Balanced Life Skills Martial Arts

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Here are four of our students who have raised money for and shaved their heads in support of finding cures for childhood cancer.  We are very proud of them for finding ways to make a difference their community.

All of our 5/6 Lil’ Dragons learn to jump rope as a part of our coordination drills.  This is a great story as told by Evan’s mom about jumping rope and service to our community.

Evan participated in Jump Rope for Heart this year at school.  Last year he went and was very frustrated that he could not jump rope well.  This year, he was incredibly excited about the event, ready to show off his advanced jump roping skills (thanks you balanced life!).  It was a wonderful experience for him and increased his self esteem.  Because he was so excited for the event, he wanted to participate in the fundraising aspect of it, raising money for the American Heart Association.  (Btw, I told him that I did not want to request donations from anyone at BLS because it was the same time as his cereal box drive and I explained how important it was to not ask for too much.)  We went online and talked to friends and family about what he was doing.  Evan raised $445, more than anyone else at his school.  His sister even contributed $5 of her money to support the fundraising efforts!  Overall, it was an incredible opportunity for him to shine in many aspects.  I believe that most of what he gained from this experience grew as an extension of what you teach at BLS and I wanted to thank you for that.
Evan W. jumps rope Here’s a video of some of the more complicated jump roping he was doing that day.

Thursday morning I attended the weekly South Anne Arundel County Rotary Club meeting.  Each week there is a speaker and this week the speaker was from the AA County School System, Lynne Weise.  She is with Student Support Services and works with and for those students who are homeless.  Did you you know that in Anne Arundel County we have as of yesterday, 948 students who are homeless?

Here are some facts on children and youth who are homeless from the University of Maryland:

• one in 50 children in the United States experience homelessness each year
• less that 16% of elegible pre-school children are enrolled in school.
• 42% of homeless children transfer schools at least once a year and 51% of these students will transfer twice or more.
• Every time any student transfers schools their GPA will drop 10%.
• Less than 25% of homeless children will graduate from high school

In AA County about 98% of the funds Student Support Services has is spent on busing and trying to keep students in a single school.  There are many groups that work on being sure that they have food with breakfast programs and weekend food programs like Bountiful Backpacks.  Still there are so many other events and possibilities that are not available for children and students who are without homes.

As an individual or a group anyone can sponsor a student for a particular need.  There are some students in South County that would like to take drivers ed – but cannot – due to funds.  There are many needs and opportunities.   Want to learn more or learn how you can help?  Call 410-222-5326 and speak to Lynne Weise, who is the Homeless Education Liaison – Student Support Services. You can email her also at tweise@aacps.org

Student Workshop: Bully Prevention & Healthy Relationships

We are pleased to announce that this summer Balanced Life Skills will be conducting workshops for students on bully prevention with a focus on relationships and friendship.   Each workshop will be gender specific and age specific.

For Today’s Parents:

Creating a Culture of Peace in our Schools and Community

Information every parent should have on what is bullying and why we must not ignore it.  We will discuss the effects on every child, and why children do not tell their parents it is happening.  We will also discuss what to do if your child is the bully, bullied or is a follower.

Dates for this workshop are Monday May 7th or Wednesday May 16th at 6:30 PM

If you are interested please call us at 410-263-0050

Parent workshop will be FREE

For Today’s Girls & Young Women:

It’s not just girls being girls.  It has a name: Relational Aggression

This workshop will be age appropriate  and focus on relational aggression.   The lessons will equip girls with an understanding of the language of peer aggression, including the roles that are played out, and the steps needed to develop healthy, inclusive friendships.  Our goal is to raise awareness about the nature of and the impact of relational aggression on the lives of young women.   This is a great program for girl scout groups from Daisy to Senior & Ambassador.  Here are the dates and age groups for the girls program.

Monday – Wednesday July 9-11  10 AM to 1 PM     Kindergarten and First grade girls and boys combined

Monday – Wednesday July 16-18  10 AM to 1 PM     Second and Third Grade Girls

Monday – Wednesday July 30-August 1  10 AM to 1 PM     Fourth and Fifth Grade Girls

Monday – Wednesday August 13-15  10 AM to 1 PM        Middle School Girls

They will explore how aggression affect their lives, how social norms impact decisions, what is friendship, what makes an effective leader, and digital citizenship.  Each workshop will be $75

For Today’s Boys & Young Men:

Reduce Aggression, Increase Self Empowerment

This workshop will be age appropriate  and focus on relational aggression and bullying.   The lessons will identify the roles of bullying situations, assess the importance of the bystander, determine the positive qualities of friendship and leadership.    This is a great program for boy scout groups from Tiger Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.  Here are the dates and age groups for the boys program.

Monday – Wednesday July 9-11  10 AM to 1 PM     Kindergarten and First grade girls and boys combined

Monday – Wednesday July 23-25  10 AM to 1 PM     Second and Third Grade Boys

Monday – Wednesday August 6 – August 8  10 AM to 1 PM     Fourth and Fifth Grade Boys

Monday – Wednesday August 20-22  10 AM to 1 PM        Middle School Boys

They will explore how bullying affect their lives, what does it mean to be a man, what is friendship, what makes an effective leader, and digital citizenship.  Each workshop will be $75

Contact us Today and reserve your spot for any of these workshops.

410-263-0050  or
Send Email

Two Evan’s both with a last name that starts with a W. and both of them 6 years old.  Oh yes and they take class together here at Balanced Life Skills.  One of them put together this service project of collecting cereal for children who do not have homes.  The box he decorated and supplied  was getting filled up and then on Saturday it got really filled.

The other Evan W.  had a birthday party and he asked his friends to bring a box of cereal to the party in lieu of gifts.  Now look at the results.  The box is flowing over and so many children will benefit.  Those children who brought in the cereal benefit too.  When they take the time think about what it would feel like not having a home or something to eat for breakfast, it makes them more aware and grateful for what they do have.

Thank  you to both Evan’s for a job well done.  A great project and a great collaboration of efforts.

Before picture!

Balanced Life Skills student is a HERO one more time.  Jimmy K. is supporting childhood cancer research by agreeing to have his hair shaved on March 11.  It would be great to support him and St. Baldricks for this good work.  This is the second time that Jimmy has participated in this event.  It is very cool when someone has a cause that they are passionate about.

Here is a link to Jimmy K. and St. Baldrick

Good job Jimmy!

For the past 5 weeks Balanced Life Skills has been seeking the support and help of local businesses and individuals in our efforts to support teens from Anne Arundel County who find themselves in foster care. There are over 100 teens in foster care who in our opinion deserve to have a nice Christmas this year. Over the last couple of years we have been able to give them a gift card or two for them to take to the store and find something that they would like to have.

This year has been a bit more difficult and we are appealing to all in our area to help us in this final week to provide a small gift card to each of these teens. I have attached a letter and form for making a contribution either by cash or gift card for this very worthy endeavor. Foster Teens request

Thank you for your assistance and please share this request with others.  A small donation by many will be the way we make a difference in the lives of these young boys and girls.

On Friday October 14,  the Grants 4 Teachers advisory board met and discussed the largest number of grant request ever made to this fund.  There were 54 grant requests for over $23,000 for all kinds of projects and materials needed by teachers to do an extraordinary job.

Each year G4T has two cycles of grant funding that takes place, filling needs for special field trips, supplying community service materials for classrooms, musical instruments and many other items that keep teachers from reaching their hands into their own pockets for that project.  It is estimated that every school teacher spends about $1000.00 every year of their own money for their classroom.

G4T wants the teachers of Anne Arundel County to know that we value them as one of the most important resources we have in the county.  We do this by providing some funds for those innovative, creative projects that would otherwise go without being done.

If you are a teacher in the county and have a creative way that you would like to approach a subject, please apply for a grant.  Many times we are able to combine our efforts with others that appreciate teachers and larger grants are made available.  This year we were very moved by one teacher who offered to make up the difference in the grant and what was needed themselves.  What dedication!

If you are a member of the community and would like to support our efforts to show teachers how much we appreciate them you can learn more at Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County.