176 Summer

2017 marks the third year of our 5 Year Job of the Future Initiative. This year we continued with our theme "Were Going to College" with focus on Alternatives to College. Alternatives to College include trade schools and vocational programs that offer students an opportunity for academic and career progression. Our Summer Camp museum exhibits and performances allowed students to showcase what they learned this summer as well as the importance of college and alternatives to college. Students also used the platform to bring awareness to important issues that concern them including Saving the Arts and fighting the current administration's budget cuts to funding for art programs.

After students presented their projects, artwork and experiments at the Summer Camp Museum audiences watched a special viewing of We're Going to College Phase 2: Alternatives to College. After the documentary the hosts of the evening presented the following wonderful performances:

We’re Going to College (original Song) - Noel B., Aaliyah K.

We Can Do Anything - Cheerleading Club

Success Makers and CYCSI Finest - Step Club

My Girl, Titanium, and Scars to Your Beautiful - Music Club, Guitars

Comic Relief - Alonzo A., Kaeyla S., Joshua M., Rashad T.

Step Routine - Zeta Phi Psi Sorority

Lean on Me, Little Einstein’s and Blue Bossa - Music Club, Piano

Finale - Save the Arts, Dance Club

This year we participated in a special Coding Workshop hosted by Google at P.S. 15 sponsored by New York State Assembly Women Alicia Hyndman. The workshop entitled "Google CS First" is designed to teach students the basics of coding using “Scratch”.

Google representatives set up laptops around the cafeteria for students to follow along as they guided them through the process of coding and creating animation. The objective for the students was to create a scene where two characters are on a boat out in the sea communicating. Using specific commands, the students were tasked with programming each function step by step to make the setting and characters move and talk. As the hour-long event progressed, the students improved and gained more knowledge about how coding works.

We hope they continue to take interest in Computer Science as it is an exceptional field of work. We would like to formally thank Ms. Alicia Hyndman and Google for allowing our program to attend and learn coding from professionals.

Head Activity Specialist: Mr. Taj

Q: Why did you choose to teach this club?

“I chose to teach this club because I am a musician and this is my passion.”

Q: What do you like most about this club?

“I like the enthusiasm of the students who are involved in the class. They are all so willing to learn about music.”

Q: What have you done in the club recently?

“I taught music theory recently.”

Q: What are you working on today?

“Today I am teaching music scales.”

Q: What do you plan on teaching them in the future?

“My plan for the future is to teach children how to compose their own music.”

Q: How difficult is it to teach this club?

“As I said, this is my passion so this club is not difficult at all."

Student: Charlize Noel

Q: Why did you choose this club?

“I choose this club because making music makes me happy.”

Q: What do you like most about this club?

“I like learning to play the guitar.”

Q: What have you done in this club recently?

“Recently we practiced the song 'Hello' for the culminating event.”

Q: What are you working on today?

“We are working on the song 'Stitches' today.”

Q: If you could rate this club on a scale of one to ten, what would you rate it?

“I would rate this club a ten out of ten.”

Q: What is your favorite club and why?

“My favorite club is home economics because I love cooking.”

Students were engaged in flight simulation lab and learned about aeronautics during their trip to the SEMAA (Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academy) program at York College.

The FAA, Federal Aviation Administration sponsored students to tour Kennedy International Airport. Students experienced the panorama of planes arriving and departing from the Control Tower. Then they tested their piloting skills via the flight simulator.

After experimenting with the flight simulator students visited the Emergency Division and saw the big yellow emergency vehicles and met a member of the Canine Unit. They witnessed a demo of the canine detection dog at work, searching and finding narcotics. The students enjoyed being exposed to careers such as Airport Traffic Controllers, Administrative positions in the Air Traffic Control Department and K9 Trainer.

The aeronautics program at JFK airport exposed the students to various phenomena in the world of aviation. The students were greeted and escorted to a special room by airport staff and were briefed on their activities for the day.

JFK Control Tower: Students were able to see real Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) at work when they went up the tower. They learned that ATC personnel direct aircrafts on the ground and in the air. They are essential to ensuring that aircrafts don’t get too close which could cause many problems.

K-9 Unit: The participants loved this part of the trip. One dog was able to sniff out a hidden bag of explosives. The unit’s primary job is to train their K-9’s to identify only illegal goods such as explosives or drugs. Students also saw the airport firetrucks which respond to any emergency aircraft calls.

Adventureland

Amusement park rides, carnival games, and water slides! There were so many activities for the students to choose from when they entered Adventureland. The students filled the park and departed into groups with their friends to explore the various activities. The rides ranged from slow and steady water rides to lightning fast, thrilling roller coasters. They also played games and won prizes.

Students played, competed and challenged each other on Game Day. With a wide range of games to play such as video, board, and team, no child was bored or unoccupied.

In order to participate in the video game activities, students had to fill out a video game review sheet where they chose a game they liked and wrote a brief summary of the game. Here are some examples of completed work shown below:

Name: Charlize Noel Name of Games: Geometry Dash.

Date of Release: Unknown Age Rating: 8

Publisher: Unknown Platform: Amazon Kindle Fire

Genre: Level based Rating: 9 out of 10

What is the objective of the game?

A: High score/ level completion

How hard is this game? Is it easy to learn how to play?

A: The game is hard, but the controls are very easy to learn.

What is your overall opinion of the game? Why?

A: I think they are great games because they're challenging.

What type of person would be interested in this game?

A: Everyone!!!

Home Depot Workshop

We have a strong group of young builders and architects in the program this year. With assistance from staff members, students constructed projects during our Home Depot workshop. Students built a variety of wooden figures using a hammer and nails. Some of the objects included football ring toss game, a lawnmower, and a toolkit.

This was a valuable experience because it allowed students to gain familiarity with using different tools. The workshop also taught them how to be careful when putting things together. They decorated their creations with paint and upon completion of their project they were rewarded with pins to place on their shirts.

Field Day

Our annual field day was a little different this year, but still enjoyable. Rather than take a trip to Cabbell Park as we usually would, we stayed indoors at PS15 due to inclement weather conditions. We used the gym as our field and picnic area and set up activities all around for students to choose. After the students sat down and enjoyed their lunch with friends they participated in many fun activities.

The NYC Department of Parks & Recreation visited us with their PlayMobile to assist in providing the students with games to play. Some of the games included bowling, Connect Four, and Arts and Crafts. Students were also able to exert energy by jump roping, dancing and playing basketball and football. They took a short break to watch the staff basketball game and then resumed playing. Everyone's cooperation and willingness to adapt made Field Day a success.

Market Day

Students enjoyed bargaining, learning the value of a dollar, and entertaining their peers with their various performances at our annual Market Day event. This year our event was concentrated into two days. The process for performing at Market Day requires students to create an original piece independently or collaboratively. All students who wished to perform participated in the Market Day auditions, and were given constructive criticism to help improve their final performances.

Special Thanks to our Summer Camp Sponsors

We are truly grateful to all parents and community members who continue to support enriching Out of School Programs for our youth.

Special Thanks to Alicia Hyndman, District 29 Assembly Member, I. Daneek Miller, District 27 Council Member, Dr. K' Tori, P.S. 15 Principal, Mrs. Lorraine Bridges, Community Youth Care Services Inc. Chairwoman, Ms. Mitchell, Youth Advocate, Burnham Stowe, Human Resources UPS, The Federal Aviation Administration, Google CS Coding, Home Depot, LaGuardia WorkForce Center, Summer Youth Employment Dept., the NAACP Jamaica Youth Council, Queens Library, YMCA and York College.