What’s Cooking? The Cooke Center For Learning and Development Summer 2010 Cooke Center News:
In this Issue: Awards Day and Commencement Page 1 Corporate Appreciation
Page 2
Cooke Students Give Back
Page 2
Jeff Gomez
Page 3
A Year in Photographs
Page 4
A Letter from the President of Cooke Dear Friends, Looking back on the year that has just ended, I am struck the by the prominent role creativity and the arts played in the lives of many of our students. Children in our Lower School studied drumming and Flamenco dancing. They created breath-taking art using their own photographs and computer software. When I read the poems of our middle school poets, I was moved by the beauty of their thoughts and images. Students from the Academy displayed their work in an East Village gallery. CCA SKILLs students offered their art for sale to raise funds for Haiti. When engaging in the arts, many of our students enjoy a sense of creativity and freedom that eludes them in many other areas of their lives. Our aim is to assist them to learn to bring that same creativity and freedom to each of the challenges they face. As you read the stories in this edition of What’s Cooking and explore our website you will see many examples of our students breaking though barriers that test scores and labels suggest that they would never cross. We are incredibly proud of all that our students have accomplished this year with the support of our devoted staff and their families. They have headed off for a welldeserved summer’s rest but I know they will return in the fall to continue growing, learning, and inspiring others. Sincerely, Michael Termini, PsyD
Volume 6 Issue 4
Onward and Upward! C CA C omm e nc e me n t and A war d s Day C e r em o ni e s
The end of the school year brings with it many milestones worthy of celebration. For our Lower and Middle School students, Cooke celebrates student achievement during our annual Awards Day. This year, we had a real treat – Musicians Rick and Louise Rodgers performed interactive Jazz classics like Ella Fitzgerald’s “A Tisket, A Tasket” and Louis Armstrong’s “W hat a W onderful W orld”. Students gleefully participated by stomping, clapping and dancing along. Following the performance, Dr. Termini took a moment to thank all the parents and staff for another successful school year and then it was time for the awards! Each and every student receives an award, recognizing an important achievement reached during the school year. Awards included the “Distinguished Scholar Award,” “Citizenship Award,” “Excellence in Reading Award” and “Outstanding Student Role Model.” The celebration ended with pizza party lunch for students, families and staff. Later that evening, the Cooke Center Academy honored 17 seniors during its commencement exercises and presented
achievement awards to underclassmen. Ms. Munsch opened the ceremonies by congratulating the seniors on their hard work and accomplishments. Many of the students will continue their studies as SKILLS students, while others will pursue their learning at programs such as Job Path, the New York Institute of Technology, VESID and an opticians training program. The students then offered their reflections on their time at CCA and their aspirations for the future. They thanked their families and classmates for their support and recognized special teachers who helped them along the way. Mr. Tabone delivered the closing remarks, telling students, “I would hope that at CCA one of the things you have learned is to move towards difficulties rather than backing away. Everything that occurs is not only usable but is actually a path itself. We can use everything that happens to us as the means for knowledge and to increase our clarity.” Congratulations to the CCA Class of 2010 for all you have achieved!
Cooke Salutes its Corporate Partners An inside look at some of Cooke’s generous corporate partnerships The Cooke Center is so grateful to our corporate partners who not only provide much-needed funding for our school, but also offer unique off-site and real-world opportunities for our students. The Moody’s Foundation has been a long-time, generous supporter of CCA and the Transition to Life Program. For the past several years, groups of Moody’s volunteers have visited the Cooke Center Academy to conduct mock interviews and help students build strong workplace and social skills. This year, two groups of volunteers interviewed 32 CCA students. During the interviews, students were able to practice their use of formal language and conversation skills, and had an opportunity to
talk about what they looking for in a job.
are
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has supported the Cooke Center since 2004, providing general operating funds and support for the Cooke Center Institute. The Bank of America branch on 8th Street and Broadway opened its doors this winter and spring to two groups of CCA students to reinforce lessons they were learning in math class. The bank manager and staff warmly welcomed them, gave them a tour, and spoke with them about the importance of saving money and managing a checking account. Our heartiest thanks to Moody’s and Bank of America for generously sharing their time and knowledge with our students!
Have a great
Cooke Students Give Back Lower and Middle school students raise money for Haiti Relief
summer everyone. We’ll see you in the fall!
This year, Cooke students certainly showed that they had heart – and plenty of it! Level I and II students at Corpus Cristi wanted to find a way to help cheer up all the children in Haiti who lost their homes during the earthquake. Head teachers Ms. Yang and Ms. Nelson helped the students to organize a bake sale with lots of delicious treats. The proceeds from the sale have been donated to an orphanage in Port-au-Prince. When Cooke’s Middle Schoolers learned about the earthquake in Haiti
they worked hard to find ways to contribute. With the help of their teachers and Ms. Gomez, who helped to coordinate the effort, they selected a charity (UNICEF) and asked their friends, classmates and families to donate spare change for this very important cause. After collecting several bag-fuls of change, they took a trip to a local branch of TD Bank on 68th St. and Broadway. Mr. Joseph Doolan, TD Bank’s Store Manager, and his wonderful staff welcomed them, showed them how to work the change machines, took them on a tour of the vault, and provided each student with a gift bag full of goodies. All in all, our students raised more than $300 for this very worthy cause. We would like to give a special thanks to our wonderful Cooke students and their teachers.
Transmedia Storytelling: Jeff Gomez pays a special visit to CCMS students What, you may ask, is "Transmedia Storytelling?" Well, on April 30, Jeff Gomez, President and CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, came to the Cooke Center Middle School to discuss this wildly innovative narrative technique with our students. As a young Latino who spent his childhood in low-income housing projects, Jeff faced many hardships. He spoke to CCMS
students about growing up poor and disenfranchised on the Lower East side. He talked about his own experiences with bullying and harassment, and shared an inspiring story about how his listening skills helped him overcome some of those situations. As a boy, Jeff became fascinated with the idea of following multiple story lines through comic books, television, and movies.
To see a video clip of Mr. Gomez, visit the “News” section of our website, www.cookecenter.org!
He soon realized that his life’s calling was to tell these stories, or “fictional worlds,” through many different mediums, which he later coined as Transmedia Storytelling. Today, Mr. Gomez is a leading producer of many successful fictional "Worlds," and has m ore than 20 years experience developing video games and digital extensions for franchises including Pirates of the Caribbean, Prince of Persia, Halo and Avatar. His company utilizes a variety of technologies to produce these "Worlds" onto multimedia platforms, including the Internet, mobile phones, feature films, video games, book s, graphic novels, toys and merchandise. Each property is uniquely designed by Starlight Runner to validate and celebrate audience participation. Jeff has always championed the concerns of young people and since 1988 he has performed his Never Surr ender m otiv ati o nal seminars before more than 120,000 students, educators, and parents. Jeff attributes his success to his Mom, and several adults and teachers in his life who recognized his talent, appreciated and loved him for what made him unique, and encouraged him to persevere.
We are so grateful for the time Mr. Gomez spent with our students at CCMS. We hope to see him again soon at another Cooke school!
CCA Junior and Senior Prom Juniors and Seniors were dressed to the nines aboard “The Spirit of New York” for the 2nd annual CCA prom. Pushing off from Chelsea Piers on the Hudson River, students, staff and families took in the dazzling city views and snapped photos to preserve the memories. Following a delicious dinner, the DJ turned up the music and everyone took to the dance floor. A magical night was had by all!
Cooke Center for Learning and Development 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 730 New York, NY 100115
A Year In Pictures:
Columbia Teachers College takes Lower School stud ents on a photography exploration through the city!
Last September, Columbia Teachers College Professor Christine Pawelski launched a photography workshop program to create inclusive opportunities for special needs students in Morningside Heights. Professor Pawelski partnered with the Morningside Garden Camera Club to bring neighborhood “photo safaris” to Level II students at Corpus Christi and Level III students at Ascension, as well as general education fourth-graders from both schools. The students spent the school year conducting themed neighborhood photo excursions. The excursions provided interdisciplinary learning experiences: not only did students learn how to capture the perfect shot, they also learned about the people and history surrounding the places they were visiting. On a visit to the Interchurch Center at 475 Riverside Drive, for instance, the students learned why the building is called the “G od Box” (because it houses many religious and interfaith organizations) and which U.S. President helped to lay the cornerstone of the building in 1958 (Dwight D. Eisenhower). Above: Examples of the Photo Safari photographers Student’s modified using Photoshop at the Teachers College Computer Lab.
We are so very grateful to Professor Pawelski and her graduate students for volunteering their time and creating a truly unique experience for the students.
learned how to improve and create new looks for their photos using Photoshop. In the end, each student chose one photo and gave it a title. These photos (examples to the left) were displayed in the lobby of the Interchurch Center during the Lower and Middle Awards Day celebration.
After the students completed the neighborhood photo safaris, they
For more Cooke stories or to make an online contribution, visit us on the web at www.cookecenter.org