News In Brief: September 2012, Back To School
By Molly Couture, Venture Prep Enrollment and Recruitment Assistant
So fresh. So clean. 2013. That’s the Venture Prep senior class motto. The senior class started their school year off to a very fresh and clean start with a school-sponsored yard sale on August 11, proceeds from which will benefit the 2013 class’ senior year events like homecoming, prom, graduation and honors awards night.
The 2013 senior class will be the second class to ever graduate from Venture Prep. Venture Prep is a free, rigorous, 6-12 charter school which shares a campus with Smiley Middle School at 26th and Holly. The school’s mission is to close the achievement gap and prepare all scholars for college and career success through a project-based learning approach. The school offers college preparatory curriculum, intensive academic support and personalized instruction. Last year’s graduating class of 2012 had a 100% college acceptance rate, and as a class they were awarded over $670,000 in scholarships.
This year, the senior scholars are ready for the challenge, and some have already started down the scholarship path. Tomas Manriquez-Hernandez, one of the seniors who led the yard sale fundraising effort, was selected last spring as a regional recipient of the Princeton Prize in Race Relations scholarship, in which he was awarded $1,000 for college and was flown out to Princeton University for a 2 1/2 day symposium. Tyonka Washington, another senior who organized the class fundraiser, is constantly involved with student government activities and community involvement projects. Student government is responsible for planning school dances, organizing spirit week and advocating to the administration on behalf of the student body. Her leadership and initiative will doubtlessly aid in her scholarship search.
In addition to being special for their determination and drive, Manriquez-Hernandez and Washington represent the journey that Venture Prep has undergone as a school. In the fall of 2010, Envision Leadership Prep merged with Denver Venture School to become Venture Prep. Washington was one of the members of the first 9th grade class of Envision Leadership, and Manriquez-Hernandez will be graduating as one of the last remaining students of Denver Venture School. While their educational paths to get where they are now were different, their current goals are the same: graduation with the promise of college.
A Letter to the Smiley Middle School Community
By Gwen Victor, Principal
For those considering Smiley Middle School for their children, I wanted to share some information about us that might help you make a decision. As I enter my second year as Principal of Smiley Middle School, I want everyone to know that my staff and I are committed to making Smiley a great school that puts students first.
International Baccalaureate
As an IB school, our focus is on creating a community of learners and leaders, who contribute not only to the community we live in, but also to a larger community, the world. Becoming an IB school takes many years; we are confident though based on our IB authorization visit last fall, we will no longer be just a candidate school, but an IB authorized school! We were informed after the visit the need to offer Language B (Spanish) as a yearlong course. We have hired a full time Spanish teacher to meet this requirement and fully expect to be IB authorized in the fall!
Safety
We are committed to creating an environment at Smiley where all students feel safe and want to be there. First of all, students know the staff cares about them and someone is always available to listen to their concerns. Secondly, we are implementing Restorative Justice, a discipline model that teaches conflict resolution skills and helps students view the situation with empathy. This model is less about punishment and more about learning how to deal with and prevent conflict. We do this to be proactive, because we know if students understand our expectations, they are more likely to live up to them. Smiley deals with the student behaviors the same as other middle schools, and our goal is always to deal with student conflicts immediately – before they escalate. Our staff will also be trained by the Conflict Center this August, so that they can immediately identify and address inappropriate student behaviors. We have no tolerance for bullying.
Academic Rigor
This past year, Smiley Middle School students won awards across the district and city in science, math, semantics, speech, art, writing and athletics. Our students and staff worked hard this year, and we will continue to work at making sure our instruction is rigorous so that our students are prepared for high school and beyond. Collaboration to ensure student success will be a priority and time for teacher collaboration is built into the schedule. We also have a Teacher Effectiveness Coach who will meet with teachers weekly to help ensure that instruction is meeting the needs of ALL our students and we have a distinct honors program that challenges students to perform at a higher level. With collaboration for teachers built into the school day, we will offer many activities like drama, yearbook, mathletics and semantics along with middle school sports after school. We will also offer band to a group of students either during the school day or after school.
Parental and Community Engagement
We strive to keep parents and the community informed through letters, emails, the robo-dialer, monthly newsletters and events here at school. Parent and Community Engagement Specialist, Julieann Trujillo and I will continue to develop and refine ways to keep parents and the community informed and involved in what is happening at Smiley.
Please visit our website – smiley.dpsk12.org and look for us on Facebook, where you can see many exciting events we participate in and find more information about us.