Peninsula Bridge

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By Deirdre Marlowe, Executive Director

Be the Torch was the theme of our annual October Breakfast. It continued the summer's Olympic theme, and gave us a framework within which to celebrate students and alumni. A highlight of the program was remarks by Bridge alumna Mar y Sol Alvarado. She began by sharing how she "should have been a statistic," as the child of an immigrant mother of modest means, but that Bridge inspired her to want to go to college, led her to find the college of her dreams, and to her eventual choice to "give back" by leading a nonprofit serving youth in East Palo Alto.

Mar y Sol's journey provides an example of positive outcomes that are difficult to measure or quantify. How do we know that summers of "inspiring the WANT to learn" lead to on time high school graduation, college matriculation and success?  Is it the cognitive skills that we teach? Does the way that students think about themselves as students affect academic outcomes? Last summer we began to increase our efforts in these uncharted waters by having the majority of our summer scholars participate in PERTS. This is a "one-on-one" two-session computer intervention for middle school students derived from the work of Dr. Carol Dweck at Stanford on growth mind-set. People with a fixed mindset believe that their capacity for accomplishment is fixed. Those with a growth mindset "believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work; brains and talent are just the starting point."  The brain, then, IS like a muscle.

Further Preparing Bridge Alum for High School

On October 13, 2012, Bridge launched a Transitions Program pilot: a 10-session course designed to help students and their parents finish crossing the bridge to high school. Half-day sessions are on Saturdays; there are two sections- one at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, the other at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo. Just as in summer, there are TAs - in this case from Pinewood, Sacred Heart Prep and Serra.

The first session was a bi-lingual program for students and parents called "How About High School." It was led by Cathy Shelburne, Upper School Admissions Director for Menlo School with the assistance of Prasant Nukalapati, ED of A Better Chance, Sharifa Wilson of College Track, and Sandy Brook, Associate Director of Admissions at Serra. Paula Calamato, Bridge Program Associate, translated. Cathy talked to parents and students about the importance of choosing the right high school, what to look for in a high school, and the independent school application process. The session also covered how to fill out those long school applications. There will be two more sessions which include parents: considering college, and navigating high school (which is being done in partnership with the Sequoia Union High School District).

Bridge Cup 2013

Last summer, Peninsula Bridge walked to London for our Olympic Summer. This year, the world is coming to the Bay Area to compete in the 34th America's Cup. It is being contested in the Bay in September by wing-sailed catamarans which must meet exacting specifications - each is approximately 70 feet long, the course is 25 miles. The silver America's Cup is the oldest trophy in sports. It was first awarded in 1851 in England when the New York Yacht Club's America sailed past England's Royal Yacht for the win. The NYYC successfully defended its title for 132 years - the longest championship in sports history.

The STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) of sailing will be front of mind for our summer scholars as they compete in our Bridge Cup. Teams of five or six will make their own boats to exacting specifications: each is approximately 6.5-7 inches long, and the course is 10 feet. Each site will hold its own heat. Winning site teams will compete for the Bridge Cup at a local yacht club. All final participants will get to sail and mind the boom, members of the winning team may even get to trim a sail or tend the tiller.

By Deirdre Marlowe, Executive Director

The Summer 2012 program is over. It is quiet now. We miss the excitement of visiting sites and learning that at Bridge Math is just about everybody's favorite subject! How could it not be with questions like: "How many times would you have to fold a piece of paper onto itself to reach the moon?" The emotion of hearing one student say, "Bridge is like a garden, and we are the flowers..." The satisfaction of seeing a student snack on an apple rather than chips after a nutrition class. The "ah ha" when students visit workplaces only seen on tv, and know that with education they are real possibilities. The suspense of how much weight it might take to collapse a popsicle stick bridge students built. The power of having entire classrooms say, I believe in myself.

After my first full summer serving Bridge, I believe in our mission more than ever, and the power of what we do to help motivated middle school students achieve academic and personal success. Every summer our master teachers devote the majority of their time to the core subject areas of Algebra readiness and English language arts. However, other factors contribute to student success, including engagement, self-efficacy and persistence. These are exemplified by something that happened at our fifth-sixth grade site at St. Matthew's Episcopal Day in San Mateo as an outcome of our Walk to London. They started a 15,000 Steps Club for students who walked what is a bit more than seven miles in one day.

Lucas Brooks, Paly Class of 2012, joined us this summer as our video intern. "As a Black student whose parents are both Ph.D.'s, one of the first things that became important to me when I entered high school was that everyone have the same educational opportunities that I do, so I did whatever I could to spread the resources I had been blessed with to my underrepresented peers. In my school district      Lucas Brooks (left), Video Intern
there has historically been a sizable minority achievement gap. In the Class of 2011, roughly a third of Latino students and less than half that percentage of Black students graduated ready to go to a four year college whereas nearly all of the White and Asian students (85-90%) did. Outside school, most of my activities were focused around this issue, and I discovered that the most practical way of approaching it was through engaging the entire community -- students, parents, teachers, administrators and school board members.

Theresa and Students Calculate Portion Size

Theresa Donovan Brown has been part of the Peninsula Bridge community for more than a decade. Her daughter, Julia, was a Teacher Assistant at the SHS Bridge Program for twoyears where she spear-headed an instrumental elective. Last spring, Theresa asked if sites would beinterested in a nutrition class for our summer scholars, especially since somany of them are at risk for Type II diabetes. Six sites were. Theresa comes by her interest in nutrition organically: her mother was a long-time nutrition teacher, and Theresa had been a volunteer teacher of the subject in San Mateo County.

TAs are high school or college students from our host schools, or Bridge alumni. They are a critical link between site directors and master teachers, and the middle school students we support. TAs are assigned to master teachers and assist in daily planning and delivery of lessons, including prepping materials, correcting homework and providing differentiated instruction. TAs also plan and lead enrichment activities. They do a great deal toward engaging our summer scholars in their education. TAs are old enough to be respected, but young enough to be believed. During a site tour, one student told a visitor, "You're really smart... And nice. You should apply to be a TA next year." TAs benefit, too. Results include improved leadership, teaching skills,and cultural competency, increasingly important in this ever-diversifying world.

Here are some of this summer's TA led activities in addition to sports, arts and crafts, and advisory activities: an inquiry-based science curriculum, real-world math, self-defense, gymnastics, computer-based music composition and production, Mandarin Chinese, an inter-site track and field day, geometry, creative writing, guitar, physics, photography, organic gardening, meditation, yoga... And more...

I make a point to send each student onto the bus with a high five or fist pound along with a smile and cheerful goodbye. Every minute of their experience is important to me and I want their last impression of Bridge to be memorable even if they are just entering a yellow school bus. The little things matter."
Rachael Siegman, 2012 Menlo TA

On Thursday, July 26, 2012 we took a break from the five long weeks of reading, writing, and problem solving. The highly anticipated Raging Waters trip was under way, and the kids all piled on to the bus at 9:00 in the morning. Since there were over 60 kids and nine TAs, constant TA supervision was not at all possible. Luckily the water park is not that large so our check-in spot was not far from any of the rides. In order to keep kids from getting lost or injured, the buddy system was put into effect. Each scholar athlete paired up with his or her best friend or found a group of friends to share the day with.

As it turned out, banding together with your best buds is the perfect way to try new things and face your fears. I certainly experienced this feeling when a group of 7th graders kept encouraging me to join them on the newest addition to the park, Bombs Away! Last year I did not have the courage to even walk up the stairs to this slide. Complete with a fully enclosed tube, a fifteen-foot drop, and speeds up to 20 mph, this ride just seemed too dangerous for me. I felt bad about disappointing them this time so I joined them on their journey. As we neared the starting capsule with the trap-floor, I realized that I wasn't just tackling this slide for the 7th grader's sake, I really wanted to face my fear of this ride and come out of the blue and black tunnel with a sense of accomplishment. At the end of ride we all celebrated and high-fived each other.

Throughout the rest of the day the scholar athletes went down every slide they could. The weather could not have been better, as it was not to hot but not too cold. I was very happy to see that each kid made it to the 1:30 checkpoint and boarded the bus on time ready to leave the park. One of the kids remarked, "The three and a half hours was the perfect amount of time at Raging waters, because now I am too tired too go on any more rides". Certainly exhausted, I could not agree more.

A final Word from Castilleja Site Director Mary Hurlbut

The Peninsula Bridge Program at Castilleja concluded with a lovely End of Summer Celebration. Directed and produced by the Peninsula Bridge TAs (who managed lighting, stage direction, costuming, choreography and program details), the rising fifth grade Bridge girls lit up the stage with fabulous dance, poetry, and singing performances. The profusion of thank you's, and the flood of tears and hugs at the end of the event were testament to the strong bonds established throughout the short five weeks. 

As the beginning of the fifth week started the thought that ran through my mind was: "How am I going to feel after I leave these kids?" When we first started Bridge I looked at the kids, and I never could have imagined that I would feel this sad at the end of the end of the program. I have made so many relationships with these kids, and now I can't imagine my summer without them.

Hi my name is Laura, I am not only a T. A for the Bridge Program but I am also an alumni of Bridge. As an alumnus I have been able to see the radical changes from the Bridge program that I went through to the Bridge program I am now a T.A. for. The biggest change, I have to say, is the inclusion of the health and nutrition class. I have been a T.A. in that class for three years now. I have always had the opportunity to see how much enjoyment the children get from participating in the labs and learning in this class.  

The Castilleja Bridge Program will be celebrating its first ever Spirit Week. Today we celebrated Halloween in July. Students wore costumes such as bumblebees, fairies, and the hulk. Miriam M. stated, "The most fun part of Halloween in July was getting to see a lot of people dress up with different costumes that I hadn't seen before".  Katie C., a TA at Castilleja, went all out by wearing a royal outfit, faux powdered wig included. Her enthusiasm toward the spirit day inspired the girls to try even harder for the next spirit days. 

"Inspiring Greatness"

The students had a busy, yet exciting, fourth week. In math class, they just finished learning how to convert fractions into decimals and decimals into percentages. Many of them were really into these lessons and cited that it was their favorite lesson so far. Hard to believe, but true!  In their English class, they have learned 40 new vocabulary words and are half-way through the book "Holes" by Louis Sachar. They really enjoy reading the book in small groups and discussing about what they have read. They also seem to enjoy their afternoon electives: field hockey, science, arts & crafts and study skills. 

This past Friday, the students took an exciting field trip to Shoreline Park. The students were involved in many activities like a nature scavenger hunt and a tour of the Rengstorff House. The history of the home and the park captured all of the students' attention and they were all amazed by how much history there was in Mountain View. This trip not only kept the students' interest piqued, but it also taught them a lot about the city they all live in.  The docents at Shoreline Park did a great job designing age-appropriate activities for the students.

"Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." - Clement Clarke Moore

The room was silent. There was no noise. To my surprise, all the girls and boys were reading silently while walking up the stairs, the cool breeze from the air vents relieving them of the heat. The students stayed in their seats constantly smiling as they continued to read far past what was required for the assignment that day. The sun shining down on their faces, they continued to embark on their wondrous journey at recess. At the end of the day they maintained those same bright smiles. They were even somewhat sad because they had no homework, because they had already completed it during the day. It may not have been Christmas, but we enjoy giving the students the gift of knowledge. The students continue to look forward to a different gift each day, reminding us that it is better to give than to receive. 

The Woodside Priory campus finally had a guest speaker to talk to the students. Students were excited to find out what this speaker had to say. Kids would ask TA's over and over, who the speaker was and what the he would say? However the only answer they received about the speaker was that he ran marathons and ran one in Antarctica.

Last Friday the Crystal site had the pleasure of visiting seven unique companies across the bay area. The companies varied from technological giants such as Microsoft or Genentech to local law firms to TV stations. All the students had a blast and couldn't wait to tell their friends about their amazing experiences.

This third week of Bridge has been the best thus far, although it has been the most tiring. I would not change a thing. During Enrichment, it's "Dance Week," so I teach dance to four classes a day and then one math class. The Math teacher is supportive of this program and allows me to teach the kids. I started this program last year and I am so proud of how far it has come. The students, especially the boy classes, jumped right into the warm ups, across the floors, and the dance routine. Their eagerness to move and follow my lead in stretching has really inspired me. Dance is such a big part of my life and being able to share my passion with the students and have them pick up the choreography and attempt the stretches is rewarding. Music is one of my happy places; helping to understand life, and always being there whenever I doubt what is good and this week has just shown me how much I have in common with the students. Music has brought us even closer together as most the girls lips sing or actually hum the words of the songs together during class. 

The third week at the Sacred Heart campus was exciting for many reasons!  First of all, tours of the campus took place.  This was a chance for student's parents to see what was happening inside and outside of the classroom.  The kids were extremely well behaved, and I was very proud to see them working hard and showing their parents their enormous successes.  

At the Woodside Priory campus the Bridge students have been having fun all week.  To change things up a little bit, we were able to provide a field trip to Windy Hill for a hike. It all happened because of a raffle, that we won, which provided a free bus for the day. The kids were excited upon arrival. During the first week of bridge one of the students, Wesley, saw the huge scenery from our dining hall and asked, "Are we be able to hike that?" Having just one kid be able to hike this huge hill was satisfying, but having all the other students finish the hike was much more.

"I did it! I did it! I did it!"

                This triumphant chant could be heard by the lucky eleven who finally joined the illustrious 15,000 Step Club on Wednesday afternoon. Hard to even fathom, the insane amount of steps seemed impossible to achieve just three weeks ago. Yet through hard work and some extremely intense walking, many students have found it possible to walk 15,000 steps in a single day. Some even opt out of their beloved soccer games at lunch to run around the field, striving for more steps. Now that's dedication.

When I arrived at Peninsula Bridge yesterday, I felt like James Bond--the combination of my dark suit and reflective aviators gave me the swagger of an invincible secret agent.  I strode through campus, feeling like the king of the world, until my cool veneer was temporarily shaken by the sudden and unexpected appearance of a large, furry dinosaur.  

It's Art!

This past Thursday the girls visited the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The girls enjoyed looking through the exhibits which included Phantoms of Asia and collections of art from China, Japan and India. The TAs planned a scavenger hunt with the winner being the group that had the most detailed drawings of the artwork they were supposed to find. The girls had to draw pictures of the hybrid statues they saw as well as keep track of all of the different animals. 

Week Well Spent

 Week two has gone by fast. Every morning when the bus drops off all the kids they scatter at the breakfast table. When they get to the breakfast table kids ask, "What are we having today?" or just say a simple thank you. We could also overhear what the kids think of the food and how good the compliments are, it's a joy to see everything gone by the end of the morning. We are glad to have this new breakfast program established at the Priory campus.

 Generosity and Surprises

For the first year out of my four, I am not in a classroom this year. Upon first realizing this, I was concerned that my relationship with the kids might be affected since I would only be spending time with them in the second half of the day. However, they all embraced me with open arms--literally!

Why Not?

"What you don't realize, is that you are living in them most innovative place since Italy during the Renaissance," Mort Grosser, a co-creator of the Gossamer Single Engine Plane told Pinewoods' bridge students.

 For the past two weeks, we were honored to welcome Mort Grosser to the Pinewood Site, to speak to our students about the importance of innovation, and the keys to how to succeed at it. Grosser explored a number of topics, discussing everything from ballet, to flight, to the physics of the atom and of course his own innovations. Grosser though emphasized one element of innovation in particular: The question "why not?" He made the students promise to him that they would not be hesitant and keep asking "why?" but instead why not. This struck a chord with the students who would use this phrase throughout the week.

I was originally planning to do bridge solely for the sake of making money, so, after being notified that I would not be getting a paid position I was reluctant to accept the available volunteering position. Yet after thinking it over, I had a moment of clarity when I realized that I would much rather work out of charity and goodwill than for the money and accepted the volunteering position. It's only been two weeks into the program and I already feel like being a part of Peninsula has been entirely worth my time. I was in the same boat that these children were when I was their age. I know what it's like to come from an under resourced home and school, so reaching out to them is a personal obligation that drives me and keeps me motivated every day.

The saying "time flies when you're having fun" rings very true for our experience here at the Crystal site. It's already been eleven days since the opening ceremonies but I still remember our trip to Sacred Heart like it was yesterday. Although this is my first year as a TA, I feel as though I've known the students for much longer. It's been great bonding and getting to know all of the students while we play Bridge Ball, crack jokes during lunch, or just lounge on the field. It's not all fun and games here at the Crystal site however, our students have mastered the balance between work and play. Within the past two weeks, there has been substantial amount of development in the students. On the first day of classes, the students were shy and hesitant to raise their hand when asked questions in class but this week during our flex periods, we coordinated a trivia bowl where the students confidently exhibited their extensive knowledge on a variety of topics ranging from Science to Pop Culture. 

Poetry!

What is poetry? The students at Castilleja Bridge answered this question in today's Language Arts class. Students read from a poetry book, which included poems from great writers such as Shel Silverstein, Langston Hughes and Billy Collins. The girls took turns sharing what they noticed about poems. They learned that poems can have similes, rhymes, and emotions. Today the students read a poem about feeling sick. The students then wrote their own poem about a feeling using their five senses. Feelings included love, happiness, curiosity and enthusiasm. The girls learned how adjectives and adverbs could make more descriptive statements. They came up with phrases like "[Adventure] sounds like roaring lions" wrote Anna D. and Evelin R. wrote "[Kindness] smells like baked brownies."

Really Getting to Know Each Other

Week two has been all about learning something new about each other. I have especially enjoyed seeing how the students have become so welcoming and caring towards one another; I never see a child left out.  The 6^th graders are (surprisingly!) very nice to our 5^th graders and don't mind spending time with them.  It is so sweet to see them together. It also makes it easier for us as TA's to plan activities for all of the students because we know they will cooperate with each other. 

Crystal Springs: A Walk To Start it Off

If spirit is the name of the game then the atmosphere at Crystal Springs Uplands School is the perfect setting for the 7th and 8th graders at Peninsula Bridge to go all out. As a Teaching Assistant I can clearly see that the kids here at CSUS have arrived with an unprecedented amount of excitement and readiness to learn.

Woodside Priory Blog 1

The kids have been waiting all year, and now the Bridge Program has begun. On their first step onto the Priory grounds I could tell that the kids were curious of what their summer would be like. Everyone soon piled up to listen to the first announcements from their new Priory Bridge director, Mr. Lavalle. They all learned about what they would be doing this summer. The kids were also introduced to their teachers, their classes, and even the TA's they would be with for the summer. Although the most exciting part of the announcements was finding out that each kid was split up into one of eight countries competing against one another for a gold, silver, or bronze medals because of this year's summer Olympics. The kids lit up when they heard prizes would be involved with the first three teams with the most medals.  

Let the Games Begin

This week, the St. Matthew's Bridge students sprinted off their starting blocks with a bang! Given the Olympic theme, they entered the campus to be greeted by our world flags and a bus bringing them to their Opening Ceremonies. Nervous, giddy, first-day-of-school laughing aside, all the students agreed on one thing: this summer was going to be "awesome"!

Coming Back from College

When our site director addressed the kids during lunch and asked if anyone had any comments about their family lunch groups or the TAs, a kid in my group quickly nudged the guy next to him and whispered, "Raise your hand and say that Kathy is awesome!" I've been a TA at the Menlo site for the past three years, but comments like this one still warm my heart every time. This summer is especially interesting for me because I'm back at Bridge after my first year of college. Coming back, I was so excited to return to a program that has influenced my life quite greatly these past few years, from showing me that I want to go into education as an adult to getting letters of recommendation for other programs from the wonderful teachers and directors.