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Past Alumni Events: 2006-07
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Summer Internship Luncheon, August 17, 2007 The 2007 BwCF alumni summer internship program came to a festive conclusion on Friday August 17 th at the Laura Parson's Pratt Conference Center in midtown. The alumni and their site supervisors came together to share their summer experiences and to reminisce about the highs and low points of their time together. The program started on July 9 th with 16 BwCCS alumni working at community based organizations in Manhattan and Brooklyn . Students had an opportunity to work in such diverse organizations as the Brooklyn Children's Museum, Mount Sinai Hospital , Arcos Communications, the New York City Civil Rights Coalition, Comprehensive Care Management, the Prospect Park Alliance, the Hispanic Federation, City Lights Youth Theater, the North Flatbush Ave. Business Improvement District, and the Beginning with Children Foundation. The purpose of the paid summer internship program is to provide the alumni with opportunities to experience the world of work, to gain insights into the dynamics of different work places and to better understand the challenges of being part of the work force. The students worked four days a week and on Friday's participated in debriefing activities, a formal writing communications workshop and went on afternoon trips to cultural and fun places throughout the city. At the debriefing sessions, students had an opportunity to discuss the challenges they faced at their particular job and received feedback and support on how to better handle specific situations. According to the anecdotal feedback from both the students and their supervisors it was a mutual beneficial experience. The students reflected on the many things they had learned at their job sites, the challenges they faced and how they worked with their supervisors to meet those challenges. Many spoke about how their self confidence had increased because they were given jobs that they had never done before and were able to figure out or find out how to do them. One student related how her ability to better communicate with people had increased. Others spoke about how their interest in particular fields of work had been piqued and how they would like to go back to the organization and work there again. |
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Alumni Freshman Reunion, August 9, 2007
The BwCCS Alumni Freshman Reunion was held on August 9, 2007. We are very proud of this graduating class! We have students going to a variety of high schools including two Specialized High Schools (Brooklyn Latin and Brooklyn Tech) and three independent private boarding schools (Concord Academy, Philips Academy, and The Governor's Academy) in Massachusetts. We wish the BwCCS class of 2007 the best of luck and continued success in their academic careers! |
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Professional Training Program, April 17-June 19, 2007 As preparation for the Summer Internship Program, the high school students selected for internships completed a ten-week training program for one hour ever Tuesday. As part of the program, volunteers from the Junior Board assisted in teaching the classes, and some hosted the classes in their corporate offices downtown. Topics covered included:
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Overnight College Trip, April 9-10, 2007 Twenty-four drowsy teenagers and 4 chaperones gathered together at 7:00 AM on Monday, April 9 th , 2007, to travel to Philadelphia , PA for the annual BwCF overnight college tour. Upon arrival in Philadelphia , our first stop was Swarthmore, one of the top-ranking private liberal arts colleges in the country. All our students took note of how competitive Swarthmore was, but the reactions varied. Some appreciated the small, private, suburban feel, whereas others felt they would not qualify or were looking for a different college experience. After a few wrong turns, our bus left us at our second school, Bryn Mawr, which is an all-girls private institution. The girls, overall, enjoyed the all-girls campus. Our tour guide spoke of female empowerment and of Bryn Mawr's confidence in its student's potential to succeed. One of the girls said she almost started to cry. Some girls felt that they would be less distracted at a school without boys and that “Mami” would approve. Many of our girls liked the sense of tradition at Bryn Mawr, enjoying the esthetics (which were compared to Harry Potter) and the ritual of sacrificing to the goddess Athena before taking exams. By 9 AM, Tuesday morning, we were on the bus again, this time to Villanova College . Our students had mixed feelings about the size of the school (larger that the other two we had seen) and about the fact that it was Catholic. It was also clear to our students that sports were important at Villanova, with team banners and paraphernalia displayed in dorm windows, along with a variety of Greek symbols. Our final college was Rosemont, a small private Catholic college for girls, which has a student body of only 400 girls. Our girls loved the student to teacher ration of 1 to 8, and again expressed that “Mami would approve”. The boys stayed on the bus, while the girls saw the quaint campus and met Dana Paterson, the older sister of Anita Ames and BwCCS alumnus. One girl commented, “I love the idea that Rosemont is one big sisterhood, so they don't have any sororities.” The most popular aspect of Rosemont, however, was that opposed to the larger schools on the trip, at Rosemont you could have a car on campus. At the end of the trip, one alumnus commented: "I learned about more colleges and what a lot of colleges are looking for." |
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Freshman and Sophomore Bowling Trip, April 5, 2007 During April vacation week, 17 freshman and sophomore alumni went to Queens to go bowling. Many of the alumni had never bowled before. Some needed a few rounds to get the hang of it, while some were natural bowlers. All enjoyed the trip and some are already asking when the next bowling trip will be! |
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Brooklyn College Tour, February 21, 2007
On February 21, 2007, during February school vacation week, twelve BwCCS alumni traveled across Brooklyn to visit Brooklyn College. When our students were told that they would be visiting a CUNY college in not only their own city but also their own borough, many loudly protested. Their attitudes changed, however, when they realized that Brooklyn college was almost an hour away and that it looked and felt like a suburban college campus, with great brick buildings, a large quad, and a lily pond. Many also appreciated the ethnic diversity on the campus compared to other schools they had seen, and few could reject to the price-tag of public education. |
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Personal Success Workshop Series, February 13--May 23, 2007 For the first time, this year, the BwCCS Alumni Program invited Lisa Panarello, CEO of Careers Advance Consulting, to run a series of workshops for our students on skills they will need to succeed in the future. The workshops covered:
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SAT Classes, February 7-May 3, 2007
This year, the BwCCS Alumni Program held SAT classes on-site in the BwCCS Lower School. Seven students participated in the program, which began in February with a practice test, and ended at the beginning of May in time for the students to take the May 5th SAT test. As one instructer, Rebecca Pronsky, informed the students the first day, the class was not about Math or English content, but rather understanding test-taking techniques, and the SAT test itself. One student commented, "I used some of the skills I learned in SAT class on my multiple choice science test today!" |
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Alumni Speak at Junior Board Meeting, February 1, 2007 A new initiative of the Beginning with Children Foundation, the Junior Board is a group of 15-20 young business professionals interested in assisting our two charter schools carryout their mission. The board's members are dynamic, diverse and experienced professionals from fields such as finance, law, marketing, government, medicine, journalism, and consulting. One primary focus of the Junior Board's activities is working with the alumni program to enhance its activities with volunteers and to assist with the further growth and development of the program. Two alumni, Vikki Campos and Khushbu Khatri, spoke at the first Junior Board event to share their own experiences at the Beginning with Children Charter School. |
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Senior Night, January 30, 2007
The BwCCS class of 2003 are seniors in high school this year, and in order to celebrate "senior slump," the end of the last semester of high school grades that colleges see, the alumni program hosted a small get-together. Seniors discussed how the college application process had gone, reflected on their high school experiences, and shared their plans for next year. |
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Winter Ice Skating Trip, December 27, 2006 20 alumni went ice skating in Prospect Park on December 27, 2006. For many of the alumni, this was the first time they had ever been on the ice, and while some took to the sport like fish to water, others spent much of the day with white knuckles clutching the railings. Even these terrified alumni had a great time, and all enjoyed the chance to catch-up and spend some times outdoors in the brisk sunshine! For more pictures, click here! |
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2006 BwCCS Alumni Holiday Party, December 8, 2006
The BwCCS Alumni Program Holiday Party was held on December 8, 2006, in the BwCCS lower school cafeteria. Fifty alumni, teachers, and parents celebrated the season with good food and good company. Alumnus Ricky Salcedo was the DJ for the event, but even when Ricky stopped the music, few alumni were willing to go home. For more pictures, click here! |
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Albany College Tour, October 9, 2006
24 high school sophomores, juniors and seniors boarded a charter bus and set out for Albany, the state's capital, and the site of this fall's Alumni College Tour. The students visited the College of St. Rose and SUNY Albany, and came home with a much better understanding of what it takes to get into college. The highlight of the day was a special appearance by alumnus Omar Lopez, who is the student government president at St. Rose. Omar spoke to the students at their orientation and showed them his office before they toured the rest of the campus. The students asked some very thoughtful questions, and came away understanding that the decisions they make in high school will impact their college options. Some of the student reactions included:
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Summer Internship Luncheon, August 11, 2006 Judging by the remarks they gave at the annual intern luncheon, this year's alumni interns learned much about the world of work during their six-week internships. Each intern gave a short speech to their peers and supervisors describing their experiences. Their comments included:
Following the speeches, alumni and supervisors were treated to a catered lunch. Click here to read more about the annual Summer Internship Program. |
