On Tuesday, March 29, over 20 San Miguel students and parents at the Back of the Yards Campus gathered for a full day of work to do some spring cleaning on the flower boxes surrounding the school.  The preparation of the raised beds will soon become an expanded vegetable garden and a new Monarch Butterfly Garden, sponsored by a grant from the US Forest Service.

Check out photos on our Flickr page here!

San Miguel students, Alfredo Medina and Jaime Ortiz, worked hard in the morning, stapling a plastic covering over the wooden walls of our raised beds to help protect the wood and extend the life of the raised beds. Other students and family members, including Rocio Nieto, her two younger brothers and her mother, Angelica, cleaned up litter in the other flower boxes, watered perennial bulbs that have begun to peek through the ground, and laid down soaker hoses to conserve water by delivering it directly to the plants' roots.

A truckload of soil-compost blend was delivered from E-Z Tree Recycling, a Chicago-based company that mulches old trees that the city cuts down and turns it into compost and soil.

6th grade teacher, John Kennedy-Ferrell, and the leader of this project, explains that "Students will study the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly by observation, and monitor the amazing international migration pattern of the Monarch through scientific tagging of Monarchs.  This summer, students of all three grades at the Back of the Yards Campus will study the Monarchs from various perspectives and the new butterfly garden will be a chance to study the Monarch in its native habitat."

John continues, "The new soil will also add to our current vegetable garden and allow the students of the environmental club to continue to raise herbs and vegetables for their community, helped by the fertilizer from our very own worm composting bin. Very soon, we will be working in the gardens once again to plant milkweed, the host plant for the Monarch caterpillar, and wildflowers, the nectar source for the adult Monarch, as well as vegetables and herbs to cultivate over the summer."

In celebration of Black History Month, San Miguel Schools Chicago hosted some of Chicago's most prominent African American professionals to speak to students at the Gary Comer Campus on Wednesday, February 16.  Captain Bill Pinkney, the first African American man to sail solo around the world, delivered the keynote speech and an outstanding performance by the South Shore Drill Team closed the event.

Check out photos from the event on our Flickr page!

This diverse group of successful professionals gathered in classrooms to speak to the students about their career and academic background.  The stories and words of these role models served to inspire the San Miguel students to believe in themselves, to see examples of successful African Americans, and to help them recognize what they can achieve with hard work and dedication.

After the in-classroom presentations, the school gathered in the gym where Rufus Williams, President and CEO of Olympus, LLC gave the students some advice, "Nothing is more important than education," crediting his success on his pursuit of knowledge and dedication to school.

Captain Bill Pinkney then took to the podium, delivering a speech that detailed his incredible 22 months at sea sailing around the world, and the things he learned during his journey.

"Getting knocked down is not failure," Captain Pinkney said.  "Your education, and your moral compass is your weight, and like the weight of a boat that gets knocked down by waves, it will help you get back up."

As Captain Pinkney reflected on his childhood raised by a single parent on welfare, and as a black man during segregation, he advised the students that "It doesn't matter where you come from.  What matters is where you go and what you do when you get there."

The students truly could relate to the words of Captain Pinkney as they too must deal with the struggles of their environment, where gangs and drugs are often a part of daily life.  94% of these students qualify for the government's free and reduced lunch program.

The South Shore Drill Team closed the event with several amazing performances, including one to Maya Angelou's, "Phenomenal Woman" as well as a remake of Michael Jackson's, "Thriller."

Our notable list of presenters included:

• Jerry Azumah, Former Chicago Bear and Founder, ASAP Foundation
• Dr. Kimbra Bell, Physician and Professor, Northwestern Memorial Hospital
• Chief Ernie Brown, Organized Crime Bureau, Chicago Police Department
• Commander Walter Green, 15th Police District
• Micaeh Johnson, Director, MNJ Public Relations/108 Creative Group/ASAP Foundation
• Walter Green, Commander of the 15th Police District, Chicago Police Department
• Verett Mims, Assistant Treasurer, Boeing
• Alderman Emma Mitts, Alderman, 15th Ward
• Rudy and Joyce Nimocks, Director, Community Partnership, University of Chicago
• Prof. Charles Payne, Professor, University of Chicago
• Judith Rice, Vice President, Director of Government Relations, Harris Bank
• Donna Thompson, Chief Executive Officer, Access Health Care
• Sgt. Glenn White, 15th Police District
• Rufus Williams, President and CEO, Olympus, LLC
• Deputy Chief Alfonza Wysinger, Detective Division, Chicago Police Department

The San Miguel Junior Board is a volunteer group of successful, socially conscious and motivated young professionals who are committed to supporting the mission of San Miguel Schools Chicago.

The Junior Board provides this support by raising funds and awareness through hosting social events and mixers, spearheading enriching activities for the student body, and serving as volunteers and consultants for various San Miguel sponsored events.

Get involved!  Join the San Miguel Junior Board and make a lasting impact on the lives of our students.

Download the Junior Board Flyer here.

Upcoming Junior Board Events

The San Miguel Junior Board hosts two seasonal mixers per year, a Career Day and a Cinco De Mayo and Kwanzaa celebration.  The Junior Board also provides support for the San Miguel signature benefit School of Rock and hosts quarterly Board meetings.

These events give participants the opportunity to socialize and network while donating to a worthy cause, and spreading awareness about the mission and work of San Miguel Schools Chicago.

The next Junior Board meeting will be Wednesday, April 21 at 6:00 at the Gary Comer Campus.  Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.

Check out Photos of the Junior Board event, Kwanzaa

Check out Photos of the Happy Hour Fundraiser hosted by the Junior Board

Benefits of Membership

• Make a difference in the lives of inner-city Chicago middle school students.
• Gain skills in leadership and community service.
• Establish relationships and connections with a prestigious Board of Directors.
• Build friendships with like-minded professionals.

• A $25 yearly charitable donation to San Miguel Schools Chicago.
• Members should be between the ages of 25-40 years.
• Attendance at Junior Board events.
• Participate in at least one commmittee.
• Expected commitment of at least one calendar year.

To become an official member of the Junior Board, simply make a minimum $25 annual donation to San Miguel by sending your annual membership donation to:

San Miguel Schools Chicago
1949 W. 48th Street
Chicago, IL 60609

Donation checks should be made payable to the "San Miguel Schools Chicago."  Please write "Junior Board" on the memo line of your check.  Please also submit your contact information so that we may get in touch with you.

You may also make your donation online by  clicking here and specifying "Junior Board" as the program designation.

Junior Board Officers 2010-2011

Co-Chairs
Nick Lopez, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Jacinda Njike, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

New Member Development
Kathy Wiebking, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Secretary
Nealean Washington, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Community Events Committee Chair
Dana Williams, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

San Miguel has joined Tix4Cause.com!

Tix4Cause is a ticket exchange website founded on an innovative yet simple concept-ticketholders sell their unwanted tickets, and can donate 100% of the proceeds to our cause.

Tix4Cause is a novel way to donate, where:

Ticketholders turn their unwanted seats over to San Miguel, and qualify for a tax deduction.

Ticket purchasers choose from these great seats, and receive reasonable pricing (tickets are offered at fair market prices).

100% of ticket proceeds are given to San Miguel.

The success of our partnership with Tix4Cause depends on all of us. Consider supporting San Miguel by donating your unwanted sporting, theater, or music event tickets.

Don't let a single ticket go to waste.  Instead, place them for sale on Tix4Cause!  We would  also appreciate you making Tix4Cause.com one of your preferred sites to search for some of the best seats in town! With this partnership, San Miguel is able to take advantage of a cost-efficient, low maintenance solution to turn non-monetary donations into dollars.

About Tix4Cause.com:
Tix4Cause.com was founded in 2009 when Kevin Nemetz, CEO, was inspired to turn empty event seats into something “good.”  The website was born of a simple, yet innovative concept—to connect donors, charities, and interested buyers of entertainment tickets, and give 100% of the proceeds to a worthy cause. Tix4Cause currently services a variety of organizations, as well as missions, and is open to including all qualifying charities.

For more information on Tix4Cause, visit www.tix4cause.com.

Download the Tix4Cause brochure.

In celebration of Black History Month, San Miguel Schools Chicago hosted some of Chicago's most prominent African American professionals to speak to students at the Gary Comer Campus on Wednesday, February 16.

Download the feature here.

Austin's b'ball champs honored
Harlem Globetrotter helps San Miguel school celebrate victory

Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Read this article on the Austin Weekly website

A former member of the famed Harlem Globetrotters visited an Austin School last week to help honor its athletic team and newly-crowned basketball champs (They've got next: Left, the San Miguel Warriors boys basketball team, the 2010 West Side Catholic Baskeball League Champions.  Photos by NICHOLAS MORONI/Contributor).

Austin's San Miguel School-Gary Comer Campus' boy's basketball team won the West Side Catholic Basketball League championship last week. On Thursday, they received a visit from Harlem Globetrotter Curley "Boo" Johnson, who helped celebrate their victory while also offering the kids advice on how to succeed off the court.

Hard work, determination and relentlessness were the central topics of the former basketball player and showman. To drive each characteristic home, Johnson pointed to his own life and that of his father, Curley Johnson Sr. - also a former Globetrotter and Boo's mentor throughout much of his life.

"Every time someone told me I couldn't do something, I did it," Johnson said. "If you don't believe in yourself, no one else will."

Johnson told the sixth, seventh and eighth graders about his father's quest to play professionally for the Detroit Pistons, a dream that was never fulfilled because of "an unwritten two-black ballplayers per team rule," that he claimed existed at the time. As a result, Curley Sr. joined the Globetrotters, playing for them in the 1960s and '70s. As for himself, Johnson explained how hard he practiced to improve a less-than-accurate jump shot. He eventually honed that skill, which helped him earn scholarships to Spoon River College in Canton, Ill. and later to Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where he graduated from. It was there that he excelled athletically, academically and socially.

"I was All-American [at Spoon River], I was part of the student government, and I had three girlfriends, although I lost all three of them in a three-day weekend," Johnson joked, followed by raucous laughter (At right: Former Harlem Globetrotter Curley Boo Johnson talking to students.  Photos by NICHOLAS MORONI/Contributor).

Although his largely motivational speech contained tidbits of humor, it mainly stressed the importance of education and averting street life.

"This basketball paid for my education and the Globetrotters found me in school, not in a gang and not in jail," he said.

Nearing the end of his address, students were visibly nervous that he might not dazzle them with some of the tricks he made famous with the Globetrotters. But Johnson
didn't leave without a little razzle-dazzle.

Before the exercise, Johnson paid homage to the Warriors' 11-0 season and championship victory over the Providence-St. Mel Knights by announcing the achievement. He then invited them to partake in the exercise. Johnson's fast-paced dribbling tricks showed off his ball-handling feats, completed with multiple basketballs.

"OOOOHHHH's!" and "AAAAHHHH's!" filled the auditorium along with cheers from the ball players he invited to mid-court for the drill. Johnson began by tossing the ball between three or four students, and then performed a few ball-handling tricks as a distraction: an attempt to test their attentiveness once he threw the ball their way. He later alluded to the fact that the exercise was a metaphor for readiness and preparation in life.

Johnson struck a chord with kids, who were hanging onto his every word. "I thought the kids enjoyed it. It's good for them to see an African-American, someone that looks like them, with a positive message," said Principal Caprice Smalley.

As for their championship season, player Mike Clark, 13, an eighth-grader said: "It was a hard season, but we pulled through. [Coach] pushes you to work really hard."

"It was nice to finally win - we been playin' together since fifth grade," added Raekwon Boyles, 14, also in eighth grade, noting that many of the boys played ball together in their elementary schools.

Austin's San Miguel campus, 819 N. Leamington, boasts an 88-percent high school graduation rate for its alumni. Boy's basketball skipper and Austin resident, Eric Berger, who has coached the team for seven years, believes the school's discipline and positive outlet - such as basketball - provide the kids with structure to steer them from trouble.

"Every year you get them involved when you show them you're concerned," he said. "There are kids who want to go out on the street, but once they're a part of something positive, they stay."


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