Spring, 2016

Letter from the Principal

Sherry Tolkan

414.389.5560

stolkan@seedsofhealth.org

Congratulations to the entire Veritas Community!

Great things happen when staff, students, and

parents work together. For the second year in a

row, Veritas High School has earned the Wisconsin

Department of Public Instruction “Title I School of

Recognition Award for Beating the Odds.” We

have earned this award because our students

have above-average achievement in reading

and mathematics when compared to schools

from similarly sized districts, schools, grade

configurations, and poverty levels. A new sign,

announcing this achievement will be going up on

the front of our building soon.

We recently recognized our Honor Roll students

with celebration breakfasts on February 24th and

25th. It was gratifying to see so many high

achieving students with their parents in one room.

Hats off to your academic accomplishments.

Conferences in March were well attended, but it is our

hope to have 100% of our families take advantage of

the opportunity to meet one on one with teachers and

administrators. If you were not able to attend

conferences, please set aside time to discuss your child’s

academic progress and, if necessary, design a plan for

improvement. Final exams are right around the corner

and as is the practice at Veritas, any student failing to

earn course credit will be required to attend summer

school. This year, summer school classes are held on

Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and

run from June 20th through July 28th.

As the Principal of Veritas High School, I am humbled to

be one of 16 principals statewide to have received the

Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Leadership Award for

2016. I share this award with all of you, because through

teamwork and a shared vision, together we have

accomplished great things for the students at Veritas.

My door is always open to you.

Yours Truly,

Sherry Tolkan

Veritas High School is a program of Seeds of Health, Inc.

The Veritas High School mission is to

prepare Milwaukee students for post-secondary

education success through completion of an

academically challenging, values-based curriculum

in a safe and supportive environment.

UPCOMING EVENTS April 19—Forward Exam

10th Grade

April 21—Talent Show

5 PM

May 2—Staff Professional

Development Day

(No School)

May 3—AP Spanish Exam

May 5—AP Calculus

Exam

May 6—AP U. S. History

Exam

May 9—Early Release

Day

May 3-10—MAP Testing

May 13—Prom (7—11)

May 17-18—ACT ASPIRE

Testing

May 23—Senior Project

Presentations (Juniors &

Seniors only)

May 27—Sports Complex

Field Trip Day

May 30—Memorial Day

(No School)

Jun 2—Annual Folk Fair

(8—10 AM)

Jun 3—Final Awards

Ceremony

Jun 6-8—Final Exams

Jun 8—Last day of school

Jun 9-10—Staff In-Service

Days

Jun 11—Graduation Day!

Serb Hall 1PM

Jun 20—Start of Summer

School

Jul 19—Returning Student

Registration (9—3 PM)

Jul 28—Last day of

Summer School

Volume 3 Issue 2

Veritas High School News

© Seeds of Health, Inc. © Seeds of Health, Inc. Spring, 2016

The Veritas girls soccer team competed in an indoor

league again this winter at Uihlein Soccer Park.

According to coach Rob Clark, there were a lot of

fresh faces on the team and they unfortunately ran

into a lot of experienced teams. The team's lone win

came in a thrilling sudden-death overtime playoff

game against a team to whom they had previously

lost. The good news is that they recently received

confirmation that they'll be co-oping with Tenor and

competing in the outdoor state league (WIAA)

starting next spring! Team members front row left to

right are: Erika Escoto, Yee Yang, Irma Sanchez, Dalis

Franco, Monserrat Padierna, Monica Sanchez, Maria

Aguirre, Samantha Saavedra. Back row left to right

are: Kirstin Larson, Diana Rodriguez, Erin Benson,

Clara Gallegos, Nancy Juarez, Nancy Hernandez,

Daisy Del Aguila, Daisy Gallegos, Jamie Gitlewski.

Service Learning Class Continues to Make a

Difference in the Community!

Below are some of the many local places this class

makes a positive impact upon:

The Tenor/Veritas boys and girls basketball teams

competed in the Indian Trails Conference. Playing

on the boys team from Veritas were Orin Kelly,

Edwin Millian, and Angel Cisneros. The boys finished

with a record of 8-10, with a highlight of the season

beating Milwaukee Early View in a close game with

a final score of 63-55. Playing on the girls team from

Veritas was Kryssi Morales, and coaching the girls

team was Carly Anderson. Kryssi finished the season

with 17 points. The highlight of the girls season was a

thrilling double-overtime win against St. Anthony.

Congrats on a great season basketball players!

The Veritas Travel Club gets set for

a wonderful time in Orlando!

The senior members of

the Travel Club will be

going to Orlando, Florida

from May 7th to May

11th. These students have

worked hard to raise

funds for what will be

an unforgettable trip to

Disney World and Universal Studios. With teachers,

Joe Neman and Emily Neitzer as chaperones, these

travelers will experience the legendary rides of

Magic Kingdom, the culture and food of Epcot, the

action of Hollywood Studios, the shopping and

entertainment of Disney Springs, and

the magic of Universal Studios, like The

Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This'll

be the first time to Disney World for

nine of the kids, and the first time on a

plane for one of them! Next year, the

junior members are hoping to travel to

London, Paris, and Rome!

Poetry Club has been very busy this year. They

participated in multiple Poetry Slams at Grand

Avenue Mall with the Stillwaters Collective—even had

two members—Nashalee Rodriguez & Midalis De La

Cruz—asked to perform as guests at the state level

competition. Members of this cool club are: Nashalee

Rodriguez, Midalis De La Cruz, Aryanna Strickland,

Miguel Sandoval, Milton Dawson, Kastasia Dawson,

Richie Rivera, Emma Johnson, Vianca Reyes, Javier

Arroyo, Leslie Dorantes, and Karina Luna.

On February 24th & 25th Veritas held an Honors

Breakfast for the students who achieved Honors and

High Honors in the 1st semester of this year.

Congratulations to the many students for this

excellent achievement in their academic endeavors!

Honors (3.0 GPA)

9th: 13 Students

10th: 22 Students

11th: 21 Students

12th: 14 Students

High Honors (3.5 GPA)

9th: 11 Students

10th: 18 Students

11th: 17 Students

12th: 10 Students

Robyn’s Nest—5

times, multiple staff

and students

Blood Drive—April 11

Interfaith—helping

elderly—April 13

E a r t h D a y —

N e i g h b o r h o o d

clean-up—April 22

Windlake Elementary

Mentoring—April 26

Relay for Life—

multiple staff and

students—May 21

Habitat for Humanity

Projects assisting

senior citizens

Congratulations to Sherry Tolkan

for being awarded Principal of

the Year from the Herb Kohl

E d u c a t i o n a l F o u n d a t i o n

Leadership Awards for 2016!

Sherry is one of only 16 principals across the state of

Wisconsin that will receive this award. Sherry will receive

her award, along with other recipients within CESA 1, at

the Awards Reception and Luncheon on April 9th.

As one of the founders of Veritas, Sherry has worked hard

and long to build this program into what it is today. She

recognizes all the highly essential people who have

contributed to the success of Veritas, and she continually

anticipates continuous growth and improvement for

what the school does for its students. The staff of Veritas,

as well as the leadership of Seeds of Health, Inc.

contribute to the ongoing success of our fine school.

Above in front right are Javier Sanchez &

Irma Quezada—successful alumni speakers.

Above Bill Singleton from the S.T.O.P.

program speaks to the honor students.

Joe Neman with all the Travel Club members

Veritas students have

been attending Coffee

Shop Astrophysics, a free

informational science

lecture offered monthly at

Anodyne Coffee Roasting

Company, a coffee shop

in Walkers Point. Topics

covered so far include

"Black Holes and the

Discovery of Gravitational Waves" and "How Does

the Brain Understand Concepts?" Advisor and

science teacher, Alissa Emond says, “Our students

have been doing a wonderful job representing

Veritas at these events, including asking the

speakers some great questions after the lectures. So

far, we have had 27 Veritas students and family

members attend the two lectures!”

Above are: Richie Rivera, Alissa

Emond, Daniel Leon, Erin Benson,

Juan Lara, Angelica Balderas, &

Abel Munoz.

NEWS Spring 2016

Mentor2.0 News In our second successful year as

partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters

of Metro Milwaukee, Veritas now

has 100 students successfully

matched with a mentor from a

wide variety of professional careers.

Our sophomore group continues to

make deeper connections in their

second year and our freshmen are very excited and having great

experiences with their mentors in their first year!

Particular to note is the recent recognition one of our freshman, Richie

Rivera, received—being chosen as one of this year’s “Brother Match of

the Year.” In March Richie was invited to attend a Big Brothers Big Sisters

board meeting and share his experiences with his Big Brother match, Chris

Flowers, and relate how he feels about the wonderful connections and

support he receives as part of the great opportunity this program provides

our students here at Veritas. We all feel especially blessed to have

formed this partnership and, as it grows, we realize the significant impact

it makes and will make upon the students who participate in it.

Seeds of Health, Inc. is a K-12 system of schools offering innovative

options to meet the needs of students. It

includes Seeds of Health Elementary,

Grandview High School, MC2 High School,

Tenor High School, and Veritas High

School,

Staff Spotlights

My name is Rick Gayan, and I am the Safety

Officer at Veritas. This is my fifth year at Veritas. I

am not only the security person, but also work in

the lunch room, work special events, and am the

"go to" guy for minor chores around the school.

I graduated from Mary D. Bradford High School

in Kenosha and obtained my bachelor's degree

at U.W. Parkside. I started my adult life as a

teacher in the Kenosha Unified School District for

two years before going back to school to obtain

my associate degree in Police Science. I was

hired by the Milwaukee Police Department and

have worked throughout most of the city. While

with the police department I worked squad

patrol, the Tactical Enforcement Unit, the

Motorcycle Unit, and in Internal Affairs. I retired

after almost 26 years and eventually worked my

way to Veritas. I am married and have three

sons ages 17, 20, and 24. My main interest is

anything car related. I presently have a

Corvette, a Harley, and a dune buggy besides

the "normal' vehicles.

Greetings. My name is Vicki Cottrell and I have

been the art teacher at Veritas for the past 15

years. It has been a wonderful journey, and I am

fortunate to be part of a school culture that has

evolved into one of the top charter schools in

the city. Take a walk through the hallways and

classrooms of our school and the creative talent

of Veritas students is on full display.

I am a graduate of Alverno College where I

double majored in Art Education/Art Therapy.

I have a son and daughter both of whom are

married, and an 18-month-old grandson who is

the apple of my eye. My outside interests

include river kayaking, golfing, bike riding, and

gardening.

My name is Chris Lehman, and I teach social

studies and English here at Veritas. My dad used

to tell me that I should be a teacher, but I

thought he was crazy. I went to grad school

thinking that I would be a college professor, but

upon taking some time off after getting my

Master's degree and working as a long-term sub

in my old high school, I decided that in this, as in

most things, my dad was right. I went back to

school and took all of the teacher's ed courses

to get qualified, and then promptly moved to

Wisconsin. I started teaching at St. Charles, Inc.

with students who had been expelled from MPS,

then spent the next four years with Loyola

Academy before landing at Veritas almost six

years ago.

I love the environment here. The faculty and

administration are incredibly dedicated and

collaborative, and the student culture is a dream

for any teacher. In addition to my classes, I run

the school's Comic Book Club, and in my spare

time I'm raising and playing with my two

daughters, reading comics, or picking up odd

shaped heavy things in Strongman competitions.

© Seeds of Health, Inc. Spring, 2016

Rick Gayan

Safety Officer

Chris Lehman

English/Social Studies

Educator

Staff & students at the Polar Plunge—Brrrrrrrrrr!

Seniors winning the Shout-Off at Pep Rally

Staff with the “Grunge” look during Spirit Week

Photo Gallery See what the staff and students at Veritas

have been up to lately.

Vicki Cottrell

Fine Arts Educator

A great place to learn

Veritas High School

3025 West Oklahoma Avenue

Milwaukee, WI 53215

Veritas High School...Ranked the #3 Public High School in the City of Milwaukee* *based on the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction State Report Cards for 2013-2014

Freshmen Divas Group