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H.S. TEACHER & STUDENTS MEET LAST SATURDAY

Last Saturday, September 9, we had our one and only orientation session for high school faculty advisors.  Additionally, we had students present so that we would not miss an opportunity for a discussion session.  Faculty advisor attendance set a new record (on the low side).  Only one teacher, Angelia Moore from Maplewood-Richmond Heights High School, was there.  We thank her very much for coming to the meeting on what was a very busy day for her.


Topics that we considered during the orientation included:

1. Basic responsibilities for high school faculty advisors (as little as possible).
2. Basic responsibilities for students (more).
3. How the country draft works -- this is when schools select in a "lottery" the countries that their students will represent in the Model U.N. session on Saturday, November 18.  The country draft will be at Crossroads on Saturday, September 30.
4. Plans for collaboration with Washington University as well as other local universities, colleges, and community colleges in the St. Louis area.  We are looking at collaborative discussions, simulations, research, and presentations.
5. Awards Information
6. Civitas Newsletter
7. Civitas Blog (see article below)
8. Civitas Intranets Site

For those high school faculty advisors who were not present at the orientation but who would like more information on the session, we suggest that they call us at (314) 367-6480 or e-mail us at >[email protected].

Discussion on the "minimum wage" was the focus of the remainder of the meeting.

The current minimum wage for adult workers in the United States is $5.15 per hour ($10,712 per year; less if there is no paid vacation time).  The U.S. Congress just defeated a bill to raise the minimum wage.  Why did that happen?  In the state of Missouri, voters will have an opportunity to raise it to $6.50 per hour in this November's election.  What are the chances of that happening?  Why do some people oppose raising the minimum wage?

Our special thanks to the students who were in attendance last Saturday and who provided a great deal of lively debate and discussion!  You can access photos from the session by clicking on the link below!

Photos from Session

H. S. DISCUSSION GROUP THIS SATURDAY!

H.S. COUNTRY DRAFT ON SAT., SEPT. 30

Our annual high school country draft is little more than two weeks away.  It will be on Saturday, September 30, at Crossroads School (map) from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM.  In addition to the draft, we will have a basic introduction to being an effective model U.N. delegate.

You can learn how the country draft works by clicking here.

M.S. TEACHER MEETING ON MON., SEPT. 25

We want to remind middle school teachers that our first meeting of the year will be on Monday, September 25, 2006 at the Creve Coeur Government Center (map).  We will have more details for you next week!

CIVITAS INAUGURATES BLOG

We once again invite your to participate in our new Civitas blog.  You don't have to register, you can be anonymous, you can share your thoughts (so long as they are within the bounds of 'questionable taste' and there are no personal attacks.).

Our latest topic is:
 

When former President Bill Clinton spoke at the Pageant Theater in St. Louis last Saturday, September 9, 2006, he said of Republicans, "They believe in ideology, we believe in philosophy. They believe in attack. We believe in evidence and argument. They need the politics of division and we long for the politics of unity."

What do you think  of what former President Clinton said?  In particular, what do you think he meant by the difference between ideology and philosophy?

Please share your thoughts about this with us.  Just go to our blog at http://civitas-stl.livejournal.com (a web site that you might want to bookmark!).  You can dive right in and respond.  We would love to get a lively discussion going!

LINK TO BLOG:

Reminder to High School Seniors and Juniors
about upcoming conference in Washington, DC.

Deadline: October 15, 2006.

Click here for more details

Reinventing U.N.Conference Home Page