Fall in Love with TRACE in October and November

TRACE isn't only a summer program. In fact, youth from all over the city are taking advantage of TRACE's October and November video and audio training sessions. Every Thursday, youth are invited to drop-in and learn how videographers, filmmakers, and music producers make movies, documentaries, and music.

Highlights
Camera angles
Capturing ambiance
Editing video
Editing audio
Creating audio slidecasts
Publicizing work on social networks


We hope to see you at Cornell Square Pak on 51st and Wood at 4:30 pm - 6:30 p.m. this Thursday.

New TRACE Promotional Video - Check it out!!!

Cornell Square Park week 4

This was week five of Trace. We got a lot of work done on our project. We also had a little fun while we were at it. We completed our radio piece and were able to make visual art, such as posters and CD covers to go with the piece. We really worked hard to complete the piece. We had to record different voices, narrations, and edit the interviews we recorded. This week we also worked on keeping the park clean by collecting trash. While we collected trash we identified different insects and parts of nature in the park.

During week 5 we went to the Daniel J Nellum boys shelter where we explained to the boys what trace was and how they could get involved. We also explained what our radio piece was about and asked them if they had ever experienced adultism. They all said they had. While there we had a pizza party with the boys and just got a chance to talk to them. Outside of all the hard work we’ve done it was nice to be able to chill and still do work as well. This was a very productive week for the Cornell Square Park Tracers.

Week 4: Preparing Final Project - Bessemer Trailer

During week four, we were really prepping for the final project, which was a lot of hard work.  In my section I was editing the different things that we have done throughout the whole program.  I edited when we were making work songs for when we garden, giving a tour of our garden, a time when we were acting out scenes if we were at a  dinner table with different scenarios, and when the girls were in the “sweat shop” sewing up aprons. We also transcribed our interviews, where we interviewed different people on their family recipes, which were very hard, and tedious, some people were still doing their interviews, which made us have a setback.

Also last week a group of TRACERS made aprons for the final presentation. I was a part of the group and cut out aprons, ironed pockets, sleeves, etc. The aprons will be worn during the cooking show. We cut white and green fabric into aprons and sewed those using machines and added different decoration by hand with fabrics such as lace. We learned how to refill a bobbin, replace the thread, and use different stitches. Because the room was so hot, we worked hard to complete our aprons and titled it the “Sweatshop”.

On Friday of last week all of the Bessemer Park TRACERs planted our own plants that when we leave we can take it home with us when the program is over with. Also on Friday we also learned another way to plant in your house by using household’s products like a bucket, an old can, but with those you have to make sure that you put holes in the bucket so that the water can drain out, but these are ways that we can plant inside just in case your soil outside isn’t healthy. We got hands on experience on how to do it just in case we want to do it at home, which was very helpful because I was thinking about doing it myself. Friday we also got to use an earth box, where it’s another way to plant plants without having to go outside. Our trailer was a very fun thing to do for me because it’s interesting how a movie editor does it. Kris and I, Theresa, worked on the trailer where we took pieces of our videos we have token over throughout the program, pieced it together and made this great trailer.

WEEK 3 - BESSEMER:...

Trace is an avenue that has allowed teens to voice their opinions and channel their creativity.    

As Trace participants (at Bessemer) we have been engaged in many teambuilding activities and educational fieldtrips.  In the third week of Trace we visited two museums, a farmers market, had a discussion regarding freedom and actively contributed to a relationship workshop with Shonettia and improv activities.

To begin our week, we had a long discussed addressing the question What is Freedom?  We touched on aspects of freedom and oppression and how they affect us daily.  Later that morning Mama Zahra orchestrated the improv activities  we participated in.   The theme of the improv activities were:  Conversations that happen at the dinner table.

The next day we visited the Chicago History Museum in which we learned about different cultures and adversity many ethnic groups faced.  In addition, we went to a farmers market a block down from the museum and were introduced to unfamiliar foods.  We also were given insight into understanding why farmer markets are in certain areas.

At the  nature museum we visited the butterfly haven and listened to a presentation about the opportunities the museums offer. The next day Shonnettia facilitated a relationship workshop in which we engaged in a conversation on the various types of abuse that occurs in relationships and later played a teambuilding game.

West Pullman Week 3

               This past week at West Pullman was a learning experience. We received visits from Shonettia and Zahra again. The visits were informational, productive, and fun. We brainstormed lots of ideas for our final performance. We're confident to say that this performance will be very enjoyable but at the same time informative. We couldn't have made it this far without their help.
 We also went on three trips in one day! Those trips included the History Museum, the Farmer's Market, and the Nature Museum.
              At the History Museum, we gathered lots of facts about the struggles of our ancestors. But everything we saw wasn't sad. We went to the Chicago Jazz & Blues Exhibit where they had the different artists and their hit songs. We also got on the first model L-Train. We also got a chance to have our pictures taken and displayed on a video pillar with powerful word like Faith, Defend, Act, and Fight.
              Then, we were off to the Farmer's Market. There, we walked around the market observing different farmer's products and some of us even tasted some of the different vegetables and food. They were really good! Then we talked with Emily about gardening and what we thought about the food. We also visited the Growing Power booth. Growing power is a farm that employs youth to help with gardening. We had a trip with them a while back and we were more than happy to talk with them again. 
              Last was the Nature Museum. From the time we walked in the door to the time we left there was never a dull moment. Everything was so fun and exciting and we were all eager to know about all of it. They had cool things like Water works under staircases, dead animals that were stuffed to appear life-like, and the headline of the trip was the Butterfly exhibit. They had 100s of different butterflies. They gave us a sheet on how to identify the different butterflies. We also witnessed the first flight of about 40 butterflies. Then all the parks went into a classroom and talked about the final projects and how they were coming along. Some of us even went outside with the camp kids and interacted with them for a little while.

            We also went into the savannah and did stewardship. And on Friday, Inferno came and a few of us were able to record poems and songs. I think it was beneficial for us to do the songs and poems because it gave us a chance to let our feelings out and tell people how we feel and what we go through. Last week was really a week of progress and we was the West Pullman TRACErs have achieved alot in this last week. Now its on to the next week as a West Pullman TRACEr. Lets see what's in store for us.

Cornell Square Park Week 3

We TRACEers have finally made it half way through our program. Within our third week of working we have covered so much in such little time. On Tuesday we started out with a game called The Soapbox Activity which involves us speaking for 30 seconds on a subject and trying to convince the other speakers to give us there 30 seconds and there “soapbox”. After that we practiced with new recording mics and interviewed each other on different subjects. Wednesday we took a field trip to the Chicago History Museum, the Peggy NoteBart Nature & Science Museum, and Green Market. Our interviewers took this opportunity to interview other people visiting the museums. Thursday we started out with a peace circle to air out some differences. When we were done with that we reviewed roles and responsibilities and reviewed the audio we had in our interviews from the field trip. Today is our third Friday and also our payday. We discussed our checks and any problems or concerns we had. After that we went out into the neighborhood to gather information and more interviews for our radio piece about adultism. We ended with some instructions with audio editing with Jayve.

BESSEMER WEEK 2: Community Gardens

by: Arnicea Fields, Antwan Jackson & Breana Walton

The second week of Trace we at Bessemer touched on several topics as a group. The topics were public speaking, oppression, and making ourselves more aware of what we eat and how our food effects our mood. We had a group discussion about what we thought oppression means to us. This discussion then led to doing activities on what oppression looks like.  For example, we did an improvisational activity focusing on how people who are light-skinned would be more likely to be treated better in different environments.

Nicole, our counselor, was very supportive and helpful with each Tracer while instructing the activity for public speaking. We did a short activity called Elevator Speeches.  Each Tracer had to write an introduction about ourselves if we had to approach someone we didn’t know.  The introduction had to be at least 30 sec and 2mins at the max.  We then listened and critique each other speeches with likes and dislikes about it to help in order to help out the individual.

We also started talking about our final project and what we wanted to do.  These discussions lead us to a field trip where we visited different places within the community. We visited Sarah Ward, who works at South Chicago Art Center. Ms. Ward was happy to talk to us about the work she does and how she started a community garden that is a nonprofit.  She invites any and everyone to contribute or take away from the garden. After leaving Ms. Ward we visited one last community garden. The gardener had various vegetables to choose from and different melons she was growing.

Lastly, to wrap up our community garden and food week we had a food demonstration with gardeners Emily and Francisca where we cooked and prepared many different types of foods and fruits seasoned with different sauces and spices.

West Pullman Week 2

         This past week at West Pullman was very productive and interesting. Everyday Mama Zara
came she definately did her thing. She was always up to part with the singing, acting, and musical
sessions. She kept our energy up and made all of our fresh ideas and creativeness come through our
actions. We did a lot of acting/stage exercises that will help us get into character with what ever comes
our way.
         We also made a walking trip to the library to find books on different types of poverty and
abuse. On our way to the library we also did community mapping. We stopped people in the
neighborhood to take a survey about what they thought were the biggest problems in the community.
The choices were between Teen Pregnancy, Drugs/Alcohol Addiction, Drop-outs, and Violence.
When we got to the library we found all types of books dealing with the topics we discussed. Boy was
that a long walk for some people but we had fun!
         We also got a visit from Andres. He took us to the Savannah to learn about the different
flowers and trees and how to identify them. He also informed us about the process they go through to
renew the Savannah so that no bad plants would still be growing.We realized that it was our job to
keep up the maintenance of the Savannah so that it can stay beautiful and a part of the community.
         On a regular day of work Ronnett took the time to give us a workshop on Teen Dating
Abuse with skills she acquired from her organization called The Young Women's Action Team. From
the workshop, we learned about common problems teens have in relationships and how they end up
hurt and abused. We learned that some people in those situations actually stay in those abusive
relationships. The workshop was a great learning experience. With the knowlede that we took from this
workshop, we made scenes based on the different types of abuse which were: Physical, Sexual,
Mental/Verbal, and Financial. The scenes came out great, especially after we showed Zara and she
coached us on them.
         Shonettia came and also gave the girls a workshop on girl on girl violence. We learned great
life lessons that we take with us everyday now. Tears were shed and a lot of feelings came out of us as
we discussed the topic. She read us very deep poems based on girl on girl violence, which all of us
really wanted copies of. I believe this workshop brought us closer and really took over our minds and
made us more positive women.
         So as you can see, this week was very productive and informative. With all the lessons we
learned, we can honestly say that TRACE is a very good place to spend your summer, especially when you're not in school.

Cornell Square Week 2

During the second week of the TRACE Program we worked more in depth with journalism. We also decided on our topic for the radio program. Our topic will be young people and how they are viewed by the older generation, and also how they are treated by people in positions of authority. We talked about our field trip to Bynum Island. Bynum Island was a great trip, we worked on team building which helped us work together and respect other people’s opinions. Another thing we did was played family feud using word terms involving journalism which helped us have a better understanding of the meaning of these words. Though there were words we didn’t know, in the context it was put in, it helped us have somewhat of a meaning of the words. We also went on a field trip this week. We visited Radio Arte and met teens from their job program who are putting together a radio program like we are. We learned about twitter and facebook and its connection to journalism. We also saw a live radio broadcast. George, the DJ, even gave us a shout out on the radio! We learned about the equipment they used to do a radio broadcast. It was very interesting to be in a studio where they are broadcasting. There were plenty more activities we participated in for example, we also visited the southside bureau of WEBZ. Natalie Moore led us through a conversation about our topic and taught us about different types of sources. We watched CODE 33 and went on a community assets walk. On the community assets walk we collected audio for our radio documentary and interviewed people in the community such as the assistant executive director of a homeless shelter for teens. Then we worked with Jayve and Ed from Inferno Recording Studio to label and save our audio, and also learned how to boost the sound and get rid of noise and static. We learned a lot of things this week and we are looking forward --to the third week of this program.

BESSEMER WEEK 1: THE GARDEN

by: Patrick Harmon, "Dee" Stewart & Ashlei Eaton

Bessemer TRACErs first day working in the garden

Here at Bessemer Park our first week was a busy one. With loads of workshops, gardening, and team building exercises we got a considerable amount of work done. We met with Mama Zahra to use a more creative approach to express our ideas and thoughts. Instruments that many of us Tracers had never even heard of were used to create extraordinary musical pieces and work songs. Our work songs were humorous, serious, and over all, a bunch of fun to make. Zahra also helped us develop a strong bond as co-workers and friends. We discussed community and how to welcome each other respectfully and courteously. We opened up to one another and formed a trust that would allow tremendous success when it comes time to complete our final project. 

The gardeners  Emily and Francisca are two lovely people who helped further our knowledge in an agricultural environment.  Once we got to be better acquainted with one another we went outside and got straight to work.  They taught us how different vegetables and fruits need to be planted in order for them to grow properly.  They also told us that everything will not grow and that it is not because we did something incorrectly, but because that is how nature is.  We ended up messing up our shirt, pants, shoes and gloves by getting elbow deep in dirt.  First we put in the soil for the plants, and then we added the compost to give the plants food.  Then we dug holes in our tubs of soil and started planting.  We planted carrots, watermelons, squash, tomatoes, flowers, zucchini and corn.  We planted all of these healthy foods in hope of producing a productive garden that will bring the community together.  

 Throughout our productive first week, our TRACE counselor Nicole kept us organized and on task.  with a positive attitude and eloquent approach she kept us energized and excited to work.  We started a food journal, which helps us keep track of our daily food intake, and wrote about our families, communities and the world.  With her help we got a significant amount of work done for our project by outlining our main intentions and how to further involve everyone in our urban agriculture initiative.

West Pullman Blog: Week One

 The first week at TRACE was exhilarating! The first day of work, we were put into groups of three and had to create a song using words commonly used to describe what TRACE is all about. The songs were very creative and each group took on the task in a different way. Two groups used beats from songs they listen to and each member of the last group wrote a poem.
 One of the activies we had to do during the week was cleaning the Savanna. At first, ckeaning the Savanna was dull to the group members, but we had to work together to make it a fun and an exciing learning experience.As a group, we wanted to get to know each other better.We created ''I Am..'' poems and shared them with one another.The poems helped us get a better understanding of each other.
 Throughout the week, we did workshops with Mama Zahra. In groups of threes, we had to pick a scene and add an emotion, then act it out to the rest of the group. With this activity, we all as a group showed our personalilties. Mama Zahra helped us with keeping our act together while doing certain scenes.
 Shonettia's workshop was by far one of the best of the week. We learned about different types of systems and how they affect each other and ourselves. We did a silent activity where we could only respond by stepping forwards or backwards. This helped us see each others views without having an arguement or being judgemental.
 The last day of the week was the field trip! This was a great day because it was a day where we got together with the other parks and get to know each other.We had fun with the team building activies. The activies helped us build trust in one another, self esteem, and feel comfortable and safe with one another.

Cornell Square Week 1

 In the first week of the TRACE program, we worked on team building and getting a better understanding of the things we actually believe. To promote team building, We played games such as the Identifying trees games. In this game, we were broken up into 3 groups (Tree Huggers, Rakks, and the Mighty Squirrels)  to compete in a tree hunt extravaganza. Each group was given a book that helps them identify different trees. With this book, we were to pick different trees within the park and identify them. The team with the most trees identified correctly won, which was the Mighty  Squirrels. This game was a fun activity because it gave us a chance to look at the nature around Cornell Square Park as well as work together as a team.

  We also worked on both team building and learning about ourselves by the many discussions we had during our work hours. We discussed the things that go on in our neighborhoods, police activity, our own personal beliefs and views, oppression, and age-ism.  In these discussions, we each had a chance to open up about the way we all feel as well as see other's opinions, which also made some of us change our views and paradigms.  We realized that there's a lot about our communities that needs to change and we also have to be open to other people's opinions, but we don't have to be oppressed by them. We don't always have to change because of a way a person thinks. And no matter what age we are, we all need to be respected and show respect.

  The last day of the week = FIELD TRIP! The coolest day of the week by far. We played more team building games, where most of them made us put more trust in our teammates/ coworkers. The activities included the trust fall, working together to get the wheel out of the "lions den" and being able to "balance on a boat." These games were all fun, creative, and easy for any age group.

  What we experienced this week proves that if there were more programs uplifting teens, there wouldn't be so many of them out in the street. Creating great programs can help "troubled" teens realize their potential. If we've learned anything this week, its to stop criticizing and start motivating and working together because great things, conversations, and changes can be a result of this.

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On the first day of work, us TRACERs got to know each other well. We did team building exercises that were exciting and fun. The check in was amazing, we got to pick out a card that describes our mood and emotion. We also learned about commercial radio and other different types of radios from Ms. Irene which was something new to learn. And last but not least, us co-workers picked a job during the week that we wanted to work, a pretty exciting day.

The first week of work was great. Doing these good exercises with each other was fascinating. Different discussions about different topics, and hearing others opinions went well. I think the first week was good for us TRACErs to get to know each other's opinions and open up for group discussions and activities.