On the 21^st October, the Freshman Honors English class from River View HS took a trip to CBC in Pasco, for the Mid-Columbia College Fair.  The 21 students spent the morning touring around the fair, having the opportunity to speak to over 50 colleges and universities from around the country.  The fair allowed the students to get an idea of the different types of institutions and get a little insight into their locations and the courses that they have on offer.

During lunch it was great to hear the students talk about their plans for after HS and the different locations that they want to apply to for school.  The fair gave them an increased interest in attending higher education, and broadened their horizons for the different types of degrees that they can obtain.

For the 3rd year running, Finley GEAR UP has sent students to WSU Pullman for Cougar Quest Summer camp. This year 9 students attended the middle school week, and 5 went to high school week during two weeks in July. The students were given the opportunity to spend the week on the Pullman campus, staying in the student dorms and taking part in many fun filled workshops. With over 275 students from all over the country attending each camp, there was plenty of new people to meet. The days at the camp were split up into workshops and then an evening activity that everyone takes part in. The workshops offer a mixture of fun and educational activities that include Sword Play, Peak Performance Fitness Training, Fish Study, Pet Vet and CSI DNA tracking. The evening activities ranged from spending the evening swimming and exercising in the Rec. Center, one of the largest in the country to group games on the Mooseberry athletics track. The camps were thoroughly enjoyed by all the students that attended, with all of them saying they would love to go back next year.  The Finley students said that the time they spent on campus has encouraged them to make it a goal to attend college in the future. With most of them saying they want to go to WSU when they finish high school. 

Cougar Quest is a residential academic summer camp for highly capable students on the Washington State University campus in Pullman. The camp is designed to meet the educational and social needs of young college-bound students entering grades 7 through 12.

Bertha Mendoza was one of the first participants to sign up for Abriendo Puertas.  She is a mother of 6 boys, 5 of which are currently living with her in Finley, WA.  Bertha was recommended to the program by the Migrant Program facilitator.  Bertha is a self motivated people person.  She was born and raised in Mexico.  Today, some of her immediate family still resides in Mexico.  After completion of the Abriendo Puertas program (3 lesson series) Bertha feels more comfortable contacting the school for information regarding her 5 sons.  In addition, Bertha has agreed to help facilitate future lessons.  She has the personality and potential to reach many other parents with this amazing parent outreach program.

Alfredo Tapia-Ambriz was a new student to Finley Middle School at the start of the 2008-2009 year.  He was a transfer student directly from Michoacan, Mexico.  He did not know any english and only had 1 period daily in ELL.  GEAR UP received requests from core subject teachers requesting tutoring services for this monolingual student. 

A GEAR UP tutor was placed with Alfredo.  He has been receiving GEAR UP tutoring for the last 4 months.  He has made leaps and bounds academically and is slowly integrating himself with other students of all grade levels.  An example of academic achievement would be how he was able to raise his math grade from a 52% in March to an 80% in May.  Alfredo's eagerness to learn and attentive attitude in the classroom has helped him overcome the adversity of being monlingual.

In addition, Alfredo's mom Audelia is an active participant in the parent to parent outreach model Abriendo Puertas.  The information Alfredo's mom has gained from this program will continue to benefit his educational experience.