Our 6th Annual Bridge Builder's Society Breakfast,
'Passport to Success' was a huge triumph! Thank you to all who attended
to support Peninsula Bridge. Demetra Jones Scoby, an alumnus of the
Peninsula Bridge program, was our keynote speaker. Since graduating
from Peninsula Bridge in 1993, Demetra graduated from Spelman College,
worked as an equities trader in San Francisco, and was one of the early
supporters of For Youth By Youth, a community based organization in
East Palo Alto. Demetra's enthusiasm and passion for "giving back" were
contagious.
In the summer of 1990, a group of 26 middle school students from East
Palo Alto cautiously stepped upon the Sacred Heart Prep campus and participated
in the inaugural year of the Peninsula Bridge Program.Spearheaded by the indefatigably optimistic
Les DeWitt and an enthusiastic Sister Brown at Sacred Heart, the Program
quickly gained traction and expanded to Woodside Priory the following
year.By 1994, Menlo, Castilleja
and Crystal Springs Uplands had also joined the Peninsula Bridge family, and we
recently welcomed St. Joseph's and St. Matthew's Episcopal as program sites as
well, enabling us to reach almost 270 underserved students from East Palo Alto,
Menlo Park, Redwood City, and San Mateo.
One of the ways Peninsula Bridge has succeeded in expanding and delivering high
quality programs is by soliciting the help of talented volunteers and interns. One such volunteer is Angie McPhaul, who is currently a student at Stanford University, majoring in Urban Studies. Angie began her journey with Peninsula Bridge in June of 2009 as a
teacher's assistant at the Menlo site and worked after the program was over at
our main office helping measure student achievement over the summer.
One of the many facets of Bridge is our families with multiple children who are a part of the program. The Waltons, one of these families, have two alumni and one current Bridge student.Mrs. Emy Walton explained, "the
parents' job is to make it possible for the child to get a better education by
sacrificing the simplest thing; time".Time, however, is not the only thing needed to help children succeed in
their education.According to John
Walton Sr.,"Bridge is a way to
level the playing field by providing equal academic opportunity.I say that in our family that mission
has been accomplished.Our kids
are definitely well prepared."
Menlo School Tuesday, July 13 9:30am to 10:30am
Wednesday, July 14 11am to 12noon
St. Matthew'sEpiscopal Day School Thursday, July 15 - 9:30am to 10:30am
Tuesday, July 20 1pm to 2pm
"Passport to Success" Date: October 22, 2009 Time:7:30 - 8:30 am Check in 7:00 am Location: Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club Address:2900 Sand Hill Rd. Menlo ParkDirections Come
and learn how Peninsula Bridge helps students from low-income
communities map their journey to academic and personal success.
There is not a day that goes by where I do not thank the
Lord for what I have, where I am in my life, and most importantly, who I
am.I was raised in East Palo Alto
(the murder capital of the world in 1992).The small city where hope to make it out dwindles like a
leaf in the wind by the time you reach your adolescence.Like most ghettos, racism, brutality,
and playing sports are the undertow to how people operate.Education is not at the top of the
list.My father was one of the
exceptions.He was my HERO.I remember how proud I was of him when
I saw him in the newspaper for getting promoted from a dishwasher to the
executive chef.My dad, Earl
Virgil, has always been an inspiration in my life.In East Palo Alto, it is safe to say that he was the
peoples' champ.He coached in the
P.A.L., Police Activity league; he was the surrogate father to the drug dealers
and or gangsters, and a surrogate husband to the mothers of these kids.He nurtured them whenever
possible.For the most part, my
dad was a single father raising my three brothers.My best cousin
Gregory Thornton was gunned down May 25, 2005 at the age of 19.May he rest in peace.My mother was and has been for the most
part in and out of our lives.She
has been addicted to crack cocaine since up to 1 year ago.Odds would say that I would be in
Prison (like my brother), deceased like my cousin, selling drugs or something
of that nature.Well, I have never
been to prison, I am obviously not dead, and I have never sold drugs.On the contrary, my life has been quite
the opposite for the last ten years.Why you may ask?It's
because of Les Dewitt, the Peninsula Bridge Program, and Woodside Priory
College Preparatory School.
Hello from Language Arts at Menlo Bridge! This summer, the students have been working hard on writing summaries of and responses to informational articles. They've been learning to write with a formal structure by using a thought-out topic sentence, supporting details, clear examples, and a conclusion in each paragraph. In order to inspire this kind of writing, the students get to read interesting articles about history, science and their peers. For example. this week, they've read articles about the construction of The Great Wall of China, volcanoes, and trading cards.
The last week of Peninsula Bridge summer program is, not surprisingly, bittersweet. Everyone is in the "groove" of their routine, comfortable with one another, and excited for the upcoming activities that will cap -- if not define -- our experience here. Indeed the program is ending after what seems like only a short while. But this week gives the teachers and the TAs a huge opportunity to make yet another lasting imprint on these children's minds, hopefully making them want to return year after year.
The last week of Bridge at the Priory Site simply flew by. Beginning with exams, and ending with a field trip up to San Francisco, the "Bridge Familia" was never at rest. The students finished with flying colors. They showed significant improvement, especially in math, which is an area with which many of them struggled before coming into the program. Field day was a blast. The water slide was a favorite, and the students seemed to get a lot of enjoyment out of the various stations we had set up for them including Palm Reading, Can Knocker, Twister, and even a Cake Walk. Meanwhile, I spent the day prepping the Performing Arts Building for Graduation, which was to happen that evening.
Even as we come into the home stretch of the Bridge program, I find myself still reveling in the many quirks of the kids. Every morning I hear some of the sixth graders playing Marco Polo in the room across the hall and clanks, from the metal puzzles Mr. Gummerson keeps at hand, as some of the other children try their luck at figuring the puzzles out.
As the end of Bridge draws near, there is much to be done here at the Priory site. On a daily basis you will find the teachers, students, and volunteers bustling around in an effort to prepare for the culminating events that take place next week. In addition to graduation and the surprise field trip on Friday, I'm collaborating with one of our teachers, Sean S, to put together an art show that will take place next week. This will give students the chance to show off their impressive work in Photography and Art & Leadership.
This week has been loads of fun, but Bridge is passing by too quickly! We TAs have noted we wish time would slow down a little bit!
Thursday we paid a visit to the Asian Art Museum, which was incredible. Kids were fascinated by the stone Buddhas and the intricately decorated dishes in the museum. The majority of the students declared that the Samurai section of the museum was the best part, as well as the exhibit where students could wear Samurai armor or a kimono. One student offered facetiously that her favorite part was the glass elevator which looked over a large portion of the museum.
Art class at the Menlo site this week is learning to create art as service! The students are in groups creating signs for local animal shelters about the merits of adoption. One student told me, "Our paintings are going to hang outside so everybody who walks by wants to adopt!"
My name is Alinne and I have been a TA for bridge for the past four summers. Every morning I wake up excited to work with the kids, to hear how their weekends went, and to talk to them about their hopes and dreams. My job is literally the highlight of my summer.
On the brisk summer evening of July 9th, families gathered eagerly in the Father Egon Plaza. You could sense the anticipation and excitement on behalf of the parents as well as their children. In between helpings of Brie, fruit, and Priory's homemade cookies, parents congregated with the Bridge Familia here at the Priory. Back to Bridge Night '09 was certainly an event to remember.
As we wrap up our third week here at St. Matthew's, I've found that I've established so many friendships here. While it has been both a challenge and a delight to teach and play with the students, I always find it quite rewarding. I suppose the other TAs and I did not quite realize the impact of the students on us--and vice versa. We have shared many laughs and growing moments thus far.
We're not going to try and tell you the first three weeks of Bridge have been uneventful. Between fractions, decimals, poetry and the Tech Museum, teachers and students alike have their hands full. Each student looks forward to Thursday, the designated field trip day with the great excitement only children can muster, and each TA looks forward to Thursday with the subtle thrill of fear; one TA admitted that she had never said '"Don''t touch!'" so many times in her life than in the Cantor Arts Museum, where we had our last field trip, in an attempt to alleviate the burning curiosity which inspired all our students to lay hands on Rodin's famous sculptures, to our chagrin.
My name is Evelyn and I am in my third summer of TAing at the Sacred Heart Bridge Program. When I arrive first thing in the morning, I'm so sleepy from working my second job the night before that it's almost impossible to stay awake. Once I see a few kids stream their way to the courtyard I wake immediately.
We're already into the third week of Bridge and time has flown by. I've already made memories that will last a lifetime and hopefully friendships, too, judging by the great connections I've formed with my advisory of girls, my fellow T.A.s and the site directors. Every morning, advisories sit together and eat breakfast. We talk about everything from light topics like weekend plans and embarrassing stories to heavier subject matter with topics like bullying, verbal self-defense, and what it means to be a part of a team. I love how my girls have told me that because of advisory, they can trust me and tell me everything. They have told me that I listen to them with all of my heart.
Cardiologists Dr. Coggins and Dr. Babcock came to Menlo Bridge today, and they led the students in health class in dissecting cow hearts and lungs. For the last week and a half, the students have been learning how the heart and respiratory system works and how to best keep the important organs healthy. However, there is nothing like getting to interact with real ones!
My name is Cynthia and this is my first year as a Peninsula Bridge TA. So far,it has proved to be a very rewarding experience. I am currently a Senior at UC Berkeley with a double major in Art History and Sociology/Gender and Women's Studies. I decided that it would be a good idea to share my love for the History of Art with the students here at Crystal Springs by designing a brief survey course of the history of various sculptures, paintings and architecture. It was a very difficult task to go through 30,000 years of art and narrow the images down to around 100, but I feel that the images we went over in class were a good overview of the field. We begin the class with an introduction of Prehistoric Art and art of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The remainder of the days are divided between Roman/Greek Art (which seems to be the kids' favorite!), Medieval/Gothic Art, Renaissance/Baroque Art and ends with Romanticism/Impressionism/Modern Art. We cover the big artists such as Michelangelo, Bernini, da Vinci, Picasso and Rembrandt as well as famous structures such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, The Vatican and the Eiffel Tower.
Lights, Camera, Action! This phrase is quite indicative of the new addition to the Priory Bridge Program--a photography elective offered three days a week in the afternoon. Our teacher, Anita Schiller, is a retired employee of the computer industry. Photography has been her lifetime hobby, and she has published a few books, including one tiled His Children, a winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award. She was a former volunteer for Castilleja's site, and now she graces the Priory with her photo expertise. "These days I spend
my time traveling, enjoying life and doing volunteer work of various sorts. I
love working with teenagers and young adults, and have a fair amount of experience doing that." We are very lucky to have Anita on our team, and I'm excited to have the opportunity to be a T.A. for her photography class.
I feel incredibly lucky that been a Peninsula Bridge TA is even considered a job. It is so easy to become wrapped up in all of the activities that time passes by without even realizing it. Being one of four teaching assistants at St. Matthew's, I have truly discovered how much the presence of each TA means to the children and how much they look up to us as role models, whether in the classroom or outside doing sports and arts activities. They gravitate towards us, and we enjoy being with them.
During the day at Bridge, I take on many roles in and out of the classroom. In
our morning game sharks and minnows, I am a minnow swiftly trying to avoid being tagged by a swarm of fifth grade sharks. After the game I am master "mike-a-chu" the highest evolved form of the popular Pokemon character Pikachu. A fifth grader named Zack gave me this nick name and it spread like wild fire. At break I am also the villain of the four square courts and self proclaimed best four square player in the world. When one of the campers manages to get me out, it is quite the spectacle. All of them cheer in excitement as I walk to the back of the line to get back in. Juan hasn't let me forget about last Tuesday when he hit the ball through my legs to get me out.
The minute the big yellow bus pulled into campus on the crisp morning of June 22nd, I was immediately drawn to the bright-eyed, glowing faces of this year's Bridge students. I knew I was in the right place. Since then, they have not let me down. The first week of Bridge at Woodside Priory School has been a whirlwind, but in the best sense possible. The staff has been making detailed plans and getting revved up for weeks now. Finally, we can put all this preparation to good use.
Good day! How are you? I hope you're doing well because in Peninsula Bridge everything is great! Having been part of the Peninsula Bridge program since I was in third grade (I am a junior now at UC Berkeley), I know there will always be amazing days filled with surprises. Last semester, I studied abroad in the cittá eterna, Roma. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Each summer, I try to incorporate my elective courses with new knowledge I have acquired over the school year. In Italy, I took two intensive Italian language courses and quickly fell in love with the language. I therefore decided to teach my Peninsula Bridge students the language. In my elective course titled Coltura Italiana e Lingua Elementare (Italian Culture and Elementary Language), students learn Italian grammar, vocabulary and basic dialogue. Students have already learned Le Introduzione (Introductions), and Come Ordinare en un Ristorante (how to order in a restaurant). Every day, the course focuses on different Italian cities--cities which I visited in my stay-- and we discuss monuments, foods, culture and fashion; Rome, Venice, Pisa and Florence are among the cities the course focuses on.
The Peninsula Bridge Summer Program opened it doors to twenty-eight energetic and eager to learn fifth and sixth graders at St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School in San Mateo. The twenty-eight students not knowing what to expect from the program confessed that it has exceeded their expectation. As one of the math TAs I have noticed that the students are engaged in the material that is taught during class. They are mostly fascinated by the teaching style of Mr. Gummerson, who highly promotes the importance of mathematics, but is also aware of the enthusiasm and curiosity that the students have at this age. The students demonstrate strong friendships among each other, as well as respect for each other.
Greetings from the Menlo School Bridge Program! We've only just begun but it is already clear that a fun-filled five weeks are ahead of us this summer. The kids are energetic, enthusiastic, and ready to learn. In the past week, the kids in Reading have already been introduced to the structure of a proper paragraph. In Math the kids are learning about fractions and how to multiply, reduce, and simply them. Just this Friday, the kids competed in a math competition during lunch (simplify as fast as possible!) and the Spanish class was dancing and eating quesadillas. Not to mention all the fun activities going on in the Art and Health classes. If this week is any indication, Menlo Bridge will be great!
Want to get an idea of what
happened at the Peninsula Bridge Program this summer? Check out the TA
Blog on the Peninsula Bridge website. Together, the TAs worked to provide
us with an inside look at each site. The TA's captured the spirit of everyone
involved and gave us the opportunity to see the impact of our programs through
their perspective. Check out this blog post by Mariel, a Castilleja
TA.
by Grainger Marburg, Executive Director We
opened our seventh program site this summer (see article on St.
Matthew's), enabling us to host 270 motivated middle school students
from East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Redwood City, and San Mateo. While we
are now supporting 30% more students than we were in 2007, our
commitment to quality programming and individualized attention hasn't
changed. We maintained a 5:1 or better student to teacher ratio
(including TAs) at all of our sites, and had one of the most talented
and competent cadre of site directors, teachers, and TAs the
organization has had in its history.
The economic climate doesn't change what kids need to grow and
thrive. Boom or bust, kids need a safe and challenging environment
during the summer to make sure they don't lose vital academic ground.
Peninsula Bridge understands our program is more critical now than
ever, and we were thrilled to open a new program site (our second in as
many years) at St. Matthew's Episcopal in San Mateo this past summer.
Our expansion enabled us to support 30 additional students (rising 5th
and 6th graders) from the San Mateo-Foster City School District.
Briana is a 5th grader who attended this summer's Bridge program at St.
Matthew's. Below, find excerpts of the card she made to thank Bridge
supporters! Dear Friend of Peninsula Bridge, I just want to
say how much I appreciate all that you have done for us this summer. I
have really enjoyed being here, and I can't wait to come back next
summer. I enjoyed playing sports with the TAs and learning language
arts and math. One day I hope to be a singer, and I think this program
will really help me in the future. Thanks for helping us out and
cheering us on in this wonderful program.
1996— Jeanette Maldonado - will be graduating from Chicago Medical
School in May and looks forward to realizing her dream of becoming an
MD.
1996—Ricky Whitfield - was on a national tour for the show “Thomas the Train”, which included stops in the Bay Area this year! This follows an International “Thomas the Train” Tour last year. Ricky is the Associate Choreographer.
1997—Claudia Lopez - is currently studying abroad at La
Universidad de Granada in Spain and will be graduating from UCSF. She
plans to apply for her Master’s or PhD. She is majoring in Sociology
and Latin American History.
1999—Jose Gonzalez - is studying
abroad in Rome this semester. He is currently a Junior Political
Science major at UC Berkeley.
We have a new logo, a new website and a new tagline. Why? Because we want to more fully embrace the spirit and the purpose of Peninsula Bridge. As our mission states, “we promote academic and personal success for motivated middle school students from under-resourced communities.” We do that by inspiring our students to first DREAM, then BELIEVE in their dreams and finally show them they can ACHIEVE their dreams through hard work and education.
Many thanks to our former Board Member Chris Alden who connected us to
the talent and provided us with the resources to create our new logo
and to give us a more professional presence on the web.
eNewsletter
- along with our new look, we are now migrating all of our
communications to email. Not only does this save paper, but it also
gives us the opportunity to create an easy way for our supporters to
communicate with us more directly.
Stories of financial mismanagement and bad investments have dominated
the headlines for the past six months. It’s been a troubling time of
loss for many, not a time of growth. Yet that is what we are doing at
Peninsula Bridge. We’re as committed as ever to making sure more middle
school students from under-resourced homes and schools get the support
they need to be successful in school and life.
For the second consecutive year, we’ve added a new program site, which
has enabled us to support 30% more students than we did in 2007.
Education is the core
of opportunity and success - it’s the cornerstone of our mission - and
an investment we can definitely count on. The returns are always
positive.
When parents and kids communicate effectively, it helps children
realize their potential, both as students and as individuals. Last
year, based on parent input, Peninsula Bridge launched a series of
classes to give moms and dads the tools to create a healthier, more
positive dialog with their child. Wide-ranging topics included
everything from the challenges of kids and cell phones to encouraging
parents to share their own life stories and values about education.
“The classes helped me connect better with my daughter, something I
really needed as the parent of three children, including a toddler,”
says Judy Woo, mother of seventh grader Francesca. “They reinforced
what I already knew and taught me other strategies to try. Now, I
understand a little better what’s going on in my daughter’s head.”
Led by experienced bilingual parent educator Veronica Goei, the
interactive classes have received praise from parents and kids alike.
Goei used innovative methods to reinforce the curriculum, encouraging
parents to role play and act out specific scenarios. Afterwards, many
students commented on how their relationship with their parents had
improved. More sessions are planned for 2009, with an added focus on
how to communicate with your child’s school.
Bridge also helps parents through family intake meetings. Bridge staff meet with the families of incoming fifth graders to learn about their child’s needs beyond the summer, such as homework support and involvement in outside activities. Through research and ongoing relationships with many excellent, affordable community resources, Bridge provides the family with a menu of options tailored to meet their child’s needs. Through robust partnerships with quality community-based organizations, Bridge students can continue making positive strides throughout the year.
The last week of Peninsula Bridge summer program is, not surprisingly, bittersweet. Everyone is in the "groove" of their routine, comfortable with one another, and excited for the upcoming activities that will cap -- if not define -- our experience here. Indeed the program is ending after what seems like only a short while. But this week gives the teachers and the TAs a huge opportunity to make yet another lasting imprint on these children's minds, hopefully making them want to return year after year. 
Even as we come into the home stretch of the Bridge program, I find myself still reveling in the many quirks of the kids. Every morning I hear some of the sixth graders playing Marco Polo in the room across the hall and clanks, from the metal puzzles Mr. Gummerson keeps at hand, as some of the other children try their luck at figuring the puzzles out.
