Our Schools in the News: UCHS Student receives Dance Award

Nice recognition for yet another talented University City High School Student!

From the St. Louis American August 17, 2016

Nia Spencer receives Career Award from Dance St. Louis

Nia Spencer received a Dance St. Louis Career Award. She is a student at University City High School and captain of its dance team. She will receive help from Dance St. Louis with auditions, summer intensives, supplies, letters of recommendations, coaching and anything else to help her succeed in the field of dance.

The Value of Making Mistakes: 2016 Valedictory Speech

UCHS 2016 Valedictorian Lydia Soifer was kind enough to share with us her inspiring speech, delivered at the May 18th graduation ceremony.  Lydia attended U. City Schools for 13 years, beginning with kindergarten at Jackson Park Elementary.  She will be attending Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina this fall, studying  biological sciences. 

All of us have gone through thirteen years of school to make it to this point. At times it was great — we succeeded by getting a good grade or pulling our grade up after studying really hard for a final. But at other times the journey was a bit rougher. Maybe you didn’t quite get the grade you had hoped for or maybe there were things going on outside of school that made it difficult to get homework done. Either way, at these rough times we are faced with potential failure.

About a month ago, I stumbled upon a quote that stood out to me, as it was describing a predicament I see myself facing on a regular basis. It was a quote by Eckhart Tolle, “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” For me, this quote applies to almost every aspect of life. In school, is it better to challenge myself even though I might fail, or should I take the easier route for guaranteed success? When I am in ballet class, should I try a triple turn and fall, or should I stick to a double because I know I can do one? In piano, should I practice even though I know I will fail the first few times, or should I continue to put off working on a hard piece because I am afraid I will never succeed? In each of these scenarios, the option that will result in improvement is the challenge, the option that might lead to failure.

Every single one of us has been faced with options such as these. None of us like to make the decision because the right choice requires us to step outside our comfort zone. We have to challenge ourselves even though it is difficult and may seem impossible because the difference between failure and success is not what distinguishes between a successful and unsuccessful person — what determines the difference is how we fail. One option is to give up, but this is no better than immediate success. We don’t learn anything, we don’t push ourselves, we don’t challenge ourselves to do better. The other option is to analyze our failure, figure out why we failed and how we can do better next time, and then, despite the fear of not succeeding, picking ourselves up and trying again. Maybe we will be successful the second time, but maybe we will fail again. We might even fail ten more times before we succeed, but each failure can teach us a lesson about ourselves. Whether it be learning a technique in art class or learning that if you think positively, you are more likely to make a successful pass in a football game, each failure can let us know how we can improve and eventually succeed.

As all of us leave U. City, we will find ourselves faced with many decisions, some of which will lead to immediate success and some which might lead to failure the first few times. We might be faced with the decision of whether or not to take the harder class in college, or we might have to decide whether or not to take a job that will push our skills beyond their current limit. At these critical points in our lives, we must remember that it is okay to fail. As we take the next step into life, we will be presented with many challenges, defeats, and failures. But these are not what marks our success. That is determined by our ability to take those challenges at which we did not succeed the first time, turn them around, and make them into successes which we can say we are proud of.

Thank you for your wise words Lydia, and best of luck to you in all of your future endeavors!  We know you will continue to make U. City proud!

UCHS Grad Wins Peace Grant to Train Indigenous Women Leaders

Congratulations to Caroline Martinez, University City High School Class of 2012!

From Bowdain News

Caroline Martinez ’16 Wins Peace Grant to Train Indigenous Women Leaders
March 31, 2016 by Rebecca Goldfine

After her parents separated, Caroline Martinez ’16 left Ecuador for the United States with her siblings and her American mother. She was 16. Now, as her graduation from Bowdoin draws closer, Martinez is eager to return to her home country. Although she has appreciated her college education, she said she has often felt too distant from the cause she’s committed to.

Since she was a teenager in Ecuador, Martinez has been fighting for the rights and welfare of the country’s 14 indigenous nationalities, which include the Kichwa, Waorani and Cofan people. These groups are in danger of losing rights over their land, natural resources, water, schools and medicine. Since coming to Bowdoin, Martinez has seized several opportunities to continue being involved, including using college grants to do sociological research in indigenous communities.

As a child, Martinez’s Ecuadorian father would tell her not to forget that while some of her blood is European, some also comes from indigenous people. “Mestizo people are indigenous people, too,” he would tell her. Mestizos refer to people of mixed heritage, and in Latin America, they often enjoy greater privileges than indigenous people.

Martinez’s dedication to working on behalf of indigenous people, particularly women, received a boost recently when she won a $10,000 grant from the Davis Projects for Peace foundation. The organization supports undergraduates who want to implement projects around the world that contribute to conflict resolution and peace building in some way.

Martinez will use her funding to organize a series of free leadership trainings in the highland communities of Ecuador. With an Ecuadorian partner, Carmen Lozano, Martinez will teach women of all ages, from teenagers and up, skills such as public speaking and how to draft project proposals and implement them. The workshops are designed to encourage women to organize to promote the welfare of their communities. “The workshops will give women a chance to speak with each other about what they face and what they want,” Martinez said.

This summer, Martinez will travel to 14 highland provinces to offer the training. She anticipates that about 200 women will attend. At the end of the summer, she’ll invite all the participants to a great assembly. “The idea is to form a core of indigenous female leaders and this core will be able to teach other, organize and be an advocacy force for women,” she said.

Martinez is going into her project well-versed in the needs of indigenous women. Last summer, with funding from Bowdoin’s Grua/O’Connell and Surdna Foundation research fellowships, and support from a Mellon Mays fellowship, she conducted sociological research in Ecuador. She interviewed 10 indigenous women leaders, aged 40 to 66, about their life stories, and listened to them talk about what has helped them achieve their position of prominence and what has held them back. “My goal was to understand how these women were able to become leaders in their community and be in a position where they could create change for both women and indigenous people,” she said. This year, she wrote a thesis paper for an independent study, outlining the services or opportunities that would help more indigenous women gain influence and also describing what is holding them back.

One of the requests she heard over and over from the women she spoke with was for more leadership training.

After being gone for five years, Martinez said returning to Ecuador was joyful for her. “I felt very happy to be there again. But doing research didn’t feel like enough. I’m not going to just write a paper and that’s it,” she said. She asked herself, “What can I do now that I am outside this situation to contribute to women and indigenous people’s struggles?”

After she completes her summer of leadership trainings, Martinez said she will start thinking about attending a graduate program in sociology in her country. She said there’s no question about her leaving Ecuador again. “It is where everything I care about is,” she said.

UCHS Journalism Students Receive Numerous Awards

University City High School Journalism students received over 30 state-level awards at the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) Scholastic Journalism Day at University of Missouri in Columbia on Wednesday, April 6. Publications students accepted the awards at the closing ceremony where 1300 state-wide journalism students and advisers were in attendance. Congratulations to these outstanding students and their fabulous teacher, Ms. Mary Williams!

2015-16 MIPA State Journalism Awards
[Ratings: All Missouri, Superior, Excellent, Honorable Mention]


Overall Publications Awards:
U-Times Newspaper: All Missouri (Christine Politte, editor-in-chief)
U-Times Online Newspaper: Excellent (Payton Bass, editor-in-chief)
Yearbook (2016 edition): Excellent (Emily Looby, editor-in-chief)

All-Missouri Awards
Newspaper News Story (Borrowed Logo): Christine Politte (editor-in-chief)
Newspaper Editorial (School Spirit Shrinks): Christine Politte (editor-in-chief)
Yearbook Theme/Concept: Johanna Hill and Hannah Fuller (co-editors-in-chief)
Yearbook Student Life Design (Love Actually): Johanna Hill (co-editor-in-chief)

Individual Awards, Reporting:
Excellent, Newspaper Sports Writing: Kathryn Fuller
Excellent, Newspaper Feature Writing: Francene Bethune
Honorable Mention, Newspaper Feature Writing: Jaylen Williams
Honorable Mention, Newspaper News Story: Christine Politte

Individual Awards: Diversity Awareness
Superior, Newspaper Editorial (Straight Outta U. City): Payton Bass
Superior, Newspaper Editorial (Black Students Need More): Payton Bass
Excellent, Newspaper News Story (Fox, Ritenour Students): Kathryn Fuller
Excellent, Newspaper Feature (Black History Evades…): Jaylen Williams
Honorable Mention, Editorial (The Kids Aren’t Alright): Payton Bass

Individual Awards: Design
Superior, Newspaper Design (Homecoming Spread): Christine Politte
Superior, Yearbook Student Life Design: Hannah Fuller
Excellent, Yearbook Student Life Design: Aniya Kendrick
Excellent, Yearbook Academic Design: Cat Hoff
Excellent, Yearbook Sports Design: Cat Hoff
Honorable Mention, Newspaper Spread Design, Christine Politte

Individual Awards: Photography
Superior, Yearbook Photo Essay: Johanna Hill, Della Cox, and Hannah Fuller
Superior, Yearbook Sports Photo: Jermarcus Perkins
Superior, Yearbook Personality/Portrait: Cat Hoff
Excellent, Yearbook Sports Feature: Taneya Parker
Excellent, Yearbook Student Life: Christine Politte
Excellent, Newspaper Student Life: Lucy Wurst
Excellent, Yearbook Student Life: Johanna Hill
Excellent, Yearbook Personality/Portrait: Cat Hoff
Honorable Mention, Yearbook Personality/Portrait: Johanna Hill
Honorable Mention, Yearbook Photo Illustration: Taneya Parker and Hannah Fuller
Honorable Mention, Yearbook Sports Feature: Christine Politte
Honorable Mention, Yearbook Sports Feature: Hannah Fuller
Honorable Mention, Yearbook Student Life: Cat Hoff
Honorable Mention, Yearbook Student Life: Christine Politte (x3)

UCHS Students on the Go! in Half Marathon

After months of training, a team of University City High School students joined runners from across the nation for the 15th annual  Go! St. Louis Half Marathon on April 12th, 2015.  This year's course took runners across the Eads Bridge into Illinois and then back into downtown via the MLK Bridge, with a loop around the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, finishing up at Soldier's Memorial.

Congratulations to the kids, teachers, and coaches!

Be Our Guest: UCHS Presents Beauty and the Beast!

The University City High School theater department will present the annual Spring Musical this weekend (April 10th and 11th, 2015).  This year's production is Beauty and the Beast, and it promises to be a magical spectacle of song and dance, perfect for everyone in the family.  You can come and see our talented students perform on Friday at 7:30 and then again on Saturday at 2:00 and 7:30, in the UCHS Auditorium. 

Tickets are $8, $6 for students, seniors, and kids under 12, and will be sold at the door. 

Here is video from the show:

Thank you to Chris Braeske for the videos.

UCHS Students Receive a Record 48 State-Level Journalism Awards

University City High School journalism students, under the direction of teacher Mary Williams, received a record 48 state-level awards at the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) Scholastic Journalism Day at University of Missouri-Columbia on Wednesday, April 8. In several categories, University City High School was the only school in the state to receive the award. Publications students accepted the awards at the closing ceremony where 1200 state-wide journalism students and advisers were in attendance. Many students were recognized for their reporting on Ferguson (diversity awareness).

2014-15 MIPA State Journalism Awards

Ratings: All Missouri, Superior, Excellent, Honorable Mention

Overall Publications Awards

U-Times Online--utimesonline.com: All Missouri (Christine Politte, web editor)
U-Times Newspaper: Excellent (Alice Mutrux and Lily Lewis-Stump, co-editors)
Dial Yearbook--2014: Superior (Reneise White, editor-in-chief, 2013-14)

All Missouri Awards
Newspaper Individual—Feature Story: Johanna Hill
Newspaper Individual—News Story: Christine Politte
Yearbook Individual—Theme/Concept Copy: Emily Looby (editor-in-chief)
Yearbook Individual—Sports Design: Emily Looby (editor-in-chief)
Yearbook Individual—Sports Design: Emily Looby (editor-in-chief)

Excellent Newspaper Awards
News Story: Christine Politte
Feature Story: Christine Politte
Double Page Design: Christine Politte, Hannah Fuller and Johanna Hill
Single Page Design: Francene Bethune
Feature Story: Alice Mutrux
Feature Story: Johanna Hill
News Story: Francene Bethune
Sports Writing: Francene Bethune
Sports Writing: Lily Lewis-Stump x2

Honorable Mention Newspaper Awards
Feature Story: Brooklyn Bass
Double-Page Design: Christine Politte, Hannah Fuller and Johanna Hill

Superior Yearbook Awards
Academic Reporting: Kayanna Wymbs

Excellent Yearbook Awards
Sports Reporting: Keira Duncan
Student Life Reporting: Keira Duncan

Honorable Mention Yearbook Awards
Overall Theme/Concept: Emily Looby
Organization Design: Emily Looby and Marvin Bullard
Student Life Design: Emily Looby and Kayla Holmes
Student Life Design: Marvin Bullard and Sloan Marion

Superior Diversity Awareness Awards
Individual Newspaper: Christine Politte
Individual Newspaper: Payton Bass
Individual Newspaper: Alice Mutrux
Individual Newspaper: Staff Editorial
Individual Yearbook: Raven Bullard
Individual Yearbook: Joshua Thomas

Excellent Diversity Awareness Awards
Individual Newspaper: Payton Bass
Individual Newspaper: Brooklyn Bass

Honorable Mention Diversity Awareness Awards
Individual Newspaper: Christine Politte

Excellent Photo Journalism Awards
Personality/Portrait: Payton Bass
Organization Photo: Sloan Marion
Sports Action Photo: Kayanna Wymbs
Sports Action Photo: Taneya Parker

Honorable Mention Photo Journalism Awards
Creative and Artistic: Johanna Hill (x2)
Personality Portrait: Johanna Hill
Sports Action Photo: D’Lija Brown:
Sports Action Photo: Kayanna Wymbs
Sports Action Photo: Taneya Parker
Academic Photo: Porcia Rhodes
News Photo: Payton Bass

Photos from the School District of University City

Because She's Happy: 2014 UCHS Salutatorian Speech

A beautiful, inspirational speech from 2014 UCHS Salutatorian Molly Patterson.

Happiness.

Do what makes you happy.

Life may be long for you,

Or life may be short,

Either way life is precious,

And whether you have a lot of time to live happily,

Or only a little,

Be the happiest you can be at every moment.

Studies show that the happier you are,

The longer you live.

So choose to be happier for longer,

Instead of sadder for shorter.

Ignore the norm and pay attention to your heart, or whatever guides you,

Know that you will get hurt, but don’t let it stop you.

Know that you can learn something from everyone,

And that knowledge is power.

So when in Rome, talk to those around you, in whatever language or hand gestures you can,

Communication is the ultimate ability.

When given lemons, make lemon meringue,

They say food is the way to the heart, not lemonade.

When given an opportunity, take it.

It may lead you to the love of your life,

Or the heartbreak of the century.

Either way, you learned.

Keep a smile on your face,

Maybe someday it will freeze like that.

Whether you are a leader or a follower,

A professor or a student,

You have something powerful to teach another,

So teach and be taught,

And you will live longer.

That poem contained my words of advice given to my AP Lit class a week ago today.  A class containing one amazing teacher and nine students, two of whom received full rides to their dream universities, yet somehow I am up on this stage speaking to you today.  My class has had our ups and our downs throughout the thirteen years I have been a student at University City, but I am glad to have been with this particular group of people on our own personal roller coaster.  As I have heard so many alumni say in the past, I am proud to have attended University City Schools.  I am proud to be part of such an intellectually diverse group of people, who will continue to be a part of me wherever I go in life.

  While many of us may not make it too far from University City after graduation, such as Mr. Carter, Mr. Kelton, and all of the other University City alumni who came back to make our district the best it can be, I know there will be others who may even surpass Nelly, I know we have at least one Beyonce and a few Steve Job’s out there.  But the truth is that it doesn’t matter how far we get, it’s about what we do with what we were given here at University City High School.  It’s about taking our knowledge and spreading it, taking our smiles and making them contagious, and it’s about never forgetting where we learned it.

  My goal is for the class of 2014 to change University City’s stereotypes, to someday never be asked again if I got a good education, if I felt safe, or if I would have gone anywhere else given the choice to.  I chose to attend University City schools and I wouldn’t change that decision.  I am discouraged by those questions and I want ours to be the class to demolish the stereotypes.  I want to come back twenty years from now and see that the ‘Hall of Fame’ has grown to be ‘The Halls of Fame’ and I want to see all of the faces I see in this audience up there on those walls.

  I have confidence in my dream and in every member of the class of 2014.  This class has had many wonderful opportunities, which would not have been possible without Mr. Maclin and Mrs. Johnson.  In the two years they have been at University City, the two of them have arranged a trip to Washington, D.C. to watch the Inauguration of our president, and a college tour trip all around Illinois.  These were experiences exclusive to our class and make us unique and greatly appreciative.  

For me, and I assume many of you here today, high school has been a time of stress, sports, and support.  In the midst of hard classes and busy seasons, I had Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Aboussie, and Mrs. I to help me out.  These three women, along with my parents, are the reason I am standing here today and I would like to thank them for all of their support.  University City’s amazing field hockey coach, Marissa Davenport-Shepard, has also had a huge part in my success as well as three other graduates here tonight.  I would like to thank the Class of 2014 for everything each individual has taught us, and the power I hope we will take from the knowledge that we have received and will carry on to our future endeavors.

Molly will be attending the Foster College of Business Administration at Bradley University in the fall, majoring in Business Administration and Business Management. 

UCHS Jazz Band Workshops with Peter Martin

The University City High School Jazz Band recently spent an afternoon with famed jazz pianist Peter Martin.  The band was invited, as they have been for the past ten years, to participate in a workshop at the Sheldon Concert Hall  in Grand Center.

Students had the outstanding opportunity to perform for Martin (himself a UCHS alum, class of 1987), who then gave them detailed feedback on their performance.  Students were free to ask questions, and topics covered included everything from how to achieve a more authentic New Orleans jazz sound to the complexities of syncopation to what makes the blues sound like the blues.

The workshop concluded with Martin accompanying the band on the piano, enabling these lucky students to claim that not only have they performed in one of the premiere concert halls in the nation, but also that they have played with one of the most acclaimed jazz pianists of our time.

Jazz Band Director Stan Coleman (a Yale University Distinguished Educator) consistently seeks out educational and performance opportunities for his students.  Over the years they have had the opportunity to work and play with many locally and nationally known musicians. In 2012 the jazz band won ten awards at the UMKC Jazz Festival, and they look forward to future festivals and competitions.

University City High School has a proud tradition of producing outstanding musicians, including the likes of Peter Martin, Jeremy Davenport, Marty Ehrlich, Ronnie Burrage, Wayne du Maine, David Harris, and most recently 2013 grad Zach Morrow, who just last week performed at the Monterrey Next Generation Jazz Festival. 

You can catch the current crop of UCHS jazz legends, along with some returning alumni, when they perform at the Starlight Concert Series this summer at Heman Park!

Band Director Stan Coleman
with Peter Martin

Photos by Kim Deitzler.

Equations

I've never been good at math. Just hearing the word equations makes me anxious. Thankfully, my children didn't inherit their math gene from me. In fact, they excel at math and had the great opportunity to participate in the annual U. City Equations Open held every winter at UCHS.

The 2014 Equations teams hard at work

Equations is a board game played with dice that have numerical digits and arithmetic operators (+, -, X, etc.) that are used to make "goal" equations. Competitors improve mathematics skills while having fun in the process.

The start of an equations round

This year was the 17th annual U. City Equations Open. Tom and Mary Ellen Campbell started the tournament and coordinated the first 12 Opens. Judy Maffitt has been chairing the Equations Open since 2010 and is already planning for the 2015 event.

Judy, a Scrum Master for AT&T, and her husband Dave, a software engineer at the Electronic Radiology Lab at Wash U, moved to U. City in 1987. Both of their children attended Flynn Park, McNair, Brittany Woods and UCHS. Their son Kevin is now 23 and a Wash U graduate, and daughter Zoe is 20 and a Junior at Truman State University.

It is committed parents, volunteers and residents like Judy and Dave that make U. City the special community we all enjoy.

UCHS PTO moms run the concessions

The district also hosts a practice session for first-time teams to hone their skills a few weeks prior to the open. In addition to providing an opportunity for students to practice their math, logic and strategy skills, the Open hosts schools from across the region at UCHS and raises approximately $1,000 for the UCHS PTO.

Flynn Park Fifth Grade Team

Like the USFIRST robotic teams in the school district, equations allows kids who may not participate in sports teams to belong to a team. There is only one other Equations event in St. Louis and that is The Gifted Resource (GRC) Council's Academic Challenge. The U. City Open provides Equations teams the opportunity to prepare for that event and gives parents and coaches an opportunity to watch as no spectators are allowed at the GRC event.

For teams that want to get started there is good information on the GRC web site. There are also workshops held every October and November for parents and teachers interested in learning about Equations - and starting their own teams.

Flynn Park Third Grade Teams

Over 300 students attend the Open annually. For many students and their parents it is the first time stepping foot in the beautifully, historic UCHS building and gymnasium. If your school doesn't field a team there is plenty of time to get started. After all, who doesn't love kids playing a math-based game?

Life Plan

Those that know me might describe me with adjectives such as hard working, good parent, community volunteer, gainfully employed, or activist. Most of the time I live up to those labels, but earning those labels wasn't such an easy path.

My path to adulthood was a rocky one. My parents were transient and sometimes I'd attend 2-3 schools in one school year - if I was enrolled in school at all. There were foster homes, a group home and eventually I landed with an Aunt and Uncle for my last three years of high school. Those three years are the only reason I even made it to college, but my journey was just beginning.

At the age of 17, I found myself in college with no money, no real support system and without the maturity or established direction to be successful. Thankfully there was something in my gut that told me I needed that college degree, but I had to fight and claw for four years to be able to cross the podium on graduation day.

My story is just one reason why I find the Lifeplan program at University City High School so exciting. An outgrowth of the California Mentor Foundation and the Evelyn Freed Mentor Center, Lifeplan believes if you change the conversation with a young adult, you change their choices. With all the distractions our society offers young adults these days, conversations that focus on the future and get students discussing what they want out of life can only be beneficial.

UCHS happens to be the first and only Missouri high school to implement Lifeplan, a mentoring program for teens. The program helps teens maneuver through high school and on through young adulthood helping "participants discover for themselves how to navigate the path of life, avoid the common pitfalls, and become successful thriving adults."

UCHS launched Lifeplan in the fall of 2011 with an inaugural group of 25 freshman and now all incoming freshman go through the program each year. After hearing other area high school administrators talk about the UCHS Lifeplan program, KMOV Channel 4 news visited UCHS and ran a feature on the program.

Many UCHS Alumni support this program financially and as mentors. If you'd like to get involved contact Mr. Ernest Carter, Assistant Principal via email at ecarter@ucityschools.org or phone at 314-290-4128.
 

The Road to Aerial Assist

The U. City High School Robolions robotics team is in the throes of building a robot to compete in the St. Louis regional First Robotics Competition (FRC) in March 13-15 at Chaifetz Arena. Winners will compete at the FIRST International Championship that will be held April at America's Center in St. Louis.

The Robolions have many new members this year and are rocking the six week build schedule - even with all the snow day delays. With new team members come new skill sets. Who says girls can't be electrical engineers?

Another team member created a new logo.

And another tech-savvy individual documented the team's progress to the Aerial Assist game with this video.

Did you notice the "Winner" banner hanging in the robotic lab? You've never seen anything like an FRC competition. Those kids rock the Chaifetz Arena. Come on out and join us in the Robolion cheering section in March and see if the Robolions bring home another banner.

Marnia Claunch Wins with Confidence

Marnia Claunch, UCHS senior is a 2013 Walgreens Expressions Challenge Finalist for Visual Arts in the St. Louis area. As a finalist, Marina has the opportunity to win up to $2,000 and $500 for her teacher.

The Walgreens Expressions Challenge is an incentive based program established to engage high school teens ages 14 to 18 in the conversation of healthy choices for their future through creative expression. 

For more details, visit www.expressionschallenge.com/.

Marnia Claunch's winning entry

Marnie also has a Facebook page for her artwork which you can view at https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=117124985041093.

The Golden Explosion Visits Atlanta

Research has shown that, regardless of socioeconomic background, students involved in music perform better on standardized tests than students not involved in music.*

1. For math, music instruction helps develop spatial-temporal reasoning which is important to developing critical math skills.**
2. Overall reading and writing skills improve with music education.***
3. Students in the arts tend to be more cooperative with teachers and peers, more self-motivated, and have a better sense of self-esteem.****

As a band mom, I can attest to the benefits my child has received from music education. I can't tell you how music has benefited him academically, but I can tell you how it has given him a purpose, a social network and leadership skills. Plus, marching band is just plain fun!

The 2011 Lincoln University homecoming parade.

Every year, the University City High School "The Golden Explosion" participates in a number of parades throughout the region. The band even takes their show on the road. This year Indiana, Jefferson City and Atlanta were on the itinerary. The band holds a car wash in the fall to help pay for the trips. 100% of every ticket a student sells goes directly to their trip expenses. Some students pay for 100% of their costs selling car wash tickets.

Band director Daniel Shavers selects a different out-of-state university to visit each year. This strategy allows students to experience band programs at a variety of schools during their four years at UCHS.

Mr. Shavers leads the band in warm up exercises.

For many students, especially freshmen, this is their first big trip away from home. And for some, their first trip out of state.

Visiting Clark Atlanta University (CAU) this year had special meaning. Not only was the Disney movie "Drum Line," filmed at Clark Atlanta, a UCHS alum starred in the movie. On top of that, two of the bass drums used in the making of the movie are part of the UCHS drum line.

To make the long drive to Atlanta, band members arrived at UCHS at 4 a.m. on Friday morning. You read that right - 4 a.m. After loading up the bus with the uniforms, instruments and luggage, most everyone went back to sleep for a few hours.

Twelve hours later and we were in downtown Atlanta, took over a pizza buffet, and headed over to the CAU football field to watch the CAU band practice its homecoming halftime show. It was a little chilly, but the students were rewarded with an invitation into the CAU band room for a little bonding. Of all the high school bands participating in the parade the following day, only UCHS had the opportunity to be present at the CAU band practice.

Watching the the college band conduct business.

It was 10:30 p.m. by the time we made it back to the hotel and curfew was 11:30 p.m. (but that doesn't mean the kiddos went to sleep). Six a.m. came early for some folks (myself included after being an overnight hall monitor), and at 7:00 a.m. we were back on the bus headed for the parade route. By parade time the temps were in the low 60s, beautiful weather for marching.

With the campuses being in close proximity, the CAU homecoming parade is held jointly with Morehouse and Spelman Colleges. The parade route winds through all three campuses in addition to the campus of Morris-Brown.

It's always a treat to march with the UCHS band. You can't help but be proud of the tremendous reaction their performance receives from the people crowded along the street to watch the parade. People are cheering, dancing and so impressed the band came down from St. Louis.

After the parade it was a visit to the infamous Varsity Drive-In for a burger and orange whip then back to CAU for the homecoming football game.

Leaders of the band L to R: Nancy Burstein, UCHS staff and former
band parent; Phil Forrester, assistant band director; Jay Burstein;
Daniel Shavers, band director.

CAU lost the game, but that's when it got exciting for the band geeks. It was now the "fifth quarter" - time for CAU to face off with the visiting team's band. We were seated next to the CAU band and the UCHS students were loving every minute. The show kept going until the visiting team finally marched out of the stadium to their waiting buses. Once again, UCHS was the only band at the game allowing the band members to absorb the college band atmosphere.

Mr. Shavers always plans a surprise activity after the game. Back on the bus we headed to Stone Mountain for dinner and a laser light and fireworks show. By the time we arrived back at the hotel it was 10:30 p.m. again - a long day for the adults, but not so much for the band. Most of them stayed up in their rooms most of the night. Let's just say it made for a really quiet ride home the next day.

Next year will be my last as a band mom. I'm already sad as I've grown to love these trips with the band. Truth be told, my first year I had my reservations about traveling with a bunch of teenagers. I'd conjured up the image of rowdy, obnoxious teenagers and me enduring rap music for the duration of the trip. Truth be told, it was quite the opposite. Imagine my surprise when they popped in the first movie and the bus started singing along to "The Lion King."

Then there was the year we went roller skating in Little Rock. The local kids were having so much fun with the band they didn't want our kids to leave. And it goes without saving, the hotel staff always go out of their way to tell us how impressed they are with the band's behavior. As the band members are told before the bus rolls away from the high school, "remember you are representing your family and your school" - and every year the band represents U. City well.

*, **, ***, **** http://musicempowersfoundation.com/the-importance-of-music.html

Eagle Scout Project Benefits School District FLL Program

What do Neil Armstrong, Gerald Ford and Steven Spielberg have in common? As teenagers, all three men earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).

Only 1 in every 100 boys that join scouts makes it to Eagle.

Requirements to earn the Eagle rank include earning at least 21 merit badges and demonstrating Scout Spirit through the Boy Scout Oath and Law, service, and leadership. This includes an extensive service project that the Scout plans, organizes, leads, and manages.

Left to right: Jerry Finkenkeller, Troop 493 scout leader; Michael McMahon,
Rod Jennings, school board director; Occupational Therapist Christina Stephens;
Joylynn Pruitt, Superintendent of Schools;
Nicole Adewale, U. City parent and FLL volunteer extraordinaire. 

The highest academic honor at Brittany Woods Middle School is the "Soaring Eagle." It took on a whole new meaning during the recent First Lego League (FLL) regional qualifying competition at Brittany Woods when the School District of University City dedicated eight FLL competition tables. These tables were made by UCHS junior and Boy Scout Michael McMahon as part of his Eagle Scout project.

The tables were constructed for the school district and will now be used by FLL teams within the district for future FLL competitions and other FLL scrambles hosted by the district.

After receiving approval for his project from the BSA Board of Review, Michael first launched a campaign to raise the $400 required to purchase the supplies. His first fundraising attempt was at the St. Louis Regional FRC competition in April of this year.

Michael visited teams in their “pits” and distributed flyers promoting his project and soliciting donations. Michael was pleasantly surprised when people just handed him money after learning about his project. He was even more surprised when he started receiving checks from strangers in the mail - evidence of the power of the USFirst robotics program.

Michael also solicited FLL teams and coaches within University City and found them to be equally as generous.

With the funds raised, Michael set about purchasing the supplies and garnering the support of his fellow scouts. Over four work days Michael completed the eight tables just in time for the November competition.

And, in true scout spirit, in addition to building the tables, Michael also volunteered both days of the competition from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There are still a few more requirements to complete, but when Michael earns his Eagle rank, he will join the long list Eagle Scouts that hail from Troop 493.

Three Days, Eight Campuses: UCHS Students Take a Whirlwind College Tour of Illinois

In mid-September, twenty University City High School juniors and seniors and their guidance counselors embarked on an exciting and information packed three-day tour of eight Illinois colleges and universities. The students were selected for the trip based on their outstanding academics and citizenship, along with an application essay.

Touring the campus of Loyola University

Campus visits are a key component of the high school's efforts to raise awareness about college options and opportunities for all students. Last year the UCHS guidance department began annual visits to local schools for each grade level.  This year, the entire freshman class will visit Webster University, the sophomores will visit Washington University, the juniors will visit Mizzou, and the seniors will visit SEMO. 

The Illinois trip was generously funded by the UCHS class of 1963, along with contributions from the families of each participating student.   As part of their 50th reunion, the class of 1963 established the Class of 1963 Fund, dedicated to funding college visits for University City High School students. It is the hope of Senior Guidance Counselor Katy-Jane Johnson that such funding will allow this trip to become an annual event.

At The University of Chicago

The students left St. Louis bright and early on a Thursday morning and traveled via charter bus to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. where they were met by admissions representatives and given a tour of the campus and, according to one of the young participants, "lots of good swag."  Next it was on to Eastern Illinois University, and over the course of the next two days stops at DePaul University, Columbia College, Loyola University Chicago,  The Art Institute of Chicago and The University of Chicago. Each school rolled out the red carpet for the group and gave them a fun taste of what campus life might be like, along with an introduction to the many exciting avenues of academic pursuit available to our bright young scholars. 

The motivation for the trip, explains Ms. Johnson, was to expose our students to a wide variety of college campuses in order for them to have a better idea of what is out there. She says that students, "often develop their ideas of college through TV, movies, and other related media and it is depicted in a very one-sided way.  Visiting different types of college campuses gives the students the opportunity to experience the feel of a real campus and learn about the amazing opportunities each campus offers students first hand."  

At the Art Institute of Chicago

Students returned to University City late Saturday night, exhausted but filled with excitement about their collegiate futures.  According to Ms. Johnson, "almost all of the students who participated in the trip are now considering schools they would have never thought about before they had the chance to visit them."  This sentiment certainly rings true for Melissa Tschampel, whose daughter Claire participated in the trip. Melissa reports that Claire returned from the trip with "a better idea of what 'fit' was best for her to live and work in. She also easily eliminated what wasn't right, which can be just as helpful as finding the right fit. As it turns out, Claire found the school she wants to attend - all because of this great school-sponsored trip!"

University City High School has a distinguished record of sending graduates to top colleges and universities (click here for a list of schools students in the class of 2013 were accepted to).  Giving more students the opportunity to visit more campuses will likely increase not only the number of colleges applied to, but the number of students applying to college as well.  If you would like to help the Class of 1963 Fund in their efforts to provide more college visits, you can send a check payable to the School District of University City to: Katy-Jane Johnson, Senior Counselor, University City High School, 7401 Balson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63130. Please put Class of 1963 Fund on the memo line.

The entire group in Chicago,  in front of  Millennium Park's famous "bean"
Photo by Alexis Kozhevsky

Unless otherwise noted, all photos courtesy of Claire Tschampel, UCHS Senior