What's Happening at Calumet High School?

Updated May 17, 2010

Ernest & Young Educate Students on the LGBTA community

Last Friday, April 23rd Ernest and Young came to Cal High to educate the tenth grade about the Lesbian, Gay and Transsexual community. In a society now where students are open about their various sexual orientations, Cal High feels it is important to teach students the ability to be tolerant of all people regardless of orientation. In order to promote this behavior around the school, E&Y choose to go to the classrooms of the tenth graders to inform them about the politically correct and acceptable ways to treat and refer to the LGBTA community. E&Y started the day by playing a vocabulary game with the students in where students learned the real meaning behind a lot the common language used to describe people of the LGBTA community. After the game the tenth grade students were lead into the auditorium for a panel discussion. The LGBTA panel consisted of 2 gay men, one lesbian woman, and an African- American man, who was there to relate the similarities in discrimination of the LGBTA community with discrimination of African Americans. Each panel member introduced themselves first, as the students sat eagerly awaiting the Q&A portion. After introductions, students actively listened and asked several thought provoking questions. The whole experience seemed to be very informative and helpful to the students, making them a lot more aware of their fair actions and treatment of the LGBTA community.

The New 2010- 2011 US Empowered Students

Urban Students Empowered (US Empowered) has worked with Perspectives since the 2008/2009 school year.  Formerly a weekly after-school program, US Empowered has transformed its structure to build an in-school model.  Capitalizing on Perspectives' "college for certain" mission, this three year program boasts a 99% 4-year college acceptance rate, 3 points growth on the ACT, and full funding for at least the freshman year in college.  Sophomore students who applied via essay and interview have committed to participate in this intensive leadership program during their junior, senior, and freshman year in college.  This program is highly selective yet remains flexible in its enrollment practice to allow for a variety of "just right" candidates.

Congratulations to the following sophomores enrolled in the US Empowered program:  Dorian Jones, Constance Metzler, Jaire Sims, Kingston Madison, Spencer Williams, Hannah Crawford, DeAngelo Parks, Linzy Coleman, Bashane Crayton, Alexander Hubbard, Jessica Banks, Janelle Johnson, Tytana Sallay, Ciara Newman, Ashae Wheeler, Ashley Humphrey, Nakeya Boyles, Brenda Russell, Kyle Price, Tierney Cobb, Brandon Mahone, Quanika Morris, Erin Davis, Reginald Ferguson, Cory Harper, and Latecea Lee.

College Tour Day

On the 28th and 29th of April freshmen and sophomores went on several college tours in the Chicago- land area as well as the state of Illinois in general. The freshmen classes toured the Chicago universities including Olivet Nazarene University, University of St. Francis, Robert Morris College, North Central University and DePaul University. The sophomores toured Augustana University, University of Illinois Urbana- Champaign, Marquette University and Valparaiso University. Most of the tours consisted of a brief presentation about admissions expectations, financial aid info, dorm life, and college programs. After or before the presentations groups were lead by tour guides on a walk around the campus, where students were able to observe actual live classrooms and see the small size of the dorms. In most cases students then ate lunch on campus in either the college recreation centers or college cafeterias. Both days were exciting and fun for most of the students, however all of the students were well behaved and represented Cal High with the utmost respect.

Updated April 28, 2010

Student Government

Cal High recently revealed their new student government board for the 2010- 2011 school year. Mr. Akash Tharani heads the government program and is excited to begin working to empower student voice for the upcoming year. The government coordinates a majority of the big high school dances and spirit weeks including Homecoming. The group held their first meeting last week to kick- off the new tradition with a pizza party. To apply for one of these coveted positions, students  completed an application and provided a letter of recommendation. The grade level senators were chosen by their classmates. Congratulations to the following officers:

President Laura Livingston, Vice President Iesha Blue, Secretary Latecea Lee, and Treasurer BreAnna Cox.

Grade Level Leaders:11th Andrea Britton, 10th Mark Redmond, and 9th Jayla Frederick.

After School Matters at Cal High

Famous for the national committment to educating students in urban communities, After School Matters has joined Cal High students to a group called the Young People's Project.  The Young People's Project Chicago (YPP) seeks to engage youth using math as a vector to introduce leadership, teaching, and organizing in a way that builds communities of young leaders, awareness about the importance of quality education and transferable skills for young people that can help them attain an excellent quality of life.  On April 14th, Cal High senior Earl Aaron was honored and traveled with YPP to the SNCC 50th anniversary conference at Shaw University in Raliegh, North Carolina.  

In Chicago, YPP works with high schools and universities to train high school youth as Math Literacy Workers (MLWS) to engage elementary and middle school students in our Building Demand for Math Literacy and Flagway Programs. 

Between Calumet High and Tech, we have 30 high school students that meet every Tuesday-Thursday from 3:30 to 6:30p.m. They engage in various math and social justice workshops. Students plan and facilitate learning sessions for Perspectives middle school students.  These sessions aim to provide middle school students with positive high school role models. The high school student mentors work every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:45 - 5:15. In addition, high school students have the opportunity to get extra help in math from YPP tutors. There is a mutual expectation for progress.  The group just recently celebrated their last session and students presented their accomplishments over the past semester .

Cal High Summer Scholars

Congratulations to sophomore student Lateca Lee! She was selected for the USC Anneburg summer program. This program will afford her the opportunity to spend four weeks participating in various classes and seminars at the University of Southern California. The program is completely paid for, including her trip to California. We wish Latecea luck "where communication, journalism, and the future converge."

Also, Cal high junior Winorr Mable was admitted to the SuperScholar/EXCEL Program  at Xavier University.  The  goal to  of the program is boost critical thinking skills.  With a humanities focus, SuperScholar/EXCEL is a strenuous 4-week program that not only allows for academic growth, but  new social experiences as well.

Updated April 9, 2010

Last week capped a successful indoor track season for our boys' track and field team. There were tremendous strides from our athletes as they showed strong progress and forced themselves into the conversation as one of the most up-and-coming programs in the city. The PCS Warriors competed at the CPS Indoor Championships at the University of Chicago on Sunday, March 21, 2009. Some highlights from the meet included an 8th place finish in the triple jump from freshman Christopher Randolph with a jump of 35 ft 11 inches. Senior Bryant Spencer won 1st place in the shot put event with a throw of 47 ft 6 inches. In the 400 meter dash, Spencer Williams finished 4th in the city with a time of 54.17 seconds. Spencer Williams also qualified to compete downstate at the Prep Top Times meet at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, IL on Saturday, March 27, 2010. He will be joined by freshman Lonnie Washington and senior Bryant Spencer. Spencer Williams qualified to compete downstate with a time of 52.64 in the 400 meter dash posted at De La Salle High School. Bryant Spencer qualified for the shot put downstate with a throw of 48 feet, 6 inches.  Lonnie Washington qualified in the 55 meter dash with a time of 6.34 seconds posted at De La Salle High School. He'll also compete in the long jump as he qualified with a jump of 20 feet 11 inches posted at Bloom High School. Wish our student-athletes the best of luck competing on the highest level the indoor season has to offer!

Girls Track:

What a year we have had so far!!  PCS is quickly becoming the underdog of the CPS track teams.  The indoor season began with an exhibition meet at Niles West in mid- February.  Many of our athletes were out of shape and were not able to physically finish the races we enrolled them in.  Since then, the girls have competed in many meets, most of them where the girls placed in the top half of the standings.  We have a consistent sophomore runner who consecutively places first in the 400 m and 200m! This student, Jovanni Spears from CalHigh, will competed at the Indoor State Championships in Bloomington on March 27, 2010.  In addition, our 4*400 team continues to win medals for placing in the top three placements at almost every meet.  Two weeks ago, we won first place at a DeLasalle Championship,  a competition where we competed against 26 teams!!   In the city championships, our girls ran fantastically and finished 3rd in the City Championships.  We are so excited for the upcoming outdoor season. 

Calumet High Keeps Freshman on Task with Learning Lunches

Statistically it has been reported that students who fail their freshman year of high school have little to no chance of actually going to college. In order to avoid this statistic Cal High is encouraging their freshman students to stay focused and pass all of their classes. All Cal High freshmen that are currently failing a class have been required to stay upstairs in class during lunch time to spend extra needed time learning their course work. The freshman eat lunch in a freshman classroom where they are either given extra work to do as a whole or they are expected to complete missing assignments from failing classes. All freshman teachers are responsible for leading the classroom throughout the week. The learning lunches take place everyday during normal Cal High lunch hours. In addition to learning lunches, Cal High motivates students to take an extra interest in their own progress by giving them updated grade reports every two weeks for every class. In their ADL classes freshman spend every Friday checking their grades. The learning lunches have been in effect for all of quarter 3 so we have evidence that suggests learning lunches have increased achievement for many members of the freshman class.

 

Cal High is providing Summer Opportunities for all Students

As the last 2009-2010 quarter approaches, Cal High wants to encourage students to continue to stay productive during their summer breaks. Therefore the school has been giving students ADL lessons on the importance of taking advantage of summer opportunities. In ADL Cal High is requiring students to at least apply to three different summer programs or jobs. In some cases the summer opportunities include summer jobs where students are paid. In other cases students have a chance to gain college experience by attending summer programs at universities across the nation. In addition, summer internships are available where students are paid a stipend and learn about different types of future careers. In any case Cal High is encouraging students to stay off the streets during the summer by doing something positive that can keep them intellectually engaged throughout the summer months. Some students have already applied to several programs already and have been busy asking teachers for letters of recommendation. Among these students, Winorr Mable was the first junior student accepted to a summer program. She will be going to the Super Scholar/ Excel program at Xavier University in New Orleans.

 

Upcoming Student College Tours

Students in the National Honor Society, College MAP, and US Empowered programs will be attending two college tours in April sponsored by selective colleges looking to advance multiculturalism on their campuses.  On April 6th, 80 students combined from both Cal High and Cal Tech will be visiting Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.   On April 17th, students from these groups will go overnight to Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa to participate in Diversity Day.

Updated March 17, 2010

 

 

Juniors are taking the PSAE

In preparation for the big ACT test, juniors at Cal High are taking a round of practice ACT tests. They have taken one full-length practice ACT already and next week they will have a Work Keys practice. In the weeks following they will take one more practice before the actual ACT tests. All junior classes are focused on content and strategies to build stamina for the April test. Staff and students alike are pumped for success.

Teacher Highlights

  • Ms. Klein was accepted to Columbia University's Teachers College Summer Principal Academy.
  • Ms. Holmes and Ms. Cummings applied for a selective trip offered by Teach For America.  They were accepted to participate from their experiences emphasizing the attention placed on mastering College Readiness Standards to produce high achievement.  Ms. Holmes, Ms. Cummings will be accompanied by twelve students selected to attend the trip based on their academic standing and a submitted essay.  They will spend the entire day at University of Wisconsin, Madison attending a student panel, listening to a professor speaker, and learning about financial aid, as well as some time to explore campus and get a feel for the culture of the University.

School-Wide College Tours

In April of Quarter 4, Cal High students are touring several different colleges around the nation. These trips motivate students to perform throughout their high-school experience. Cal High is taking their students on a variety of tours, selecting liberal arts schools, state schools, and specialized schools. The freshmen are going to Illinois State colleges within the Northwest and Chicagoland area. They are touring DePaul, Robert Morris, St. Francis of Joliet, Purdue University- Calumet, North Central of Naperville, and Olivet- Nazarene University. The sophomore classes are moving outside the city limits, including Valparaiso, Marquette, Augustana, and University of Illinois. The juniors and seniors will be exposed to out of state colleges since they are closer to graduating.

  

  

Updated February 24, 2010

US Empowered Juniors go to DePaul University

Us Empowered Juniors went on their second college tour at DePaul University last Friday. The selected juniors were so committed to choosing the right college that they all showed up at 8:15 a.m. even though their classmates had the day off.  The juniors started their day by meeting bright and early in the morning at Illinois Institute of Technology, where they were met with various other juniors from 12 other high schools around Chicago. During the tour of DePaul, students experienced sitting through two real college courses: Community Psychology and Philosophy of Self. The students were able to compare the differences in classroom rigor and participation from a college course to their high school classrooms. Finally, instead of simply touring the college with a guide, the students went on a scavenger hunt around the campus, where they learned interesting facts about each location visited. Overall, the trip generated strong interest; everyone was ready to complete an admissions application to Depaul University.

Unity Week a Success

Ms. Self and Ms. Dowell organized Unity Week at Cal High during the first week of February. Students and staff were brought together with various spirit days and celebrated being a community of positive and supportive people. The week ended with a Cal High/Cal Tech student vs. staff game and a dance. The game was extremely competitive however the staff triumphed over the students, winning by only a couple of points (32-30). Go Staff! The following dance was fun-filled and promoted student unity. The students were dressed to impress and the staff was there ready to get their chaperone on!

Unity Week as a Kick- Off to Peace Week

As a kickoff to Peace week Cal high is having a Unity week, February 1st - February 5th to encourage school spirit and unity amongst students and staff. In a hope of fostering a more positive and unified school environment Cal High is allowing students and staff to dress down all week in accordance to the theme of each day. The week will commence with a Peace Rally during 8 and 9th period on Friday, kicking off the Peace Campaign the following week. During the assembly the student peer mediators will be recognized and the Peer Mediation program will be introduced. The assembly will also include an inspiring speech by an outside speaker who has completely turned his life around. The day will go on to include a faculty versus student basketball game afterschool.

Spreading Harmony with a Peace Campaign

Calumet High will be introducing a new campaign to spread peace around the school starting next week. To encourage students to stay committed to A Disciplined Life, Cal high will be hosting a peace week February 8- 19th. During these two weeks students will learn how violence in their community, school and world affect them and ways to effectively manage conflicts peacefully. These topics will be reinforced daily to students in each of their classes through PDNs that pertain to the subject but also communicate peaceful messages. Throughout the weeks staff will reward students who demonstrate peaceful ADL principles by awarding them dress down days and other student desired privileges. In ADL classes students will form groups and put together one minute public service announcements related to anti- violence messages. Each ADL section will vote on one group to represent the class and present the best PSA in front of the school at the next all school meeting. At that point all students will have a chance to vote on the best PSA. The winning PSA for the school will be broadcast on OPRAH radio sometime within the year!

After School Fair & After School Showcase

To kick off the beginning of Spring after school activities which begin February 1st, the Calumet high schools hosted a preview fair and showcase on Thursday, Jan 28th. Approximately 15 after school activities were represented at the fair, giving students the opportunity to speak with after school instructors and students to see what after school programs have to offer. Following the fair was the after school showcase where the hip hop dance team, step team, culture club and a student from the choir performed. The highlight of the night was a play written and performed by the drama club called a Good Heart's Intention. All of the student performers and the club advisors did an excellent job!!! The play raised $100 in donations, which will be donated to the efforts in Haiti.

Parent Meeting

Cal high had another successful parent meeting. Our social worker, Laura Elk and her intern Katie Duffya lead a parent group with the parents on motivating their student academically. The parents had a great time and learned a lot of valuable information. They left the group with great feedback on the activity such as:

"Continue having discussions for the parents"

"Hearing others' experiences, receiving new ideas and gaining a partnership were valuable"

"Keep having parent meetings to keep us focused"

As of January 2010, Congratulations to our First Senior Class Students Accepted to College!

Briana Allen, Necole Boyles, Basia Brown, Lauren Brown, Jonathan Coleman, Isis Garner, Katherine Green, Chantell Knox Jasmine Leeper, Sife Muhammed, Shawndra Pitts, ELizabeth Tolbert, and Jaleesa Walker.

Cal High Robotic Team Places High in First Statewide Competition

The Cal High/Cal Tech Robotics Team participated in the statewide FIRST Tech Challenge at IIT on Saturday, December 12th.  Our team, The Robot Warriors did VERY well!  They placed 4th in the competition out of 27 schools from various locations across the state.  Students built robots designed to play HotShot! The game required the robots to collect balls and toss them into a goal.  Congratulations to our team members:  Daniel Banks, Jamall Porche, Denzel Parker, Alisabeth Boyland, Quinsean Carney, Timmie Self, Toinell Ball, and Sean Calvin.  Also, the team is especially grateful to their instructors from Project Syncere, Jason Coleman, Seun Phillips, and to the BOeing Corporation for sponsoring the team. 

  

 

Sister to Sister Takes Responsibility for Ladies of Cal High

The Sister to Sister club recently showed initiative by decorating the Cal High ladies bathroom this past week.  The club consists of 13 female students ranging in high school grade levels from Cal Tech and Cal High.  This group was formed promote unity between young women by providing a place where students can share their personal lives and experiences in a comfortable and supportive environment.  The group regularly has "girl talk" sessions where they have open and free discussions on topics like their family life, social experiences and of course, academic concerns.  The group encourages conversations between ladies to be free of ridicule, hate, bickering, and disrespect.  Recently the group recognized that the Cal High ladies bathroom was in need of some order and maintenance, so the group took the initiative to decorate the bathroom.  They hung up lady-like pictures and set up a table full of lotions, hand sanitizer, hand soap, and cleansing wipes free for students to use.  The ladies even took it a step further in include the ADL principles on the walls of the bathroom as a constant reminder to young ladies to be demonstrating a A Disciplined Life throughout their day.  The Cal High female students and staff have taken a great liking to the fancy new bathroom.  The Sister to  Sister club hopes to encourage the ladies of Perspectives to become successful women of color and to follow the motto:  unity + love = PROGRESS.

US Empowered Tours Northwestern University

Urban Students Empowered juniors took one of their first college tours last week.  The Cal High group of juniors met with students from other US Empowered schools in the city at IIT on December 4th.  After a piping hot breakfast, students traveled together via bus to Northwestern University in Evanston, IL where they toured the school and received a sneak peak at the "college experience."  During the tour, students networked with administrators and current students, visited dorm rooms, and experienced eating lunch in a newly renovated cafeteria with flatscreen TVs.  After lunch students were blown away by a wide variety of entertainment led by student groups such as "Boom-Shaka," among others.  Just when things couldn't get any better, Nick Roach of the Chicago Bears made a guest-appearance to motivate our students to reach for the stars.  Needless to say, by the end of the trip, all 12 of Cal High's US Empowered students were ready to apply to Northwestern!