Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement. - Golda Meir

Good morning Class of 2016,

With each waking moment of the day you make the decision to either craft the life you want or be complacent about your current status in life. Be proud of the effort you give in your classes, be cognizant of your interactions with others, and be aware of the life you are creating for yourself. You remain the key to the success you desire.

Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you. - Aldous Huxley

Today is Monday, July 20, 2015

Good morning Class of 2016,

Welcome back!  Please look over your work trackers and take note of assignment and final project due dates.  Additionally, be sure you make arrangements to speak with your advisors and necessary faculty members to create plans for a successful academic end to the trimester.

7/20 to 7/24 Lunch Menu

Today is Thursday, July 16, 2015

Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. - Philip Stanhope

Good morning Class of 2016,

Take a moment today and evaluate your current level of effort expended on attaining your own education.  Do you feel like you are giving a level of effort that does not connect with the grades you are receiving? If this is the case, begin to speak with your teachers about the reasons behind why you are earning the grades you have received. You may be surprised to know you are only a strategy or two away from attaining what you desire. 

If you care enough to know the truth, find the time to have honest conversations with your teachers about your academic improvement. Take full advantage of the time provided for you in your daily schedule.

Teen Quest

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students:

On Thursday, September 10, 2015 - Friday, September 11, 2015 our entire twelfth
grade and the twelfth grade staff will take an overnight retreat to Teen Quest Ranch in
Somerset, PA. The purpose of this trip is to provide the students with environmental
experiences, to encourage team building, and to provide opportunities for positive interaction.

All students are required to participate. We are not leaving any twelfth grade teachers or
students back at the school.

Students are requested to take off of work Thursday night, as they will not be in the
Pittsburgh area.

Below are the forms related to the event:

Itinerary and packing list

These 3 forms must be signed and returned before the end of the trimester:
Permission Form
TQ Ranch Release Form
Overnight Medical 

Lunch Menu 7/13 to 7/17

City High is now hiring!

Summer Break Maintenance Work
Students are needed to work over the summer break prepping the school for the new school year. The job requires heavy duty cleaning of the school building including offices and classrooms and moving teacher supplies to and from staff offices.
Candidates must be available to work most of the summer break and must be able to work independently or in a small group of other students. A work permit is also required.
If interested, please email Mrs. Welch by July 17th  for more information. welch@cityhigh.org

Today is Friday, July 10, 2015

The key to accepting responsibility for your life is to accept the fact that your choices, every one of them, are leading you inexorably to either success or failure, however you define those terms. - Neal Boortz

Today is Friday, July 10, 2015

Good morning Class of 2016,

Are you giving sufficient effort to achieve your stated goals for the trimester?  How much more time or effort would be needed to successfully reach your goals? If you haven't written down your goals AND mapped out a realistic plan for achieving them, it is unlikely you will succeed.  Take an honest evaluation of your current status and make meaningful changes to your schedule and work / study habits.  Faculty members are ready to assist you in creating a better plan, if you are dedicated to making meaningful upgrades to your current way of doing things. 

Strategic Planning:

Goals (Long Term) & Objectives (Short Term/Steps) – Acceptance to college, Getting hired, Getting my license

Resources – What do you need to accomplish the goal? (Examples: Time. Money, Transportation)

Measurement – How will you know it’s accomplished? (Example: Acceptance letter, License)

Deadline – Set a date to achieve the objectives and goals by, because “someday” never gets here!

Notes or Comments – (Examples: Call to schedule DMV appointment; Reserve a Study Group room ASAP)

GOAL (1.) :
Objectives	Necessary Resources	Measurement	Deadline	Notes or Comments
1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)	1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)	1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)	1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)	1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)

Today is Thursday, July 9, 2015

All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope. - Winston Churchill

Today is Thursday, July 9, 2015

Good morning Class of 2016,

Consider the objectives needed in order to end this week successfully and meet your goals.  Be diligent about following through with your planned objectives until your goal is reached.  You are the deciding factor in your own success!

Prioritization

Prioritization basically involves knowing what to do, how important the task is, and figuring out the right time to do it based on urgency. Categorize what needs to be done each day based on how urgent or important tasks are.  

When in doubt, fill out a prioritization chart for your tasks like the one below.

	Urgency
High		Low

Importance		High	I	II
		Low	III	IV

Quadrant 1 - High Urgency & High Importance: Completing an assignment due tomorrow.

Quadrant 2 - Low Urgency & High Importance: Filling out a scholarship application due in December of 2015.

Quadrant 3 - High Urgency & Low Importance: Finding out what happened out on Ballers during a seminar, before your friends tell you what happened (AUTOMATIC LAPTOP CONFISCATION!!!).

Quadrant 4 - Low Urgency & Low Importance: Applying to the University of Cambridge when you know you don't qualify, just for giggles. Get back to work!

Today is Wednesday, July 8, 2015

We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity. We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing, and inclusion. - Max de Pree

Today is Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Class of 2016,

We have reached the middle of your final trimester as Juniors at City Charter High School and this week’s accomplishments have either moved you closer to your goals in life or further from them. Your achievements will largely be impacted by your determination to succeed, ability to be resilient, willingness to seek and accept help when needed, and resolve to pursue excellence. Give your best effort in all your endeavors today!

Did you create your "to-do" list for the week?

Review your "To-do" list and assign a 1, 2, 3 or 4 for each task based on priority. 

Assign each activity one of the following numbers based on the level of priority it deserves:

#1 - Those activities that are important AND urgent and will impact you greatly if you don't accomplish them right way.

#2 - Those activities that are important to be done, but not urgent. You have time to accomplish them before they have a great impact on your life.

#3 - Those activities that are urgent if you are going to take advantage of them, but not necessarily important enough to be upset about missing out on. 

#4 - Those activities that may be nice to do at some time, but if you don't do them, you wouldn't be terribly disappointed. 

Use a Checklist for things that must be done.

A checklist or “to-do” list can also be used to keep track of assignments and tasks.   List the task, the date it must be completed by, and leave a little space for notes about the task.  When you accomplish a task, cross it off of your list and move on to the next task.   Crossing tasks off of your list and watching the list grow smaller will give you a sense of accomplishment. 

Today is Tuesday, July 07, 2015

You cannot have a proud and chivalrous spirit if your conduct is mean and paltry; for whatever a man's actions are, such must be his spirit. - Demosthenes

Today is Tuesday, July 07, 2015

Good morning Class of 2016,

We have successfully begun the tenth week of your last trimester as Juniors at City Charter High School. Please make preparations to end this week on a positive note. 

Today's outcomes depend largely on your attitude toward each situation you encounter.  Choose to approach your circumstances with a positive frame of mind and consider both the short-term and long-term effects of your choices. The way you view and approach your circumstances will affect the outcome. 

Use your Work Tracker for the week as a tool for planning and goal completion.  Write your assignment and project due dates on your tracker, then create a realistic plan for how to get those assignments and projects done on time.  

Evaluate this week's Independent Learning Goal. Look over your teacher's webpages and Edline pages for due dates and deadlines. Periodically review the goal and assess whether or not you are achieving the objectives needed to successfully reach your goal on time. 

Today is Monday, July 6, 2015

We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive. - C. S. Lewis

Welcome back! Please continue to review your paper work tracker / trimester schedule and take note of where you are supposed to be and when you need to be there.

Visit faculty websites for classes you currently have and write your assignment and project due dates on the paper work tracker provided.

Create a realistic plan for how to get assignments and projects done on time. From this day forward, your daily plan should have been formalized by 8:10 and should now be visible on your work tracker. 

Study groups must be planned for and requested via Google calendar by midnight proceeding that school day.  Contact a peer with the same coursework and create a collaborative study group today.

Have a great Monday!

Lunch Menu 7/6 to 7/10

Today is Thursday: July 2, 2015

Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.  -Hans Selye

Good Morning Class of 2016,

We are approaching the end of  ninth week of your final trimester as Juniors at City Charter High School.   Please make preparations to end this week on a positive note. Time is of the essence, so your planning and attention to dates and details is important. This trimester will wrap up quickly, so don't procrastinate!

Use your Work Tracker for the week as a tool for planning and goal completion.  Write your assignments and projects due dates on your tracker, then create a realistic plan for how to get those assignments and projects done on time.  

Be sure to evaluate this week's Independent Learning Goal. It is your responsibility to look over your teacher's webpages and Edline pages for due dates and deadlines. Periodically review your goal and assess whether or not you are achieving the objectives needed to successfully reach your stated goal on time. 

Have a great day!

Peter A. D. Jenkins

Senior Faculty - Quiet Independent Study Room Manager