Posted by Lauren S. on May 16, 2008
After School Program
Hello everyone! Lauren here, writing to you from our beautiful Loyola Park After School Program! I’m here to impart to you some very important and exciting information regarding the upcoming Loyola Park show. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Oh sure, a Barrel of Monkeys’ school show. I understand. That’s when those crazy Monkeys perform brilliant stories that the brilliant children have written…brilliantly.” Well, blog reader, you are right to think those things. However, I must tell you, the tables have turned. The tide has changed. The roles have been reversed.
Allow me to explain (as if I’m a Medieval town crier).
“Hear ye, hear ye! For the first time in Barrel of Monkeys’ history, the students of the Loyola Park After School Program are performing in their very own Monkey-style show!”
Good people, your ears do not deceive you! These fabulously creative authors have written an array of monologues, dialogues and group stories that they will perform this week for an audience of family, friends and fellow Monkeys. The teachers have become the directors, the students have become the actors and we’ve all become a little bit crazy with the excitement of this landmark event. Both our Monday and Thursday groups have been busy rehearsing their stories and as a little preview, I’ll leave you with a few lines of dialogue from “Hot, Cold News” penned by Jackson and Lucy.
Chico: Did you see the news?
Samantha: It’s too hot to see the news.
Chico: Well anyways, there was this guy who was congo dancing with a platypus.
Oh. Did I forget to mention that “Chico” is a meerkat and “Samantha” is a moose?
See?
Brilliant.
We the teachers of Loyola Park (Sarah, Tai, Michael, Maggie, Dixie, Lacy, Lauren, Jen and Joe) are thrilled to bring you the first ever B.O.M. Loyola Park After School Program Show written and performed entirely by the kids. Hooray!
Posted by Heidi on May 16, 2008
That's Weird Grandma
Two new stories!
The Haunted Piano
and
When I went to Six Flags.
They Will delight you.
full running order after the jump.
Read more
Posted by Heidi on May 13, 2008
School Residencies
This morning BOM’s Program Director, Dixie Uffelman, and I attended Communities in Schools of Chicago‘s annual Partner Recognition Breakfast. CISC is a great organization that helps match under-served community schools with community organizations like ours that can fill critical unmet needs—everything from providing health screenings to anger management and so on. This year CISC honored us as a ten-year agency partner by giving us a lovely plaque.
That’s Dixie, showing it off.
The event was at US Cellular Field, which is always exciting. Dixie claims that she’s spent more time at the Cell as a guest of CISC then as a patron of the White Sox.
That aside, it was really great to see other partner organizations and some of the school principals and site coordinators and hear about the other ten year partners. Our friends at CISC were extremely nice (as always) and had a giant poster board depicting one of our school residencies. It’s always exciting to be in an environment where everyone in the room is committed to “meeting unmet needs” and serving the schools and communities. CISC got to thank us this morning, but I’d like to thank them—their help and guidance allows us to serve the schools that can most benefit from our specific programs and over ten years has provided us with many fruitful partnerships. We rely on their network to make sure that we can serve the most appropriate communities and help us make the first crucial contacts with new school partners. Here’s looking forward to another ten years of collaboration.
Posted by Heidi on May 10, 2008
That's Weird Grandma
Last week’s awesome “That’s Weird, Grandma” ran short, so this week we’re only adding a story. No cuts! Crazy!
The new story is the awesome “How to make an Omelet” by Stephen P. from the 4th grade at Reavis. It’s a dance extravaganza.
You know you can’t wait.
Full running order after the jump.
Read more
