Student Highlights
KIPP Student Leadership Conference:
October 27-30th, Camp Buckner, Burnet, Texas
Each year, two 6th graders from every KIPP school around the country are selected to attend the annual KIPP student leadership summit. This past October, Kimberley Velasquez and Christopher Young flew to Austin, Texas along with Mr. Johnson, 6th grade math teacher, for the 3 day event. This year’s summit was held at gorgeous Camp Buckner in the hill country of Texas. Students and chaperones slept in wood cabins and ate fresh cooked meals in a dining hall, or by campfire.
The first day of leadership training consisted of a “high ropes” course out in the woods, where students were challenged to conquer their fears and go one step further than they thought was possible, high above the ground atop poles and suspended by ropes. Students also completed a “low ropes” course where teamwork was the name of the game, as small groups worked together to solve puzzles and use problem solving skills to find solutions. On the second day, students participated in a morning theater workshop, then spent the afternoon working with their school team to develop an action plan to make their school a better place. Kimberley and Christopher decided to develop a school honor code, hoping to make students at KIPP Bridge more aware of the importance of academic honesty and integrity.
After a night of toasting marshmallows, a T-shirt exchange, and a morning of goodbyes to newfound friends, Kimberley and Christopher headed back to Oakland with incredible memories and a deeper understanding of what it means to be a leader.
Link Crew: ALL OF US WILL LEAD
Link Crew is a mentoring program between the 8th graders (seniors) and 5th graders (freshman) at KIPP Bridge College Prep. It was piloted in the 2005-2006 school year and has been a huge success. Mentors help their mentees set goals, take responsibility, and achieve success. They meet twice a week for one hour and do a variety of activities including goal setting, homework, working out social problems, organization, and teacher meetings. The over arching goal of the program is for the 5th graders to be more successful at KIPP Bridge and to receive an $80.00 paycheck or higher each week. Link Crew wears special leadership T-shirts on days they meet.
Link Crew Testimonials:
“I think Link Crew has been a positive experience overall because everyday I always remind myself that I have to do my best because I want to be a great influence on Allegra… Link Crew has been an effective use of my time because at the end of the day I know I am helping someone to the best of my ability.”
Krystal Shipley, 8th grader
“We work on his problems in class and his paycheck and how to make it better. Also, we work on his anger management problems. I set goals with my partner. Two goals that I set for my peer is to work on not talking in class, and work on doing all of his homework.”
Demaurea Smith, 8th grader
“Link Crew has been a positive experience for me because I have someone to relate to. He told me that he used to do what I do. Link Crew helps me to be a better person so then I won’t be going into the wrong direction.”
Lawrance Sein-Colon, 5th grader
“Kayla helped me to set my goal to get along with my teammates everyday. If I need help on the homework she can help me with the stuff I don’t understand. If my backpack is dirty, she helps me organize.”
Tatiana Mayo, 5th grader
Honor Roll
In the second semester of the 2006-2007 school year, we had 31 students earn Honor Roll Awards (Average grade of 90 – 94) and 14 students earn High Honors Awards (Average grade of 95 or above.)
Second Semester 2006-2007 Honor Roll:
| First Name | Last Name | Grade | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kristjian | Aubrey | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Denise | Dang | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Obasi | Davis | 5 | High Honors |
| Daryl | Deguzman | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Ilzeth | Gonzalez | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Parker | Harrison | 5 | High Honors |
| Amira | Jackson | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Jordan | Jacobs | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Aster | Mael | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Luceli | Magana | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Mildred | Mata | 5 | High Honors |
| Mequi | McFall | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Kymanni | McGee | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Jacob | Miles | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Luis | Navarro | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Teizue | Nwabuzoh | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Tyrell | Odom | 5 | High Honors |
| Kyla | Robinson | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Maribel | Tadeo | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Ankha | Williams | 5 | Honor Roll |
| Sumari | Barnes | 6 | High Honors |
| India | Candler | 6 | Honor Roll |
| Jose | Garduno | 6 | Honor Roll |
| Raynell | Haqq | 6 | High Honors |
| Crystal | Havea | 6 | High Honors |
| Brian | Maldonado | 6 | Honor Roll |
| Ricardo | Maldonado | 6 | High Honors |
| Zahur | McCoy | 6 | Honor Roll |
| Adora | McQuinn | 6 | Honor Roll |
| Aramonti | Phillips | 6 | Honor Roll |
| Kemmoni | Pitre | 6 | Honor Roll |
| Taylor | Reynolds | 6 | Honor Roll |
| Katiyah | Sanderson | 6 | Honor Roll |
| Kevin | Davenport | 7 | High Honors |
| Frehiwot | Mael | 7 | High Honors |
| Kimberly | Velasquez | 7 | Honor Roll |
| Bayana | Davis | 8 | High Honors |
| Victoria | Diaz | 8 | High Honors |
| Luz | Hernandez | 8 | High Honors |
| Tolani | King | 8 | Honor Roll |
| Emani | Lewis | 8 | Honor Roll |
| Sandra | Loyola | 8 | High Honors |
| Taiyelle | Sallie | 8 | Honor Roll |
| Jessica | Shipley | 8 | Honor Roll |
| Kia | Stewart | 8 | Honor Roll |