ACCESS Graduate has “Close Up” Educational Experience in Washington D.C.

The following story was published in Hallways, the official student-run newspaper of Nerinx Hall.

Nerinx Hall participated in the recent Close Up Trip in Washington D.C. from February 14th through the 18th. Six Nerinx classmates experienced a “close up” education on politics and the history of American government. Meridian McDaniel, CJ Donegan, Cassie Dawson, Kayla Arnett, Samantha Coleman, and Emilie Garza explored the monuments, museums, and memorials Washington D.C. has to offer.

During their Close Up experience, students were introduced to a variety of opinions and beliefs about different topics in government. They had the opportunity to interact with other teenagers around the country who came from places such as Iowa, Texas, Montana, California, Indiana, and New York. Before they knew it, friendships were formed and snapchats were exchanged.  Nerinx students expressed themselves in their workshops and with the instructors. Small debates were held among workshops and opinions were explained as  Nerinx girls sat in on a liberal vs. conservative debate. Their schedules were packed from 7 o’clock in the morning until 10 o’clock at night, with visits to the Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, seminars, The Library of Congress, and multiple Starbucks runs.

On Capitol Hill day, the students met with Senator Blunt and Senator McCaskill’s staff members. Here, they had the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns about government topics. The girls had a fun and informal meeting with Emma Kenyon, an alumna from Nerinx who is Senator McCaskill’s Staff Assistant. Kenyon explained how Nerinx has greatly affected her life today. She told the girls that Nerinx teaches its students to never apologize for voicing their opinions. This lesson helped her achieve a great career.

The Close Up experience would not have been possible without guidance and encouragement from Ms. McSorely. Ms McSorely’s passion and excitement for the Close Up Program encouraged Nerinx students to step outside of their comfort zones and interact with other students around the country. Close Up is a thrilling educational adventure. So, bring out the blazers and Hunter Boots and represent Nerinx on Close Up next year!

A Close Up Experience

ACCESS is excited to welcome Jesuit Father Paul Sheridan to the Board of Directors

In 1977, Fr. Sheridan decided that he’d seen the promise of too many young lives extinguished by negative factors and decided to found an organization that would help children reach their potential through a holistic, whole-person, “arms-around” approach. He called the organization Boys Hope, and placed children in the top-rated schools best suited to their needs. He set high expectations—and gave his scholars everything they needed to meet them. As word of the program grew, interest in the program also grew, and Boys Hope expanded into Boys Hope|Girls Hope, encompassing 17 homes around the country and in Latin America.  After almost two decades of service, he retired in 1996.

From 1996-2005, Fr. Sheridan served as the president of St. Louis University High School. During his tenure at SLUH, Fr. Sheridan taught theology and coached the C-baseball team, in addition to his responsibilities as president. Perhaps his greatest achievement as president was to conceptualize VISION 2000, a community-wide endeavor that provided the strategy to secure the future of SLUH, beginning in 1997. This comprehensive campaign, which surpassed its $32-million goal, has made enhancements in the following areas: academics, technology and student life services; scholarship and debt retirement programs; community and campus development; and competitive, on-campus athletic facilities.

While at SLUH, he also helped to found Loyola Academy, a Jesuit middle school for boys in St. Louis that follows the Jesuits’ Nativity School model.

From 2005-2015, Fr. Sheridan served as the president at Bellarmine College Preparatory, an all-boys Jesuit high school in San Jose, CA. During his tenure, he successfully launched and completed a $90M campaign.

Fr. Sheridan holds a Master of Divinity degree from Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a master’s degree in History from Saint Louis University and a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Letters from Fordham University. He was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1975.

SLK Students Learn Coding Thanks to Academy Enrichment Program.

Students at St. Louis the King School at the Cathedral are having fun while learning about programming thanks to an Academy enrichment program taught by Sandy FitzGibbon, the founder of Arete Ed Tech.

Arete EdTech offers an engaging curriculum where students are taught the basics of coding through interactive game design. In fact, the students pictured are creating a “Pac-Man” style game, which has the added benefit of enhancing both critical thinking and problem solving skills.

 

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.

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.