The Village Learning Place is thrilled to be a site for the supper program, and we’re excited to be able to offer this service to our LINK students. Not only is the food tasty, but LINK Supper is a great deal of fun! Each week everyone is abuzz with excitement about Wednesday evening. The first and 2^nd graders have made special placemats to dine on each Wednesday, and they affectionately wish each other a “happy day before LINK Supper day” on Tuesdays and a “happy LINK Supper day” on Wednesdays!

One student who has especially taken to the Wednesday tradition is fourth grader Daquan Williams. Each Wednesday, Daquan dresses in a suit, because, as he says, “You’re supposed to look snazzy for dinner!” Daquan says that he feels confident when he dresses in his fancy duds.

Daquan dressed up for LINK Supper

LINK Supper also provides an excellent way for LINK program graduates – now high school students—to give back to the LINK program and its current students.

“I came to the VLP when I was in the younger grades,” says ninth grader Wilber Portillo. “I started to come back to the VLP when I started to go to high school. I was glad to help out with Supper. I help with more than just that; I also help in the classrooms. It’s not just for me. I just want to help out and I want these students to come back to help out like we are doing now. I want them to give back to the little kids too. So I feel pleased to help out. I also have a good time with the teachers.”

James Harried, a ninth grader at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute who did not participate in LINK After School, also finds joy in lending a hand with LINK Supper. Harried’s friends, LINK program graduates, brought him to the VLP this year, and he’s enjoying his experience. Harried says, “I help out with the children and have fun at the same time. We and a couple of other friends help Mr. Kris (VLP’s Youth Programs Coordinator) with Supper…I enjoy this because most if not all of the food is nutritious. This gives me a chance to meet all of the students. It helps me stay focused.”

Thank you to The Family League of Baltimore City, Inc. for allowing us to be a part of this tremendous program. The Village Learning Place is looking forward to continuing to provide supper for our LINK students!

High schoolers lend a hand with LINK Supper each week

The Painted Lady Contest halted for a few years, but due to generous support from the Charles Village Community Foundation, it officially resumed in 2011. ACE Hardware, located in Waverly, joined in the fun and offered ten percent off on all paint purchased for the contest. New neighbors or long-time neighbors whose homes were in need of a refresher were all thrilled to have a special reason to rejuvenate their homes!

Two of these “new” neighbors are Naomi Levin and Ben Passey. Naomi and Ben moved into their Charles Village home in 2009, and Naomi says that the house was much in need of a paint job. The duo chose Charles Village for its beautiful houses and the true community feel, and at once, they knew they wanted to get started on their own house.  Last summer, they selected colors for their Painted Lady and hired Slater Painting to do the climbing, stripping, and painting. Shortly thereafter, Naomi and Ben heard about the Painted Lady Contest and decided to enter their home in the spirit of further engaging in their community and its on-goings.

Imagine Naomi and Ben’s surprise when they were declared among the contest winners and awarded a $500 prize! Immediately, Naomi says, they made a decision that they wanted to give their award back to the community. So, they spoke with contest organizer Dawna Cobb, and she suggested that they invest in the programs and services provided by the Village Learning Place. Naomi and Ben have been contributors to the VLP since moving to the area, and they were delighted by Dawna’s suggestion. “The VLP represents a lot of the things I believe in and offers what a community needs. It represents all of the good aspects of Charles Village and what Charles Village can become if we invest in our community and kids,” says Naomi.

Thank you, Naomi and Ben, for believing in us and choosing to invest in our programs and services!

Naomi and Ben's Painted Lady

]]> http://www.villagelearningplace.org/2012/05/winners-of-charles-village-painted-lady-contest-give-back-to-the-vlp/feed/ 0 http://www.villagelearningplace.org/2012/05/the-adultlescent-effort-byob-game-nights-saturday-morning-cartoon-trivia-and-beyond/ http://www.villagelearningplace.org/2012/05/the-adultlescent-effort-byob-game-nights-saturday-morning-cartoon-trivia-and-beyond/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 18:25:47 +0000 kate.maskarinec http://www.villagelearningplace.org/?p=2871 Once upon a time there was a beautiful library smack dab in the heart of Charles Village… but the library had a gloomy curse over it that made it invisible to some of the adults in the neighborhood.  Children loved the library, of course; it was their place for learning. And the neighborhood elders also loved the library; it was their place to gather for cultural and educational programming galore. But many adults, even those who lived just a few blocks away, had no idea the library existed. And, even those who lived close enough to see the library didn’t know it was a place for them. Some of these adults liked to go to loud places where they could drink beer, and they thought they weren’t allowed to make noise in a library, and they were SURE they couldn’t drink beer in a library. Little did they know that the beautiful library, smack dab in the heart of Charles Village was a PERFECT place to make noise AND drink beer with other adults. And thus, the library went unnoticed by the neighborhood adults for many years…

Luckily there is a happy ending to this truly tragic tale! A small group of staff members got together in the spring of 2010, determined to resolve the issue. After surveying their friends and coworkers they decided to start a series of monthly, B.Y.O.B. events – to be held in the Library – for the 21-40 crowd. They planned a summer of trivia nights to attract folks who were ‘bookish’, and because it was an opportunity to take something the local bars were doing and do it better. Topics were chosen, using input from the target audience, and included: Muppets, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Classic Video Games, Teen Dramas of the 90’s, and Comic Books. It quickly became clear to the committee that the target audience wasn’t really adults after all; rather it was ‘kids of the ‘70s and ‘80s.’ Thus the name ‘Adultlescent Effort’ was chosen, embodying the spirit of the ‘nerd generation.’

Trivia was a great success, not only was it well attended, but many new relationships were forged including those with local businesses that sponsored trivia nights by donating prizes and refreshments, including Charmington’s Café, Video Americain, and Shenanigans Toy Store. Over the course of the Summer, a few enthusiastic trivia goers began to stand out, and come fall, those few staff members had themselves an official volunteer committee. Fall brought a series of Bad Movie/Crappy Craft Nights, Winter meant Game Nights, along with one-off events like February’s Second Chance Prom – all BYOB, of course. May marks Baltimore’s first attempt at a Tweed Ride, a vintage inspired bike ride popular in DC, on the 26^th .  In June, the Adultlescent Effort will host an evening of Summer Camp-inspired fun with outdoor games and a marshmallow roast at the Charles Village Festival on the 2^nd.

These events give the young professional staff of the Village Learning Place opportunities to invite their friends and peers to events they actually want to attend themselves. All the events focus on fun, but ultimately serve the greater purpose of raising awareness about an amazing community library, and its mission of literacy, lifelong learning and cultural awareness.  Adultlescent Effort event attendees have returned to the VLP to sign up for library cards, donate books, start community partnerships, and to volunteer to help with other programs.  It comes as no surprise to those who know the VLP well, this cornerstone of the community and symbol of neighborhood pride has always been a great place for lasting friendships to grow.

Click here to learn more about the Adultlescent Effort and some of their fantastic upcoming events!

Attendees at the Adultlescent Effort 2nd Chance Prom enjoy all that the VLP library has to offer!

The Read the Small Print Initiative has given us a stellar collection of press materials that are unavailable at most libraries. Imagine visiting the VLP and leaving with a collection of short stories that your neighbor published- or a book of poems that an established Baltimore writer donated!

The reception will be held in collaboration with Cruelest Month Poetry and Performance Festival, (CruMoPoPerFest) a month-long performance festival sponsored by Poetry in the Community. Throughout the month of April, the Baltimore-based organization Poetry in Community—along with local literary organizations, publishers, and poets—sponsors a free community-centric festival at the VLP with readings, performances, free poetry distribution, public poetry displays, and more. Readings are hosted by a diverse group of poets and literary organizations and are held in venues that support community sustainability. There will be an Open Mic at each event to expose new and emerging writing talent.

Additional information, including a schedule of all CruMoPoPerFest events, as well as the map for Poem Walk: A Living Text tour is available online and at participating businesses, cafes, and restaurants.

LINK Summer 2012

LINK Summer 2012 will run from June 25^th- August 3^rd. To be eligible students must be currently enrolled in PreK- 8^th grade and must be able to attend the entire six week program. To enroll your child in LINK Summer at the Village Learning Place you must Pre-Register and then attend a mandatory parent orientation.

• Pre-Registration for returning LINK Students (current LINK After School students or LINK Summer participants last year) will open May 7^th.
• Pre-Registration for new LINK Students will open May 9^th.
• After Pre-Registration opens, it will be ongoing.
• Pre-Register in the VLP Library during normal library hours.

To fully register your child, a parent or adult caregiver must attend the mandatory orientation on June 14^th at the VLP. See you this summer at the VLP!

*You must bring your Baltimore City Public School student’s Student ID number with you to register them into the program! This number can be found on their report card.

Please click here for a list of FAQs about LINK Summer 2012!

“Creating the boats was a fun way to learn about buoyancy, “says one 4^th grade student. “It was fun to see which boat would hold the most and whose boat would tip. I learned the importance of creating a boat with sturdy sides.”

“The lesson was intended to teach the students how boats are able to be buoyant and travel in the water,” said Kate. “The students were able to learn the ways to load a ship/boat properly to disburse weight, which will help to make the boat buoyant.”

Did you know? A lesson in buoyancy also turned into a lesson in history. The students also learned the history of the famous marble steps in Baltimore. The marble steps found along Baltimore’s city streets are as much a part of our culture as crabs and Hons! Kate’s class learned that this marble was originally stored on a ship’s hull for balance, which created buoyancy on a ship to allow it to travel across the Atlantic Ocean. Some of the marble is even from the same quarry as the famous Washington Monument’s marble- and the science of buoyancy made this possible!

Oh no! It looks like a current tipped the passengers overboard!

Click here to see more Disco-tastic photos from Spaghetti Disco XIV!

Did you notice that this year’s Spaghetti Disco was our greenest yet?  On top of promoting online ticket sales to cut down on paper usage and utilizing compostable plates and silverware, we also partnered with Waste Neutral (link to website) to help manage the overwhelming amount of trash from the night of the event.   Special cans were set up around the room and in the kitchen, to encourage folks to help us recycle and compost over 420 lbs of waste!   We are excited about this new partnership with Waste Neutral and plan to incorporate more eco-friendly practices into future events.  Let us know if you have any ideas!

Thanks, Waste Neutral!

VLP’s Executive Director, Liesje Gantert, and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake celebrate Read Across America Day with green eggs and ham!

On Friday, March 2, the Village Learning Place celebrated Read Across America Day by having a few special guests stop by and read to our LINK After-School kids.

Started in 1998 by the National Education Association, Read Across America Day is an annual event designed to motivate children and create lifelong successful readers. This event also happens to coincide with the much-loved children’s author Dr. Seuss’s birthday. The Village Learning Place marked this fun occasion by having Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Fox 45’s Jennifer Gilbert and Maryland State Department of Education’s Ava Spencer join us at the VLP library to read a Dr. Seuss favorite to LINK’s Pre-K through 4^th graders. Students spent the rainy Friday afternoon enjoying Green Eggs & Ham (both the book and snacks!), debating whether the Lorax was a person or an animal, and following along with the tongue-twisting rhymes of Fox in Socks. Additionally, each LINK student received a book to add to their personal collection.

A guest reader shares her favorite Dr. Seuss book with LINK students

Want to learn more about what is happening in our LINK After School program?  Check out this great story about our 5^th and 6^th graders learning sign language.  And, click here for our latest LINK Newsletter to discover what exciting lessons are taking place in our classrooms.

Students Ary’Jah and Kaniah signing to one another

Of her experience, Helen says, “I really enjoyed meeting the class and helping them improve their signing. Signing isn’t just about using the right hand motions, but also about how we make the most of our natural facial expressions and body language to communicate more clearly with each other. Learning sign is a great precursor to learning American Sign Language, the language of the Deaf community in the United States. I found the students to be delightful, engaging, and excited about their learning. They picked signs up quickly and I loved how they were willing to try a sign out, even if they weren’t familiar with it yet. We had such a good time. I personally appreciated the classroom visit because using sign language with the students helped me to better understand what they were saying, and to make more connections with them. I appreciated Ms. Liza and Ms. Maren’s (5^th/6^th grade teacher and assistant teacher) invitation to work with the students. I am looking forward to visiting again!”

LINK student Daezire Gregory was excited to talk about her experience as well! “Sign language is a cool language because you can use your fingers to speak, instead of saying it with your voice.  So if you lost your voice or you’re deaf, you can use sign language!  Ms. Helen didn’t know us, so we got to say our names in sign language and tell her about ourselves in sign language.  That was fun…because our room was silent!!  Instead of Ms. Liza speaking, she was talking to us in sign language.  Ms. Helen was proud of us, because we knew how to speak sign language.  One day, if you come to the VLP, we will teach you how to do sign language too!” –Daezire Gregory

If there’s a special skill you think you’d enjoy teaching to our LINK students, please let us know! We’re always looking to expand our horizons at the VLP!