Gift of Movement...

Recently our Frank Garrett team started a dance class lead by Mrs. Jennifer Jones. I was curious so I sat in on a session this past Friday. Immediately I was blown away by Jennifer's ability to teach basic dance skills to young girls, most of which have never danced before. She would give them an instruction on how to move their body, tell them what the proper dance term for it was, and then have them put all the moves together to see if they remembered. It was amazing to see how well the girls caught on. If there was someone who wasn't getting it Jennifer wouldn't hesitate to show them what to do. Her movements were so elegant and graceful. You could see that dance isn't just something she knows how to do, but she's gifted to do. The fact that she was able to teach beginners almost an entire dance in less than an hour proves this to be true. I look forward to seeing the girls blossom into skillful dancers, as they allow Jennifer's ray of light to shine through them. Be blessed and prosperous...
-K.Smith

Hello everyone! I want to dedicate this blog to all the volunteers and Urban supporters. Here's to you!

To all of those out there that support Urban Connection, thank you. We would be nowhere if it weren't for all the love you've shown us, and continue to show. God has blessed us greatly by giving us supporters that truly love what Urban is all about. Your donations, prayers, volunteer work, generosity, and love have helped Urban Connection become the great organization it is today. May God bless all of your lives for the wonderful work you have done for Urban. We love you all, and once again, thanks!

Blessings,
Julia

We Get It Big @ Frank Garrett!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Week to week and day to day, there are different experiences. Our numbers are low on some days and awesome and other days. We have dance on Monday and Wednesday, arts and crafts on Thursday and rehearsal for Voices of Hope on Friday. Watching the kids interact with on-another and learn things from each other is amazing. The girls do cheers and the boys join in and show their spirit and how they Gigg-a-lo. My vision is to see Frank Garrett grow and the community participate in the Rec Center like back in the Good Ole Days. We are on our way to the top.....Frank Garrett Community Center is Back and in full effect. Until we meet again....I am Ms Nikki and I'm out!!!!!!

Last thursday was such a good day we took the kids to sunken gardens the kids and i have a alsome time looking at all the different color fish, the different flowers and plants. The urban connection team had made books for the kids so they could have a activity to do on the feild trip we chose to make little books out of color paper. The kids got to draw pictures of what they liked at Suncken Gardens. I was so suprised that some of the kids can actually draw really well and some pictures where so detailed they did better then me at drawing pictures. Overall we had a good time and i cant wait to go again.

Voices of Hope

Last Friday we held our first rehearsal for our childrens choir. So far we have about ten members and everyone seems to be eager to try something new. Singing is something that I love to do so it's exciting to be able to share my gift with the children. This is the first time being in a choir for most of them so they didn't know what to expect. By the end of rehearsal everyone was anxious to learn more, but it was time to go home. Our first performance will be at the Thanksgiving program, November 21 so we're practicing every Friday for 30 minutes. I can't wait to see the fruits of our labor! Please keep us in your prayers us as we take this amazing journey. Be blessed and prosperous...

-K. Smith

Weekend Fun!

We had a group come in this Saturday to help with the kids' playground and our garden. They did a wonderful job and I just wanted to share a picture of our beautiful playground!

Thank you Coker United Methodist Church!

- Julia

Maria!

Recently, I interviewed one of our little girls Maria Guerrero. So here is some information about this wonderful little diva:

Maria's favorite colors are pink and baby blue. She loves to listen to Justin Bieber. Also, she likes to paint her nails. Maria just celebrated her 10th birthday!! She goes to Nelson Elementary and is in the 4th grade. Maria wants to be a teacher when she gets older!

Best Birthday Ever...

What another amazing week here at Urban! National Night out (Oct 5th) was amazinggg. It was really awesome to see everyone in the community come out for this event and it was an awesome time. This week I was able to interview a kid named Johnny. He reminds me a lot of myself when I was his age. I was a big trouble maker and Johnny always seems to make the days more interesting. He's in 5th grade, and his favorite subject is math. His favorite color is blue. His favorite thing to do in his spare time is to hang out with his friends. He also loves to play sports. This kid is amazing at whatever we're playing in the FG on that day. Football, basketball, soccer, whatever it is, this kid loves to do it. His favorite football team is the Dallas Cowboys and his favorite player is Tony Romo. He also loves the Spurs and his favorite player is Tim Duncan. When Johnny gets older he wants to be a police officer. When I asked him what his favorite food is, he couldn't come up with an answer because he loves everything. That's all for now. Cya!

Reaching out to the Youth of Today and Future of Tomorrow

Hello All.... Another week at Urban Connection has come and gone. This week, I had the pleasure of connecting with a very intelligent young lady. Her name is Nikia Nealy. Nikia is 9 years old. She is a 4th grade A/B honor roll student at Oak Hills Terrace Elementary. While communicating with Nikia she expressed several interests. I learned that she really likes Volleyball. Her favorite colors are red, blue and like most Diva's of course hot pink. I asked Nikia is there anyone that she admires. She first asked me what did I mean by that and after explaining to her what I meant, she then said "I admire my MOM". She said, "I admire my Mom because she is always there for me to do all the important things that I need and she will never let me down...I LOVE my MOM!" Nikia also said that she likes coming over to the Frank Garrett Community Center. She said she has lots of fun and we help them with the things they ask us to do. I love being able to be a positive influence on the lives of children and letting them know that you can be whoever or whatever you want to be in life with the right guidance and influences. Thank you Urban for allowing us to make a difference in young lives!!!!!

LORNZE MALAGON
-WHATS UR FAVORITE COLOR? BLUE
-WHATS UR FAVIRITE SHOE TO WARE?JORDAN
-WHATS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW?SIMONS
-WHATS YOUR FAVORITE SPORT TO PLAY? FOOTBALL
-HOW OLD ARE YOU? SEVEN
-WHAT GRADE ARE YOU IN?FIRST
-WHATS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?spaghetti
-WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO FOR FUN? PLAY FOOTBALL

This week I got the opportunity to interview a very special young lady. Her name is Tiareka Woods and this is her first year with Urban Connection. This vibrant young lady is a seventh grader at Irving Middle School. I asked her a few questions about her experience at the Garrett center, and here's what she had to say....

K: Why do you enjoy coming to the Frank Garrett?

T: It's a place where I can come to relax and take away stress from a busy day at school.

K: What are some things that you would like to see done differently here?

T: There's a lot of history here at Garrett, honestly I don't think anything should change. I love it just the way it is!!

K: Why do you think its important to have programs like this for kids?

T: I think it's a good way to help people in the community get to know each other better. Also it helps us to be involved and to stay out of trouble.

Tiareka is wise beyond her years. When I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up she said that was her favorite question to answer! She wants to be a veterinarian, an artist, and a fashion designer. With the focus and drive she has, I'm confident that it will happen for her. Being around kids like her make me love doing what I do!!

-K. Smith

Ix-chel

This last we were given an assign blog to write. The assignment who to chose a child that attened UCASA and learn a little bit more about them. The child I chose is a sweet little girl named Ix-chel. Since UCASA started Ix-chel and I have became close. Her first language is spanish, and I'm in the process of learning spanish, so Ix-chel has been helping me with my spanish speaking skills.

Some questions I ask her were: 1.What is your favorite drink? 2.What is your favorite TV show? 3.Who is your hero? 4.Who is your best friend? 5.What is your favorite color? 6.What grade are you in? 7.How old are you? 8.What sport do you like to play? 9.What do you like to do for fun? 10.What kind of candy do you like?

Her respones were: 1. Apple juice. 2.Hannah Montana. 3. My dad. 4.You. ( Me, Ms. Sabrina) 5.Red. 6. First grade. 7. Six years old. 8. Soccer. 9. Play with toyes. 10.Chocolate.

This is the completion of another week with Urban Connection. This has been an awesome experience so far. Some days we have lots of children and some days there are just a handful. Next week will be our first official week at Frank Garrett and we are looking forward to the change. This week we prepared for the Grand Event....."Get It Big" @ Frank Garrett. The new and improved. Mrs Leslie and Mrs Jennifer went all out and shopped till they dropped. They purchased new ball, board games, cards, dominoes, ping-pong table, pool table equipment and all sorts of things. We are sooooo.... looking forward to closing this week so we can start our official beginning @ Frank Garrett. I love the interacting with the children. Being able to see different attitudes, behaviors and personalities and deal with it all by being a positive Role Model makes my heart full. I LOVE giving back and being an influence in a child's life. I am Blessed and Blessing others is a JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Inventory

The week has come to an end and as always it's been a good one! Monday will be the first official day for Urban Connection-Frank Garrett so we've been doing everything needed to get ready. Yesterday the F.G. crew took time to go through the main storage closet and reorganize everything. My "o.c.d" kicked in immediately because it was a complete mess! There were all sorts of raquets, balls of every kind, and other unusual things. We had to go through and decide what we wanted to keep and what we should get rid of. We also got some new games and supplies (thanks Mrs. Leslie!!!!:D). Things are really coming together. I can't wait for the day when the center is filled with people from all over the community coming just to have great, wholesome fun!!!
-K. Smith

Yesterday was a fun day for the kinder and 1st grade. We made awesome scare crows for the garden. The kids were excited so was I. After we were done the kids put them in the garden and they were all amazed at the way things came out. This was my first time working in the garden. It felt good to be able to connect with the children in a diffrent way. ~Karla

SCARE CROWS, wow the kinder and first,second, and third graders had such a good time making them. I had such a good time making the scare crows with the kids because it was my first time ever making scare crows and some of the first time for some of the kids as well. We had a good time enjoying everyones company.when the kids where done making the scare crows some had no nose others had no fingers but it was cool cause thats the way they wanted to desgin there crows. Before the kids came and i was doing an example crow i was thinking that it was going to be to complicated for the kids to make but im happy it wasnt they did so good.