The Camino Nuevo Way | December 2017
Student Talents Spread Holiday Cheer
Before we break for winter, we want to share highlights and invite you to celebrate some of the amazing work happening across our schools. Parents and staff helped make this year's holiday shows outstanding and our students were thrilled to share their talents and let their personalities shine on stage. Beyond holiday festivities, we celebrated our seniors who completed their UC and Cal State applications and are closer to going to college. We also sent 150 students to a leadership summit for girls and piloted our first Skype lesson with sixth graders and an award-winning author. Enjoy these stories and have a joyous holiday season!
Sixth Graders Skype with MacArthur Fellow
At Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, we want students to become imaginative and compelling writers. This week, Ruth Behar, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Michigan and the first Latina to receive a MacArthur “Genius” award, spoke to our sixth graders, via Skype, about how to use experiences that have changed their lives to write personal narratives. This was another example of how education and technology are creating opportunities for Camino Nuevo students. We are grateful to our faculty and Dr. Behar for working together to turn our students into powerful storytellers. 
At Early Education Center, A Focus on Equity
We were honored to host a forum in November with the leading voices of early childhood education. Among them Kim Pattillo Brownson, vice president of policy and strategy at First 5 LA, and Dianne Hackett, a faculty member at Loyola Marymount University. Camino Nuevo CEO Ana Ponce moderated the discussion, which focused on the benefits of early education and improving access to quality programs. A group of special guests toured our nationally-recognized preschool and learned how our bilingual, play-based approach is making a difference. "We are extremely proud of our program and the work we're doing to give kids the solid foundation they need to succeed in school," said Alicia Garcia, the preschool director.
'Our Girls Are Powerful. Our Girls Are Our Future'
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other prominent women from the technology and entertainment sectors delivered a powerful message about activism and leadership to thousands of young women gathered for this year's L.A. Promise Fund Girls Build Summit. Among them were 150 middle and high school students from Camino Nuevo schools. "I really do believe that girls and women are the future, but we have to believe it about ourselves," Clinton said in a speech. During the summit, L.A. Unified Interim Superintendent Vivian Ekchian (above) stopped to take a photo with a group of our students. Proud of our young ladies for engaging with issues they care about and taking on leadership roles.
A Holiday Toy Drive Delivers Joy to Families
Many thanks to a special team of Prudential employees for organizing a holiday toy drive benefiting the children of Camino Nuevo families. Sixty children from the Burlington campus were delighted and grateful to receive gifts, each one beautifully wrapped and personalized. Earlier this year, Prudential also partnered with us to provide Thanksgiving meals and children's backpacks to families at two other Camino Nuevo campuses.
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Camino Nuevo Charter Academy | Pueblo Nuevo Education and Development Group
3435 W. Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026 

Phone: (213) 417-3400 | Fax: (323) 663-3132 | www.caminonuevo.org