Palmer Trinity School

BIR D'S EY E V IE W Breakthrough Miami Now in its third year, the Breakthrough Miami program at Palmer Trinity School is home to 150 students, ranging from fifth to eighth grade. This year's summer institute featured several new partnerships that enriched the already successful program. In addition to the core academic and elective classes taught by our exceptional high school and college interns, eighth grade students participated in a series of workshops provided by the Museum of Contemporary Art's "Women on the Rise!" program. These workshops engaged students in critical discussion and art-making exercises surrounding the works of contemporary artists of color. In the process, students grappled with the complexities of identity, images of masculinity and femininity in the media, and self-expression. Another exciting opportunity was brought to Breakthrough Miami students by Palmer Trinity alumna Estefania Romero '07. Estefania secured a $10,000 grant from the Arbonne Charitable Foundation to work with eighth grade girls in a class which she designed to help foster self-esteem and leadership skills. This is Estefania's third summer working with Breakthrough Miami. She is joined by returning PTS student teachers: Julian Del Prado '12, Arissa Baiamonte '13, and Hallie Parten '14, and first-year PTS interns: Damali Malik '14 and Emily Fernandez '15. Thanks to the hard work, passion, and enthusiasm of these young people and their colleagues from local high schools and colleges around the country, the Breakthrough Miami scholars enjoyed an incredible summer. Especially for our eighth graders, who "graduated" from the Breakthrough middle school program this summer and look forward to College Bound next year, this year's program was truly one to remember. 1 2 1. stefania Romero '07 is joined by E students from her class, which teaches young ladies about self-esteem and important leadership skills. 2. fter graduation, Arissa Baiamonte '13 A spent her summer teaching Mathematics to Breakthrough students. Mu Alpha Theta Goes Digital Written by M A I A S U A Z O - M A L E R ' 1 5 As president of Math Honor Society Mu Alpha Theta for the 2013-2014 school year, I realized it is due time to "keep up with the times." With this in mind, I began focusing on Mu Alpha Theta's largest outreach component: the tutoring of fellow classmates and peers. Previously scheduled for Mondays after school, our tutoring sessions did not draw as many students as the school had anticipated. Perhaps it was the lack of convenience for students who needed help but had other commitments such as sports practices or buses to catch. Thanks to new technology, however, convenience can now play a major role in how, when, and where we tutor. For this upcoming year, we plan to introduce a new system for tutoring, one that is online. Our new website will offer tutor bios, current announcements, and a link to Groupboard—a virtual whiteboard where students can log on, ask their questions, and get answers from members of PTS Mu Alpha Theta. Not only are students able to write their questions with a stylus or compatible pen on their tablet computers, but they can also chat with the tutor and even create a group tutoring session with multiple students. With this system, we hope to reach out to more students that were unable to physically attend our tutoring sessions and can now, from the convenience of home or any Wi-Fi location, have their questions answered. At the start of the school year, we will be announcing the schedule for online tutoring times. Based on student response, tutoring schedules will be adjusted accordingly. In addition to the website, students can also download a free app called Groupboard, which allows them access to whiteboard from nearly any smartphone. So next time you think your teen is texting while doing homework, they may surprise you by saying, "No ma, I'm learning math!" For more information, please contact Mu Alpha Theta President Maia Suazo-Maler at msuazo-maler@palmertrinity.org. Using the free smartphone app Groupboard, students can work out math problems with their tutors on any Android or iPhone. 6 www.palmertrinity.org

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