Drake Direct
Winter Newsletter 2018
Small Learning Communities: Time to Reimagine....
Twenty-five years later, Drake needs to reflect, study and reimagine this foundational approach to our educational model. The staff started this process in fall through a series of studies about the benefits, challenges and values we have in our SLCs. This work will be carried into the spring by a team of Drake staff who will be spearheading this study. Through this team, we will be asking our parents and students for possible survey reposes, participation in focus groups and other ways to solicit input from the larger school community. We understand that the key to improvement is through feedback from our school stakeholders.
While this is a significant undertaking, Drake has the foundations for this work strongly in place. Schools who try to bring in these types of school improvement models can struggle with building the school culture to embrace the change desired....but at Drake, we have this. We need to re-examine what is working well and build upon these strengths and evolve what can be better. There will be more information in January about this work. Please know that we are not making changes in our SLCs for the 2019-20 school year. Hopefully this introduction provided our Pirates with an understanding of the work we are about to embark on. What an exciting year 2019 will be!
Winter Break- December 22-January 8
Parent Coffees- January 15th @ 9am and 6pm
Open House- January 24th @ 6:30pm
AP Test Information
Taking the Advanced Placement (AP) Exams is an important part of all AP courses. Scoring well on an AP exam can earn students college credit for their AP class, saving a significant amount on tuition.
This year, each AP exam costs $104.00. We want every student to be able to take their AP exams. Students requiring financial assistance should contact Hannah Eon (heon@tamdistrict.org) or Mary Chapman (mchapman@tamdistrict.org) to learn more.
For the 2019 AP exams, Sir Francis Drake High School is excited to offer families the convenience of paying exam fees online at the time of registration. This registration will take a few minutes and can be completed from any computer with internet access. Online exam registration begins on Monday, January 14, 2019 at 12:00 AM and ends on Friday, March 1, 2019 at 11:59 PM. We know that parents may want to help register their students for exams. To complete registration, students must answer a set of required questions. We strongly recommend that parents and students are both present while registering to ensure that the correct exams are ordered. Also, please be sure to have a credit card or debit card available before beginning registration. Be on the lookout for more information about the process as the registration date approaches.
Here are the important dates for the registration process:
- Monday, January 14, 2019 at 12:00 AM - Registration Begins
- Friday, March 1, 2019 at 11:59 PM - Registration Ends
- Monday, March 4, 2019 at 11:59 PM - Registrations that have not been paid for will be cancelled and exams will not be ordered.
- Friday, February 8, 2019 - Last day to cancel an exam and receive a full refund.
Finally, our AP exams depend entirely on parent volunteers to proctor. Each year, our Drake community comes through to ensure that we can test every student who wants the opportunity to take the exam. Please consider being a proctor for our May testing this year. Information with specific test dates and proctoring opportunities will be communicated in March and April. Thank you, in advance, for any time you can offer!
Please contact: Liz Chacón, lchacon@tamdistrict.org, or Mary Chapman, mchapman@tamdistrict.org , if you have any questions.
Drake Bike Cage- NEW!!
Thank you to the Drake Fund for making our new Drake Bike Cage a reality! Now students can lock their bikes inside of a locked cage during the school day. The new bike cage is behind the 6-plex by room 853. Students should still lock their bikes in the cage to be secure. The cage will be locked during the school day. Questions? Please email Chad Stuart.
It's time to COMPOST!
We are excited to announce our composting has returned to Drake. Students with food scraps should take these to the compost center in the canteen at lunch. We will then transport this to our composting to create rich soil for our garden. This project is in collaboration with SEA-DISC. Let’s get ready to COMPOST! Questions? Please email Chad Stuart.
Sir Francis Drake Blvd. and Cross Walk Safety
This is another reminder to use our cross walks with safety on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. We have been out in all freshmen classes to remind them. When crossing the street, please ALWAYS use a cross walk and LOOK BOTH WAYS! Make sure you get the eye contact of all drivers as you cross. Thank you for being safe!
Course Sign-Ups for 2019-2020
Basic Scheduling Timeline: (More details will be emailed home about each event)
- January and February -- Counselors meet with grade levels for scheduling instructions and information
- January 17 & 18 -- Course Workshops for grades 9-11
- January 24-February 7 – Course selection completed through home access
- January 31 – 8th grade registration event
- April 29-May 3 – student requests posted for review and confirmation
- May 3 – FINAL commitment to courses for 2019-20 due
Summer Opportunity Fair
Date: February 6th
Time: Lunch and 6th period (by teacher sign-up)
Location: Main quad or gym (depending on weather)
Questions: Email Liz Seabury @ lseabury@tamdistrict.org
CSF and Drake Honor Crew
New for Spring: Graphic Design- Games
Sir Francis Drake High School
Email: lseabury@tamdistrict.org
Website: DrakeHS.org
Location: 1327 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, San Anselmo, CA, USA
Phone: 415- 453-8770
Twitter: @DrakeHighSchool