Lights On! Afterschool

The Lights On Afterschool event, hosted by Youth Development Commission, was a great success. I wish that more of you would have been able to attend. Lights on Afterschool is a national event that puts the focus on the need for afterschool programs. Our clubhouse was invited to participate in an Art Show and Sale, in which all proceeds would go to our program. I, along with Mrs. Pope, the Girls Day volunteer mentor, Bryan, Kelly, Keyona, and Jessica attended. We sold craft items created in the clubhouse. We made $17.25. Plans are to use these funds for the Halloween party on Friday, October 31. Now $17.25 will not buy very much, so if you plan to attend, you need to plan to bring something. (See me to sign up for what you will bring). Costumes are optional.

Everyone should know that they must have a three-ring binder. You should have completed the following projects or instructions:

1. You should have a cover page that you created using The Print Shop or MS Publisher.
2. You should be using the typing tutor program during every clubhouse visit and logging the results of the typing test on the Typing Test Log sheet (located on the front table). This sheet is to be kept in your binder.
3. You should have a folder on the network in the Members folder and know how to navigate to it. Remember: "public on Nwac-svr" (Example: p:\members\cblue)
4. You should have at least 10 pictures of you in your folder. You can be in a picture with other people. If you don't have at least 10 pictures, see me for a camera so you can get to shooting.
5. You should know how to manipulate a photo using Adobe Photoshop.
6. All teens should have started a resume. If you have not, see me for help. It is not hard to do. You should be preparing yourself to be ready to job hunt for a summer job (in the spring).
7. Lastly, You should have started a PowerPoint presentation that documents your experiences in the NWAC Intel Computer Clubhouse.

If you want to remain a member of the clubhouse, these things are required to be completed. If you need any help, just ask. There are several members, in addition to me, who can assist you to do these projects.

The purpose of today's blog is to tell you about the Lights On Afterschool event. I hope that you enjoy this reading. Please note that the photographs were taken by Bryan Lee and Keyona Lee.

Lights On Afterschool was held on October 16 at the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit located in the "Cultural Center" across from the DIA. We were directed to our table to set up our crafts for sale. The room had several selling/display tables as well as a stage and chairs aligned auditorium style.Our table was sandwiched between a very creative clown and a gentleman who created puppets. The clown was busy making balloon characters for all the kids. There was a line of about 50 kids waiting patiently to get their choice of creation. Some kids had the clown make them hats, others chose to have a bracelet or a sword. No matter what the request, Mr. Clown responded with a balloon twisted to the desired request. I saw Bryan with a sword and a hat. Kelly also had a hat, while Keyona and Jessica each were made a lovely bracelet.

Of course the clown was not the only entertainment, there were several live performances, including singing, dancing, African drumming. There was even a young lady who did a dramatic dance as a mime.

The entire event was fun for all. We certainly would like to thank the Youth Development Commission for inviting our clubhouse to participate.

We Do Multimedia

I'm very pleased that so many members have set up and started using a gmail account. I informed several members that they are required to write at least two paragraphs. I'm hoping that this writing practice will help improve your writing skills, so pay attention to punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, etc. Try to write your best each time.

The Computer Clubhouse is a place where you learn to use the computer to design, create, invent and explore. We do this through multimedia - writing, drawing, photography, recording audio and video, making movies, and creating animation. We have spent September working with alot of text projects - typing practice and writing email/chat messages. October will have us adding graphic design projects. Our goals this month are to create at least two projects using Microsoft PowerPoint, The Print Shop, and Adobe Photoshop. We will be using the digital camera to get pictures for our projects. You may also bring in photos to scan into the computer for use in projects. These photos can be of you, your family members, or even from your favorite magazine. Remember that the projects that you create can be posted on the Clubhouse Village. If you do not have a Village username and password, you need to let me know so it can be set up.