Communities In Schools of NOVA In Action

After-School Clubs Ramping Up at Wakefield

It is hard to believe that APS students began the second semester two months ago! As we enter the second half of our year, several CIS partners are returning to Wakefield to continue their work enriching the lives of students, and building key assets in the areas of community service, civic engagement and learning marketable skills. Below are a few updates from our two of our partners: Liberty’s Promise After working with nearly 50 students in their civic engagement program during the fall semester, Liberty’s Promise will return to Wakefield to begin work with their spring cohort. Students in Liberty’s Promise Civics and Citizenship [...]

Madelon Brennan2020-03-08T14:26:40+00:00April 1st, 2016|0 Comments

Hammerheads After School Club with the Alexandria Seaport Foundation

The Alexandria Seaport Foundation helps to support students at the middle school level to build model boats, cigar box guitars, skateboards and much more. This is a hands-on experience for our students to learn to build while applying math and science skills all the while having fun! This program also supports the IB Middle Years Program goals in the subject area of technology, as well as promoting community and service. We successfully completed our first trebuchet project, which turned out to be amazing Skittle launching devices! Next up: skateboards! Cowabunga!

Madelon Brennan2016-08-15T15:07:19+00:00March 29th, 2016|0 Comments

A Community of Support for Students with Dental Needs

28 Arlington Mill High School students woke up early before 6:00am on Saturday, March 12th, to take advantage of a free dental clinic called Mission of Mercy. The program, created by the Virginia Dental Association, provides uninsured and low-income adults with high-quality dental care during a two-day event at the Northern Virginia Community College Medical Education Campus in Springfield, VA. With support from the Arlington County Department of Human Services, Communities In Schools of NOVA was able to register and refer students to Mission of Mercy for cleanings, teeth fillings, and other important dental needs. Volunteers and dentists from the Northern Virginia [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-03-21T15:56:16+00:00March 21st, 2016|0 Comments

Seeking Volunteers for Wakefield’s Sophomore Career Day 2016

Each year, the Wakefield counseling department and Communities In Schools of NOVA coordinate a Career Day for sophomore students. After hearing from a keynote speaker, volunteer speakers rotate between tables of students, sharing their stories and perspectives, for approximately 10 minutes (completing 4-5 rotations). Also during this time, students ask volunteers questions about their career and education paths, learning invaluable information about the importance of education, networking, and a firm handshake! To volunteer, please contact CIS Site Coordinator Dan Howard at dan@cisofnova.org or (703) 228-2384 and register USING THIS LINK. Sophomore Career Day 2016 Date: Wednesday, March 30th Time: 8:30am – 11:30am [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:27:16+00:00March 14th, 2016|0 Comments

Full Circle: Reaching Back and Reaching Out

By Cathy Celestino, CIS of NOVA Outreach Coordinator If you were to find (or lose) yourself wandering the stacks of the Perry-Castañeda Library on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin, you could dig up a bound report dated 1992 and titled, “A Gang Prevention Model for Communities In Schools of Texas.” It’s hard to believe that 24 years ago that was my Professional Report, the hard-copy product of the capstone experience of the Master of Public Affairs degree at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. One of the hallmarks of the LBJ School degree programs is the emphasis on [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:32:54+00:00March 11th, 2016|0 Comments

Empowering Students through STEM & Robotics

The Robotics Club at Gunston Middle School, part of the Emerging Leaders Program through Edu-Futuro and in collaboration with the Minority Achievement Office, entered two teams in their first competition this past Saturday, February 27, at the Arlington Career Center. The Adam Nesbitt Robotics Challenge, named in honor of the late technology teacher at Gunston, included morning workshops for the students and an afternoon of completing challenges against three other Arlington schools. As the date of the competition drew closer, the two Gunston teams competing in Saturday’s Challenge dedicated every single afternoon to practicing with their robots. One seventh grade student named Tania, who [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-15T15:07:31+00:00March 4th, 2016|0 Comments

Hyatt-Regency at Crystal City Explores Career Readiness, Hospitality

CIS of NOVA is partnering with Hyatt-Regency at Crystal City this spring to explore topics in career readiness, and careers in the hospitality field. During last year’s program, students created resumes, practiced interviewing skills, and visited the Hyatt-Regency in Crystal City to see what happens behind the scenes at one of the busiest places to work in Northern Virginia. During the February 11th session, freshmen students met with representatives from Hyatt to discuss personal branding, and the basics of networking. From identifying aspects of well-known brands such as Apple and Nike, to brainstorming ways that students can present their own “brand”, the [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-03-01T15:35:21+00:00March 1st, 2016|0 Comments

Diversity within Arlington Mill High School & the Arlington Career Center

By Cristian Pineda, Arlington Mill High School CIS Site Coordinator Before the first bell rings at 8am, the Arlington Career Center is filled with over 1,000 students coming from all over Arlington County. There are students who come from other high schools to take the career and technical classes, those who stay here full-time in the special programs of the school, and there even is Arlington Mill High School based inside the Career Center. It is a buzzing bee’s hive, and while all the students are worker bees in their own respective way, their differences are what unite them as future leaders [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:32:11+00:00February 26th, 2016|0 Comments

Full Circle: The Story of a Returning Site Coordinator

By Isabel Pérez, Francis C. Hammond Middle School CIS Site Coordinator Picture this: the year is 1998; Chumbawamba's on top of the charts; Chandler, Joey, Monica, and the gang reign supreme in TV land; the internet is just hitting its stride. Then there's me, a bright-eyed, patchouli-drenched college grad ready to take on the world. I was ready, I was driven, and I wanted nothing more than to say goodbye to long, cold New England winters. So I did what every not-sure-what-to-do-with-my-life college grad does; I joined AmeriCorps Vista! I researched a few assignments and narrowed it down to a small program [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:26:35+00:00February 22nd, 2016|0 Comments

Combating Food Insecurity in the City of Alexandria

Francis C. Hammond Middle School is now one of the newest participants in the Blessings In a Backpack (BIB) program, thanks to the new partnership between Communities In School of NOVA, the United Way of the National Capital Area, ALIVE (ALexandrians InVolved Ecumenically), and the Alexandria Food Center. As the country honored the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 18th, we celebrated his legacy by launching BIB at Francis C. Hammond Middle School. Over 12 volunteers gathered at the Alexandria Food Center and worked diligently to pack 200 weekend backpacks for students at Hammond. These backpacks will be distributed to [...]

Madelon Brennan2016-08-16T15:26:26+00:00February 16th, 2016|0 Comments