Category: Programs
You only need two hands to count the number of days until one of Triple Threat’s biggest celebrations of the year.
On Saturday, August 14th, from 12 – 4pm, Triple Threat will team up with the City of Aurora, area churches, non-profits and volunteers to offer the annual urban festival for youth called Celebrate our Children. Last year, about 2,000 people filed into East Aurora’s McCarty Park to enjoy the free event that features live entertainment and special attractions, rides, carnival games, prizes, community booths and more. Plan now to volunteer and join the fun.
Here’s a schedule of performances:
12 p.m. — Welcome and Opening Ceremony
12:15 p.m. — Singer Mark Leatham
12:45 p.m. — Hip Hop ConnXion Dance Group
1:30 p.m. — Merry Hearts Clowns
2 p.m. — Magician David Shareef
2:45 p.m. — Sal Escobedo’s Tae Kwon Do
3:00 p.m. — Hoola hoop contest
3:15 p.m — Triple Threat drum circle
3:45 p.m. — Jump rope contest
Stay connected to our Facebook and Twitter accounts for more details and we hope to see you there!
The Soopah Team has finished its training this spring for the BMX track and will begin racing on June 5th! We have been working on getting the kids safety gear and one item they needed was gloves. Meckwear is an upcoming apparel company which donated gloves for the Soopah Team! Even though the company is in the startup phase the company’s owner, Brent Mecklenburg wanted to help out. The gloves have great hand protection and are very comfortable. The kids will keep the gloves and be involved in getting feedback to the company so they can improve the design.
If you are interested in helping the Soopah Team get their safety gear please contact
Nate@triplethreat.org
East Aurora, meet west Africa.
Students from Nicholson Elementary have gotten their fair share of African culture thanks to a new Triple Threat program called Feel the Beat.
Feel the Beat is a new hand drum program that teaches 4th grade students rhythm and playing skills and on the djembe drum.
Regular sheet music is not called for. All it takes is some handwritten counts and a passion to feel the beat!
We’ll have more on this program in the coming weeks!
And check out these photos — they’re awesome!
Improv. Theatre will be offered for 5th grade students at Bardwell Elementary School on Tuesdays, 3-4:30pm, beginning March 16th.The 8 week program will be led by Erin O’Connor, a theatre major at Western Illinois University and the current Miss Illinois. The program will teach the basic principles of theatre improvisation through creative exercises. The skills learned can be applied to everyday life; including the ability to react quickly and intelligently, sharpening your wits and being part of a team. No previous theatre experience necessary and the sessions promise lots of laughs, action and fun!
Money In Motion is dedicated to introducing middle school and high school students to the world of money .. BEFORE they get it! This Triple Threat program will run March 18 – May 13, from 5:15pm – 6:45pm at the Jericho Circle Community Center. The program will feature lessons on the basics of finance, hands-on experimentation with financial concepts through interactive web sites, and field trips to the Federal Reserve Bank, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, Nike Regional Headquarters, and local banks. Finance Professionals will present “learning talks” on alternating weeks. For more information or to volunteer, email Nancy@triplethreat.org.
The East Aurora High School varsity basketball team is focusing their 2009-2010 season on leadership development. Triple Threat is partnering to support athletes by providing leadership resources, and program initiatives that create leadership service opportunities for the EAHS basketball team. Target opportunities include EAHS athletes teaching leadership and high-level skills training (coaching basketball) for younger athletes at Gates Elementary School, once the high school basketball season is completed.
The varsity program has also provided basketball coaching and student clinics for other School District 131 programs. Effectively, they are creating a more successful system to feed productive, character driven student athletes to lead the future East Aurora High School teams.
Word Up is a creative new Academics program focused on raising third graders’ scores on standardized tests by building their vocabulary proficiency and reading skills through music. The Word Up curriculum integrates professional rap songs with vocabulary words, definitions, and comprehension exercises simulating those found on many high-stake tests. This fun, highly interactive program has kids on their feet as they learn! Word Up meets Wednesdays from 3:00 – 4:30pm, Feb. 24 – April. 14 at Gates Elementary School.
Triple Threat will partner with a Martial Arts black belt instructor to offer Advanced and Beginner Tae Kwon Do sessions for youth ages 6 to adult. The 12-week course will meet twice per week in Aurora on Mondays and Thursdays from Jan. 4 – March 25 at 76 S. LaSalle St. 3rd floor. Sessions will focus on martial arts skills development guided by the virtues of courtesy, integrity, perseverance and self-control. To register or for more information, contact Sal at sal.escobedo@gmail.com.
The Fall session of Triple Threat Basketball Leadership Program came to a close. The weekly program provided quality one-on-one coaching for basketball skills as well as leadership discussion groups to develop essential relational skills. Fifth grade student participants recruited were kids from tough backgrounds including behavioral problems at school. Students filled out a program review to provide feedback/comments on their experience. The “Questions” section also tested what students had learned about the practical applications of leadership in their everyday lives.
Their responses were encouraging – and very revealing:
What can you do to “Lead by Example?”
Respect others. Help people stay alive. Shovel older neighbor’s snow. Don’t fight. Make good choices. Cheer for your team and be a good person. Do right things.
Why is it important to have a good “Attitude?”
So I learn better in school. So I don’t fight with my brother. So you don’t get in trouble. You can fail at school. Make my Mom happy. So you won’t get beat up. You can get suspended or expelled. If you don’t have a good attitude you can get shot.
In what areas can you show more “Responsibility?”
Do my homework. Clean my room. Help my Mom. Pick up trash in my neighborhood. Don’t get mad at people. Don’t throw stuff on the ground. Be a hard worker. Help others. Be honest.
What have you learned about Leadership from the Triple Threat Basketball & Leadership Program?
I thought that Triple Threat was only about basketball, but it is not. It is about leadership. You should try to go to Triple Threat.”
Attitude defines character. Encourage others on your team.
When I get older, I might make a program like Triple Threat.
I love this program and want to say good-bye. Thank you Kenny! (Athletics Director)
“Art is crucial to a developing persons mind, spatially and socially relating, finding themselves and telling people about their world.” Artist Kevin Lustrup believes it and lives it out as he teaches Aurora 4th and 5th grade students weekly in the Triple Threat Painting Class. Students experiment with different media to learn skills to draw and paint and the power of perspective, color, lighting, emotion, creativity and message in Art. The experience has been powerful for Kevin as talent emerges, “these kids show so much promise.”
Kevin, an accomplished artist, studied at the American Academy of Art and is a member of the Chicago based community of artists known as Infidel. The gritty streets of EAST L.A. influenced his unique thrash-style synthesis of Pop Art, Graffiti, Oil, and stencil making. Kevin finds it renewing to once again be in an urban setting working with students and encouraging them to find their voice through art.
