Student Standouts for April 7, 2023

Senior Earns Girl Scout Gold Award

We’re so proud of Elizabeth Schmidt ’23 who earned the Girl Scout Gold Award this past spring. To earn the Gold Award, girls need to complete hours (on average around 80 hours) of a measurable, sustainable community service project.

Schmidt addressed the lack of bluebird nest availability due to deforestation. She built five nest boxes to provide bluebirds, an endangered species but with a rising population, safe habitats. Elizabeth installed the boxes throughout the community and continuously monitored the boxes and the bluebird nests. Finally, she made a PowerPoint presentation about their project and shared it with Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri’s Emerson Resource Center, so it is readily available for any troops to learn more about bluebirds.

Schmidt presented her project to a local Girl Scout troop to raise awareness and understanding of deforestation. She also created a project website, which includes a link to the presentation. Each nest box includes a QR code to the website for those in the community to learn more. She will be recognized with her Gold Award during a special ceremony on June 11, 2023.

15 MICDS Students Attend Model United Nations Session

By Kristin Roberts, MICDS Model UN Club Sponsor

The MICDS Model United Nations Club attended its spring Model UN session on April 1, 2023, at Webster University with other area schools, including Collinsville, John Burroughs, St. Joseph’s Academy, and Eureka. The event was organized by Civitas-STL, a local organization that provides “innovative programming for secondary students” and hosts Model United Nations for local schools, among other events. The MICDS Model UN represented a wide range of nations at this session, including Spain, Belgium, Chile, Mongolia, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the United Kingdom. Fifteen MICDS Model UN students attended the session, almost all of them having attended the session in the fall. We also submitted a joint resolution to the session from Chile and Mexico, researched and written by freshmen members of our club, Lewis Adkins ’26, Shil Penilla ’26, and Nihaal Satwani ’26, addressing crime in Latin America. A highlight from the session was when our delegates representing Chile and Mexico presented their resolution to the General Assembly and really worked on compromising with other nations in an attempt to get it passed. Like some of the real work at the United Nations, Chile and Mexico were not successful in passing their resolution at this session; however, we all learned so much through the process about writing stronger and more convincing resolutions. In addition to the research and resolution writing for our nations, club members had the opportunity to observe and engage in mock diplomacy with students from other schools debating resolutions, caucusing for support, and voting on resolutions and their amendments.

The entire club should be proud of their efforts in preparing for this session, both those that helped research at school and those that were able to attend the session. The club would also like to recognize and thank our senior leaders, Penny Chen ’23, Varsha Devisetty ’23, and Nithya Reddy ’23, for founding and guiding this club these last few years. Their leadership will be missed, but their work has laid a great foundation for Model UN at MICDS, and we are looking forward to continuing their legacy with more growth next year!

According to the United Nations Association, “Model UN is a simulation of the UN General Assembly and its other multilateral bodies where students perform an ambassador role while debating topics such as gender equality, climate action, global health, and more.” Model UN at MICDS focuses on diplomacy, cooperation, and solving real-world issues through research, writing, and debate skills practicing active citizenship. Model UN at MICDS aims to attend at least one Model UN session each semester spending each Activity period researching, writing, and deepening students’ understanding of Model UN nations and global issues.

Strong Start to Cycling Season

MICDS Cycling rolled strong at Tuesday Night Worlds this week in Carondelet Park! The Rams put together a huge team performance, working together to drop many other riders. Sophia Ashley-Martin ’26 was the team’s top finisher with a 5th-place finish to start her road racing career. Go Rams!

First Meet Success for Track & Field

For the first Track & Field meet of the 2023 season, the Skippy Keefer Invitational at John Burroughs, the Boys Track & Field team took first with a total of 99.5 points and the Girls Track & Field team took fourth with a total of 60 points. Way to go, Rams!