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  • A LAB Update: September 2011
  • Dec 2010/The LAB'S Local (and hopefully Lucrative) Holiday Love-Fest!
  • Generosity & Gratitude – May 2010
  • Project & Mentorship Spotlight – Feb 2010
  • The Lab E-Newsletter: Back to School/Fall 2010
  • The Lab: November 2010/Thank you to Community Supporters
  • The Lab: Off to the races for 2nd Session! (January 30, 2011)

On Monday, the Wellness LAB went on a field trip to Base Camp (http://www.explorebasecamp.org/) at Fort Snelling. Three boys were able to attend the trip and it was a great time for them to be able to bond and challenge themselves as a group. They started the trip with rock climbing on the outdoor rock climbing wall. All three boys (plus our amazing para, Ms. V!) were able to climb to the top of the wall! Our awesome intern Brady was also able to challenge himself and try out the climbing wall. After that challenge, the boys decided that they wanted to try something a little harder, so they gave the high ropes course a try. The high ropes course is 32 feet above ground and consists of tight ropes, a cargo net, and other obstacles one must face to go from one end to the other. This was much more of a challenge for them all, but we were proud of the boys who did give it a shot and were able to make it most or all of the way through the course. All of the boys really pushed themselves to try something they didn’t think that they would like or be able to do. It was a great team building experience as well as an experience in facing challenges and obstacles and finding ways to overcome them. As an extra added bonus, the day was absolutely beautiful weather, the boys got some great views of Fort Snelling, and we were able to get them t-shirts to remember the experience. Check out the pictures of the course! 

We’ve been working hard this week in the Visual Lab! We’ve been learning about making art in collectives or groups and how that process can change the world we live in. This week we learned about Tim Rollins + K.O.S., a youth artist collective out of New York City that made history. We’ve been working on a mural together combining drawings we made while listening to the words of Bell Hooks, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. On wednesday we had the opportunity to visit High Point Center for Printmaking in Minneapolis and make our very own Mono Prints! We worked with master printmakers and saw cool art being made. www.highpointprintmaking.org

On Wed, May 2 staff and students at The LAB and Journeys Secondary School participated in a Health Fair event. The event was a part of our Global Youth Service Day Project, funded by a Delta Dental Serve a Smile mini-grant. In this Delta Dental Serve a Smile service- learning project students participated in a public awareness campaign about health and wellness for marginalized communities. About 12 students were a part of the planning stages of the project. Additionally, two students created projects on health topics of their choosing to display at the event, and 4 other students assisted with setting up and running the health fair smoothly. In addition to students, 7 organizations were present at the fair to provide information, 2 adult volunteers were on hand to help serve up healthy snacks, and 15 LAB and Journeys staff assisted with setting up, running, and cleaning up the event. 15 students were able to participate in the fair along with the parents of 2 students.

 

At the Health Fair, students got a free healthy snack and then received a passport in which they collected stamps for visiting the booths and asking questions, participating in activities, and learning about what each organization or student was offering. Once students completed their passports, they could enter to win prizes. Students also received hygiene kits full of plenty of dental health supplies donated by Delta Dental of MN and Metro Dental Care along with other basic hygiene items donated by staff at Journeys Secondary School and their friends and families. Students also picked up plenty of information from the participating organizations, the services they provide, and how to access them. Our hope is that students will take these tools and use them to live healthier lives.

 

The LAB would like to give a HUGE thank you to the following organizations for attending the fair to give students and their families much needed tools for staying healthy: Safe Zone, Children’s Dental Services, 1000 Petals, Marc Anderson, SPPS Health Services, United Family Medicine, and Ramsey County Extension Services.

 

The event was also one of the first steps in helping students think about action steps and ideas for creating an Urban Community Garden in the Journeys School yard (Note: due to the building being closed for construction all summer, the installation of the garden has been postponed to Fall 2012). Over the next few weeks, students will continue to think about how they can contribute to the community and dream up some ideas for what our garden will look like come September!

This week the Visual Art Pathway took a trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and had a blast! We were able to take a look at some of the artists we’ve been learning about in class and gain some inspiration from artists we’ve never seen before. Students were given digital cameras to document and record their experience with the job of finding one piece that was especially meaningful to them. Half of our time was spent exploring the museum with partners and half was spent in the group with time for reflection and conversation about all the beautiful art. We saw art from all over the world and many different time periods. Our students did a fantastic job representing The LAB and our school. They showed so much maturity and passion for their work in the Visual Art Pathway. Here are some of the awesome images students captured!

On Monday in the Wellness Pathway, we took a look at how the pizza that we made together last week stacked up against a frozen pizza and a pizza delivery place. We found out that not only was our pizza much healthier than the other two types, we also liked that it was fun to make our pizza and that we had more control over what kinds of things went into our pizza. We did decide that it is much quicker to make the pre-prepared type of pizza, though. We also made our own version of granola bars and shared them as a healthy snack before heading to the gym to play some games.

On Tuesday, we made a music video and discussed the effect that music has on our bodies and our minds. Music has a way of helping a lot of people, including our students, relax. Sometimes it also has the benefit of making us want to dance, which is a great way to get in some cardio exercise!

On Wednesday, we made caesar salad from scratch. Everyone was really surprised about the ingredients that go into homemade Caesar dressing, particularly the anchovies. One student even tried an anchovy plain! It was fun to watch all of the students take risks with this when they realized that it wasn’t going to turn out like the stuff we normally buy in the store, and it turned out that everyone really enjoyed it. In the middle of class, we took an exercise break at the suggestion of one of the students. It was a good way for them to get their heart rate up and get some of the energy out before heading back to talk about culture and community health. We started thinking about what we can do in our community to help solve some of the problems that we know exist such as poverty, homelessness, obesity, and violence. Later this year, we’ll choose one or more of these issues and carry out service projects in our community to help address them.

On Thursday, we spent some time reviewing and reflecting on what we have learned over the past three weeks. We also got to transplant some of the plants that were growing like crazy so that now they have more room to grow! I think that soon we’ll have a few beans to test out. Everyone can’t wait for the plants to start producing some of the other herbs, flowers, and vegetables so we can give them all a try. We’re even more excited to install the garden. Even though it’s had to be postponed September due to construction happening at the school this fall that will turn off the water for the entire summer, we’re still very excited to see some of plants to outside in large planters as soon as the weather starts cooperating. Stay tuned for more information on that!

The next three weeks of the pathway will focus more on community. This will mean community building as a group of students as well as accessing community resources. One of the field trips that we are most excited about is to Base Camp (http://www.explorebasecamp.org/) to give the Ropes Course a try. We’re also going to visit some community gardens, a Farmer’s Market, and several other places! 

We are approaching the end of our first week of  The LAB Pathways and we’re very excited about the new kinds of opportunities it will provide students this quarter.

Each afternoon, students participate in one of the following three Pathways:  The Poetry LAB/Performance Pathway, The  Visual Art LAB Pathway and The Wellness LAB/Gardening Pathway.

Each Pathway is designed to help students develop healthy coping strategies, collaboration/communication skills, and critical creative thinking. Students are guided through three major themes of Self/Identity Formation, Community Building, and Social Change.

In the Visual Art LAB, art becomes a tool for personal and collective transformation. As we say in our group, “Everyone is an artist and everyone is welcome.”  and ”Creativity is merely thinking something in your head or feeling something in your heart and making it reality.   This creativity can come through and result in a painting, a poem, a better reality in school, at home or in the neighborhood.”  The point is to use your personal creative power to create the life you want.  Art can be a vehicle for this change.

This week we’ve been working on self portraits, identity diagrams, expressionist painting and ceramics.  What you see here are some samples of student work.

As this first week comes to a close, here are some student comments about their experiences in the Pathways:

“I dunno, art just makes me feel good and calms me down.” -C

“This class is cool, I didn’t even think about going truant today because I wanted to be here.” -V

“Actually, I am thankful to be in this school because in most schools, I wouldn’t be able to be in a class like this”. K

At each Pathway, students do a “check in & and check out”, letting us know how they are feeling about being in the Pathway a the beginning of the group and at the end of the group.  The scale is a 1-10 scale, 10 being “very good!”  Several students in the Poetry LAB Pathway have offered the following check ins & check outs:

“I’m checking in at a 20,000″

“I’m checking out at infinity!”

This week in The Wellness LAB Pathway students have explored a variety of ways to be healthy in mind, body and spirit.  This week, students experienced several activities to add to their toolbox of ways to keep themselves mentally and physically healthy and well. The list of experiential wellness activities over the course of the quarter will include such things such as:  fitness activities, mindfulness and meditation, planting a community garden, learning about nutrition and cooking and animal assisted education with therapy dogs.

On Monday, students planted several seeds. Over the next 9 weeks, students will take care of these seedlings and track their growth until they eventually transplant them outside in our new school garden later this month.  Student will work with a team from Home Depot to design, build and plant our Journeys Community  Garden this spring as a part of the Wellness Pathway.

On Tuesday, students had the chance to participate in AnimalAssisted Education with Ms. Michelle and her three pups, Ranger, Luna and Dusty. The group talked about responsible pet ownership and how petting a dog can be so calming and can actually lower our blood pressure!

 

On Wednesday, we did Bike Spinning and “Spartacus” workout in the gym and are learning what their target heart rate during exercise is and how they can measure that. After that, students dissected a bean seed with Ms. Megan and learned what all of the parts of a seed are and how they contribute to the plant’s growth. They also learned about the other factors that contribute to solid plant growth. At the end of class, they began several experiments based on the things they learned to see if the hypothesis they made would actually happen.

On Thursday, students prepared a meal of tacos and smoothies to share as a group. They also discussed the culture of food and how it influences their lives and the lives of those around them.

Today (Friday), we will be doing Improv theater games, and talking about self-expression.  

This week, The Poetry LAB Pathway has launched with amazing energy.  These students all took great risks, showed immense courage and wrote some really beautiful and real pieces. We kicked off the week with a performance for all of the students by Desdamona, a local spoken word artist and musician, and our own Noah B, and Glo.  Check out this link (click here) to read about our very own Glo, our Creative Arts Specialist who is leading our Poetry LAB Pathway.  He was featured in the Metro Magazine in April.  Learn more about Desdamona at the following link (click here).  Each of these performers showed our youth the power of performance, and pieces that tell an honest and deep story, all in a creative and exciting way.  Each of these performers are  inspirations to our students that finding our talents has great pay offs.

When you think of writing in the sense of poetry and/or rapping, it’s real easy to just look at it as something fun to do, a nice hobby; it’s entertainment aspect. What is often neglected by the listener is the absolute release the poet / performer gets from being able to sit down with themselves, and if they are willing, really tell their story. Share their feelings. Expose their lives; the good and bad.  This is what The Poetry LAB is all about — self expression that serves the emotional health and sense of pride for our youth.

Here is one of the written pieces we wanted to share with you….

It’s hard out here trying to make a dime
Walking these streets, gun sounds going through my mind
I’ve been shot before but I ain’t really mind
because my brother and my sister was always on my mind
I stay away from jail and coffins
and I’m at peace.

~ D

What you are about to hear is a sample of just SOME of what was recorded in our studio. This is our first recording and there is so much more they want to do with this song but if you listen, you’ll hear the sincerity and genuine relief of being able to express in a positive  way and more importantly, to be heard.

Click the arrow below to hear a recorded piece completed this week.

 

Over the past nine weeks we’ve had the privilege at The LAB of cooking and eating with four phenomenal students. Today marked the end of our journey as a group with an awesome field trip to St. Paul College’s Culinary Arts program. Over the past nine weeks students have learned valuable skills for life on their own which could also propel them into exciting careers in the culinary arts and hospitality. Some of the dishes prepared by students were pizza, pasta, vietnamese spring rolls, tacos, caesar salad and apple pie! On behalf of all of us who benefitted from these students and the delicious creations they made, we’d like to say a huge thank you and congratulations on all your hard work!

We here at The LAB would like to say a huge congratulations to all of our incredible students who shared their unique gifts and talents at yesterday’s showcase. Here is a small video sampling of what’s been going on here in the past few weeks. Have a great spring break everybody!

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