Casady YAC Youth Active in the Community: November 2014

Saturday, November 29, 2014

The spirit of the season

Thank you to Mrs. Lisa Bek-Gram for the link to this video. It embodies the spirit of the holidays

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=846072962111323&fref=nf

The Story of the Advent Calendar

By Professor Carol on Nov 29, 2014 03:00 am

Lucerne Advent Calendar – Paula Funnell (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

You see them in gift shops and book stores. Some are in cardboard frames with pieces of chocolate behind each colorful door. Others are flannel or quilted, with little pockets holding puffy decorations. They might take up the whole side of a building. Whether rectangular, shaped like a Christmas tree, or die-cut as a gingerbread house, the Advent Calendar provides a tangible way for a child to anticipate Christmas.

But where does the idea come from? Not surprisingly, Germany, the home of so many Christmas traditions.

The earliest reference to a handmade Advent calendar seems to be 1851. But earlier traditions included lighting a new candle for each day, hanging up a picture daily, or making a new chalk mark on a door.

The first commercially printed Advent calendar dates probably back to a printer in Hamburg in 1902. Sources then reference a Schwabian printer named Gerhard Lang who, in 1908, fashioned little pictures to adhere to each date of a calendar. Lang’s involvement continued, and in the 1920s his firm Reichhold & Lang (Munich) printed calendars with little doors that opened. The Sankt Johannis Printing Company is credited with adding Bible verses in the 1930s.

But with the horrors of WWII, such lovely items disappeared, if for no other reason, the paper shortage.

Immediately after the war, the Stuttgart firm of Sellmer-Verlag (Sellmer Publishers) began printing Advent Calendars once again. Richard Sellmer needed a license from the U.S. Government to obtain the paper. Imagine how the reappearance of these beautiful items cheered a war-torn population.

Sellmer-Verlag proudly continues to produce Advent Calendars. Their selection is dazzling, plus they have an on-line history of Advent calendars, including the first one published by Sellmer in the United States, in 1947. You can also watch videos of their production process.

Most Advent Calendars have slots for 24 “days.” But the Advent Season is often longer. It begins on the 4th Sunday before Christmas and ends onDecember 24th. This year, that means November 30. Hey, that’s tomorrow!

Let’s do it together – a daily Advent Calendar right here online beginningtomorrow. We’ll look at the arts, history, and traditions that take us to Christmas. Please join me. Add your email below and we will deliver it daily to your inbox.

The post The Story of the Advent Calendar appeared first on Professor Carol.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Every Day Young Heroes: Sidney

Peace Day, September 21,2014 @ Casady School

THERE ARE SEVEN BILLION PATHS TO PEACE, WHAT IS YOURS? HERE ARE SOME OF OURS....

EVERYDAY YOUNG HEROES

Sidney Jones

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Sidney is an amazing senior at Casady School in Oklahoma City. When she was a freshman she had the vision to start a "unique" youth board for Oklahoma City teens, Youth LEAD (Leaders Engaging Across Differences), an identity and diversity education youth board by teens, for teens.

Kindness Pass it On: Placemats for Children's Hospital

The seed for the idea was planted at a National Service-Learning Conference where the Shinnyo-en Foundation advocated for the creation of interfaith service youth boards across the nation.

Sidney was, at first, the only Casady teen interested in spending time involved in discussions to create a teen board focused on developing facilitation skills of difficult conversations, exploring personal identities and enhancing understanding of the cultural diversity in the teen tapestry of Oklahoma City. Her interest connected to a youth from Heritage Hall High School, Sam K'15. and a teen from Douglas High School, Dane N.'15. This small group of teens found fertile ground with organizations of similar vision, Casady School Service-Learning, the YMCA Youth Initiatives of Greater Oklahoma City, the Respect Diversity Foundation, CAIR of Oklahoma City, Mercy School Institute and Youth LEAD, Sharon.

After a couple of years of organizing and planning, Sidney attended her first Youth LEAD, Sharon TIDE conference in Boston. Her enthusiasm to create a Youth LEAD OKC (YLOKC) grew. Sidney and the small committee of teens launched YLOKC in April 2013 after a training by Tabitha May Tolub, CEO of Roots and Wings.

In the first year of operations Sidney helped organize, facilitated, and/or participated in the following YLOKC projects: A summer break clean-up of farm fields after the F-5 tornado hit Moore, Oklahoma. Sidney worked with teens from Oklahoma and across the USA. The project was a collaboration with a grassroots movement, Field of Teams and was facilitated by Cyclone peer Youth Leader Yogaish K. Then, youth LEADers facilitated a debate featuring two Oklahoma political leaders on pro and con considerations about building storm shelters for public schools in Oklahoma City. The debate was facilitated by Sidney's Cyclone peer, Natasha S'14. The next project brought awareness of the lack of educational dreams of US migrant workers' children. YLEADers facilitated a discussion of the documentary "La Cosecha" at Douglas High School. The facilitators of the discussion came from different schools including Sidney's Cyclone peer and YAC Peace Team member, Ananya B'17.

Youth LEADers then provided the workshop "I AM" which focused on stereotypes for middle school age at Boys and Girls Club. The workshop was facilitated by Sidney's Cyclone Youth LEAD peer, Jack B. The 2014-2015 school year began with YLEADers creating a yearly schedule and marketing materials to recruit new members. The kick-off activity was a meal and fiesta @ OK Kids Korral where youth leaders prepared and shared a Mexican meal, photo booth, Spanish and Middle Eastern dancing, and making pinwheels for peace to plant at gardens to raise awareness of the 21st of September, International Day of Peace with children undergoing oncology treatment at near by hospitals and their families. The activity was facilitated by the YLOKC planning committee led by Sidney's peer Cyclone Youth Leader, and YAC Peace Team member, Johnny L.'17.

After a lock-in at Camp Fire USA where Youth LEADers learned how to facilitate like a rock star from Tabitha, Sidney emerged as the leader of the planning committee. She is facilitating the organization and transportation of teens to a cultural fest for the children of Positive Tomorrows, the Oklahoma City school for homeless children. Youth LEADers will feature India, Japan, Spanish speaking countries, and the Middle East with interactive booths about the heritage of their roots. They will share donated foods, age-appropiate cultural aspects, as well as provide goodie bags with books donated by the Come and Read with Me Program of the Metropolitan Library Systems for 50 children to read during the holidays. The activity will take place December 18, 2014.

Sidney's interest in an "Out of the Box" idea has created an empowering youth board that focuses on teens as resources of positive change with service-learning projects where teens own the planning, implementation and facilitation of activities as well as the success or failure of their actions. Win to Win initiatives in which teens know the transforming power of being agents of compassion, kindness and service.

Sidney is also the Co-President of the Casady YAC, (Youth Acting in the Community) which she has led since her freshman year. She is an active volunteer in her church, an skillful rancher, a gifted quilter, and an inclusive and supportive friend.

SONG OF THE WEEK

"Here's Hope" - Little Big Town

"Everywhere, everybody needs a neighbor
Showing up when times get hard
But there's friends of sons and daughters
Saying grace without
supper in your backyard
Who doesn't wanna be a hero?
...
Here's to going to bed not hungry
Here's to changing the story
Here's to bigger hearts and brighter days"

Thank you to YSA's Funding Partners who make our work possible:

Editor-in-Chief
Michael Minks
Director of Communications & Development, YSA (Youth Service America)
Article about Sidney Jones by Carmen Clay, Director of Service-Learning, Casady School; Youth LEAD OKC Adult Mentor

Last November meeting minutes by Johnny

December Projects
a. Ideas needed

In the past we have volunteered at City Rescue Mission providing helpers to distribute donated toys and other needed household items to needy children.

Possibilities presented with Discussion by Friday
Working with Positive Tomorrows
Pepper's Ranch
Boys and Girls Club
Special Care
Bethel Foundation

b. Grants available. Grant writers needed
$400-$1000 for projects aiming to do something to end childhood hunger

c. Global Market: Pambe Ghana store needs helpers

January proposed projects by Jessica

a. ICS Diaper Drive at basketball game
b. MLK Day at Food Bank. 80 volunteers guaranteed morning and afternoon. Dress up with Disney Theme. We will be packing Food-4-Kids backpacks.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

"Do the Right Thing Food Drive"
4,456 cans and $135

Middle

2,230

High School

1,465

Lower

575

Primary

186

BETTER TOGETHER

YAC, YLOKC-Casady, YAC'S Peace Team Connected

International Compassion Games Cyclones' Action

SENIORS THANK PD DONORS FOR DONATIONS

Peace Team member motivates high school teens to donate

Middle Division students motivate peers to donate

Lower Division donors pause for a picture

Primary Division donors take donations to the Food Bank trailer

Peace Team Member leads the PD Hope Trail to the Food Bank trailer

To give peace a chance-Hunger makes animals out of men- members of the Peace Team (Miranda, Johnny, Ananya, Sidney,and Turner) facilitated and supported the efforts of the service club, YAC (Youth Acting in the Community) promoting a different kind of Food Drive the week starting on 10/31 and ending on 11/7/2014. YAC's motto was: "Donate to end hunger in Oklahoma because it is the right thing to do." The Food Drive was also Cyclones action during the Compassion Games International. The games called for schools to promote acts of kindness, compassion and service on campuses around the world.

The 9th grade English teachers promoted learning about food insecurity in Oklahoma City with materials from the Food Bank. The freshmen connected short story about hunger to their hunger simulation. Father Blizzard read at Calvert hunger statistics provided by the government class and an English teacher challenge her classes to bring more cans than the 30 she personally brought.

The freshman YAC leadership sponsored, "Give without expecting anything in return." YAC was inspired by a story told at a YAC meeting by an English teacher, Mrs. Stephanie Crossno. Mrs. Crossno stated that a New York firefighter who helped at the bombing and died on September 11th, came with $20 in his pocket and left OKC with the same $20 in his pocket. Due to the generosity of heart of Oklahomans supporting his "human efforts" after the OKC bombing, that gesture became the "Oklahoma Standard" for the firefighter. Mrs. Crossno stated, I know Cyclones care. We just need a clear goal and reminders.

The YAC freshman organizers of the drive had a creative campaign of #30/6//26000 cans." Sara wrote a letter to parents. Kira created a reminder flyer for other divisions Safra made a "lend a can" thank you sticker, and Miriam and Safra created a network of YAC members who helped made and decorate boxes as well as greeted and thanked early morning donors in all divisions and helped count cans.

The goal was to collect the most cans possible. Monetary donations were also welcome because $1= 5 meals with the Food Bank . If every student from k-12th brought one can a day, representing a mere one can per day of the month, or 6 cans every day of the food drive, or 30 cans one day of the drive, Casady could donate a huge number of cans to help feed 110,000 Oklahomans in need of food weekly.

Members of the YAC Peace team, Johnny, Ananya, Sidney and Miranda guided the ninth grade drive facilitators. They also brought cans and were on duty motivating others to donate at different divisions. Kathy brought cans and Turner, Ananya and Sara organized an online reminder application, "celly," with limited success. YAC reminded peers with a"home made" chain of # Bring 30 cans they placed in lockers and on backpacks the day before the drive ended.

At a reflective YAC moment, the freshman leaders of the drive in the Upper Division, Safra and Mariam stated that they were encouraged by the response, especially the first days because, although they designed a sticker to thank donors, most did not even the stickers since "doing the right thing" was reward enough. Next year, the freshman leaders suggested for YAC to continue the standard promoted this year, "Do the right thing Food Drive."

The Food Drive Team

A Peace Team Member Reflects

Whereas I was not able to participate in quite the strength that I would have originally liked to, this year's Peace Week turned out exponentially better than last years, and involved a significantly larger portion of our Casady Community.

The Upper School managed to make roughly 1,000 pinwheels and raise $1,000 for Pepper's Ranch, a non-profit organization focused on getting orphaned foster kids out of the Oklahoma Foster System and house them until they are able to find a "forever home". In contrast to last year where the entire Upper Division only managed to make one pinwheel. I am happy that I was able to go with Mrs. Clay to Pepper's Ranch this summer and organize this and this worked out. Mrs. Crossno was instrumental in organizing a vast amount of the pinwheels being made by utilizing her freshman English classes.

From what I could see Claire's peace art advocacy project was a big hit with the lower schoolers, and Cathy's connection's to peace through sports worked out well at the Matt Terry Memorial Softball part. Unfortunately due to bad weather earlier in the day Miranda's picture of school wide unity ended up being just of the Upper School, but now we know how we can better situate the circumstances of such an activity should we want to re-create a similar activity again in the future. Johnny and my presentation in Chapel was alright, but moving forward I think we as a group realized the importance in planning ahead. We were also fortunate enough to Skype with a man from Peace One Day, who was very complimentary about what we were doing, but I wished we had discussed more of what we could do to have an impact on a larger scale, and maybe we can explore that as a possible avenue for next year.

I truly believe what made this year's 11 Days of Global Unity more cohesive and doable was the amount of work invested -We(The Peace Team-Johnny, Miranda, Cathy Claire/I/Mrs Clay invested during the summer. Thankfully Mrs. Clay and Youth Lead adults-Mr. Noel Jacobs- and Casady YAC/Youth LEAD member, Mallory W.- were able to attend the Day for Kids at the Boys and Girls Club on Saturday the 20th. They were able to uphold Mrs. Clay and my commitment to them and provided a diversity of ways of stating peace and kindness in the different languages represented at the Interfaith Alliance and the Casady Service-Learning Program provided materials and volunteers to empower participants to leave their "Vision of Peace" and take a seedling to plant in their community on the International Day of Peace, September 21. The seedlings were donated by the Oklahoma Department of Forestry. Unfortunately due to debate I missed the event and the Interfaith Alliance Youth Tour on Sunday the 21st, which I had planned to facilitate and, amazingly 300 people showed up, where we had initially predicted only 180.

Hopefully next year I am able to organize my schedule around Peace Week and am able to facilitate the Interfaith Youth Tour and take on a more direct role in Peace Week, vs a more supervisory/indirect role that I had this year. Mrs. Clay and my Recipeace meal with restaurants did not pan out quite as we had hoped, but we did meet a very receptive bunch of people, and found out that small business are the only ones realistically able to partner with us as we move forward.

During this experience with Peace Week, and all the planning it entailed, I learnt how to proposition various businesses, facilitate meetings outside of Youth LEAD, and for that I am truly grateful. As we look to the future and improving Peace Week. As we continue to progress, and add to Peace Week here at Casady, and awareness of the International Day of Peace on a Global front; I can smile knowing that even though it was not as spectacular as I could have imagined, it was successfully, accomplished, and I can move forward knowing that my voice, and the visions of my peer's invested in this week were heard by people with microphones such as the Compassion Games, the Shinnyo-en Foundation and Peace One Day.