"Assembling the Future" - CHAH's New Mural!

After more than 3 months of work, the mural in front of our school was finally unveiled this week!  CHAH students worked with Groundswell, a youth development organization devoted to working with professional artists and young people to create public artworks that foster a sense of community.  Their mission with public art displays is to “link personal expression to community activism,” which is a major goal of our school. 

Groundswell’s lead artists for the mural, Crystal Bruno and Leola Bermanzohn, started by researching images in our neighborhood and nearby murals to get a sense of the surrounding community. 

Images were used from CLOTH and CHAH events to formulate the ways the student participants could identify and discuss what they thought the mural topic should be.  Students drew these images by free-hand, learning about how symbols represent different aspects of their community. 

Next, mini-projects were designed so that the students could sharpen their skills in preparation for the fabrication process. 

Lastly (and this part took several weeks) students worked outside on Wednesdays and Saturdays to paint the project for the community to enjoy.

The project is titled Assembling the Future. 

According to the lead student artist, Jhazlee Velez, "The mural represents community, unity, and providing a better future for our children."

AP Art Students Win Awards from the Met

On May 28th, 2015 three CHAH students received art awards at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for some of their work in our Advanced Placement Art class.

Jhazlee Velez received the Haney Medal which is awarded to a 9th or 10th grade student who has shown the most growth and potential in the field of Art.

Anderson Vasquez received the St. Gardens Medal, which is given to a senior who has completed an art program with an excellence in drawing.

Gianni Arroyo received the Alexander Medal, which is given to a graduating senior who has completed a major art program with greatest distinction.

Maybe one day you'll see their work hanging from the museum's walls! 

The 6th Annual Ride for Life ALS Walk

On Friday, May 9, 2015, CHAH students participated in our 6th Annual Ride for Life ALS walk.

"It's the best day of the year!" said Andy Guzman, a 9th grader who participated in the walk for his 4th consecutive year.  A classmate of his, Ailani Cruceta, added "The walk is such an inspiring and amazing experience, I'm so proud to be a CHAH student when we do the ALS walk."

Students accompanied ALS patients in their wheelchairs from Monument Park in Yankee Stadium back to our school in Washington Heights. The students raised $10,000 for research for a cure and were featured on Long Island's News 12 evening news program.

10th grader Zaquan Brewington promised, "I will never give up helping Mr. Pendergast and all the patients of ALS until there is a cure for this terrible disease."

To date, CHAH has raised over $50,000 for the ALS Ride for Life.

The CHAH Food Ambassadors are Frying Some Really Big Fish!

Food Ambassadors is CHAH's healthy cooking club, where students learn to prepare and enjoy nutritious foods (with the occasional sweet treat!). This is a group where kids not only eat their veggies but REQUEST them!

This week the club made fish tacos with an extra-healthy spin. The fish was baked, which allowed us to use no added fat, and the homemade tortillas contained whole wheat flour to increase the fiber. Our three toppings were full of fresh, colorful produce including corn, tomato, red cabbage, cilantro, red onion, tomatillo, and avocado.

Students are the main chefs in Food Ambassadors, involved in every step of the cooking process, from cutting the vegetables to forming and flipping the tortillas to seasoning and baking the fish.

8th grader Annie Laurie said, "The toppings tasted fresh and gave the whole taco flavor. This was a very tasty and colorful recipe."

9th grader Devon added cayenne pepper to his tacos and said it "tasted good."

8th grader Emily said, "I don't like these fish tacos... I LOVE them!"

10th grader Laura has made many of our recipes at home after learning them at Food Ambassadors.

If you are ever in the building on a Thursday afternoon, just follow the scent of delicious food and come say hi to our healthy chefs-in-training!

Geriatric Career Development Program Visits NY Stem Cell Foundation

There are many different types of medicine a doctor or nurse can practice.  One of the most in-demand jobs for healthcare workers is geriatrics.  Senior citizens need as much care, if not more, as the general population and this field is growing fast.  Some of our students here at CHAH are learning about geriatrics and the high need for dedicated doctors and nurses in the field. 

Since 2006, the Geriatric Career Development (GCD) Program of Jewish Home Lifecare has helped New York City high school students climb career ladders in health care. The GCD Program involves a three year structured work-based learning curriculum, internships, academic support, social services, college test preparation and college and career counseling.

With a 94% retention rate, the GCD program has helped students improve their GPAs, decrease absences and tardiness and achieve better SAT and PSAT scores. Of the 132 GCD Alumni, 90% are working and/or in college. Students entered nursing programs, became certified nursing assistants, licensed pharmacy technicians, emergency medical technicians or pursued other health care careers. 

Impressive, to say the least! 

Many of our students here at CHAH are interested in careers in healthcare.  One of the main goals of GCD is to make that happen and advance the academic and career development of high school students interested in pursuing health care careers through an in-depth educational and internship program in a geriatric long-term health care setting. 

Students are able to contribute to the future health care workforce by increasing their exposure to geriatric health care and promoting the development of skills required for employment. 

Hopefully, this amazing partnership will help our students and our community’s senior citizens by addressing the shortage of allied health professionals, especially in geriatrics, and by exposing students to allied health care professions and issues in aging.