This fall at the Agassiz Elementary, our Starfish after school program was engaged in an afternoon of service.  This was our second excursion to the school’s community garden.  After spending an afternoon weeding flowerbeds, we returned to do a little planting. 

      Nancy Sableski, Manager of Children’s Education at the nearby Arnold Arboretum, paid us a visit to teach our after school students how to plant bulbs.  This is Nancy’s second year of coming to the Agassiz and bringing out classes to work in the community garden.  She already knows many of our Starfish students by name.  She is passionate about enhancing the science education of children in Boston schools and her enthusiasm is infectious. Nancy taught us how to plant the bulbs before giving a bulb to each excited student to go and plant in the garden.  Next Nancy handed out seeds gathered from flowers planted last year to the children to plant anywhere they wanted.  We are now eagerly awaiting Spring when we can watch the flowers bloom and adorn the garden with a collage of bright colors in a testament to the children’s day of service.

Sweet smells of pumpkin spice and sugar cookies wafted through the hallways at the Agassiz last Wednesday reminding staff and students alike to support the bake sale benefitting the Home for Little Wanderers. The Bain & Co. team decided to host the bake sale to raise proceeds that would fund a service project as a part of their Starfish after-school program’s holiday unit. Mini strawberry ice cream cones, cookie dough cheesecake bites, and festive cupcakes were among the many delectable treats brought in by corps members through sleet and snow. With the help of Manager of Extended Learning Janim Ciares, the Bain & Co. team raised over one hundred and thirty dollars which was generously matched by City Year.

This Monday the Starfish decorated and assembled twenty-five goodie bags stuffed with story and coloring books, regular and colored pencils, sharpeners, erasers, socks, deodorant and numerous other hygiene products. The Starfish learned a little about the reality of homelessness, how it effects children who are often the same age or younger as them, and the value of not just getting, but giving especially during this time of year. These bags will be delivered to the Home for Little Wanderers to hopefully bring twenty-five smiles to children who can be assured that the Agassiz Starfish are thinking of them this holiday season.

Anyone passing by the Agassiz school last Tuesday was probably wondering what was going on.  ”Why would these kids be using their bodies to spell the word unity?” they’d ask.  Well the answer would be because the City Year team at the Agassiz school in Jamaica Plain kicked off our Starfish after school program this week, and that’s just the sort of thing we do.

Our theme in week one of ‘Starfish’ was learning City Year Values which include diversity, teamwork, and community among others.  Our students, or ‘starfish’ as we call them, first learned about the importance of teamwork with a fun game.  On day three they worked together with their teams to design a puzzle piece that represented their community. When we put the puzzle together it was a veritable collage of fellowship.  

The students warmth and creativity has inspired our team to come up with new and better activities going forward.  We hope through lessons and games to teach our ‘starfish’ important lessons about life, community and diversity in ways that will spark their imaginations long after they leave.  We are excited after a strong start to have a rewarding year!