Achievement

Courage

Caring

Excellence

Perseverance

Teamwork

Pilot -- Mr. Smith (Principal)

Co-Pilot -- Mr. Latino (Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction)

Bombardier -- Mr. Blanc (Assistant Principal of Discipline)

Navigator -- Ms. Blackwell (Principal Secretary)

Air Marshal -- Ms. Cockrell (Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction)

Gunner -- Mrs. Wermers (Athletic Director)

Control Tower Operator -- Miss VazquezDiaz (Discipline Secretary)

Radio Operator -- Mrs. Jordan (Project Manager)

Attention Class of 2024 as you begin to prepare for graduation here are somethings to keep in mind:

• Make an appointment to meet with your Counselor Dr. Donaldson to do credit checks.
• Attend scheduled opportunities for CCRD completion.
• Use After School Tutoring to support you academically.
• Listen for information about Senior Events.

ICAP and KID CAFE'S look new. This school year our Assistant Principal Mr. Latino and our Head of the Counselors Department Mrs. Niichel have partnered to bring a change in attaining graduation requirements and student voice. CCRC classes will now participate with our counseling staff and Kid Cafe team at the same time.

What is an ICAP? -Individual Career Academic Plan ICAP is a multi-year process for students in explore, discover, and connect their coursework learning to activities and experiences that will prepare them for college, the military, trade/technical school, or the workforce.

What is the Purpose of ICAP? - Helping Students Plan & Own Their Future Every student is prepared to be Postsecondary and Workforce Ready (PWR) upon graduation from a District 11 (D11) high school is the purpose. We want every student to identify, plan, and then enter a college, trade/technical school, the military, or a workforce opportunity designed to further a student's education and career training beyond high school.

Here is what ICAP will look this semester:

1. Teachers will accept the appointment request from Ms. Angie Torres, and read the details to their class about what to expect.
2. On their ICAP/KID Cafe DATE- Attendance will be taken IMMEDIATELY, then then teachers will ESCORT their students to the cafeteria as soon as possible.
3. Intervention passes will not be approved during the classes’ ICAP/KID Cafe date.
4. Students will need their laptops to login in their computers, counselors will then begin the lesson if a class is on the ICAP side first. If a class is on the Kid Cafe side first, they will head to the West side of the cafeteria.
5. Once complete, teachers will escort students either to the Kid Cafe side, or their class will be dismissed once each student has been checked by a counselor. Each student will have to be approved by a counselor to be complete their ICAP.

What are Kid Cafes?

Kid Cafes are the staff's opportunity to practice student connectedness allowing students to know more faculty members than just their teachers. Faculty members work with students to keep students On-Track through short 5–7-minute interviews. Representatives from Faculty, our Admin team, Counseling, ESPs, SPED, Security, and any other departments represented on our campus participate in Kid Cafes. With use of BAG (Behavior Attendance Grades) Reports staff is able to provide a visual for students and have meaningful dialogue about next steps for academic success.

We appreciate our Student Connectedness Subcommittee for your creativity in designing this two-in-one opportunity for all students.

Behavior Attendance and Grades reports (BAG reports) are updated weekly and are communicated to students through their CCRC teachers. The BAG report also includes students' cumulative GPA and credits earned toward graduation. This allows for teachers and students to have conversations around student progress toward meeting their educational goals and achievement levels. See the BAG Report image below.

Winter benchmark testing in STAR Renaissance is done! We are happy to share the following participation rates for eligible 9th-11th grade students: Math 96%; Reading 95%. Great work, Marauders! Students who demonstrated the most growth on a benchmark test of all students in their CCRC advisory classes were recognized on Friday, 12/15 with King Sized Candy bars and early lunch passes. The top 6 students whose scores showed the most growth overall were awarded Mitchell Marauder hoodies. All students who increased by at least one category will be recognized in January when we return from semester break. The winning CCRC advisory classes will also have donut parties with the principal to recognize their incredible growth.

Please congratulate the following students and faculty members for being our 1st semester PBIS winners and displaying ACCEPT core values.

Student Winners

Isabella Reyes 9th grade, Matthew Cole 10th grade , Jimmy Albores 11th grade, and Christopher Bonner 12th grade

Faculty Winners

Ms. West, Mr. Miller, Ms. Fournier, and Ms. Goodwin-Wittry

On Friday December 15th MHS Student Council persevered and delivered the toys, although the Snow Day delayed the initial delivery date the 2023 Toy-Nation still happened! They have delivered the toys to our target feeder elementary schools: Monroe, Wilson and Penrose Elementary.

MHS we were able to collect 1489 toys and fulfill our promise to give every student at Monroe, Wilson, and Penrose Elementary Schools a toy for the holidays! Elementary schools distributed their toys on Monday and Tuesday.

As for the CCRC competition goes, here are the results!

1st Place: Dr. McKee with 122 toys!

2nd Place: Sgt. Newcomer with 76 toys!

3rd Place: Mr. Dowdy with 57 toys!

Mitchell High School’s Peak Education Scholars program is off to a great start. 16 students are participating in this new program delivery model for Peak Education. Students pictured below are engaged in their 2nd on-site visit and activity here at Mitchell High School. Our young scholars are being exposed to college and career opportunities, goal setting, community resources and connections and community service while developing and honing their leadership skills.

"Our vision is to operate in a culture that builds, maintains, and restores trust as defined by sincerity, competence, reliability, and care; to offer a first-class school to our community that prepares all students for post-secondary readiness, college and career."

This is an excellent opportunity for students to earn free credits that will transfer to over 2,900 colleges and get a head start on making the most out of The Mitchell Promise Pikes Peak State College Scholarship. To learn more about CLEP, go to https://clep.collegeboard.org/clep-benefits-for-everyone To register for free CLEP testing, email Ms. Cockrell at renee.cockrell@d11.org

Mitchell is proud to announce our Inaugural Peak Education Cohorts for the 23-24 School Year. These students will receive additional support for postsecondary education and career exploration and opportunities through Peak Education at Mitchell High School. This is a new model of service delivery for Peak Education and Mitchell to be the inaugural site for this service delivery model. There are two cohorts at Mitchell High School. The 9th grade cohort members are Lillianna Ducher, Delilah Epps, Robi Hayes, Helena Juarez, Deijavu McNeill, Draven Shomoh and Nijay Whitt. The 10th grade cohort members are Marissa Anderson, Jadeon Artman, Sierrah Holliday, Levi Sambrano, Hannah Owen, Arturo Perez Morejon, and Daphne (Moe) Telles Guzman. Periodic updates on our soaring Marauders will be provided in future newsletters. If you would like information regarding the Peak Education Program at Mitchell High School, please contact Valerie Jordan, Project Manager at 719-328-6608 or valerie.jordan@d11.org.

The American Dreams Academy through the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream is a new tuition-free, six-month online program available for seniors exclusively at Mitchell High School who are 18 or will turn 18 years old during 1st semester. Students can select from courses created by some of America’s largest companies, including IBM, Meta, Google, and Salesforce, that provide certificates for in-demand jobs like data analysis, IT support, cybersecurity, project management, sales operations and development, and digital social media marketing.

Extracurricular activities provide a channel for reinforcing the lessons learned in the classroom, offering students the opportunity to apply academic skills in a real-world context, and are thus considered part of a well-rounded education. Recent research suggests that participation in extracurricular activities may increase students' sense of engagement or attachment to their school, and thereby decrease the likelihood of school failure and dropping out.

The winter athletic season is upon us! We are excited to see our athletes competing throughout the winter season. Any athlete that has 2 or more F’s are considered ineligible for the week.

If you have any questions regarding individual winter sports, please email the coach associated with the sport your student would like to participate in. Coach contact information is below.

• Boys Basketball: Dorian Watson – watson@d11.org
• Girls Basketball: Bernard Melvin – melvin@d11.org
• Wrestling: Zach Grant – grant@d11.org

• Game Club
• Gender & Sexuality Alliance
• Honor Choir
• Marching Band
• National Honor Society
• Thespian Society/Drama Club

The afterschool tutoring program has started and will be provided Monday -Thursday on all student contact days from 3:15 to 4:45 in the media center. Transportation is available for eligible students. Please contact Valerie Jordan, Project Manager for more information and to verify your student's eligibility for transportation at 719-328-6608 or via email at valerie.jordan@d11.org.

December 7-15: Hanukkah

December 16-24: Las Posadas

December 21: Winter Solstice

December 24: Christmas Eve

December 25: Christmas

December 26: Boxing Day

December 26-January 1: Kwanzaa

December 31: New Year’s Eve

It's cold outside stop by the Business Office to buy your class color t-shirts for just $15.00 and your MHS Hoodie for $28.00.

Freshmen: Orange

Sophomore: White

Junior: Gray

Senior: Blue

Ask about the $15.00 Student Activity Pass and $30.00 Parent Punch Pass while you're there.

Students Return

January 8th

Students, staff, parents/guardians, and community members play a significant role as active participants in school governance through the School Accountability Committee (SAC) and other subcommittees. Join us on the 2nd Thursday of every month. Food and drinks provided. RSVP here (https://bit.ly/3dFMvpg)

Gain access to relevant student information and keep track of your child's progress by creating a parent portal account. By creating a PowerSchool parent portal account, parents have direct access to updated information like student attendance and academic standing. Call the D11 Parent Portal Assistance Line at (719) 520-2487, Monday – Friday, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm or visit https://www.d11.org/PSLanding

As we prepare for landing riding on our wings this month is our MHS Student Council. We want you to know that we appreciate the fun and thoughtful events you planned in 2023. We are looking forward another year of fun in 2024!