Above the main staircase at AMRCS hangs the ASPIRA Pittire. The note cards attached to the Pittire are a daily reminder of the personal goals and reasons why each of the fifteen participants of AMRC's first Freshmen Connection program want to go to college.
 
The fifteen incoming 9th graders participated in the Freshmen Connection Program for 5 weeks (June 21st to July 23rd 2009) to reinforce their reading, math and social/emotional high school success skills. The five week Freshmen Connection program is designed to help rising freshmen get accustomed to their new school while building academic, social- emotional skills, and meeting new friends. Monday through Thursday the students participated in morning and afternoon sessions of Math, Advisory and English, with Fridays being dedicated to field trips. Twice a week, during the afternoon sessions, students were given the opportunity to meet with upperclassmen (Senior Youth Leaders) and challenge themselves in team building games and sports. 

"Freshmen Connection was the most fun month of my summer vacation." Said Christopher C. of the new class of 2013. "What I liked about F.C. was the activities, all the teamwork, and the classes that we had. The college preparation was very helpful. [Freshmen Connection] guided us to knowing what to be prepared for these four years of high school".
 
The first field trip took the rising freshmen to Northeastern Illinois University where they participated in a scavenger hunt and meet with an admissions representative to understand the importance of a strong start in their high school career. The F.C. students and teachers were later challenged to overcome their fears as they scaled NEIU's Rock Climbing Wall, as a metaphor for the confidence they would have to build for a freshmen year.

Ana M., who is extremely afraid of heights, gazed at the five story wall, took several deep breaths, roped up and started to climb. "I was really scared, but I wanted to see how far I could get. I was encouraged by everybody saying "Come on, you can do it! It's not even that scary."
 
In addition to welcoming all our students back to an exciting academic year, we are very excited about the new faculty members who have chosen AMRCS to enrich the lives of our students:

• Mr. Clarke will teach our 9th grade Interactive Math Program I
• Mr. Wheadon will work with our 11th graders in Computer Science
• Mr. Joseph will empower our 11th graders through the Interactive Math Program III
• Ms. Murray will work with our 12th graders in African American/Latino History and Literature.

             Office Hours:
             7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.