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Third annual community fair is biggest yet

Posted on September 27, 2013 by pattersonpress405 Leave a comment

Principal Vance Benton dances with a sword on his head (Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

By Shane Braden

Patterson High School hosted its third annual community fair and back to school night on September 19 in the cafeteria. There where 446 people there including over 200 students, making this the largest community fair yet. The purpose of the fair was to bring the community, parents, students and Patterson staff together. The fair is a chance to to have fun, eat, play games and learn about a variety of programs and opportunities offered by the school and its community partners.

There were also some special performers there who showed everyone their talents. One of the performers was a belly dancer who danced while balancing a sword on her head. Even our principal, Mr. Benton, tried dancing with the sword on his head, as the crowd cheered him on. Another performer did a flamenco dance, which is a type of Spanish dance. She used castanets and danced around as she clapped them in her hands. Patterson students performed as well, including a group of four girls who performed a traditional dance from their home country of Bhutan, along with hip-hop style dancing by sophomore Quincy Mims.

In addition to many school-based organizations and projects like the school garden, Spa La La (which offered free manicures), DECA, the athletics program, the Health Corps and the Patterson Press, dozens of organizations from the community also set up information tables at the fair. One of the groups was CASA de Maryland, a non-profit organization that works to defend the rights of immigrants and offers a free after-school program for college students. Other organizations present at the fair included Afrikan Youth Alchemy, the Real Food Farm, Red Emma’s Bookstore and Coffeehouse, the Red Cross, Evergreen Health Co-op and several colleges and universities. Free flu vaccinations were provided by Rite Aid.

“I think it’s outstanding that there are so many people and different cultures here that interact with each other,” Mr. Benton told the Patterson Press. The community fair has become an important tradition for Patterson High School and event organizer Ms. Kelly Flores hopes to see an even bigger turnout next year.

: Principal Vance Benton dances with a sword on his head (Photo: Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

(Photos by Anthony Ward and Tamika Addison, Patterson Press)

STEM competition returns for 5th year at Patterson

Posted on November 28, 2012 by pattersonpress405 Leave a comment

Students arrange mirrors to reflect a laser as part of the STEM competition (photo: Patterson Press)

By Jevaughn Taylor

Patterson High School held its 5th annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) competition on November 15,2012. We first met in the auditorium for a orientation until we were called to go to our different sections. We started the STEM competition at approximately 10:30.

We played an interesting game with lots of challenges we were put to the test to build things and use the time we had wisely. For this activity we were split into different stations (A,B,C and D). In order for contestants to win the STEM competition, they had to compete in all areas and fulfill all requirements, In each station, students receive a score based on how well they did in that area.

For example, in one competition, students were given five mirrors and they had to arrange them in a certain position so that a laser could go through the other side of the board. When that happened, the laser light would reflect on a certain score to give you your grade in that area. Each person who participated in the STEM competition worked in teams of four.

In addition to Patterson students, we also hosted visiting students from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Poly). Our students also had a lot of fun alongside some of the judges. During the STEM competition, students were very competitive to see who was better and faster at making things.

Ms. Ball and Mr. Yates were two of the people who help to organize this event and make sure everything went according to plan. Ms. Ball was the one who prepared the lunches and made sure that all STEM participants were properly fed. Students reported to lunch at approximately 12:30 to 1:00 PM. After lunch, Mr Benton (the principal of Patterson High School) announced the winners. Although the team from Poly won first place in the competition, we Patterson students tried our best and came in second and third in this competition.

Some students were frustrated that another school won the competition. When asked for comment about this, Mr. Benton replied, “Students now feel what I feel when other schools come into my stadium and beat our basketball team and other teams that we have here at Patterson, but all we can say is we did our part and participated and we are all hoping for the best the next time we keep a next STEM competition here at Patterson.”

The STEM competition has been a fun and educational experience for all of the students who participated in it. The sixth annual STEM competition is scheduled to take place at the same time next year. It is our hope that we will do even better next time and win first place.

(photo: Patterson Press)

Nail Tech Students Remember Teens Lost to Violence

Posted on October 24, 2012 by pattersonpress405 Leave a comment

(Photo: Jevaughn Taylor, Patterson Press)

The Professional Nail Technicians in the Cosmetic Services program hosted a “Quiet Memory Manicure” event on Thursday night, October 11, 2012 . This special occasion was created by Mrs. Bridgeforth, the instructor of the program, to give the youth of Patterson High School the opportunity to come into the salon and receive silent services. During this time guests were able to quietly remember their teenage friends and family members who lost their lives as a result of senseless violence.

The event was very successful. The Nail Technicians remained silent throughout the evening while parents and students were given basic manicures in the Patterson “Spa La La” Salon. Daughters quietly pampered their mothers and many Patterson students. Several guests commented that the services were very nice. The mothers shared with Ms. Bridgeforth that the event was very nice and they were thankful it was done. Candles were lit, refreshments were served and the atmosphere was very calm, comforting and relaxing.

The Professional Nail Technicians at Patterson High School perform a variety of community services throughout the year. They are looking forward to hosting this event again in the future. They are always happy to show their care and concern to their fellow students.

(Photo: Jevaughn Taylor, Patterson Press)

(Photo: Jevaughn Taylor, Patterson Press)

(Photo: Jevaughn Taylor, Patterson Press)

Community Fair brings school and neighborhood together

Posted on September 30, 2012 by pattersonpress405 Leave a comment

Participants join in a traditional Mexican dance (Photo: Patterson Press)

By Brennan Meeks

Patterson High School held a Back to School Night and Community Fair on September 20, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. The event was held mainly in the cafeteria but spread out into hallways and classrooms because there were so many things to do and see. Many local organizations from the Bayview area came out to support our school and inform students and their families about the services they provide. Among the community partners present were Johns Hopkins University, the Building STEPs program, CASA de Maryland and the Refugee Youth Project. Johns Hopkins Medical Center even sent a giant truck that provided free HIV screening and other medical services. Patterson put its many different resources and programs on display, such as sports, career pathway programs, health programs and much more.

Patterson had many visitors from the community, such as a local McDonald’s, which came to support us by giving away free sandwiches. There were exciting entertainment acts, including a belly dancer, a hip-hop group and a a group of traditional dancers from Mexico. At the fair, the school also provided meals for teachers, students, staff, and families that were involved in the fair. At the fair, there were prizes that you can win just by completing a task. Also on display were many Patterson clubs that students can join. The Patterson Press table even featured old issues of the school newspaper dating back to the World War 2 era. The school store was open for anyone who wanted to purchase Patterson logo-ed shirts, mugs, pens, binders and much more.

Many Patterson students volunteered to help set up and run the fair, earning community service hours in the process. All of our Patterson family participated in this special event, making this year’s community fair a huge success. We hope to do it again next school year. We would like to see a lot of family, staff members and students come back next time. Our mission is to make our school one of the top 500 schools in the nation, and this year’s community fair showed that we are well on the way to achieving that goal.

Rayvis Mitchell contributed to this article.

Ms. Diehl from Patterson’s Health Corps, demonstrates how to eat a healthy diet. (Photo: Patterson Press)

Latino rights organization CASA de Maryland promotes the Maryland Dream Act, which would grant more rights to undocumented immigrants in Maryland. (Photo: Patterson Press)

Patterson’s female coaches encourage students to get involved in athletics. (Photo: Patterson Press)

A belly dancer performs for the crowd (Photo: Patterson Press)

Ms. Bridgeforth’s nail tech students give hand treatments and manicures. (Photo: Patterson Press)

Students, family members, staff and visitors enjoy a meal together. (Photo: Patterson Press)

The school store (now called the Clipper Corner) sells Patterson T-shirts and other gear to students and visitors. (Photo: Patterson Press)

Health professionals provide free medical screenings on their mobile trailer. (Photo: Patterson Press)

Nail Tech students visit day spa

Posted on November 13, 2011 by pattersonpress405 Leave a comment

On November 4, Ms. Bridgeforth’s Nail Technology class went on a field trip to the Maisie Dunbar Spa Lounge in Silver Spring, Maryland to learn how a professional day spa operates. What follows are reports from two of the students who participated in the trip.

The trip to Maise Dunbar Spa Lounge

By Shakeira Cooper

The trip was a beautiful and wonderful experience for me. I had fun with my teacher, Ms. Bridgeforth, Ms. Rhue and my classmates, Jazmine, Diamen and Lavern. Ms. Dunbar [the owner of the day spa] is a very nice, intelligent and caring woman. She loves what she does and so do her fellow workers, Ms. Michelle and Ms. Humaira. They are very respectful, nice and talented women also. They are very good at what they do. For example, Ms. Humaira is very good at arching people’s eyebrows with wax and thread. I had the experience of getting my eyebrows threaded by Ms. Humaira. That was an experience I had never had in my life, but it was a good one. I loved the look of the outcome. I can definitely see myself doing that again. Yes, it hurts, but not as much as I expected, especially considering that it was my first time getting that.

After I was done, Ms. Dunbar shared some of her knowledge and wisdom to the Patterson students before she went to go service a client. Then Ms. Michelle did a makeup session with Diamond and myself that was fun and I looked so different I couldn’t believe it was me. Even my classmates and my teacher loved the look. Two of my classmates and my teacher had gotten henna on there hands and it looked very pretty and detailed. Before we all were on our way out of the door we had another demonstration from Ms. Dunbar. She showed us a pedicure with a paraffin wax demonstration.

Then we all said our “see you later”s and Ms. Dunbar was so pleased with our appearance and conduct that she invited us back to a little get-together with her on November 20th as V.I.Ps and to assist her. We are very pleased and we all nicely said yes and thank you.

The Trip To The Day Spa

By Diamen Jones

My trip to the Maisie Dunbar Spa Lounge was interesting. Once we arrived, we got to see Ms. Dunbar actually performing services (manicure). While Ms. Dunbar was doing the services, Ms. Michelle gave us a tour around the spa and showed us different areas. After the tour, Ms. Humaira gave out services. She threaded my eyebrows, and the eyebrows of my classmate Shakeira Cooper, my teacher Ms. Bridgeforth, and the work-based learning coordinator, Ms. Rhue.

Ms. Humaira also applied henna to Ms. Bridgeforth, Ms. Rhue and two of my classmates–Laverne Black and Jasmine Ward. Ms. Michelle also performed makeup services on me, Shakeira & Ms. Rhue. After our services were finished, Ms.Dunbar spoke to us about how failure was not an option. She also invited us back to a V.I.P. reception on November 20th.