Programming Spotlight: Joelle Wellington and Making Music at NYPL

 Photos and collages by Jamila Abdulrashid

The Blonde Dies First  . . . since when?  Well, since author Joelle Wellington wrote her young adult horror thriller.  Students from Passages Academy--Bronx Hope site attended an author talk and received a free autographed copy of this novel on a school trip to the Stavros Niachros Foundation Library (SNFL) in Midtown Manhattan.  

There the author discussed her process and inspiration for writing the book.  And while at SNFL  they also experienced the Teen Music Lab and created an audio recording of their raps which the sound engineer edited to create a single.   All of these activities were FREE!   You have to love the New York Public Library!--Jamila Abdulrashid

Halloween Papertoy Monsters Tradition Continues

photo credit: Jessica Fenster-Sparber

On Halloween we were happy to continue the tradition of offering a Papertoy Monster program inside of our school library at Belmont.  Students expressed their delight with this hands on activity and their enthusiasm to continue to craft the little creatures back at the house over the long weekend was infectious.  We are grateful to Literacy for Incarcerated Teens (LIT) for continuing to sustain this tradition with the book from Brian Castleforte.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Programming Spotlight: Field trip to the Jay-Z exhibit at BPL

photo credits: Jamila Abdulrashid

During September & October 2023, students from Bronx Hope took a trip to visit the Jay-Z Exhibition at the Brooklyn Public Library. On display were various artifacts from the career of the legendary rapper including magazine covers & Grammy Awards. In addition, for a limited time only, any New Yorker with membership to the Brooklyn Public Library can obtain any of the limited-edition Jay-Z library cards.  Click here to see them all.--Jamila Abdulrashid

NYPL's College and Careers Pathways at Passages Academy--Belmont

Would you like to have $1000 to spend toward your postsecondary plans?  Would you be willing to complete 30 library programs and a portfolio of documents to prepare yourself for your postsecondary journey?  Passages students at Belmont learned about the opportunities offered by the New York Public Library’s College and Careers Program last month from the manager of the program itself, Katrina Ortega. 

The “magic money” program, aka ICCAAN, is just one of many ways the public libraries offer support to teens as they consider their options after secondary school.  We can’t thank Katrina enough for personally visiting with all of our students inside Belmont’s school library, building bridges, and signing students and staff up for library cards. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Programming Spotlight: New Victory Residency + ELA collaboration

This month students at Belmont participated in a New Victory residency program that brought two extraordinary teaching artists from the theatre into our school library for a week.  The gifted teaching artists were Marisol Rosa-Shapiro and Ugo Anyanwu who led the series of workshops at Belmont  which were bookended by two trips to the New Victory theater where we saw productions of both Romeo and Juliet  and The Three Musketeers.  

Our two wonderful teaching artists played theater games with us,  taught us to give compliments and Shakespearean insults,  facilitated the drafting of an original soliloquy, and had us read and recite pieces from the classic texts connected to  the two plays we saw at the New Victory. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Programming: Field Trip to Queens Library Teen Space

Image of the interior from Library Journal article by Lisa Peet

On Friday, April 8th, three of us educators (librarian, ELA teacher, Speech-language pathologist) took our Martin DePorres group to the Queens Library’s Hunters Point branch teen space.  We were met by teen librarian Maggie Johnson who had worked with her team to prepare library cards for our students in advance of their arrival. 

Students completed a library scavenger hunt, learned how to print using their new library cards, and enjoyed a board game. When our visit was over, students said they did not want to leave and can’t wait to go back.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Programming Spotlight: Mindful Coloring

Last month during the week of December 20 the library at Belmont collaborated with Rebecca Fernandez, School Psychologist, and Michael Morgan, Social Worker, to offer a mindful coloring program to all seven of the groups currently at Belmont. 

Unfortunately, two groups went into quarantine at the start of the week,  but the remaining five visited the library as a regularly scheduled part of their week and were introduced to mindfulness and mindful coloring.  While we played ambient music in the background, we distributed coloring books and gel pens,  and then and there staff and co-teachers were invited to join the students in mindful coloring.

All the students who participated were gifted with the coloring book they had been using to color,  and were encouraged to use it as a coping tool during the break or whenever stress was getting to them.   To the houses of the two quarantined groups we sent coloring books and directions for mindful coloring for each student.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Interdisciplinary Collaborations-- Hidden Figures

Interdisciplinary Hidden Figures Unit Leadership Team meets at the start of 2018 to co-plan at the Intrepid.

Ms. Chau supervises an NSD student bottle rocket launch after teaching students how to create their own rockets in February.

The books are ready to be distributed to every student at Belmont.

Ms. Ikawa leads "I Have, Who Has... in Ms. Ernyey's Advisory

At the Intrepid, students are challenged to complete simple tasks with gloves on to simulate the challenges faced by astronauts in outer space.

At MoMath in March!

Interdisciplinary Collaborations-- Hidden Figures

At the end of January we kicked off an interdisciplinary collaborative literacy initiative in advisory classes with two language learning activities to prepare students to engage with Hidden FiguresYounger Readers’ Edition.  Our school’s principal purchased a copy of this new paperback for each and every student and we had the fun job of partnering with advisors to distribute these gifts.  Students expressed satisfaction that they would be able to keep the books and were generally eager to begin reading them.

Ms. Ikawa, Speech-Language Pathologist, led students through a round of “I Have… Who Has” first, and then I introduced the terms associated with front matter and back matter.  We walked through the back matter together and concluded with a small competition to see who could utilize the index most efficiently.  Students did not want to stop looking things up at the end of the period.

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Approximately one month later, the unit concluded with hands on learning experiences at the IntrepidMuseum (for placement students) and the National Museum of Mathematics (for detention students.)  We were so consumed with the work at hand--science, literacy, social studies were all involved-- we had little time left over to post, but here are a few photos of the highlights. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber, School Librarian, Belmont

Programming Spotlight: Pre-theater and Post-Theater Visits from the New Victory Theater

Stepping during a pre-theater visit on 11/6/17.

A gallery walk during a post-theater visit on 11/13/17.

On November 8th we teachers and our administrators took all of our students at Passages Academy--Belmont to the New Victory Theater to see Step Afrika’s The Migration: Reflections On Jacob Lawrence.  The performance blended step, jazz, and African choreography with jazz, African, and gospel music to bring panels from Jacob Lawrence’s essential Migration Series to life for a young audience.  When I asked students what they thought of the show one student, D., responded by telling me the next time I take her to a dance performance, it needs to be longer.  Presumably so that she may enjoy it all the more.

We weren’t able to take pictures inside the theater, but here are a couple of moments we captured of the New Victory’s excellent pre-theater and post-theater workshops provided by teaching artists Chad Beckim and Janet Onyenucheya.  Pre-theater workshops  included step dancing exercises which helped students identify what they would see and appreciate the depth of performers skill and preparation.  Post-theater workshops invited students to engage with Lawrence’s artwork and recreate poses from selected panels, and think about how it feels to experience the poses of the figures from the paintings.  Click here for more photos and more about the interdisciplinary collaboration--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Programming Spotlight: American Museum of Natural History

Students exploring dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History yesterday.  Photo: Jessica Fenster-Sparber

How did the universe come into being and how has it changed over the last 13 billion years?  What is dark energy and how do we know it exists?  How are species endemic to Cuba affected by what we do here in the United States?  How much krill can a blue whale consume in one day?

Students residing in Lutheran and St. Johns houses were invited to wonder about these questions and more in conjunction with a field trip yesterday to NYC's most popular field trip destination, the American Museum of Natural History.  Four of us teachers at Belmont crafted a mini-interdisciplinary unit for the end of the instructional school year melding science, information literacy, advisory, and special education to scaffold a positive learning experience and provide access to the museum for detained youth.  We thank Literacy for Incarcerated Teens for funding the gift of the visit to our students.--Elaine Latham, Shelley Leibusor, Milena Mihalache, and Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Programming Spotlight: Dream Jordan Visits Horizon Juvenile Detention Center

Dream Jordan visits Passages Academy's school library at Horizon Juvenile Detention Center on May 10th, 2017.  Photo credit: Claudio Leon.

Author of YA novels Hot Girl and Bad Boy, Dream Jordan, visited the Horizon library on May 10th. She spoke with several students about her work and her life and gave students advice on how to stay above the problems they often face. Ms. Jordan was very inspiring to our students and they all loved getting to meet and speak with her. --Claudio Leon

Programming Spotlight: X: Or Betty Shabazz v. The Nation at the New Victory Theater

All four photos X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation, by Marcus Gardley, directed by Ian Belknap
The Acting Company

Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson

On Friday, March 24th, a small group of teachers at Belmont accompanied our placement students to Manhattan's New Victory Theater to see Marcus Gardley's X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation.  Teaching artists Chad Beckim and Janet Oneyenuchea returned to Belmont on Monday to debrief with our students, some of whom spoke at length in response to the discussion questions the teaching artists posed.  It was wonderful to see them draw out the synthesis that had taken place in many attendees' minds since the start of the unit back in February as they reflected on their learning experiences.

We are grateful to everyone at the New Victory Theater for their steadfast support of our students' learning and unwavering encouragement to New York City's detained youth, and to Literacy for Incarcerated Teens (LIT) for the funding to purchase such a large block of tickets so that all placement students and their chaperones could share this special theater-going experience together.  Thank you!--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Authors and Artists Series: Patricia McCormick visits Bronx Hope

Patricia McCormick visits Bronx Hope's school library.  Photo credit:  Allison Trevaskis

On Monday, February 13th, two-time National Book Award finalist, author, Patricia McCormick met with multiple groups of students at the Bronx Hope library.  The students impressed Ms. McCormick with their thoughtful questions about her books Never Fall Down, Sold, and I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World.

We are appreciative of Ms. McCormick for her unwavering support of all readers and writers across Passages Academy and her generosity of spending so much of her day with our readers. Thank you to Literacy for Incarcerated Teens for making the day possible through their donation of books and the movie, Sold. --Allison Trevaskis

Programming Spotlight: Muhammad Ali at the New York Historical Society

George Kalinsky
Muhammad Ali training at Madison Square Garden, 1967
Chromogenic print from original scanned film
Courtesy George Kalinsky

Ali, who had a soft spot for children, took a break from a workout to banter with a young fan. Kalinsky recalled this young admirer announcing, “I am the greatest for a moment.”

Students residing in the three group homes visited the New York Historical Society this afternoon for a private tour of the two Muhammad Ali-themed exhibits currently on display.  Students learned about the timeline  of Ali's fights, watched historical footage of the athlete, activist and humanitarian, and examined photographs like the one above in a beautifully arranged gallery at the Manhattan institution.  Many thanks to Literacy for Incarcerated Teens for providing the funding that made this trip possible, along with purchasing gift copies of The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers for all participating students.  The image above, by George Kalinsky, can be viewed at the museum as well as by clicking on the museum's website gallery here. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber