La Plaza Central

Once again we will be starting up another round of exciting classes here at El Centro, with a variety of interests.

Erick Saavedra will be kicking off another 12 week session of our Golden Warriors Program, designed to help young Latino men ages 14 to 18 develop into confident, competent, and aspiring individuals.  The first session will begin Friday, October 15th, from 6-8pm.

Also, we will be beginning English and Spanish classes as well!

• The Spanish class will meet once a week on Tuesdays from 5:30-7:30.
• Basic English classes will be taught starting October 14th, and will meet every consecutive Thursday from 6-8pm.
• Intermediate English classes will begin meeting October 19th, and will adjourn each consecutive Tuesday from 6-8pm.  Both English classes are free of charge, provided that the student purchases his/her own book from El Centro, at $25.00.

For more information regarding these classes, please call Stacy McQueary at 474-3950.

El Centro de las Américas cordially invites you to the graduation ceremony for the Golden Warriors: Latino Youth Development and Prevention Program on Saturday July 17th, 2010. The ceremony will start at eleven in the morning with celebration immediately following.

Location: El Centro de las Américas Multi-Purpose Room

2032 U Street, Lincoln, Nebraska

“We are the sun’s children, and our nature is to shine.”

~Toltec message

Bike Tour poster-1

It is here! We rode to Sheldon for the official kick-off.

I’ve created a blog, latinobiketour.blogspot.com, to report all activity on the Tour, so check in frequently both here and there for updates. Two rides a week for the next two months!

Thank you to Lancaster County Health Department, Community Health Endowment, riders, future riders, and all the stops along the way.

Buenos días,

Please check out our newsletter from the link below, especially if you want to brush up on your español.

READ NEWSLETTER

¡Gracias!

El Centro de las Américas to Graduate Largest Class Ever of Spanish-Language GED Students

55 students from 10 communities graduate Saturday — including 30 from El Centro de Las Américas

Fifty-five students from Lincoln, Hastings, Wayne, Wakefield, West Point, Fremont, Schuyler, Crete, Norfolk and Lexington will gather at Nebraska Wesleyan’s O’Donnell Auditorium on Saturday, June 26 at 3 pm to celebrate graduation from the GED (General Education Development) program.  The group will include 30 students from the program coordinated by Lincoln’s El Centro de las Américas.

The ceremony will celebrate the dedication of the adult student graduates, some of whom work, have families and children and drive up to three hours to get to the classes.  Since the successful GED in Spanish program began, many students have gone on to higher education degrees. El Centro de las Américas will also award three scholarships at the ceremony to its top students to help them further their education.

The O’Donnell Auditorium in the Vance D. Rogers Center for Fine Arts at Nebraska Wesleyan University is located on the north side of Huntington Street between 50th and 51st Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. In attendance will be GED students, family and administration of El Centro de las Américas, and Nebraska Wesleyan University.

For the past seventeen years, Lincoln Public Schools have recognized triumphant students and outstanding collaborating agencies (GED en Español graduates and El Centro de las Américas to name a few) in ceremonies for different minority groups. We are honored to host the Latino ceremony here in the Malone Center gymnasium from 4-6pm this Saturday. Present will be food and drink, faculty and admin, students and parents, and the community at large to celebrate the year’s accomplishments, like high school graduation, graduation with honors, special programs completion (like our family literacy programs), and many others.

En los ultimos diecisiete años, las Escuelas Publicas de Lincoln han reconocido a estudiantes triunfantes y agencias colaboradoras incomparables (graduados del GED en Español y El Centro de las Américas para dar algunos ejemplos) en ceremonias para distintos grupos minorías. Somos agradecidos de presentar la ceremonia latina en el gimnasio del Centro Malone de 4 a 6 de la tarde este sábado. Habrán comida y bebida, facultad y administración, estudiantes y padres, y la comunidad para celebrar los exitos del año, como graduación del high school, mención honorifica, terminación de programas especiales (como nuestra Alfabetización Familiar), y muchos más.

As noted in the prior post, we celebrated the last days of our most recent Family Literacy sessions. Thanks again to Karen at Lincoln Literacy Council for the great shots of the W Lincoln potluck. Check out the entire album!

This week has been nothing short of thrilling. Under the original auspice of LPS’ last day of school being today (had there not been those snow days), this week marked the final sessions for Everett Literacy, West Lincoln Literacy and Migrant Ed Literacy. Pot lucks, certificates, and celebration — plus two lucky students were donated computers for home use.

I’ve got a few photos up and will soon have more.

Beyond that, today we received news of two grants coming in! Thank you United Way and Community Health Endowment for looking our way and recognizing our commitment to the population we serve. The latter agency is funding a new summer program designed by yours truly called Latino Bike Tour which will promote health, community integration, and local business economy — all from bike rides!

Entonces, next week I’m fuera de la oficina for a quick break between program seasons, and will soon be back to grind the summer axe.

May is usually a loco month, what with the weather finally coming around, subsequent bar-be-cues, May/Armed Forces/Memorial Day(s), my dad’s birthday, Cinco de Mayo, plus everyone all graduating and getting married and stuff.

But this Sunday we will take a collective, historical break to promote the mothers we love. The ancient Romans called it Matronalia, Julia Ward Howe wrote a stirring Proclamation about it in its nascent days, and on Monday at El Centro we are celebrating Mother’s Day with an almuercito followed by regalitos and a rifa. For those of you who don’t sprechen sie español, I’m talking about a small lunch, some presents, and a raffle!

Point is, despite May’s swirl of events, take a minute to give ol’ ma a hug.

Registration is now open for our newest program, Golden Warriors, a Latino youth prevention and intervention program for young men ages 14 to 18. The ever-steady tandem of Erick and Irene Saavedra have  a core vision involving the ancient rites of passage of Aztec, Maya, and Inca warriors, and the current state of our Latino youth. The fact that Latino males are over-represented in the Justice System implies that our youth lack the rites of passage that gave warriors clarity and purpose in their civilizations. The “warrior’s path” will connect participants to their cultural roots and they will realize the trajectory from warrior to peaceful warrior — the state at which the warrior transcends violence and embraces the battle against himself and ultimately flowers into a soulful being.

The 12-session curriculum revolves around knowledge, responsibility, family, and education, and will teach participants the ancient Toltec message: We are the Sun’s children and our nature is to shine.

Golden Warriors enrollment information

Golden Warriors registration form

Photos from the opening session: