Some of our crazy kids during our Comic book release celebration. This book featured artwork they had done over the span of 8 weeks. We are hoping to continue the Comic book program again next year in hopes that we can release an even bigger, better, and more exciting comic book now that our kids are experts in them. Picture on the left is teaching artist Meghan Keane on the far right along with the artists, and special invited guests on the far left for the silly group shot. Picture on the right is of D'avian Jeffrey one of the participants to the middle school program and of the young artists to this book.

January Update

Middle school programs that normally take place have been put on hold for a special Black History month play that the kids will be putting on. The name of the play is titled, "What If" and it was written by the kids with help from Nahisha (The Middle School program coordinator) on what would happen if famous black leaders would have met in their prime. Famous Blacks such as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and Medgar Evers. The play will take place February 28th at P.S. 15. Other acts include a dinner roundtable with Frederick Douglass, George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey, and the other play is on the Mirabal sisters and their relationship with well known dictator and ex ruler of Dominican Republic Rafael Trujillo. These three well known sisters fought and rebelled with others to end his dictatorship.

12/6-12/7 Update

Another chance to enlighten these young middle school minds. Monday was Mediation and Academic Enrichment group. The 8th graders are in the Academic Enrichment group, while the 6th and 7th graders participate in Mediation. The 8th grade students got the chance to be in groups of 3 and 4 to come up with a science fair experiment. During the course of the next 2 weeks they would work with their teammates on gathering up materials, dividing the workload amongst each other, and being mature enough to work together on days they don't have Academic Enrichment. The 6th and 7th graders had Mediation and the topic of the month was Bullying. Over the course of Four weeks they've discussed experiences they have faced with bullies, if they themselves have ever been bullies, or how to change an outcome in a situation they've faced with a bully.

12/1 Art Update

Today the kids were going to be visiting the Kentler Gallery to see their current exhibition which is called, "CUBA My Revolution". This is a series of graphic novels and drawings by Inverna Lockpez, & Dean Haspiel. These comics explain the story of the journey from idealism and political illusion in Cuba to political freedom, and reality. This graphic novel entails the story of cartoonist Dean Haspiel who wanted to explain what went on but in cartoon form. This trip unfortunately was postponed till a later date, because of the heavy winds and the hectic weather. This trip will happen next Wednesday during group.

Kentler Gallery is located at 353 Van Brunt Street. If you'd like to contact them you can reach them at (718) 875-2098, or via email at info@kentlergallery.org

RHI's Middle School dancers

No they are not doing Martial Arts, but rather squats as part of their daily exercise drills. This dance group is being led by Solomin Goodwin who has been an active participant of the Red Hook Initiative for many years and is now leading his own group here. He has lots of experience dancing as he has been in many dance competitions, with groups that he formed and taught under his wing. He began dancing with this group 3 weeks ago, and he currently has them preparing for an appearance at BET's 106 & Park. During practice he stresses mostly on togetherness, and focus Two essential qualities that are vital when having a successful dance group. Here is a quick snippet on what they are working on.

Art group @ RHI!!

Yesterday on November 17th Meghan Keane from the Kentler Gallery came to teach a 6 week art class to the middle school students teaching them how to create their own comic book. During the course of these 6 weeks the kids will get a chance to collaborate together, and create a comic book based on their ideas. The first session began with her teaching them some basics about putting together a comic book, and what elements are used when doing so. They all created initial drawings and figures by using characters from their favorite cartoon shows, and drawing a replica of them on paper accompanied by some sort of dialogue. It was a great first step towards something that these students will not only enjoy, but also be able to get a lot out of.

You can learn more about Kentler Gallery and their current exhibitions by visiting their website at www.kentlergallery.org