Fulton School Celebrates Harvest Season with Truck Farm!
As the harvest season draws to a close, students at Fulton Elementary got to do a little harvesting of their own when Farmer Tim and Farmer Sydney pulled up to the playground in with their Truck Farm!
Students bundled up and gathered around the cheerful, painted truck. They stood on chairs so that they could get a clear view of all of the veggies growing in the truck bed while Farmers Tim and Sydney held a discussion about food. Why do people need to eat food? Where does food come from? What parts of plants do we eat?
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Cubs Front Office Hits a Homer For UI Kids!
Last Friday, a dreary winter-weather week finally broke, giving way to a sunny brisk afternoon. It almost felt like spring, and so it was no surprise that Wrigley Field was bustling with activity. More than 200 soccer players from seven different schools spread across the outfield grass at the Friendly Confines for an afternoon of soccer and Halloween crafting.
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Player Spotlight: Grecia, 3rd Grader at Pasteur Elementary
Each week of the Work to Play soccer season has a special theme, ranging from Teamwork to Healthy Eating. The coach and the team discuss the theme at practice and the kids complete handouts that allow them the opportunity to share their learning with their coaches. Last week's theme was Self-esteem.
Self-esteem is how we see ourselves and how we believe others see us. It affects the way we treat ourselves, the way we treat others, and the kinds of choices we make. When we are proud of our actions, qualities, and relationships we will have high self-esteem. Grecia, a 3rd grader at Pasteur Academy, is very proud of herself.
Why? Because she is on the soccer team! Since joining, she has become a leader on the field and in the classroom; scoring goals and getting good grades. Grecia respects her teammates, coaches, teachers, and parents. Even her work-ethic has improved. After all, it took a lot of pride and hard work to make such a beautiful drawing! Congratulations, Grecia!
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UI's Own Coach Jett Wins Coach of the Year Award, Meets Tony Hawk
Urban Initiatives congratulates Coach Faye Stevens-Jett for being honored with the Coach of the Year Award from Up2Us, an organization that supports youth development programs that use sports to improve the lives of kids across the country. Coach Jett, the Athletic Director and PE teacher at Morton School of Excellence, is a member of Urban Initiatives Coaches Corps (UICC). The goal of UICC is to enhance the character development, health education, physical fitness, and academic engagement in youth in the Chicago Public Schools.
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UI Kids Cheer Fire Onto Victory in Thrilling Season Finale!
Urban Initiatives wants to thank Section 8 for inviting 150 members of our team to the Chicago Fire game versus the Columbus Crew on October 22nd. Because of Section 8's support, participants from Daley, Nobel, and Walsh schools were able to travel to Toyota Park for the nail-biting season finale.
The trip for our kids to watch the Fire's final game of the 2011 season - and a 3 to 2 victory over the Crew - was definitely one of Urban Initiatives' most memorable outings ever. The stands were packed with 20,237 fans and our kids fed off the relentless energy of the Section 8 die-hards! All the kids were on the edge of their seats with the game tied 2-2 late in the game. Then, in the 81st minute, Diego Chaves netted a close-range rebound to send the crowd into hysterics and seal the victory for the Fire. Ending the seaon on such a strong note certainly bodes well for the 2012 season, and Urban Initiatives cannot wait for what's to come!
Section 8 and the Chicago Fire have been tremendous supporters of our soccer-based youth development throughout Chicago, and Urban Initiatives is incredibly grateful to have such committed partners!
Read more about the Fire's thrilling victory here!
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Brainstorming Solutions to Chicago’s Open Space Shortage
The Chicago Tribune just released a comprehensive article about the city’s struggling open spaces, including some of the work that Urban Initiatives has been doing through the Healthy Places project. The article, which can be read here looks at 10 different ways to support Chicago’s “park poor” neighborhoods, including a project to enhance walking and biking routes in targeted neighborhoods.
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State-of-the-Art Turf Fields Unveiled in UI Neighborhoods
On a beautiful autumn Saturday, community members gathered around to watch the dedication of three new regulation-size turf soccer fields around Chicago. These fields are part of the “Take the Field’ initiative, which utilized both private and public resources to enhance Chicago’s open spaces, creating an environment where people can come together and celebrate their community through sports.
Mayor Emanuel traveled to each new field for its dedication ceremony, along with Mike Kelly and Bryan Traubert on behalf of the Chicago Park District. At Humboldt Park, Urban Initiatives players from Otis and Prieto schools looked on as the Mayor thanked Penny Pritzker and Allstate CEO Tom Wilson for their contribution to the initiative. At Cornell Square, Coach Jauregi and the Daley School team cheered for Paul Finnegan, the President of Teach for America who sponsored their field. Coach Anthony and players from Reavis thanked the Chicago Bears Foundation for the field at Jackson Park.
Bryan Traubert announced that the fields are meant to be “places where the community can come together and a symbol of the private and public sectors working together to improve our hometown."
Player and families were all thrilled by the fancy feel of the new turf under their feet!
Read the official press release here!
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UI Branches Out with the Healthy Places Project
This year, Urban Initiatives is proud to be the host organization for the Healthy Places project focusing in the New City Community!
We will work in 5 community schools (some who already have our Work to Play Program, and some new recruits) to rally around the CPS Wellness Policy and initiate some projects to enhance healthy school environments. Also, we will be working on a Healthy Places to Walk project that involves examining the quality of biking and walking.
Ultimately, our goal is to be ready to do the Go for the Gold! (also known as the HealthierUS Schools Challenge) application next spring, so that our schools can receive public celebration and a monetary honorarium to fund further health and wellness projects.
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Player Spotlight: Yeira, 4th Grader at Otis Elementary
Yeira, a 4th grader at James Otis Elementary, loves being active. From the moment she climbs up the seemingly hundreds of stairs to the Otis gym on the fourth floor, Yeira’s energy and excitement is quite noticeable. Her commitment to the Urban Initiatives soccer team is evident each morning when she shows up to practice on time, is wearing her shin guards and when she tells Coach Sifuentes about the healthy food she ate for breakfast.
When asked what healthy foods she enjoys eating Yeira quickly responded, “Carrots and apples!” Instilling the idea of eating healthy foods and living active lives are the core of what Urban Initiatives teaches our players. The lessons our coaches teach players like Yeira on the soccer field translate to the classroom as well as at home. While at home, Yeira says she runs in her backyard and does jumping jacks. She also works on her soccer skills; her dribbling, passing and shooting has greatly improved as each week passes.
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Rainy Day at Reavis Elementary
Getting out from under a rain-smeared morning into the Reavis gym, I found a warm fire at soccer practice. The coaches were pumped, the players engaged. After some solid ball handling and passing work with Coach Jenny, the players were ready for the Berger challenge: a 2 on 1 breakaway against Coach Berger. Taking on all comers, Coach Berger only let a few goals sneak by on inspired passing from the players, and as the squeaks of shoes on the gym floor quieted, practice ended. Players then had a brief discussion on teamwork, followed by a morning snack of NutriGrain bar, natural vegetable-fruit juice (no sugar added!), and a fresh, shiny Red Delicious apple delivered that morning.
“Good Morning America” from UI players and…Mayor Emanuel!
On Friday, October 7th, Urban Initiatives players from Libby, Walsh, Jenner and Prieto schools got to meet Mayor Emanuel and film a TV commercial! The Mayor's Office reached out to the Urban Initiatives team and asked us if we wanted to invite some of our student athletes to film a promotion for Good Morning America. We said “YES!” of course.
Several of our schools are on a two week fall break right now, and we recruited some of our soccer champs from these schools to spend part of their vacation hobnobbing with the mayor and getting their faces on TV!
While he was shaking the kids' hands, Mayor Emanuel commented, "This is my favorite part of the job!"
Stay tuned for info on where you can see the video of our students and Mayor Emanuel shouting “From Chicago!” for Good Morning America.
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UI Hat Trick: Three Great Schools, Three Great Successes
We've reached our first midseason milestone with our Track E schools and with schools like Bethune Elementary, Lloyd Elementary, and Nobel Elementary, it's hard not to be excited about the remainder of the 2011-2012 program year. Seeing our healthy athletes salivating at the chance to play “Star Wars” after a long summer off, and our new players showing their obvious confusion while trying to figure out how a game called “Skittles” could possibly help to make them healthier is enough to make even the most stoic of observers smile from ear to ear.
At Bethune this year, we've welcomed a new OSPD, Coach Menzo Murphy. He's been upholding Bethune's standard of hard-work and excellence on the soccer field. Flanked on both sides by two dedicated parent assistant coaches, Bethune is off to a great start. And with returning players like Enyce Hunley constantly reminding you, “Coach, I got this! I'm a vet!”, there's no doubt that the Bethune Bears will roar themselves straight to an amazing season.
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