Sunshine STEM Academy Newsletter
December 7, 2015
Message from Principal
I would like to share another outstanding achievement we have received at the national level. One of our First grade students, Varun Gadi has received 1st place in National Chess Championship in K-1 category.
Congratulations to our National Chess Champion!
MAP Testing Winter Term is now completed. We will close testing window today. Reports will be sent home this week.
One of our Robotics teams, GreenBots FLL robotics team will be competing this weekend at Walton FLL Regional Robotics competition. I wish good luck for Greenbots!
I wish you a wonderful week!
Sincerely,
Murat Cetin, Head of School
Varun Gadi is the National Chess Champion in K-1 Category
One our 1st grade students, Varun Gadi has received 1st place in the Nationwide Chess Championship in K-1 Category.
Congratulations to Varun Gadi!
Schoolwide National Geography Bee Competition - January 22
Sunshine STEM Academy is exciting to host the 2016 National Geographic GeoBee preliminary competition on January 22. The National Geographic GeoBee is a school, state, and nation-wide competition created by the National Geographic Society. Each year, thousands of students throughout the United States participate in this exciting contest, which is designed to motivate students to learn about the world and how it works.
Students in grades four through eight are eligible for this entertaining and challenging competition. With a top prize of a $50,000 college scholarship—plus other prizes—the contest is designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, spark student interest in the subject, and increase public awareness about geography.
Sunshine STEM Academy students in fourth and fifth grade will participate in the preliminary competition on January 22. Students will be presented with a variety of geography related trivia questions. The top-performing student from the preliminary competition will be presented with a medal and certificate. As the school-wide champion, this student will represent Sunshine STEM Academy in the state-level competition, April 1.
For more information on the 2016 National Geographic GeoBee, including practice questions, please visit www.NatGeoBee.com or check out the app at www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/apps
If you have any concerns regarding participation in the 2016 National Geographic GeoBee, please contact our GeoBee coordinator, Ms. Hewett at ahewett@sunshinestemacademy.org
Schoolwide Spelling Bee Competition - January 15th
MAP 2016 Winter Term Completed
K-2 Students Have Visited Fernbank Science Museum
Sunshine STEM Academy FLL Robotics Team GreenBots will compete at Walton Robotics Competition
FLL or (First Lego League) is the opportunity for kids to have fun with programming and learn Core Values that they will use forever. It’s a fun club where kids like us can work with our creativity. The topic for this year is Trash Trek. In this challenge, you are supposed to be able to represent how to find uses for trash. Our school, Sunshine STEM Academy is one of the schools that have a Robotics club.
We are one of the FLL teams alongside another team in our school. Our team members are Zain Ghazanfar, Viswas Sreenathan, Mohana Malapati, Ansh Shah and Akshaj Shajeev. To select our team name we had many suggestions, such as Botcyclers, Ecotronic, and Green Bots etc. But in the end we voted for the name Green Bots, and we decided our motto is, “Stop pollution with our solution.” We learnt that there are two types of recycling (source separating and single stream recycling).
We also learned an important lesson, “Recycle whatever you can, but recycle what is right”. We went on many field trips, like to the Roswell Recycling Center, and Senator John Albers office. These field trips are a small part of all the fun we have been having in Robotics. Our problems were not that people would not recycle, but it was that many people didn’t separate correctly and put their recyclables in the right bins. And also, people don’t know where the nearest recycling centers are. The last thing that they do wrong is that they recycle food contaminated items such as greasy pizza boxes, those items cannot be recycled.
But in the end, for our solution we made an app called “Where to Recycle”. It helps you find the nearest recycling center to you so that you can recycle some unknown recyclables such as oil. This app will be available in two weeks. Spread the word about us to everybody. And don’t forget, “Stop pollution with our solution!”
Inclement Winter Weather Conditions
Award Ceremony - Friday, December 18 | 8am - 9am
Award certificates will be issued for Principal's Honor Roll (all A's), Honor Roll (A's & B's) and Perfect Attendance. Parents are invited to attend.
2nd Round MOEMS Math Competition in December
No Clubs-Tutoring-Academic Team Meetings on the Last Week of 1st Semester
Donut with Dads and Muffin with Moms
We would like to host our parents at our annual Donut with Dads and Muffin with Moms event. Please see schedule below. We would like to see at this special event. Please RSVP if you would like to attend.
- Donut with Dads December 15 - 7:00 AM to 7:45 AM
- Muffin with Moms December 16 - 7:00 AM to 7:45 AM
Add RSVP Form
Holiday Class Parties
Sunshine STEM Academy Food Drive | Nov 17 - Dec 15
Sunshine STEM Academy Student Council organizes school-wide Food Drive at our school. Collected items will be donated to Atlanta Community Food Bank. Please encourage your child to give back to their community by donating non-perishable food to our Food Drive.
The food drive is held on between November 17th and December 15th.
Please find list of the most needed items below. We appreciate your donation.
Sunshine Offers College Mentorship Program for 5th Grade Students
Sunshine STEM Academy offers College Mentorship Program for our 5th grade students.
Administration invites all 5th grade parents to the parent meeting. We will provide information about the College Mentorship Program, structure, and expectations.
5th grade parents, please join us on December 15th to discuss about our College Mentorship Program.
Middle School Presentation
Sunshine STEM Academy will offer middle school grade starting 2016-17 school year. We would like to invite our 5th grade parents to Middle School Presentation which will be held on January 14th, 2016.
State Tax Credit Scholarship Program
APOOGEE is now accepting tax credit applications for 2016. Please take a moment to re-direct your tax dollars in order to provide much-needed scholarship funds to help academically qualified, mission-compatible students afford a Sunshine STEM Academy education.
Please watch the video below to get a quick overview of the Apogee Tax Credit Program.
You are already paying income taxes – why not direct those funds to Sunshine STEM Academy. By contributing to APOGEE for a tax credit, you will provide opportunities for Georgia families desiring to attend Sunshine STEM Academy. Our school is then able to:
- increase the amount of tuition assistance that can be offered to new students
- preserve more of our existing tuition assistance to help families already enrolled
- increase enrollment
- increase tuition income
- increase the funds available to improve educational offerings
- enable the school to further its mission by reaching more families desiring a STEM education
What is the Maximum Amount I Can Contribute?
- Single individual or head of household – up to $1,000
- Married couple filing joint return – up to $2,500
- Married couple filing separate return – up to $1,250
- C Corporation – 75% of Georgia income tax liability
- S Corporation shareholder, LLC member, or partnership partner – up to $10,000
We all have an opportunity to redirect a portion of our Georgia State Tax dollars, (money we are already paying), to Sunshine STEM Academy.
How Do I Participate?
- Go to apogeebase.com/donate
- Please select new donor and provide the information requested after selecting “filing type”
- Hit submit and you will receive an email confirmation Apogee that your request has been received and will be submitted to the DOR on Jan 1, 2016 for approval.
- Click here to complete APOGEE’S Online Paperless Process, or
- Click here for the APOGEE Contribution Form; print the form and mail or bring to Sunshine STEM Academy.
Once you receive notification of your approval, please make a check payable to “Apogee Scholarship Fund” in the amount of your contribution and mail to Apogee Scholarship Fund, 3330 Cumberland Blvd, Suite 400 Atlanta, GA 30339, or simply Click here to pay online.
APOGEE will send you the required paperwork to claim the credit on your tax return.
Important Dates
- December 1-7: MAP Test Winter Term
- December 6: Open House
- December 15: Apogee Tax Credit Application Deadline
- December 15: MOEMS Math Competition - 2nd Round
- December 15: College Mentorship Program Introduction - Presentation for 5th Grade Parents
- December 18: Last Day of First Semester
- January 5: First Day of Second Semester
- January 14: Middle School Presentation
- January 15: Schoolwide Spelling Bee Competition
- January 22: Schoolwide National Geography Bee Competition
Video of the Week: FLL Robotics Teams Visit Senator Brandon Beach
Photo of the Week: Tech Fair Team Designs 3D Game
Follow Sunshine STEM Academy on Social Media
Sunshine STEM Academy
Email: info@sunshinestemacademy.org
Website: http://sunshinestemacademy.org/
Location: 1675 Hembree Rd, Alpharetta, GA 30009
Phone: 770-674-0010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sunshine-STEM-Academy/683495445106457
Twitter: @SunshineSTEM