Happy Holidays from Cabrini Connections!

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The continuation of madlibs.

Hello everyone! Today we have the first madlib completed by none other then Charles Hill. The madlibs were part of the Halloween spirit and created to scare and create a sense of mystery into people's lives. Here's the first one, and others will be updated soon, the story called, The Moon Savior.

Mad Libs Stories begin

Hey everyone. This is an update on tech club. Please be on the lookout because last week we started to make our very own Mad Libs story using the scratch software. Of course this will use up some of our creativity which will make these stories all the more fun. More importantly this is a way for us kids to get more familiar with the scratch software as we get deeper into making our up and coming Cabrini Connections video game. Please keep you eyes and Desktops open for another update!!

NEW CHARACTER

Hello Everyone! My name is Savon Clark, as some of you know, and i am here to introduce my new character in our latest project, the Cabrini Connections video game. His name is Neo Nova. For now, his main role in the game will be a student. What he will do exactly is yet to be determined since we are still figuring out a lot of the game at this point. So for now, he will be introduced as an incoming character. Neo Nova hopes to see you all very soon.

Mizawa! The untold story!

Mizawa(Me-Zah-Wa), the character of my choice. The name and meaning is unknown. However, this character is awesome. Amazing at that. The character will bring truth and justice to Cabrini Connections! Believe it!...No. Just kidding, the character was my choice to choose. Off to the Cabrini Connections Adventure!

Nyshanell's character

My character is a Hello Kitty fairy. I decided to make my character a fairy because every body don't like Kitty's but i do so deal with it. (I also love dogs so yeah).

scratch.mit.edu/projects/SidoUchiha/1127332

Game Chracter- Sido Ritsu

My character was made from a sonic advance game base. I made it by taking a sonic advance sprite and customizing it to my own specifications. The reason I made my character how he appears is because I wanted to make something that would be almost impossible to make emotions for in a sprite comic.

Click here to see the game demo

The summer so far...

Tech Club's summer has been an interesting one...we started the summer with the Year-End Dinner, which was an excellent presentation of the Cabrini Connections Adventure. It showed what people could be looking forward to by the time we're done. Other details to the Year-End Dinner can be seen here.

This summer in Tech Club, we've made a flier for the Tutor/Mentor Jam. Sean Mayfield was the person who worked on the flier and a few words from him are: "When we made the flier, we decided on how the background would look and what information from the Tutor/Mentor Jam would incorporate into this. So, in the following weeks I worked on the flier and it was a success."

We've introduced new student Avery and returning student Savon. Avery's been with the Tech Club group for a few weeks now, however he's already propelling himself into the world of Technology. In his own words Avery explains: "My name is Avery Harris, I'm currently starting my Freshmen year of high school and love working with technology. I decided to join Tech Club, so that it would help me learn more about technology, and I am really enjoying it." We are really enjoying  Avery's company and he fits right in with the Tech Club group.

A few words from our returning Tech Club member Savon Clark, which in his own words he talks about the future of Tech Club: "Moving on Tech Club will continue its main project of the Cabrini Connections Adventure, however there will be a few side projects that will help progress our game along the way and will help us fix the "bugs" or "glitches" that have appeared in our game.

Also!  As the new school year starts we will be learning about Variables, in the context of Technology, and will continue our work on the Cabrini Connections Adventure. More updates will be brought to you soon!

Tech Club so far...

Hello everyone! This is Charles Hill here, student at Cabrini Connection and currently involved in Cabrini Connection's Tech Club. Our latest project has been a year long project called: "Cabrini Connections Adventure" our working title. The game uses several characters from Cabrini Connections, the Tech Club group, and also people outside of Cabrini Connections like politicians. The Tech Club group has been led by our Coordinator Mike Trakan, while we've been using the skills of Photoshop and Scratch to create our game. During the Year-End Dinner, Mike and I presented the demo for the game, featuring our Tech Club character Nyshanell Freeman. There are still a few "bugs" that need to be fixed, and as soon as they're fixed we'll proceed with more characters in the game. A link to the playable demo will be along with this post. We'll keep you updated along the way.

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/SidoUchiha/1127332

Tech Club creates Year End Dinner Graphic

The annual Cabrini Connections year end dinner will be June 10. Details here. This is a fund raiser to raise money to pay for the dinner, for Senior Awards, and for Summer activities. If you can donate or be a sponsor, use this page.

This graphic was created by Mike and the students in who meet every Tuesday evening for Tech Club. Hopefully they will write some articles in coming days to show how they created this and talk about other things they are learning.

Technology Expertise for Mentoring Students

The Cabrini Connections "Cabrini Madness 2010" tournament raised over $23,000 for Cabrini Connections and the Tutor/Mentor Connection!!!

The tournament brought students, volunteers, community leaders, and you and I together in the name of a great cause - tutoring and mentoring - helping students reach their full potential, in an era where school cuts and budget crises continue to undermine the value of a public education.

Many new volunteers, donors, and mentoring advocates were introduced to the cause through the tournament.

Many others, already active with the cause, got a unique chance to meet, work, and have fun with others they might not otherwise have met.

And while only one team could be crowned Tournament Champion (GUARANTEED VICTORY edged out TEAM IMPECCABLE in the fundraising $6402 to $6120 on a last-minute donation by a professional NFL football player)... at the risk of sounding cliche.... "everybody won!!" :)

Well, that's what we, Team TEMS, are telling ourselves anyway :) We fought hard but only came in 6th place. You helped us raise $1175 for the cause! Thank you!

"Team TEMS"? As you likely know by now, Cabrini Connections Tech Club entered a team in the tournament... which was named "TEMS" by the 7th-9th graders who participate each week in Tech Club. "Technical Execution Madness Squad."

An intimidating name for a tournament. But like everything we created and learned during the tournament (The kids used their ever-improving tech skills to design logos/fliers/artwork, like the one above, for the tournament... and they took the lead in organizing two "Game Night" fundraisers)...

The name "Team TEMS" will stick with us...

Team TEMS - "Technology Expertise for Mentoring Students" - will be the name all our Tech Club projects will be produced under, henceforward.

So please take a look at this quick video that reflects on all the afterglow from the first annual Cabrini Connections Tournament.

And please accept our many thanks for your donations, which helped us make the first cut and finish in 6th place with $1175... as well as for all your support and words of encouragement these past couple months... and for coming to the two "game night" fundraisers the kids organized... (action picture to the left!)

But don't forget to check in from time to time, to this blog, and keep an eye on Team TEMS moving forward.

Because the tournament kept us busy, but it did little to distract us from the development of our next "Team TEMS" production... a video game... which builds on the teamwork, tech, advocacy, and troubleshooting skills we learned while competing in the Cabrini Madness Tournament.

We look forward to sharing it with you when it is released early this summer!

Game Day #2 - The Sequel - Video Games This Saturday!

Last weekend's Board Game Fundraiser was a lot of fun. We had an enthralling game of Simpson's Clue (I still can't believe that it wasn't Lisa with the necklace in the Bowl-arama)... some Yu-Gi-Oh! card action... a little Scrabble and some Monopoly and Wheel of Fortune.

Good times... Students... Volunteers...Staff... and You... all got together in the name of community, mentoring, and raising money for the Cabrini Madness Tourney!!

But maybe the biggest success of all was the enthusiasm from the 9th grade Tech Club students, who approached my wife and I afterward to critique the way they had marketed the event, analyzing how the poster they designed last week could have been more effective at drawing people to the event.

Specifically they thought the image they chose in the ad didn't make people think "board games."

Lightbulbs were popping on, up over their heads.

What if we took the lessons we learned, and hosted a more tech-oriented "Video Game Fundraiser" for the people who couldn't make it last week... and...

What if we promoted it better? With images that screamed "video games"... They were learning... they are excited about advocating for their cause... and they wanted another shot at it.

So, without further ado... using the lessons the kids learned, and a new poster design they put together tonight in Tech Club, I invite you to:

Game Night #2 The Sequel - Video Games!
A fundraiser for Cabrini Connections Mentoring.

Stop by and say hi... and kick some Guitar Hero butt.

$5 donation, any time 1-6pm. Bring some food or drinks to share, if you like.

(Click on the flyer we designed in Tech Club - that image above - for more details!)

If you cannot make it but want to donate to the cause... http://www.giveforward.org/tems

Team TEMS Can't Get Cut! Join Us For Board Games!

The web banner above was designed by Tech Club (aka Team TEMS) member, Charles (aka Mizawa).

As of today, with the 1st cut in the Cabrini Madness Tournament looming on the horizon, Tech Club's "Team TEMS" entry is sitting in 9th place with $312 raised. Only $63 separates us and the 8th seed, which represents the cut (and occurs on March 21st).

Don't let us get cut! Donate $5, $10, $25... whatever you can afford to help Team TEMS get to the next round!

And come meet us for Game Night (Day)!

This Saturday. $5 entry donated to Team TEMS.

Share your favorite game with us! Any time from 1pm until 6pm.

Or come at 1pm sharp to get in on the Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Tourney.

More details in the flyer to the right (created by Team TEMS members Sean and Charles).

Team TEMS! Cabrini Madness! Join us!

Cabrini Connections Tech Club is a group of inner-city Chicago students who meet Tuesday evenings (on their own time) to learn job skills (such as graphic design, programming, and map-making) from professionals who volunteer one hour each week.

The program is hosted by Cabrini Connections, a tutoring and mentoring program near the Cabrini Green neighborhood that pairs students with volunteer tutors/mentors, and equips these students with extra tools and guidance they might need when making life decisions, pursuing higher education, and ultimately finding success in the job market.

The impact for you is long-term and lasting. See, as more mentoring programs grow, more kids learn to help themselves, and fewer of your tax dollars are eventually needed to fund welfare- and crime-related programs -- two costs of poverty.

Specifically, Cabrini Connections Tech Club (or "Team TEMS" - Technology Expertise for Mentoring Students - as they've dubbed themselves) has been meeting weekly with local IT and design professionals, and together they are in the process of developing a video game (to be released later this year!) In the spirit of advocacy, the video game will provide an interactive look into tutoring/mentoring. It casts students from Team TEMS as the heroes, and examines the challenges they face in building awareness and raising the funding needed to keep Tech Club operational.

See, this couldn't happen without you. So we're giving you a quick way to become involved!

Team TEMS has entered the Cabrini Connections "Cabrini Madness 2010" tournament, as one of 13 teams competing to see who can find the most people willing to support tutoring/mentoring and Tech Club. (Of course, for the tournament, a more intimidating acronym - "Technical Execution Madness Squad" - will be used :)

Head to the Team TEMS home page... meet the students (Charles, Kierre, Nyshanell, and Sean)... as well as volunteers and other roster-members, including Mike Trakan, (GIS Professional, High School Teacher, and Indie Rock Musician)… Szu-Han Ho (a volunteer tutor/mentor)... Christine Kochevar (Graphic Designer, and Artist)… Mark Shore (CIO Shore Capital Management LLC, business leader, and Rock Musician), and Vicky Georganas Trakan (Bar Manager: Webster's Wine Bar, and Artist).

Join our team! All we ask is for a small donation – $5, $10, $25 - as much as you can afford – to this tax-deductible fundraiser/competition.

Together with you, Team TEMS will continue to fight for students' futures, for your community… and for the glory of the “Cabrini Madness Tournament 2010” championship!

Tech Club Creates Graphics for Cabrini Madness

Visit the Cabrini Madness page on the Cabrini Connections web site and you'll see this graphic. It was created by students in tech club working with volunteers who work with technology and graphic design for a living. These students are learning a skill that can lead to jobs and careers.

In Cabrini Madness teams of students, volunteers, staff, Board members and friends are competing with each other to see which team can raise the most dollars to support the ongoing operations of this organization. It's a great competition and many students are learning valuable leadership, communications and team work skills that are valued by business leaders.

The Tech Club has it's own team, and created its own logo. Click here and you can support Zzu-Han Ho, Charles Hill, Mike Trakan, Mark Shore, Vicky Georganas Trakan, Christine Kochevar, Sean Mayfield, Kierre Halbert, and NyShanell Freeman in their quest to win the Cabrini Madness competition.