​Where I’m From: By Sasha Sapp

 

A once quaint streak of depressingly similar 18ft wide, boxy, West Philly row homes-

now infested with the bellows of

“OHHHHH YOU TRYNA BUST???”

Is where I’m from.

Where voicing verbal lashes of insults with your very best friends are the norm.

And if the insult wasn’t “good enough” then

“That shit was ass”

is the retort for your failed attempt of humor.

Yep, I’m from

Teeth chattering and hand numbing winter nights of 20 and below

On a cold and unwelcoming cemented porch

Where adolescents bundle air tight with each other’s limbs and torsos

like horror-struck kindergarteners

clinging dearly to their mothers with a suffocating iron grip on the first day of school.

Where being together in the cold of the night was more important then being warm, cozy and sane

apart.

I’m from

“Yo, what’s ya name?” and “Damn, who’re you?”.

Where apparently silence isn’t taken as “I’m clearly NOT interested”.

I’m from summers of sweating puddles, shopping obsessively, and

Singing badly.

I’m from persistent car alarms screeching ear-popping pitches,

all because our football decided to take air in its own route.

Where shades of mocha, caramel, and vanilla

strut underneath towering tracks of the EL,

pushing aside outward differences for a mere moment-

is where I’m from.

Yeah, I’m from

Horrendous animal nicknames, tedious trips to the “Papi’s”, and

hyena-like fits of laughter with my very best friends.

Yeah…

I believe I’m from those days

with my very best friends.

 

 

“Where I am from” Poem 

 

I am from the core of sport centers

    Roars that follow louder then cars

Homes lined up to its twin sharing

the occasional tree that separates the outlook.

 

I am from the smell of detailed foods.

 As the smells travel throughout the house

Satisfying as it reaches your tongue.

 

 I am from the couch where my grandfather would sit

  and not one baseball game was missed.

I am from the cold winters and the hot summers

  One night colder or warmer then another.

 

I am from the wildly celebrated holidays

 That lasted from days on end.

The ones that brought our family closer

And together for remembrance.

 

I am from the do good

And good things will come to you.

I am from the educated

 And learn new things everyday.

I'm from a small town

not in the typical sense but

a town within a large city 

a small place where you may know my name

  or my face

but it ends there

I'm from a medium sized house with a medium sized family in it

from Kevin, the other one of two children

two point five children and a white picket fence?

not so much, 

a gray wire fence though does the same job

       holds in the large dreams

       protecting them from harm

       as we sit together around the kitchen table discussing days on end 

I'm from a garden, 

tomatoes, peppers and more

planted and cultivated by Dad and now myself

but also of large dreams

where some lie dead in the face of financial distress

others, in lack of progress 

from dreams blooming like sunflowers 

large dreams speak to the hours and hours I spend 

pouring over books, fact and figures 

attempting to use the ingredients and execute the recipe

began by Mom

I'm from baking bread 

the doughy smell enveloping the house

the lock to the fence

the security blanket 

   keeping us from getting hurt 

   from being a convert, to the broken world

I'm from protection

  from family

  from 

"You're extremely lucky, 

so many would wish 

  for just this" 

Science Leadership Academy will have a shortened advisory and dismiss at 3:30 pm today so that students can get an earlier start on SEPTA. The only students who will be allowed in the building after 3:30 will be those who are waiting for parents to pick them up. We are urging all students to go straight home today given the traffic issues affecting the city.

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nrn

As you know Slate has many new features for staff and students to use. Some of the new Features include course tools for staff. You will find it on the right side of an individual course page in bold. Course Tools includes a handy Copy Emails button which allows you to bring up all of the student's emails in that course. This way sharing with the class will be much easier.

More tools will be posted as SLATE development continues. Enjoy!!

All classes on Tuesday and Wednesday are 1's - X1, Y1, A1, B1, etc

Tuesday, Sept. 6th: 

8:15-10:15am - 2 hour advisory

10:20-11:35 - X band

11:40-12:45 - Y band

12:50-1:55 - A Band

2:00-3:05 - B Band

Wednesday, Sept. 7th:

8:15-9:15am - 1 hour advisory

9:20-10:25 - C Band

10:30-11:35 - D Band

11:40-12:45 - E Band

I met two students at the ISTE Conference June 2011 in Philadelphia. Sorry, but lost your names. You volunteered to help coordinate a social network to advocate politically for all high school to do what you do, reduce testing and replace with real-world projects.  You also invited me to your conference in January.  I talked to your principal, Chris Lehmann about scaling what you do.  If this is you, please let your principal know you were the volunteer or add a post to my website www.knorth.edublogs.org so I can contact you.

Thanks again for your motivating presentations at the ISTE leadership and SIGLIT workshops,

Ms. North
Houston, Texas

View more videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com.

Attention all SLA seniors: 

The roster team, led by Ms. Dunda, will be doing senior schedule reviews on Tuesday, August 23rd and Wednesday, August 24th from 10 am - 1 pm. 

Seniors are encouraged to come in during that time to review their schedules.

Come and Support SLA and our Fuel the Rocket Campaign 

Reminder to all incoming Science Leadership Academy families:

SLA's Summer Institute will be held Monday, August 22nd to Thursday, August 25th, from 9:00 am - 12:30 pm. Students should bring a pen and paper for the first day, and lunch will not be provided. 

We look forward to seeing everyone!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

When I become a teacher 

I'll put a map of the world on every wall in my classroom 

My students will always know to have a universal mindset 

When they hear freedom, they'll think of more than spirituals and Emancipation

They'll remember the stinking pits at Babi Yar

The curled steel at Auchwitz

Sarajevo’s rifle butts

Cambodia’s grit and sweat and death

These classroom walls will not fence their minds.

Eyes will be opened. Again.

Instead of asking my students to adjust to my teaching style 

Fawn in silent awe over my genius

I'll ask them how they learn

Then tend to the visual 

Auditory 

and tactile learners  

the best way I can 

They’ll never doubt their place in my plan,

Confuse our classroom for a cookie-cutter

Stage where they must sit on their hands.

I’ll take criticism.

Gather it like gold dust between my fingers.

Never satisfied, I’ll Practice my practice forever.

 

My classroom will be painted bright blues and yellows

Along with students drawings, murals and poetry

Displays of Me Magazines 

And word walls

Scenes from books acted out 

Role playing 

and Mock trials 

I will appreciate their creativity 

 

I will teach my students inquiry 

Ask them questions about the world around them 

Their opinions on issues from health care to the Palestine Wall

I won't talk at them, but with them 

We'll have discussions and debates 

I will challenge them 

Ask them how they would tackle issues like budgets cuts 

Low reading levels 

And school safety 

I'll ask them how they feel about Pennsylvania finding money to build 3 more prisons but cutting funding from schools 

Or how they feel about districts paying millions for standardized test and curriculum but not having enough for extra curricular activities 

They will be informed 

My students will be poets

storytellers

actors 

artists 

analyst 

activists

All while being beautiful 

Everyday I will tell them they're beautiful

To all the members of the Science Leadership Academy community - have a wonderful summer and we will see you in the fall!

​pasado

cuando yo era un niño, yo era un poco corta, de gordito y muy saliente. Yo era gordito, porque me comí casi todo, pero mi comida favorita era nuggets de pollo, que podíacomer para siempre. algunas de las cosas que me gustaba eran, ver la televisión, y practicar deportes outside.I pensaba que iba a ser un atleta, cualquier tipo de deportista. Pensé que si yo era un atleta, me haría cargo de todas las personas que seinportant a mí, como mi mamá, mi tía, mi tío, mi primo, y su abuelo.

ahora

Hoy en día, soy alto y fuerte, pero sigo siendo la misma persona saliente que solía ser.las cosas que me gusta haber cambiado. Cosas que me gustan ahora son, deportes, electrónica, música, y las niñas. Mi rutina diaria es más o menos ir a la escuela todos los días en el SLA, y pasar tiempo con amigos.

futuro

En el futuro, tengo previsto ir a la universidad en la Universidad de Pennsylvania, y mayor en negocios. Quiero trabajar en negocios deportes. Im va a tener un buen coche y una casa bonita, con una bella esposa, y tal vez algunos niños. eventualmente quiero abrir mi propia firma de consultoría, que veo como un gran éxito. Y voy a vivir feliz después de todo.