The December Issue of TeenLife Boston Connections
features a variety of opportunities and resources that help families and educators connect middle and high school students with the world beyond school
- Read how 20-year-old Boston Ballet dancer Isaac Akiba turned an extracurricular activity into a professional pursuit; find fun things to do in the Boston area over winter break; and hear why Boston Latin School senior Christina DiPietro recommends the non-profit Zumix to any teen.
- Do you want to find out more about gap years or yearlong academic programs abroad? Do you need forms for traveling? Do
you want to serve as a Counselor in Training this summer or explore your musical talents? Check out this month's featured programs & resources.
Regards,
Marie Schwartz
President
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Boston Ballet’s Isaac Akiba On Dance
Isaac Akiba performing in Boston Ballet’s "Giselle".
Photo courtesy of Rosalie O’Connor"
20-year
old Isaac Akiba from Jamaica Plain didn’t know when he joined Boston
Ballet’s Citydance program as a third grader that he would someday be
dancing in the Company’s corps de ballet. Learn more about what
motivated Isaac to turn an extracurricular activity into a professional
pursuit, and what advice he has for teens who want to take their
passions and interests outside of school to the next level.
Read full article
What to Do Over Winter Break: Boston Area Events
Ice skating at Frog Pond in the Boston Common. Photo
courtesy of Boston Common Frog Pond Foundation, Inc.
Looking for something fun to do this holiday season? Boston is home to a variety of events that are sure to get you into the holiday spirit.
Read full article
A Music Sensation in the Streets of East Boston
The Zumix DiverCity youth-pop cover band performing at
TeenLife Boston’s Annual Community Service Fair.
Photo courtesy of Jackie Schon
Zumix is an East Boston non-profit that empowers youth through music, encouraging young people to make strong positive change in their lives, their communities, and the world. Boston Latin School senior Christina DiPietro recommends Zumix to any teen as a great place to make friends, start new hobbies, and build valuable artistic skills.
Read full article
Upcoming Volunteer, Job, & Internship Opportunities
Winter Break (Greater Boston): Want to earn extra money over winter break? Join our Marketing Street Team!
Help us get the word out about our 2010 Community Service Fair and
sell ads to local businesses in our Event Guide. You'll receive training and 15%
commission for all of the ads you sell.
 Winter Break (Everywhere): DoSomething.org
is teaming up with the cast of the hit ABC Family channel show The
Secret Life of the American Teenager to battle against hunger. Organize a food drive
in your community! Submit your drive by December 31st to help us reach
our goal of 1 Million pounds of food collected by teens.
 Winter Break (Westwood): The Hale Reservation
is made up of almost 1,200 acres of forested woodlands, streams and
rocky outcroppings. Volunteer with the Hale Reservation to help clean up Powissett Peak,
an outcropping that offers spectacular views of the Reservation and
beyond. On a clear day you can even see Mt. Monadnock in NH.
 December 31st (Various locations in Boston): First Night 2010 is Boston's 34th celebration of the arts and community
in Boston. First Night Volunteers are essential to making First Night a success. 300 volunteers will be needed for this year’s event. Volunteer to help with event set up, face painting, and more.
 January 25th (Quincy): Help children get the everyday supplies they desperately need by volunteering with Boston Cares to sort donations for Cradles to Crayons, a non-profit that works to provide low-income and homeless children from birth to pre-teen the basic essentials they need to be safe.  Winter & Spring Break (Boston): City Year for Kids is a fun and educational week-long program that runs during the winter and spring school vacations. The program is located at four sites throughout Boston and serves 700 children. Volunteer to be a Team Leader on February 15th-19th or April 20th-24th.  Spring Semester (Metro West Area): Intern through The Education Cooperative
at a chemical testing analysis lab. This position involves
calibrations, recording pertinent data and running tests on
equipment used in testing procedures. Applications due January 1st. Spring Semester (Norfolk): greenschools is looking for responsible, student leaders who will be able to share up to date information in your school and beyond as well as lead the way in green initiatives. Middle school students can serve as junior ambassadors and high school students as senior ambassadors.  Spring Semester (Newton): Discovering What's Next needs a young adult, age 16 or older, for the winter and spring, to teach Facebook.
You will meet with two or three adults for an hour to teach them how to
use this social networking skill. Help bridge the generation gap!
Want more? Check out Teen Help Wanted.
Featured Programs & Resources  Carpe Diem
offers semester and year-long programs designed to safely challenge
every student through service, travel, community and cultural exchange
abroad. Our leaders are trained to facilitate personal growth and
learning within the structure of an academic semester. We consciously
teach our students how to be better group leaders and better
self-leaders—and how to safely travel independently anywhere in the
world. University credit and FAFSA funding is available. The average
age of student participants ranges from 17-22. El Casal
is a gap year program in Barcelona, Spain, for high school graduates
(17 to 19 years of age) who are ready to do something different and
exciting before entering college. Ideal candidates are intellectually
curious, adventurous and interested in gaining perspective on the world
around them. El Casal offers intensive courses in Spanish; seminars in
art, film and current events; community service, outdoor adventure, and
homestays with families in Barcelona. Two sessions offered, each
lasting about 100 days. Rolling admission.
Is your student getting ready to travel or study abroad?
Forms4Travel’s flash drives contain three (3) embedded
travel and medical authorization forms to ensure that your student’s travel host
has important medical and contact information at their fingertips! The
customized and comprehensive information in each form is practical and
immediately recognizable by parents and travel groups as essential. We balance each form with clear legal
authorization language in a concise manner, combined with specific basic medical
information about each student.
 Internship Connection is an educational, school-to-career program that provides high school and college students, ages 15-23, with "real-world" work experience through Summer, Gap Year or Athletes in Service
Internships in Boston and New York City. Students are able to live at
home and work a part-time flexible schedule, leaving time for other activities.Through our step-by-step process, students receive career
guidance from counselors with Masters Degrees and learn the skills
required when applying to jobs: how to create a resume, cover letter
and interview for the work place. We establish and supervise an
internship with carefully chosen workplace mentors in the student's
field of interest. A highlight of the program is the mentor's Letter of
Recommendation that students include in their college and job
applications.
 Campers
at Kaleidoscope Creative Arts & Science Camp explore visual and
performing arts, science, sports and daily swimming at the
Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center’s expansive Newton campus.
Campers in grades K-8 work with professional directors, choreographers,
musicians and artists. Upper campers (grades
4-8) choose electives which may include a fully-staged musical, hip hop
dance, tennis, sculpture, ceramics, cooking, filmmaking and "spy
magic.” Counselors in Training (grades 9-11) pay a reduced rate and spend half the day in classes and half the day assisting counselors and specialists.  The New School of Music
in Cambridge, MA near Harvard Square is open to all ages. The New
School helps young people, beginners through advancing musicians, to
build musical skills. Working with professional musicians, teens can
prep for an audition, sharpen performance skills, get coached for the
school musical or just learn for fun. Lessons in voice, piano,
strings, guitar and a wide variety of other instruments offered
weekdays and Saturdays.  Sea|mester
offers a range of unique educational adventures where students live
full-time aboard either S/Y Ocean Star or S/Y Argo while spending their
entire semester sailing from island to island, country to country, or
continent to continent in any number of global locations. These
shipboard education programs are highly experiential, yet college-level
academics are a strong component of each voyage. In this respect,
students further their own knowledge as well as build their college
transcripts while sailing aboard with Sea|mester. |
Sponsor of the Month
Citizens Bank
To find out about free student checking go to
 Looking for banking convenience with great rewards? Citizens Bank
checking and savings accounts are perfect for college and high school students age 17 and up.
Upcoming High School Contests
 December: Now open for entries, Cabot's Butter Up the World Poetry Contest invites students in grades 5-8 to cheer on their northeast dairy-farmer neighbors, celebrating them and the important work they do. The winner will receive $100 and their poem will be printed on the Cabot Butter Box and will be seen by tens of thousands of people in hundreds of supermarkets across America. Entries must be submitted by December 30th, 2009.
 December-January:
Each year, the United Nations Association of the USA publishes a topic
and question of particular importance to the international community.
This year's National High School Essay Contest
on the United Nations focuses on Millennium Development Goal Eight, and
asks students to tackle the challenge of promoting development through
international partnership. 1st Place winners receive a $1500
scholarship and a trip to New York to attend UNA-USA Member's Day at
the United Nations in March 2010. Applications due January 5th, 2010.
 December-January: Get those art supplies ready- it's time for the 66th annual AAA
Traffic Safety Poster Contest. Students in Grades K-8 can submit
hand-drawn posters, and high school students can present a poster,
digital project or public service announcement. Submissions are due by
Saturday, January 16th.
BosTix Gift Certificates Make Great Gifts for teens!
Purchase BosTix gift certificates at www.bostix.org or call 617-262-8632 ext. 229. You can redeem the gift certificates for any 1/2 price show offered through BosTix year-round!
When you purchase BosTix gift certificates for $50 or more, you'll also receive a $25 gift card to Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, conveniently located in Boston's Historic Theater District.
More Upcoming Events
December 12th
*Boston- Boston Cares presents Social Cinema: Young @ Heart
December 13th
*Lexington- EDWON Holiday Shopping for a Cause
December 31st
*Boston- MFA's free community day
*Various locations in Boston- First Night
January 9th
*Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire- Outdoor Explorations Snowshoeing/Winter Hike: Step into a Winter Adventure!
January 15th
Ongoing
To view more upcoming events
in the Greater Boston area,
check out our Event Calendar.
Save the Date! TeenLife Boston 2010 Community Service Fair
Holiday Gifts that Make a Difference
Gift ideas that will make someone smile and make a difference.
See the list
Save the Date! TeenLife Boston 2010 Community Service Fair
Sunday, February 7, 2010
from 12-4pm
The Mall at Chestnut Hill
Pre- Register Now for this FREE event and receive an exclusive gift bag with cool coupons and offers when you check in!
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