Titan eNews
Weekly Campus Update
Did You Move?
Report cards will be mailed home this month.
Counselor's Corner
Letters of Acceptance
Seniors who have received a letter of acceptance from a college or university, we would love to celebrate that with you!
Bring your letter or letters or emails to the counseling office and share with us the good news.
We like to post those acceptances on a bulletin board outside the counseling office because we are proud of your accomplishments.
College Planning
This week Beverly Henry-Wheeler, past President of the National Association For College Admissions Counseling and Regional Director of Admission for Hendrix College, worked with third years on writing the college essay. Learners left with a better understanding of how to communicate to a university who they are and what is important to them. We are very grateful to Mrs. Wheeler for her sharing her expertise with our learners!
First Years
- Build Week is next week! Learners should have goggles and close toed shoes!
- Learners should purchase their additional build materials this weekend and bring them to school on Monday?
- Learners will start designing and creating team banners next week for the “Parade of Champions” at Clark Stadium on Saturday, Jan. 26. See you there!
- In Physics, learners have finished 1-dimensional free fall. They will begin 2-dimensional free fall after Build Week.
- World Geo: Learners have been learning about how different points of view impact public policy and decision making processes at national and international levels.
To First Year LOTE Parents:
What’s happening in LOTE? -
We have an amazing opportunity to conduct an audit of our LOTE program here at the Academy. This audit will be facilitated by a language proficiency test that Plano ISD has purchased through STAMP. More information about the STAMP test can be found here. The results for this proficiency exam will only be used to provide data that will aid in the development and facilitation of the LOTE program here at the Academy. The results of this exam will not be used to calculate your learner’s transcripted grade nor to determine his/her placement in the LOTE program here at the Academy.
How can I help my child prepare for this test? -
Though this is not a test your child can “cram” for, he/she can come prepared by having his/her fully charged Chromebook, his/her Chromebook charger (just in case), a healthy breakfast to fuel their French or Spanish skills, a good night’s sleep, and an engaging book to read when they are finished. This test, given online, typically lasts 2 hours and will not impact the regularly scheduled lunch times.
Whom may I contact if I have more questions about this proficiency test?
Please contact your learner’s LOTE facilitator if you have additional questions about this opportunity:
(French) Katherine.Terrell@pisd.edu
(Spanish) Katelyn.Morrison@pisd.edu
Second Years
Beneath the Surface is off to a fantastic start, as the Second Years kicked off the Second Model United Nations with the first committee meeting of the project. We started off with opening statements from delegates, and topics were set for the following meeting. Delegates will now research their country’s positions on and create resolutons on those established topics
The learners built a foundation of Parliamentary Procedure earlier this week, and put that foundation to the test with a Parliamentary Procedure Trail Mix activity. Learners used motions to propose and vote on grade level team as the recipients of the trail mix, as well as which specific ingredients went in to the mix. Some cohorts made some tasty trail mix, and some cohorts made some rather questionable trail mix. A big thank you to the PTSA for supplying the ingredients for the trail mix!
Click here to see the parent letter for more information about the project Beneath the Surface.
Third Years
As the end of the semester approaches, 3rd-year learners are pushing forward into our new project, Turning Points. Through this project, learners will be conducting thorough research into topics of their choosing and creating interactive exhibits to share their knowledge.
On Thursday, we were joined by visitors from the Dallas Zoo and the Arboretum to share their knowledge of exhibit design and implementation. Based on their research topics, learner teams will be matched with local organizations like these and "hired" to design interactive exhibits for them.
In conjunction with this work, leaners are also considering upcoming turning points in their own post-secondary lives. They have begun refining portfolios of their individual work and started work on their first college essays. In order to learn more about the college application and essay process, Beverly Wheeler, an admissions counselor from Hendrix College, joined us to share her expertise.
Wrapping up the week today, the 3rd years engaged in a whole group activity for most of the morning that saw them identifying major turning points in world history over the last 90 years and identifying what they believe to be the most and least impactful decades during that span. It was a fun activity and saw a lot of impassioned engagement.
Fourth Years
Capstone TED Talk Presentations
As part of the 4th Year experience, learners are tasked with completing a Capstone Project. This is a research project relating to a self-selected area of interest. At the mid year mark, learners will be presenting their projects TED Talk style.
We cordially invite parents to attend the TED Talk presentations. You are not obliged to attend all presentations, but we do hope that you will support our learners and attend not only your child's presentation but some others as well.
Learners have placed a summary of their TED Talk topics. These are linked to the title of the presentation that correspond to the date and time of presentation. Please take a moment to review summaries and consider joining us to for the Plano ISD Academy 2018 TED Talk presentations.
The TED Talk locations will be held on the second floor in LS 8, LS 9, LS 11 and the Cube at Plano ISD Academy High School.
Follow this link, to sign up!
LEARNER OPPORTUNITY AT THE PEROT MUSEUM
Here is a very exciting teen volunteer program available at the Perot Museum known as Discovery Corps which can count toward learner internship hours who have an interest in museum curation, education, science, technology, engineering, and math and more!
The Discovery Corps Camp Assistant Program for teens exists to foster student interest in science, nature, and technology by placing exceptional STEM minded teens in areas where they can interact with and teach Museum guests and camp children. Discovery Corps is open to students ages 14 and older who will be entering their freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior year of high school in the 2019-2020 school year. Upon the completion of Discovery Corps, students can request a transition to general volunteer status, with Volunteer Services approval. Our Volunteer Services team would love to have students from Plano Academy be a part of this experience!
Discovery Corps 2019 applications are currently open. Applications are online, with priority placement given to those applicants who apply early. For that reason, our team suggests your students apply as soon as they can:
https://www.perotmuseum.org/join-and-give/volunteer/teen-discovery-corps.html
From Our Plano Academy PTSA
Plano Academy High School PTSA - Plano ISD, TX - Membership ToolKit
Save The Date!
12/12 NHS hours and teacher recommendations due
12/11 3rd Year LOTE to Dallas Museum of Art
12/17-19 Senior Capstone TED Talks
12/21 End of 1st Semester