May, 2015

Letter from the Principal

Sherry Tolkan

414.389.5560

stolkan@seedsofhealth.org

As we near the end of the 2014-15 school year, II

want to thank our students and families for

contributing to an incredibly successful year at

Veritas. At Veritas we measure success on many

levels as we strive to help our students

successfully navigate the teenage years and

develop both academically and socially. The

entire staff at Veritas strives to be positive role

models and set examples in the areas of work

ethic, k indness, respect, community

involvement, and caring for others.

With graduation just a little more than a month

away, our seniors are preparing for their senior

project presentations while making important

decisions relating to their plans after high school.

Because of the support of our teachers, parents,

and school counselor, every Veritas student has

the opportunity to continue their education at a

college or university. Our college acceptance bulletin

board is filling rapidly as students receive their acceptance

letters and now must make difficult decisions as to which

school they will attend. Many of our hardest working

students are also receiving scholarship offers, and we

congratulate them on being recognized for their

accomplishments.

Veritas is fully enrolled at all grade levels for the 2015-16

school year with an extensive waiting list at grade 9. In the

event that your family is moving, please contact the school

office so we may offer a spot to another deserving student.

Please work with us to make the most of these last several

weeks. There is much yet to learn, and we are prepared to

make every day interesting, challenging, and enjoyable.

Please keep in mind that if any student fails to meet the

minimum criteria for any class, they will be enrolled in our

summer school credit recovery program scheduled for

Mondays through Thursdays from 8:00 –12:00 noon, from

June 22 through July 30th.

My door is always open to you. Feel free to call or stop in

with questions and suggestions.

Sincerely,

Sherry Tolkan, Principal

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

May 8—Prom (Theme:

Enchanted Forest)

7:00-11:00 pm

May 11—Early Release

Day, 2:15 pm

May 11-15—ASPIRE

Testing for 9th & 10th

Alternate Schedule for

11th & 12th

May 18—Senior Project

Presentations Day (No

School for 9th & 10th)

May 22—Sports

Complex Day

May 25—Memorial Day

(No School)

May 27—Annual Year

End School Council

Meeting 4:00 pm

May 28—Talent Show

6:00-8:30 pm

June 3—Veritas Annual

Folk Fair 8:20-9:50 am

June 5—Final Awards

Ceremony

June 8-10—Final Exams

June 10—Seniors

Graduation Rehearsal

Luncheon 11:30 am

June 13—Graduation

Day! Seniors arrive by

Noon. Ceremony starts

at 1:00 pm at Serb Hall

Volume 2 Issue 2

Veritas High School News

© Seeds of Health, Inc. © Seeds of Health, Inc. May, 2015

This year’s varsity track team had good success

against similarly sized schools. At the Conference

Championship the team took 1st place in 4 events

and 2nd place in 4 events. The Boy’s team finished

in 2nd Place out of 10 teams. Pictured above top to

bottom L-R—Coach Vince Hucek, Carlos Hernandez,

Mike Cuellar, Juan Gomez, Alan Pedroza, Gerardo

Roque, Jorge Rodriguez, Ramiro Quintana, Angelica

Balderas, Clara Gallegos, Jordan Roque, Xavier

Sanchez, Martin Esparza, Jessica Huizar-Avila, Shon-

trail Scott, Maria Aldapa, Edgar Merino, Kayla Lana-

ghan, Irma Sanchez, Vanessa Leon, Kirstin Larson.

Sara Zavadsky, a science teacher

here at VHS, was nominated for (by

Alverno College), and received,

the Early Career Educator Award

from the Wisconsin Association of

Colleges for Teacher Education

(WACTE). This award is presented to

an outstanding educator within the

first three years of her/his professional career. The

award recipient is selected based on any

combination of the following: positive impact individ-

ual has on schools or communities; innovation in

designing learning experiences, and advocacy for

students. Veritas is proud of Sara for this recognition.

DIVAS has another successful year.

Working with Walker’s

Point, each year

Veritas provides an

after-school program

for our freshman girls

that works with them

on self-esteem, self-

advocacy, and making healthy life choices. This

program provides much needed support to areas in a

young woman’s life that will enable her to be

confident, aware, and educated on topics and issues

such as relationships, dating, self-image, how the

media impacts our perceptions, handling stress, the

dangers of drug and alcohol use, staying safe, and

being a strong, proud, educated young woman.

Pictured above are members of this year’s DIVAS

group with their advisor, Brenda Jeske, Veritas’ School

Counselor.

The Veritas Girls Soccer team had a combined rec-

ord of three wins, three losses, and one tie. They took

fourth place in the league and have four graduating

seniors: Joselin, Vanessa, Genesis, and Ale. Accord-

ing to coach, Rob Clark, the smaller group of girls

used a lot of teamwork and better fitness, improved

defensively, and developed a formidable offense this

year. Pictured above: Standing L-R–Diana Rodriguez,

Midalis Delacruz, Erika Escoto, coach Rob Clark.

Kneeling L-R—Erin Benson, Karen Rico, Monserrat

Padierna. Sitting L-R—Genesis Mendoza, Joselin Que-

zada, Vanessa Leon, and Ale Vega.

Interim once again provides Veritas students with

some “out-of-the-box” learning.

On the two days just prior to Spring Break, and as a

short reprieve from it’s rigorous standard curriculum,

Veritas once again provided students with an Interim

of classes on a variety of subjects. Listed below were

some of the offerings as well as some pictures

documenting the day of learning and fun had by all.

On the night of April 23rd Veritas

students and parents had the

opportunity to come and play a

friendly series of Bingo games. The Veritas Student

Council provided refreshments and a series of 25 prizes

for the winners. It was a

great night in which families

of different backgrounds

were able to come together

and bond over laughter and

competition. These families

got to know more about each other as they shared

likes and dislikes and answered questions about their

lives as students and as parents. Who

knows—this may be just the first of many

more fun bingo nights to come!

Service Learning—new class makes big impact!

Below are just some of the many local places that this

class has had a positive impact upon this school year:

NOTICE OF VERITAS SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

The School Board of Veritas High School will

meet at the school, 3025 West Oklahoma

Avenue, Milwaukee, WI on Wednesday, May

27, 2015, beginning at 4:00 p.m. to consider

the following agenda:

Call to Order and Verification of

Compliance with Open Meeting Law

Presentation of Annual Report and

Strategic Plan

Veritas Student/Parent Council Report

Presentation of Annual Agency Audit

Report of 2015-16 Proposed Budget

Children’s Hospital—

toy drive

Harbour Village—

multiple activities

Grace Lutheran

C h u r c h — F o o d

donations

Interfaith—helping

elderly with Spring

clean-up outside

3 Bridges Park—Park

clean-up

St. Vincent De Paul—

Soup Kitchen

Our Lady Queen of

Peace—Reading to

kids, After-school

care, & Bingo

Milwaukee Police

Dept. fund raising for

Food Pantry

Tinik-uggling

Improv Mania

Cartoon 101

Don’t Lose Yer Marbles

Poetry Slam

Truth: Fitness & Nutrition

Chess

Stack It, Don’t Crack It

Batik & Body Works

Beginner Guitar

A Delicious World

Stress Be Gone

Build & Break Bridges

NEWS May 2015

Mentor 2.0 Makes a Difference at Veritas

The following words are from the Big Brothers Big Sisters of

Metro Milwaukee, 2014 Report to the Community on

Mentor 2.0.

“Mentor 2.0 has just begun, and we are already seeing excellent results

in our performance metrics!

98% of our mentor 2.0 matches are above the weekly online com-

munication benchmark. This compares to only 46% above the

benchmark for all other partner programs across the U.S.

80% of our mentor 2.0 matches are meeting or exceeding in-person

event participation benchmarks, a greater percentage than all

partner programs across the U.S.”

Here are two quotes—one from a Mentor and one from a student:

Mentor: “I don’t think you could have picked a better match for me,

she is an amazing kid. In her email last week, she told me that she trust-

ed four people in her life and I am one of them.”

Student: “Ever since I started mentor 2.0, my confidence has been rising

tremendously. Before this, I was always shy to meet new people.”

On May 5, 2015 Veritas received from the State of Wisconsin a State

Assembly Citation Award for its involvement with Mentor 2.0.

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 Mandy Walsh, and I teach Social

Studies at Veritas. I teach Global Civilizations,

Sociology, and Service Learning. This is my

second year at Veritas. I run Student Council

and Walking Club.

I went to the University of Wisconsin Stevens

Point. I am originally from the Northwest Suburbs

of Chicago. I love volunteering, being outdoors

in the warm weather, and spending time with

my family and friends. Don’t be surprised when

you see a new name in the Social Studies

department next year as I am getting married

this June.

My name is Dan Starr, and I teach math at

Veritas – Algebra II, Math Strategies, Transition to

College Math, and AP Calculus. I am also the

Debate Team coach. This is my third year

teaching at Veritas, and I love continuing to

foster the sense of community in the school.

Though an Illinois transplant, I have been living in

Milwaukee since attending and graduating from

Marquette University. While living here I have

volunteered, student taught, and proctored in

schools all over the city, but am happy to call

Veritas home. In addition to teaching, I love

watching and discussing movies, football, and

good television. I also enjoy biking and clever

banter.

My name is Ramón Guerrero Payán, and I teach

Spanish at Veritas - Spanish I, Spanish II, Spanish

for Heritage Speakers, and AP Spanish

Language and Culture. I am originally from

Spain and moved here after meeting my wife

while she was studying abroad in college. After

living in the United States for almost 10 years, I

decided to go back to school to get an

education degree. I have been a Spanish

teacher here at Veritas for 2 years and have

lived here in Milwaukee for 16 years.

Aside from enjoying sharing my culture and lan-

guage with people, I have many interests. I love

to work out and you might see me at the gym

on any given day. I also study martial arts

(Karate and Judo). I love when the seasons

change and I can get outside. It is not unusual

for me to go on very long bike rides when the

weather permits. If you are near the lake path on

the weekends, you might see me fly by. As many

of my students know, I enjoy reading, watching

soccer, and drawing cartoons.

© Seeds of Health, Inc. May, 2015

Mandy Walsh

Social Studies Educator

Ramon Payan

Spanish Educator

Veritas Annual Blood Drive

Sara’s Interim class on Batik painting

Above: 2015 Prom Court L-R—Sergio Alvarez,

Jesus Martinez, King Octavio Correa, Juan

Robles, Queen Vanessa Leon, Jessica Serrato,

Joselin Quezada, & Jennifer Sandoval.

Below: Prom attendees get their groove on!

Photo Gallery

See what the students at Veritas have been

up to lately.

Daniel Starr

Math 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