Alpharetta High School
Week of April 24th - TESTing Season is officially here!
Student Council Election day video link
Student Council Election Campaign Video: https://youtu.be/36lJAY-j2sU
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.
Upcoming Dates
April 17 - 28 - Attendance system is installed throughout the campus
April 17 – 21 – Honors Week
April 17 - 21 – End of Pathways testing
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 1 or 2 - Faculty Meeting
May 2 - Night of Percussion
May 4 - Spring Chorus Concert
May 9 - School Governance Meeting, 7:30 AM, 1240
May 11 – Recovery deadline
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
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 22nd - Derek 10 – 1:00pm
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.
Musical Theatre Students participate in group scene work and scene objectives
Allie Kornegay honors Clair Greenaway with The Leadership Matters Award
Pranav Mutyala and Siddhartha Vemuri placed 3rd in “Debating Technology Issues” at the 2017 Georgia Technology Student Association (GATSA) State Leadership Conference
No Bells April 24 - May 12
No changes to Eschool next year
Sorority Recommendations
It’s that time of year again and our senior girls are beginning to look for sorority recommendations. If you were a member of a Greek organization or your wife, daughter, sister or neighbor was, please consider writing a recommendation for our awesome AHS young ladies. It is a fairly quick and painless process, the requirements are generally found on your chapter’s website. Some of our students need 3 recommendations for each sorority at their university so networking is key! Tracey Eick is keeping a spreadsheet of the AHS faculty who have volunteered to write recs in the past. If you were a member of a sorority and are willing, please send me the name of your Greek affiliation and university.
EOC teachers prepare for proctoring
What retirement looks like...
Spring Pep Rally honored all spring sports
Leadership changes
Allie will continue in her DC role through the end of this school year, and Derek will continue in his AA role for the remainder of this school year.
Please congratulate both Allie and Derek on their new roles at AHS.
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.
Mrs. Snellgrove gives immediate, individual feedback in the language lab
AHS Varsity Boys Soccer - ranked 9th in the state currently!
AHS Varsity Female Soccer - ranked 5th in the state right now!
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.
The AHS Foundation selected Paul as one of this year's award winners
The AHS Foundation selected Allie as the other award winners this year.
Kayley Beard from the Alpharetta High School’s architecture class placed 2nd in the 2017 Atlanta chapter of the American Institute of Architects’High School Student Design Competition.
Kayley’s work was judge by local architects, professors of architects and design from Kennesaw and GaTech. This competition give scholarships to first to third places. AIA Atlanta is a professional organization advocating for architects, designers and students.
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.
Jewelry student watches as the 3D printer creates the pendant she envisioned
AP students take practice test after school and on Saturdays to prepare for the national exam
Math teachers and students come in on Saturdays to prepare from upcoming EOCs
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.
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) and State Farm are empowering FCCLA members from Alpharetta High School to explore how roadway infrastructure affects their safety.
Today representatives of national FCCLA, local State Farm agents, Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, and traffic safety experts are joining students at Alpharetta High School to assess the safety of their school’s intersection. The students are learning firsthand about the importance of roadway engineering and good infrastructure for the safety of everyone who travels our roads. The RSA also promotes careers in road engineering, transportation and highway safety to today's youth.
AHS Hosts its first annual Teacher for the day with community members
Morning Show folks in action
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.
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: Submitting Requests for Assistance
While Fulton County Schools does have a formal ticketing system in place, the fastest way to get assistance at Alpharetta High School is to send me an e-mail, note, phone call or stop me in the hallway.
I do the work, then submit a ticket on your behalf. Simple.
The HelpDesk is no longer assigning tickets, so each School Tech has to go into a mountain of tickets, find their own and assign it to themselves.
To simplify things all the way around, please just contact me in any form for Technology issues
This is also your weekly reminder to back up your data.
Have an excellent week!
Jeff Macko macko@fultonschools.org
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
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.
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.