LACASA After School

Manhattan Beacon School's racial hope dims

Manhattan Beacon School's racial hope dimsFriday, May 15th 2009, 4:00 AMSchools head Joel Klein got a letter blasting lack of diversity at Beacon. Miller for NewsSchools head Joel Klein got a letter blasting lack of diversity at Beacon.The Beacon School, a high performing public high school on Manhattan's West Side, counts the children of some powerful city figures among its students.

Manhattan Beacon School's racial hope dims

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Doris Rosenblum Youth Leadership Awardees

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Originally uploaded by Strycker's Bay.

This year’s recipients of the 2nd Annual Doris Rosenblum Youth Leadership Awards are active members of Strycker’s Bay’s Youth Program, LACASA —Learning Action Center for Academic Success and Achievement and are great leaders in the making:

Zoe Cohen started out as a LACASA volunteer last year and is now a part of the staff. She is responsible for LACASA taking part in Project Cicero’s Annual Non-Profit Book Drive. Hundreds of books were collected and donated through this effort. Zoe is currently organizing a dance at The Ethical Culture Fieldston High School, where she currently attends as a junior, to raise money for LACASA. She plans to attend college in 2010 and pursue a career in child development.

Robert Evan Flores, has been part of the LACASA program since age 9. He is now a freshman at St. Agnes Boys High School. As an intern in our high school program, Evan assists in delivery of lesson plans and providing homework help. He is also responsible for helping to safely escort program participants to LACASA. Evan shows a great deal of dedication, initiative and responsibility for the work he is involved in at LACASA. As one of the youngest interns in our program, Evan has become a confident member of our high school internship team and plans to continue working with us next year.

Frances Irizarry currently in her senior year at The Notre Dame School Francis has just become a part of the LACASA family this year as a high school intern. In a short period of time she has learned to utilize the tools the program offers for her personal growth and development. This has strengthened her ability to succeed in school while learning to deliver lesson plans and help run our science club. Francis holds true the mission of LACASA – work to reach your personal and academic potential. Francis will be attending Long Island University next year and wants to become a marine biologist.

Meet Our Counselors!

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Originally uploaded by Strycker's Bay.

This week we are happy to introduce Senior Counselor- Shauna-Kay Grant! Shauna has been an employee of Strycker's Bay for the past three years. She has matured, grown and shown great potential to excel. Shauna works well with her peers and has an uncanny ability to motivate her group. Also, Shauna is an excellent art instructor and our beautiful murals around PS 84 are proof of this.

Here's to you Shauna!

Lincoln Center Comes to LACASA!

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Originally uploaded by Strycker's Bay.

Through improvisation, storytelling and acting, students from the LACASA Lincoln Center Drama Team put together different renditions of "The Frog Bride.' LACASA's Lincoln Center drama team is broken down into two groups; K-2nd grade led by Barbara Tirrell and 3rd-5th grade led by April Armstrong. The two groups met weekly every Wednesday. The weekly workshops consisted of drama excercises, reading, writing, drawing and acting. Students from the drama team were also treated to two performaces of the "The Frog Bride" by David Gonzalez. Throughout their 14 week session, the students learned to bring forth their inner dramatic sides. With intense analyzation of the "The Frog Bride", students created, illustrated, and acted out their own versions of the "The Frog Bride". Through intensive organization and preparation, the K-2nd grade group led by Ms.Tirrell, created a DVD with the cast of the entire class, depicting the original version of the 'The Frog Bride'. Their efforts were recognized and greatly acknowledged by parents and staff during the final day of Lincoln Center. April Armstrong's 3rd-5th grade students used improvisation and created their own verisons of the 'The Frog Bride'. The students picked out scenes from the story and modified them to fit their interest. Some students even went to the length of changing the entire story line and only keeping the characters names. April Armstrong's team performed for parents and staff on the final day of Lincoln Center. Their performances were very much enjoyed.