Quarter 1 Newsletter - Young Women`s Leadership Charter School

Quarter 1 Wrap-up Edition: October 17, 2014
Phoenix Pride Newsletter
Chief Academic Officer’s Message
Key Dates to Know:

10/24: Report Card
Pick-up/Teacher Conference Day

11/3: Family Advisory
Council Meeting; 6:00
to 7:00 in room 105

11/11: Veteran’s Day;
No School (Tuesday)

11/12: 11th Grade
Parent Night; 6:00 to
7:30 in room 105

12/5: Winter Ball
(replaces Homecoming
Dance); 7:00 to 10:00
at Taylor Park

12/15-12/18:
Semester Exam Week
Happy 15th Birthday YWLCS! As
we celebrate and reminisce about
our journey, I flashback to a scene
in 1998 when I was sitting with a
committee discussing a proposal
for what we hoped would be the
first all-girls public school in Chicago - even before charter schools
opened in the city! Now, when I
am talking to our young leaders,
experiencing our engaging curriculum, and connecting students with
enrichment opportunities, it strikes
me that the school‟s existence is a
powerful example of leadership
and vision, and evidence that
dreams can become reality. Over
the years, the commitment and
investment of our families have
made our successes possible.
As we continue our partnership
together, I want to encourage everyone to get involved in any way
possible. We would love to see
Inside this issue:
Student Spotlight
2
Leadership Day
2
STEM Panel
2
Spirit Week
3
After School Clubs
and Sports
3
Hispanic Heritage
Month Celebrations
3
Staff Spotlight
4
you at our next Family Advisory
Council (FAC) meeting on Monday, November 3rd at 6 p.m.
Please check your student‟s grades
regularly in PowerSchool and feel
free to reach out to our teachers at
any time. Additionally, all students
should be keeping track of assignments in their planners, so please
check planners regularly and encourage your young woman leader
to stay organized.
There are some great websites you
can use to help with homework
including Khan Academy
(www.khanacademy.org) which
offers searchable videos for all
math concepts, LearnZillion
(www.learnzillion.com) which
offers easy-to-follow videos for
reading and writing strategies, and,
of course, YouTube which has an
endless supply of mini-lessons that
can help reinforce concepts
Dr. Garth-McCullough and Mr.
Pease greet students on the
first day of school.
learned in class.
We appreciate your continued
support on our journey to ensure
all students are prepared for college!
Sincerely,
Ruanda Garth-McCullough, Ph.D
Chief Academic Officer
Report Card Pick-up Day: Friday, October 24
Your student‟s advisor will reach
out to set up a half hour appointment for report card pick-up on
Friday, October 24. This is an
opportunity for you to meet the
advisor and conference with individual teachers as we work together to provide the supports necessary for your student to succeed.
Appointment windows are available from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and
from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. Please
note that teachers will not be available between 2:00 and 3:00. All
advisors and teachers will be easily
accessible on the first floor in
rooms 103, 104, and 105.
Please plan to join us to discuss
your child‟s areas of strength and
areas for growth. We look forward
to seeing you Friday!
Student Spotlight: Kaylynn Cusic
By Kaylynn Cusic
Kaylynn Cusic at the U.S.
Capitol Building during
her visit to Washington
D.C. this summer for a
college tour.
This summer I had the pleasure
of visiting Cornell University for
the week long engineering based
CURIE Academy. While I
learned a lot about different
engineering fields, I was also
required to complete a group
project focused on electrical and
computer engineering. While
working with a four person team,
I took my newly acquired coding
skills and created a wearable
health monitor for babies. In
addition to that laborious but
rewarding project, I was able to
familiarize myself with Cornell's
campus, staff, and faculty especially within their Diversity
Program for Engineering.
Before I arrived, I was convinced that Cornell was where I
would love spending the next
four years of my life, but finally
setting foot on campus was a
definite confirmation. While I
strolled around the campus and
entered Mews Hall, I envisioned
my future as a Cornellian with
pride, knowing that I had made it
to what might serve as my future
home.
I am currently a semi-finalist for
the Chicago chapter of the Posse
Scholarship. Becoming a Posse
Scholar would be a special opportunity that would allow me to
attend college tuition-free along
with a supportive, multicultural
team - a posse - of 10 peers who
will be there for me throughout
my undergraduate years.
Leadership Day Activities
“Make big plans; aim
high in hope and work,
remembering that a
noble, logical diagram
once recorded will not
die, but long after we are
gone be a living thing.”
~Daniel Burnham
As part of our leadership curriculum and programming, students
will participate in “Leadership
Day” field activities four times
this year (one full day per quarter). These activities and experiences supplement the leadership
lessons that are part of our weekly advisory curriculum, and each
of the four Leadership Days will
center on one of our four leadership pillars: Vision, Accountability, Perseverance, and Service to
Others.
On October 10, all students participated in experiences centered on
the theme of “Vision”. Eighth
graders visited the Museum of
Science and Industry and explored
and discussed three exhibits focused on past and present visionaries and technological advances that
may one day change the world.
Freshmen and Sophomores visited
college campuses for the day and
walked through a day in the life of
a college student - envisioning
their own futures!
STEM Panel
YWLCS Scholars ask questions about
careers in engineering!
Page 2
On the evening of September 30,
female leaders with various science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM) backgrounds joined us to share their
professional experiences and
answer student questions.
scientists and engineers from
Arcadis - a global consulting
firm focused on delivering sustainable outcomes through the
application of design, engineering, project, and management
services.
The guest panel consisted of four
The panelists shared their
Juniors and Seniors started their
day by visiting the Chicago History Museum where they explored the “Crossroads of America” exhibit and learned how
significant events in the history
of Chicago allowed visionaries
to shape how the city looks today. They then took a 1.6 mile
guided walking tour of Millennium Park using the “My View
Chicago” app to learn about
Daniel Burnham‟s vision for
Chicago (from “The Plan of
Chicago” published in 1909 to
today‟s reality).
thoughts on leadership and what
it takes to be successful in
STEM fields. When asked “Why
is STEM important for women?”, one panelist said, “a better
question is „why are women
important for STEM?‟” After the
event, a few students said they
were truly inspired to pursue
careers in engineering!
Quarter 1 Wrap-up Edition: October 17, 2014
Spirit Week Events
Throughout the week of September 29, students and staff members showed school spirit by
participating in themed dressdown days. Theme days included “mix and match day”, “twin
day”, “class spirit day”, and
“superhero day”.
On Thursday, October 2, students enjoyed an afternoon outdoors representing their classes
and cheering on the junior and
senior teams in the annual Pow-
der Puff flag football game.
Before the game, students participated in a “spirit stick” cheer
competition. Despite the fact that
they were outnumbered, the
seniors proved to be the loudest
and proudest as their cheers of
“Phoenix Rise, Phoenix Pride”
could be heard all the way over
at Mercy Hospital! Check out
the photo of the players proudly
displaying the spirit stick at the
bottom right.
The Powder Puff football game
was close until the end. With
only minutes to play, the seniors
scored to take the lead and they
held on to win after making a
goal line stand on the ensuing
drive by the juniors. In the end,
everyone learned that teamwork
and sportsmanship are what
matter most in sports!
Thank you to the coaches, referees, volunteers, and parents who
were able to join us!
Powder puff football game and
spirit stick pep rally on Thursday,
October 2.
After School Clubs and Sports
Chicago Youth Centers (CYC),
your after school program provider, is back with a mission to
continue to EMPOWER and
ENRICH the students of
YWLCS!
This year‟s first session of CYC
has started with a bang! We‟ve
introduced a few new clubs,
brought back the crowd favorites, and added more educational
supports for our students.
The Phoenix Flyers basketball
team took flight in the first annu-
al CYC 3on3 Basketball Tournament. Our Cheerleaders shined
bright cheering for our brother
school, Urban Prep-West, at
their victorious homecoming
game. The garden is blooming to
perfection thanks to the green
thumbs in our Roots Garden
club. And on the right day, you
can hear beautiful melodic notes
swirling through the halls thanks
to the YWLCS Choir.
Did you miss your opportunity
to register for this session? No
worries! Join us the first week of
school in January when our new
session begins. Free registration
reopens and new clubs will be
added to the schedule. There‟s
room for everyone in the CYC
family!
In addition to programs offered
through CYC, volleyball and
soccer will be starting soon. See
Mr. Perez if you‟re interested in
volleyball or Ms. Andujar for
information about soccer.
YWLCS Cheerleaders cheering at the
Urban Prep-West homecoming football
game!
Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations
Each year, Hispanic Heritage
Month is celebrated from September 15 to October 15. September
15 is significant because it‟s the
anniversary of independence for
several Latin American countries.
Mexico also celebrates its independence on September 16.
Page 3
This year, YWLCS Spanish
teachers Mr. Perez and Ms. Kennedy have coordinated a series
of fun and educational activities
focused on Hispanic culture and
history to supplement what students are learning in class.
Students have enjoyed activities
after school on Wednesdays
including a cooking class (Mr.
Perez‟s “walking tacos” were a
big hit!), a movie showing, a
piñata celebration, and a dance
class (even some of our teachers
and administrators showed off
their salsa dancing skills!).
Mr. Perez teaches senior Antalisha
White and her classmates how to
make “walking tacos” during an after
school cooking class on Wednesday,
October 8.
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Staff Spotlight: Dr. Olga Golub
Olga Golub has been teaching mathematics
for more than thirty years! She studied in
Ukraine as an undergrad and later earned her
Ph.D at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. She currently teaches trigonometry, algebra 2/trigonometry (hybrid course), and AP
calculus to juniors and seniors.
When you walk into Dr. Golub‟s classroom
on a typical day you will see a lot of student
participation. She prides herself on encouraging students to share their knowledge during
both whole group and small group discussions. She pushes them to explain their solutions to classmates using a clear, step-by-step
approach and she expects consistent use of
mathematical terminology. When asked about
her role as a teacher, Dr. Golub said, “I consider myself to be more like a facilitator in the
classroom.”
She takes great pride in our school and loves
seeing students succeed - especially when
they start the year thinking math is not necessarily their strong suit. Her favorite part about
working at YWLCS is “seeing the girls graduating and being accepted by the colleges of
their dreams.”
When asked what advice she wants to give
YWLCS students, she recited her favorite
quote from Henry David Thoreau: “Success
usually comes to those who are too busy to be
looking for it.”
Dr. Golub and 11th grade student Kinzie
Rahman on “Twin Day”!