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Buddy Morning Spring 2016

“Buddy Morning is my favorite day because I love seeing my buddy!” -Kyleigh, 5th grade student

Exceptional education. Bold expectations. Community Transformation. These are the words that our school lives by, but what exactly do they mean? On April 15, 2016, more than 100 individuals from the community attended Buddy Morning to find out! Community partners and leaders in St. Louis visited the school to spend one-on-one time with a City Academy student to discover what makes our school unique. This great opportunity allows community members and corporations in St. Louis to learn more about how they can support high quality education that is transforming children, families, and St. Louis every day.

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Change a Life by Volunteering

Come be part of something dynamic, positive, and powerful!

We’ve had a spate of negative news about St. Louis schools. Starting with the focus on the Normandy district after the Michael Brown shooting, it continued with the heart-wrenching story of kids trying to get access to accredited schools (profiled on the NPR program “This American Life”) and included the high profile struggles of some charter schools. The local education news seems to be relentless, boding ill for the future of our town and its most vulnerable citizens.

However, every time I set foot in City Academy I find it to be a perfect counterpoint to all the negative stories. Every week when I visit, I witness joy. I see kids who are plugged in and who are thriving. I see kids who are challenged to excel and who respond in amazing ways. When you see City Academy, you can’t help but to be full of optimism for these kids and their futures.

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Alumni Give Back to St. Louis

City Academy alumni are dedicated to giving back to the community that has given them so much. Even after graduating from City Academy, the majority of our alumni realize the impact that the school has made on them and continue to come back to volunteer. In fact, a group of about a dozen alumni in middle school and high school have recently formed the City Academy Alumni Committee in order to give back not only to City Academy but also the St. Louis community.

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The Color of Love

Our teachers have bold expectations for students. For our music teacher, Mr. Laren Loveless, these bold expectations provide students a creative environment and safe place where they can fuse every day life with music. One of the results from this environment is that sixth graders had the opportunity to write an original song first performed at City Academy’s 2016 Black History Month Assembly.

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Building Robotic Arms While Developing a Love for Science

Seven years ago, City Academy embarked on a new program in innovation and design. Robotics was added to our science curriculum for fifth and sixth graders. However, students expressed so much interest in learning more about robotics and programming that our science teacher, Mr. Erik Taylor, provided them the opportunity to further develop their skills every Thursday in Robotics Club.

For the past six years, our robotics curriculum and club have included fifth and sixth graders building, developing, and enhancing robotic vehicles throughout the school year. However, Mr. Taylor wanted to increase the robotics program this year. He decided to add robotics to the third and fourth grade curriculum. While third and fourth graders are now building vehicles in science class, fifth and sixth graders are working not only on developing vehicles but also robotic arms!

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Bold Expectations Challenge Students

We’re living in a pivotal time in history. For those of us in St. Louis, we often feel like we’re in the epicenter. Our children, our families, and our community have been and continue to be directly affected by events in our region from the past nineteen months.

This semester, sixth grade students have studied a pivotal time in world history, World War II. For many elementary school teachers, it’s often easier to gloss over the infractions, events, and deaths that occurred during this time rather than teach about this chapter in history to young students. However, City Academy teachers have bold expectations for our students and do not often take the easy road.

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Friends Committee Organize Successful Trivia Night!

Are you smarter than a fifth grader? Over 300 people attended City Academy’s fourth annual Trivia Night on March 5, 2016, to test their smarts and prove their knowledge! Attendees enjoyed a fun night of trivia along with great food and drinks, fabulous silent auction items, and a whole lot of smiles and laughter. All proceeds from the event go directly to our Scholarship Program, providing scholarships to 100% of students. By the end of the night, over $30,000 was raised for our young scholars!

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Sophie the Therapy Dog

Sophie is awesome
In so many ways,
She visits City Academy
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

With energy to spare
She’s a small ball of joy,
She helps students communicate
Both girls and boys.

Sophie has been around the block
Helping all kinds of people,
From students to patients
She’s visited all the townspeople.

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Letter from the President- Black History Month

“Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.” – Rosa Parks

These words are stenciled on the walls of City Academy along with several other inspiring quotes. So many schools celebrate Rosa Parks and many other influential African-Americans during Black History Month each February. I like to think that City Academy continually celebrates history and the heroes who have inspired us. I spend much time reflecting on the great many people who have shaped our school, as well as my belief that children, regardless of income or race, will overcome barriers with their determination, hard work, and a support system of exceptional educators with bold expectations.

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St. Louis Walk of Fame

City Academy has always celebrated Black History Month by recognizing individuals who have made a difference in society. Students typically study historical African-American leaders in the classroom and honor these leaders at school assemblies. But this year, we decided to bring awareness to great local African-American leaders. We want our students to know there are amazing leaders in St. Louis making a real difference in the community.

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