ACES Faces Feature: Meet Kenneth
For Kenneth, ACES is more than just an after-school program. It’s a place where sports, math, and creativity come together in the best way possible. A 5th grader at Community of Peace Academy with a love for basketball and an enthusiasm for learning, Kenneth brings energy and curiosity to every ACES activity. His Program Coordinator, Kou, has seen him grow in confidence throughout his time in ACES. “Kenneth is very bright, energetic, kind, welcoming, and positive. He is always looking for ways to challenge himself. When he isn’t sure, he doesn’t give up. He asks the right questions and, in turn, supports his friends.”
One of Kenneth’s favorite activities? The play-based projects ACES offers, especially the baseball-themed play. “My favorite thing about ACES is probably the activities that we do, like the play,” he shares. It’s the longer activity and “it’s just real fun.” He also loved the mini-golf project, where students designed their own course. “Before we started building the course, we all made our own part of it.” They used teamwork once they started on the course, he explains. “It took a few days or a week, so it felt worth it, and it was fun to play with.”
Through these hands-on projects, Kenneth has discovered new ways to apply what he’s learning in school. “It’s helped me a lot because it teaches me different strategies,” he says of ACES’s math lessons. He even used geometry skills while playing mini golf on a field trip this year. “When the ball went into different positions, I used a different angle to hit it.”
Sports have always been a big part of Kenneth’s life as he’s played basketball for five years, usually as a defensive player. ACES has helped him see the connection between sports and math in new ways, like in the "combine" activity, where students calculated their vertical jumps and full-court run speeds. “ACES is a really fun after-school program because you get to go on field trips and you do lots of activities and sports and math, too,” he says.
Kenneth’s mom, Cleo Heu, loves seeing how engaged he is with ACES. “ACES is a fun program that Kenneth enjoys being a part of. He is always talking about his day at ACES, the various things he gets to do, and the things he’s working on, especially being able to earn ACES bucks.” Kenneth has already put his hard-earned ACES bucks to good use, buying a notebook for drawing.
When asked what he would tell a friend about ACES, Kenneth sums it up perfectly, “It’s a fun after-school program, and it includes math and sports. The math there is really fun, and once you’ve earned it, you earn ACES bucks that you get to spend at the ACES store.”
With his determination, creativity, and love for learning, Kenneth is a great example of what ACES is all about—building confidence, strengthening skills, and having fun along the way!