“Excellence is not a singular act but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.” ~ Shaquille O’Neal

Scholar-Athlete Spotlight

To kick off the 2012-2013 academic school year, the scholar-athlete spotlight is on ALL Boston Public School fall athletes. As the first season of the year, fall athletes are challenged with setting the tone for their school’s athletic programs for the rest of the year. Get off on the right foot and sign-up for the BSA Zone! Bring your friends, bring your classmates, and bring your teammates to take advantage of what the Zone has to offer. Turn this page to learn where the Zone is at each BPS high school and to learn who your Zone Facilitator is. Good luck this season and the rest of the year on the field, in the classroom and in life! The BSA is here to help you play to achieve!

ISSUE NO. 9 Monthly Newsletter of the Boston Scholar Athletes program SEPTEMBER 2012

MGA Sports Hosts BSA Scholar-AthletesOn September 4, volleyball players from across the Boston City League traveled to Norwood, MA to the facilities at MGA Sports Inc. The girls spent the morning learning new volleyball skills and spent the afternoon implementing those new skills in game like situations. “It was a great opportunity for our teams to come to this amazing, 12-court facility and learn more about the game of volleyball, and then put into action what they just learned,” said BSA Athletic Director Chris Rooks.

Girls went through drills to work on their setting, spiking, and serving and then were able to choose the skill for which they wanted even further instruction. “The improvement we saw today was truly a credit to how hard these young ladies worked and how open they were to coaching. I came away impressed with the work ethic, attitude, and teamwork of not only the athletes who attended, but the coaches as well,” said MGA Sports Director Fabian Ardila. Good luck this season to all BPS volleyball teams!

BSA to Bolster its SAT Preparation ProgramIn the 2011-2012 academic year, BSA partnered with The Princeton Review to launch an SAT preparation class for 400 Boston Public School juniors. By tracking their scores across four practice tests, the average increase in SAT scores was 190 points! Recognizing this impact, we are excited about growing this program to support 550 juniors, sophomores and seniors during the 2012-2013 school year. By partnering with such a reputable organization like The Princeton Review, BSA is providing proven successful curriculum. The program has multiple components including Early Edge, which reinforces the basic foundational skills and introduces students to standardized test preparation; SAT Test Preparation for the spring exam; a College Readiness Handbook with tips from college admissions experts and year round Professional Development for the instructors.

Interested in Volunteering?Contact: Shannon McLeod617.517.5290smcleod@bostonscholarathletes.org

UPCOMING EVENTS:New England Revolution and BSA Skills and Scrimmages September 15, 2012, 5:30pm-8:30pm Memorial Park (East Boston)September 16, 2012, 12:00pm-5:00pmHarvard University’s Cumnock Fields (Cambridge)

BSA Cheer CampSeptember 29, 2012, 9:00am-4:00pmMadison Park Community Center

Please call 617.517.4526 for more info!

BSA Volunteers at Clifford Park On Friday, August 24, BSA worked on a service project at Clifford Park with Boston Shines, Mayor Menino’s year-round neighborhood clean up and community service program that provides the tools and materials to help volunteers successfully

c o m p l e t e projects in every neighborhood in Boston.Clifford Park is home to some Boston Public School students, so naturally, both BSA Zone Facilitators and staff wanted to

assist in cleaning it up!The whole BSA team came together to help out. There were 30 volunteers in all helping out with everything from raking and picking up trash, to sweeping the stands. By the time they were finished there were over eight bags of trash. It was a wonderful and rewarding experience for all involved!

NE Revolution and BSA to Team Up AgainMajor League Soccer’s New England Revolution will once again be teaming up with the Boston Scholar Athletes program to provide Boston Public School soccer athletes training and instruction. The weekend long event will bring together teams from across the city to learn from the Revolution

staff. On Saturday, September 15, teams are invited to Memorial Park in East Boston to take part in skills training. On Sunday, the teams will travel to Harvard University to put into action all of the skills they learned in a day full of scrimmages. “We (the Revolution) are just so excited to get on the field with all of the BPS teams,” said Revolution Training Academy Director Debra

Godbout. “The energy and enthusiasm that they all brought when we last met at Gillette Stadium was contagious.” The BSA is looking forward to seeing all BPS soccer athletes on the 15th! Go to www.bostonscholarathletes.org to download a waiver form in order to participate.

www.BostonScholarAthletes.org twitter: @bsazone find us on facebook too!

2012-2013 BSA ZONE FACILITATORS & LOCATIONS

Another Course to College - Kie-yahana Jackson - Room B-06Boston International High School - Sulivit Grullon - Room 203Boston Latin Academy - Eliza Bryant - Basement, below Room 107Boston Latin School - Tom DeRosa - Room 322Brighton High School - Caroline Correa - Room 118Charlestown High School - Briana Thevenin - Room 118ECommunity Academy of Science & Health - Luke Hayden - 205Dorchester Academy - Shanell Mosley - Room 114East Boston High School - Dave Arinella - Library Meeting RoomEnglish High School - Marissa Rodriguez - Room 312Fenway High School - Leah Wagner - Room 207Hyde Park Education Complex - Jarick Walker - Room 020 & 016Jeremiah E. Burke High School - Taleen Dimirdjian - Room 343John D. O’Bryant School of Math & Science - Joseph Cappellano - Room 333Madison Park Vocational Technical High School - Breanna Akama - Room 1-209Muriel Snowden International School at Copley - Jaye McLaren - CafeteriaSouth Boston Education Complex - Ray Porch - Library, Lower LevelTechBoston Academy - Terrell Maddox - LibraryWest Roxbury Education Complex - Josh Gates - Room 316