Girl Talk with Ms. Murray
Tag Archives: Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center
Xavien, again
Beautification Day
The beginning of April. The start of Spring. April 1st. My sister, April, hosted her first beautification day in the neighborhood. Homeowners, the Youth, dog walkers, teachers, children not yet in school- all were welcome to come and beautify the neighborhood.
Lilly, Michael, Angel, Sylvester, Murray
The amazing crew at The Mary Mitchell Center
My staff who supports me in so many ways and help me run the After School Program
Quincy Jones & Ms. Holmes
Teaching them how to Tie a Tie
Randhes & The Cop
In February when the kids took a trip to Philly, we ran into a lot of police which got the children super excited!! (We visited the city during the time Vice President Pence was there which meant a lot of marches and rallies…crazy traffic and high security.
In this photo Randhes is trying to remember how to take a picture with his tablet…while the SWAT cop is smiling for the real deal! A canon camera!
Cooking with Ms. Nancy
Ms. Nancy’s last Day
Ms. Nancy, the chef from Cornell University ran an eight week program at the center, teaching the children how to eat and cook healthy. I enjoyed working with her because she never allowed me to apologize for the children and their sinful ways!
Don’t worry, Miss Lilly, she would say when I wanted to apologized for the children making a huge mess or talking while she was trying to teach, I know they are children and they just want play at this point.
At the end of every day, she would have a short debrief with me and assure me that my children were good. Which always made me feel great. She never showed any signs of being stressed out.
She also congratulated my staff. They are very helpful, Ms. Lilly, especially that tall one, Ms. Murray.
The children are still cooking every Tuesday and better yet, cooking her recipes, with Ms. Murray.
Tabling at Wildlife High School
Last weekend I tabled for Mary Mitchell at Wild Life high school for their health fair with some of my colleagues. The new intern for the After School Program, Arianna, came along and was a great help. Sylvia, Ana and Ms. Aleyna were also there. We all work together but for different aspects of the center so our table was full of resources.
Just to talk about Arianna a bit. She started working at the center two weeks ago. During our quick and fun interview process, she shared with me a secret…. ‘I don’t know much English, Ms.’ She seemed very bashful and somewhat ashamed. She was so shy that on her first day of work, she brought in her older sister (who spoke English and worked with me before) to speak on her behalf….(Her sister encouraged her and to her surprise… left her there to fend for herself). Nonetheless, after working around the center for three weeks, Arianna started opening up. She is speaking more and even translating for others!
During the health fair, I turned to Arianna and told her that she was going to table alone for one hour. I gave her quick instructions on what to say to the people and left. When I returned she had a huge smile on her face. She not only spoke to people about the center but got others to sign up for the La Canansta Program and even participated in a raffle and won a tee-shirt!
I have been working with the Pathways to Graduation Internship Placement Program for three years and I enjoy it. I’ve met great people starting with the development coordinator, Ms. Ocean. She does a fantastic job of linking the Mary Mitchell After School Program with great students who work along with the center. Arianna is one of the many students who I get joy in seeing grow and flourish in positive ways.
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