We're "Gaga" Over This Year's Barneys New York Holiday Windows!

For the past few years, Barneys New York has invited students in the Thriving Minds After School program to create art for inclusion in their holiday window display.  This year Barneys teamed up with Lady Gaga to create a holiday initiative called GAGA'S WORKSHOP.

Students from Hill Middle School produced these creative Lady Gaga portraits currently on display at Barneys New York at NorthPark Center.  Be sure to stop by and check them out next time you're there!

Photo Friday: Summer Favorites

With the first week of a new school year coming to an end, we thought we'd reflect on some of the great things that happened this summer.  Thanks to our dedicated staff, volunteers, partners and teachers, we were able to provide quality summer programming for thousands of children and teens.  Through summer camp for elementary and middle school students (including Fair Park Live!, a day of interactive career exploration for middle schoolers), Creative Solutions and DallasKidsRead, these students were challenged to think creatively, achieve academically, make healthy choices and become productive, forward-thinking and engaged citizens.     Thank you to everyone who played a part in making summer 2011 a success!

Photo Friday: Movers and Shakers at the Harry Stone Rec Center

Summer camp at Harry Stone Recreation Center had kids moving in the right direction.  The camp is focused on providing youth with health and wellness resources including exercise, dance and sports classes.  The class I observed, Dance Xxplosion, was taught by Victoria Davis.  The class is a combination of elementary and middle school boys and girls.  They have spent the past month learning a variety of dances including hip-hop and modern line dance.  Among the favorites were the Cupid Shuffle, a dance to the Jackson 5’s “ABC”, and a choreographed routine to “Poker Face.” 

Here's what students had to say about their camp experience:

“I do what they love to do.  They dance.  I teach dance because I want invest in their future,” said Victoria Davis, Dance Xxplosion teacher.  Davis is a teacher with Dallas ISD and has been teaching dance for 18 years.

“Dance is something most kids express their emotions through.  That’s why I dance.  I can get out my anger or show my excitement for something,” said Hunter Rascon, 15, North Mesquite High School.  “ You know, people can learn to dance, some people are born to dance, but I think most people live to dance.”

“I like the class because we’re free.  We get to move around and express ourselves,” said Shaquayla Fleming, 13, Seagoville Middle School.

“It’s fun.  I like hip-hop because of the rhythm,” said Sha’Ron Manning, 11, W.E. Greiner Middle School and Exploratory Arts Academy.

Photo Friday: Creative Solutions

Last week, Big Thought's Creative Solutions program ended its seven-week summer program with an original play Super Solutions. The play - a comedy that featuring five super heroes who step in to guide teens to take the right path in life - was written, choreographed and performed by the nearly 50 teens in the program with the support of a team of teaching artists.

The incredible team of adults who worked with the teens included Camille Haley, Will Richey, Alejandro Perez, Marques Phillips, Allison Caldwell, Mario Garcia, Tom Gelo, Jeffrey Moffitt, James Justinic, Aneesha Kudtarkar, Jonathan Tyler, Catherine Hopkins and Lisa Schmidt! 

A huge shout out to the following:

• SMU Meadows School of the Arts for hosting the program at their campus for five years!
• Olive Garden for catering the opening performance luncheon for 100 people and providing "Lasagna Fridays" to the 50 teens for five years!
• Embrey Family Foundation, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers and National Endowment for the Arts for supporting Big Thought's Creative Solutions program
• The Dallas County Juvenile Department for partnering with Big Thought for 18 years so that together we can show the at-risk teens that where they have been does not determine who they can become. 

Callie's Fair Park Live! Wrap Up

This summer, more than 1,800 Dallas ISD middle school students have been participating in the Thriving Minds Summer Camp at Fair Park. The mix of academic learning and exploration with the museums and institutions at Fair Park is re-thinking how students can learn during the summer.

On Thursday, July 21, the Tower Building was bustling with the energy of Fair Park Live! presented by Ernst & Young. Students walked the floor of a special kind of tradeshow to learn about careers and the importance of education. Along the way they interacted with professionals from 50 organizations on project-related tasks from industries including accounting, engineering, nuclear science, dentistry, airline transportation, law enforcement and publishing… just to name a few.

Many presenters met with students in small groups, which allowed them to receive individual attention, ask lots of questions, and learn by doing. Some of the flashiest displays that I saw included:
• Designing magazine covers with D Magazine
• Launching rockets and operating robots with Lockheed Martin
• Tinkering with lighting and sound equipment on a full technical stage from Alford Media
• Racing to put on a protective hazmat suit with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Learning geography and what it means to soar with American Airlines

Big Thought thanks Ernst & Young for their sponsorship and support of our first ever career event for middle school students, as well as everyone who made Fair Park Live! a vibrant and meaningful success.  Thank you also to our partners at UNT and to all of the professionals who shared their time and talents with these students.

Summer Camp at the South Dallas Cultural Center

Here's a peek into the programming at the South Dallas Cultural Center. Kids of all ages are experiencing programs focused on the visual, media, literary and performing arts. This program is supported by Thriving Minds.

So much great programming happens at this facility under the leadership of Vicki Meeks. If you haven't had the chance to visit go soon! In fact, visit the 3rd Thursday of the month from 7-9 pm for an Evening of Spoken Word Open Mic hosted by Michael Guinn, Fort Worth National Poetry Slam champion.

Photo Friday - Summer Camp at the Bath House

Today's photos come from the Thriving Minds summer camp at the Bath House Cultural Center.                                                                                                                          
Over the last four weeks, 25 8- to 11-year-olds learned about visual arts, theater, puppetry, mime and melodrama and created an original show with eight unique scenes: 

• The History of White Rock Lake:  Told Through Mime
• Pet Shop Problems:  A Melodrama
• Bad Bank business:  A Melodrama
• Lunch at the Sunset Inn:  Stage Combat
• Who's On First:  Abbott and Costello
• Ice Cream Incident:  A Melodrama
• Hand Jive:  A Fifties Party and Puppets
• I Got a Feeling:  A Dance Extravaganza 

In addition to studying visual and performing arts, students pitched in to spruce up the area around the Bath House.  As you may remember, last year summer camp students auctioned off their original artwork to raise money to help keep White Rock Lake clean as part of their SLANT 45 project.  They raised more than $800, and this year students used those funds to renovate the outdoor amphitheater.                                             
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A big thank you to the instructors - Kineta Massey, Bonita Harthan, Julius Longshaw and Kent Williams - and our friends at the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs for making this camp happen!

Photo Friday - Stockard Middle School Cheerleaders Place At Competition

The L. V. Stockard Middle School cheer squad recently placed second in the the Cheer Power State Competition at Six Flags in Arlington!

"Twenty girls were part of this project since August 2010. They started with no uniforms and no experience. They practiced Monday through Friday, after-school till 6:30 every day. They fundraised $3,500 by December 2010. They were able to buy cheerleading uniforms and pay for all competition fees. Big Thought sponsored this group buying them pom-poms, socks, and performance bows to use the day of competition.  I'm glad I was able to enjoy this experience with an awesome group of kids!" - Coach Jessica Weems

Congrats to the Stockard cheerleaders for their hard work and their second place win!

Photo Friday - Ryan Neufeld at Moreno Elementary

Today's photos come from the two-week summer camp at Moreno Elementary.  On June 16, former Dallas Cowboy Ryan Neufeld and his wife Dawn stopped by to read to students and sign autographs.

Photo Friday - A look back at some of our favorite moments

I love, love, love these photos and hope you do too!  They show kids being kids and having fun while learning in the after-school and community programs.

Photo Friday: Conner Elementary Students Perform at Japanese Celebration

On Saturday, May 7, a group of Thriving Minds after-school students from Conner Elementary had the chance to perform their dramatic interpretation of The Cloudmakers, a kabuki-style theatrical performance, as part of the Crow Collection of Asian Art’s Japanese Children’s Day celebration.

Photo Friday + Calling All Volunteers!

This Photo Friday's photos come from the Thriving Minds Afterschool program at McShan Elementary.  Volunteers from Bank of America helped students with their art projects and showed off the site of the flower garden they plan to plant.

We couldn't do what we do without the support of our volunteers!  Interested in helping out?  We have volunteer opportunities in the following areas:

Read Out Program

Thriving Minds Afterschool program is looking for enthusiastic, caring volunteers to read to school-age children in your local neighborhood school. Volunteers are asked to read to children and lead hands-on activities such as making bookmarks and creating storybooks. Books and hands on activities are provided for you.

When: Volunteers are needed Fridays from 3-5 p.m.
Age: Must be 18 years or older

 Thriving Minds Afterschool Program
Volunteers are needed to assist with arts and crafts activities, promote reading to children and assist with homework. This program is ongoing in 31 Dallas ISD schools with the Big Thoughts vision of improving the quality of education. Volunteers are asked to bring their creativity and materials. Basic reading skills are required.
When: Monday through Friday from 3-6 p.m.
Age: Must be 18 years or older

For more information on volunteering, please visit our website.

Photo Friday: SLANT 45 Project Highlights

Check out a few of the thousands of great SLANT 45 projects that took place from February through December 2010.  From producing a school-wide health fair to painting a mural to raising money for the food bank, these teams made a difference in their communities.

Photo Friday

This week's photos come from the premiere of SLANT 45 The Movie. The world premiere took place on Friday, January 28 at the Angelika Film Center in Plano, and the public premiere was held Sunday, January 30 at the Colleyville Cinema Grille. If you haven't yet seen the film, there are still plenty of opportunities left. Visit slant45.org/themovie for a list of locations and dates you where you can catch a FREE screening.

Filmmaker Mark Birnbaum arrives on the red carpet with Big Thought president/CEO Gigi Antoni and her daughter Analise.

Filmmaker Mark Birnbaum and producer Shelly Seymour take questions following the premiere.

FROGs team captain Will is interviewed by FOX 4's Clarice Tinsley as he arrives on the red carpet at the world premiere of SLANT 45 The Movie.  The FROGs collected more than 1,000 cans and raised more than $1,000 for the Tarrant Area Food Bank.

Clarke Cougars team captain Veronica signs a movie poster at the premiere post party.  Veronica's team developed a program to clean up and prevent graffiti at their Fort Worth elementary school.

Photo Friday

Remember this post about SLANT 45 art workshops at the Dallas Museum of Art? Well, guess what: the first round of workshops has been completed, and some fantastic community service-related artwork came out of it! Here are just a few of the pieces created by participants at the July 16th "Late Nights at the DMA" event:



Mark your calendars for the next Late Nights workshops on August 20, September 17 and October 15. We'll see you there!

Photo Friday...on Monday!

It's not Friday but we still wanted to share photos of some of the kids at the Charles Rice Learning Center participating in the Thriving Minds Summer Camp, as well as some of the artwork the kids created. This camp was a joint partnership with South Dallas Cultural Center. Hope you enjoy!

Photo Friday!

These little kiddos are participants in the Thriving Minds after-school program at Mills Elementary School. Under the direction of their extraordinary staff, led by Site Manager "Miss Judy," these students put on a fantastic music and dance extravaganza at the end of the school year!

Photo Friday

SLANT 45 is not just about community service - the kids who participate are also given the opportunity to reflect on their project and its effect on them and the community in a creative way. Each youngster is given an 8x8 sheet of paper on which they can draw, collage, paint - whatever their heart desires - to show their feelings on their accomplishments. The reflective art pieces are being collected and will be toured throughout north Texas in a special SLANT 45 exhibit. Here's a glimpse of the art that's been completed - more to come!

Photo Friday

Miss B's 3rd and 4th graders in the Thriving Minds after-school program at Twain Elementary chose to make a HUGE paper recycling bin for their school for SLANT 45. They primed the individual wooden pieces to make a smooth surface, used paper templates to plot out design elements, and painted the pieces of the bin with every color in the rainbow - especially green!

Photo Friday

Students in the Thriving Minds after-school program at Ireland Elementary chose to prepare and plant part of a Community Garden in their neighborhood for their SLANT 45. Big Thought Development staffer Katy (among others) went out to help them weed, hoe and plant - and she took some pictures of those hard-working kiddos while they were at it!


Congratulations to all who participated - and thank you for helping to make the Metroplex a greener, more awesome place to live!