Cheltenham Team Reflection

The Cheltenham Girls Team spent the spring season learning about recycling and implementing a recycling program at their school. They had a presentation by Becky Gorton from Denver Recycling. She presented beneficial information on the importance of recycling and all the different types of items that can be recycled. The girls really enjoyed the presentation especially the slideshow. They were surprised to find out that everything comes from nature; especially that plastic comes from oil!


Below is the team's reflection on their project and some poems they wrote about recycling.

- I liked it when we worked together. It was fun! (Jasmine)
- I feel like I started a new life because I starting saving the world. (Alijah)
- I think this project is really really good because we are helping the earth. We are helping the earth by recycling and leaving good footprints. This project was really cool. The best part was when we got to work with water. (Leslie)
- I feel good about our project because we are helping the children in the future now that we did it in the past. (Jennifer)

Yes We Can
Yes we can!
We the Scorpions of Cheltenham elementary
Will tell you that our words can convince you to recycle
By telling people to recycle.
Yes We Can!

For too long our community has seen littering on the street.
It’s a problem because it destroys the earth.
Yes We Can!
If we get more people to recycle it would be a beautiful place to live in.
We are writing this letter because people don’t recycle..
Yes We Can!

For too long our community has seen trash on the street .
It makes more pollution.
Yes We Can!
It will be a beautiful place.
We are writing this letter because people don’t recycle
Yes We Can!

We will use our strength and our powers
To show the world that it can be wonderful.
Sincerely,
Athletes

I Am Green
I am green, are you?
I am green because I recycle my cans. Do you?
I am green because I recycle paper. Do you recycle paper?
I am green because I reuse things that can be used again.
Do you reuse things that can be used again?
I am green because I don’t let the water run. Do you let the water run?
I am green because I turn off the light so we could save electricity. Do you save electricity?
Do you?
I THINK GREEN!!!!!
~ Hillari

Paper
Where does paper go?
I don’t know.
When it’s all used and done
If you use it all, it will be gone.

SO if you think about it,
Take care of earth.
Make sure you recycle
If you don’t, I really care.

If you don’t recycle,
Do you know where your trash goes?
It goes to different landfills.

You should have a bin
to put your recycling stuff in.

So please recycle, people,
It’s good for the earth.
~ Jailene

Three types of injuries youth athletes face

As the years go by more doctors are treating more kids for overuse injuries, instead of the normal trama injuries that occur on the field. The increase in overuse injuries has been attributed to youth playing only one sport and training year round for it.

An article on KidsHealth.org gives more details on children sports related injuries and how to prevent them. For the full article click here.

Common Types of Sports Injuries
Three common types of sports injuries in children are acute injuries, overuse injuries, and reinjuries:

Acute Injuries
Acute injuries occur suddenly and are usually associated with some form of trauma. In younger children, acute injuries typically include minor bruises, sprains, and strains. Teen athletes are more likely to sustain more severe injuries, including broken bones and torn ligaments.

More severe acute injuries that can occur, regardless of age, include: eye injuries, including scratched corneas, detached retinas, and blood in the eye; broken bones or ligament injuries; brain injuries, including concussions, skull fractures, brain hemorrhages; and spinal cord injuries.

Acute injuries often occur because of a lack of proper equipment or the use of improper equipment. For example, without protective eyewear, eye injuries are extremely common in basketball and racquet sports. In addition, many kids playing baseball and softball have suffered broken legs or ankles from sliding into immobile bases.

Overuse Injuries
Overuse injuries occur from repetitive actions that put too much stress on the bones and muscles. Although these injuries can occur in adults as well as kids, they're more problematic in a child athlete because of the effect they may have on bone growth.

All kids who play sports can develop an overuse injury, but the likelihood increases with the amount of time a child spends on the sport.

Overuse injuries can be caused or aggravated by:
•growth spurts or an imbalance between strength and flexibility
•inadequate warm-up
•excessive activity (for example, increased intensity, duration, or frequency of playing and/or training)
•playing the same sport year-round or multiple sports during the same season
•improper technique (for example, overextending on a pitch)
•unsuitable equipment (for example, nonsupportive athletic shoes)

Reinjuries
Reinjury occurs when an athlete returns to the sport before a previous injury has sufficiently healed. Athletes are at a much greater risk for reinjury when they return to the game before recovering fully. Doing so places stress upon the injury and forces the body to compensate for the weakness, which can put the athlete at greater risk for injuring another body part.

Reinjury can be avoided by allowing an injury to completely heal. Once the doctor has approved a return to the sport, make sure that your child properly warms up and cools down before and after exercise.

Sudden exertion can also cause reinjury, so your child should re-enter the sport gradually. Explain that easing back into the game at a sensible pace is better than returning to the hospital!

Valdez Girls' Sestina poem

A sestina poem contains six six-line stanzas, where the same set of end words are used in a rolling pattern throughout the stanzas. The line pattern is below.

1 - ABCDEF
2 - FAEBDC
3 - CFDABE
4 - ECBFAD
5 - DEACFB
6 - BDFECA

Five girls from Valdez, Sheyla, Jessica, Ana, Griselda, and Angelia and their writing coach, Andrea wrote the below sestina after taking a walk around their community.

A - Ants
B - Trees
C - Clover
D - Grass
E - Murals
F - Sprinklers

I see small red ants.
Who gives us oxygen? The trees.
I like to see beautiful clovers.
Outside you see green grass.
There are beautiful murals.
To get the grass green we turn on the sprinklers.

Oh, I see sprinklers.
What's up ants!
I see a mural.
I see a big tree.
I like green grass.
I like four leaf clovers.

Always the cool things are clovers.
My yard has sprinklers.
In the park there is always grass.
The dirt has a lot of ants.
Some leaves are always on trees.
In our school there are murals.

There are beautiful murals.
Angelia loves clovers.
There were mostly big trees.
There were a lot of dirty sprinklers.
There were a bunch of red ants.
There was usually a little green grass.

The color of green is the color of grass.
I saw all kind of murals.
I hate ants.
I love clovers.
I saw sprinklers.
I hate small trees.

I saw an egret land on the trees.
He dropped an egg on the grass.
A man wearing a red shirt turned on the sprinklers.
The water poured all over our murals.
I made a necklace out of clovers.
Then I fed it to the ants.

America SCORES Denver makes the news!

On page 7 in the April 30th issue of the Denver Hearld-Dispatch, Joshua Cole wrote a column about Nayeli Martinez's trip to New York. The article is below.

Barnum fifth grader reads winning poem in New York
By Joshua Cole

Barnum Elementary School fifth grader Nayeli Martinez read her poem I Will at the National Poetry Slam, April 20, for America SCORES Denver.

SCORES is a national program that combines after-school soccer with writing workshops to encourage leadership, teamwork and communication, providing services for more than 20 girls and boys in the Denver metro area.

"The SCORES program has had an enormous positive impact in our school, community and lives of our student," wrote Amy Olivas, Martinez's teacher. "It has become part of our school culture. As teachers we have observed a change in classroom behavior, and a drastic improvement in writing skills. Our students are English Language Learners who come from a very low socio-economic status. America SCORES is a phenomenal program for them. It has provided so many opportunities for our kids."

Martinez plays soccer, writes, makes art, performs drama and dances.

"I'm very creative," Martinez wrote. "I really enjoy creative writing, I have my own style and like being a little different. I like writing poetry because I can express me, and there isn't a wrong way or a right way."

Martinez is the middle of three girls in her family. She says that her parents support her and support her expressions.

She is a role model to all and is not afraid to take a risk and works hard at all she does," Olivas wrote. "Nayeli is that special kind of person that when she walks inside a room, it truly does light up. She just has this sparkle about her life."

'I Will'
By Nayeli Marquez

I will be a soccer ball, fast and strong.
I will run or fly to catch the net.

I will be a gorilla,
so clever I use my brain to catch my prey.

I will be a beat that never stops,
I will never give up.

I will be an artist, so creative,
I will use my hands for many things.

I will be President who gives hope for my team,
who makes them reach their dreams.

I will be a trophy that stands for
Intelligence, strength, and creativity.

I will be me.
Oh wait, I already am!

2009 Jamboree!

At the end of the Spring season our SCORES teams come together for a round robin style soccer tournament. We held our 10th annual Jamboree! on Saturday, May 9th at Dick's Sporting Good Park. We partnered with the Colorado Fusion Club this year which allowed some of our teams to play the Fusion teams for the first time! The morning started off a little chilly but soon warmed up into a beautiful day! Our poet-athletes had fun playing soccer, cheering on their counterpart team, picking out books, and having their faces painted. Thank you to the Colorado Fusion Soccer Club for the partnership, Dick's Sporting Good Park for the fields, and to our volunteers that came and helped us set up, bundle snack, paint faces, and clean up!

To see all the photos from Jamboree! please click here.

Shout! Day of Action

The SCORES Shout! Day of Action is a community action day when poet-athletes get out into the community to make a difference! SCORES Students have been studying their communities all spring, and on this day they will take direct steps to improve the communities they are a part of.

Our original Shout! Day of Action was canceled due to inclement weather and was rescheduled for Saturday, April 25th. We had over 70 students and volunteers help plant over 250 trees at the High Plains Environmental Center in Loveland, Colorado.

Below are some stories from students that went and to check out photos from the day by clicking here!



When I went to Loveland on Saturday morning, it was really cold but I went anyways. It was really fun! My friend and I planted 27 trees, we were the fastest planters there! We were at Loveland for a hour and a half. During that time I learned so much about planting trees, what the materials are used for, and how deep and wide the holes are suppose to be. I learned a lot about Loveland. You should go, it is so much fun!
~ Monica, Newlon Elementary


On Saturday, I felt good because I was helping my community by planting more trees. We planted 250 trees! After we were done we went and helped the girls team finish. After we were done we went and ate and saw a snake!
~ Gabriel, Newlon Elementary





When our soccer team went to Loveland on Saturday, we had a fun and cool time! On the bus we were laughing! They gave us Cliff bars to eat and they were very good. After that, we started planting trees. We had to dig holes and put the plants into the hole. Then we had to put the dirt back around the trees and make a dirt wall to put fertilizer on the soil. We did more plants than any other school! After planting trees and working hard we had lunch. All in all, we had loads of fun!
~ Alicia, Newlon Elementary


On Saturday, the Denver SCORES team and I went to Loveland to plant some trees. When we got on the bus, I was getting bored because it was such a long ride. When we arrived, we all got shovels and gloves. They showed us the correct way to carry a tool by finding the balance point. We planted a lot of trees! The best part of planting a tree is putting the tree into the hole we just dug. The most important thing is we helped the community and the world!
~ Carlos, Newlon Elementary

Check out photos from the Spring!

We have uploaded all of our photos to a Picasa web album. To view the album website, please click on the photo below!

Second Colorado Rapids Clinic!

Our four other schools (Cowell, Knapp, Munroe, and Newlon) participated in the Play Like a Pro clinic hosted by the Colorado Rapids on Wednesday, May 6th. These four teams were lead through various drills by some of the Rapids startering players! Once again the students were really excited about riding on a charter bus provided by the Rapids organization and had a fun afternoon of soccer and autographs.

Thank you to the Rapids organization and players for inviting us to this clinic and giving our students a wonderful experience!

Check out some photos from the clinic!


Left: Students from Newlon warming up with Rapids midfielder, Mehdi Ballouchy
Right: Knapp students working on passing with Rapids defender, Ugo Ihemelu


Left: Students from Cowell Elementary scrimmage each other under the encouragement of Rapids goalkeeper, Matt Pickens
Right: Rapids defender, Scott Palguta shows Knapp students the correct way to trap and pass the ball.


Left: Munroe student playing a dribbling game with Rapids midfielder, Colin Clark
Right: Rapids Forward, Omar Cummings, autographing students' shirts.


Left: Knapp boy receiving autograph from Rapids goalkeeper, Matt Pickens
Right: Students receiving autographs from various Rapids players

Soccer Clinic with the Colorado Rapids!

On Thursday, April 30th, four of our schools (Eagleton, Cheltenham, Valdez, and Barnum) were invited out to Dick's Sporting Good Park to participate in the Play Like a Pro clinic lead by the Colorado Rapids players. The fields were broken up into four stations that each school rotated through. The Rapids players worked with the children on dribbling, heading the ball, goal kicks, and much more. The SCORES students had so much fun and were really excited about meeting professional soccer players and riding on the charter buses provided by the Rapids organization. Their hard work during the two hour practice was rewarded at the end with an autograph signing session and ice cream!

The rest of our schools will enjoy participating in the clinic on Wednesday, May 6th!

Check out some photos from the event!



Left: Barnum Elementary playing head or catch the ball
Right: Eagleton Elementary boy on a break away during a scrimmage



Left: Valdez Elementary practicing kicks on goal
Right: Cheltenham Elementary working on coordination and trying to avoid been hit by the ball



Colorado Rapids players, Nico Colaluca (Left) and Ciaran O'Brien (Right) autograph students shirts

Come Join us for the Jamboree!

Our 10th Annual Jamboree! will take place this Saturday, May 9th at Dick's Sporting Goods Park from 9am to noon. We have partnered with the Colorado Fusion Club and our teams will have the opportunity to play some of the Fusion teams for the first time! The tournament will still be a fun, non-competitive event that will bring even more students together from around the city.

Both the boys and girls teams will be playing under the U11/U12 groups.

Click here for the Socerfest website and schedule!