A Saturday of Civitas Fun
We had another great discussion last Saturday morning at the Oak Bend Library Branch. Topics ranged from Nikki Haley's comments about the appropriate age for presidents (and others commenting about her age), income disparity in the St. Louis area, sleep issues for teens, and the cost and effectiveness of Super Bowl commercials. There was adamant unanimity that any kind of mental or health checks NOT be a part of a presidential candidate's requirements. And why must some high schools start school at the crack of dawn (ahem, Metro!)? Is it because of bus schedules? Parent preferences? After school activities? Maybe it wouldn't matter if teachers reined in their homework requirements a bit. Reasoning varies, but sleep deprivation of high school students is definitely an issue.
The favorite commercial of Super Bowl 2023 seemed to be Breaking Bad, btw.
(*Do you remember the product being advertised?)
Later on Saturday, Civitas students and staff gathered to play trivia at the League of Women Voters event. With a table full of snacks and fun games sprinkled throughout the evening, a great time was had by all. Our final score was pretty impressive, considering it was the first trivia event for most of the students. They aced the Disney category!
Click here for pictures from Saturday.
*The Breaking Bad commercial promotes PopCorners snacks :).
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Attention Civitas Game Changers!
Watch for an important email this week.
Information about how to apply for the Civitas (paid) summer internship program, scheduled for July 10-July 21, will be emailed to Game Changer students later this week. As a reminder, to be a Game Changer requires attending a minimum number of Civitas events during a single school year.
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Another Great Summer Opportunity
Civitas, together with the Missouri Historical Society and United Nations  Association of Saint Louis, is creating an exciting two-week program for high school students in June. Click here for the flyer that tells more. We will share the link to apply in next week's newsletter. The application link will also be posted on the Civitas website once it's available.
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Spring Model UN sessions approaching quickly!
Sign up now!
US Ambassador of the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, speaking this past Friday at the UNA Global Engagement Summit at UN Headquarters
Important Information about the Spring Model UN Sessions:
- Both of the Saturday sessions on April 1 and April 15 will be in the morning, 9:00 am until noon.
- Both will be held at Browning Auditorium at Webster University (same location as fall).
- Students can attend either session on their own; no need to be a part of a school group.
- Sign up to represent the same country you had in the fall; if there are duplicates, we'll notify you of options.
- If you did not participate in the fall, you are welcome to attend a spring session. Contact Stephanie at gavinstephanie89@gmail.com for a list of available countries.
- Priority will be given to seniors for resolution order of discussion.
- Click here to sign up.
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Lots of updates at the Middle School Teacher Meeting
Thanks to all of the teachers that came to Monday's teacher meeting! We covered a lot of ground talking about what happens at the General Assembly, best ways to prepare students for their field trip, resolution help, Honors Model UN, and other important details. A comprehensive summary will be sent to all teachers in the program in the upcoming days.
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We have a time and place for Book Club!
Excellent books are being written for young people today, some of which, unfortunately, are not readily available in area high schools. Civitas is planning a book discussion on April 22 from 10 AM until noon at the Oak Bend Library Branch, giving everyone plenty of time to get and read the selected young adult novel by a debut author, We Deserve Monuments written by Jas Hammonds. This is a compelling novel about 17-year old Avery, who is Black and gay, being uprooted from her urban Washington D.C. life and school to rural Georgia for her senior year. If you would like to be a part of the book discussion, please click here to sign up.
We may have time to discuss other topics of interest, too, that morning.
Civitas can help students get a copy of the book, if needed. Just let us know when you sign up!
To listen to a short NPR interview with the author of We Deserve Monuments, click here.
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Saturday, April 1, 2023, 9:00 am until noon, High School Model UN at Webster University
Sign up here!
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Saturday, April 15, 2023, 9:00 am until noon, High School Model UN at Webster University
Sign up here!
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Saturday, April 22, 2023, 10:00 am until noon, Oak Bend Library Branch
Book discussion of We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds.
Sign up here!
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From left, Rachel Banks Kupcho, Matt Nelson, Steve Jewell and Cindy Murphy soak in Minneapolis' Lake Harriet on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. -- Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune/AP
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This past week at the United Nations
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