Julia Sewell Confirmed guest speaker for Project Ignition, March 5

E.M.P.I.R.E.'s founder and President, Julia Sewell, has been a motivational speaker and performer for the past 9 years. Julia Sewell is a 21-year-old from Minneapolis. She is a Senior at Augsburg College in Minnesota, studying psychology. She is
an actress, a model, a motivational speaker, and a published poet.

She started her work in service at 10 years old. She began volunteering at soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and with community organizations. Her passion for service and to be apart of change continued to grow. She attended the National Youth Leadership Training and became involved with the National Youth Leadership Council(NYLC). From here on out, she also became apart of their entity and started presenting at various conference, the first of which was the Ryan White Conference for HIV/AIDS. Julia served on the Youth Performance Companies' youth artists board(2006-2007) and is the founding Vice President of Umoja Academy, an organization that her and a friend began. Through this organization, they target and provide programming for at risk youth in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Julia served as a member of State Farm's Youth Advisory Board 2007-2008 where she helped to give out $5 million worth of monies to service-learning projects across the country. She was selected to serve on the America’s Promise Alliance Youth Partnership Team and still serves on their IMPACT Network Steering Committee. Julia recently became a Bonner Scholar at her college. Julia is also a McNair Scholar. Through this program, she has completed her research on definitions of success and how these differ among black and white young men.

Leadership has always been in her heart. At age 14, Julia was selected to be apart of the inaugural group in the Youth Leaders International Program. This program gathered the top leaders from all across the globe(Russia, Africa, Australia, etc) and brought them together to create strategies for leadership within the local and National context. Julia was apart of this program for 3 years and traveled to France and Great Britain on the programs behalf. She was also selected to attend the Inaugural Clinton Global Initiative in New Orleans, LA where Bill Clinton spoke and gave advice about global leadership and how we as youth can work to be apart of this initiative. As a result, Julia now serves as a campus representative for the organization. Performing has always been in her blood. Julia began acting at age 5 and she hasn't stopped since! Julia began to combine her love for the stage with her passion for change. Julia became involved in plays whose messages were educational and was apart of tours and educational films that were produces. Julia is now a sought after speaker and performer and performs at conferences, events, programs, and ceremonies. She recently performed at the 2009 National Service Learning Conference. Julia has currently performed and spoken at more than 100 conferences, events, and venues.

Julia began E.M.P.I.R.E. to continue to serve her world as a speaker and performer but also to offer other young people, around the country, with this opportunity. Julia is passionate about helping people to find their arts, hone them and to use them to motivate change in their communities and world.

Home groups Investigational Site Visits

Challenge 20/20 to Keystone Adventure and Farm School


Josh, Sarah, Deric, Katie, Ritt, Katie Z, Mrs. Zesiger, Mr. Reynolds, Mrs. Linn, Mrs. Clay. Details and reflections at Challenge 20/20 blog: http://casadynaischallenge2020.blogspot.com/ It was a great visit and ideas are now flowing to develop partnerships with the LD for community gardens and energy conservation. There is a strong commitment to be proactive raising awareness of plastic convenience usage of water bottles, and reduction of carbon footprint efforts




Respect Diversity Home Group: Zainab and Eliza visited with CEO of Respect Diversity Foundation at the Service-Learning Office. Zainab said that the visit was productive.

Special Care Home Group Site Visit
Sasha, Ali,Justin,Caitlin H, and Sarah attended. Hayley and Molly were absent.

Elderly Home Group Site Visit cancelled without explanation from participants. Thank you Braeden for all your work purchasing snacks for the site visit and contacting all the organizations.

Peace Jam at Boys and Girls Club

Multiple Intelligences Inventory/surveys

The following is a list of these intelligences as identified by Howard Gardner:

1. Linguistic Intelligence - language, speech, reading, and writing.

2. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence - this intelligence is found in the confrontation with the world of objects. Through the manipulation of the objects one works into the realm of pure abstraction which is science and logic.

3. Spatial Intelligence - the capacity to perceive the visual world accurately-to transform, modify, and recreate aspects of one's visual world.

4. Bodily-Kinesthetic - the ability to think in movement-one who is skilled with one's body.

5. Musical Intelligence - the ability to think in sound-to hear without auditory stimuli-to be able to manipulate and combine elements of music without necessarily expressing them on a musical instrument.

6. Interpersonal Intelligence - the capacity to notice and make distinctions among other individuals-how you relate to others.

7. Intrapersonal Intelligence - the knowledge of self-the ability to draw upon your own feelings to guide your own behavior.

8. Naturalist Intelligence - the appreciation of the natural world of the natural world.

9. Existentialist Intelligence - the appreciation of context of where humankind stands in the "big picture" of existence. This intelligence is seen in the discipline of philosophy.



Online tests for secundary: Choose the language, take the test, print the results of your strenghts and areas to intentionally develop
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/questions/choose_lang.cfm

Inventory for adults: http://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html

Last Service-Learning Fridays

Multiple Intelligences

YAC meetings: November breakfast meeting on Tuesday and E-Day A-Block meeting on Tuesday

YAC Executive Board met for breakfast to discuss agenda for E-Day meeting. Sarah, Josh,and Zainab attended. Vincent came for a few minutes.

YAC Board: Service-Learning Challenge
We are working on making a video, a brochure, and a website to be unveiled during National Volunteer Week in April. The goal of the Challenge is to make volunteering COOL. The video was presented to the YAC members during the A-block on Wednesday. We did not have time to get feedback, but Josh and Sarah will work with Mr. Varela to make the video more professional.

Kathy Zesiger's Project.Sarah presented the need to help Kathy. The following sign-up during the A-block meeting:
Stamping early morning
6:30-7:15: Carmen Clay
7:15-8:00: Josh Ou and Elizabeth Larden

Doughnuts Sales
Early morning: Carmen Clay and any YAC member available - If Kathy wants to sell doughnuts early morning
A-Block: Sasha Bully and Zainab Shakir
Gabby Marion and Sarah Cox are willing to help whenever they are needed, maybe b-block if the middle schools need help.

MLK Day Cecil Ray is leading the initiative to frame a house for Habitat for Humanity. He will be working in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity's Ann Felton 232-4828 and Steve Mush. YAC needs to help with speakers for the week contacting the CEO of the Respect Diversity Foundation.

Challenge 20/20Big Sort Day: Saturday Nov. 14: Food Bank, no tranportation provided
Individual Project Initiatives
Carmen Clay: Peace Festival: YAC 1/2 table: Be the Peace and Six Billion Path to Peace Cards
Math LEED Building: okcityscape.com needs volunteers: 6-9 Mrs. Clay volunteers at children's area
Chandler: Xmas Cards and supplies for soldiers: Chandler used funding collected making scarves last year to ship goodies for soldiers with Xmas cards from first graders at Casady.
Braeden: Sweaters for India: YAC will collect sweaters for children in India


Item tabled for future discussion
YAC Open House
YAC Constitution

Service-Learning Fridays: 8th session

Thinking about one value in my Roots of Service Tree: Diversity

Carefully Taught to hate and fear


Answering a question: A person of social conscience in the area of diversity
Carefully Taught to embrace diversity

E Pluribus Unum: out of many, one

The Peace Tree movie trailer- A little bit more FOOD for Thought on the value/principle of "understanding diversity"



Respect for diversity is not only a HUMAN concern: What is our convenience doing to our oceans? The garbage patch


Class of 201s, some of their favorite songs
Tina Roach: WHERE IS THE LOVE? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJpyskHMwRs



Macy Miller: Give me your eyes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OihvG607W-c



7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Recommendation: The man in the mirror---

Double: Trip to PD to make recycle ornaments or do a peace walk and create a celebration time for Service-Learning Fridays

Take the MI Test and make MI bracelets.

Second Home Groups meetings

Breakfast meetings: Average attendance

A-Block meetings: Average attendance, facilitators mostly following directives, but not creating activities of their own.

Investigational Site Visits Nov 9-13

HOME GROUP INVESTIGATIONAL SITE VISITS NEXT WEEK. Bus transportation provided, priority freshmen and new students, other interested students welcomed. 3 hours of service-learning credit! Contact YAC facilitator or Mrs. Clay if interested. Bus leaves at 3:45 from the Student Center Parking Lot and returns at 6:30 to the same location. Students excused from sports the day of their site visit. Wear comfortable shoes and clothing. Bring snacks!



Monday, November 9,2009: CHALLENGE 20/20 HOME GROUP- YAC facilitator: JOSH OU- Keystone Adventure School http://www.keystoneadventureschool.com/index.htm, Keystone Adventure School: 216-5400, 19201 N Western Ave, Edmond


Tuesday, Nov 10,2009: SPECIAL CARE HOME GROUP- YAC Facilitator: SASHA BULLY- Special Care: http://www.specialcareinc.org/, Special Care: 12201 N. Western Ave.Oklahoma City, OK 73114 Ph: 405-752-5112, Fax: 405-752-8963


Wednesday Nov. 11, 2009: ELDERLY HOME GROUP – YAC facilitator: BRAEDEN JENKINS--PEACE JAM, MUSICIANS INC POSSIBLE, Statesman Club, Retirement Community: Vineyard: http://www.statesmanclubret.com/, 775-9009,10401 Vineyard Blvd. Oklahoma City, OK 73120, The Fountains at Canterbury: http://www.thefountains.com/CommunityHome.aspx?CommunityID=5, 751-3600, 1404 NW 122nd Street,Oklahoma City, OK, 73114


Thursday Nov 12, 2009: PEACE JAM/ ALL IN ONE HOME GROUPS- YAC facilitators: JOHNESHA HAWKINS. D.J. WOOD- Boys and Girls Club OKC: http://www.bgcokc.org/, Boys and Girls Memorial Park Club: 3535 N. Western Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73118, (405) 521-9292, A. Jaye Johnson - Unit Director


Friday Nov 13, 200, 2009: PETS GROUP, Oklahoma Humane http://www.okhumane.org/ YAC Facilitator: GABBY MARION- Oklahoma Humane Society Adoption Center: 7500 N. Western Ave.Oklahoma City, OK 73116 405.286.1229.
MUSICIANS INC HOME GROUP-YAC Facilitators: Ronnie Garcia, Vincent Peng. Supervised by Miss Bornhoft 4:00 – 5:00 Students provide own transportation, Andrew Johnson Elementary http://www.okcps.org/es/andrew_johnson/ , 1810 Sheffield Rd.Oklahoma City, OK 73120,phone: (405) 843-6216, fax: (405) 841-3114, Principal - Karen V. Simpkins kvsimpkins@okcps.org