NativityMiguel Coalition to Host Two-Day Professional Development Retreat in St. Louis

Starting Thursday, February 25^th, the NativityMiguel Coalition will be hosting a two-day professional development retreat in St. Louis.

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Details on the panel discussion “Generation Rap: A Conversation about Race across Generations” at De Smet

Make plans to attend a panel discussion entitled “Generation Rap: A Conversation about Race across Generations.” This event will be at De Smet Jesuit High School in the theater on Wednesday, February 24^th, from 5:00pm to 7:00 pm.

The panel is made up of African American male students and adults, ages 16 through 70, who will respond to questions taken from video vignettes related to race.

Panelist will include: De Smet Students – Kendall Fields, Ray Stewart, and Shawn Taylor; Mr. Nick McDowell – Graduate Support Director @ Most Holy Trinity; Mr. Elbert Williams – Graduate Support Director @ Loyola Academy; Mr. Chris Bryant – De Smet Class of 1995; Lieutenant Juan Cox of the St. Louis County Police Department; Mr. Len Jacobs – De Smet Jesuit Diversity Committee Member; and Mr. Roger Webb – Negro League Baseball Historian.

This is a fantastic panel and a rare opportunity to listen to and learn from three generations of men at one time! For the flyer, please click here.

We are excited to recognize Urive M. for our ACCESS Academies Student Spotlight program!

• Grade: 7^th
  Urive has attended St. Cecilia since Kindergarten!
• Favorite Teacher: “I like them all, but Ms. Vogt really stands out.”
• Favorite Subject: Math
  “I like Math because you are going to need it the most in the future.”

• Current Academy Electives: Mosaics, Leadership, Printmaking, and Yearbook
• Favorite Academy Elective: “All are my favorite as you get to do a lot of different stuff. I like being active and learning more, doing more.”
• Future Career Aspirations: “I would like to be a professional soccer player, and then after my soccer career is over, I would like to be an engineer.”
• More on Soccer: “I play for St. Cecilia and a select team, Ajax. We finished indoor soccer and we are going to start outdoor soccer in the spring.”
• Favorite Memory of School: Field Days.
  “Mostly we go to Carondelet park and have fun with our teams by playing different games like tug-o-war.”
• Achievements/Accomplishments: In addition to Honor Roll, and an academic scholarship, Urive’s poem was recently selected as the winner of the 7th Grade Poetry Contest.
• High School: Urive is currently considering SLUH, Vianney, or Bishop DuBourg.
• Reason Nominated: Urive is a very hard worker. He goes above and beyond class expectations and keeps detailed notes and shows great study skills.  He has all A’s and B’s for the 3rd Quarter.  His poem was recently selected as the winner of the 7th Grade Poetry Contest.  He will go on to present his poem with other 7th graders across the city of St. Louis in the Spring.  He is a talented athlete and a wonderful caring big brother.

 

 

We are excited to recognize Talyiah H. for our ACCESS Academies Student Spotlight program!

• Grade: 7^th grade
  Talyiah has been a student at MHT since the fifth grade!

• Teacher: Mr. Cherry
• Favorite Subject: Mathematics
  “I like being challenged. We just took a test on Algebraic expressions.”

• Current Academy Electives: STEP, Praise Dance, Music-Choir, and Crochet Club
  Talyiah is actively involved with MHT, and performed in the school’s talent show. She also has two upcoming events this spring- a praise dance performance and a fashion show.
• Favorite Academy Elective: Music
  “I love to sing, and have been singing since I was able to talk. I sing outside of school for choir my church, Galilee Missionary Baptist Church.”
  It should also be noted that Talyiah is a soprano!

• Future Career Aspirations: gospel singer or lawyer
  Why lawyer? “My uncle is a lawyer and I like to argue.”
• Favorite Memory of School: “My favorite memory was when I sang ‘Hero’ by Mariah Carey with another student for last year’s graduation.”
• Achievements/Accomplishments: Scholarships for grades and honor roll
• Prospective High Schools: I am considering Nerinx Hall, Ursuline, Rosati, & IWA.

“Most Holy Trinity is a great school and it will help you succeed and the teachers/staff are determined to help you graduate.”

We are excited to recognize Montrell R. for our ACCESS Academies Student Spotlight program!

• Grade: 8^th grade
  Montrell has been at St. Louis the King for the past five years!
• Teacher: Ms. McDonald
• Favorite Subject: Literature, English, and Science.
  “We are learning about ‘The Bronze Bow’ in Literature. I like the details, but don’t like the stuff about slavery and what characters say about other people.”
  “My favorite science experiment was making fire using baking soda, lighter fluid, and cane sugar.”
• Current Academy Electives: Building Futures, Public Speaking, Man Up, and ACT Test Prep
• Favorite Academy Elective: “Man Up because it is fun. We learn, talk about stuff, and sometimes go to the basketball court.”
• Future Career Aspirations: “I like the idea of directing movies.”
• Additional Achievements/Accomplishments: Honor Roll
• High School: Accepted to Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School!

Extended Day Program at Most Holy Trinity Fosters Intellectual Growth through Chess

ST. LOUIS, MO. February 12, 2016 – For the past three years, Mr. Don Cherry, an Academy teacher at Most Holy Trinity School & Academy, has taught chess to middle school students as part of ACCESS’s extended school day enrichment program.

“Chess is an interest of mine, and I think it is a great mind-expanding activity for the students. It makes them plan ahead versus taking just their next step,” said Cherry.

The benefits of chess in education are widely-noted, including enhanced critical thinking and complex reasoning skills as well as heightened problem solving and decision making skills. In fact, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis commissioned a Literature Review in 2014 that “examined the degree to which existing empirical evidence supports the theory that participation in chess programs, whether designed as in-school or after-school programs, resulted in improved academic, cognitive, and/or behavioral outcomes for school-aged children.” The findings of the review found that both the after-school and in-school chess programs had a “positive and statistically significant impact on student mathematics outcomes,” and the in-school chess programs had a “positive and statistically significant impact on student cognitive outcomes.”

At Most Holy Trinity, student gather in the school’s science lab every Monday to hone their skills by playing two to three matches.

“I taught an introduction to chess at the beginning of the year where students learned the various moves for each piece, but the real learning comes by playing. It is an excellent way to challenge them individually,” he notes.

This semester, several students will be stepping outside of the classroom and entering tournaments, with two students, Eric G. and Ian B., having signed up for the qualifying tournament at Loyola Academy this Saturday, February 13, to earn a spot at the CYC Championship Meet on March 12, 2016.

For more information regarding this release, please contact Julie Linder, Public Relations for ACCESS Academies, by calling (573) 268-0639.

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About: Founded in 2005, ACCESS (Academies Creating Challenging Education for St. Louis Students) transforms the challenging middle school years into a launching pad for high school success for socially/economically disadvantaged students in faith-based schools in St. Louis. Using the proven NativityMiguel model of education, which includes an extended school day and mandatory summer school, 98% of ACCESS graduates are accepted into college-prep high schools. After leaving middle school, the ACCESS Graduate Support Program provides tutoring, mentoring, tuition assistance, counseling and other forms of assistance to graduates through their high school years. As a result, 99% of ACCESS students graduate from high school on-time and 94% are admitted to college or other post-secondary institution.