From the Principal's Desk:

This morning as students walked into our school, they were greeted by three of our teachers line dancing. Music blaring, peals of laughter, students joining in: this was not how my teachers ever acted when I arrived at high school!    

What was the occasion? It's Tuesday. Ms. Rainey, Ms. Fuller and Ms. Mathew greet students like this every week. On Fridays, volunteers from Old St. Pat's greet our students with cheers, high-fives and noisemakers. Mr. Kelly and I often have a baseball greeting, getting kids in rundowns and tagging them out (and it's the rare kid who gets past me! I'll get you next time, Nadia!) Mr. Horan  shakes students' hands and makes references to 1970s folk songs. They usually smile politely. Mr. Thorne plays DJ, mixing it up, one day Michael Jackson, another day a song professionally recorded by NLCP staff with a rap about being on time for school. And Mr. Westerfield...let's just say he has a unique style that always gets a response.

              Then there are the teachers and counselors who meet the students right inside the doors-asking how they are, giving them make-up work, lending them a tie, letting them know in ways big and small that we care about them. And it continues throughout the day.

                Most CPS school days begin with a pat down and a walk through metal detectors. At NLCP, we believe that to motivate kids and get them ready for college we need to form relationships, build community and wrap our arms around our kids tightly. Because when our kids feel secure, the sky is the limit, and they can focus on becoming better readers, writers, scientists, artists and scholars-and then they go to college. We build a safe school environment by building relationships and trust, not by simulating a visit to a prison.

                So stop by some morning and join us to see what really sets us apart- how the greatest group of adults in Chicago join together to build our Phoenix Community; to help your kids understand how capable and brilliant they are, and get them ready to shoot for the stars!

Tim Bouman

Principal - Collins

YOU'RE INVITED!   

DECEMBER 18 - 5:30-8:30PM,  

CHRISTIANA CAMPUS

Join us for a Christmas Celebration of Peace and Non-Violence.

Your beautiful young people have been studying and practicing Dr. King's principles of non-violence at school.  They want to showcase this work for you.  They want to teach you what the NLCP "beloved community" is all about.  They want to talk with you about how Dr. King's philosophy might help to strengthen the community outside the school. 

And if that's enough by itself, consider this: the first 50 adult guests will receive a gift bag with all kinds of goodies, including $20 in cash.  There will also be dinner served, a raffle for an iPad and $250 gift cards, and fun and games for younger siblings.  Who would pass up the chance to get all that?

This is a free event, open to families of BOTH Christiana and Collins students.  Remember, December 18, 5:30-8:30, Christiana campus!

Freshmen Gerell Conaway and Sophomore Timara Wade designed and created a Class of 2017 bulletin board featuring "Lessons From Geese", the theme of 2013 Freshmen Phoenix Connection. 

Dear Parents:  

NLCP is making a strong push to provide a crosswalk and pedestrian safety island for our children.  See picture below: 

In order to unify our collective voice, I urge members of the NLCP Parent Teacher Board to e-mail our alderman Michael Chandler in order to address our concerns. As a representative of the board, please remain polite, but firm, personable, and unrelenting in our mission!

Contact:

ward24@cityofchicago.org

Thank You and see you at our December 17th Meeting!

Eric Steinmiller

On November 18th, 21 Seniors traveled to Jacksonville, IL to visit Illinois College. IC is a small, 4 year, private liberal arts college. This coed college is located in a large town in a rural setting. It offers bachelor's and master's degrees. Total enrollment is around 1000 students, with 285 students being Freshmen!11:1 student-to-faculty ratio ensures intense focus on and comprehensive guidance for each student. A rich array of experiential learning opportunities including Study Abroad, student-faculty research, internships, community service projects and Division III athletics complement the academic program.

Interesting fact: Illinois College was a center of the abolitionist movement. President Beecher was an outspoken opponent of slavery. A grand jury indicted a group of students for harboring runaway slaves, and two campus houses are believed to have been part of the Underground Railroad.

Think Day Report 

On Nov 20th we hosted Think Day and Seniors were asked to either apply to colleges or scholarships for 3 straight hours. The seniors completed 230 college applications submitted on that day alone! Go seniors! By now everyone should have at least 7 college applications submitted! 

The seniors at the Collins Campus have submitted 492 applications which means that we are over halfway to our goal of 950 applications (10 per student)!

37 students have already been accepted into college.

Most exciting, the seniors have received over 1 million dollars in scholarships, $1,073,200 to be exact!