News

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

“Mis Tres Caras/Shalosha Panim/My Three Faces,” Santa Barbara Junior High’s Girls CORE Program finale on May 17

On Monday, May 17, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., Santa Barbara Junior High School CORE class will showcase personal stories and art created by community youth as the result of their encounters with Holocaust survivors. The full title of the event is Mis Tres Caras/Shalosha Panim/My Three Faces. This is a free event at the Bronfman Family Jewish Community Center, 524 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara. A light dinner will be served. To RSVP call the Bronfman Family Jewish Community Center, (805) 957-1115.

This project is a collaboration between the CORE class, the Jewish Family Service of Greater Santa Barbara Portraits of Survival Program, Art from Scrap, and filming by Skylark Cinema.

CORE, a three-year-old program, is a unique program to Santa Barbara Junior High. It was created to address the needs of boys that were either in a gang or on the brink of joining. Math teacher Marc Fidel saw the need to bring these boys together for monthly adventures (e.g., field trips, bonding experiences) and support them daily with their academics. The school’s YSS counselor also worked with the students on a daily basis. These at-risk boys received a great deal of support. Over a year ago, staff added a comparable class for girls. School officials report a high level of success in both academics and behavior with the CORE students.

The CORE girls participated in the “Mis Tres Caras/Shalosha Panim/My Three Faces,” project. There are 15 girls in the class and 13 of them were consistently involved. Students met weekly at Art from Scrap for the past eight weeks. At each meeting, the students heard a Holocaust survivor tell their story of survival. Then, the girls worked on telling their own story through poetry, watercolor, collage, video, etc. There were several volunteers, most of them survivors, working with the girls on their projects.