Alpharetta High School
Week of November 21st - Happy Thanksgiving!
Results from the Thanksgiving poll
Eighty percent of us named our families as the one thing for which we are most thankful followed by health and new home ownership.
Over half of us do not shop on Black Friday.
We LOVE carbs! Our favorite dish is mashed potatoes, with stuffing as a close second.
Here are some of our traditions:
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving every year, my hand I eat lunch together at Fogo de Chao (because it's much cheaper during lunch) while our son is at school. Shhh... don't tell him :)
We all write everything we are thankful for on stips of paper and place them into one big bowl throughout the day and take turns reading them and throwing them into the fire pit that evening as we celebrate our blessings.
Cooking together and playing Euchre or Bid 500 after dinner.
Here are some of the things we are thankful for at AHS:
ALL the amazing students and staff! We are all so blessed to learn and work in such a beautiful environment!
The love and kindness I get from my students
Student council's dedication to making AHS the best it can be!
Birthday Social for all!
The Radiant Raiders will be hosting a birthday social for all members of the staff whose birthdays were from this past to July to this coming December. This event will be held during both lunches on Wednesday, November 30th, 2016. There will be cake for all of the birthday boys and girls!
Upcoming Dates
November 17 - Fire Drill (end of Anchor Time)
November 21 - 25 - Thanksgiving Holidays
December 5 or 6 - Faculty Meeting
December 5 – Winter Chorus Concert
December 8 – Anchor Time Ends
December 8 – Recovery Deadline
December 8 – Winter Orchestra Concert
December 12 – 16 – Georgia Milestones EOC
December 12 – Winter Band Concert
December 13 - School Governance Meeting
December 16 – Fire drill – end of day 3:45
December 20, 21, 22 – Final Exams for first semester (Early Release days)
December 22 – Last day of First Semester
Early Release for Swim and Dive THIS Friday
The Swim and Dive team will be traveling to Chattanooga Tennessee this Friday. Team will meet in front of the band room right after 3rd period bell. An attached a list of all the participating athletes is attached to this week's newsletter.
Congrats to Derek for completing his first marathon
Legacy Awards Honored Kendra Magill as AHS 2016 Teacher of the Year and Mr. Taco as a Prestigious School Partner
Budget Services was deeply honored to present a Certificate of Excellence to Tanoni Houston District for excellent Budget Management for fiscal year 2016.
2017 FULTON GIVES Charitable Fund Info
Portal page is not available yet so you will find the following items attached to this week's newsletter email:
· Charitable Fund PowerPoint presentation
· Contribution directions (step by step)
· Difference View (to help illustrate the difference in giving options)
· Fulton Gives logo
As a reminder, please be sure to direct all email communication to CharitableFund@fultonschools.org.
Thank you so much for your patience and willingness to serve! The world is a better place because of you! J
Upcoming EOC testing
Students in face-to-face Economics this semester are taking their EOC on Tuesday, December 13th. Students taking Economics online are taking their EOC on Wednesday, December 14th. Students will be missing ½ of their classes that day to take the EOC. We will have no bells both of these days due to testing.
Final Exam Information
Raiders!
Final exams will be here before we know it and some of our students already know they will miss some or all exams. Students who will be absent on final exam days due to absences will be coming to you soon with PINK Pre-Approved Absence forms that should be signed by an administrator first.
If you sign one of these forms, please note the student’s name and then submit that student’s make-up exam (in addition to other students who are absent from your exam) to Carolyn Vezeau in 1220 by 2:00 on December 22nd. I have attached the cover sheet that should be attached to the front of each exam folder. Extra forms and folders are available with Carolyn.
No students can exempt finals fall semester.
As students complete their make-up exams, we will place them in your mailbox. Make up exams will take place on January 5th and January 6th in the Media Center.
If students or parents ask you directly about taking exams early, please tell them it is against policy and direct them to the AHS website or you may copy and paste the information below.
Here is the information about make-up exams that is now on our website:
Students who will be absent during Final Exams must obtain a PINK Pre-Approved Absence Form from the Attendance Office and attach a written request signed by the student’s parent/legal guardian to take make-up exams. The form along with the written request must be submitted for approval to the Attendance Office no later than 4:00 pm, Friday, December 16th, 2016.
Final Exam Make-up days will be January 5th and 6th in the Media Center from 9 am – 3:30 pm. Any student who is unable to make-up exams during these sessions will need to make arrangements directly with Ms. Decaminada, ASAP. Teachers will not be administering any make-up exams and no final exams may be taken early.
If a student is absent on the final exam days due to an illness, a doctor’s note must be provided upon his or her return in order to obtain permission to make up exams. If a student is absent from a final exam, the teacher will calculate the final grade counting the exam as a zero. Upon make-up of the exam, the teacher will re-calculate the grade and submit a revised grade. Incompletes will not be given.
Please let Whitney know if you have any questions!
IG (Inquiry Groups) for next semester - MUST complete survey
We have completed first semester IG sessions. Thank you to those who planned and facilitated and thank you to all who participated. Now it is time to look ahead to next semester. Because so many folks are away from the building on the Fulton County PD days, we have decided to hold AHS University sessions (shorter, specific PD sessions hosted by AHS teachers) on the county days for those of us who are here. We will host IG sessions on the AHS PD days.
The survey below asks for ideas for AHS University sessions - What do you want to learn about?
It also asks what you want to do next semester with your IG group. There are new IG groups to consider; some groups will begin fresh and host the same sessions for new people; other groups will continue for those who want to keep learning about the topic. You must complete the survey so we know where to place you for next semester.
No Access to AHS Gym over Thanksgiving Break
The gyms will be shut down beginning 4:00pm on November 18th until Monday afternoon, the 21st for our annual resurface. Under no circumstance should anyone enter either gym. Ensure your staffs and athletes have everything they need for Thanksgiving break at the end of the school day on the 18th.
AP Art History students tried painting trees in a Chinese and Japanese style
School Governance Council in action
Mrs. Nutter works with ESOL students on differentiated project
TOTY/POTY
With the Thanksgiving season upon us, it is the time of year when we once again ask you to consider nominating a colleague for Teacher and Professional of the Year. Nominations will need to include the staff member’s name and a short paragraph detailing any attributes or experiences that inform your nomination.
When thinking about who you might nominate, please consider our school’s mission and values statements:
Mission
At Alpharetta High School we believe that education creates opportunity. As a learning community, we seek to inspire intellectual curiosity and stimulate personal creativity by setting high expectations and developing engaging environments to promote a culture of continuous learning where hard work is a contributor to success.
We respect the diverse perspectives, beliefs, and backgrounds of others and strive to build a foundation of self-governing integrity that recognizes each of our unique contributions to both our local and the global community.
Values
Because we are reflective practitioners devoted to the craft of education, we value a passion for what we teach, a commitment to whom we teach, and a desire for collaborating and improving how we teach.
As a community, we aspire to find balance in where we devote our time, to pursue a unity of shared purpose that guides our decisions, and to support one another and our learning community by bringing our best selves to every opportunity.
When nominating a teacher, tell us how our mission and values are demonstrated in classroom practices (differentiation, engagement, use of data, real-world lessons, rigor, etc.), dedication, knowledge, leadership, professional attitude, extracurricular involvement, rapport with students, staff, parents, and community members.
When nominating a professional, tell us how our mission and values are demonstrated in “value added” (e.g. how does this person add value to our school community), dedication, knowledge, professional attitude, extracurricular involvement, rapport with students, staff, parents, and community members.
To nominate, complete the form linked here by 4pm on November 18: https://goo.gl/SKbRHJ.
If you have any questions about this process, please email Frank Fortunato, and he will do my best to help work through them. Thanks for all that you do each and every day!
Mr. Williams gives feedback to his math students
Mrs. Rice invites local police officers to enjoy her amazing Thanksgiving meal
Brian Hu, Student Council President, shares how our RFFs are positively impacting students
November Birthdays
Yaritza Ferrer De Valero 1
Cari MacDonell 1
Penni Johnson 5
Danita Chiclana 6
Shelby Smith 6
Amy Binder 9
Maureen Bergeron 10
Christy Jolle 10
Shane Sweet 10
Jaime Duran 12
Christine Lauer 16
Shannon Kersey 27
Susan Fisher 28
This week's fun poll:
Quote for the week
Gerly Hernandez brought in 72 cans, more than any other student, for the Student Council-sponsored canned food drive.
Celebrating our amazing School Psychologist Beth Byrnside for National School Psychology Awareness Week
Mr. Walsh gives feedback during a formative assessment
Spring Anchor Time
Overview
The goal of Anchor Time Enrichment is to provide students with learning experiences that they might not otherwise have access to during their regular schedules and are not currently offered as clubs or extracurricular offerings. Enrichment classes fall into the following categories: “Hands-on” (learning how to do something), “Kinesthetic” (getting up and doing something), “Intellectual” (learning about something), “Artistic” (creating/performing something), or “Academic” (being supported in something).
Guidelines
Enrichment classes will be open for ANY interested and eligible (e.g. non-RTI) students to sign up and participate.
Because all enrichments will be open to any students who wish to participate, keep in mind when drafting your proposal that there may be “novices” who do not have much (or any) familiarity with what you may be proposing.
ANY teacher interested in teaching a section of Enrichment may submit a proposal. Enrichment proposals will be reviewed and approved by Frank Fortunato, Laurie Veillon, and Derek Wright as we work out our needs for the Spring Anchor Time.
All proposals must include the following information:
Teacher
Title of Enrichment Class (make it catchy!)
A brief description of the enrichment that details what students will know, understand, and/or do as part of the enrichment and explains how the enrichment promotes either “Hands-on” experiences (learning how to do something), “Kinesthetic” experiences (getting up and doing something), “Intellectual” experiences (learning about something), or “Artistic” experiences (creating/performing something). To support our PBIS branding, please also try to use language that would help show alignment with and promotion of one (or more) of the R.I.C.H. Raider attributes.
Students will have the opportunity to sign up for Enrichment sections (date TBD). More information will be given about the sign-up process once the final list of Spring Enrichments has been approved, but our goal is to allow students to begin signing up before the winter break.
Enrichment proposals are due by Monday, 11/14. See below for some examples.
Proposal Example 1:
Name of Enrichment Class: Hooked on Crochet
Teacher Name: Flavia Villarinho
Class Proposal: Apart from being fun and relaxing (offering students an alternative method of combating boredom and relieving stress), learning how to crochet and how to follow a crochet pattern or instructions can improve a student’s fine motor coordination, reading skills, math skills, comprehension, critical thinking, and problem-solving. In addition, learning to crochet can teach valuable life lessons, such as:
- Responsibility (Students have to keep up with their supplies)
- Ability to focus and follow through (Learning how to crochet is a step-by-step process)
- Persistence (Projects take time and patience to complete)
- Positive social behaviors and teamwork (The classroom environment caring and collaborative – students are able to chat about their day as they help each other learn and perfect new stitches)
- Expressing creativity (projects are only limited by a student’s imagination)
Proposal Example 2:
Name of Enrichment Class: Check, Matie!
Teacher: Dotty Davis
Class Proposal: In this enrichment course, Raiders will be exposed to the world of playing CHESS. Benefits of playing chess: Playing chess teaches planning and foresight and helps develop problem solving skills, foster self-confidence, increase creativity, improve memory and concentration, and enhance decision making skills. It’s a great way to exercise your brain (both the left and right sides) and is a game you can play for the rest of your life! Chess is a “sport for the mind.”
Expectations:
Play: Students will learn the rules (novice) and/or develop/research strategies (advanced); we will do tactical and positional exercises, appropriate for various level of play; students will have the option of practicing and playing face-to-face or online against comparable competitors; students also have the opportunity to prepare for chess tournaments outside of school (we will enter teams if we have enough participants)
Research and Reflection: Students will set their own goals for what they want to get out the program; they will keep statistics on wins and losses and have the opportunity to obtain a USCF rating; students will also research past and current national and grand masters to determine ways to improve play.
Thanks to these staff members who gave out at least one R.I.C.H. Raider ticket the last 12 weeks:
Arias
Austin
Bergeron
Binder
Bolin
Bostick
Brandau
Brookshire
Brown, G
Brown, J
Burton
Castillo
Chiclana
Cohen
Comparetto
Daas
Dasinger
Davies
Davis
Decaminada
Dice
Doetsch
Donnenfeld
Drummond
Duran
Eick
Flowers
Floyd
Fortunato
Gottlieb
Greenwald
Greenway
Hartwell
Hatcher
Henderson
Holland
Holliday
Hubbard
Hunter
Ivey
Jassani
Jenkins
Johnson, T
Jolle
Kaczkowska
Karg
Kearney
Kelly
Kersey
Kilroy
Klein
Kornegay
Lacy
Landi
Lassiat
Lauer
Laux
Loudy
Magill
Mando
McDonald
McGahee
McLemore
Michael
Misner
Moore, C
Moore, L
Nichols
Nicholson
Nieves
Nutter
Oliver
Payne
Perkins
Ramsey
Reddick
Renaldo
Rhein
Rice
Romero, A
Romero, C
Rozei
Scott
Sepey
Sibold
Smith, L
Smither
Snelgrove
Solan
Sowdayya
Stoffle
Veillon
Velazquez
Villarinho
Wallace
Walsh
Womack
Wright, D
Wright, S
Zhang
Raider "Balance Days" for 2017 - mark your calendars!
We want to create a community filled with more balanced lives. The School Governance Council proposed a solution, and the Instructional Leadership Team agreed; thus, we have declared two nights a semester during the 2016-17 school year as "Balance Days."
February 15th
March 15th
The nights above are Wednesday nights the week of the 17th (to celebrate the class of 2017), and on these nights there will not be any homework assigned, no assessments will occur the next day, and no AHS meetings will be scheduled.
The idea is that Raiders will go home right after school and work to create balance in their lives. Staff members and students alike will take a night off. Club sponsors and coaches and directors may hold meetings and practices and games as needed. We feel students release stress through these extracurricular activities.
Please plan to enjoy yourself and work your assessments around these dates this year.