Palmer Trinity School

CAMPUS NEWS Breakthrough Miami By: Ariel Edwards, Breakthrough Miami Senior Site Director at Palmer Trinity School As the school bell rings, signifying the end of the 2011-2012 school year, the chatter begins: "Where are you going this summer?" "What are your summer plans?" While most young adults are preparing to travel, backpack or spend their summer vacation volunteering abroad, a handful of Palmer Trinity School students and Alumni stayed on campus—ready to make a difference in their school community and beyond. In doing so, these five students committed to an intensive eight-week internship with Breakthrough Miami, where they served as teachers for 125 Breakthrough Miami scholars from different areas of South Miami-Dade County. "My summer at Breakthrough Miami not only taught me how to manage time and deal with stress, but it also showed me that we unconsciously affect people with small actions each and every day." After a rigorous application process, PTS students Hallie Parten '14, Arissa Baiamonte '13 and Melinda Klenk '14 were selected as teacher interns for the Breakthrough Miami Summer Program—giving them the task of creating lesson plans and leading classroom instruction, throughout the summer, for a specific, grade-level subject. While Ms. Hallie and Ms. Melinda taught English, Ms. Arissa taught 6thgrade math. "My summer at Breakthrough Miami not only taught me how to manage time and deal with stress, but it also showed me that we unconsciously affect people with small actions each and every day," Melinda says. "Even if you don't think what you are doing makes an impact, you can see it ripple through the rest of someone's life." She wasn't the only one who felt this way. Also this past summer, three Palmer Trinity School Alumni—Julian Del Prado Hallie Parten '14 Melinda Klenk '14 '12, Christian Alfonso '07 and Estefania Romero '07—returned to their Alma Mater to become integral members of the Breakthrough Miami family. While Julian taught 5th-grade social studies and Christian taught science, Estefania returned for her second summer with Breakthrough Miami to serve as Program Manager, where she was responsible for coordinating special events and volunteers. Without the help of these dedicated scholars, we would not have been able to maintain the academic rigor, the enthusiasm—and ultimately, the success—of our 2nd-annual Breakthrough Miami Summer Program at PTS. Through their lessons, these teachers planted seeds of success in the minds of our Breakthrough scholars; and their dedication to these students, throughout the school year, has allowed them to witness their growth in both their personal and academic lives. Most importantly, it is because of their efforts that our Breakthrough Miami students, many of whom come from under-resourced communities, are gaining the tools they need to take their lives to the next step—and one day, just maybe, make a difference in their own communities. Arissa Baiamonte '13 with her class of Breakthrough Miami students With the end of the summer, we once again hear the familiar school bell—this time marking the start of a new academic year. As everyone returns to campus to catch up on what they've missed, the curious chatter begins: "What did you do this summer?" "Where did you go?" And out of the crowd, we get one unfamiliar, meaningful response: "I stayed here to work with Breakthrough Miami." W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 / 1 3 7

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