BROOKLYN MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS AMONG FIRST IN THE COUNTRY TO GRADUATE FROM PROGRAM MARRYING CREATIVE WRITING WITH CRITICAL THINKING

Local Students Help Shape National STEM Program Funded by Time Warner Cable’s

Philanthropic Initiative, “Connect a Million Minds,” in Partnership with 826 National

WHAT:     21 Brooklyn middle school students, ages 8 – 12, will be honored at a unique graduation celebration.  The students are among the first in the country to participate in an innovative four-week pilot program that couples creative writing with critical thinking to encourage young learners to get excited about science.

Key learnings from this and other pilot workshops in Flushing, New York, Los Angeles and Kansas City, Missouri, will result in the publication of a book – a compilation of lesson plans fusing STEM and creative writing.  The book will launch in fall 2014 for use in afterschool settings. The program is sponsored by Time Warner Cable’s philanthropic initiative, “Connect a Million Minds” (CAMM), in partnership with 826.

 At the celebration event:

• Students will demonstrate how to extract DNA from a strawberry, a science project they worked on during the program, and read a corresponding creative writing piece about the origins of superheroes
• Representatives from Time Warner Cable and 826NYC will speak about the importance of STEM education and the need for afterschool curriculum
• Students will be presented with lab coats to signify successful completion of the program

 

WHEN:      Thursday, August 8, 2013

6:00p.m. – 7:30p.m.

 

WHERE:   Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store

372 Fifth Avenue

Brooklyn, NY

 

WHO:      

• ·Local middle school student participants and parents
• ·Tessie Topol, Senior Director of Strategic Philanthropy & Community Affairs, Time Warner Cable
• ·Joshua Mandelbaum, Executive Director, 826NYC
• ·Mariama Lockington, Director of Education, 826NYC

 

WHY:        Cross disciplinary thinking is essential to innovation.  Fusing science and creative writing is generating a new sense of enthusiasm in students by making science relevant, accessible and fun.

Time Warner Cable sponsored the summer workshop as part of “Connect a Million Minds,” the company’s five-year, $100 million initiative to inspire the next generation of problem solvers by connecting young people to the wonders of science, technology, engineering and math.