Good evening, my name is Aaliyah Elliott.
This evening I will be reciting a poem, entitled “Memory Lane” and will be reflecting on the amazing memories I’ve encountered over my years at City Academy.
Let’s see how many of you are familiar with this song. Uh, Huh, I knew many of you could relate to that. Well, Minnie Riperton sang this song “Memory Lane” in the late 1970’s but I’d like to take you down my memory lane.
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Good evening. My name is Ryan Sieve. My graduation speech is entitled “Opportunity Knocks”.
I know it may sound cliche when I say that City Academy has given me the opportunity of a lifetime. But I hold true to that statement.
When I first entered this school, it was like a whiff of fresh air, reassuring me that there were opportunities ahead. The instant feeling of security made my transition less unpredictable. I knew from my first day, when I had a brief chat with Mr. Hollenkamp, that these people were on my side. He mentioned that it was his first day also, which eased my mind to know that we were beginning this same journey together. As I took my first steps on my path here at City Academy, opportunity after opportunity came my way.
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At our first graduation in 2005, we created the Oliver Langenberg Award. This award honors a St. Louisan whose contributions have made City Academy and our broader community better. Oliver Langenberg was City Academy’s first donor in 1998, a year before we opened! Think about that. He gave money to a school with no students or teachers. Mr. Langenberg believed in the vision for a school of excellence for all families. He had faith that we would get it done. I will always be grateful.
Today, I am honored to have Mrs. Joanne Knight here, along with her daughter Anne Davidson, and to present this year’s Langenberg Award to the Charles Knight Family.
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Today I want to talk briefly about mottos or, as some people call them, mantras. A motto is a short sentence or phrase chosen to encapsulate the beliefs or ideals guiding an individual, family, or institution. At each point in my life I had a different motto that pushed me through. After watching Finding Nemo, my motto was “just keep swimming.” I stuck with it throughout my career at City Academy. I just kept moving and telling myself there is a pot of gold at the end of this journey…I know I’m moving towards something great. And I’ll tell you, City Academy sets you up for something great. Everyone who graduates from here moves on to impact their school and the world around them.
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Good evening my name is Jeremiah Clay.
I stand here today ecstatic at the young man that I have grown into over the years. You see, I was the little boy that spent most days with a visit to the office. The only thing that would calm my soul was a Good Ole’ Book.
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Hello, I am Kailand Dennis, and I will be sharing my poem. It is entitled, “My Time”, as it is about my time at City Academy.
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This spring, two very special visitors have been around City Academy. You may find on the field playing kickball, in the classroom assisting our students, or in the library helping pack up our books for renovations to our current facility.
Josh (John Burroughs School ’18) and Jordan (Whitfield School ’18) are high school seniors at John Burroughs School and Whitfield School. As a capstone project to their high school experiences, they each followed their passion to connect with students by selecting City Academy as their internship site.
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Second grade recently completed a unit on St. Louis history. This unit was an extension of their ongoing study of figurative language. The class began the history unit by learning about St. Louis. Through this unit, students discovered meaning of the symbols of our city’s flag, the confluence, and the geography of the area.
Second graders also examined past and present photographs of the riverbank. They were surprised to see how it has changed over many years due to flooding!
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The Missouri Botanical Garden Shaw Nature Reserve has been a longtime community partner with City Academy. For over ten years, they have hosted third-sixth grade students on overnight field trips. These trips, led by our science teacher and STEAM coordinator, Erik Taylor, have provided hands-on experience of Missouri’s native ecosystems to students.
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The City Academy library is home to nearly 14,000 titles. But our library is more than just books, thanks to Librarian and Tech Integration Coordinator, Marybeth Huff.
Marybeth has been with City Academy for the past ten years. In that ten years, Marybeth has been at the center of encouraging our students to become life-long learners. She has ensured the success of not only our literacy program but as the Tech Integration Coordinator, has implemented programs such as Coding and Digital Citizenship. This modern library approach provides books in many ways for the students, from overflow books going to each classroom, to a new plan this May for open e-books (free online books) and tumble books (audio books).
Multiple programs have led to our students’ literary success. The Accelerated Reader Program provides readers a challenge based upon the difficulty of the book. After reading a book, students take a reading comprehension test, even as early as in kindergarten.
Additionally, City Academy partners with Bring Me a Book Foundation to provide students with current hardback picture books. Bring Me A Book also makes possible our take-home book program in junior kindergarten and kindergarten. Through this program, Early Childhood students take home four books each week to read at home with their family.
Marybeth empowers our students to be strong, independent readers. She provides space for students to investigate their own interests and discover reading material relative to their curiosities.
View a few of our favorite library books
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