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!

Nice Redesign!

Cabrini Connections has a new site design! The navigation makes it much easier to get around, to enter your SVHATS entrance and exit information (no excuses now!), and they even have some fun stuff like adding the Cabrini Connections theme to your iGoogle. Cool!

Go check it out at www.cabriniconnections.net

Field Trip! UIC Men's Basketball

Students, volunteers, and staff have been wanting to take more field trips. You asked and we delivered.

UIC Men's Basketball
vs. Youngstown State
@ UIC Pavilion
Saturday, February 7th
Game time: 7:00 pm
Cost: FREE!!!!

The game AND transportation are being provided for FREE!!! All you have to do is sign-up for the field trip. There are over 60 tickets, but we expect them to go fast!! So, if you want to go on this field trip, when you're in for a Club or mentoring night, be sure to write your name down on the posted sign-up sheet; or call in, email or text a staff's cell phone telling them you want to go.

Get a head start on March Madness!!! Hurry Hurry and Sign Up Now!!!

Holiday Posting

Very light blog posting for now. Enjoy the holidays and we'll chat in 2009!

Get Out the Vote!

We have an upcoming election here at Cabrini Connections. Fourteen students have thrown their hat in the ring and announced their candidacy for the “Cabrini Connections Youth Leadership Council”. Here's our general election schedule:

Up this week: each of the 14 students will have 2 minutes to pitch their ideas and convince tutors and fellow students why they deserve their vote for one of the 6 available spots on the Youth Leadership Council.

Next week: Cabrini Connections is hosting a town-hall style debate, where the candidates will field questions from tutors and students via a moderator pertaining to what ideas and leadership they will bring to the council.

Elections will be held on Nov 19th and 20th to determine which 3 students from each tutoring night will make up the council for the remainder of the 2008-2009 academic year.

Your vote will directly impact you because students elected to the Leadership Council have a voice in determining things like: house rules, snacks and field trips. So, take a page from President-Elect Barack Obama's campaign and participate: listen to what the candidates have to say, participate in the town hall and make sure you vote.

October 17th is Martini Madness!!

Cabrini Connections’ Third Annual Martini Madness event is this Friday, October 17th. This is a fun networking event that also raises important dollars for our programs.

If you've registered to attend, but have not sent your payment, or if you just want to send a donation, please use the PayPal form. You can either pay with a credit card or use your PayPal account.

There are Raffle Prizes so for all the details on Martini Madness, visit the Cabrini Connections site.