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MLK Jr. Education Center E-Newsletter
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February 2010 |
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A New Year, New Students
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The year
is still young, but already the Martin Luther King Jr. Education Center has
welcomed a number of new students. In the short time they've been here, these students
have already gotten the chance to enjoy some enlightening events, including a
visit by representatives from the HIV Alliance. This was a great learning
experience for the students who participated in discussions and gained some
awareness around the issue of HIV and AIDS.
As of mid-January, 31 new students have arrived at the center and we've tried to make their transition as smooth as possible. You'll read about one of them, Brittnie, February's Student of the Month, in this issue and you'll probably be hearing about others in the months ahead. We love seeing new faces at the center and we wish all our new students the best. Welcome, students!
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Horticulture Program
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 This month, youth in the horticulture
program have been productive, completing a number of projects in the community.
First off, crews are in the beginning stages of building a new trail in the
Coburg Hills as part of a BLM project.
Youth also worked within the Cottage
Grove Ranger District in a section of forest in which many exotic and invasive
plants are overgrown. Together, they removed Scotch broom, English ivy and
Himalaya blackberries from our public lands and cleared out old mining sites
along the roadside. Their work here is just beginning and crews are looking
forward to the ongoing partnership!
In an effort to keep our parklands safe
and enjoyable, youth partnered with the city of Eugene to demolish illegal
structures. As part of this clean-up effort, crews removed enough trash to fill
a small dump truck!.
On the DYS farm, a new fruit garden is
underway and the greenhouse is full of newly planted organic cold weather
crops! To keep our vegetables and gardening soil healthy, crews mix it with
compost generated from our kitchen waste from or Culinary Arts Program. Crews
also finished setting decorative and educational sign posts for our native
plant ID project in the Native Garden.
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| MLK Education Center
By the Numbers |
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31 - Number of new students who have arrived at the Martin Luther King Jr. Education Center since the mid-January.
5 - Number of cubic yards of trash students from the Horticulture Program removed while helping with a city of Eugene clean up. That's enough to fill a one-ton dump truck.
40 - Number of sign posts horticulture crews installed this month as part of the native plant ID project in the Native Garden.
90 - Total number of students served at the Martin Luther King Jr. Education Center since the beginning of the school year in September.
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| Upcoming Events |
March 4, 18 - Omelet and Crepes Bar, MLK Education Center, offered by the Culinary Arts Program
March 18 - Homeless Connect, Lane Events Center, Culinary Arts Program will be participating
April 6 - Chef's Night Out, Hult Center, Culinary Arts Program will be participating |
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| Technology Program |
February brought new lessons and exciting accomplishments for the MLK Jr. Education Center's Technology Program. During the first week of the month, Technology Program students finished the final session of the series focused on computer networking. In this session students succeeded in getting all of the class computers to "talk" to each other -- a recognizable feat for the old operating systems being used. This accomplishment marked the end of one session and the beginning of a new cycle.  In mid-February, a new session began. Students started learning about the fundamental systems and processes that make a computer work. In this session students explore computer start up routines, otherwise referred to as the "boot" process. The students are introduced to fundamental programming languages, operating systems and the difference between the operating system program and application programs. There is much to learn in only a few short weeks. The session is off to an energetic start, and a new round of computers begin their transformation in the hands of the capable students. |
Culinary Arts Program
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 February
was a month of celebrations for students in the Culinary Arts Program. The
kitchen kicked off the month with a Super Bowl promotion in which they offered
pre-cooked smoked organic chickens and St. Louis style pork spare ribs for
football fans and partygoers. Young chefs sold a total of 20 chickens and 24
racks of ribs.
Starting
Thursday, Feb. 11, students joined the Philippine American Association (PAA) of
Lane County for a training session in preparation for the 25th
annual Oregon Asian Celebration. The lesson prepared students for the challenge
of dishing up more than 1,000 Filipino egg rolls with marinade during the
weekend-long event. All their hard work before and during the celebration earned
them a cooking demonstration from Marvy Schuman, cooking instructor and chair
for the festival's cooking demonstrations, and an opportunity to win a $250
scholarship from the PAA. The winner will be announced next month.
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Spring Planting Tips From the Horticulture Program
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The MLK Horticulture Program has put a lot of time and hard work into maintaining its farm and crops. Here are some tips from our new experts!
- Now is the time to prune your fruit trees and blueberries while they are still dormant.
- Reduce the slug and snail population in your garden -- the simplest way is to remove them by hand using a flashlight to find them at night.
- Composting is an important part of gardening. Keep your soil rich with compost until it is ready for spring planting.
- It is the perfect time of year to plant new fruit trees. Remember to add in that compost!
- If your soil is dry, feel free to plant onions outdoors -- radish seeds may also be planted outdoors.
- Now's the time to plant cool weather crops such as lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli in the seed flats.
- Pull those emerging weeds now while they are small and manageable.
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Student of the Month: Brittnie Hilgendorf |
Congratulations to Brittnie Hilgendorf
for being awarded Student of the Month! Brittnie is part of
the MLK Education Center GED classroom. She came to MLK motivated and
has shown tremendous ability to work independently by completing her
GED. The teachers at MLK describe her as a quiet, steady worker. By
working in the Culinary Arts Program she has also learned cooking
skills. She shows dedication to her school work by following through
on tasks and is willing to do anything the teachers ask of her. The
staff say Brittnie is a pleasure to have in the classroom and very easy
to get along with. Great job Brittnie!
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| Grace Serbu Scholarship Open to Lane Students at MLK Education Center |
The Grace Serbu Scholarship fund is set up for students enrolled for at least six credit hours at Lane Community College. The award includes students attending the MLK Education Center, which is why Kymbreyona Hampton applied for the scholarship. A hardworking student at the center who is studying to earn her certificate as a nursing assistant, Hampton should have a good shot -- she is just the type of candidate the award was intended to recognize. MLK Education Center students who previously received the award are Jeremy Downer and Cody Kau.
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Students Alex Konnoff and Kyle Starner Earn Second Place in DIVA Youth Visions' Teen Video Challenge
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Congratulations to Alex Konnoff and Kyle Starner for earning second place in this year's DIVA Youth Visions' Teen Video Challenge. Their video, "Vents," was chosen by a panel at Eugene's Open Lens Film Festival in January. The students embraced the opportunity to creatively express themselves through video and their hard work was rewarded with a $150 cash prize. Congratulations, Alex and Kyle!
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| Transitions |
Friday, January 29th marked the end of the semester at the MLK Education Center. Students worked hard over the course of the term and the center was able to finish the semester on a positive note with such achievements as Caleb Luke graduating from our GED program and Mike Roberts transitioning to the Kalapuya High School. We are excited for the upcoming term and expect many more successes. Thank you to Safeway's Laura Vinson for meeting with students and discussing potential job opportunities available to them. Students Jamal Small was recently hired by Safeway, James Goyer was offered a position with the company, and Michael Veilleux completed an interview. | |
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| Save 20% |
Save 20% on your next catering order of $50 or more with the MLK Jr. Education Center Culinary Arts Program.
Print this coupon and present it in person to redeem value. Limit one per person. Offer not valid with other discounts or prior purchases. |
| Offer Expires: March 25, 2010. |
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