Congratulations to Cheating Champs, Catdog!

Last month, Spells Writing Lab held its 1st Annual Quizzo for Cheaters fundraiser at Marbar, on 40th and Walnut Streets. With Philadelphia legend Johnny Goodtimes leading the questioning, teams of up to eight trivia buffs competed in four rounds of fierce and fun Quizzo festivities, including a photo round of famous cheaters.
Teams were encouraged to cheat—for a price. In return for donations to support our literacy programs, they could double their chances of getting the question right with a Double Answer, Phone a Friend at the end of the round, or use The Smart Phone to verify their guesses.

Executive Director Christina Rose Dubb's team carefully planned their cheats to vault up to 3rd place!

At the end of the night, team Catdog came out ahead, thanks in part to their generous purchase of cheats, and garnered the title of Cheating Quizzo Champions. Join us next year as we cheat for charity and keep an eye out for other Spells fundraisers in the coming months.

By 3:30 on Monday September 20th, there was already a small crowd of Spells regulars on the stoop of our lab in North Philly. Volunteers were inside quickly assembling the last of the new red chairs to match the vibrant colors that decorate the interior of the building. As the doors opened, there was a stampede up to the loft to check out the new additions to our library and settle in on the big comfy couch. It was time to begin the revamped after-school tutoring program at Spells!

We’ve had a great first month of tutoring, full of catching up with regulars and meeting new students who were drawn to the lab by the promise of a safe space for creativity and enjoying learning. A normal afternoon at Spells (if there is such a thing) begins downstairs with homework and tutoring time—and, now that the weather is cooler, lab coats! Even students who finish their homework early get the chance to stretch their brains with fun games such as Mad-Libs, math bingo, and Bananagrams. After a healthy snack (a favorite being clementines) and story time, we head outside to loosen up our bodies and minds. The art park next door is transformed into a makeshift baseball diamond with home-run sluggers as our Spellsian artists create sidewalk masterpieces with chalk.

For the last thirty minutes, we congregate inside once again for a writing workshop! In the coming weeks, we’ll be using this time to work on ongoing writing projects such as tabletop superhero films and the epic adventures of our eccentric fictional founder, Dr. Benjamin Franklin Spells. Stay tuned to hear more about how our wacky creations unfold!

If you like sports, you’ll love this sports audio podcast from our summer camp sports reporters. In this episode, they debate about hot button issues from Michael Vick’s recent troubles, to LeBron James’s move to Miami, to whether or not dancing and pillow fights are sports.  And keep listening until the end of the podcast to hear a fun story about Makiyyah’s monkey!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Searching for some great summer reading? Check out these fresh voices from Young Scholars Charter School, who participated in the literary magazine elective offered by Spells Writing Lab this spring. These talented students wrote poems that share their frustrations, friendships, and first loves, as well as an adventure story about finding and fighting the Loch Ness Monster!

Click on “widescreen” to zoom in, and position your cursor on the side of the page until a hand appears to turn the pages.

Enjoy!

Express Yourself, Vol. 1

Yes, your grandparents’ kitchen counter was probably made from Corian. But, as Philadelphia found out last fall during DesignPhiladelphia 2009, the material can also be used to make really cool benches. As part of the citywide design fest, C.H. Briggs and DuPont Corian challenged local designers to play with the material and to imagine different shapes and forms to adorn the streetscape. Then they chose 14 of the designs to go ahead and manufacture. You can see some of them scattered around the city in this blog post.

After the benches had their days in the sun, CH Briggs decided to donate them to different organizations around the city, including Spells; CHAD, the Charter High School for Architecture + Design; KIPP Philadelphia Schools; and Spells Writing Lab’s program partner, Young Scholars Charter School. Ours was delivered last week by a crew from West Chester–based MacLaren Fabrication, Inc. They rolled the bench up Alder Street and into the courtyard next to the Spells building. Then they pushed the bench uphill—a major feat as it weighs around 800 pounds, thanks to a steel skeleton!

Spells’ bench is called “Span,” and it was designed by Chris Dawson of LSC Design, based in York, Pennsylvania. We think it looks like something between a cresting wave and bleachers. What do you think it looks like? We can’t wait to hear and read what Spells’ kids think of the inspiring new addition to our outdoor space. Thank you, C.H. Briggs and DuPont Corian!