Academic Success! Scholars Day 12.20.07
 
 
Referred to as one of the most fulfilling Scholars Day trips that Young Scholars has coordinated, 39 students, 3 teachers, and 1 board member took a trip to the Build-A-Bear Workshop in the Cherry Hill Mall (New Jersey) to make teddy bear gifts for the children at the YMCA daycare. Preparing students to attend and succeed academically in the best high schools and colleges is our primary objective and Scholars Day is a day to recognize student academic achievement. The workshop began at 10am and lasted for 2 hours. It consisted of each student selecting a bear and stuffing the bear (while playing a hot potato game that required the students who got caught with the hot potato to do silly tasks like jumping jacks, while naming the seven dwarfs). After stuffing the bears, the students “washed” the bears, selected outfits and dressed the bears (selections included shirts, pants, dresses, shoes, and/or other accessories). The final station is at a computer table where the students created birth certificates for the bears.

After leaving the Cherry Hill Mall, students headed to the YMCA daycare center across the street from our school. Throughout much of the day, students were making statements about wanting to keep their bears. They had become attached, and they did not want to give up the bears they built. However, upon entering the classrooms at the YMCA and seeing the faces of 1 ½ -3 year-old toddlers, our scholars were immediately willing to give their bears up for the smiles they received from the children in return. The students were saying, “Awwwwwww,” as they saw the children light up with joy when they received their own teddy bears. We took group pictures with the young children, said our final ‘thank you’ and ‘goodbye’ and then headed back to school. The final piece of the day was a raffle. We only had 30 children to give bears to, which left us with 9 bears to raffle amongst our scholars. The students were very excited at the chance to bring a bear home.

Helping neighbors at Bache-Martin Elementary School
 
 
Community Involvement at Young Scholars Charter School
Middle School students are eager to act on their developing sense of justice and community responsibility. Young Scholars’ mission to provide students with a foundation of life skills required to become productive members of their communities requires students and their families/guardians to complete service hours. These hours instill in the students the habit of engaging in community service, and exposes students to the need within their communities.
 
On Saturday, December 1, 2007 students, teachers and administrators from Young Scholars rolled up their sleeves and joined other community partners at Bach-Martin Elementary School, located in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia. The group worked hard and added the finishing touches to a newly renovated library, organizing new library books and preparing the room for the upcoming opening. Students and others also put their hands to work by cleaning and painting other areas of the school in preparation for other educational enhancements. By helping our local friends at Bache-Martin Elementary, Young Scholars are helping their neighbors and becoming community leaders.