QOP began in 2001, working with Wilkinsburg students throughout their middle and high school years. The goal of this program is to hold students accountable for their actions and support them through graduation. After school three days a week, the QOP students come to Hosanna House to meet with Youth Advocates. During these sessions focus is on providing students with academic support through tutoring and mentoring. In addition, students are assisted with integrating their academics and life skills development into serving the community. Youth have participated in projects that are visible to the community, such as the community Christmas Party and Beautification Day. Youth Advocates visit the school daily throughout the year working in the classrooms directly with our students.

In February 2006 the QOP program will be expanded to include a Junior component. The QOP Junior program will work with 5th grade students from all three elementary schools in Wilkinsburg. Students will be mentored over serveral years and assisted with academics and life skills development. Enrollment is currently being taken for this new program. For more information, or to sign up, call 412-342-1396.

After school and in the evenings two days a week we open our facilities to the entire community for teen nights. During these periods of activity we offer teens the opportunity to participate in a variety of programs including open gym, open swimming, open computer access, robotics, general recreation (pool table, foosball, hockey, and video stations).

Every June, July and August we offer a nine weeks of safe and structured Summer Camp to children ages 6-12 years. Free breakfast and lunch is provided to all campers. Activities include:

• swimming
• arts
• drama
• music
• science
• robotics/computer classes
• field trips
• an end-of-summer musical production

In 2003 we expanded our facility by adding a 14 acre outdoor recreational camp where our camp kids can swim and play.

Hosanna House has the only public pool facilities in the community. We have two pools, one year round pool in Hosanna House and one outdoor pool at our Sherwood property. In the past year we have provided training to two of our own staff in order to expand our capacity. Both of these staff members were certified as life guards and swim instructors. We partner with the elementary schools in Wilkinsburg to provide structured swimming lessons to 4th grade students.

At Hosanna House we offer open family swim and teen swim two evenings a week, organized swim programs to outside agencies, swim instruction to elementary school students one day a week during the school day, and open swimming three days a week after school. In the summer we expand to include our camp program as well as the Boys and Girls Club and Family Support summer programs.

Our Dance and Drama program currently takes place in the Wilkinsburg elementary schools. The Dance and Drama instructor rotates on nine-week sessions through the three schools, working with 3rd grade students. Students learn different dance techniques and put together a performance for their school and the community. An after school Dance and Drama program is also offered.

Through cooperation with numerous agencies the Dance and Drama youth have participated in numerous events both in-house and throughout the surrounding communities. Some of these events include Sidney Barlow Day, Junteenth Celebration in Beaver County, Covenant Church’s Harvest Festival, Wilkinsburg’s Annual Holiday Parade and Light Up Night; Side Walk Sunday School’s Christmas, and the Celebration of Success Awards Luncheon. In addition, Dance and Drama participants have teamed up with Hosanna House’s Summer Camp and Quantum Opportunities Program to perform original musical productions at the end of summer camp.

As modern technology advances at an ever accelerating pace, especially in the crucial fields of computer and automation, there is a continuous demand for skilled and highly motivated workers. To ensure that this demand is met, technology curriculum is needed at the school level to give students insight into engineering fields and attract students to technology studies. As opposed to the traditional vocational education approach, technology curriculum at school level should discard the confined professional bias and provide an insight into engineering science. Therefore, new approaches are needed to design an appropriate modern strategy for implementing high quality technology program at school level. Robotics, being a multifaceted representation of modern science and technology, fits into this planning perfectly.

Robotics is fundamentally an applied field and its applications affect everyday life. We at Hosanna House found the focus on robotics can be an effective and exciting way for students to learn about the problem-solving strategies used by engineers in practice. In this context, the LEGO Mindstorms robotics system poses a model for creative and innovative problem solving to the complex problems attuned to contemporary industrial approaches of computer system, automation, machinery and general engineering.

For more information on any of our Youth Programs, call 412-342-1343 or email youth@hosannahouse.org.

The Youth Department is supported in part by: the Dominion Foundation, the DSF Foundation, the Grable Foundation, the Highmark Foundation, the Howard E. & Nell E. Miller Foundation, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, PNC Advisors, the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh, and the Wilkinsburg School District.