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!

Our Schools in the News: Post-Dispatch names Korinna Brandt 2016 Scholar Athlete

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently named University City High School senior Korinna Brandt as one of their 2016 STLHSS Scholar Athletes.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 18, 2016

University City: Korinna Brandt

Academic rank • 7 of 203.


Sports • Field hockey, swimming water polo.


Academic bio • Scholar Athlete Award; Northwestern University Book Award; National Field Hockey Association Academic Scholar Award; PTO Scholar Award.


Athletic bio • Captain of the University City Varsity field hockey team and water polo team; honorable mention for the field hockey all-conference team.


Activities • Member of the National Honors Society; member of the Gay Straight Alliance; ran the Go! St. Louis Half Marathon with Students on the Go.


College • Missouri State University.


Goal • "As an adult I hope to be in a profession where I can help people. While I'm not entirely sure what I want to do later in life at the moment, I know that whatever it is will hopefully make a difference the lives of those around me.”


Favorite subject • Biology

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)

Fifth Annual U City FLL Warm Up at UCHS

On Saturday, September 26th, University City High School was host to the fifth annual University City FIRST LEGO League Warm Up.  This event, sponsored by U. City Robotics, brought together 27 teams and approximately 125 students plus parents and mentors from across the region and as far away as Cape Girardeau.  FIRST LEGO League (FLL) introduces young people, ages 9 to 14, to the fun and excitement of science and technology. Teams, composed of up to ten children, build and program an autonomous robot to score points on a thematic playing field, as well as research and create a presentation centered around creative and innovative solutions to a problem (this year they will seek to solve the world's trash problems) and adhere to set of core values known as gracious professionalism.

The teams came to the Warm Up for an early chance to test drive the robots they are building and programming for the 2015 FLL challenge, TRASH TREK.  While there was no official refereeing or scoring, they had an excellent opportunity to meet and compete with other teams, and to practice for the upcoming November qualifiers (two of which will be held at Brittany Woods Middle School.) The event is also used by FIRST LEGO League of Eastern Missouri to train referees for the upcoming competition season.

FLL teams get the chance to play
this year's robot game in a timed
environment. 

Technical support was on hand to assist teams with design, building, and programming as well as subject expertise for the project presentations required as part of the competition.  The City of University City sent an employee from Waste Management, and Washington University sent six subject experts to help with project research.

Students get expert help on their research projects.

Six of our own district FLL teams, from Jackson Park Elementary, Flynn Park Elementary, and Brittany Woods Middle School, participated in the event.  All district teams were sponsored by Rankin Technical College, who was also a sponsor of the event and provided technical support staff.

Members of the Brittany Woods team make adjustments
to their robot.

Our high school robotics team, the UCHS Robolions - FIRST Robotics Competition team #3397 - brought their competition robot to demonstrate and even allowed some of the kids from FLL to try their hands at driving it.  The Robolions also provided help with set-up the night before, and volunteered at the event in various capacities, including providing programming expertise and support.

UCHS Robolions team members
set up the FLL competition fields.

FIRST  (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) was founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest in science and technology. In 2015 FIRST programs will reach 400,000 students around the world through four leveled programs for kids K-12.  FIRST kids are significantly more likely to attend college, major in science or engineering, and be outstanding future employees and citizens, For more information, please visit www.usfirst.org.  

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

UCHS Cross Country Leads the Sports Pack

The University City High School Cross Country team just finished its 2014 season. Closing out the regular season was an exciting race at the district meet. Clayton won as expected, and MICDS (the pre-season favorite) and UCHS battled it out for the second state spot. MICDS prevailed, but it came down to the fifth runner and a mere difference of ten points.

Even so, UCHS placed four runners in the top 15 with Derrick Freeman, Isaac Levan, Cleo Pleasant and Benjamin Pomerantz qualifying for state. This is the best representation UCHS has had at the state meet in a number of years.  The UCHS team also had five personal records on the day, so districts was a very successful meet. 

The cross country team is one of the most successful sports teams at University City High School. The team is fortunate to have James Crowe, an UCHS alum, and parent to two UCHS alums, coaching the team.  Coach Crowe has made the team’s mission – for University City cross country athletes to develop their running abilities in a supportive and positive environment.  Each athlete learns teamwork, self- discipline, dedication, integrity and sportsmanship and carry these skills over into their academic and professional lives. 

Summer training will be starting before long and the Alumni/Team- 2 mile time trial is tentatively scheduled for Saturday August 9. Anyone interested in joining the team can contact Coach James

Crowe xccoachcrowe@gmail.com.

The UCHS Cross Country team has a long tradition of success both on the field and in the classroom. Here are just a few facts:

• The 2006 boys' team won the District meet and took 12^th at the State meet.

• The 2008 boys' team was runner up at districts and took 5^th at State.

• Since 2005, no boys' team has finished less than 4^th at Districts.

• Since 2005 the UCHS Cross Country team has had three different individual runners win Districts (David Lambus twice, Brian Hart, and Ali Klooster, twice).

• At state UCHS has had girls finish as high as 4^th (Ali Klooster) and 7^th (Anna Shafer-Skelton) and boys finish as high as 4^th and 6^th (David Lambus).

• In years when the UCHS team did not qualify, individual team members qualified for State. In fact every year since 2004 UCHS has sent at least two boys (and most years more than that), and at least one girl runner (most years more than that) to State.

• In 2012 and 2013 the class valedictorians were cross country runners.  Since 2000 there have been 7 class valedictorians that have been members of the cross country team.

• David Lambus holds the boy's UCHS record of 16:15 set in 2010.  Ali Klooster holds the girl's record of 19:46, set in 2006.

UCHS Robotics Team Wins Tournament

The University City High School Robolions (FRC team 3397) took first place in the 2014 Gateway Robotics Challenge, held at Hazelwood Central High School on September 13, 2014.  The Robolions competed against 25 teams from across the midwest in the inaugural year of this off-season event.  

After a day of intense competition, the Robolions advanced to the semi-finals with their alliance partners team 1985, the Robohawks from Hazelwood Central and team 2481, the Roboteers from Peoria, IL.

The team will compete again in November at the Cow Town ThrowDown in Kansas City.

You can read more about UCHS robotics here and follow the Robolions on facebook. 

2014 season competition robot, "Ulysses"

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.

Journalism Awards

And now a word from the sponsor...

From: Williams, Mary [mailto:marywilliams@ucityschools.org]
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 8:00 PM
Subject: Journalism award winners today!

Greetings,

Please congratulate our journalism students who excelled at the Sponsors of School Publications of Greater St. Louis (SSP-STL) conference Monday at Webster University. All of our publications received an overall excellent rating, which is a testament to their teamwork and dedication. One of our newspaper students, Anna Russell, was awarded a Best of Show for her editorial cartoon. Below is a detailed list; however, all students on staff contributed to our success.

Overall Publication Awards

Excellent: Overall 2013 Yearbook, Madeline Lewis, Editor-in-Chief

Excellent: Overall 2013-2014 U-Times, Lily Lewis-Stump and Alice Mutrux, Co-Editors-in-Chief

Excellent: Overall utimesonline 2013-2014, Christine Politte, Web Editor

Newspaper Individual Awards

Best of Show: Editorial Cartoon, Anna Russell

Honorable Mention: Illustrations, Anna Russell

Honorable Mention: Sports Feature Story, Christine Politte

Honorable Mention: Sports News Story, Sophia Kenyon

Honorable Mention: In-Depth Story, Sophia Kenyon and Alice Mutrux

Yearbook Individual Awards

Superior: People/Classes Design, Marina Claunch and Reneise White

Honorable Mention: News Photography, Individual Photo, Eric Strand

Thanks, Mary

--

Mary C. Williams

University City High School

Publications Adviser/English Teacher

U Times - the UCHS newspaper can be found online at http://www.utimesonline.com.

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.
 

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.

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!