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