the bridge newspaper july 19, 2010 issue

SOUTH TEXAS WRITING PROJECT2 July 19,2010www.thebridgenewspaper.com

By Dr. Bernice Sanchez Perez

The Bridge Contributor

Dear LaredoCommunity,

As Director of the SouthTexas Writing Project, Iwould like to take thisopportunity to thank thecommunity for their con-tinued support of theSTWP Federal Grant. TheSouth Texas Writing

Project, an affiliate of the National WritingProject, has been part of the Laredo communi-ty for 12 years and is currently housed at TexasA&M International University within theCollege of Arts & Sciences and the College ofEducation. Our mission both locally andnationally is continued focus on the knowledge,expertise, and leadership of our nation's educa-tors on sustained efforts to improve writing andlearning for all learners. The South TexasWriting Project supports a community of writ-ers, supports volunteer work within the com-munity, provides professional development

opportunities, and provides summer youthcamps for kids. The community of writers,known as Teacher Consultants, engages inWriting Retreats and volunteer service work inconjunction with community organizationsthroughout the year. Our annual fall conferenceconsists of various professional developmentsessions across grade levels and content areas.The Summer Institute presents on-going pro-fessional development opportunities and gradu-ate credit through TAMIU. Summer Youthcamps at TAMIU for elementary and secondarystudents focus on student centered activitiesthat integrate reading, writing, and technologywithin fun learning environments. Overall, theprimary goal of our youth summer camps is toencourage the importance of reading and writ-ing and love of learning in the early and adoles-cent years of Laredo's youth. Once again thanksto the Laredo community and TAMIU for itscontinued support of the South Texas WritingProject.

Dr. Bernice Sanchez-Perez

Director, South Texas Writing Project

Texas A&M International University

On behalf of DanielaRodriguez

On behalf of Dr. BerniceSanchez-Perez

STWP HostsCamps at TAMIU

By Daniela Rodriguez

The Bridge Contributor

D e a rL a r e d oCommunity,

It is withgreat pleas-ure that Iinvite you toparticipate in

any of the South TexasWriting Project activities thatwe have planned throughoutthe year such as our FallConference in October,Border Voices in the Spring,and our summer camps inJuly. STWP strives to help ourLaredo community embracewriting and build a communi-ty of lifelong learners at anyage. We thank those of youwho have already taken part ofour many activities such as theSacred Heart Children'sToiletry Drive, the SummerInstitute and these summer'scamps: “Exploring the

Universe through Writing,”“Writing and Reading in theDigital Age,” “The SuperMedia Patrol Camp,” and“Writing and Reading 101.”We are community united inensuring that everyone,including students and teach-ers, strengthen their writingskills is sure to reap the bene-fits for years to come. As theSTWP Co-Director, I inviteyou to call or email if you areinterested in participating orlearning about our local proj-ect that services the needs ofour teachers and students herein Laredo and surroundingareas. Thank you for yoursupport.

Daniela Rodriguez

STWP Co-Director956-489-0347danielarodriguez@tamiu.ed

u

Texas A&M InternationalUniversity Faculty

By Jessica Rodriguez

The Bridge Newspaper

The month of July, notoriousfor its extreme heat, experi-enced some unexpected flood-ing, a charming visitor namedAlex and most importantly,saw some very educationalsummer camps at TAMIU.The South Texas WritingProject hosted several writingcamps in an effort to help stu-dents from both primary andsecondary schools with theirwriting.

Through the planetarium,the students were taught tosoar through space, write in adigital age and the basics inreading and writing. TheSTWP, in conjunction withThe Bridge StudentNewspaper, held its first writ-ing camp for future journalistsand photojournalists. All the

camps provided differentmethods of writing for the stu-dents that established a funand creative atmosphere.

“These camps help to enrichthe minds of the students withhands-on activities and cre-ative writing,” stated DanielaRodriguez, STWP Co-Director. Through the STWP,students from schools aroundLaredo and Encinal have ben-efited from the dedicated pro-fessors and their interest inwriting. These camps havegiven many students a gooduniversity experience and willcontinue to do so for years tocome.

For more information on theSouth Texas Writing ProjectSummer Institute or SummerCamps, please visit their web-site athttp://www.tamiu.edu/coas/lla/stwp/.

The Bridge Newspaper would like to thank theSouth Texas Writing Project for their support in

making this “Super Media Patrol Camp” a success.

The Bridge Newspaperwould like to thank Aramark

for the delicious food provided to us during the

camp.