SPIN GIRLS AUGUST 2022 NEWSLETTER

SPIN GIRLS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER | AUGUST 2022

It's Happiness Happens Month!

August is known to be a month of many fun month long observances such as: national dog month, national family fun month, national black business month, national back to school month and one of our favorites happiness happens month. The secret society of happy people set a mission to remind people that happy feelings can linger inside of you every day. Remembering happiness does not mean that you are problem free. But that happiness is about the quality of your thoughts.

Happiness is not a destination, but rather a life-long pursuit. Joy can be anywhere at any time. Don't limit yourself to searching for pleasure. Enjoy all the things that make you happy even if they are unique to only your sense of happiness. Get out there and enjoy the freedom of the last month of summer and do something that makes you happy! 

In this month's newsletter, you'll find a recap of our activities in July and what students can look forward to in August. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns. - SPIN Girls PM

MONTHLY RECAP
July held a week long summer retreat for SPIN Girls that wanted to explore and strengthen their bicycling expertise. SPIN Girls learned how to ride safely in groups and solo by working on strengthening their voices to be heard, signals to be seen and what to be observant of while biking in the city. They also learned how to preform maintenance on their bikes to keep them safely equipped to ride. Summer retreat SPIN Girls also learned personal growth skills such as what it is to be comfortable, to stretch and to be panicked and how all of these areas help us better understand ourself and goal. We hope all of the skills learned during this amazing week partnering with Bike Works and getting out doing something we don't normally do last a lifetime.

RESOURCES

Bike Works also has several of their own amazing summer programs for you to take a look at. We encourage you to get out and ride with them. 

SPIN Girls Club: Summer Retreat: SPIN Girls Club is a free after-school program for 6th & 7th grade girls* of color to explore their interests in STEM+Arts, develop leadership skills, and complete creative hands-on activities together. We are serving students from Washington, Aki Kurose, Denny & Mercer Middle Schools. If you are interested in bringing SPIN Girls Club to your Seattle Public Schools middle school, please contact us. 

Summer of Learning | Seattle Public Library:  Fun and educational programs that reflect the diversity of Seattle. Activities to support reading for fun over the summer. Early literacy activities for families to do together. Learning experiences that center youth voice and interests.

School Supply Giveaway: FamilyWorks: is hosting an event where families can select a backpack for up to two children ages 0-17 as well as a variety of school supplies. This takes place on Thursday August 25 from 12-5 in the conference room across the hall from the food bank.

Where We Converge | Back to School Backpack Drive: Tre Simmons and Emergency Feeding Program will be hosting a Back To School backpack and supply giveaway on August 20th at Garfield High School. They’ll welcome students from throughout the community to come get the gear they need to be successful in school this year.

The event will feature appearances from Simmons and Nate Robinson, as well as the UW basketball team and other local icons. There will be music, food and haircuts, as well as hygiene packs and Covid tests. In addition, a raffle will be held for shoes, clothes and more.

LOOKING FORWARD
We will be having a fun end of summer back to school kick off celebration with SPIN Girls and Mentors at the end of the month. Please look out for details to come.

Here's the schedule for the 2022-23 program year. Add these dates to your calendar so you don't miss any!

SPIN GIRLS FELLOWS

Students who graduate from SPIN Girls are invited to apply for SPIN Fellows in the Spring of their 10th grade year. Fellows are accepted based on their commitment to SPIN Girls and their interest in pursuing a STEM career.

The goal of SPIN Fellows is to empower SPIN Girls students to feel confident in pursuing STEM college majors & careers. The vision is to grow a strong alumni community, supported by SPIN Girls mentors, staff, and other alumni. SPIN Fellows breaks down the barriers that girls of color face when exploring and pursuing STEM careers and shapes a more inclusive future.

JUNE MONTHLY RECAP
College Application/Essay Writing Workshop:
The Fellows have completed the first of four college writing workshops.

Summer Internships:
Each of the Fellows have been placed in internships. Some are paid, others are intensive job shadowing. The network built around SPIN has provided the Fellows with positions within organizations such as the University of Washington, Adaptive Biotechnologies, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and the VA.

Incoming Cohort:

Twelve SPIN Girls have graduated and are joining the SPIN Fellows! They are all excited and will have their first event in August. Introductions will be made and both of the cohorts will build connections to be able to support and/or guide each other. With the addition of the twelve, we will also be hiring a SPIN Fellows Program Associate. This position will support the Program Manager and focus on the 11th grade students.

LOOKING FORWARD

Aug 20, 2022: 2022-2023 Kickoff celebration at Yellow Island. SPIN Girls Fellows will be taking a day trip to the San Juan Islands to visit the nature conservancy on Yellow Island. This day will provide fellowship between the SF Epic cohort and the incoming Stellar cohort.

For more information visit our website: https://www.stempaths.org/spin-girls-fellows