Alpharetta High School
Week of May 8th
Upcoming Dates
April 24 – May 10 – EOC Testing
May 1 – 12 – AP testing
May 4 - Spring Chorus Concert
May 5 - Faculty Meeting - during both lunches
May 9 - School Governance Meeting, 7:30 AM, 1240
May 11 – Recovery deadline
May 15 - Night of Percussion
May 15 - Fire drill, after busses leave
May 17, 18, and 19 - Senior Exams
May 19 - Theatre Cabaret Showcase
May 23, 24, and 25 - Underclassmen exams
May 26 - load and verify final grades
Cinco de Mayo
AHS is 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, May 6th - Errol 9 am - 1 pm
Sunday, May 7th - Shannon - 9 am - 1pm
Saturday, May 13th - Tina 9am – 1pm
Saturday, May 20th - Frank 10am – 2pm Shannon 2pm - 5pm
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.
Custodial Needs
As we near the end of the year, remember we have a process for requesting custodial help. Please go the this link - https://goo.gl/forms/sNyGW4O5tHJq9vTv2 - and place your request. Rebecca pulls the list once a week and gives it to the team. If you have an immediate or urgent request, please email Jimmy Marshall and Rebecca Perkins.
Thanks!
Sandya is recognized for her volunteer efforts
As a high school sophomore and junior, Sandya volunteered several hundred hours at more than 35 rural medical camps in arid, rural India. As a student of medicine, her goal in life is to eliminate the paucity of healthcare in rural areas, both by serving individually and by collectively collaborating with practicing medical professionals.
Congrats to Joshua Dobbs
Wonderful band concert!
No Bells April 24 - May 12
Taste of Alpharetta
Taste of Alpharetta is Thursday, May 4. The fun begins at 5 p.m. and goes until 10 p.m. The event will be at in downtown Alpharetta on Milton Avenue and Roswell Street. Although it is unusual to have a ‘taste of’ festival on a Thursday, I think it is genius to hold it on a Thursday! Everyone is pumped for the weekend and it’s a terrific idea to enjoy a weeknight evening.
The Taste of Alpharetta always has a heavy turnout. Around 60,000 are expected to attend. So, make sure to get there early so you can taste the best! If you go home through downtown Alpharetta, you will want to use another route that evening.
The Details:
What: Taste of Alpharetta
Where: Downtown Alpharetta on Milton Avenue and Roswell Street
When: Thursday, May 4, 2017 from 5 – 10 p.m.
Cost: Free admission, Tastes are $1-$3
The Taste of Alpharetta will have chef competitions from 5 – 7:30 pm this year. There will be music from 5:30 until about 9 p.m. And there’s plenty for the kiddos to do. There will be rides, face painting, rock climbing, and more.
Boys' Soccer won the first state playoff game!
Our culinary students wowed us all at the volunteer breakfast!
Girls' Soccer won their first state playoff game!
Surface collection - Help needed!
It’s that time of year again when we need to collect all the Surface 3’s from our students for repair and storage. We would like to do this as quickly and efficiently as possible over two days. Those days will be May 15th and 16th.
The Math and English department have graciously agreed to bring their classes down to return the devices.
We need staff members to volunteer to help out during the collection part. The link below goes to a google form that asks staff to give their name, which day or days, and what periods they are available to help out.
It is imperative that we get as many staff members as we can each period of each day. We greatly appreciate the help.
ALPHA-BITS
This week’s tip: Backing up your data
While there is always a weekly reminder to back up your data in each edition of Alpha-Bits, it’s a prudent reminder this time of year.
This week a Teacher’s hard drive crashed and had to be replaced. The Teacher had not backed up and lost everything.
As we approach the end of the school year, one reminder that will be sent out is to perform a backup before leaving for the summer. Don’t wait until then – do a backup every week! If you’re rusty on the procedure please send me an Outlook Invite and I will happy give a one-to-one tutorial.
Have an excellent week!
Jeff Macko macko@fultonschools.org
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.
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.
National Principal's Day! Thank you, Dr. Kersey!
Taco Fiesta honors AHS staff with lunch!
Culinary and Brannon and Campbell treat staff to coffee and beignets
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
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 Closed
The media center will be closed from Friday, April 28th to Friday, May 12th for AP Testing.
The media center will be closed for Surface collection May 15th, 16th, and 17th.
Media Center Book Recommendation
The Black Widow by Daniel Silva 2017
This is the latest book with the legendary Gabriel Allon. You may want to consider reading previous Silva books before this one, but it’s not necessary—you’ll know more about Allon’s character developed in earlier novels.
Gabriel Allon, the art restorer, spy, and assassin is poised to become the chief of Israel’s secret intelligence service. But on the eve of his promotion, events conspire to lure him into the field for one final operation. ISIS has detonated a massive bomb in the Marais district of Paris, and a desperate French government wants Gabriel to eliminate the man responsible before he can strike again.
You’ll be spellbound by the action, captivated by the characters, informed about events and areas of the world in this and most of Silva’s creations.
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.
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!
May Birthdays
Kurt Davies 4
Sarah Stoffle 4
Bassey Duke 6
Meagan Reddick 20
Derek Wright 23
Carolyn Vezeau 30
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.
13 Reasons Why
You may have heard about the Netflix television series, “13 Reasons Why,” which has gained a large following by teens and pre-teens. The show portrays a young woman who is experiencing turmoil and who dies by suicide at the end of the series. While the audience is not intended for school-age children, it has come to our attention that many students are viewing the show either with or without supervision.
We in Fulton County Schools feel a compelling need to communicate about this given the seriousness of the topic. We are including the following two links for our schools and for you as a parent to use to talk with your children about the content in the show and about how they can seek help if they need it. We care about our students and are deeply committed to suicide prevention.
We have implemented “Signs of Suicide,” an evidence-based suicide prevention tool, in our middle and high schools, and we encourage students to use the steps of “Acknowledge,” “Care,” and “Tell” a trusted adult when they are in crisis. Suicide prevention involves all of us, and we would not want some of the “reasons why” from this show to ring true for our students.
Please reference the links below:
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.