Barry Williams: A Student's Tribute

Here on the "Say Yes to U. City Schools" blog we love to talk about our fantastic students, teachers, and programs. Today we have a story that combines all three: a touching Facebook tribute to a former Brittany Woods Middle School teacher from a student whose life was profoundly affected by the robotics program he started. 

Science teacher Barry Williams served in the district from 2000 until his retirement in 2013, with four years as the science department head. In 2009 he started the district's first FIRST robotics program, the Soaring Eagles FLL team. Since then the program has grown and spread, and hundreds of U. City students have benefited. 

One of those students, UCHS 2015 graduate Walter Deitzler, took to Facebook in 2013 to talk about how Mr. Williams influenced him:

"June 7, 2013

Today I played guitar at the retirement ceremony of the single, most influential teacher in my life, Mr. Barry Williams. Many, if not all of you, know that I am addicted to robotics, Mr. Williams is the teacher that influenced all of this. Before 7th grade, I knew that I wanted to go into a STEM field, but was not sure what exactly I wanted to do. Then, I joined Mr. Williams' FIRST Lego League robotics team, and ever since my life has been changed. He had a passion for us doing robotics. If we wanted to meet before school, he would be there bright and early to let us into the lab. He would allow us into his room at lunch to build robots, and on top of that, we would have our meetings after school for 2-3 hours each day. On Saturdays he would arrange for the school to be open so that we could build robots for another 6-8 hours. In 8th grade, he was my Science teacher, and allowed us to build our robots for FLL in his class. He led us to victory in every single qualifier that we ever attended, and we had reasonable success at St. Louis area championships, both years I was in his program. He nurtured my passion for science, and made me the budding young mechanical engineer I am. he will be sorely missed in the district.

Thank you Mr. Williams!"

Mr. Williams passed away earlier this year, and now Walter is a mechanical and aerospace engineering student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville

. Once again he took to Facebook to remember Mr. Williams and his impact:

"June 7, 2016 

Mr. Williams passed away earlier this year. He had a large impact on all of those he taught, and especially me. He dedicated all of his free time to inspiring students to go into STEM, and was just a great all around teacher."

Rest in peace Mr. Williams."

Barry Williams was just one of many, many excellent and dedicated teachers we are so fortunate to have here in U. City.  These individuals make a lasting impact on our students each and every day, and we are grateful. 

From Brittany Woods to the World!

Saint Augustine wrote that "the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page."  If this is so, then one group of 8th graders from Brittany Woods Middle School are well into their first chapter. Under the direction of French teacher Alexis McGeahy and Latin teacher Madelyn Roth, thirteen students along with parent chaperones had the opportunity to dive deep into the history, culture, food, and beauty of Europe on a once-in-a-lifetime spring break trip.

After fundraising for over a year, the group spent ten busy days exploring London, Paris, Rome and surrounding areas. Highlights included Colosseum, the Pantheon, the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Vatican City, the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and Westminster Abbey.  One traveler called it, "the most fabulous time of our lives."

Plans are already underway for next year's trip, which will include Paris, Lucerne, Munich and Heidelberg, with stops at Neuschwanstein Castle and Dachau concentration camp. They are still accepting students, and travel arrangements will be through EF Educational Tours.

Thanks to Sarah Holahan and Joycelyn Barnes for the photos.

Friday Night Lights

No, we're not talking football, but on Friday, January 24th the lights were on at many of the U. City schools this past Friday night. There was a basketball game at the high school, bingo night at Flynn Park, Cub Scout Chili Cookoff at Jackson Park, and the Winter Ball at Brittany Wood Middle School - what has become the social event of the season. Below are a few snapshots of all the fun.

Brittany Wood Winter Ball

Jackson Park Cub Scout Chili Cook-off

The U. City Fire Department chooses the winner of the "Judges Choice"

The JP Girl Scouts provide the home-baked desserts

It was a full house at the January 24 Chili Cook-off

2013 Year-In- Review

In the spirit of the season, we thought we'd do a year-end wrap-up and highlight some of our favorite posts from this, our inaugural year.  If you missed them the first time around we highly recommend you take the time to read them now.  And please take a moment to share them.  We have a great story to tell, and it takes a village.

And so without further ado, we bring you our top ten posts of the year, in no particular order (just click on the title and it will link to the full post):

2013 UCHS Valedictorians Celebrate their Classmates, Teachers, and Alma Mater

We like this post because it speaks so well to the entire University City Schools experience.  Each of our four 2013 Valedictorians attended U. City Schools beginning in kindergarten and stuck with us all they way through.  These bright students are a testament to the quality of education available in our schools, as well as the great experiences kids can have. They honor their classmates, some by name, and acknowledge that success comes in many forms. They clearly had a lot of fun writing and delivering this address, and that's awesome too.

College Bound

We literally cringed the first time we heard our college counselor tell a group of parents that when people ask what she does, and she tells them she's the college counselor at UCHS, they occasionally respond with such ignorance as, "I didn't know kids from UCity went to college."  Seriously??!!  At this VERY MOMENT, while I am sitting here writing this blog, there are University City High School graduates studying for their finals at Harvard, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Bowdoin, Washington University, SLU, Purdue, Swarthmore, and dozens of other highly-ranked schools.  We have an image problem my friends, and it's going to take some effort to change this. Which leads us to...

Oh the Places They'll Go

Read it, share it, help us get the word out.  If we could profile each and every one of our newly-minted college students you would be amazed.  And, since we always have a new crop of young scholars to point in the college direction, check out the college visit programs offered by our guidance office.

University City Teachers Seek Nation's Highest Professional Teaching Credential: National Board Certification

We like this post because teachers.  We live in a crazy world where teachers get blamed for all kinds of things they have no control over.  They don't get the pay or the respect or the appreciation they deserve, and yet they keep coming back for more!  We have awesome teachers here in U. City, like those mentioned in this article who teach all day and grade papers all night and still have time to put in thousands of hours seeking to improve their teaching skills and join the ranks of the nation's elite.  And, since this post was first published, there have been a bunch more willing to take on the National Board challenge! Our teachers rock. You should thank them.  And bake them some cookies.

Robots Rock! UCHS Robolions help make STEM 'The New Cool'

OK robots.  If you are a regular reader of our blog, you may have suspected that we have a slight bias towards them, and you'd be right.  We've written about them here and here and here.  We love them, and we know that the world is going to need more and more scientists and engineers, so the more kids we can introduce to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields the better. Robotics are fun and exciting and programs are available to U. City kids from kindergarten through high school.  Our robotics programs succeed in no small part thanks to volunteers, and we have have a lot of them, which is a great thing on it's own.

Dr. Jamie Jordan Named Missouri Middle School Principal of the Year

The Missouri Association of Middle School Principals says our Middle School principal, Dr. Jamie Jordan, is the best in the state.  In. The. State.  Booyah!

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About 700 of the 1.6 MILLION students who take the ACT every year get a perfect score. In 2013, 29 of those perfect scores came from Missouri students. One of them was UCHS senior Dan Politte.  We also had National Merit Finalists and even a National Merit Scholar.  What do each of these superheroes of academic awesomeness have in common?  They each attended U. City schools all the way through, starting in kindergarten.

UCHS AP Biology Students Participate in Washington University Study

UCHS currently offers about 13 Advanced Placement (AP) classes (some are offered in alternating years, like AP Chem and AP Physics), and is always considering adding more. AP classes challenge students academically, prepare them for college-level curriculum, and give them the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school.  It is not uncommon for a UCHS grad to start college with a full semester of credit under their belts, thanks to our AP programs. And, the students who take the classes get to do really cool stuff, like participate in studies to identify cyanogenesis in white clover. Don't know what that even is?  Better read this post.

Our Amazing Students

Ok maybe we're cheating here, but choosing 10 posts from the nearly 75 that we've posted this year was really hard, so we'll just highlight a few of the kids we've highlighted over the past several months.  Like UCHS Student Deja Bowie, 2013 recipient of the UMSL Distinguished Achievement for Excellence in Science Award, known to her teachers and classmates as "Quiet Einstein."  Or young Xavier Morgan-Gillard, who overcame personal challenges, used his experiences to write an awesome essay about Jackie Robinson, was honored at Busch Stadium, and inspired us all with his courage. And then there's artist Marina Claunch,  admitted to the prestigious pre-college program at the San Francisco Art Institute. Or how about Jazz St. Louis All-Star drummer Zach Morrow? Or the UCHS Latin students who consistently win awards at the state convention and on the National Latin Exam?  And then there are the multitudes of students who serve the community in the Brittany Woods National Junior Honor Society,  our middle school celebrity, pint-sized pundit Gabe Fleisher, and freshly minted Eagle Scout Michael McMahon. (Just to name a few).

So that's it, our unscientific wrap-up of our favorite posts of the year.  We hope you've enjoyed reading about just a few of the terrific things going on in our schools, and we encourage you to keep on reading and to share with your friends and neighbors.  Comment on a post or two, "like" us, subscribe to our blog and help us get the word out about all of the good things University City Schools have to offer. It really does take a village!

Our very best wishes for you and yours in the new year!

Gabe Fleisher: Political Pundit

During the past two years Gabe Fleisher has consistently produced a political newsletter every morning, been interviewed numerous times by the public media, and written and published a book on the history of Flynn Park Elementary School. Did I mention Gabe is a sixth grader at Brittany Woods Middle School?

Gabe is being recognized in the news once again for his stellar accomplishments. You can listen to the NPR story or read it at St. Louis Public Radio.  To subscribe to his blog, send an email to: wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com

Gabe Fleisher

Here is an excerpt from Alex Heuer's report to get you started:

A lot has happened to 12-year-old Gabe Fleisher in the last year and a half. He’s garnered local and national press attention and recently got to meet one of his favorite historians, Doris Kearns Goodwin.

His teeth now sport a set of braces with red, white and blue anchors.

It's all part of a day in the life of Gabe Fleisher, political junkie.

In 2012, he was a regular blogger on the Beyond November website, a cooperative effort by St. Louis Public Radio, the St. Louis Beacon and the Nine Network of Public Media to cover the elections.

Gabe’s moniker: “the pint-size pundit.”

He’s now ditched that nickname, as his side job as a publisher has taken off.

Thanks to encouragement from his mother, Gabe is the editor-in-chief – and sole staff member – of a daily emailed newsletter, “Wake Up to Politics.”

He currently has a circulation that’s closing in on 600. Subscribers include the White House.

Jamie Jordan, the principal at Brittany Woods Middle School in University City, helped arrange Gabe’s 6th grade class schedule so that his first period is in the library. That gives him a chance to finish assembling his publication and send it out before he has to lock up his laptop in the library office and head off to his first academic class: Spanish.

Update: Gabe was featured in the January 8th, 2014, edition of Town and Style Magazine.

Meshuggah Art Show

We started this blog to spread the word about all the great things that happen in U. City Schools every day. While we like to think we're connected, there is so much great stuff happening that we are continually learning about happenings ourselves.

Sometimes we see it on the Facebook page of parents or the School District Facebook page. Such was the case today. (You might just want to hop on over and like the district FB page to keep yourself in the know.)

Meshuggah, my favorite coffee shop in the Loop, hosted an Art Show of Brittany Woods Middle School advanced art students. The FB post led me to the art class blog where I found some nice work. I'll post a few here, but you may want to visit the site to see the talent being developed by art teacher Kathrine Avant.

Connecting the Classroom to the Home

The School District of University City launched the Parent Portal a few years ago. If you're not familiar with it, the portal is a password protected site where parents can track their child's homework, grades, attendance, discipline - even the status of their lunch account. If a family has multiple children in the district, the portal provides information for all of the children from a single sign-on. It's a great way to stay on top of any homework that a child didn't complete, which is often the culprit when grades begin to slip.

Students also have a log-in to a student view. Although I'll admit, my children aren't nearly as diligent about checking their grades as I am.

The Parent Portal is a handy tool, but today I received an email from a teacher that really got me excited. Ms. Eberle, a sixth grader science teacher at Brittany Woods Middle School, was letting parents know it was time for a science unit test. She directed us to her classroom website where the study guide was posted.

Handy for when your child manages to lose the hard copy of the the study guide between class and arriving home. But the exciting news was that Ms. Eberle had posted videos of the content reviews she had conducted with the classroom. What a great way for students to study for tests! It's also useful for parents who want understand the content their child is covering in class - giving them the ability to assist their children with the concepts at home.

The school district has installed Smart Boards in almost every classroom in every school. The exception is some physical education classrooms. I've no idea what all the capabilities of a Smart Board are, but being able to record a teacher's presentation, verbal instruction, and handwritten notes "on the board" sure beats the chalkboard and overhead presentations my teachers used in school.

Kudos to Ms. Eberle for using the the provided technology to its fullest potential - connecting the classroom with the home. Let's hope this becomes a standard in U. City.

Robots Rule at Brittany Woods Tournaments

On November 9th and 10th, the Brittany Woods Middle School gymnasium was abuzz with students, parents, mentors, visitors and volunteers soaking in the excitement of a FIRST Lego League robotics tournament.  More than 40 teams from across the area converged on Brittany Woods for two qualifying events, bringing with them high energy, colorful costumes, and a collective mission to change the world through innovations in science and technology.

Teams set up displays in their 'pit' areas and welcome guests
and fellow teams to learn more about their robots and their projects

FIRST Lego League (or FLL) is the second in a tier of four FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics programs for students from kindergarten through high school.  FLL introduces students in grades four through eight to real-world engineering challenges by building LEGO-based robots to complete tasks on a themed playing surface.  Over 230,000 children in 80 countries will participate in this year's FLL season.

This year's playing field contained LEGO-built elements simulating
 challenges faced during and after natural disasters.

FLL students design, test and program robots, research challenges facing today's scientists, learn critical thinking, team-building, and presentation skills and much more. This year's them was Nature's Fury, and challenged teams to come up with solutions for keeping people and property safe before, during and after natural disasters.

The Jackson Park FIRST Responders signing off on their score sheet  after a match

                                               

The robot game involved a series of tasks such as raising an evacuation sign, moving a supply truck, moving tree branches off electrical wires, and reuniting pets with their owners.  In addition to the robot game, teams researched problems communities face when natural disaster hit and created presentations.  All of their preparation took place over the course of an eight-week build season.

Fun costumes are the order of the day

On the morning of each qualifier teams, often dressed in colorful outfits, took turns going before judges to give their presentations, explain their robot and programs in a technical interview, and demonstrate their FLL Core Values (friendly competition, learning, community involvement and respecting the contributions of others) in a teamwork exercise. 

The Brittany Woods Soaring Eagles FLL team waits to test  their robot

 on the practice field. 

In the afternoon, the teams put their robots through their paces, completing the missions and solving the challengers of the robot game. The two teams from each day with the highest overall scores in all categories progressed to the Eastern Missouri FLL Regional Championship, which will be held on December 8th at St. Louis Community College - Florissant Valley.  The winner of that event will have a chance to compete in the FIRST World Championships, held in April at the Edward Jones Dome. 

Soaring Eagles ready to rock!

Two University City teams participated in the Brittany Woods qualifiers, the Soaring Eagles from Brittany Woods Middle School and the FIRST Responders from Jackson Park Elementary.  Two teams from Flynn Park will compete in qualifying events next weekend.  Jr. FLL teams (grades K-3) from Flynn Park, Jackson Park, and Barbara C. Jordan elementary schools will compete in the spring.

FIRST Supervolunteer, UCHS alum, and UCity Schools parent and Event
Coordinator Nicole Adewale with school board representative Stacy Clay

This is the third year in a row that Brittany Woods has hosted this event. Many University City School District parents, students, staff, and alumni came together to organize this two-day event, and U. City parent/school board member Rod Jennings was the weekend's emcee.  University City is the only public school district in the area to host an FLL qualifier.

Volunteer coordinator and U. City parent Celina McGinnis consults with the

tech desk.

In addition to the robotics programs at the elementary and middle schools, University City High School has a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team.  The UCHS Robolions build competitive robots weighing up to 150 pounds during their six week build season in January and February.  You can read more about them here or follow them on facebook.

The UCHS Robolions FRC team provided concessions for the event

Members of the high school team were on hand for each day of the competition, serving up nachos and pizza and other goodies, and acting as goodwill ambassadors for FIRST.  Several members of the team even volunteer as referees for additional qualifiers.

U. City Schools Superintendent Joylynn  Pruitt gets into the spirit

 with the UCHS Robolions. 

For more information on FIRST Robotics, including how to start a team of your own, visit www.usfirst.org. For information on local FIRST events, visit www.stlfirst.org

UPDATE: Congratulations to the Jackson Park FIRST Responders, who will be representing University City schools at the Eastern Missouri FLL Championship on Sunday, December 8th!

A Visit from the Prize Patrol

The University City Education Foundation surprised six U. City teachers on Friday morning, October 10th, arriving with balloon bouquets and big checks.  The first round of 2013 fall grants were awarded at Flynn Park elementary's Friday morning assembly.  Teachers Nicole LaPlante Wight and Andrea Andrea Callahan received grants totaling $1900.00 to fund technology enhancements (including iPad Mini and iPad Touch devices) for the math and reading curriculum.

Andrea Callahan, Flynn Park 5th grade and
 Nicole Wight Flynn Park, 3rd grade

Next it was on to Brittany Woods middle school, where three teachers and Librarian Kelly Werthmuller were surprised in their classrooms.  The Brittany Woods grants totaled $2,950 and will fund projects including a 6th grade classroom reading center, new magazines and other reading materials for the library, participation in an area-wide Book Battle event, and a social studies trip to Memphis to conclude an in-depth study of the Civil Rights Movement.

Katherine Adams, Brittany Woods 6th grade Language Arts

The University City Education Foundation was founded in 1996 to enhance the educational programming in the School District of University City by providing grants to fund enrichment projects that typically fall outside of the scope of a school's standard budget.  For the fall 2013 grant cycle, UCEF was pleased to fund all submitted applications. 

Christine Kwiatkowski, Brittany Woods 7th grade Social Studies

Since 1996 UCEF has awarded over $200,000 in grants.  A complete list of recipients can be found here. Grants are entirely funded by donations and fundraising events. For timely news and information about UCEF and how to become involved in this terrific organization,  please visit the UCEF  facebook page.  

Julia Reimann, Brittany Woods 6th - 8th grade Spanish

UCEF awards grants twice a year, in the fall and spring.  The grant program is open to faculty, staff, principals, and administrators in the School District of University City.  Parents and other community members may submit a grant application  if sponsored by an eligible employee of the district. The spring deadline is January 27th, and applications can be downloaded here.

Kelly Werthmuller, Brittany Woods Librarian

Robots "Warm Up" at UCHS

The gymnasium at University City High School buzzed with excitement Saturday morning October 5th, as 22 registered elementary and middle school robotics teams from across the area converged for the fourth annual U. City FLL Warm Up (formerly the "U. City Scramble").  FLL, which stands for FIRST LEGO League, is a component of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics program started by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology. (Click here to read about our high school's FIRST Robotics Competition team). 

Teams crowd around the tables in the UCHS gymnasium
to observe practice matches.

In FLL, small teams of students aged 9 to 14 design, build, program, and test robots made from LEGO MINDSTORMS technology. At the beginning of each season (which lasts approximately 3 months) teams are issued a challenge with a series of obstacles that their robots must overcome, and research project ot complete and present. The 2013 challenge is called Nature's Fury, and  explores natural disasters and how technology can help us to prepare, stay safe, and rebuild.

At this year's Warm Up, teams had the opportunity to put their robots through their paces in the robot game, meet other teams and see their robots, and get a feel for what an actual competition might be like.  In addition, teams could meet with a panel of experts from the Red Cross and Washington University to ask questions and get help on this year's project.  Students and staff from Ranken Technical College were also on hand to provide programming assistance to the teams. 

A team from Flynn Park listens to a referee explain one of the
many "missions" they can complete in the robot game.

This event is typically the first chance the officials and referees have to see the robot game in action, and is used as a training event for them as well. One of the founding tenants of FIRST is the concept of Gracious Professionalism, which means that teams can compete fiercely but still treat each other with respect and kindness and help everyone to achieve their best game. The Warm Up is a great example of this in action, as teams learn from and help one another. 

Of the 22 teams participating this year, five were from University City schools,  including Flynn Park, Jackson Park, Barbara C. Jordan, and Brittany Woods Middle. Members of the UCHS Robolions FRC team assisted and served as referees. University City is proud to be one of the only local districts to have robotics teams at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. 

The "pit" areas are a hive of activity, as teams tweak and
troubleshoot their robots

In the weeks to come, teams will continue to hone their robots, research their project, and prepare presentations.  The competition season kicks off on October 26th with the first in a series of ten qualifiers, two of which will be held at Brittany Woods Middle School on November 9th and 10th.  The top teams from each qualifier will then go on to compete in the Eastern Missouri FLL Championship at Florissant Valley Community College on December 8th.  The winner of that event has the chance to compete against teams from around the world  in the FIRST World Championship, held April 23 - 26, 2014, at the America's Center right here in St. Louis!  For details and qualifier schedules visit the St. Louis FIRST website.

The Warm Up, brainchild of U. City parents Nicole Adewale, Celina McGinnis, and Ed Deitzler, has grown steadily since its inception in 2010.  The event started as a way to, "pull together resources to help University City's FLL teams prepare for the official qualifying events" says Adewale (UCHS Class of 1986), "but from the beginning we (and Superintendent Pruitt) felt it was important to share our resources with other teams in the area, which would in turn allow us to learn from other teams.  What we originally envisioned as an extended practice event has turned out to be a premier technical conference for elementary and middle school students and has also become a major training opportunity for referees."

The sponsoring organization for the Warm Up was U.City Robotics, founded by parents several years ago to promote FIRST programs in University City and introduce our students to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields through the excitement of competitive robotics. Kids who participate in FIRST are significantly more likely to attend college and major in science or engineering (in fact, all seven 2013 graduating seniors from the high school's robotics team, many of whom began robotics in middle school, are currently majoring in science or engineering.)

U. City Robotics is grateful to the Deitzler, McGinnis, Holahan and Adewale families for organizing and setting up the event and to members of the St. Louis FIRST Robotics FLL committee, Ranken, Wash U., Edwardsville Robotics, and the Red Cross for supplying nearly 30 volunteers who provided a stellar opportunity to the teams who participated.

All photos courtesy of Celina McGinnis

Prop U Update

The start of the new school year is right around the corner. Just a few months ago our community voted with a 70% majority to pass Prop U. While the improvements funded by Prop U are being made in a phased approach, based on what I saw at Brittany Woods Middle School this week, it appears the district lost no time in getting construction started over the summer.

My new sixth grader had her oh, so cool, eighth grade brother give her a tour of her class room locations after they registered for the upcoming school year. While my sixth grader obsessed over the really important aspect of sixth grade, how to decorate her locker, Mom snapped a few photos of some of the Prop U improvements along the way.

The new band room in the final stages of construction.

A refreshed little theatre (the seats of pull of desk areas).

The choir room

The gymnasium received a lot of attention as well. What the pictures don't show are a new HVAC system. No more hot and sweaty assemblies.

New gym lockers.

A freshly painted gymnasium that is properly heated and
cooled and has an improved sound system.

New gym doors!



Other renovations that took place during the summer include kiln rooms at Jackson Park and Flynn Park, and replacement of all gym roofs, air conditioner installation in all gyms, locker room renovations and ventilation, dance studio and auditorium improvements at University City High School.  

There are more exciting renovations coming with the new high school library slated for next fall. Our schools are always open to visitors. Stop in any time to see the exciting changes.