• Lights On Afterschool/THINK Together 2018

Lights On Afterschool is national day to raise awareness for the importance of afterschool programs like THINK Together.

Miss April reads to the kids.

David A Brown middle school was the site where three THINK Together programs met for a couple of hours of fun and learning.

Students decorate the mural.

The program began at 4pm and lasted until 6pm. It started off with Miss April reading a book to the 250 kids, and at designated times some students would come up and decorate a mural. 

The finished work of art.

After the story was finished, William Collier Elementary was pitted against Wildomar Elementary in a Socratic Conversation (which members of a group think carefully, slowly, and deliberately).

Link to further definition of Socratic Conversation/Dialog.

The topic of debate was: Are mermaids real or fiction?

Wildomar Elementary had the con side of the argument and made solid arguments why mermaids aren't real.

Wildomar Elementary takes to "no" on mermaids stance.

Collier Elementary had the task of proving that mermaids were true, and they also presented solid arguments.

William Collier Elementary takes to "oh yes they are real" side.

Each side had opening remarks, then rebuttals.

Wildomar Elementary.

Collier Elementary.

Wildomar Elementary.

Collier Elementary.

One of the middle school students had the honor of telling the crowd the verdict:
Mermaids do exist.

After all the testimony was presented, it was found that mermaids are indeed REAL! (Take that science guy ☺)

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The second topic, which was argued both for and against by DABMS students was: Is animal testing necessary or not?

Con side.

Pro side.

Con side.

Pro side.

Con side.

Both sides spoke eloquently, but in the end, the judges found that animal testing is necessary. (considering their first decision, I'm not sure that I'd get overly concerned about this one... either which way. ☺)

THINK Together is a terrific program that some of Wildomar's schools have access too. There was a petition being passed around to the adults present that alerted policy makers as to how important such programs are. 

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I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.

– Socrates

Wildomar Rap cannot teach anybody anything, and only rarely manages to make them think. 

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• THINK Together Basketball Tournament

THINK Together is an after school program that is offered at Wildomar Elementary and William Collier Elementary, among others in neighboring communities. 

Here's a link to a past blog about the program.

Today's event was a basketball tournament with the various elementary schools competing against each other.

It started with a pep rally where teams from the local THINK Together programs participated.

A look at the pep squad from Wildomar Elementary.

Part of the pregame festivities included Congressional Candidate Tim Sheridan saying a few words, Wildomar Mayor Bridgette Moore speaking about after school programs, and handing out half a dozen certificates to those that make the program work.

Earlier the teams had competed on the blacktop to see who would face each other in the final game in front of a packed house in the gym.

It was fun to watch the William Collier Comets play against Withrow Wildcats. 

It took a couple of minutes for the players to hit their groove, but that didn't deter them from jacking the ball up every opportunity they had. It was a shooting frenzy for a time. ☺

Number 5 for Withrow was one of the better players of the tournament. Still, the Collier Comet defender blocked his pass attempt.

☺

It also took me a few minutes to figure out that the Yellow team was the one from Wildomar, and the one I ended up cheering to a 17-14 victory.

A look at the 2016 THINK Together champions from William Collier Elementary.

After the game, the school's media department interviewed Wildomar's mayor.

Candidate Tim Sheridan, THINK Together Site Coordinator Riverside County Region April Watkins and her daughter Sunny, Mayor Bridgette Moore, Little Miss County of Riverside Isabella Heredia, and Miss Wildomar Jesse Taylor pose for a picture.

Another look at the Collier Comets.

From the invitation

On Oct. 20, 2616, the afterschool programs from the Lake Elsinore School District  will be participating in the annual Lights On Afterschool, a nationwide celebration of afterschool programs.  We will be one of more than 8,000 sites across the nation sending the message that afterschool is key to children’s success, and that we must keep the lights on and doors open after school.  Parents, media, employers, neighbors, school officials and others have been invited to help us rally support for safe, stimulating afterschool programs.

The elementary THINK Together programs in the LEUSD have been learning about the Olympics and what it takes to be a great athlete.  They have learned to be healthy, go to college, and they have formed basketball teams.  The sites from Wildomar, William Collier, Railraod Canyon, Lakeland Village, Withrow, Machado, and Lake Elsinore Elementary will be coming together for a basketball tournament and celebration.

On a personal note

Just two days ago April Watkins lost her twenty-one year old son. I knew this event was on the schedule, but had thought she might skip it (who could blame her if she did?)

When I saw her this afternoon, the first time since the tragic news, she looked as together as she always does. I gave her a hug and she told me that this was going to be a four hour no cry zone. (That almost got me to cry).

I admired her strength and determination.

When she addressed the audience, she started to speak about the program and the good it does for the kids. She began to relate her experience in the program, telling the audience, "I have four kids..." but that's where her breath was taken away.

She tried to complete her sentence, and after a moment, she managed to with a bit of difficulty. If there are pictures of the crowd at that point, I'm the one with the sunglasses on indoors.

Link to blog about GoFundMe page to help with burial costs.

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“The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose.”
– Ernie Banks, 1931-2015

Wildomar Rap has had ample opportunity to be proven a good sport in many forms of competition over the years.

• Lights On Afterschool/THINK Together 2015

Lights on After School is the name of the assembly that highlighted THINK Together's activities. THINK Together is the name of the after school program at Wildomar Elementary. 

The theme was Superheroes.

April Watkins speaks to the crowd as the assembly begins.

There was a jump rope demonstration, a basket ball demonstration —to the familiar tune of the Harlem Globetrotters theme, along with a some cheer leading.

There were some awards for various "Superheroes." 

The principal, Mr. Hoffman, one of the dads (Mr. Alvarez) that helps out nearly every day, and the staff that makes the program work.

April Watkins, Kenneth, Dana DeJong.

5th grader Kenneth awarded Dana DeJong, of the Rotary Club, for their helping the kids in the EarlyAct Club. Which included buying clean drinking water for Haiti, a polio walk, clean ups at the school, an owl box and other community service. 

The real unsung superhero is April Watkins. As the zeal she puts into her role is evident by how much the kids respect her. What a lucky group of kids to have such a dedicated person leading Wildomar Elementary's THINK Together program.

Mayor Ben Benoit, Akiam, and Mayor Pro-Tem Bridgette Moore.

☼

THINK Together animation project/Super Thinker

There were a few technical difficulties at first, where the projector didn't want to cooperate... but without such things, how would a person ever get gray hair? However, after a few moments they got the video up and running, and it was so fun to watch the kids as they viewed their handiwork for the first time. 

How this project came about.

Back at one of the events at Marna O'Brien park, towards the end of Summer, I overheard April Watkins discussing that her after school group was going to start drawing superheroes for a comic strip.

Being an animator, and always one to get in over my head, I messaged her a couple of days later asking if she thought her students would like to turn their drawings into an animation.

She didn't hesitate and said YES! ☺

I was thinking it might be a new take on a classic story, like Little Red Riding Hood for example. Or, maybe a series of jokes. Instead they came up with a story about THINK Together, the name of the after school program at Wildomar Elementary.

The catch was they'd like to get this done in time for an assembly that was just a little over a month away. A tall order when there isn't even a story written out, or characters drawn. But, I was confident that if they did their job on time, I could do my job on time.

I made two trips to the class.

First, to give them a brief overview of animation and what I wanted from them. They were going to do most of the work. Come up with the story, write the dialog, rehearse their lines, draw the characters and the backgrounds and even do a rudimentary storyboard (which would tell the animator, how the visuals are controlled).

The second visit to the group was two weeks later to record the voices.

A look at the recording session. I brought my digital recorder and mic stand and we were ready for action.

That was fun. You could see how much they enjoyed the process as they were saying their lines into the microphone I brought. Some were a little timid at first, because it was a new thing for them. Standing with their peers watching them, as they repeated their lines into a strange device.

What made it even more alien to them was that they had to say their lines out of order.

They had practiced them as a group, like it was a play, but I can't use that in animation. I had to do the old multi-track trick and record them all separately, and later assemble them on a timeline. Some characters had several lines and they had to record them all at once, while trying to maintain the proper inflection they had during the group recital.

They did a great job with the audio.

When it came to the artwork, they drew several characters and backgrounds, but they really didn't translate into things that would make a proper animated cartoon. I did use many of the drawings in other places. A tiger on a character's shirt, and the others on the wall in the principal's office.

So I took their ideas and reworked them into something more suitable for a cartoon. To save a bit of time I recycled some of my existing characters, and borrowed a background or two from the net. 

The final project took awhile to produce. I'll let you do the math. It's a three minute cartoon, and generally it takes more than 10 hours to produce a minute of animated video. 

It was a great experience working with the Wildomar Elementary 5th graders of THINK Together. I hope they had as much fun as I did. ☺

Joseph Morabito being honored with a certificate of appreciation and a superhero mask.

What a pleasant surprise to be awarded a superhero mask and certificate for helping the 5th graders bring a story of theirs to cartoon life. 

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"People who get into animation tend to be kids. We don't have to grow up. But also, animators are great observers, and there's this childlike wonder and interest in the world, the observation of little things that happen in life." ― John Lasseter

If Wildomar Rap were a cartoon character, he'd definitely have a cool haircut like Super Thinker has.