Alpharetta High School
Week of April 17th
Mr. Howard is the March TOTM!
Anchor Time remedial teachers honored as team of the month
Mr. Macko is the March POTM!
At-risk Student Survey
Please take the following short survey to help the at-risk task force members make decisions.
You will need to use chrome to access the link.
April 17 - 21 is Honors Week!
Raiders -
Honors Week is NEXT WEEK, April 17-21. It is a special week for us to celebrate our wonderful students. Each teacher has the opportunity to honor up to two students per class period for various attributes they have illustrated throughout the year. You may select the student and the reason(s); you may also decide whether to publically or privately acknowledge the honor. Students will receive a certificate from you, which they should take to the cafeteria on Thursday, April 20 to obtain a treat courtesy of Dr. Kersey to celebrate this recognition. Even though we are not passing out the certificates until next week, please go ahead and think about who you would like to recognize. Be sure to send an email to the parents of the recipients to spread the good news! An example template is attached.
Each certificate has space at the bottom for you to sign on one blank. In the past, department chairs have signed the second blank, but this year we would like to give you a little more flexibility in selecting another teacher or staff member to sign. Consider a co-teacher (if you are in a co-taught classroom), a department chair, coach, club sponsor, PLC member, assistant principal, etc.
Student Council will be delivering the certificates for you to complete and you should receive them by Thursday. Any unused certificates, please return to my box in the mailroom so that we can save them for use again next year.
Lastly, we will celebrate more students on Thursday night at 7 PM in the auditorium on Honors Night. Students will receive invitations to this special evening tomorrow, but all teachers are invited to attend as well. Let Frank Fortunato know if you are able so that we can reserve seating for teachers and staff.
CPR Certified staff - Important
Upcoming Dates
April 13 - Extended 2nd period for “technology check”
April 14 - last day of the 12 week grading period
April 14 - both lunches - Radiant Raiders 2nd Semester Birthday Social
April 14 - Fire Drill at the end of 6th period and then students move to the pep rally
April 14 - Spring Pep Rally
April 17 - 28 - Attendance system is installed throughout the campus
April 17 – 21 – Honors Week
April 17 - 21 – End of Pathways testing
April 18 - Export and verify 12 week grades
April 20 - 10 minute Advisement after 3rd period - 12 week reports will be given
April 20 – Honors Night
April 22 - Prom
April 24 – May 10 – EOC Testing
April 28 – May 12 – Media center will be closed
April 29 – AHS Foundation’s Black and Silver
May 1 – 12 – AP testing
May 11 – Recovery deadline
May 26 - load and verify final grades
AHS open on weekends
Staff -
We know this time of year can be crazy and many of you have to box up items due to summer renovations; thus, we will have the building open on the following weekend dates and times IF you want to come in:
Saturday, April 15th - Whitney 12 – 4pm
Saturday, April 29th - Whitney 10am – 2pm
Sunday, April 30th - Derek 9am – 1pm
Saturday, May 13th - Tina 9am – 1pm
Saturday, May 20th - Frank 10am – 2pm
Sunday, May 21st - Rebecca 10am – 1 pm
If you are required to box up items for summer renovations, bubble wrap and labels for boxes is available in 1220. If you need more boxes, email Rebecca.
No Bells April 24 - May 12
May 11th is the Last Day for Recovery
Teachers -
Please be sure you are communicating this message to all of your students over the next few weeks.
Also, with you PLC, please consider the pacing of your final tests this semester. Giving a final assessment after the Recovery deadline of May 11th ensures that students will not have an opportunity to Recover…please be mindful of this as you plan and communicate to students and parents.
Any requests for an extension for Recovery due to extenuating circumstances must be agreed upon by your PLC, requested and approved in advance through your department administrator.
Please note that our Recovery policy applies to all students, including students with IEPs and 504 plans. Any exceptions from the AHS Recovery policy for a student with an IEP or 504 would have to be a documented team decision, including the student’s administrator. This gentle reminder is based on actual circumstances and confusion that occurred last year regarding how Recovery is supposed to applied to students with 504s and/or IEPs.
AHS Recovery Policy:
AHS Recovery / RISE Re-teaching/Instructional Support and Enrichment Policy
Recovery Deadline Semester 2 - Thursday, May 11, 2017
The AHS Recovery Policy involves opportunities designed to allow students to recover from a low or failing cumulative average will be allowed when all work required to date has been completed and the student has demonstrated a legitimate effort to meet all course requirements including attendance. Students should contact the teacher concerning recovery opportunities. Teachers are expected to establish a reasonable time period for recovery work to be completed during the semester. All recovery work must relate directly to course objectives and must be completed ten school days prior to the end of the semester. Teachers will determine when and how students with extenuating circumstances may improve their grade. To be eligible for recovery, you must have no missing assignments and have not been excessively absent. The student is responsible for starting this process.
Students with a course cumulative average of a 74 and below must attend RISE sessions to demonstrate a legitimate effort to meet all course requirements. After attending RISE sessions, attending class regularly, and completing all course work*, a student is eligible to request recovery on major assessments, which he or she may score up to 74%. The recovery grade will replace the previous grade but will not exceed 74%.
*All unit work must be completed in order to exhibit mastery. Any credit given will be awarded in accordance with the stated course late work policy in the teacher’s syllabus.
The recovery process must be initiated by the student within five days of the student receiving the graded assignment and the grade being posted to Home Access Center (HAC). Furthermore, all Recovery opportunities expire ten days before the end of each semester.
TAG Certification Course
We are going to offer the two-year TAG cohort again. Allie Kornegay will offer the course on Wednesday nights here at AHS. Email Allie if you are interested.
Concession Stand Manager Needed for 2017- 2018
The AHS football program is seeking an organized staff member to manage its game-day concession stands for the 2017 football season. The job description is attached to this week's newsletter email. Interested individuals should contact Coach Scheifflee for more details.
Mike Nance honors TOTY David Boyd
Foundation Honors Teachers of the week (Cohen not pictured)
Derek Wright honors POTY Laura Smith
EOC Proctor Training
Mandatory EOC Proctor Training Dates:
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 – A Lunch and B Lunch in Room 4216
Wednesday, April 19, 2017 – 7:45AM and 3:35 PM Room 4216
Communication to parents of at-risk students
Document two-way parent communication regarding 74 and below by the dates below:
Make two-way communication for students likely to fail prior to the final exam so students will still have time before the Recovery Deadline of May 11th.
For seniors – April 24th (Inform parents of recovery policy and deadline May 11th), May 1st, May 8th, May 15th, May 25th (by 12:00 pm). Senior Failures – Board Policy and Spread Sheet; weekly communication, Use your Department shared One Drive spreadsheet (Find your personal teacher tab) for documentation and communication with administration and counselors. Senior Final Exam Exemption forms are available and are due Monday, May 15th by 4:00 PM to Mrs. Vezeau in AP Suite 1220.
For underclassmen (grades 9-11) – April 24th (Inform parents of recovery policy and deadline May 11th) and May 26th by 2:00 PM; Use your Department shared One Drive spreadsheet (Find your personal teacher tab for documentation and communication with administration and counselors. If a student ultimately does fail the course, final communication stating that must be sent to parent by May 26th so that students still have an opportunity to register for Summer School.
Example email communication is attached to this week's newsletter.
Clair or Frank will send out more information on the shared One Drive documentation process.
4th Annual AHS Mass Shredding Event
Alpharetta High School will be hosting another mass shredding event this year. Two dates will be available – Wednesday, May 17th and Wednesday, May 24th.
We ask that all interested individuals sign up using the google form linked below by May 8th.
The form asks you to indicate how many paper boxes of sensitive documents you have to shred. The “paper boxes” that are being referred to are the ones that reams are paper are packaged in. Items don’t actually have to be IN paper boxes, though – this is just the common “measuring unit” used by shredding companies.
Flavia will be emailing all interested individuals closer to the event with details.
Link to form: http://tinyurl.com/alpharettashreds
Matthew George did a piece on the new Delta Museum that was aired on CBS news.
chemistry students exploring colligative properties by making ice cream the day before spring break.
Students engage in peer critiques in art.
TKES - PD requirements - Be sure to upload
Teachers -
Be sure to upload at least one piece of evidence from this semester for both PD standards listed below. Place them in the PD portion of the TKES platform before your conference:
Teachers will design and implement lessons that incorporate researched based instructional strategies.
Teachers will design formative assessments and use the data to create differentiated lessons that illustrate rigor and student engagement.
Media Center
EOC Teacher’s Guide for Common Surface Problems
Come into EOC with a fully charged surface. At a minimum, surfaces should be at 90%.
Tip: Go to battery and turn on ‘Battery Saver’
Make sure surfaces are connected to FCSSTUDENTS Wifi.
If Keyboard disconnects, pull apart from Surface and reattach. If problem persists after several tries, do a hard reset
How to do a Hard Reset: Hold down power button and the volume up button for 10 seconds. - - Do not pull screen down when it asks. (That is just shutting the surface down).
How to do a Simple Reset/Shut the surface down: Hold the button down till screen says ‘Slide to Shut PC down.’ Slide the screen down.
If Pen disconnects, pull out the battery and put it back in.
If wifi doesn't connect, do a simple restart and try again.
If you have further problems, please contact the help center in the Media Center.
Lacrosse Team Hosting 2017 Lace Up with LAX
Alpharetta High School is participating in Lace Up With LAX. This lacrosse game involves lacrosse players, coaches, spectators and the community donating and bringing new pairs of shoes for children who are homeless to the game. The mission of this national nonprofit organization is to define the legacy of our players off the field by helping end homelessness one step at a time.” Since Lace Up With LAX’s inception in 2013, over 2000 pairs of NEW shoes have been donated to homeless shelters throughout the United States.
The original project began in 2013 with a single school, Pope High School. Since inception, the Lace Up With LAX model has spread to over 100 teams in high schools, colleges, universities and independent lacrosse programs in the United States, Canada and England mostly by word of mouth or through their website: www.laceupwithlax.org.
Alpharetta High School Lace Up With LAX event is open to the public. Each attendee is asked to bring at least one pair of new children’s shoes to the game. A box will also be placed during the week of that game near the front office of the school for donation of shoes.
Information for EOC testing weeks
If you are NOT teaching an EOC course, we are requesting that you refrain from using devices that connect to the AHS Wi-Fi (surfaces, cell phones, etc.) in your lessons from April 24 – May 5. All schools are being asked to do this to minimize testing disruptions. Thank you for understanding & please don’t kill the messenger!
ALPHA-BITS
This week’s tip: Daily Technology Shutdown
Best Practices are to be sure to turn off (i.e. completely shut down/power off) your laptop and/or Surface when you leave school for the day. If you turn it on again at home, be certain to shut down your machine when you are finished.
So very many tech issues are solved by a simple reboot, which usually indicates that the computer is not being turned off on a regular basis.
Additionally, when you leave a laptop on and stick in in the bag, the fan on the computer is literally being smothered, having nowhere to draw air from in order to cool the unit.
So remember:
“Don’t make your computer frown,
Be sure to shut it down”
This is also your weekly reminder to back up your data.
Have an excellent week!
Jeff Macko macko@fultonschools.org
Hands on learning in Bolin's Chemistry class
Mrs. Oliver’s AP Literature classes made insightful, creative, and artistic projects to reflect the themes of the novel, Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison. They will be on display in the media center until Thursday this week.
Mr. Sye offers feedback on student work and encourages revision as students prepare for the EOC
Student Council Project - Please help!
Around the world, 70 million kids go uneducated because they cannot pay for tuitions or go to free public school which we are fortunate to have. However, small efforts can slowly help change this. That is Student Council has teamed up with Yuda Bands which is an organization that sells hand-made bands (which has created countless jobs in South America) . The proceeds from these bands help pay for a student’s education oversees. We have picked a student from Guatemala to sponsor named Marlon Baudilio Puy Ajbal. Marlon is 17, in the 12th grade and lives in Xesuj near San Martin, Jilotepeque. His dad works to provide money for his family which consists his 5 brothers and sisters. His mother cares for his family causing them to live off a single income which makes it difficult. His father cannot provide a stable education for all of his kids. Marlon hopes to one day go to college, pursue a job as an accountant, and start his own company. He promises he will put all his effort into this amazing opportunity that has been granted to him. His education lies in our hands and the more bands we sell at Alpharetta High School, the less his tuition costs. Yuda Bands come in a variety of colors and shapes made with a special coconut encasing and leather. They are $7 and will be sold during A lunch and B lunch through April 21 in the cafeteria. Please help Marlon achieve his dream!
April Birthdays
Charles Lassiat - 2
Ganesan Sowdayya - 4
Gregg Plimpton - 4
Janet Viafora - 11
Lee Nicholson - 13
Dominique Mobley - 13
Karen Bolt - 17
Mandy Arias - 17
Laura Smith - 18
Nick Phillips - 18
Brian Wynne - 23
Alejandro Romero - 27
Are you looking for a good book?
Here is the AHS Media Center recommendation for the week:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 2014
This amazing book follows a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.
Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.
In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.
This National Book Award finalist is a magnificent, deeply moving that will remain with you long after you’ve finished it. I highly recommend it.
.
Mindy Ramon shares her knowledge of Office 365 with teachers
Teachers tune differentiated lessons and hone their craft
Classroom management IG examines ways to balance warm and strict
Mandatory AP testing training
- April 24th: 7:40 AM, A Lunch
- April 25th: 7:40 AM, A Lunch, B Lunch, 3:40pm
- April 26th: 7:40 AM, A Lunch, 3:40pm
If you teach an AP course or have been placed on the AP proctor list, you will need to attend one of these sessions.
AP and Honors Summer Work
Teachers -
It is time to get together with your PLC and decide on AP and honors Summer work. Please send everything to your department chair by Friday, May 5th for approval. A complete list will then be posted on the school website and shared with local bookstores.
Please be sure to include detailed directions for completing the assignment (or collection of assignments) as well as the email address of the “contact person” should students have questions. If there is a “gradeable experience” as part of the packet, please be sure to include a detailed rubric. As you and members of your PLC work to finalize the packets, please be mindful that many of our students are taking multiple AP classes. As such, work to ensure that the packets are meaningful and manageable.
Building Relationships IG memebers discuss what type of student they were in high school
Co-teaching IG members create reflective gingerbread folks
Co-teaching IG members play Red Rover
AHS Foundation Black & Silver Celebration
The AHS Foundation cordially invites you to attend the annual gala event. This event will be a fabulous celebration featuring a comedian, casino games, live and silent auctions. Silent auction items include parking spaces at AHS, graduation seats, memorabilia, vacation home weeks and so much more!
When: Saturday, April 29th – 6:30 pm
Where: Metropolitan Club − 5895 Windward Pkwy, Alpharetta, GA 30005
Why: The Foundation has contributed over $250,000 to projects at AHS including: upgraded auditorium lighting and curtains, teacher enrichment, scholarships, the AHS Band’s equipment truck, campus beautification days, the new lacrosse skills wall, art display pedestals and a the new, redesigned weight room.
Last year’s Black and Silver proceeds have gone towards education and mentoring programs to increase graduation rates. This is your chance to become part of an extraordinary community and support our students, teachers and staff – dinner, drinks, music and fun − do not miss out!
For more information and tickets, please visit www.alpharettahighschoolfouondation.com
**Tickets are available at a discounted price of $65 before April 15th and $75 after that date**
AHS PD days for next year
The following dates have been selected as our full Release Dates:
9/1/2017
10/5/2017
1/16/2018
3/8/2018
Please mark your calendars now and begin thinking about what (and how) you want to learn on these days next school year.
Quote for the week
Let life be an adventure. Live your life to the fullest, unfettered by fear of the ghosts and goblins of what might occur. Calamity and death happen as well to those who hide from life as to those who squeeze every drop of zest from it.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie