May Events

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Welcome to May! 

First, to recap April, we had a great month of learning how to garden. Students were able to develop garden plans, create resurrection gardens, hear from an environmental scientist, and plant Marigold flowers and tomatoes at Mt. Olive UMC to grow at home. It was a lot of fun and a great way to kick off Spring! This month, we will dive into what it means to be a Creative with special emphasis on creating filmed projects. But first, we will start out with Field Day! The following two meetings will be Club Day and a GBCH Film Festival.

Finally, you can RSVP this Friday for the annual Mom to Mom coming up on June 12th. Like in previous year’s we will have a State of GBCH/GPCH where we discuss the wins for this year and outlook for the future, we will announce leadership changes, and as a group, start putting plans in place for a dynamic 2021-22 school year. Don’t miss it!!! 

Be blessed,
Ja’Near Garrus
Field Day | May 10
May 10th, 2021 | 1 pm- 2:30 pm

To kick off May Activities, we invite families to join us at West Towson Neighborhood Park for friendly games and a picnic lunch. We will enjoy time outdoors and have a few competitive activities for students to participate in.

Please bring:
Picnic blanket
Bagged lunch or snacks for your family
Water
Face masks
Outdoor or equipment that you would like to share
Sun protection
Club Day | May 17
Start time: 1 pm
Centuries Club: Students will learn about impactful African American filmmakers.

Makers Club: Students will create wire armatures for claymation projects

What is needed:
Paper and pencil
Roll of Foil paper
Modeling clay (Any colors desired to create a character)Optional: Bendable wire and cutting tool
GBCH Film Festival | May 24
Start time: 1 pm
Students, come prepared to show your creative Animation or Film projects to the GBCH Student Community!

Criteria:
Videos must be no longer than 1.5 minutes
Each film must have a Title
Must be subject matter appropriate for K-8th grade students
Show creativity

Parents, please let students take charge of their creative process!

To prepare for a smooth transition between presenters, please upload student projects as an unlisted video to YouTube and email a link of their project to [email protected]. Please include student(s) name and project title in the email. Bring popcorn!

April Events

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Families, welcome to Spring and Happy Resurrection weekend. 

We have so many much to be thankful for.

In March, we had a wonderful month of activities focused around entrepreneurship. The month culminated with our 6th annual Entrepreneurship market at Meadowood Regional Park. It was wonderful to see so many of you in-person! The weather was beautiful and the company was even better.

April promises to be a lot of fun as well. Students will plan gardens and get their hands dirty as they learn to plan, plant, and develop gardens. Please RSVP for the planting event by April 8th!

Finally, we are coming down the homestretch! May will be the last full month of activities for students. We have now opened up registration for the 2021-22 school year and have some exciting announcements coming in short order. 

Be blessed,

Ja’Near Garrus

Group Meeting | April 12
To kick off April Activities, students will review the different types of gardening and their benefits to the community.

Pre-K – Age 5 Group Meeting (1:00pm – 1:30pm)
Students will listen to a read-aloud book and identify what is needed for a seed to grow. They will discuss the life cycle of a plant through an on-screen game. 

Ages 6-9 Group Meeting starts @ 1:40pm
Garden Planning: Students come prepared to share a plan for a garden of their choice.

The plan should include:
What they will grow
What is needed for it to grow
Where they will plant it a bird’s eye view drawing to illustrate what his or her ideal garden bed would look like.**
The drawing should include the following: – what they want to plant – think about how much space each plant might need – How many of each plant do they want to plants?

Age Group 10-14 starts @ 1:40pm
Garden Planning: Students research and create a plan for a garden of their choice. 

The plan should include:
What to grow and why
How to grow it ( what is needed for the plant to thrive)Where it will grow and why (benefits of the garden) When it should be planted
How long to germination
Cost to plant and maintain their garden
Students come prepared to share their plans with a PowerPoint presentation, drawing, or poster, be creative!
Field Trip | April 19
Join us to plant Marigolds and Tomatoes at Mt. Olive UMC. Families will take the plants home to grow and a few will be brought back in May to transfer to Mt. Olive’s planter boxes.

Each family will work at their own table outside. (Tables being provided by Mt. Olive.)

What to bring:
A planting pot or paper egg cartonJug of water
Plastic tray to put your egg cartons or pots on
Optional: small shovel or trowel, gardening gloves

We will bring the potting soil and seeds!
Club Day | April 26
Students will hear from a special guest speaker, Mr. Greaves, an Environmental Scientist. 

MAKERS CLUB– Resurrection Gardens
Materials Needed:
1 large terra cotta plant saucer
1 small terra cotta pot
A handful of small rocks
1 large rock
Potting soil
Small sticks
String or twine

March is all about entrepreneurship!

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Welcome to March, GBCH Friends!

February was a lot of fun with students participating in the Centuries of Excellence: Black History Student Exhibition, creating music, working on their oratory skills, and participating in a step dancing workshop. It was wonderful to see them come alive, stretch themselves, and show what they are made of.

This month we will turn our attention to Business! Students will have the opportunity to develop a product, think about marketing, and study the great entrepreneurs that have come before them. Wonderful speakers, activities, and an outdoor market await us in this month’s activities.

Also this month, our oratory students will finish learning to recite MLK’s Mountaintop speech and record a video to submit to the Lincoln Oratory Project. Each session they are improving and becoming more confident in their speaking and stage presence. We hope that you will be able to join us for the debut of their final project. Stay tuned!

In closing, we are excited to have you join us for all of March’s activities and special events. Cheers to a safe and blessed month.

Blessings,

Ja’Near Garrus

GBCH Director

Group Meeting: 3/11

Club Day: 3/18

Students will review the concept of entrepreneurship, parts of a business plan and share information about different entrepreneurs.

In addition, students will hear from entrepreneur Tony Jackson, owner of TRUST, Inc., a Christian clothing company (www.trusttk.com).

We will start out the meeting with a speaker, Naima Winston, followed by Centuries Club and Maker’s Club. 

Naima Winston is kidpreneur, speaker, and Baltimore native best known for her participation in The Food Network television shows Kid Baking Championship and the Sweetings Holiday episode. We are excited to have her speak to our students and share how she turned her passion into a business.

Maker’s Club Activity: No-Sew Face Masks

Entrepreneurship Day: 3/25

We are looking forward to our entrepreneurship market day on Monday, March 22nd at Meadowood Regional Park. Please bring something to “sell.” In the past, we have had students sell t-shirts, hair bows, necklaces, lemonade, snacks, bookmarks, and stem kits. Each student will be given GBCH currency to buy and sell with.

We are sure to have a great time and learn from each other!

October | This is how I…Govern

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Welcome to October!  This month we will highlight the importance of government, leadership, and voting.  It is a jam-packed month filled with memorable experiences to take advantage of!  No RSVP’s are necessary except for the pickleball lessons and hydroponic gardening.  As a reminder, all events will happen at the same Zoom link (found at the bottom of this email).

Also, please take note of the group meeting start times.  We have adjusted them to serve each age group more effectively.

Finally, we are already planning Christmas activities!  The group has been signed up to design a Christmas tree for the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Festival of Trees. The sale of this tree will benefit the programs at Kennedy Kreiger.  We are seeking design submissions from our students.  One design will be chosen to influence the direction of our tree. 

Blessings,
Ja’Near Garrus
Director
October 12: Group Meeting 
The group activities will highlight the importance of government, leadership, and voting.
Picture credit- albiongould.com
October 19: Club Day Maker’s Club: Yarn Wall Hanging
Materials to bring
Yarn (Red, White, and Blue or any colors that your child would like)
Scissors
Wooden Dowel

Centuries Club
No items needed
 
October 26: Experience and Field Trip
Guest Speaker Bonnie Watson-Coleman & Ford Theatre Virtual Field Trip “Exploring Lincoln in Washington”
This month we are in for a treat!  First, guest speaker, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman, will start off our October experience by speaking to the students for 15 minutes about her career.  She is a long-time public servant and advocate for New Jersey families and was elected in 2018 to her third term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Immediately following, we will travel to DC virtually with the Ford’s Theatre program, Exploring Lincoln in Washington.  The co-hosts of this experience are the Ford’s Theatre staff and a National Park Service Ranger. 

Ford’s Theatre Education and The National Mall and Memorial Parks explore President Abraham Lincoln’s Washington, D.C., through places that mattered to Lincoln during his lifetime and places where he matters to us today. This session is 40 minutes.