BCP August 2019 Newsletter
In this issue:

  • SAVE THE DATE: Are You Smarter than a BCP 5th Grader? on April 30, 2020
  • Relationship Building Through Lunch Bunches at Hampstead Hill Academy
  • Wolfe Street Academy Abounds with Partners, Parent Engagement and More ...
  • Robert Griffin III Gets City Springs Students Ready For Upcoming School Year With Free Haircuts, Supplies
  • Bon Secours, Kaiser Permanente and Graphcom support Healthy Living at Frederick Elementary
  • Dare to Be King Joins Govans Elementary After-School Program
SAVE THE DATE: Are You Smarter than a BCP 5th Grader? on April 30, 2020
Save the date for the ninth annual Are You Smarter than a BCP 5th Grader? Quiz Show Fundraiser on Thursday, April 30, 2020 from 6:15PM - 8:15PM at the American Visionary Art Museum.

Last year, 5th graders from City Springs Elementary/Middle School, Frederick Elementary, Govans Elementary, Hampstead Hill Academy and Wolfe Street Academy tied with City Councilman John Bullock, AVAM Founder Rebecca Hoffberger, WYPR Host Sheilah Kast, Walters Art Museum CEO Julia Marciari-Alexander, and Port Covington Impact Senior VP Alicia Wilson.

Tickets will go on sale in September. View the video of last year's event at https://youtu.be/27IM72vCd58 and stay tuned for more information.

Sponsorship opportunities are available. To learn more, contact Larry Schugam at bcpinfo@baltimorecp.org or call 410-675-7000.
Relationship Building Through Lunch Bunches at Hampstead Hill Academy
Reprinted from Hampstead Hill Academy's June 2019 Parent News Magazine
One of the things that school counselor Nicky Seymour and Director of Restorative Practices Steve Plunk do in Room 309 is run informal lunch bunches for small groups of students across grade levels.

The lunch bunches vary in size from 2 to 8 students. During the lunch bunches, students get to know one each other in a more relaxed setting. This time also provides an opportunity for the adult facilitator to check in regarding any social or academic challenges that the student is facing and provide assistance, as needed.

We were fortunate this year to have several volunteers assist with the lunch bunches. Nina Savage came to us through a counseling intern program at Johns Hopkins University. During her time at HHA, Ms. Savage had a chance to work with students in one-on-one and small group settings. Some of these small groups were lunch bunches.

In addition to Ms. Savage, HHA had another community member lend his services as a lunch bunch facilitator. Jack Nyquist, the Global Sales Manager at Personal Genome Diagnostics, volunteered his lunch time to facilitate lunch bunches with two groups of 5th grade students. The students quickly developed a connection with Jack, and they looked forward to his bi-weekly visits.

While we anticipate Nina will bring her amazing talents to another Baltimore City school and run many more lunch bunches of her own, Ms. Seymour and Mr. Plunk are hopeful for Jack’s return.
Wolfe Street Academy Abounds with Partners, Parent Engagement and More ...
Last school year Wolfe Street Academy (WSA) saw a plethora of new partnerships, parent engagement events, after school activities, and more. A summary of these activities is below. Read the full annual report by Leah Beachley, SWCOS Community School Coordinator, here.

New Partnerships

WSA welcomed three new partnerships this school year, each of which offered unique support to our school, students and families! In fall 2018, a volunteer group from Ernst and Young spent the day at WSA and revolutionized the school garden! The week before Thanksgiving, Ravens players Matthew Judon and Patrick Onwuasor donated 200 turkeys and bags of food to the WSA community. In the spring, volunteers from Morgan Stanley joined WSA students and staff for the annual Field Day in Patterson Park!

Parent Engagement makes a difference

New parent engagement resources included: the support of three bilingual MSW interns from the University of Maryland School of Social Work who helped parents with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program enrollment and renewal process, and Saturday morning Zumba classes.

Food Access Opportunities Increase in SY 18-19

WSA transitioned from being a traditional food pantry site to implementing a brand new program offered by the Maryland Food Bank, called the Heart Market. The Heart Market provides free fresh fruits and vegetables for families. WSA continued its partnership with the Compassion Center, which donated approximately 100 pounds of Trader Joe’s food to WSA families every week

Student Excellence

WSA’s expansive After School Program continued to offer students a variety of academic, enrichment, and extracurricular opportunities such as: Baltimore Urban Debate League, Robotics, and Financial Literacy. The students performed impressively at local competitions in each area.

PTO and OST Collaboration Supports Family Fun:

The Parent Teachers Organization (PTO) continued to support WSA through fundraising, hosting family activities, and funding school trips and projects. The WSA After School Program and the PTO joined forces and funds for the second year in a row to offer fun activities for students, families, and staff. Activities included skating at the DiPietro Family Skating Center in Patterson Park and a Family Movie Night.

A PSC Climate Collaborative School

In SY 18-19, the Positive Schools Center (PSC) at the University of Maryland School of Social Work selected WSA for participation in the Climate Collaborative. As a Climate Collaborative school, WSA devised a strategic plan to enhance the school's mindfulness and Restorative Practices initiatives.

The PSC provided a coach, Shawna Murray-Browne, who facilitated staff training throughout the school year. The process began with refresher training for school staff in the areas of mindfulness and Restorative Practices. As the year went on, Shawna conducted classroom observations and debriefed with teachers about their use of mindfulness and a restorative approach in the classroom. Shawna’s training helped connect the concepts of mindfulness and Restorative Practices on a school-wide level.
Robert Griffin III Gets City Springs Students Ready For Upcoming School Year With Free Haircuts, Supplies
The article below is reprinted from WJZ-13 CBS Baltimore .
With a week and a half left in summer vacation, two local athletes helped to make sure kids will be ready for the up and coming school year.

Students received backpacks, haircuts and a chance to play basketball with Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III on Friday at [City Springs Elementary/Middle School].

“Come out here and play with them. Something I always wished a professional athlete would have done for me growing up in Texas,” Griffin said. “So it’s pretty cool to get the chance to come out here and play ball with them.”

Pre-selected City Springs Elementary and Middle School students got a fresh cut and a backpack full of supplies.

“I was talking to the principal and she said a lot of kids won’t come to the first day of school because they don’t have a haircut,” Griffin said. “They don’t want to come to school and be bullied or not look the right way. So we want to bring them and give them some school supplies and start the year off the right way.”

It’s all thanks to the RGIII Foundation, the Ravens and the Baltimore Curriculum Project.

Read the full article and watch a video of the event at WJZ-13 CBS Baltimore .

Watch a video of the students getting haircuts on Robert Griffin III's Twitter page .

Thank you

BCP and City Springs Elementary Middle/School would like to thank Robert Griffin III, the RGIII Foundation and the Ravens for supporting our students. We would also like thank Ledo's Pizza, Coca Cola, Adidas, and the following barbers/barbershops: Chantay Ambrose, Hammer & Nails Grooming Shop for Guys, Korey Boyd, Mark Quick, Rob’s Barbershop Community Foundation, Shenika Brock, Tomeka Boyd, Troy Staton, and 1009 E Lombard St Barbershop.
Bon Secours, Kaiser Permanente and Graphcom support Healthy Living at Frederick Elementary
This year Bon Secours Hospital, one of Frederick Elementary School's (FES) key partners, is celebrating its centennial. Themed “A Century Ahead”, the celebration includes a student education initiative in the six elementary schools in the neighborhoods served by Bon Secours.

The student education initiative kicked off last fall with a pilot at FES. Bon Secours and Frederick Elementary have forged a strong partnership to help address the health and social services needs of Frederick families. Bon Secours Community Works, which serves as the lead Community School agency for FES, employs a full-time Community School Coordinator who is based on-site at the school.

As part of the initiative, Bon Secours partnered with Kaiser Permanente and Graphcom to create a health-related activity book for students. After exploring a variety of topics with FES Principal Harold S. Henry, Jr. and staff from FES and BCP, the team decided to focus on physical, mental and socio-emotional health.

With input from all partners, Graphcom designed and printed a fifty-six page activity book entitled Be Kind to Yourself: A Mind, Body, and Spirit Activity Book for Children. The book includes nine weeks of lessons on topics such as healthy eating, mindfulness, dealing with grief and loss, and conflict resolution.

"Graphcom gravitated toward this project because investing in the next generation was very appealing to them, said Julie Mercer, Vice President of Philanthropy & Development for Bon Secours Baltimore Health System. "They really jumped in with both feet and wanted to make a difference. It was totally out of the goodness of their own hearts."

The next step is to provide orientation for FES teachers on how to use the book. After the nine-week pilot program, Bon Secours will gather student and teacher feedback, and explore the possibility of expanding the program to include other schools.

FES and BCP would like to thank Bon Secours, Kaiser Permanente and Graphcom for providing this wonderful resource for our students and teachers.
Dare to Be King Joins Govans Elementary After-School Program
Last spring third, fourth and fifth graders in the Govans Elementary After-School Program spent time with Mr. David Miller, a Baltimore native who founded the Dare to Be King Project.

Dare to Be King inspires, supports, and strengthens organizations that provide services to boys of color. Their goal is to engage boys and men of color for emotional development, familial reconciliation, and academic success. There are also opportunities for girls and women to participate and benefit from this program, as was evident when Mr. Miller visited Govans.

During the visit, Mr. Miller shared a children's novel he authored entitled Khalil’s Way. The novel highlighted the journey of 11 year old Khalil Joseph, who grew up in a tough New Orleans community. His journey demonstrated how a young boy who excelled at math, but struggled with ADHD, dealt with being bullied in school.

Each student received a signed copy of the book and engaged in a discussion about bullying. Mr. Miller’s exceptional ability to connect with students and staff supported a thoughtful conversation. Thankfully, this was just the beginning.

Dare to Be King will continue to be a part of the after school program during school year 19/20. Students and families can look forward to dynamic workshops and guest speakers throughout the year.

Govans Elementary and BCP would like to thank Mr. Miller and the Dare to Be King team for working with us to continue building a strong community.

Learn more about Dare to Be King at: http://daretobeking.net/