Posts Tagged ‘clubs’

Name: Owen Lamothe
Hometown: Hamden,  CT 
College and Major: Middlebury College, Arabic and International Politics and Economics 
Tutoring Site: Bristol Street
Clubs: Chess and Math
Favorite Childhood Book: Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine

When I first walked into the Bristol Street site on January 31st, 2019, to interview as part of the process to be a tutor, I would never have expected that I would have the opportunity 3 years later to experience all that New Haven Reads has to offer. I was a busy high school freshman who could only come into tutor 1 hour a week, and for that small window of time, I always took the chance to observe the staff, tutors, students, parents, and everyone in between all coming together to learn and have a blast while doing it. This feeling remained constant throughout my three years at Willow Street. When I found out about the KeyBank Summer Intern position, I jumped at the chance to join the community in a larger role.

My favorite part of the summer so far has been leading and helping with the Bristol Street summer clubs. New Haven Reads is a community of learners, no matter what role everyone plays. When I lead the chess club, I’m surrounded by eager chess students and volunteer helpers that bring a lot of chess experience to the club. Every meeting people meet each other where they’re at and we have so much fun playing chess, getting to know each other through icebreakers, and beating the heat inside at the chessboard. As someone who is passionate about language learning, I had a really meaningful day on July 20th, when I had to put my Arabic skills to the test to help translate information about the Vision to Learn program. In moments like these, being a KeyBank Intern at New Haven Reads allows me to interact with many members of the amazing greater-New Haven community and for that I am extremely grateful.

It is amazing to be back in-person with New Haven Reads this summer! Every day when I walk into the Bristol Street site I can sense the same sense of enthusiasm amongst everyone there. I am so lucky to be able to dive deeper into this community and help support our students in having a fun and productive summer. Thank you to the entire New Haven Reads organization and community for this opportunity. I also sincerely appreciate KeyBank for this internship opportunity. Thank you and have a great rest of the summer!

 

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The New Haven Reads Creative Writing Club has been busy! The students from all four sites, including Saturday at Bristol St., in grades 3 and up have put together an amazing newsletter. They worked for three sessions to create the “New Haven Reads Chronicle.” The talented writers included stories about current events, breaking news, and even super heroes!

Check out the full New Haven Chronicle here.

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This spring our students have been busy sharing the joy and power of reading in new ways. Take a look at our video below to see for yourself!

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Mary Connors, New Haven Reads’ literacy specialist, can be found every Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. on Zoom with a room full of students, challenging them to think creatively, write beautifully, and share their finished written products with each other. For the second time, Mary is leading the Creative Writing Club. Even better, due to immense student interest, she’s leading two different sessions, one at Dixwell with older students and one at Willow Street with younger students.

Mary draws on a wealth of experience, having taught high school English and led an after-school Poetry Club before coming to New Haven Reads. Anyone who joined the Creative Writing Club for a day would not be surprised to learn about Mary’s background. It shows in her interactions with students, dedication to the process, and genuine interest in bringing out their best writing during every session.

She recently asked her younger students to write a two-person play. “They did a fabulous job. Being younger kids, I didn’t know they’d get rolling that quickly with their plays,” Mary said.

The students broke into groups of two after learning about the project, and they began with only 10 minutes left. Mary was surprised to discover that some kids had already completed their short skits by the end of the 10 minute period.

Most of all, though, she was just pleased that the students were enjoying themselves and improving their confidence in their writing in the Creative Writing Club. 

Mary shared, “I wanted to bring in social interaction, and really, I wanted them to truly grow as writers, which requires consistent practice with lots of writing. That’s the main difference between the Creative Writing Club this spring versus the one in the summer.” 

This summer was about giving the students an opportunity to express their feelings while they dealt with the unprecedented, compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial tension. “During that time,” she said, “I wanted to give them a platform to express how they felt, as well as expose them to different genres.”

However, the spring Club is an opportunity to write. Mary summed it up nicely, saying, “The students write in the beginning, they write throughout, and they write in the end.”

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