Teresa Zutter

Good tidings to all,
 

The First Star Greater Washington Academy completed a very successful visit to the George Washington University on Sunday, April 14, 2013.  The weather was simply lovely on this sunny and breezy April day.   We met on the “Quad” by a lovely bubbling fountain at the center of the Mt.Vernon campus.  We were grateful to have two new volunteers, Aaron and Deborah, in addition to our wonderful friends, Barry and Gabrielle from First Star.  Our knowledgeable tour guide, Evan, discussed academic requirements as we looked around Ames Hall, including research papers and creative writing.  We walked to West Hall where students were able to see a dorm room (complete with a sleeping roommate!), visit the dining service, and see the dance and athletic rooms.  We had a chance to see the tennis courts and athletic field as we walked to Merriweather Residence Hall where we will be living this summer.  We discussed expectations for college students as we gathered in the beautiful Eckles Memorial Library.

Good afternoon,

The March 3^rd event on Healthy Minds and Healthy Bodies was a total hit!  The action-packed day began with greetings and a follow-up discussion of the University of Mary Washington tour. Our mentor, Amrit, offered a soothing Yoga session to center ourselves for calm alertness.  We then transitioned to the kitchen classroom where we were met by the fantastic Meriwether Godsey culinary and nutrition education team.  Robin Menard (director of dining at Sidwell Friends School), Gerardo Marzariegos (dining service manager at Seed School of DC), Sarah Barge (registered dietician) and Rebecca Cunningham, Executive Chef, Sidwell Friends School) presented information and handouts on the importance of nutrients, balancing carbohydrates, protein and fat, and portion control. We reviewed how to read labels on food packaging.  That led into some activities on sugary beverages and how to find true whole grain food products and healthy fruits and vegetables.

On February 18th, we celebrated President's Day with a wonderful visit to the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  We met our bus at the CFSA building in Washington, D.C. on what started as a frigid, windy, early morning. We watched the temperature rise from 11 degrees to 45 by noon.  On the bus ride south, students discussed their desire to follow up with service activities such as Habitat for Humanity and Build-A-House, Melwood Therapeutic Riding, animal rescue and volunteering at nursing homes. We discussed grades and school activities.
 

Luckily, as the day warmed up to become a sunny cool day, we walked the entire campus learning about the many resources and programs offered at this 105 year old public university.

The students of the First Star Greater Washington Academy are simply AWESOME!  We continue to be so pleased with their continuous progress through the curriculum.  Yesterday, we covered a lot of ground and had a terrific day.  Fortified with fresh bananas, juice and bagels, we met at the Mott Community Center and began the day with a review and discussion of our Academy objectives,.  The students offered feedback on what we have introduced so far as well as seeing what was coming in the future.  We moved easily into a more physical activity with Tai Chi offered by our great instructor, Mr. Michael Boudreau Xue Jin Wei, who taught us movements to energize us, focus our breathing (the sun movement) and manage anger.  We really liked punching out the negative energy and pulling in the positive energy.

Good morning,
 

I am pleased to report that we had yet another fabulous Academy event yesterday, December 2nd, 8:30 - 4:00 at the Mott Community Center.  We were overjoyed with the Quantum Learning training we received from Ms. Jessica Smith on the Eight Keys of Excellence: Integrity, Failure Leads to Success, Speak with Good Purpose, This is It!, Commitment, Ownership, Flexibility and Balance.  The session was filled with games, exercises, reading, writing, thinking, sharing and presenting experiences that engaged the students the entire day.  Ms. Jess is an extraordinary teacher who any student would be lucky to have. She kept the students up and moving around, laughing, sharing, communicating with special signals and acronyms and overall learning, learning, learning!

Good morning,
 

I would like to start by thanking Fairfax County for the use of the Mott Community Center for our November 4th Academy event.  The facility is wonderful and offered us everything we needed to conduct our session.  The staff members, Warda and Mervin, were gracious and always available for anything we needed.
 

We had a very full day filled with many curricular areas to cover in order to meet our listed objectives (please see attached).  

Good morning,

It is a bright and wonderful fall day to celebrate our second monthly event at the Alexandria campus of the Northern Virginia Community College, held yesterday, October 20th. Every one of our students participated and were joined by three new students. As students excitedly arrived, they ran to hug us all and each other, jumping and laughing and immediately sharing how much they missed each other. As they waited for everyone to arrive, they decorated small pumpkins that I gave them to take home. They took responsibility to introduce the new students and to make them feel immediately comfortable and welcome. We reviewed what we had agreed to last time about a community based on trust, and then we added the importance of respect in all of our interactions.

Good morning,

We had a FANTASTIC weekend event! The Freedom Aquatic and Fitness Center was fabulous! The EDGE experience was beyond our expectations. Our rooms were spacious and the center offered unlimited opportunities. Every single staff person went above and beyond to make our time there perfect. Our nurse, Ms. Morgan, was wonderful. The CFSA and DFS staff, social workers, CASA workers, mentors, foster families, and bio families did all the prep work to get the students there with all the necessary forms, transportation, and supplies. It was about as flawless as it could get. The students arrived between 1:00-1:45 and two came earlier. We had great volunteers to help us complete the Treasure Hunt GMU campus tour, ending at the gorgeous Hylton Center for the Performing Arts. The theatre auditorium was dazzling. When I shared with the students that we have been comped some tickets to the Nutcracker ballet performance in December, they were so excited. I told them that this event is when we get to dress up fancy and one young man said he looked “very fine” in a suit!

First Star Greater DC Academy