St. Hope Public Schools Band 3
What is Cousins’ legacy? With Kings, it’s debatable. In Oak Park, it’s ‘everlasting.’
DeMarcus Cousins’ love for Sacramento did not end the day he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.
He’s still connected to the many friends he made in nearly seven years, and he’s still loyal to the children and families cared for as if they were his own. That’s why Cousins was at Sacramento High School on Wednesday, working up a sweat and having fun with over 200 children for the DeMarcus Cousins Elite Skills Camp, which was free to all youth who registered and included an eye exam from VSP and glasses for those who need them.
Senior Signing Day
Sac High seniors from the Class of 2017, joined by their families and other supporters, came together for the fifth annual Senior Signing Day Event on May 26th. This is one of Sac High’s showcase events and allows graduating scholars a platform to proclaim to the rest of the student body, as well as PS7 and Oak Park Prep students, where they will be attending college following graduation.
The Sacramento Black Book Fair
On June 2-3, 2017 Underground Books partnered with Blue Nile Press to present the 4th Annual Sacramento Black Book Fair!
Learning Beyond the Classroom
One of the many things that makes St. HOPE Public Schools special is having the nearby 40 Acres cultural center as an extension to school campuses. Following on the heels of a successful Best of Sac High student art exhibit, several Freshman Honors English classes visited 40 Acres as a field lesson to explore the artwork of their peers as well as tour the various St. HOPE Development Company projects.
Sac High Students Meet with NASA
On May 22nd, a few of our very own Sac High 9th graders had the amazing opportunity to Skype with astrobiologist, Shawn Domagal-Goldman, from NASA. Scholars filled Sac High’s Mel Lawson Theater, anxiously waiting to meet the scientist and converse with him about sustaining life on Mars. Students came prepared with a variety of questions pondered in the previous weeks of class.
Domina Stamas, educator working with NASA
This article was published on 05.18.17.
Domina Stamas has a question for her ninth-grade science students at Sac High: How would you make Mars a sustainable living space for humans? It’s a tall order, but with a wild payoff. When the school year ends, her kids will be presenting their best models to the NASA scientists working to get an American on the red planet by the 2030s. It’s not your everyday biology unit. But, then, Stamas isn’t your everyday teacher.
Staff Appreciation Week
St. HOPE Public Schools went all out in its celebration of teachers and staff during this year’s annual staff appreciation week May 1st through May 5th. The party began early as staff gathered for a day of what they thought was going to be serious work time, but were later surprised with activities like bowling and brunch, tours of the Crocker Art Museum and excitement at K1 Speed Zone. Overall, staff members were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed a fun day to kick off a week of appreciation.
Scholars Win Public Speaking Contest
On April 29, six dynamic Sac High Dragons competed in the inaugural Jack and Jill of America, Sacramento Chapter, Oratorical Contest, aimed at getting youth in the community to use public speaking as a way to showcase their leadership skills, as well as public speaking abilities. Founded in 1938, Jack and Jill of America, Inc., is a membership organization of mothers with children ages 2-19, dedicated to nurturing future African American leaders by strengthening children through leadership development, volunteer service, philanthropic giving and civic duty.
A Middle School Limo Ride to Remember
For Quarter 3 of the 2016-17 school year (January-March) PS7 Middle School implemented an incentive system to motivate scholars to work their hardest and try their very best. Scholars who achieved proficient or advanced on all four of their end of quarter exams in each of their core classes – Math, ELA, History and Science – were celebrated with a limo ride to Round Table where they enjoyed an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet!
2017 Dragons to Attend Prestigious Universities
The 140 members of the Class of 2017 will be remembered as one of our most academically successful classes ever to walk through Sac High’s doors. For a second year in a row, 95% of the senior class were accepted to four year universities, but the quantity of students accepted to prestigious universities soared.
Scholar Spotlight: Mackenzie Martinelli
Sac High Senior Mackenzie Martinelli accepted a full-athletic scholarship to attend Oklahoma City University in the fall. The 5’ 10” softball standout is a 3-year varsity player with multi-purpose ability. Next year, Martinelli will step off the pitching mound and return to her normal shortstop position while playing for the OCU Stars.
Oak Park principals trade notes and honor students in school collaborative
Eighth-grader Araba Cudjoe watched from the sidewalk in front of her Oak Park school Thursday as a banner with her picture was hoisted on a pole high above Martin Luther King Boulevard.
Speaking to a crowd of politicians, principals, parents and students, the 13-year-old at Father Keith B. Kenny K-8 School wore the same shy and wide smile as the one on the banner as she explained it made her feel “special” to be honored. It proved, she said, that success was a matter of hard work after earning a 4.0 grade average and a years-long perfect attendance record.
SHPS Lottery
Every spring St. HOPE Public Schools hosts an annual public lottery for grades TK-12. This year’s lottery was quite the success with nearly 100 families in attendance. The St. HOPE team welcomed approximately 500 new scholars to PS7, Oak Park Preparatory Academy, and Sacramento Charter High School.
Pi Day
St. HOPE middle schoolers celebrated Pi Day in a big way this year! Both Oak Park Prep and PS7 hosted a variety of events including a pie eating competition, water balloon toss, corn hole, ladder ball, coloring activities, cookie decorating, opportunities to pie a teacher, and of course tons of math!
OPPA Talent Show
To close out an amazing third quarter at Oak Park Prep, scholars put their unique abilities on full display in the second annual OPPA Talent Show. The show, for the first time, was hosted by two 8th Grade OPPA scholars — Marie and Paolo!
Sangre del Dragon
Leo Lopez, Jordan Salvador, Benny Perez and Angel Roque are seniors who were given an assignment to develop a business plan for a hot sauce company. When they typed up their proposal they had no idea it would be anything other than a paper to submit to their teacher.
Reading is our Superpower!
The week of February 21st-24th was Literacy Week for our PS7 scholars! Literacy Week started off with a trip to the Book Fair where scholars were able to fill out their own Wish Lists and find special books they wanted to purchase.
Teacher Profile: James Townsend
James Townsend is in his second year of teaching at St. HOPE, but he is no newbie to the family. Growing up in Oak Park, James got into quite a bit of trouble as a young kid. He attended Sac Prep for middle school, a former KIPP school that was located on the PS7 Elementary campus. It was in these years James encountered a principal and mentor who would change his life. He had never seen such a successful black male and with this picture in site, James began to envision his future of triumph.
Underground Books is Online
We are excited to announce that Underground Books is now selling online! The launch, spearheaded by St. HOPE employee and dragon alumni, Essence Noel, took place on February 23rd. Noel and team worked diligently over the past months to create a website that is both easy to navigate and captures the liveliness of the store.
Open Mic Night
To conclude Black History Month, a collective of scholars, staff and community members assembled for an evening of live poetry hosted by Sac High’s own Youth Activist Alliance. Twenty-one individuals performed for a crowd of over sixty guests, with topics including black pride, police brutality and black achievements. Snaps, cheers, applause and positive vibes were prevalent throughout the event.