Download pdf - Upward Bound UpDate Spring 2011

updateFebruary-May 2011

“I think my greatest asset is my confi dence which comes directlyfrom my preparation. ... I want to make sure I take the steps

in the off season to put myself in a position to be successful ”- Aaron Rogers

What’s Inside?

From the UB StaffStart your own club!

As the (UB) World TurnsWhat’s new at UB?

News YOU can useBudget news

Blast From the PastBounder Bear’s Alumni News

Parents’ PagePay Attention!

. . . and much more!!!

The Amazing (Education) race

We’re Proud of You,Third Quarter Scholars!

UB’s Paul Krause welcomes participants

4.000 and aboveSou Thee H (Logan) * Van N (Logan) * Ka Bao Y (Central) Fong V (Holmen) * Katelynn B (Sparta) * Ann V (Holmen)

Tou Y (Holmen) * Tou Long V (Central)Shue Shiane Y (Central) * Hai Va Y (Central)

Vang Y (Central) * Sabrina B (Logan)

3.750 to 3.999Kaitlyn B (Sparta) * Sabrina D (Central)

Samantha A (Tomah) * Blair M (Sparta) * MaLia T (Central)

3.500 to 3.749GaoSeng Y (Central) * Lakysha R (Logan) * Nhia L (Logan)

Erin T (Logan) * Bobby L (Logan) * Yer L (Logan)Fue Y (Holmen) * Mai Nue L (Holmen)

The Upward Bound quarterly honor roll is fi gured using a weighted four-point grade scale. Only UB students active in the program during the entire quarter are listed.

Dr. Paula Knudson, Dean of Students

February - May 2011 2 UB Update

As an Upward Bound Advisor, sometimes it feels like my advice to students goes in one ear and out the other. So imagine my surprise when some of our intrepid Holmen students actually heeded my advice (see “Be Like Blair: Start Your Own School Club” in the February 2010 Up-ward Bound Update) and started their own school club!

Ok, so maybe these students didn’t start their own club because of me. But I’m still impressed that they did it, and I wanted to make sure they got some recognition. So I talked with junior Ann V. and senior PaChoua L. about Understanding Cultural Differences, a new club they formed at Holmen High School.

Tell us about Understanding Cultural Differences. UCD is a club that promotes diversity. We named it UCD because we wanted to educate our peers about cultural diversity at our school. We feel that there is not a lot of diversity at our school and we felt the need to bond with our peers who share the same cultural diversity.

Why did you decide to start your own club? We felt it was important to recognize the different cultures in the community. We didn’t think the Hmong students had enough representation and we are 10 percent of the school population. Our fi rst idea for the club name was H.M.O.N.G. (Hmong Mentors of New Generations) how-ever, we voted for Understanding Cultural Differences to make it open for all students.

Who helped form the club and what was that process like? We helped recruit our friends to join us and we asked a Hmong teacher at Holmen High School, Ms. Thao, to help us and be our advisor. Another adult we relied on was a school counselor, Mrs. Kessler, who works with the majority of Hmong students. To start, we had to talk with our advisors and then schedule a meeting with Dr. Lecheler, the principal. After he gave us the okaywith the ideas we presented, we had a fi rst meeting to brainstorm ideas with the group.

What kinds of activities does your club do? We have created shirts for General Vang Pao and attended his memorial at the Hmong Cultural and Community Center in La Crosse. UCD meets once per week on Mondays or Tuesdays in our library where there is enough room for all of us. We put an agenda up so everyone knows exactlywhat we are going to talk about that day, play games or do some ice breaker activities, and then talk about upcom-ing activities or anything else everyone would like to talk about.

How many people have joined so far? We have around 25 to 30 members so far. Any student in our school is welcome to join, but the majority of the members are indeed Hmong. We also have two other members who are not Hmong but are very interested in the club and have joined. We are promoting UCD by trying to get involved in our school and our community to promote ourselves. Another way is word to mouth or fl yers or even just bringing a friend the next time you come.

What kinds of events do you have planned for the future? One of our big evens we have planned for the near future is a Culture Night. We are planning on putting on skits for children and doing some babysitting. Fami-lies and children are welcome to com. We might also have a food sampling table with various dishes.

What advice do you have for other students who want to form their own school club? Students who are thinking of starting their own club should be motivated and persistent with their actions. They should also follow through with their actions and choose good leaders to lead them in the right direction. Overall, it is important to have the support of people to get the club where you want it to go.

UB Update 3 February - May 2011

YES!!! UB seniors ROCK! In a few short months, these UB seniors will be rocketing off to college! CONGRATS!!!

Miranda A: UW-Eau Claire

Sabrina B: University of Minnesota

Kaitlyn B: UW-Eau Claire

Mai Chou H: UW-Stout

Sou Thee H: UW-Madison

Bobby L: UW-La Crosse or UW-Madison

Nhia L: UW-Green Bay, UW-Milwaukee, or UW-Oshkosh

PaChoua L: UW-La Crosse, UW-Madison or UW-Stevens Point

Kiswana R: UW-Milwaukee

Maurena T: UW-Platteville

Erin T: UW-Milwaukee

Ethan T: UW-La Crosse, UW-Milwaukee or UW-Stout

Fong V: UW-La Crosse and UW-Madison

Mai Khoua V: UW-La Crosse, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout

Sheng Y: UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Stevens Point, or Winona State University

Tou Y: UW-La Crosse

SENIOR BOOK AWARDS!Every year, UB selects four seniors who have shown outstanding performance and/or growth during their UB

careers. These students will receive $100 checks in the fall to help pay for their books at college.

Congratulations to our 2011 Senior Book Award winners!

Outstanding Academic Achievement - Fong V (Holmen)

Ourstanding Academic Improvement - Kaitlyn B (Sparta)

Outstanding Community Services - PaChoua L (Holmen)

Jonathan Soo Seong Wright Upward Bound Participation Award - Sou Thee H (Logan)

Sou Thee H is Logan High’s Chinese student of the year and he has received the Theodore Herfurth Scholarship for an incoming freshman from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a renewable, four-year scholarship!

PaChoua L was honored at Viterbo University’s 15th Annual Volunteer Appreciation event on April 11! During the evening 40 students were recognized for their exceptional contributions to providing service to a variety of worthwhile and important causes.

Fong V (Holmen) is an individual 1st place medalist @ the Power Lifting-West Coast Regionals!

Gao L was one of Logan High’s Students of the Month in March!

Sheng Y (Onalaska), received a Freddy Hilltopper Award (for to students who display positive leadership and school spirit) in March!

These Holmen HS students made the honor roll for second term: Pachoua L, Yer L, Whitney T, Fong V, Fue Y!

These Central students made the honor roll for second quarter: MaLia T, Jordyn T, Tou Long V, Hai Va Y, Ka Bao Y, Shue Shiane Y, Vang Y

Hai Va Y (Central) won a perfect attendance award in February!

GaoSeng Y was nominated as a Logan HS student of the month in January!

Vang Y was nominated as a Central HS student of the month in November and December!

Ka Bao Y and Tou Long V were nominated as Central HS students of the month in January and February!

Many UB-Logan HS students were honored at the annual Academic Pep Assembly (with MCs Bobby L and Nhia L!) on April 14: Sabrina B (Renaissance Reward sem 1 and 2, academic letter), Devin C (Renaissance Reward sem 2), Jason H (Renaissance Reward sem 1 and 2, academic letter), Sou Thee H (Renaissance Reward sem 1 and 2, academic letter, perfect attendance, NHS), Hannah K (perfect attendance), Gao L (Renaissance Reward sem 1 and 2, perfect attendance), Bobby L (Renaissance Reward sem 1 and 2, academic letter, perfect attendance, NHS, Ranger Renaissance mbr) Nhia L (Renaissance Reward sem 2, perfect attendance, NHS, Ranger Renaissance mbr), Pa Kou M (Renaissance Reward sem 1 and 2, perfect attendance, academic letter), Van N (Renaissance Reward sem 1 and 2, perfect attendance, academic letter), Tanshanita R (Renaissance Reward sem 2), Lakysha R (Renaissance Reward sem 1 and 2, academic letter), Erin T (Renaissance Reward sem 2, perfect attendance), Ethan T (Renaissance Reward sem 1 and 2, perfect attendance), Yer V (Renaissance Reward sem 1 and 2, perfect attendance), GaoSeng Y (Renaissance Reward sem 1 and 2, academic letter, perfect attendance, NHS, Ranger Renaissance mbr)


Vee Xiong (Logan ‘05) graduated from the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse with a bachelor’s degree in fi nance!

Dessa Perrigo (Tomah ‘06) graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a bachelor’s degree in education!

Anthony (Nick) Villa-Teschler (Holmen ‘05) graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in December!

Mai Yia Vang (Central ‘06), a student in radiation therapy at UW-L and a student worker in the offi ce of the McNair Scholars program on campus was nominated as Student Employee of the Year!

Thank you, Hleechia Vu (Central ‘07), currently a student at UW-Madison, for stopping to chat with UB visitors to your school on Friday, April 15! Hleechia is graduating this spring with a bachelor’s degree in Social Welfare and will start work in the UW-Madison master’s degree Social Work program in the fall!

Thank you UW-L students and Mai Yia Vang and Pa Houa Vang (Central ‘06) for hosting UB student visitors to UW-La Crosse on Friday, April 29!

More alumni news. . .

Felickao Yang (Central ‘01), a UW-Madison graduate, and his wife, KaBao Thao, just had their second child. Their son, Nova Zoo Txuj Yang, was born on April 27 - 7lbs 11oz. and 19.75 in.

Xiong Vue (Central ‘99), a UW-L graduate, will earn her Masters in School Counseling from Concordia University Wisconsin this spring!

Rev. Dr. Fungchatou Lo, Ph.D. (Logan ‘85), will be honored as one of the newest members of Logan High School’s Wall of Fame this spring. As a child, Dr. Lo endured a harrowing escape from Laos. From a refugee camp, he came to the United States and attended school, graduating from Logan High in 1985. In 1991, he graduated from UW-L with a B.S. degree in Social Work then earned a master’s degree in Social Work from UW-Madison and his doctoral degree in Urban Studies from UW-Milwaukee in 2000.

Dr. Lo was a professor of social work at UW-Oshkosh, College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. His dissertation, “The Promised Land: Socioeconomic Reality of the Hmong People in Urban America, 1976-2000,” was published by Wyndham Hall Press. But, he wasn’t done yet! Dr. Lo attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and was ordained a Pastor for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). He served the Hmong members of Grace Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota as the Hmong Mission Facilitator for North America Mission and as the director for Hmong Mission Society’s Thailand Hmong Mission project.

Dr. Lo and his wife, Kalia, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UW-L in School and Community Health Education, were called to do missionary work several years ago. They served in Banda Aceh, Indonesia in partnership with LCMS World Relief and Human Care. Currently, Dr. Lo and his family are missionaries in Cambodia and Thailand where they are helping people with pastoral training, education, and social services such as clean water and farming tools.

Congratulations, Fungchatou Lo! We are VERY proud of you!



As the (UB)

World Turns

YOU CAN USE

In the continuing budget battel saga in Washington, DC, TRIO programs have taken a hit.

In the most recent “budget fi x” agreement, funding for TRIO programs was cut. Details of this cut have not been fi nalized,

but it will probably result in a 3% cut for all pro-grams next year (2011-2012). With rising transporta-tion costs and several years’ worth of fl at budgets in the past, this will mean real reductions in TRIO programs and services including those at UW-L UB.

The Council for Opportujnity in Education’s presi-dent, Arnold Mitchem, has requested that TRIO students, families and friends contact the White House to let President Obama know how they feel about these cuts for low income and fi rst generation students. For more information, please visit www.coenet.us/ecm/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Weekly_Summary

In addition, further cuts for low income college (and college-bound) students are in the works if the Republican-led House buget bill for 2012 is passed. That plan would reduce the Pell Grant by more than $2,500 for the 2012-2013 school year, making the maximum award $3,040, the lowest it’s been since 1998.

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In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker’s proposed budget for 2011-2013 would reduce aid to the public higher education system by $250 million. With a proposed reorganization of the UW system, splitting UW-Madison from the rest of the campuses, Chan-cellor Biddy Martin of UW-Madison has predicted tuition might rise at that institution by 26% over the next two years.

Tuitions at other UW System four-year campuses were expected to rise by 5.5% over the next two years, but if more autonomy is granted, these raises may go higher. No additional funds are allocated for student aid; the Wisconsin Covenant is phased out with the class of 2016 (8th graders in 2011-2012).

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Summer jobs may be tight, but why not create your

own? What do you like to do? What are you good at? Baby-sitting and dog walking have always been there, but what about running errands or helping people organize their clutter? How many older people need help with their computers? Can you peddle ice cream at the beach? Have you heard about the MAN CAN - “man scented” candles made by a 13 year old (bacon, s;mores, new glove, etc)? For ideas, check Junior Achievement or YoungEntrepreneur.com. Be sure to get help from a teacher or mentor if needed, especial-ly if you want to sell stuff.

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A summer 2010 article in the Wall Street Journal reports that college costs (before the current budget-cutting mania began) were likely keeping low and moderate income students from attending college. In addition, “Students from disadvantaged economic backgrounds tend to struggle with writing assign-ments and challenging reading>” Read the whole thing at http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/07/07/fewer-low-income-students-going-to-college/

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The university is still working out plans for leadership of the Upward Bound program through the rest of this year and the following year.We will update as news comes in. In the meantime, FORWARD!


EDUCATIONUB students, staff and families gatethered in UW-L’s Cartwright Center on Saturday, February 12 to learn more about the processes of getting ready for college success. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Paula M. Knudson, PhD, is the Assistant Chancellor and Dean of Students at UW-L.

Her fun and interactive presentation really got students and families thinking about what life will be like in college. Following Dr. Knudson’s talk, students and families split into focus groups by grade level.

Thanks to all those who made this Saturday event fun and successful, including Dr. Knudson; Ms. Vickie Sanchez, Admnissions Counselor at UW-L; Mr. Peter Rasmussen of the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of La Crosse; and Upward Bound staff. Thanks also to the parents/guardians who attended.

Following the program, students practiced writing. This month’s topic - full year high school or traditional sched-ule high school? After writing, the group went bowling at All Star Lanes in La Crosse.

Here are some UB students thoughts about year-round high school versus traditional high school schedule:

High school is an important stepping stone for any student. How they do there will infl uence their suc-cess rate in college. In the past few years, schools have openly debated whether or not school should remain with the three-month summer vacation or year-round school. In my opinion, a year-round school calendar will better the students’ understand-ing of the material and increase their ability to do well after high school.

Despite opponents’ remarks on overburdened stu-dents, schools will allow much more time for stu-dents to relax with three- to fi ve-week breaks, easing academic stress. From personal experience, my class and I spent nearly half a semester reviewing informa-tion from previous years and levels of the class. This prohibited many of us from learning new material that would be essential in future academic classes.

Year-round schools will enable students to have a better understanding of the material because they will have more time with their teachers to ask questions. Additionally, teachers will be able to plan out their lessons more effi ciently. With more days to teach, they can move at a slower pace, allowing the teach-ers to have more one on ones with students. In other words, both teacher and student will be less stressed. The teacher will not have to worry about meeting academic deadlines while students get a chance to fully understand and appreciate the class.

Succinctly, states with year-round schools will have better test results coming from their students. Camps that would have been attended in the summer can be incorporated into the school year in between the stu-dents’ breaks. As a result, they return to school after break with fresh insight on their camp experiences. In the end, students will have a higher academic grade while learning many things through a year-long school.

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Schools should keep the traditional three-month summer vacation because it gives students a break from being overwhelmed with school work, time for students to explore different subjects they may be interested in, and to gain some income.

Students need the summer break to refresh and not think about school so much. Yes, some educators may say that students need to be thinking about education and need the heavy load of school work to keep them on track, but sometimes students may get over-whelmed and may not be able to perform well. The summer break will provide a peace to students mindsmaking them focus and perform better at the start of a new term.

Educators are preparing students for college and always expressing how a student should explore what they want to do for a living. [continued ->]


All year school or traditional? continued from p. 5

By having school year round, it would prevent students from exploring who they are and what they like to do. The summer break would provide stu-dents time to explore colleges and have more time to themselves.

Jobs or having an income to support a student’s school and personal needs are also very important to having a summer break. With the break students will be able to have money for themselves and have a sense of independence because they can get income.

Some educators think that students should be sup-ported by parents and families, but sometimes that is not possible. Students want to feel they can help out the family, and the summer break would allow them to receive a greater sum of money. Keeping the tradi-tional summer break will enhance a student’s ability to learn and grow as a person, thus it should be kept.

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Every school should change their school calendars so that they are year-round schools because stu-dents tend to lose knowledge over a long summer break. If schools were to keep the traditional three-month summer, students would lose their skills and ability to do well in school.

By making schools year-round stu-dents will learn more, stay on task with studies, and at the shortperiod of break, go on college visits, or even work.If school calendars were changed to year-round stu-dents will gain more knowledge.

During a three-month summer vacation, a student’s brain is being focused on having fun and hanging out with friends. This may seem good, however, a stu-dent will most likely forget valuable things learned in school. By making schools year round, students will be given about eight to ten weeks of school and also three to fi ve weeks of break. This is also a month of a break for them!

With this short, valuable break, students will be able

to focus better in school, and remember most lessons from their teacher. A year-round calendar will help students stay on task with their curricular classes. Even though their break is only about a month students will be able to get back on track from what they previously learned. This will make the student more capable of remembering things in class, while at the same time, less stressful about school.

Even though the breaks for students are only about a month, they are still able to visit colleges and fi nd a job. It may seem diffi cult but students must think about school and if they were to have a three month break, they would most likely spend it on having fun.

Year-round calendars are a must! It will help students achieve their goals in school, give them more knowl-edge, and a short period of time to relax. With this method students will not waste their time in learning!

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I would keep the traditional schooling. In believe this because students should be able to have jobs for a long period of time and so they can do things that might not be accomplished otherwise.

Students should be able to have jobs for a long period of time. This is because students need to gain experience in the real world before they are thrust into it after they are done with school. It would also allow them to feel a sense of inde-pendence and accomplishment.

Another reason is that they may not be able to do such a variety of things. Some of my friends go to different countries during the summer. I am enrolled in Upward Bound and would not be able to attend Summer UB, which gets students ready for school and allows you to get a feel for college life. I believe that schools should stay the way they are because students need a break. A little bit of money from a job or relaxing in Spain would be nice too.

How many times do we start giving our teens some very important information, then look over and note a blank faraway look on their faces and realize not one precious important word we’ve said has made it into their brain!?

Sometimes one person’s important is another’s white noise, but there are or should be some things we agree really are important and really do deserve attention.

Parents need to pay attention, too.

READ DAILY SCHOOL ANNOUNCMENTS - Most schools post these online. You may fi nd out about an important event or deadline. At the very least, it will give you informatin about what’s happening at school.

READ YOUR SCHOOL’S NEWSLETTER - most schools send a newsletter to families every few months. You can learn about what’s happened already and what’s coming up including important test and scholarship dates.

READ THE UPWARD BOUND NEWSLETTER and CHECK THE UB WEBSITE - UB publishes and mails a newsletter every other month. Additional info is available at www.uwlax.edu/upbound/parents.htm

CHECK MID-TERM GRADES - Notice if your student is earning low grades in any classes - are assign-ments missing? Is attendance an issue? Talk to your students about the report.

COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR STUDENT’S TEACHERS - Especially if your students is earning a low grade at mid-term, call or email her or his teacher(s) to check on the problem, then talk to your student about it.

ATTEND PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES - This is your opportunity to fi nd out how your student is doing in class and discuss any specifi c issues you might have with the teacher.

READ ANNOUNCEMENTS MAILED FROM SCHOOL or UPWARD BOUND - Schools are pretty good about communicating with families. Unfortunately, many families never read the fl yers or postcards. Then they are surprised to learn that an important deadline has passed.

MEET WITH YOUR STUDENT’S SCHOOL COUNSELOR - most schools schedule a meeting near the end of a student’s junior year to make sure the student is on track to have a successful senior year. School coun-selors are great sources of advice and information - especially when it comes to college applications, scholarship opportunities,

KEEP A FAMILY CALENDAR - noting school days off, school and community events you and your stu-dents are involved with, deadlines for tests, deposits and registrations. This will not only help your family keep on top of things, it will help your student learn how to plan and manage time, too.

ASK - especially as your student moves into her or his junior and senior year, make sure to ask school, UB and other contacts about possible scholarships or other opportunities that might help your student.
