February Events

Happy February, GBCH Friends!
This month we will turn our attention to culture with the celebration of Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, and performance art through our programming. Please take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the Centuries of Excellence: Black History Student Exhibition. This special event will allow your child to showcase themselves in Oratory, Dance, Music, or Art. In addition, it is an opportunity to involve your family and friends in supporting your student and our homeschool community. Also, we anticipate great fun in our group meetings as we study hip hop and its origins in spoken word traditions, followed by a Centuries Club on HBCUs and STEP Dancing, and finish out the month with a dance workshop. Please remember there is a parent’s meeting tomorrow (Tuesday 2/2) at 6 pm.

Blessings,
Ja’Near Garrus
GBCH Director


Group Meeting 2/8

For the group meeting, we will delve into the historical context of Oral traditions in the African American Culture. The group activities will focus on how those oral traditions branched into different musical and performance art forms such as jazz, spoken word, and hip hop, which we will focus on.


Club Day 2/15

Materials needed to prepare: Tin can, coffee can, storage container, or cake panFabric or Balloons, small or average size for tin cans and a punch ball-sized balloon for large items, Rubber bands, Tape, Colored paper, and markers to decorate
(optional)Chopsticks or pencils (to create drum sticks)

Starts at 1pm
Centuries Club:HBCUs, Stepping, and Polyrhythm
Maker’s Club:Creating an African Drum


Experience 2/22

January Events

Welcome back, GBCH Friends! I hope that you have enjoyed Christmas and New Year with your families and were able to unplug and refresh.

We have come to our annual S.T.E.A.M. month! January’s activities are all about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math! We will integrate these concepts throughout our activities and focus on engineering especially this month. Great speakers and activities are in store and we are excited to see how the students interpret what they are learning into their own projects. 

Also this month, we are starting a new Oratorical program. Students 3rd-8th grade will have an opportunity to learn oratory skills by reciting one of the speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. culminating in a video presentation that will be part of the Oratory Festival. Don’t forget to sign up by this Friday!

Group Meeting 1/11

At this meeting, all age groups will focus on the Engineering Design Process. Students will be introduced to the STEAM acronym and focus on the “E”, engineering, and discuss what engineers do and the types of projects that involve engineering skills (ex. building bridges, designing robots, recycling systems). Students will learn the 5-step engineering design process (Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve/Reflect).

Club Day 1/18

Experience:

We will be joined by two engineers, Tamyra L. Paschal and Kiwitta I. Paschal, from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Corporation in Fort Worth, Texas. 

We will hear about engineering as a career, the preparation required, their work on airplanes and various opportunities available within the field.

Centuries Club:

Children will learn about African-American architects and civil engineers who have designed various public spaces across the United States.

Maker’s Club:

In observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday children will reflect on Dr. King’s legacy of peace, justice, and equality, and use what they have learned about the engineering design process to build a monument, museum, park, or other structure in honor of Dr. King. Children may use materials of their choice.

STEAM Fair 1/25

Our month will conclude with our annual GBCH STEAM Fair! 

During our virtual science fair, children will present a science topic of their choice or conduct a demonstration to show the group. 

Older students should use the scientific method or engineering design process as a guide for presenting their information. 

Presentations may be live, pre-recorded, PowerPoint, a project board or other mediums of choice. 

Mom to Mom 2020

This year will be the 5th year of Mom to Mom!  An in-person event is tentative because of current world events but I ask that you mark your calendars still.  If we are not able to meet in person, we will still have the meeting virtually.  Mom to Mom is where we encourage one another, share resources, hear from speakers, the state of GBCH/GPCH, and plan for the next year. 

You don’t want to miss it! Attendance is requested of all members and new families are welcome to join. Adults only, please.

Zoom Mondays!

Thanks to technology GBCH can continue to meet together virtually.  We will amend our regular schedule and pivot to activities that will be interactive and engaging online.  Please sign up in advance to let us know if your children will participate!  The virtual meetings will be 35-40 minutes and will be a lot of fun!  Please have a pencil, paper, and crayons (or markers) on hand for your children to use during the meeting.