On Wednesday, December 18th, a freshmen class of 15 students from Roberto Clemente Community Academy came to Batey Urbano to engage in a discussion about the history and purpose of the space as well as the Barrio Arts, Culture and Communications Academy. They will be working on a service-learning project with the Anti-Underage Drinking Campaign. Students discussed their personal thoughts about drinking and talked in depth about some of the risks of drinking alcohol. Students expressed how alcohol influenced their personal lives as well as some of the reasons they thought drinking has become so prevalent in our communities. They also got to talk about community and how alcohol affects their individual lives as well as their communities. Through this service-learning project, the students will become more informed about the risks of alcohol and be better prepared to understand social problems. They will address the issue of underage drinking at Clemente through social marketing techniques and skills.

Besides visiting Batey Urbano, two other freshmen classes learned and visited El Rescate and Vida/Sida. Representatives from EL Rescate and Vida/Sida went to Clemente and spoke to students about the history of both organizations and the issues surrounding LGBTQ communities and youth homelessness. They will be working next semester with both programs on a service-learning project. 
 

Many freshmen are getting their first taste of what it means to be a communicator at Clemente. This year many students will be participating in our annual Winter Festival for the first time. After three months of rehearsals and practicing, students are ready to present holiday music at this year's event.

The Winter Festival seeks to highlight student achievement through the fine arts, with our steel band, concert band and chorus performing.  For many of our freshmen, this is the first time they have participated in a performance of this magnitude. In addition to their musical rehearsals, many students have explored the role of the performer, music composition/theory, production techniques, and communication through music in their studies.

Our current freshman class may choose to advance their studies in the IB Diploma Program (DP) Music course during their junior and senior years. The DP music class is very rigorous and demands study in theory, composition, history, and performance. The music department is already aligning their curriculum to the IB framework in preparation for both the IB Middle Years program and DP. We are excited for our freshmen to join us this year as they perform alongside other students who have been a part of the music program for years and find it to be a rewarding experience!

We invite our families and community to join us for the Winter Concert this Thursday at 7pm.

This week several pallets filled with gifts for the children of Humboldt Park were received at DSBDA through the efforts of State Representative Cynthia Soto. ¡Mil gracias State Rep Soto! This huge donation will ensure that the 2014 Three Kings Day gift giving effort will be an immense success. The annual Three Kings Parade and Winter Fest will begin at 3pm at Clemente High School and will culminate at the Fieldhouse in Humboldt Park on Monday, January 6. 

The New York Coordinator to Free Oscar Lopez Rivera wish you all  a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year. Second,  we hope you are able to spend quality-time with love ones, family, comrades and friends.  

We want to thank you for all your efforts and contributions to the campaign. We hope the Christmas celebrations and new year renews our commitment to continue to struggle to Free Oscar Lopez Rivera.

Included is a Univision link that shows a series of short videos clips (8 of them) of the  activities in Puerto Rico and in the New York (Bronx and Brooklyn) to Free Oscar.  Just keep this link as a memory of how glorious is the  "power of the people" in its quest for justice and freedom.

We will meet in late January, 2014 to work on a collective NY plan "so we can all be on the same page" to Free Oscar.  Stay in touch and Happy holidays. (No coman mucho lechón y no beban mucho pitorro).  Abrazos y con mucho amor. Ana Lopez for The New York Coordinator to Free Oscar Lopez Rivera