Wilson Middle School students have celebrated creativity, shared pizza and pages, and taken a peek down "the road less traveled" through AIM Institute's Talent Search program this fall. Through this federally funded program, AIM provides college-preparation programs and services to these Council Bluffs Community School District students, who have the potential to become the first in their families to attend college. 

Celebrate Creativity Conference

 
On Nov. 6th , 111 Wilson band and choir students attended the one-day Celebrate Creativity conference, sponsored by the Talent Search program, Joslyn Art Museum and the Omaha Symphony. Students participated in a variety of one-hour workshops throughout the day. The objective of the conference was to inspire students to think creatively, learn about different careers and appreciate the arts through active engagement.

Students designed their own pop-up art, tried their hands at a variety of percussion instruments, practiced Taekwondo maneuvers, learned magic tricks, danced, juggled, toured the Mexican Folk Art Exhibit, and even learned how to project their voices when singing. The Wilson students then joined 300 other students from across the Metro area in the Joslyn auditorium, where the Omaha Symphony demonstrated how music sets the tone in movies. 

When asked what they learned from the experience, one student responded, "Everything has the beauty of art in it." More than 70 percent of the students rated the conference as being "above average" to "excellent."

Pizza and Pages

For six weeks during the months of October and November, parents and students met in the Wilson library every Tuesday evening to share dinner and their thoughts about their favorite book. They read one of four popular books: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen, Abduction by Peg Kehret, and Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen.

They talked about the story lines, the plots and what they liked and disliked about the characters. They ate pizza, enjoyed each others company in small groups, and rated the program as “excellent." The Talent Search program will sponsor Pizza and Pages again in January. 

Taking the Road Less Traveled

Each year Iowa State University offers middle school girls the opportunity to attend a one-day non-traditional career conference. This year the Talent Search program sponsored 45 Wilson girls to attend the conference. Although a long day — the girls hopped on the bus heading to Ames at 5:30 a.m. and arrived back home 12 hours later — they thoroughly enjoyed the experience, chosing from an eclectic set of career breakout sessions:

• Entomology – A Career about What’s Bugging You
• What Does a Conservation Officer Do?
• Where Does a Candy Bar Come From?
• Women in Medicine
• Engineering in Everyday Life

They met girls from across Iowa, toured the campus and had lunch in the cafeteria.  Ninety-five percent of the girls rated the day as being "above average" to "excellent."

Other Wilson Talent Search Programs:

• Art Club
• Rock n Write
• E-sports
• Outdoor Adventure
• Peer-to-Peer Helpers
• MathCounts
• Solar Car Club

Contact Nadine Baker, AIM Talent Search Grant Manager at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information about Wilson's after-school programs.