Summer of Moving to the Rhythm of San Francisco
This summer, our Jamestown programs spent their days “Moving to the Rhythm of San Francisco!” Students experienced a summer of adventure, diving into new territory every day with enriching, hands-on and collaborative activities.
To highlight our work to combat summer learning loss, each site celebrated Summer Learning Week at the beginning of July. Our staff focused on fostering STEM, literacy and creative cooperation. At our BVHM Beacon, students focused on financial literacy through different money-related activities. Our Longfellow program adventured near the Golden Gate Bridge to visit Crissy Field for a day of fun at the park. They hosted Karaoke Fridays and also designed their own t-shirts. Check out the video below for their summer recap video!
Longfellow students are all smiles at Crissy Field during a summer field trip day
Our Summer Voyage program at James Lick ventured out East to the Ponderosa Cove Campground for a weekend exploring the National Forest. The students learned valuable survival skills, like how to pitch a tent, while also relaxing by the lake. Campers helped advisors prepare meals and tend to the campground. They also enjoyed some quality time around the fire pit telling scary stories while snacking on s’ mores.
Our Youth In Charge (YIC) program spearheaded their summer as leaders of Communities Mobilizing Change on Alcohol (CMCA) - learning and taking action on the local alcohol and cannabis industries, addressing their effects on the community. YIC also volunteered at GLIDE, where they served meals to the community and assembled harm reduction kits while learning about risk reduction work in San Francisco. The Co-Founders of GLIDE, Janice Mirikitani, and Reverend Cecil Williams met with the youth and shared their inspiring story of beginning their organization as two volunteers looking to make a change in their community.
After volunteering, Youth In Charge members were honored to meet the GLIDE Co-Founders, Reverend Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani.
Over the summer, Loco Bloco held a weekly Rhythms of Resistance class, teaching Bloco style protest drumming, led by Arts Education Director Pedro Gomez at Brava Theater.
Our parent organizing team held a Social-Emotional Intelligence workshop for parents in collaboration with Jasmine Alvarez (from Instituto Familiar de la Raza), Alison Stewart (from Support for Families) and MEDA. The workshop focused on how Social-Emotional Intelligence impacts students’ lives and how they learn and socialize.
To wrap up summer programming, each site held performances for students to show their classmates and families everything they learned. Dancing, skits, videos, artwork, and more were shared. After a summer of, “Moving to the Rhythm of San Francisco,” we look forward to bringing the positive energy from summer into the new school year.