Foundation Communities and Heart House Partner for Family Success

Heart House continues to be grateful for and proud of its partnership with Foundation Communities. Foundation Communities is a nonprofit organization that creates high-quality affordable housing and empowers low-income families and individuals with programs that educate, support, and improve financial standing. Heart House operates its two afterschool centers from within Foundation Communities properties and serves the children of Foundation Communities residents. Foundation Communities provides Heart House with a monthly stipend, which greatly assists Heart House in its mission to offer high-quality afterschool programming. Additionally, Foundation Communities allows Heart House the use of its buildings at no charge and gifts all utility payments and other expenses, such as use of the computer lab, as in-kind, saving Heart House more than $100,000 annually! Additionally, we recently submitted our first joint grant proposal with Foundation Communities to a local foundation, which resulted in significant funding for both programs. We thank Foundation Communities (especially our friends Walter, Julian and Robin) from the bottom of our "heart!"

Studies Show Programs like Heart House Develop Deep Understanding of New Knowledge

Today's students will enter a job market that values skills and abilities far different from the traditional workplace talents that so ably served their parents and grandparents. They must be able to crisply collect, synthesize, and analyze information, then conduct targeted research and work with others to employ that newfound knowledge. In essence, students must learn how to learn, while responding to endlessly changing technologies and social, economic, and global conditions.

Programs like Heart House provide these activity-rich experiences. An excerpt and link from Brigid Barron's article in Edutopia is below:

"Traditional academic approaches -- those that employ narrow tasks to emphasize rote memorization or the application of simple procedures -- won't develop learners who are critical thinkers or effective writers and speakers. Rather, students need to take part in complex, meaningful projects that require sustained engagement and collaboration."

URL: http://www.edutopia.org/inquiry-project-learning-research

The takeaway from this article:

• Students learn more deeply when they can apply classroom-gathered knowledge to real-world problems, and when they take part in projects that require sustained engagement and collaboration.
• Active-learning practices have a more significant impact on student performance than any other variable, including student background and prior achievement.
• Students are most successful when they are taught how to learn as well as what to learn.

Read Along with Heart House!

Here's a few books we're reading as part of October's "My Community" theme. Read along with us!



In My Family/En mi familia by Carmen Lomas Garza Lomas Garza uses her narrative paintings to relate her memories of growing up in Kingsville, Texas, near the Mexican border, and to reflect her pride in her Mexican American heritage. The artist portrays everyday events as well as special moments of family history in crisply colorful, vibrantly peopled paintings and provides brief, bilingual background stories for each of the 13 paintings.

I Got Community by Melrose Cooper
Several young narrators deliver various rhyming stanzas ("I got a best friend, helps me loyal./ We got a thing no fight can spoil"; "I got a sitter, helps me safe,/ Pulls on my gloves so my hands don't chafe"). Illustrating these are Gottlieb's bright, simple paintings, rendered in gestural outlines and brushed-in areas of undiluted color, and depicting a multiracial crew.

Learn more about our programs!
www.hearthouse.org/

Watch the Heart House Video!

Wonderful Heart House friend Jay Rogers has shot a moving video of our program. We are so grateful for his immense talent and his dedication to Heart House. Thank you so much, Jay!

View the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J7zLZ706VM

Red Carpet Rollout

Both Heart Houses are pleased to report that the Red Carpet Rollout was a great success! Heart House North students traveled to our South center for day of fun and glamour to celebrate the end of our theme, “Lights, Camera, Action!”Students began the day by walking the red carpet which was manned with our very own paparazzi! Then, all students and staff were treated to the premiere of two filmed newscasts produced by our Mixed Media classes, a dance presentation choreographed by the North Music and Dance class, a performance of “How A Kid…” by the North On The Stage class, a performance of “Chicken Little” by the South On The Stage class and Heart House Idol Grand Finale! (Congratulations to both of our winners: Nene and The Soulja Boyz on a job well done!) Our Summer Awards Ceremony (our version of the “Oscars”) followed, as we honored the most outstanding students of the summer. Finally, students got to mix and mingle as they explored various activities together. Students chose from dress-up in the Costume Room, dance and photos in the Dance Party Room, “Making Musical Instruments” in the Art Room or Sports and Games outside.


Miss Monica can’t contain her urge to sing some Alicia Keys to the kids!

We are especially thankful for the time and hard work of all of the volunteers who made this event possible. We got to make some wonderful memories and meet lots of new friends!

We had such a spectacular group of special guests and would like to thank them for sharing their time and talents with us:

Heart House North Guests:

• Greg-Green Screen DemoDonise Hardy-Casting Audition Workshop
• Notre Dame Alumni Group-Creative Writing Workshop
• Rackspace Team-Heart House Idol Judges
• Travis County Health Services-Underage Drinking Prevention
• Lainie Frasier-Voice Acting
• Deddrick Porter from Teens in Action-Heart House Idol Judge
• Jeff Schans-Stunts!
• Meredith Johns-Costume Make-Up
• Bill and Chris - Gorilla Productions
  

Heart House South Guests:

• Paul Haygood & Co-Juggling demonstration & instruction
• LifeWorks presented “Tobacco and Minors” for older students and “Playful Parenting” workshop for families
• Austin Slam Poetry Team Member Tony Jackson- Mini-Poetry Slam
• Rehman Bhalesha taught salsa to all classes
• Master Eye Associates provided free eye exam pre-screenings to all students
• Angela Aja-Chefin’ with the Chef Marshmallow Cook-Out

And a HUGE thanks to those who made it out to both sites!

• A-Town Productions-Music Video Shoot & Production
• 4-H-Hula-hoop activities and donated free decorated ones for National Hula-Hoop Day
• Fermin Navar - Founder, Maison de Navar, Inc.
• Notre Dame Alumni Group –- creative writing workshop
• Luke McClory -- scriptwriting!Students of the Holy Cross High School

Share your talents with the Heart House kids this fall!

Ask any of the guests above, and they'll tell you that time spent at one of our Heart Houses was a highlight for their month. If you would like to learn more, please contact Shelly-Marie, our Volunteer Coordinator, at volunteer@hearthouse.org or at (512) 929-8187.

Risk-Free Way to Explore Volunteering at Heart House

Volunteer Orientations take place throughout the year at both Heart House Austin locations. Many of these orientations take place during the program hours so you can observe first-hand what volunteering with the wonderful Heart House children is all about.

For more dates and locations of orientations, please visit us online at www.hearthouse.org/volunteering