are there for them to do every project as a team.

On Mondays they do pop can recycling and recycling newspapers.

On Tuesdays they research on different com-munity needs, vote on a project and then plan it and DO it. So far, they have planted bulbs in the school garden, packaged hygiene kits and

The Anwatin Community Service Team sewed and tied blankets for Sharing and Caring Hands, sewed blankets for foster puppies at the Humane Society, planned and run a huge food drive and delivered it to Branch 1 in Minneapolis, and run a button design contest and made buttons to sell and raise money for Feeding Children Interna-tional. Then they went with the Anwatin Stu-dent Council to package meals that will be sent to Malawi, Africa. They packaged 2,600 meals that day. Now they are researching and will vote on their next project before the year is over.

On Wednesdays they have disability aware-ness. They have speakers come in or some of the students are their own advocates to teach about different disabilities and to show how every “dis”ability is a unique “poss”ibility.

On Thursdays they help staple and deliver the school’s newsletter. They also fill the pop machine in the staff lounge.

On Fridays they recycle the paper from the teachers’ rooms and then they all play some bingo together. Sometimes some students have to help others to call the bingo cards or to cover up the right space, but if one of the 2-player team wins, they both do, and then they both take a trip to the prize box.

Every team member knows it’s best to work TOGETHER, because it’s BETTER!

Journey Westegaard and Chufeng Yang

work at the food drive.

Molly Nemer and Annie Wood prepare art displays for the benefit.

artists and residents there, who want their story to be told. The effects of Katrina are still pres-ent, and people still need help to get back on their feet.

All of the funds raised at the benefit will go to a nonprofit organization in New Orleans called ARTDOCS, Inc. ARTDOCS helps visual artists, performing artists and musicians get health care and insurance, and even get grants to rebuild their


An editorial written by the students which was sent to the media:

“No one deserves to be homeless! We are a team of sixth through eighth graders from Lake Har-riet Community School who are concerned about homelessness. An estimated 10,600 children are without shelter or permanent housing on any given night in Minnesota. Also, over 500 children every night are turned away from homeless shelters, due to lack of beds in shelters and temporary housing (Wilder Foundation, 2003). Earlier this year we went to the state Capitol for Lobby Day for the Homeless to support laws to help end homelessness.

Currently, we are working to help the Tubman Family Alliance. The Tubman Family Alliance shelters women and children who are fleeing abuse. To get involved you can donate time, new infant and toddler clothes, baby supplies, diapers, and money to the Tubman Family Alliance. Join with us to make our community better by ending homelessness.”

— Student Service Team, LHCS Middle School

Script for Donation Drive This was written by the service-learning kids to use as they went to other classrooms to organize students to participate in the coin drive. By using a script, we made sure we were getting our point across clearly.

My name is ______________ and I am in _______grade. I am here to tell you today about a project that the Middle School Student Council is working on this year. Last fall we went on an overnight retreat and learned about poverty and homeless-ness in our city. Can anyone tell me what “home-lessness” means? (people who are without a safe or decent place to live and sleep). We learned SO much about what people need and how many people don’t have their needs met. People experi-ence homelessness for MANY reasons:

It could be that their jobs don’t pay enough to cover rent and food.

It could be that they had an illness or big medical bills.

It could be that they lost their job.

When we went on the retreat, we visited many sites in our community that offer help to people experiencing homelessness. One of those sites was Tubman Family Alliance, which is a shelter that provides care for women and their children who need a safe place to stay. Tubman Family Alli-ance encourages and helps these women to attend

Lake Harriet Community School:

Making Change with ChangeThis spring, Lake Harriet Community School ran a “Change for Change” coin drive

for Tubman Family Alliance which raised over $3,500. The donations were presented

on Friday, April 27 to Tubman Family Alliance at the “April Showers” donation drive

for babies and toddlers. Through their work in the fundraiser, the students learned

about homelessness here in Minnesota.

Some Books About HOMELESSNESS

A Shelter in Our Car, Monica GunningAfter Papa died in Jamaica, Zettie and Mama came to America, where they now live in the city in the backseat of their car. Shows great love and determination in the face of many difficulties. Kindergarten-Grade 3

Someplace to Go, Maria TestaAt the end of the school day, all the kids are excited about going home except Davey, who has nowhere to go. Grade 3-5

No Place to Be: Voices of Homeless Children, Judith BerckHomeless children in NYC speak. Articulate, heartfelt first-person narration alternates with statistics, occasional poems created in workshops for the homeless, and historical overview. Nonfiction. Grade 5-Up

For more books about homelessness and a description of how to do a Coin Drive,Check out our website:commed.mpls.k12.mn.us/Shine_On

Middle school students Emma Peacha-Singer (left) and Eva Mitchell (right) explain the coin drive to a 3rd grade classroom.

school, find child care, find jobs, and find housing, which was something that really caught our eye.

After talking in our group, we decided that this was the place that we wanted to raise money for, a

place that met the needs of people going through poverty. So, today, I have some boxes to hand out to you to take home. What we want you to do is bring this home and have your parents, brothers, sisters, or anyone in your family put spare change or donations in it. You can decorate it with markers, crayons, or anything you want. And put this roof on it that shares facts that we have learned about poverty and homelessness, and it will be a good way to draw attention to the box. You need to bring it back to your classroom by April 20th, the day of the carnival, which is not this Friday, but next Friday. Does anybody have any questions for me?

Haiku

Hector Peterson-Jones3rd Grade, Jefferson

won fi rst prize in school contest

Motorcycle vroomsuper duper so so fastflying colorful

the moon is white cheesefloating in the dark dark skytasty tasty good

flying to the moonsuper sonic boom soaringgo down to earth now

the moon’s you la lunethe moon soon over the duneshining so brightly

Art Corner


Get up and do something good for yourself

and your community. Volunteer. Get a job.

Go to camp. Baby-sit. Do something to

change your world! Here are some ideas:

Minneapolis Community Education 2007 Summer Enrichment Programs

Community Education Learning Centers and BeaconsThese programs offer reading, writing, and math support, as well as creative activities, art, science, sports, games, and field trips. Middle school pro-grams offer leadership development. FREE!

Dates: June 18-July 26 (dates & times vary by site)

Offered at: Andersen, Cityview, Folwell, Green Central, Jordan Park, Kenwood, Lincoln, Lucy Laney, Nellie Stone Johnson, Northeast, Sheridan, Sullivan, W. Harry Davis.

For more information and to register: call one of the sites listed above; phone numbers are available online at commed.mpls.k12.mn.us/YP_Summer

Youth Leadership & ServiceInnovative programs that support middle school and high school youth in developing leadership skills and peer networks so they can make a mean-ingful contribution to their communities. FREE!

Offered at: Folwell, Jenny Lind, Kwanzaa Church, W. Harry Davis.

Dates: June 18-July 26 (dates & times vary by site)

For more information and to register: call 668-3822.

Freedom SchoolA summer enrichment program with a focus on African American and Latino/Hispanic culture for youth entering grades 1-6. Includes music and dance, reading, math and strategy games as well as weekly parent meetings with community-building activities. FREE!

Offered at: W. Harry Davis

Dates: June 25-August 2

For more information and to register: call 668-2890 or 377-1786 for an application.

Do Something!This awesome organization is all about helping YOUth get out there and actually, well, DO some-thing. Check out their new feature on their vol-unteer page. Just enter your zip code and they’ll give you a long list of ways you can volunteer!www.dosomething.org/volunteer

Minneapolis Public Library Teen Advisory Group

Applications for the Teen Central Teen Advisory Group are being accepted now for 2007-08! Deadline for applications is June 12th. Each team meets twice monthly from June ’07-June ’08. Take your pick:

Gaming Tech Team: Plan and host gaming nights and tournaments in Teen Central, dream up cool technology-related programs for teens, and make a difference in Teen Central. You could have a say in what kind of video-game consoles and games the library will purchase.

Literary Team: Read and discuss new and recent books, get access to new teen books before they’re even published! Host the annual Teen Author Visit. You might have the opportunity to see your writing in a library publication!

Pizza and bus tokens provided. To request an application, call Christy at 612-630-6124 or e-mail [email protected]

Summer Happenings (Off the Couch)

Summer Volunteering In Kentucky

Liz Shay 11th Grade, Washburn High School

THIS IS A PHOTOGRAPH of the trailer home I worked on in Kentucky this summer. The roof had many holes

(the one pictured was in the kitchen) which made it impossible for the home owners to stay dry during rainy seasons. They actually had buckets and pots to catch the water. My youth group traveled down to Kentucky and helped out on a few homes. Our group completed a new roof for these homeown-ers and patched up the inside. Sure, we helped out these people, but I believe we got a lot of help in return. It made me real-ize that being a leader and a good citizen isn’t about doing what’s best for you. It’s about sharing your gifts with those who don’t have them.

How to make your copy of the Garden Club Zine

1. Trim off the white border that runs around the inside cover art for this issue of ShineOn!

2. With the zine side facing up, fold the cover in half length-wise to make a crease, then unfold.

3. Fold the paper in half widthwise and keep folded.

4. Fold one of the open edges up to meet the middle fold. Then turn the piece over and do the same thing on the other side.

If you have folded correctly, it should look like a “W” from the side.

This is called a “hotdog book” because the folded paper resembles a hotdog in a bun. The fold in the center is called the Hotdog.

5. You will now cut your hotdog in half. Follow the dotted line that runs down the center. DO NOT cut the bun!

6. Take one half of the cut hotdog in each hand and rotate the halves away from each other 90°.

From the top, it

will look like this

7. Re-crease all of your folds until they are crisp.

8. Fold the pages together into a book shape and crease along the spine.

9. Congratulations! You now have your own copy of the Garden Club zine!

This is your original fold

Cut Here

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young leaders rising spring 2007 a newspaper of service...

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