East students won't let Virtual Learning stop them from carrying on the tradition of Singing Valentines! Each year music students travel from classroom to classroom performing pieces for students. This year students joined Zoom classes to share their pieces. Thanks for sharing the love during this unusual school year Purgolders!

Black History Month continues with various celebrations of Black culture, history & contributions. In some classes this week, as students are joining Zoom, teachers have been playing a Black History Month playlist on Spotify of songs by Black artists. Students can then suggest songs for the following day and share the playlist link with students in the chatt. In some Spanish classes students are investigating influential "Afrolatinos" and "Afrohispanos" (People who identify as Hispanic or Latinx with African ancestry) and discussing their contributions. The Purgolder Black Student Union (BSU) has also been virtually sharing local Black owned businesses and featuring the incredible contributions of Black filmmakers and authors. "Storytelling has always been a great asset in our community—at one point it was all many of us had to remember and relive some of the most gruesome, challenging, empowering and uplifting moments," East BSU posted to their Instagram page. To learn more, follow East's BSU on Instagram (@purgolder_bsu) and Twitter (@ehs_bsu). #BlackHistoryMonth

East Administrative Assistants, Janelle and Judith, have been making their rounds to all AVID classes. They shared their educational and career journeys and how they navigated the twists and turns in life. They also demonstrated how organization fits into their jobs, and how they developed the habit of organization. They specifically talked about organization of email, Google Drive, and the Google Calendar, and gave tips for being organized and why it matters. The AVID students and teachers are so grateful to have these strong and interesting women as role models!  

Applications are currently open for Common Wealth Development's Wanda Fullmore Youth Internship Program and the first rounds of virtual) open interviews start next week! Due to COVID, the program will be 80% virtual, with youth focusing on a community project that connects them with various City of Madison departments. Youth will also have the opportunity to spend additional time doing in-person, socially distanced community service projects.

***Students will not be considered if they do not have complete these two components of the application

For more information and for the links to the online applications, check out Common Wealth Development's Website.

Upward Bound, an East community program partner, created this Next Steps video for Seniors who have completed the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). 

Haven't filled out the FAFSA yet? College Goal Wisconsin has three upcoming workshops scheduled:

Students should attend with a parent or guardian if possible and bring specific materials necessary to complete the FAFSA. If parents are unable to attend, students may attend alone and bring these materials. Independent students should bring their own income and asset information.

For more information, contact Ciara Wade, East's Upward Bound Program Manager.