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Umoja Celebration at EOYDC. After a brief one year absence, Wo'se/Ile Omode returned to celebrate the first night of Kwanzaa at the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC). We've hosted Umoja at EOYDC for at least the last fifteen years, and owe a special thanks to EOYDC's executive director, Regina Jackson, for making it possible this year.

MC'd by Mama Jumoke, the event was a wonderful kickoff to this year's Kwanzaa season. Ile Omode drummers, led by Bro Kele Nitoto, opened the event with a drum call. The event featured dancing, spoken word, and a martial arts demonstration by Ile Omode students.

Our celebration of Nia, on Wednesday, December 30, was a change from previous Kwanzaa events. This one was a Kwanzaa family night, and along with lighting the candles and celebrating the principle for the day, we had a good old fashioned family party. Adults played cards and dominoes, while children (and a few adults) played "American Idol" on the xBox, and tennis on a Wii. Everyone also enjoyed a movie classic, "Let's Do it Again", with a few musical classics, including James Brown.

We asked parents to bring homebaked goods, and we enjoyed a night of superb baking, with apple pies from Mama Pam, and cookies from Ile Omode babas, Dr. Charles Bossett and Willis Fleming - showing that the brothers can still bake like champs.

 

The Open house events are held on the last Friday of each month. Prospective parents can chose one of the following tour schedules:

  • Breakfast Tour: 8:00 am; begin with our near-world famous breakfast
  • Lunch Tour: 12 or 12:30 pm; enjoy a Friday "fun" lunch
  • Afternoon Tour: 4:30 pm - this tour can be schedule later depending on your schedule; designed to accomdate parents who are unable to attend the breakfast or lunch tour

There are immediate openings in the preschool; selected openings in middle school, and age-specific, scholarships available for girls. If interested in enrollment you may contact the school at (510) 632-8230.

The New Playstructure has Arrived. Our old playstructure stood for years; surviving just about everything - torrential downpours, near-daily loving child abuse, and of course the near yielding march of father time against wood.

Over time the wood began to creak a little more often, and the playstructure swayed just a little too much. So with the ardent work of one of our founders, and former preschool director, Mama Oyin, we secured a grant and finally said goodbye to our very loyal playstructure.

Mama Oyin worked for months, meeting with designers, contractors and others; reviewing countless designs until it was just right. We can't possibly thank her enough for her work; and after many years of service, retiring in August, this was her parting contribution to Ile Omode - and what a gift!

Mural Project. Mama Lisa, the art and Spanish instructor at Ile Omode, decided to create our first Kwanzaa mural. Inspired by grafitti art, poets and musicians alike, the mural pays tribute to Kwanzaa as well as motherhood. We wanted to share the beauty of Kwanzaa with everyone and the mural seemed like a great vehicle for sharing the expression with the community.

Mama Lisa sketched the designed and worked with the middle school students to complete the mural. Watch the video below, and you'll know they had a wonderful time with the project.

MacExpo 2009 Conference. The MacExpo, an Apple-specific conference hosted by the MacWorld magazine, remains a must-see stop on our school's calendar. Although scaled down just a bit from previous years, and with a bit of an emotional letdown after Apple announced this would be the last MacExpo conference they would attend, the show was still a huge attraction for our students.

We visited booths from dozens of companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Macromedia, HP, FileMaker, Canon, Google, and countless others. The students had a chance to interview engineers, sales representatives, and even some company founders.

One of those companies, Axiotron, converts Apple laptops into tablets, and demonstrated the tablet laptops by having an artist draw portraits. Can you identify the person in the portrait?

 

However no one was as lucky as 5th grader, Tahmari, who scored one of the Expo's biggest prizes. It seems as if everyone at the show walked around wearing buttons or stickers with the hope that they would be the receipient of a random prize (that's also the answer to the question: Why are so many people wearing pink bunny ears?). Well, Tahmari, was tapped by an employee from Linda.com, and won an iPod!

This year we especially want to thank MacWorld which sponsored our class, and, given our experience, we would highly recommend the MacExpo 2010 conference. See the photo gallery for more pictures.

 
Take the first Ile Omode history quiz! Are you up to the challenge? No cheating, and no life lines. [requires the free Adobe Flash Player]

See the picture of the month.

Sis Lisa Ramos, our new art and Spanish teacher, has started Sisters of the Earth (SOTE), an afterschool program for the middle school girls. The girls meet every Monday after school.

A big ASANTE for Baba Fancy, whose volunteer efforts over the year were recognized by his employer, Intel Corporation. The company provides matching funds based on the number of employee volunteer hours.

Sisters of the Earth (SOTE) the school's girl's club for older girls (6th through 8th grade) organized by Mama Lisa has been meeting weekly. A mother-daughter brunch is planned; see the newsletter for details and other information.

Did you get your letter in the mail? Preschoolers wrote letters to family members, and took a walk to the post office. They received a great talk about the mail, and who knows, one of them may become the Postmaster General (or whatever will be the email equivalent in 20 years :)

Asante to participants at the Oakland Bay Area chapter of the National Council of 100 Black Women's 11th annual Madam C.J. Walker luncheon, who purchased over 20 copies of the Young Scribes.

 

Interested in fall enrollment? See the "Open House" schedule.

Rhythms of Nature class runs from January through February. The free class is taught by Baba Jahi Awakoaiye, and meets every Sunday from 9 to 10:30 am at Wo'se. Check back for an updated online class schedule for the new year.

Ile Omode was the recipient of a garden grant from City Slicker Farms. Look for big changes in our small, but "potent" garden.

Ile Omode will host a "Black History Bowl" on Saturday, February 27 with a competition among elementary, middle school, and high schools in the area. Our school is entered in the elementary and middle school division. Wish us luck, and support us with your attendance. The competition starts at 11 am.

Baba Abubakar's Martial Arts Aerobics class for adults continues. The classes are weekly Monday through Thursday from 6 - 7:00 pm, and Saturdays at 10:30 am. The classes are still only $5 per session. See the flyer.

FREE West African Dance class - offered by Wo'se, and taught by Mama Titilayo on the first Saturday of each month at 10 am. All classes are at Wo'se (8924 Holly Street, Oakland). Drummers are also encouraged to come out. Call 510.632.8230 for more information.