FSGWA

Week two was wonderful.  In English the students began identifying literary elements (mood, tone, simile, metaphor, symbolism, and imagery) in the short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes.   They also studied the meaning of connotative and denotative words concentrating on the term “salvation.”  Our instructor helped the students learn to draw a parallel between the salvation that Langston Hughes described and their own understanding of “salvation.”  

We were all so excited to begin the second immersion at the George Washington University.  Mentor training on July 5 and 6 went very well.  Thank you to our wonderful board members, Susan Barker Clem and Wayne Clem for the delicious home made dinner on Saturday night.  Check in for students was smooth on July 7 and the casual pizza dinner was relaxed and fun. Important safety information was discussed in the evening as well as the daily schedule, academics and expectations.

Good morning, everyone!

I can't imagine a better way to begin the beautiful month of June than to be with our wonderful Academy students!  Thanks to Director Brenda Donald, Mr. Damian Miller and Mr. Antonio Dunklee who hosted us at the Child and Family Services Agency building, we were offered an AMAZING seminar of preparing Nutritious Meals on a Tight Budget.  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) gave us a presentation that should have been filmed for the Food Network!  We discussed the elements of “My Food Plate” and how to combine fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains and daily products for balanced and healthy nourishment. 

 Good morning,

We love the George Washington University- our university! Mount Vernon campus ROCKS!

Saturday was another perfect day for us as we all gathered at West Hall to take our Reading Plus pre-assessments on-line. Ms. Heidi Munkacsy and Dr. Colette Coleman graciously gave us everything we needed, including the huge room and internet access so that we could efficiently prepare for our summer curriculum. Thank you so much

Good morning,

We had one of the most beautiful experiences I think we have ever had with the FSGW Academy on April 19, 2014, as we were graced with the magnificent performance of the Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company at the National Portrait Gallery.  

Good morning,

We had a fabulous day at the Pitch in on the Piedmont EDGE community service event on Saturday, April 26th, 2014.  We are so grateful to our terrific partners at the EDGE Mason Center for Team and Organization Learning program and George Mason University

We are most grateful to our hosts at the Microsoft store at Pentagon City for our technology training day.

We are very excited about this new partnership with Microsoft, thanks to Ms. LaSone Barber, and this was a great start. We began our morning reviewing our laptops and preparing for our computer clean-up courtesy of the Microsoft technicians.

Our event at the Arts Club of Washington was one of our best ever. Once again, our hosts offered us a most wonderful experience- this time with classical music! We were treated to the lovely music of the Excelsa String Quartet:

• Laura Colgate, violin


• Jonathan Richards, violin


• Valentina Shohdy, viola


• Kacy Clopton, cello
 

Good morning to all,

I apologize for my terrible delay sending this report.  I was without my computer on a trip last week and then it crashed on this past Monday. At last I have it repaired and I am back in action! 

 Happy Snowy Day!