Thursday, March 12, 2009

Kids Creative Students Help Ring the NASDAQ Closing Bell

Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 3:50 PM. Kids Creative students, Kaydee and Manley, joined KC Executive Director Adam Jacobs and the Catalog for Giving at the closing bell of the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in Times Square. Both Kaydee and Manley have been in Kids Creative at PS 191 for 4 years and are now in the Kids Creative/Oasis after school program. Yesterday, they made their debut on National TV. Stay tuned to read Kaydee and Manley's perspective on the experience. Here are some pictures that we took. You can also see images and watch the video on the NASDAQ website by clicking here.

Outside NASDAQ with Kaydee, Manley, Catalog ED Sue Wyant and Adam

Manley and Kaydee outside NASDAQ. We were 40 feet tall on that amazing LCD screen!

The students from Kids Creative and the other Catalog for Giving groups
(visit www.cfgnyc.org to read about the other amazing groups the Catalog is supporting)

Manley, Kaydee and Adam in the TV studio.

Arriving at NASDAQ.

Before the event with PS 191 Parent Coordinator Damaris Carrion.

Before the event with Ms. Revron.

A little help with the tie.

Waiting to go into the studio.

Thank you letters from the students to James Nelson from the Catalog for Giving:



Thursday, March 5, 2009

The KC Apprenticeship Program

Calling all Juniors and Seniors in High School

Apply for an apprenticeship with Kids Creative by March 16Link!!!!

Download an info packet and application here



This Spring, Kids Creative will be joining The After School Corporation (TASC) to facilitate the After-School Apprenticeship Program (ASAP). Kids Creative is looking for high school Juniors and Seniors with a passion for the arts, an aspiration to promote peace, interest in youth development and a desire to learn to take part in our Apprentice Program. Apprentices will receive training and first hand experience in using Kids Creative’s methods of community building through collaborative creation. They will receive a stipend of $280 as well as highly valuable job skills. Qualified Apprentices will be eligible for an opportunity to work as a paid intern at our summer camp. Our deadline for all applications is March 16th. For more information, or an application, please contact Sarah, the Apprenticeship Intern Coordinator, at sarah.pidgeon@kidscreative.org



OUR 8-WEEK TRAINING PROCESS
Saturday Trainings
Every Saturday, you will receive training led by our Director of Education and Apprentice/Intern Coordinator in topics covering:
• The basics of creating safe and peaceful environments for children
• Working with children in a summer camp setting
• Community building, problem solving, and conflict resolution
• Kids Creative’s Summer Safety Plan
• The basics of working in a Kids Creative classroom
• Using Kid’s Creative’s Rock ‘n Roll Curriculum to create a musical play and promote community

Hands-On, On-Site Learning
Each of our apprentices will also be assigned to work with a Teaching Mentor, one of our veteran teachers, during an after-school class once a week. They will get first hand experience working in our program, get a chance to utilize the skills they are learning in their trainings and receive mentoring by one of our master teachers.

Training Timetable
Monday-Friday, March 30th- April 3rd (one day this week) from 3:00-6:00PM
School Tours and Observation Week
• Apprentices take a tour of the school & observe their Teaching Mentor’s class one day this week.

Saturday, April 4th
Program Orientation
• All apprentices will engage in a program orientation

Monday-Friday, (one day each week) April 20th- June 5th from 3:00-6:00PM
Hands-On, On-Site Learning
• Apprentices engage in hands-on learning in their Mentor Teacher’s classroom once a week.

Saturdays, April 25th- June 6th from 10:00 AM - 4: 00 PM
Saturday Trainings
• All apprentices will engage in Kids Creative’s Rock & Roll Theater Teacher Training which will involve working with fellow apprentices to make your own musical play using Kids Creative’s teaching approach.

Monday-Saturday, June 8th -13th
Wrap Up Week
• Apprentices make up any time that they were missed
• Qualified apprentices will be invited to interview for paid summer internships

REQUIREMENTS
Personal Qualities
Apprentices must have the following personal qualities:
Be at least 16 years of age by July 2008
Have experience with supervising children & enjoy working with them
Have interest and experience in one or more forms of art and a love for the creative arts overall
Be responsible and self motivated
Display all of the qualities that we seek to instill within our students, such as confidence, creativity, an ability to resolve conflicts peacefully and a love for art.
Be able to improvise creative solutions in reaction to new developments or new information on the spot
Be confident expressing themselves creatively in front of children and can inspire children with their constant creativity
Be excellent team players
Know how to be silly, have fun with children, & not take themselves too seriously

Commitment
Apprentices must be able to commit to fulfilling the following requirements
• Must work with a Kids Creative Mentor Teacher during one of their after-school classes once a week for 8 weeks
• Must complete eight 6 hour Saturday training sessions
• Must be open-minded and respectful of their peers, mentors and instructors
• Must be a role model for the students at their site

HOW TO APPLY
Download an info packet and application here
To Apply
Fill out our application form
Have a teacher, counselor, supervisor or former employer fill out our Recommendation Form

Submitting Applications and Recommendation Forms
e-mail to: Sarah Pidgeon at sarah.pidgeon@kidscreative.org
OR
mail to: Kids Creative
25 Washington Street, Suite #411
Brooklyn NY 11201
OR
fax to: Sarah Pidgeon at (347) 487-3914

Application Time Table
Applications Due: March 16th
Acceptance Notification: March 20th
Program Enrollment Paperwork Due: March 30th

For more information please visit our website at kidscreative.org
Questions? Please contact our Apprentice and Intern Coordinator, Sarah Pidgeon at sarah.pidgeon@kidscreative.org




ABOUT KIDS CREATIVE
Kids Creative’s mission is to provide arts education programs in which children collaborate to create original works of art based on their own ideas. Our programs are designed to foster our 6 C’s of peacemaking in youth: Confidence, Creativity, Conflict Resolution, Community, Collaboration and Cookies (our “C” word to represent a fun experience). Our child centered, collaborative approach to arts education helps children realize their own individual creative potential and the power of a peaceful community working together to achieve common goals.

Kids Creative promotes peacemaking skills and values in a uniquely fun and engaging way. We offer unique programming that empowers youth to use their own ideas to create original artistic productions. This encourages creativity, bolsters confidence and allows them to take ownership over the process, providing intrinsic motivation for engagement in the collaborative process.

Working with our highly qualified teaching artists, our students find or create common threads that bind all of their ideas together, and turn their shared vision into a group project. Their experience working together to reach a common goal serves as the basis for community building.