Titan eNews
Weekly Campus Update
Mission: To create a community of learners empowered to collaborate and compete in a rapidly changing world.
Thank you to our Veterans and Active Duty Service Men and Women!
Pride of Plano Exhibition
Plano ISD is proud to provide a visual arts exhibition to celebrate the creativity and skill of the many talented young visual artists whose artworks were selected by a team of local jurors. This event showcases art from all grade levels in the Plano ISD visual arts programs. The Pride of Plano Visual Arts Exhibition was open to all Plano ISD students in grades Kindergarten - 12th grade. 400 entries were received from around the district with a total of 150 works selected for the exhibition, 38% of the work submitted from each category.
The Academy High School Art Facilitators, Linda Aponte, Stephanie Nordlund and Amy Semifero, submitted several artworks to be considered for the Pride of Plano Exhibition. Please congratulate 1st Year Learner Lucy Diaz and 2nd Year Learner Brianna Huynh whose work was selected to be in the art exhibit. You can see the exhibit of all 150 works of art at the Plano ISD Sockwell Center during normal business hours. The show will be on display until January 30, 2018.
Academy High School Art Facilitators
1st Year Learner Lucy Diaz
2nd Year Learner Brianna Huynh
District Advisory Council Parent Volunteer Opportunity:
As you know, learners at Plano ISD Academy High School are not enrolled in any courses with a weighted grade point assignment (GPA); however, the district process is to offer access to courses with a weighted grade point average (GPA) during high and senior high schools.
Plano ISD will be studying the district's current process for weighted grade point assignment in order to determine if any revisions to the process should be recommended. NO changes or revisions will be made to courses at Plano ISD Academy High School; however, a parent perspective from our school is an asset in this study.
There will be an opportunity for parents to be part of this process by serving on an Advisory Council.
This GPA Advisory Council is created so that the District can be assured that the voices and perspectives representative of many groups -- teachers, students, parents, and community members -- are accounted for and deeply regarded prior to considering the recommendations of the GPA Work Study Committee. This charge to study our current system of assigned grade points has been given by the School Board.
The role of the GPA Advisory Council is to (a) concurrently share in the study of research findings related to the topic; (b) provide direction and feedback to the GPA Work Study Committee at predetermined checkpoints in time; (c) thoughtfully consider and suggest challenges, advantages, and disadvantages to the variety of options developed by the work study committee; (d) communicate the perspectives of the groups the members serve in representation of; and (e) to engage with each other effectively and productively in an impartial and open-minded manner that ultimately supports the students of the Plano Independent School District.
We anticipate the Advisory Council will meet 4 - 6 times in the early evening, and would ask volunteers commit to attend all meetings. The first meeting will be December 7 beginning at 6:00. Subsequent meeting dates will be announced at the first meeting.
If you are interested in being considered for service on this committee, please indicate your interest at the following link:
We will accept names until 8:00 a.m. November 13th.
Participants names will be drawn randomly, and the parent whose name has been drawn will be notified by November 17th.
Thank you,
Lynn Ojeda
Principal
3rd Years:
3rd-year learners put the final touches on their business and marketing plans this week. An authentic outside audience is an important piece of project-based learning. To that end, next Wednesday loan officers and marketing consultants will be in the building to review and give feedback on their work thus far. As these pieces wrap, learners move towards the execution of their plans in the coming weeks.
Finally, here are few images to share of learners with the maquettes they created of their point of sale spaces. These maquettes will be part of the presentations that teams make to marketing consultants next week.
2nd Years:
Thanksgiving break and the conclusion and culmination of The Titan Thinker are quickly approaching, the excitement is palpable. Learners have been making final touches, and polishing final draft versions of their research papers, as well as symposium posters in preparation for the big night. Learners took a break from the heavy lifting to explore content ranging from taxonomy, affirmative arguments, the European Age of Exploration, and observed the effects of iodine on onion cells in a Biology lab.
As we enter the final stretch, and last week of the Titan Thinker, learners will continue to practice their presentations, including claims, evidence, and reasoning that the research has lead them. Join us on November 16th, 2017 from 6:30-8:30 to see the results of all the hard work that has gone into The Titan Thinker.
From Yearbook Club: Attention 4th Year Families!
Dear Titan Families,
One of the biggest moments in your child’s life is about to occur. Your learner will graduate from Academy High School and transition to the next chapters in their lives. The Titan yearbook will capture the academic achievements and excitement of their senior year. You can help make the yearbook even more special by creating a personalized recognition ad for your child. Recognition ads use your own keepsake photos and contain a personalized message from you.
There is still time to celebrate your child’s accomplishments by creating a personalized recognition ad for this yearbook! The attached flyer will provide all the details. If you have questions, please contact me. The deadline for ordering is November 17.
Cordially,
Linda Aponte
Titan Yearbook Sponsor
972-905-8154
1st Years:
3rd Years Ring Ceremony: SAVE THE DATE!
4th Years:
The 4th Year learners have been hard at work constructing their argument for the mid project debates scheduled for Nov 29th-Dec 1st. In the debates, learners will interrogate the driving question, "What does it mean to be alive," in various areas such as: AI, self-driving cars, cloning, genetic engineering, Art vs. Science, Global Human Rights and the role of government. The debates are scheduled for 9:30am-12:30pm and we are looking for judges. You do not have to specialize in the areas listed. If you are interested in volunteering to be a judge, please contact Marissa Pinder at marissa.pinder@pisd.edu.
Learners are also working to complete their Capstone Proposal by the 17th of this month. They have been busy crafting their Methods section this week. When they return after Thanksgiving Break, they will begin the Implementation phase.
Finally, they were asked to consider what legacy they will leave and/or what advice do they have to give other learners and submit their senior quotes for the Yearbook. Why not ask your learner what they wrote at the dinner table this evening?
Service Learning:
"a big Harley-Davidson thank you for allowing us to use the parking areas, the Adirondack chairs…and, most of all allowing your students to join us at the event.
I’m always so impressed with ‘your kids’! They are mature, positive, hard-working kids that always make a big impression on the HDFS staff and our riders! It wouldn’t be the same without them…and, their creative signs that welcome the riders! Please extend my thanks to them, as well. "
How about a short video from members in our Film Club?
The "A" in STEAM is alive and well at Academy High!
Save the Date: Graduation 2018!
2018 Academy High School Graduation
Date: Thursday, June 7, 2018
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location:
Charles W. Eisemann Center
2351 Performance Drive
Richardson, Texas 75082
Follow this link for additional information:
Upcoming Dates:
11/13 Plano ISD Academy 8th grade applications open for 2018-2019
11/14 PTSA Board Meeting
11/15 3rd Quarter Progress Reports go home
11/16 Leadership Plano Meeting and Tour
11/16 2nd Years Titan Thinker Symposium
11/18 PTSA Practice ACT
11/20-11/24 Thanksgiving Break
11/30-12/1 4th Year It's Alive Debates
12/11 3rd Years Ring Ceremony
12/12 PTSA General Meeting
12/12 3rd Years K'Ching Presentation Event
12/14 Carter Bloodcare Blood Drive
12/15 Plano ISD Academy 8th Grade applications close for 2018-2019
12/20 Last Day of Fall Semester