Alicia Bower - The Exceptional Executive

By Pascal Dafinis
Features Writer

Alicia Bower, the new executive director of Breakthrough
Miami, is also known as “The Boss Lady” as
Site Director Jamael Stewart likes to call her.

Alicia first heard about Breakthrough when she was
a principal. She has been a principle for almost 20 years.
She also started many Charter schools. In Indiana, Alicia was a swimming coach at a high school. The school team won the state champion.

“The first time I met Alicia was at the teacher-mentor
BBQ on Saturday,” Lisa, a Breakthrough Miami teacher, said.

“She’s someone who is organized, and creates
a good atmosphere for people to learn about
Breakthrough,” Lisa said. “She keeps everything sweet and simple.”

“She likes to travel. One time she traveled to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and South America,” Jamael said. She also speaks two languages, Spanish and English.

She said loves her grandchildren and calls her granddaughter “Sunshine.”

“I hope I’m doing a doing a good job as the Executive Director of Breakthrough Miami, but there’s a lot to learn and much to do,” Alicia said. “Good thing I work with great people.”

ArtSplosion, a.k.a "chaotic beauty"

By Pascal Dafinis
Features Writer

Artsplosion was held on Friday, July 10. Artsplosion is an afternoon full of activities related to the different types of arts.

“Artsplosion is when art and splosion come together and make chaotic beauty,” Mark Doss, a 7th grade history teacher and the Artsplosion organizer, said.

“Artsplosion is the greatest two hours in your life. You create things that have never been created before,” Mark said.

Mark said Artsplosion is a really creative activity that Breakthrough students and teachers can enjoy.

“I remember the song writing workshop. I remember Francesca did this song with the teacher of the workshop, Jamie. She was also a Breakthrough teacher, at the Doctor Charter site,” Assistant Site Director Casta Guilluame.

“Artsplosion is a Breakthrough Miami tradition. It’s to expose all the students to different kinds of art,” Casta added. “It’s going to be a good chance for them to see what they can do.”


Most students really enjoyed Artsplosion.

6th grader Diamonde Cruz had the Break-A-Move class with Brittany for Artsplosion. “[She] is a hip hop dancer. I thought that Brittany was very creative in her dance,” Diamonde said.

“Artsplosion was awesome,” she added.

QUOTE BOX: Who is your favorite teacher?

By Nicolette Hill
Design Team

"Larissa. I can trust her. My BFF forever." - Taylor Jared, 6th grade

"Morgan. we do really cool stuff." - Sana Chaudry, 7th grade

"Widdi. She is really nice and helps out a lot." - Ricardo Fortune, 6th grade

QUOTE BOX: What do you think about Midsummer Night's Dream

By Francesca
Design Team

"It's about a love triangle between two girls and two boys." - Doris Etiene, 6th grade

"I think that Hermia and Lysander will get married. Her parents are going to stop her from getting married." - Sabrina Valcin, 6th grade

"Interesting, love triangle and more drama." - Marsha Edwards, 6th grade

Parents get the low down on BT Miami - Family Night 2009

By Wesley Charles
News Writer

On Wednesday, July 1, Family Night brought a lot of parents to the school to give them a sneak peak at what their children do everyday.

“I really enjoyed it. It went really well, the parents enjoyed it,” 7TH grade Social Studies teacher Mark Doss said. “It was great to see students show off.”

Teachers Rocky Desir and Chantal Jean-Francois were the managers of Family Night.

“It was great. I liked the staff working together,” Rocky said.

The Gumboot, Chorus and Step Team performed during a special ASM for the parents.

“The gumboot was on point and seemed confident,” Rocky said.

Mark’s mouth dropped when Jason Wallace’s step team performed.

“Great! The best thing I ever saw in my life,” Mark said. “I’m horned to be on the same staff as Jason Wallace.”

7th grader Bryce Sentaus was shocked when a fellow 7th grader, Woody Jean-Louis, said “This is how BT step.”

For their first performance ever, the BT Chorus sang “We are the world.”

Most people found the night to be fun, but more importantly educational for the parents.

“It was very fun and the parents got to see what we did this summer,” Bryce said. “I think the parents enjoyed it and they participated.”

Zumba teaches students to be free

By Akeem Anglin
Culture Team Writer

You might be asking yourself what class really communicates through the sounds and vibes of their body movements here at Breakthrough? One example would be the Zumba class taught by Columbia Clancy.

Columbia is new to the world of Zumba. She was attracted to it because it something different.

“Zumba is something you don’t hear on the radio every day,” Columbia said.

She said her class was coming along well and that they have already made two different dances and are in the process of fusing them together.

So far, Columbia’s class has proven to be very popular with her students.

“Zumba is great,” 6th grader Marlene Nazario said.

Another student, 6th grader Ricardo Fortune, really likes how comfortable he feels while dancing in her class.

“When I first stepped into Zumba, I didn’t know how to dance,” 6th grader Ricardo Fortune said. “When I am in Zumba I feel like I can dance without being judged on the way I dance.”

Breaking-It-Downtown

By Joshua Bonnery
Culture Team Writer

"A new era has begun at Breakthrough Miami. The era of Breaking-It-Down.

“I came to Breakthrough last year and it didn’t have Breaking-It-Down,” 7th grader Jordan Morris said.

Breaking-It-Down is a 15-minute period that helps students play with their friends and let out some pent up energy before their afternoon ExEl classes.

“I enjoy this year better because I get to let out my energy and play with my friends,” Jordan said.

“I like to play basketball with my friends before my ExEls. I like to get active and play with my friends during Breaking-It-Down,” 7th grader Woody Jean-Louis said.


“I enjoy seeing kids play and have a good time. The kids might have had a hard day and now they get to have a nice time to play,” Site Director Jamael Stewart said."

Making Art History!

By Banesa Paguada
News Team Writer

On Wednesday, July 1, the 6th and 7th graders got a chance to visit local art museums . The 6th graders went to the Wolfsonian Museum, while the 7th graders went to the MOCA Museum.

“The 7th grade field trip was good, it was interactive, and I had a great time,” 6th grade Geography teacher Nelda Dafinis said.

The MOCA Museum in North Miami focuses primarily on modern and contemporary styles of art, which means the exhibits the 7th graders saw were a lot different then what most people would consider art.

“The field trip was interesting I really liked the model of a house that they showed us,” 7th grader Shelby Francois said.

The Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach focuses on kinds of period art, which means the 6th graders got a little taste of everything.

“It was fun we got to make posters. We looked at the water system and we looked at posters that were made during World War I and II,” 6th grader Gabriela Ramesar said.
The museums trips were not just educational and enjoyable for most of the students -- ­ most teachers learned a lot too.

“The 6th grade field trip was awesome all the 6th graders were spirited on the bus, and they loved the art,” English teacher Widdi Seraphin said.

Showing off the Goods - Visitor's Day 2009

By Laurie Jean-Francois
News Writer

On Wednesday, July 8, we celebrated Visitor’s Day. This day is when all the donors for Breakthrough come to see the children in their classes.

“Visitor’s Day is mainly about showing all our donors who took some of their time to see what we’re made of,” 7th grader Wayne Sanders said.

All of the children preformed shows for the visitors. The BT chorus performed the song “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, while Bernard Meyer’s gumboot class and Jason Wallace’s step team performed dance routines.

“It’s a really great way to show off all the great work and see what being breakalicious means,” 7th grade English teacher Alyssa Roark said.

Visitor's Day is also a time for potential donors to decide whether they want to give to the program.

“Visitor’s Day is very exciting for all of our donors because when the visitors come, they want to contribute more money to the program.” says Site Director Jamael Stewart.

Defining Crunk - BT Steppers

By Milton Canton
Culture Team Writer

Jason Wallace is a 6th grade English teacher by morning, and a stepteam master in the afternoon.

He started stepping when he was in the 7th grade. He's continued stepping all the way to college.

"Stepping takes a lot of skills, and a lot of discipline," Jason said. His team practices 11 times a day.

"Jason is like a dad to me," Galvin Frederic , a 6th grade stepper who is always at Jason's side, said.

"When the steppers are stepping, they should stand still not able to move at all," Jason said. "That's something people should learn in life."

His college step team did so well, they had the chance to compete at state.

Jason tries to bring that winner mentality to his BT Steppers ExEl class everyday. He also emphasizes the importance of "getting crunk," meaning showing a lot of enthusiasm, everytime they perform.

"The (BT Step) team is amazing. I was blown away by there performance," 7th grade Science teacher Morgan Matthews said.

Lamar Shambley - Mr. Breakthrough

By Kelnisha Lightbourne
Features Writer

The Breakthrough Chronicles wants to award math teacher Lamar Shambley with the title of MR.BREAKTHROUGH for his endless dedication to the program.


Lamar has dedicated his time to Breakthrough over the course of 10 years. He started his commitment to Breakthrough at Learning Bridge Norfolk, where he was a student and then went on to become a 6th, 7th and 8th grade teacher.

Lamar attends the College of William and Mary, where he will be a senior in the fall.
He is majoring in Hispanic Studies.

“I picked Hispanic studies as my major because I thought it felt like something good to do. Also, very few students at my school study Hispanic Studies,” Lamar said.

Even though he studies the Hispanic culture, he has always taught Math at Breakthrough.

Some students consider him to be very energetic.

‘‘I’m so energetic because I’m really passionate about the program and I know that the kids respond to you when your energetic, and I want them to be happy so they can come back to Breakthrough the next year,’’ Lamar said.

His students know him very well. Lamar’s student Daniel Thrower said she thinks “Lamar knows how to communicate well with his students.” She also thinks Lamar is funny, intelligent, and crazy in a good way, smart nice and compassionate.

Julina Gonzalez, another one of Lamar’s 7th grade students, said she thinks “Lamar is a fun teacher and if you have a question he will try his best to answer it even if he doesn’t know the answer.”


Lamar Shambley is truly Mr. Breakthrough.

A New Face at BT - Meet Mehkai West

By Kiana Reaves
Features Writer

New student Mehkai West is a 6th grader coming to us from the state of Maryland.

“I’m more than excited to be here,” Mehkai said. He said his aunt was influential in his being here.

“My aunt told my mom I should come here,” Mehkai said.

Mehkai said he wanted to come to Breakthrough to get smart on a whole new level. His favorite subject is Math.

On his free time, Mehkai enjoys playing basketball, baseball, and soccer.

“Mehkai is a good kid,” said Brian Thoby. Brian said he thinks Mehkai will be staying here for a long time.

6th grade English teacher Jason Wallace also said he thinks Mehkai is a good kid to have in the program.

“He’s quiet, always does his work, and he participates,” Jason said.

Taylor Jared was chosen by Site Director Jamael Stewart to be Mehkai’s “pilot,” which means he automatically was in all of her classes.

“It feels weird having a kid following me all the time” she said. Though the 6th grader was uneasy about having someone follow her to all of her classes, she realized she had to be chosen to be his pilot for a reason.

“I feel Jamael picked me because I am a leader,” Taylor said.