The release of Look Closer/Mira de Cerca and the last day of tutoring

The release of Look Closer/Mira de Cerca and the last day of tutoringOn Thursday May 23, the After-school Tutoring Program held its last tutoring session of the school year in the Writing Lab. Students, tutors, family, friends, and countless volunteers celebrated the end of the year with a reading from this semester’s chapbook Look Closer/Mira De Cerca vol. 12.

Look Closer/Mira De Cerca is the product of the Writing Table, where tutors work with students on writing once their homework is finished. Students explore creative ideas and write on all sorts of prompts. Each semester, the After-School Tutoring Program releases a new issue of Look Closer/Mira De Cerca.

At the release party, ten young authors braved the stage and read their writing to a supportive and excited audience. During the celebration, 826 staff members also handed out gift bags to the graduating eighth graders and high school seniors as a token of our congratulations as they move on to new schools and experiences. After the reading, parents and volunteers put together a potluck that was big enough to feed everyone twice! The love that this community shares for it’s young authors is inspiring.

If you’d like your very own copy of Look Closer/ Mira De Cerca vol. 12, you can pick yours up at our Pirate Supply Store. Here’s a sneak peak for you by Catarina Baldizon, age 8, who attends Alvarado Elementary School:

I Would Not like To…

I would not like to change listening to my mom and dad. I would not like to replace my sisters because that would be switching our family. My older sister’s name is Andrea, and she is twelve years old. Saray is in the middle, and she is ten years old. My mom and dad’s names are Carmen and Marlin. I love them very much because—how could you not love your family?

Still not convinced to pick up your copy of Look Closer? Check out this poem by nine-year-old Rooftop Elementary School student Natalia Gonzales:

A  Song About Earth

A tune
About the moon
Meadows of grass
A tall tree we pass
A song about powers
An pretty pink flowers
A ballad about water
Or a young couple’s daughter
A song about earth
A song about earth