Family Dinner Fun

Last night at Miniwanca we had a St. Patrick's Day themed Family Dinner. There were about forty people present to enjoy a traditional Irish meal of corned beef, cabbage, and champ (creamy mashed potatoes with leeks). After devouring our shamrock shortbread cookies, folks enjoyed a hike, indoor soccer, and St. Patrick's Day crafts. We rounded the evening out with spring bingo. Three lucky winners walked away with some great Miniwanca shwag!

Come join us in April for the next round of Family Dinners. Invite anyone and everyone; all Family Dinners are open to the entire Shelby School District!

What's Going On?

Update from the High School:

Students have been working with a jewelry artist, high school teacher Mrs. Joyce Thompson, to learn the art of creating wire jewelry.  Their first project was creating a heart pendant by bending, twisting, and hammering copper wire, then adding various glass beads as accents.  Some made necklaces with their pendants, others used them to make one of a kind key chains.  Their most recent lesson was in making wire rings; there were some great looking rings on the hands of many!  In order to make the rings, students had to learn what a sizer was and how to use it to make the rings fit and to create the design they wanted.

"Jewelry is cool because you get to make your own jewelry in your own way, you know what I mean?  It is like art because you get to express yourself in it."    - Junior Jaime Regalado 

Update from New Era:



Professional photographers in the making!



New Era Aspire students are taking up cameras and fotodocumenting the New Era Aspire experience.  We are going to make a Power Point with captions by students!!!  Cameraman David T said, "I had fun on my turn taking pictures of my friends!"

It's craft time!

Thursdays at New Era are club day.  After homework time the guys spend an hour as Boy Scouts and are making derby cars.  The girls work with Sarah Jo R and high school volunteers learning new craft skills.  Hannah T says about Girls Craft Time, "Awesome!! I want MORE!!!!

News from the sites

Update from Halley Church McHugh and Thomas Read:

Mat Emerick of Patchwork Pear came Monday, February 14 to perform for Thomas Read, New Era and the Middle School. Patchwork Pear is a local couple that specializes in combining story telling, mine, clowning and magic to tell tales and teach life-long lessons. The students had a great time!

Update from Laura Gauthier and the Middle School:

We just wrapped up our 2nd 8 weeks with the students making some beautiful ceramic pieces with Mrs. Stratton. The quality of the work was very impressive. Our new session this 8 weeks will include fine arts with Annie teaching an art class as well as Music Appreciation. As our newest staff member she brings with her some great skills and talents. She is also teaching a Readers Theatre class for those aspiring actors.

Mr. White, the principal, is teaching our students the skills involved in the fine art of table tennis. He is giving us Wednesday afternoons out of his busy schedule to work with the kids on playing properly and not just hitting the ball over the net.

We have started an Archery class this session. Students will learn proper techniques, safety measures and the rules of competitive bow shooting. They also have the opportunity to learn fly fishing as they will be tying their own flies and learning about how to cast them.

February 14 Dinner Cancelled

The Family Dinner for this evening has been cancelled due to low enrollment.  Dinner on Wednesday, February 16 is still happening as scheduled.  Please RSVP with your child's specific Site Coordinator.  See you on Wednesday for great food, fun activities, and prizes!

January Family Dinner

We had a small but mighty group at Miniwanca for the January Family Dinner on Wednesday, January 19.  While there were only two families that attended, Thomas Read, New Era, and the Middle School were all represented.  We had a great dinner of homemade chili and enjoyed crafts, pin-the-nose-on-the-snowman, and winter bingo.

Check out the Upcoming Events page to see when the next Family Dinner is!

Happy New Year!

We at Aspire hope you enjoyed your holidays!  It's great to see all the Aspire students again; let's start 2011 off with a bang!  Check out the Upcoming Dates page to see what's on the horizon for Aspire.

Thomas Read will head to Miniwanca next week Monday and Tuesday; New Era will follow on Wednesday and Thursday.  Bring those snow boots and gloves!

Rosetta Stone for Parents

Do you want to learn English or Spanish?

Aspire will be offering Rosetta Stone classes for both English and Spanish beginning in the new year. The classes will take place on Mondays starting January 24th from 5 - 6 pm. This is a great opportunity for all to either beginning learning or to advance their language skills.


Sample topics include:
• Learn basics such as age and family relations
• Questions, greetings, introductions
• Telling time, calendar terms, the weather
• Directions, locations, dining out
• Emotions, opinions, ideas
• Political, media, business terms
• Arranging home repairs
• Planning to move abroad
• Discussing the arts and tourism
• Careers and conducting interviews
• Problem-solving and commercial transactions

You can read the full flyer here. Sign up with Kim Morden today to reserve your spot.