RISE students at Apollo Middle School stretch with Will Mattingly, YMCA artEMBRACE’s martial arts instructor.

When the final bell rings at the end of the day at Apollo Middle  School, the halls bustle with students getting to extracurricular  activities, like soccer, volleyball, and cheerleading practice. Some  students decide to stay after school for homework help in the NAZA  programs.  In my R.I.S.E. program, I have students from all different  parts of the world, including Egypt, Mexico, and Nigeria, who come  together and share this experience as a team.  My students meet me in  the cafeteria eager to find out what we are doing for the following two  hours.  For the first hour we eat snack, talk about the school day, and  then begin homework. They support each other during homework help time  and encourage the group to participate in the fun activities that  follow.  After an hour of homework, the students are given the  opportunity to participate in an enrichment activity.  For the first  week, for example, the students participated in martial arts with an  outside instructor, William.  We all loved William’s encouraging  teaching strategies and motivation to stay active! Thanks, William! This week, we are exploring what sparks our interests for career exploration and beginning to understand service learning.