Regent Park Focus

On Friday, February 21 st , we shot the first episode of Boys 2 Men What Makes You A Man for Regent Park TV. The focus of this show is to challenging the common notions of masculinity. The topic that was discussed were issues surrounding ones self-worth Vs. ones self-concept. Our host Horace Spence alongside our panelist Travis Anthony, Ronnie Rowe, and Tha CaptialE shared there views on this topic. The production team involved with filming this episode was Adonis, Isaac, Emanuel, Tyrone and Mark. On Thursday, march 13 th , we shot the second episode of Boys 2 Men was show, What Makes You A Man for Regent Park TV . This is a show where we discuss and challenge common notion of male masculinity. The topic of this show was the “Be a Man” statement. Our host Horace Spence along side our guest Travis Anthony had a great discussion about the effects the “Be A Man” statement has in the male community. Our production team included Mark, Nicole, Immanuel, Pierce, and Joshua. ...

This week, the boyz2men met up again on Wednesday. The boys continued to be working on their ‘ photo shopped ’ self portraits. Some of the boys learned to shade using oil pastels, and made excellent colored drawings of outfits and mystical creatures, such as a fire face dragon. As usual we took a break for some delicious sandwiches and snacks as treats for the boys' participation. After that we then sat around the table as a whole to do some quick exercises in which we did mark-making drawings to how we feel with certain music. We then collaged the mark-making drawings to make a background for the self portrait. -Hareem Qureshy

Last Wednesday, the boyz2men group started a new workshop, with an artist-teacher, Hareem. The project was, or rather is, for the boyz to take a quick peek into the future and create a photoshopped self portrait of how they see themselves at the age of 30.   Last week, we started some quick drawings individually (which were very well made) of our role-models, and then of our selves. Along with our future goals, we discussed personality traits we aspire to have. Mustafa’s role model was his friend, who play soccer with him, where as Lam had a bit of pinpointing one specific role model, but could say with absolute surety that when he grew up and got rich, he would not become snooty- and would always share what he has, and always donate to those in need. After a yummy snack, the boys looked at some examples similar to what is expected of them. We then moved into the computer lab, and begun our self portraits. It was here that the aspiring entrepreneurial CEO, Basboos, began digit...

This week at Boyz 2 Men, we figured that it was time to practice what we have been preaching, and set out to the basketball courts to get some healthy exercise. After a lot of big talk, sibling rivalries and friendly competition were on display in an intense matchup involving the majority of our Boyz 2 Men crew. Though there were some excellent individual efforts, and a handful of highlight reel plays from some of the older boys, the teams that passed well and used all of their players on offense were the ones that had the most success. Jerry put on a clinic while he was on a team with Said in a showdown against Natnael, Noor and Nazmul. It was a close game, with Natnael keeping the boys in it, but eventually the two man team of Jerry and Said came out on top in a close 10-8 final when Said hit the long jumper to win it. After finishing up on the courts, Jerry and the boys headed over to grab some celebratory pizza and recap the game. They all agreed that it was good to finally get ...

This week, the boys got a treat. Through a partnership between Focus and Rainbow Cinemas, the boys had the opportunity to go to the movies for free! Since it was the boys were on March break we were able to go to an afternoon showing of "Jack the Giant Slayer". Before we left, some of the boys thought that the movie was intended for a bit of a younger audience, but most enjoyed it when we talked about it in discussions afterwards. Their reactions included "It was sick because of the action but the ending was kind of dull". Some of the boys also thought that the war scene could have been more dramatic. They all liked the action and the special effects that were used with the giants in the movie. Some of the boys were surprised that there weren't more fight scenes between Jack and the Giant, as it sounded like in the title, while other boys felt that some scenes were too predictable and reminded them of a lot of movies that they have seen before. The boys...

Today at Boyz 2 Men, Natnael and Basboos completed their comic life strips on healthy eating as the other boys offered their guesses at nutrition trivia that Amar from Toronto Public Health put together. The boys were very surprised when they heard that drinking a large milkshake can often be higher in calories and fat content than eating 4 hamburgers. They also couldn't believe that some soft drinks contain between 10-12 teaspoons of sugar and often have more caffeine than a cup of coffee! After we did our trivia, we talked about the way that you could order a pizza to make sure that it was healthier option than usual. We talked about getting our pizza to be made with whole wheat crust and ordering vegetables instead of toppings that were loaded with nitrates like pepperonis and salami. After our chat, we chowed down on a nutritious snack and we wrapped up another informative session of Boyz 2 Men.  Brian Bigioni

Today the boys continued their exploration into healthy eating habits, and did some work on their comic strips. We were lucky enough to have Amar from Toronto Public Health in once again to answer any of the questions that the boys had, and to establish what they would like to learn about in future sessions.  After the discussion, some of the boys worked on turning the pictures that they had taken in their camera assignments into comic strips. Together with Jerry, they thought of sequences and stories behind their photos, as well as tag lines and dialogue to go along with their different scenes. Stay tuned for updates and postings of how the boys did with their cameras and the stories they came up with!  Brian 

Today the boys had the opportunity to participate in a healthy eating workshop facilitated by Jorge Ginieniewicz   from the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health. They started out by drawing all of the healthy and unhealthy foods that they could think of. From there, Jorge lead the boys through a discussion about some common misconceptions around healthy foods and eating habits. Although the boys were disappointed to hear that some of their favorite foods were grouped into the unhealthy section, they all seemed to agree that they felt better after they had eaten a nutritious meal, rather than a fast food option.  After the group discussion, Jerry prepared a nutritious snack for the boys. The boys then discussed whether they felt it qualified as a "healthy" snack or not. After thanking Jorge for leading us through the workshop, the boys did a quick clean-up and left for the night.   Brian

Today at Boyz 2 Men, the boys had a great time getting to know the cameras that they will be taking home to begin their comic strips on healthy eating. After a brief explanation about how they were to document the food they will be eating and turn it into a story and comic strip, we discussed their responsibilities with the cameras. The boys then had an opportunity to take some pictures of each other and the healthy snack that Jerry prepared, before talking about their ideas that they had about the topics for their mini-projects. The boys left talking about what they were planning on documenting with the cameras and were eager to show that they could handle the responsibilities of working with the cameras on their own time.   Brian

Today at Boyz 2 Men, the boys had a great time getting to know the cameras that they will be taking home to begin their comic strips on healthy eating. After a brief explanation about how they were to document the food they will be eating and turn it into a story and comic strip, we discussed their responsibilities with the cameras. The boys then had an opportunity to take some pictures of each other and the healthy snack that Jerry prepared, before talking about their ideas that they had about the topics for their mini-projects. The boys left talking about what they were planning on documenting with the cameras and were eager to show that they could handle the responsibilities of working with the cameras on their own time.

Today the Boys2Men group was very active physical as well as cognitively in there thinking on the topic on Resiliency. They learn that resiliency is the social academic competence, despite exposure to severe stress. It is important for these young boys to develop this skill at an early age to build up the ability to solve problems, being self-motivation, self-awareness, assertiveness, a sense of duty to self and others, and the capacity for reflection and meaning making. The facilitator discussed life skills and self-control in coping with physical impulses such as anger, in a school setting based on school lifestyle in dealing with daily challenges. She also brought some balloons and asked the youth to blow air into the balloon and match it with how resilient they are and what scenarios they had shown resiliency. Some of the boys showed how big and massive their balloon was to match their resiliency levels, others showed in the medium average. They were asked what kind of strategie...

This week, the Boyz to Men program had a very enthusiastic day. This week the boys were excited because they were reunited with their first program facilitator Jerry. This week the boys participated in many group activities. The first game they played was called "Group Juggle". The objective of the game was for the boys to be able to pass a ball around in the circle using their legs to their peers. At first it was tricky, but finally the boys got the hang of it and were able to pass it around in the circle without dropping it. Jerry decided to challenge the boys, he asked them to close their eyes and pass it to their peers, you were only allowed to open your eyes once you passed the ball off. The purpose of closing their eyes was to teach the boys not only teamwork ship but to enhance trust in one another. Next on the agenda the boys played a game called "Variations on Chairs". The objective of the game was to have one chair less than the amount of peopl...

On Thursday November 22nd 2012, the Boys to Men program had a very productive and inspirational day. The theme for this week was for the boys to make a poster of who their role model is and why they look up to that person. The boys were told that they could either work on project in groups or individually. All of the boys used the internet to look up pictures of their role models, if they could not find them in the magazine that were provided for this activity. Staff then printed the selected pictures, that the boys used to create their posters.    The boys went on the create very creative and interesting posters. The boys were also expected to explain why they look up to that person.The boys were so focused on their posters, some boys were also very detail oriented they researched more information about their role model, so they could have accurate information on their posters. When all the boys were successfully done with their posters, all the members of the Boys to ...

On Thursday November 15th, 2012 the Boyz to Men program continued working on their posters using Comic Life 2, to define what masculinity is in their own eyes. This week was really exciting we had 2 new members joining us to take part in the Boyz to Men program. Comic Life 2 is a program that is used around the world not only for recreational purposes, but educational purposes too. With Comic Life 2, the users get the opportunity to take their creative ideas to the next level. To start off the program this week, we had a brief discussion with the Boys about if they remember what masculinity is, define it, and explain why they view masculinity that way. The boys were so focused and motivated that they all started their masculinity posters, and successfully completed them in one session of the Boyz to Men program meeting. When all the boys were completely done, the boys got the chance to express themselves, and explain why they designed their poster the way they did. Each...

Yay! Congratulations, you did it, the boys made it to their last week of their fitness challenge with their trainer Angela. The boys were really sad that the fitness challenge, had come to an end. The Boyz to Men group successfully completed their 4 week fitness challenge without any sore or broken bones. The boys have physically grown, and have improved and have shown so much progression over the past 4 weeks. On the last day Angela put the boys to the test, she quizzed the boys on the how to properly stretch , the proper names of the muscles in the human body, and how to eat healthy. The boys knew every single answer right off the bat, and when one member was stumbling, another group member would come to the rescue, and help out his fellow peer. To wrap everything up the boys as well as Angela were interviewed by Emmanuel the video coordinator. The boys showed true team player qualities from start to finish and really enjoyed themselves, and hope in the near future to participate...

On Thursday October 18th, the Boys to Men group entered the second week of their fitness challenge with their trainer Angela. This week the boys competed against one another to see if they could improve on a series of exercises that they had done last week. After the fitness challenge it was time to for a fun and relaxing activities. Before the end of the boys fitness challenge, they were put on the spot when asked a couple questions about the muscles in their body that they learned last week. Even though some of them were very tricky the Boys got an A+ for paying attention to what they had learned last week. At the end of the day a few of the boys were video interviewed by staff member Emmanuel, to see how the boys felt about their second week of the fitness challenge. He asked questions such as; "What they liked/disliked about the challenge?" "Did they successfully improve on their previous amount of exercise?" "And what they learned that day?" - ...

On Thursday October 18th, the Boys to Men group entered the second week of their fitness challenge with their trainer Angela. This week the boys competed against one another to see if they could improve on a series of exercises that they had done last week. After the fitness challenge it was time to for a fun and relaxing activities. Before the end of the boys fitness challenge, they were put on the spot when asked a couple questions about the muscles in their body that they learned last week. Even though some of them were very tricky the Boys got an A+ for paying attention to what they had learned last week. At the end of the day a few of the boys were video interviewed by staff member Emmanuel, to see how the boys felt about their second week of the fitness challenge. He asked questions such as; "What they liked/disliked about the challenge?" "Did they successfully improve on their previous amount of exercise?" "And what they learned that day?" - Da...

On Thursday October 4 th 2012, the Boys to Men’s group had a very fun and exciting day. The boy’s went to the movie theatre to watch Hotel Transylvania.   The movie is about monster’s that have their own hotel, and have the freedom to be themselves, without having to fear humans coming there. The movie takes a spin when a human stumbles into the hotel, and falls in love with one of the monsters. Throughout the movie the father tries to destroy their love because they are different. In the end he begins to accept that they are different. The moral of the story is acceptance, and at the Boys to Men group, we try our best to teach the boys to be accepting of others, even when they’re different. - Danielle A.

The Boys to Men group is a program for male youths ages 9-13 at the Regent Park Media Arts Centre, every Thursday. Last week the Boys to Men group got to visit the new Regent Park Arts and Cultural Centre. The boys got to see some of the art work that would be displayed at the Nuit Blanche event that were done by some of their fellow peers. The boys really enjoyed themselves. This outing gave the boys an opportunity to see how other people and cultures perceive artwork. - Danielle A.

This week the Boys 2 Men crew had a very relaxing day. We had chosen to watch a film called “Blind Side”. We thought it would be a great idea for a masculinity theme and the struggles of youth in poverty. It was a favourite amongst the boys group in which they were able to relate to the story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family. - Jerry Z