It is hard to believe that we are well into our second semester. What an incredible year of growth and excitement it has been! Our freshmen have transitioned beautifully to the newness of high school, our sophomores are naturally stepping into leadership roles and our junior class is mindfully working with Marybeth Kravets to start identifying their best 'fit, match and choice' for college. While thinking ahead to next year's first graduation, I have also been busy meeting the many applicants for next year's freshmen class. I am so inspired by every one of the students I have met - all committed to their education and to seeking out the strength-based learning environment that we offer.

I often describe Wolcott as a small school with a broad reach. We continue to build fantastic relationships with people and organizations outside of the four walls of our school:

Service Learning 

In the area of service learning, we continue to grow our relationships with nearby Talcott Elementary, the Ronald McDonald House, the Lakeview Pantry and Casa Central, as we reinforce the idea that service learning is an important component of our everyday curriculum. One area of focus this year has been hunger and homelessness.  After stocking the shelves of the Lakeview Pantry, students' understanding of these pressing issues was enhanced by a visit to the Gene Siskel Film Center to see the documentary 'Home Stretch' followed by a discussion with the film's executive director.  

Academics

What our students learn in the classroom is complemented as often as possible by the many excellent resources available in the community. Whether it be a trip to the Art Institute to analyze work from the Civil War era to better understand the meaning of emancipation; a trip to the Shakespeare Theater's performance of 'Macbeth' to watch the written text come alive; or the matriculation by a Wolcott junior in a creative writing course at Columbia College, we constantly explore ways to make learning engaging and meaningful.

Community Outreach 

Just as we use the tremendous resources that Chicago has to offer, we similarly make our state-of-the-art facility and programming available to others - from hosting the ISACS New Teacher Workshops to Movie Night sponsored by the Chicago Grand Neighborhood Association; from hosting a local parent-run high school fair to providing professional training to clinicians on the newest diagnostic protocols. We are inspired by the relationships and opportunities that we are creating and have so much more in the works.