Amazon.com Wish List

'Tis the season when people begin asking us what we need here at the center! To those of you that choose to give, we have made it very easy for you! We have updated our Amazon.com wish list with most of the items we need. Items purchased online will be shipped directly to the center. Just click the button below and it will take you straight to our list!



Additionally, we have listed some other items we are in need of on the left side of our blog.

We appreciate all you have done for us this year!

Our Thankgiving Dinner

We decided to post early this week so everyone could see pictures of our Thanksgiving dinner last Tuesday. A very generous person donated money so that we could provide our children with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Each child was treated to turkey, potatoes, gravy, corn, cranberry sauce, and biscuits! They were also able to take a bag of food home so that their families could also enjoy a traditional American meal. It was nice to sit down as a "family" and break bread together!

After dinner, the children viewed their THANKSgiving video. They were very excited to see what they were thankful for on the big screen!

Our THANKSgiving Video!

Here is our much-anticipated THANKSgiving video! Our students, staff, and volunteers were asked to write down what they were thankful for in less than four words, although some cheated a little. We photographed those words and created this video.

As we reflect on what we are thankful for, we are reminded that we cannot serve this community without all of the support and love you show! Thank you so much!

We wish you and yours a safe and restful Thanksgiving! Enjoy the video!

Find us on Facebook!

If you are a member of Facebook, you can now communicate and keep up with us at the center that way too! We have created a "group", so you can find us by searching for the "CWA-Cayce Learning Center".

We will post events, pictures, and discussions for you to participate in on our group page!

Volunteer Spotlight: Sumaiya

Name: Sumaiya Hossain

Volunteer Since: Since 2005 with Vanderbuddies, but also volunteered my junior and senior years of high school.

What you do as a volunteer: Help students with homework

How I found out about the center: From my older brother and sister, who volunteered at CWA with Vanderbuddies

My favorite part about being a volunteer is… getting to spend time with the students. They're so much fun and I have a great time getting to know them while helping them with their homework.

My least favorite part about being a volunteer is… Being a volunteer is great, but I hate having to cancel or miss a week of volunteering at CWA if I have tests or something else come up.

My favorite memory is… hmm I have too many! But I guess one of my favorites is when I was in the computer lab with some of the middle school students and we spent the entire time on disney.com listening to High School Musical songs!

I would encourage someone else to take the leap and volunteer because… volunteering not only helps the student and the volunteer learn, but it's also really fun. Volunteering at CWA is especially fun because the students are awesome. They're really funny and smart and they make volunteering every week something I really look forward to!

Book Club

This semester, several of our elementary students are participating in a "Book Club". Each week, students read a chapter of a book that they picked out as a group and report back on their reading.

Here are some of their observations about the book...
My favorite part was "when Jack and Annie squinted at the pyramid wall." -- Shamsi, 3rd grade
What I didn't like about this chapter was "when Annie gives Jack a little push." -- Rahama, 3rd grade
In the next chapter I think "they will find the mummies." -- Shamsa, 3rd grade

The children involved in Book Club have become very independent and enjoy facilitating on their own. They remain focused and very engaged each Tuesday afternoon.

Shamsi, Shamsa, and Rahama enjoy sipping water from teacups while discussing their books.