Lawrence Rosenfeld has been volunteering with the fourth grade Pioneer Scholars here at EKC for two years now and his students always gave him rave reviews. Little did they know that across town at UNC’s school of Communications Studies where he is a Professor, his college-aged students felt the same way.

Rosenfeld was nominated by the undergraduates and was then named this year’s recipient of the prestigious 2012 William C. Friday Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award recognizes members of the UNC faculty who have exemplified excellence in inspirational teaching and have had an exceptionally positive impact on the intellectual growth of students. We could not have said it better ourselves!

Thank you, Mr. Rosenfeld, for using your free time and your, obviously, exceptional talents to benefit EKC.

“A truly special teacher is very wise, and sees tomorrow in every child’s eyes.” -

Unknown

Today marks another exciting milestone in the life of the Emily K Center as Communications Coordinator Michele White celebrates her birthday. Staff gathered in the Board room to share a few laughs and a “spot of tea” with the birthday girl.

When asked what she liked most about Michele, 2nd grader Arianna said, “I liked doing reading with Ms.Michele. She’s very nice and I hope she has a great birthday!”

2nd grader Kevin added his wishes too.  “Merry Christmas… I mean Happy Birthday!  I would like to give you something special - that could be something like earrings or maybe a shirt but I can’t because I don’t have a car to go get them.  I liked being your student!  You’re exciting!”

Happy Birthday to a very special member of our Emily K Center Team!

***Michele White is the author of 99% of our blog posts so we decided that on her birthday she should get to enjoy a break from writing and instead be the “star” of a post!  She enjoyed it and we hope you do too!***

Students and Staff at the Emily K Center would like to recognize our amazing volunteers today, December 5th, International Volunteer Day.  Designated by the United Nations in 1985 as a day of international observance, we too celebrate the contribution volunteers make to society.

At Emily K our volunteers are a wonderfully diverse group. They are university students, having come from (depending on their semester and their schedule) Duke, UNC, NCCU and NC State. They are community members, some who have lived in Durham all their lives and view their work at EKC as a continued investment of time and commitment to their city and their neighbor families. Others have just moved to the area and hear that great work is being done at the Center. They want to put down roots and we are a great place to do just that.

Some of our volunteers work with the students every single week. Others helps with our events or our administrative endeavors. Still others offer their expertise in a particular skill area such as theater, technology, drama or sport.

Over the past five years we have had more than 700 volunteers gift us with their time at the Center. It is wonderful that a particular day has been set aside for recongititon, but at the Emily K Center, we don’t need to be reminded of how integral our volunteers are to our effort. We celebrate you each and every day. Thank you. The Emily K Students and Staff.

Emily K students took time out from the work at hand to share in the congratulations of Coach K’s 903 win. Taking up a good part of the 2001 Final Four floor that serves as our gym, almost 70 students and staff members stood in the formation of a 903. Volunteer Marissa Streyle offered her photography services and showed first class patience as we worked to clearly become a 9, a zero and a 3 from a distance.

Lesson Learned #1 – the number nine was the easiest for some reason.

Lesson Learned #2 –Emily K Scholars are unmatched in terms of study skills but we need a bit of work on parade formation.

Congratulations Coach K. If we work as hard in the classroom as you do in your preparation we will become championship winners too!

John Brown is coming! That’s the word on the street. The famous jazz musician will make a much-anticipated visit to the Emily K Center for a program that will be part mini-concert, part workshop and all fun.

John is a bassist, a composer and an educator. He’s been performing professionally since his teens in the U.S. and abroad with artists like Wynton Marsalis and Diahann Carroll, as well as giving performances with the North Carolina Symphony. John constantly seeks opportunities to work with students and to study himself. He’s attended the Lincoln Center Institute in New York City and is now a certified instructor using their model of music instruction.

John has been selected by the North Carolina Arts Council to assemble performing groups connecting arts and education, so children are exposed to and have the opportunity to make music. The program is expected to be lively, interactive and a fitting end to a successful first semester of programming at EKC. Can’t wait for your visit John!

Pioneer Scholars kicked off an exciting new partnership last week designed for aspiring Emily K techies called Technology Without Borders.

The group brings together committed undergraduate students from UNC Chapel Hill, and a number of EKC 4th through 6th graders for a digital literacy workshop. The Techies from UNC arrived last Monday armed with 12 laptops and began the process of teaching EKC students to produce their own music.

The Technology Without Borders program aims to increase access and understanding of technology programs in the Triangle area. Not only did the EKC students learn valuable skills transferable to their daily school work, but the laptops were made available to the students throughout the week for additional use.

The pilot program will meet a number of times prior to the end of the year and will hopefully pick back up in the spring when even more EKC students will have an opportunity to take part in the program.

Emily K juniors and seniors visited the Duke campus this weekend to take part in a Leadership Roundtable. Hosted by Crazies Who Care for the Emily K Scholars to College students, the event included a roundtable with a number of current undergrads. The college students shared stories and guidance about activities they pursue on campus. Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach, Joy Cheek, was among those who spoke to the high schoolers. After the roundtable, Scholars attended a women’s basketball game and participated in the half time knock-out competition. Needless to say, a good time was had by all.

The Emily K Center is incredibly fortunate to have volunteers who are not only devoted and loyal, but also quite skillful and talented. Among our volunteers are professional musicians and mathematicians, actors and engineers. Today we would like to give a shout out to volunteer Laura Spence who captured the spirit of the Center and its students in her art.

Laura has spent almost the entire summer combing through files, photos and memorabilia, and this week installed an amazing interpretation in the display cases the length of an entire hallway. Everyone who has had the good fortune to view the new work has come away fairly speechless. It’s colorful and vibrant and speaks volumes about the growth and excellence of the EKC students from 1st through 12th grade.

If you have visited the Center before, plan a trip back to see Laura’s work. If you have not yet had a chance to come in and see what we do here, don’t miss this chance to stop in. You are in for a treat!

Volunteers are the backbone of the Emily K Center. They help support our students and our work, and serve as fabulous role models. That’s why we have to give a special ‘shout out’ to the dedicated volunteers who come to us from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

For the fourth year running, the Emily K Center welcomes more than 15 volunteers from NCSSM who will spend every Monday working with our Pioneer Scholars. These volunteers who attend a premier high school for juniors and seniors come to the Center with their faculty advisor, Amy Sheck. For those Emily K fans who haven’t heard of the NCSSM, the school was established in 1978 as a public, residential school for North Carolina students with high intellectual ability and commitment to scholarship. They also happen to be great kids who enjoy sharing their knowledge and learning talents with younger students who hopefully will follow in their path of educational curiosity. Grace Yook and Taylor (Tess) Stohrer, seniors at NCSSM, spearheaded an effort to start the Emily K Club. Fifty students joined the club this year and from that group 15 tutors were selected and trained. The remainder of the club is working to identify ways in which to support the EKC, including fundraising and a potential book drive. Thanks NCSSM and welcome back for year four!

Coach Russell arrived in Durham at the Emily K Center loaded with equipment and enthusiasm and ready to unpack a boatload of fun for the 36 EKC campers who attended the Spring Break Activities Camp. Days were filled with sports activities, board games, movies, smoothies, and much fun and laughter. This year marks the third year that loyal Emily K Center friend, Russell Newman, conducted the camp. “This is a special place and the students are special kids. I know that this kind of sports camp can have a positive influence on them, but really, I just wanted to come and spoil the kids,” laughed Russell.

The history of Coach Russell’s relationship with the Emily K Center is an interesting one. Russell met Coach K nine years ago when his son, Scott, attended a basketball camp on the Duke campus. Coach Russell remembers sensing instantly that Coach K was a uniquely special person, beyond his basketball persona. Several years later while attending the K Academy, Coach Russell visited the Emily K Center. “It was evident to me from the moment I walked in that the Emily K Center was a wonderful place,” said Coach Russell. “I met Adam (the EKC Executive Director) and the rest of the staff and immediately I started to think about how I could help them in their mission.”  Having worked with kids for many years, and knowing that sports can be such a positive influence in the lives of young people, Coach Russell offered to host an on-site, free camp for the EKC students  during their break from school. Year after year he has increased his commitment to the Center. This year the Spring Break Camp encompassed the entire week.  Friends of Coach Russell’s from across the country, including coaches Ian, Jackie, Phil, and Jose and video-director Rob, donated their vacation time and flew in to lend a hand. Local volunteers also provide much needed support. Scotty, Ronald and Javier, as well as several employees from the marketing solutions corporation, Bronto Software, also volunteered to help in the effort of day-after-day fun.

The days began at 9 am with warm ups and then campers from first through eighth grade played basketball, tennis, dodge ball and kickball. Morning snacks of smoothies were followed by more sports and then, board games, movies and another session back in the gym for more sports.  All the campers agreed that it was one of the best things they did all year. As for Coach Russell, he sees it a bit differently.  “I always arrive here with the idea that I will have a chance to do something for the students and I leave having been the beneficiary. Knowing the kids at the Emily K Center has made my life better,” said Coach Russell.