Holiday Tidings from Marvell

As we pass out candy canes and grade semester exams, we realize we’ve come a long way since mosquito-swatting August when we first launched our Marvell to NYC Empire State of Mind trip. Let’s do the numbers:

- $18,000 raised for our trip by over 90 families or individuals. The generosity and thoughtfulness of so many of our friends and families is overwhelming and truly humbling.
- over $8,000 worth of free or reduced rates at the Museum of Modern Art, the Broadway production of Memphis (thanks to Remmell Dickinson), and the Vanderbilt YMCA hostel.
- 150 hours served by Marvell 8th graders tutoring elementary students after-school, marching alongside Santa in the Marvell holiday parade, selling donuts at Walmart and baked goods at the Marvell Main Street Festival.
- $810 project funded by Donorschoose.org to help cover transportation costs

Of course, we’ve still got about $4,000 to raise, suitcases and backpacks to purchase for our kids, and dinner arrangements to make at cheap and yummy restaurants in NYC.

When school resumes in January, we’ll be selling raffle tickets at high school basketball games, coordinating with parents to organize local fundraisers (fish fry, anybody?) and prepping our students for their trip with meetings about restaurant and museum etiquette, how to pack and the histories of Ellis Island, China Town and Little Italy.

Follow our progress and support our 8th grade trip from Marvell, Arkansas to New York City at our website www.marvelltonyc.com. If you’ve already donated, thank you again and please consider sharing our trip information with your family members or friends. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding our trip or fundraising goals.

If you haven’t had a chance to donate yet, you can direct go directly to our donation page by clicking this link: DonateNow

We hope that you have a wonderful holiday and a happy, healthy New Year. Thank you for believing in our trip and our students. Your support means so much to all of us.

Thanksgiving Food Pantry

8th graders help prepare boxes for the Marvell Food Pantry, which serves 200 local residents.

Interview with Carlous: Main Street Festival and 5K plus Sweet Potato Pie Recipe

What did you do at the 5K?
We had to be at Main Street in Marvell by 7am. There were about 20 people who showed up to run a 5K [Marvell’s first 5K run!]. The 5K route was from Main Street, down the corner around the doctors, office, pharmacy, all over town. We held up signs to direct the people that were running.

Everyone was tall, sweaty and listening to mp3 players. There was one man who was running and giving everyone high fives, and he nearly knocked me over giving me a high five.

At the finish line we gave them water and Gatorade because a lot of folks were dehydrated. Mr. Neuwirth got second place in the 5K.

What is the Marvell Main Street Festival?
A lot of folks set up on Main Street on Saturday morning to barbeque, face paint... You can get bbq chicken, baby back ribs, spare ribs, koolaid pickles (I still wanna try them koolaid flavored pickles, or hot koolaid flavored pickles). Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to eat anything because I was working so hard on the bake sale.

All kinds of people were at the festival, white, black, everybody. People had a lot of fun talking, eating, enjoying Marvell.

What was the bake sale like?
It was pretty good. We sold a lot of baked goods. I made a loaf cake for the bake sale.

Carlous’s Loaf Cake Recipe
Grandma says I can’t release that recipe, just like the recipe for bbq sauce, can’t release that neither.

….

Carlous's Sweet Potatoe Pie Recipe
First you need some sweet potatoes, about 20 at the most, boil ‘em until they’re mushy or the skin on them starts to wrinkle up.

Then take a strainer and strain the potatoes; strain. Be careful coz you might wanna cover your arms. Make sure your strainer is in the sink first, carefully pour the sweet potatoes into the strainer and let the water drain off of ‘em.

Then you have to get all of your ingredients – sugar, nutmeg, eggs, butter, and lil corn syrup. First thing you do is grind the nutmeg. While you’re grinding the nutmeg, take four sticks of butter and melt ‘em on medium heat in a big pot on the stove. Then peel and mash the potatoes until all the particles are broken down. I’ve seen my grandma do this and I know the recipe.

Since the butter has melted at this point, take the butter and pore it onto the potatoes. Just to get a little bit more sweetness, add a tablespoon of nutmeg and a cup of sugar - a cup and a half if you like it real sweet.

Once that’s all incorporated you add your eggs – 3 eggs. So now you have all your ingredients incorporated in it, stir it up for at least 3 minutes. So, when all that’s done, you got it mixed up. Then you take at least a 9 inch pie crust and you pour a little bit of fillin at time into each pie crust. A big batch like this, it makes at least four to five pies. Bake it for 10 to 15 minutes at 450 until crust is golden brown. Eat it for dessert.









Ms. G and students sell baked goods at the Marvell Main Street Festival!

Interview with 'Meka

Name: Jameka
Hometown: Poplar Grove, AR
Age: 13

What is Marvell like?
In Marvell the land is very flat. Most of the land is used for growing and harvesting crops like corn, beans, rice, potatoes, and greens. A lot of people around Marvell work on farms. My dad is self-employed - he’s a carpenter - and my mom does in home service for elderly people.

What is there to do in Marvell?
On the weekends, I talk on the phone, go on facebook or hang out with friends. I go to church on Sunday and hang out with my family. On Sundays, we usually eat chicken, macaroni and a lot of pies. My favorite kind of pie is apple. I help my mom make chocolate cakes for birthdays, holidays, etc.

A lot of teenagers hang out at the court, which is a park with a basketball court and playground area. We go to play basketball or watch other people play, and hang out with friends. People walk around.

Otherwise there is EZ Mart, Coastal, Dollar General and JJ Grocery. My favorite is Coastal because they serve good fried chicken, but you can also get pizza and hamburgers there. You can get chips, snacks, or any kind of junk food there too. It is also a gas station and there are always a lot of people in Coastal (which has several names: Fast Break, gas station, Marty Mart).


What do you think New York will be like?
I think New York will be full of people, bumping into each other trying to get through. There will be bright lights and tall buildings. I want to see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and go shopping. I also heard there is good pizza in New York.

Where else have you traveled?
I’ve been to Dallas and Michigan before, and places around the Delta. My favorite place that I’ve traveled so far was Dallas because there are a lot of things to do there, like go to the park and go shopping.

What do you want to do when you grow up?
When I grow up I want to be a nurse, a hairdresser or a psychiatrist. I want to live in either California or Texas.

8th grade tutors!

Another afternoon tutoring at C3, a local after-school program run by YouthWorks alums. C3 works with both Marvell Elementary and Marvell Academy to target high-need students for after-school tutoring and mentoring.

Our 8th graders help tutor on Tuesday and Thursday - they listen to elementary students read, quiz them on math facts and are terrific role models and leaders.

First Day of Community Service

"Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today was our first day of after school community service! Ms. G and two 8th graders tutored and read with elementary school students at a local after school center.

Go service!

KWL - NYC

Today at our NYC meeting we did the first two columns of a "KWL" (Know-Want to Know-Learned) chart with our kids, the subject being obviously New York City. The kids were in groups of 2-3 and came up with one answer/question for Know and Want to Know to share with the group. Here's our list:

Know:
- 9/11
- Statue of Liberty
- large population ("overcrowded")
- New Years Eve Parties in Times Square
- hometown of Notorious BIG
- BET and 106 and Park

Want to Know:
- What is 9/11? (different group)
- What does Ground Zero look like?
- Why don't people drive cars or live in houses?
- What is the fashion like?
- What is the purpose of the Empire State Building?
- What kind of jobs do people have?

Modern Students

In preparation for our trip to NYC our art class is studying artists featured at the Museum of Modern Art, beginning with Henri Rousseau. Rousseau was originally a toll collector in Paris who taught himself to paint and became a player on the fin-de-siecle Parisian art scene. His large tableaux of "imaginary jungles" have been both criticized and celebrated for their dream-like qualities and child-like naiveté; Rousseau never left Paris but studied animals and jungle flora in library books and at the Paris zoo.

Like Rousseau, we decided to paint places we had imagined but never been in conjunction with a study of watercolor and perspective.

Featured Artists: Shindawia, "Desert/Mountains;" Henri Rousseau, "The Dream;" Freddonia, "Plains;" Rayneisha, "New York;" Candace, "Desert;" Katy, "Beach Sunset;" Derrick "Hotlanta;" Moesha,"Las Vegas;" Tyeshia, "Mountain Home"

Bake Sale!

First Meeting by Candace

Name: Candace
Hometown: Marvell, AR
Favorite Subject: Math

During last week's meeting, we planned and brainstormed ways to earn and keep track of money. We meet on Wednesdays in Ms. Gillooly's room after school for about an hour. We came up with many ideas, but our first event will be a bake sale at Teach For America professional development.

We also brainstormed ideas for a NYC bulletin board to post in the hallway to keep everyone updated. We decided to track the amount of money using a thermometer shaped like the Empire State Building. The tip of the top is our goal to reach. We had a good time and everyone enjoyed themselves.

I am most excited about going to New York because it is the big city and "the city that never sleeps." I think the trip is important because if we can reach this goal, we can do anything.

First Thoughts by Katy

My name: Katy
Hometown: Marvell, AR
8th grade

When I heard there was going to be a trip to New York for the 8th grade class I was so excited! I couldn’t believe that the principal actually agreed to it. I just about jumped out of my seat when I heard.

The thing I am most looking forward to is sightseeing. I really was excited when I heard we were to go to a museum that displayed some of my favorite artists, such as Pablo Picasso. It made me even more enthusiastic than I already was.

I most want to visit the Empire State Building because I just think it is so amazing! The crazy thing about it is that I am so afraid of heights. But I think that if I actually get to see it I won’t let my fear control me.

The only places I’ve been to before are Texas to see my family and parts of Arkansas. You can see I haven’t been anywhere really exciting.

I think the trip is important because we are going to show how amazing the Delta is and maybe that will encourage the people of New York to come see the Delta. But I also think the trip is important because it will give us a chance to see how the people of New York live their daily lives and see if that will affect how we feel about seeing different places.

To go on the trip, eighth graders have to make a passing grade in ALL of their classes. We need to show beautiful behavior so that we won’t have anyone who can’t keep their behavior under control on the trip with us. Students will also have to earn a total of 22 trip points which can be earned in various ways, like helping with fundraisers and community service.

I totally think this trip could change my life, it could possibly inspire me and it could quite possibly change what I want in the future.