Little Elm High School
Weekly Newsletter -January 7, 2018
A New Year And A New Semester
For many students, the New Year marks an opportunity for a fresh start. Whether you could benefit from increased productivity and organization, or just a general sense of change, here are several ideas to help you start the New Year and new semester with a focus on establishing habits that can reap positive change.
- Make goal setting a habit - The best way to achieve the results you desire is to set both short and long term goals. Most people abandon their New Year's resolutions soon after the new year begins because they do not have a clear end goal with small check points along the way to hold themselves accountable. For example, if your goal is to make all A's in the new semester but you continue to do things in the same way as you always have, the results will probably not be what you want. Try setting a goal, such as 'All my grades will be above 90 at the first progress report." Then identify the things that you think have been holding you back from that result such as - I will turn in all assignments on time, I will go to at least one tutorial every week for any course that my average is below 90. Once you have set a goal and made a plan, then find someone who will be your accountability partner. Maybe someone who needs your help holding them accountable, then you both can celebrate the small successes along the way and eventually you can both celebrate when you have accomplished your goal.
- Chose to live by the Golden Rule - When we chose to treat others as we would like to be treated, then kindness, tolerance, and acceptance are ever present. If you take the time to notice the good in others, you will find the good you celebrate in others comes back to you many times over. People live up or down to what we expect of them. Generously give the benefit of the doubt to those around you. Presume the best about others even when their actions may not deserve your trust. Look for their virtue rather than complain about their shortcomings, and forgive often.
- Try something new - We can all get in a rut if we do the same things and never try anything new. Join a new club, learn to play a new instrument, learn a new skill such as cooking, sewing, driving, or a new sport. When we learn something new, our brain uses resources that have been untapped. You will gain a new sense of confidence and one new habit will lead to another.
- Volunteer - Volunteering in your community has many positive benefits. Experiential learning, or applying what you have learned in the classroom to the real world, has a lot of positive benefits for students which include a better understanding of the value of teamwork, decision-making skills, development of leadership abilities, and increase in practical skills. Numerous studies over the past several years have shown that volunteering isn’t just good for your mind and conscience; it’s also good for your body. By focusing on others’ problems instead of their own, students have reported reduced stress, and overall improvement in mood and health. LEHS values the contribution that students make to our community when they participate in community service opportunities. One of the benefits of student community service at LEHS is the opportunity to earn an additional semester exam opportunity each semester. Students who submit 30 hours of documented community service to their house office will earn an additional exam exemption at the end of the semester. Some organizations such as NHS, SNHS, DECA, and HOSA require community service. Community service is often one of the factors that set a student apart when applying to colleges and for scholarships. If you make a goal of 30 hours of community service for this semester, you would only be need to serve about 1.5 to 2 hours a week. Where are good places to serve? Local churches offer many opportunities for students to get involved, the local food bank can always use donations, even the public library is a good place to offer to help. The website Volunteer Match is a good place to enter your interests and location to find volunteer opportunities that closely match your interests.
We all start a new year with hope and motivation to make positive changes. The key to success is coming up with small changes that lead to the bigger goal. Early and frequent success are powerful motivators to continue the work of change. Make sure your new year and new semester resolutions are based on a plan that includes small milestone checkpoints, with many opportunities for small successes and you will be well on your way to accomplishing your goals. In the words of Jim Rohn, "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."
Renee Pentecost
Principal
Little Elm High School
Thank a School Board Member!
January is School Board Recognition Month and Little Elm ISD is joining other districts across the state to thank these community volunteers for their commitment and contributions to our public schools. Preparing today’s students to be productive citizens and the leaders of tomorrow is a tremendous task. As elected officials, school board members are the voice of their communities, serving first and foremost in the best interest of our schoolchildren. We proudly salute these education advocates as they provide vision and leadership for student achievement, academic programs, district funding, and school facilities. Their service ensures that decisions about local public schools are made by those most familiar with the needs of our community’s children and families.Great leadership always begins with a willing heart, a positive attitude, and a desire to make a difference. Please join us as we applaud these local leaders for helping our kids soar to success!
Thank you -
Melissa Myers, Board President
David Montemayor, Board Vice President
Jason Olson, Board Secretary
Dan Blackwood, Trustee
DeLeon English, Trustee
Alex Flores, Trustee
LeAnna Harding, Trustee
LEHS salutes you!
Five LEHS Teachers Receive Innovative Teaching Grants
Rachel Carothers - Advanced Theatre, under the direction of Rachel Carothers, will collaborate with teachers throughout the district to create a traveling, interactive show. Our mission is to help elementary and middle school students better understand challenging STEM concepts through entertaining, hands-on demonstrations.
Lynda Harkins - "I was so excited to receive my grant!!" The goal is to improve literacy by purchasing literature books. The books are based on historical or current events, most of the books are about young people our students age. We will analyze the books from a historical and or geographic perspective and relate it to a time period or significant historical event
Amber Larue and Thomas Swinden - Lobo Leaders:
We plan on creating an environment where ALL students can be included. Students will be invited to participate as leaders and as learners in an effort to support those that need help developing social skills. This will be done through natural play in a supervised and safe environment by playing games, engaging in physical activity, and use of creativity. This will be an after school event with at least one event per month. We look forward to getting students involved in this program during the Spring semester!
Holly Parra - Flexible workspaces are not just great for younger grades! I am so excited to be able to use this grant to provide a flexible work environment for my older students. This will allow students to collaborate easily and take charge of their own learning needs. Creating an open flexible classroom will increase efficiency and engagement!
Hailey Vail - All 13 LEISD campuses including the Child Care Learning Center will receive a one act opera performance by the Dallas Opera.
Watch below and experience the excitement as teachers were surprised by the Education Foundation!
LEHS will provide a FREE SAT® during the school day on March 7th for Juniors
For the first time ever, we will be offering the SAT® to all juniors at Little Elm High School on a school day. Students typically have to sign up for a Saturday test date on their own, but we will be registering all of the juniors to take it on Wednesday, March 7th – free of charge! We think this will allow ALL of our juniors the opportunity to show colleges that they’re ready.
Each student will be allowed to send their scores to up to four colleges, universities, or scholarship programs for free, so students need to begin thinking about where they’d like to send their scores. They will have an opportunity to mark their four choices on their answer document when they take the test.
Students should have received an email from College Board with instructions on how to access their PSAT/NMSQT® scores from October, and on how to set up a College Board account. Please check your school email account if you missed it and set up your College Board account. Once you’ve set it up, you’ll be able to link it to a Khan Academy® account and take advantage of free SAT test prep. Khan Academy will give you a personalized study plan based on your PSAT/NMSQT scores.
Why practice?? A study of 250,000 seniors from the class of 2017 found that 20 hours on Khan Academy helped students increase their scores by an average of 115 points from the PSAT to the SAT. Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy helps students work on the areas they need it most. Khan Academy has 8 full-length tests written by College Board, video lessons, and thousands of practice questions – all online so students can practice whenever and wherever they’d like. And it’s free! Official SAT Practice on Khan Academy can be found at satpractice.org.
Questions about the SAT day opportunity see Mrs. Heller in Room 2100.
Questions about signing up or accessing your College Board account see Mrs. Keisha Brown in the library.
Young Women's Political Leadership Conference at TWU
IGNITE is hosting the 6th annual Young Women's Political Leadership Conference at TWU on February 17, 2018. They will welcome 300+ students, over 35 women elected officials and community supporters from across the state. They are so excited to bring this leadership development program to Denton County for the first time in their history. State Representative Nicole Collier will deliver keynote remarks at their luncheon. Several elected officials from Denton will be in attendance, as well.
Little Elm High School students and staff have been invited to attend the conference. Conference attendees will get one-on-one conversation with elected women, have the ability to choose from over 20 different workshops and meet other politically engaged women from across the state. The best part: this amazing event is free to high school students. Registration is required, and will ensure that they have lunch and snacks available for everyone who plans to attend.
Register at: http://bit.ly/2AWPfcg
Report Harmful, Harassing, and Bullying Behavior
LEISD has an on-line tool called "Anonymous Alerts" that students, parents, and teachers can use to report harmful, harassing, and bullying type behaviors. Anonymous Alerts bullying reporting mobile app helps combat bullying and other negative activity in schools by empowering students to speak up. Social and peer pressures are some of the hardest obstacles for students to overcome. Anonymous Alerts encourages students, parents and staff to quickly, easily, and anonymously report bullying, cyber-bullying, gang-related issues, and other sensitive topics through private messages to school officials by building. All reports remain completely anonymous even during a two-way email conversation, although submitters have the option to reveal their identity if they prefer to have a person-to-person discussion.
To send a report from the Web/Internet go to: www.anonymousalerts.com/littleelmisd/
To send a report from your phone:
- Download the Anonymous Alerts® app for free from the Apple Store, Google Play store, and the Chrome store
- Start the App, enter login: leisd and password: leisd
- Send important reports to school officials
- Add a screen shot or photo about the incident
Scholarship Opportunities
New Scholarship Search Site - Provided by College Board
CoServ Scholarships - deadline Monday, January 8, 2018
Letters About Literature is a reading and writing contest for students in grades 4-12. Students are asked to read a book, poem or speech and write to the author (living or dead) about how the book affected them personally. Letters are judged on state and national levels. Tens of thousands of students from across the country enter Letters About Literature each year. If you are in grades 4-12, you are eligible to enter the Letters About Literature reading and writing contest.
The 2017-18 Letters About Literature contest for young readers is made possible by a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, with additional support from gifts to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, which promotes the contest through its affiliate Centers for the Book, state libraries and other organizations.
Download the informational flyer and application at the link below.
College Covered
While you are there, check out the website College Covered. Do you want to know what you need in a winning college essay, what college entrance test score you need, or what makes a top notch college application? Get what you need to help get into the college of your dreams with the help of College Covered.
An App Matches Students with College Scholarships They Can Use
National Honor Society Scholarship
2017–18 Program Timeline
October 6—Application available.
January 30—Deadline for student applications.
February 5—Deadline for adviser and principal recommendations and certification. One other faculty recommendation is also due.
Early May—Recipients and their schools will be notified by letter and email.
Late May—Nonrecipients will be notified by email.
June—List of 2017-18 NHS Scholarship recipients posted on the NHS website.
July 1—Deadline to accept, decline, or defer award.
Early August—Scholarship checks mailed to recipients’ home addresses, made payable to the recipient's designated college or university.
2017–18 Award Distribution
475 national semifinalists - $2,850 scholarship
24 national finalists - $5,150 scholarship
1 national winner - $22,650 scholarship
Additional Scholarship Opportunities
All NHS members also have access to NHS Scholar Dollars, a scholarship search tool powered by College Board. This tool expedites the scholarship search process, offering filtered results based on the four pillars of NHS: scholarship, service, leadership, and character. Use the tool at www.nhs.us/scholardollars.
BETTIE DOROTHY REMEMBRANCE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION
This scholarship is to honor Bettie Gonzalez, mother of six, who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 38. The scholarship is available to any college bound girl who is motherless for any reason. We believe that every young woman should have a chance at achieving her goals and fulfilling her dreams. We would like to be a part of empowering her on that journey toward her education goals. We are looking for that young woman who is motivated to do all she can to achieve her dreams!
Amount
The $1,000 Scholarship will be divided equally between semesters in the first year. Mentoring will also be provided if desired.
Payment
Funds will be released upon proof of enrollment. It is the responsibility of the recipient to send documentation confirming enrollment for each semester. The check will be made out jointly to the recipient and junior college, college, or university of the student’s choice.
Eligibility
- U.S. citizen or legal, permanent resident with a permanent resident card
- Graduating high school senior
- Motherless daughter who is motivated to achieve her dreams
Application Process
Applications are available Nov. 1, 2016 and may be downloaded from www.BDGhope.org
To be considered, applicants must send or email completed application by March 15th , 2017 to: Bettie D. Gonzalez Foundation of Hope 1472 Sandstone Dr. Frisco, TX 75034 Or email to: scholarhip@BDGhope.org
Application can be downloaded from here.
Students whose parents or family are on the Bettie D. Gonzalez Foundation Board of Directors are not eligible for this scholarship. For questions, please contact: info@BDGhope.org
The School of Health Professions at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center would like to announce that we are accepting applications Dec. 1, 2017 – Jan. 19, 2018 for the Summer Program June 4 – July 20, 2018.
For more information visit our web page (http://bit.ly/SHP-HS-Summer). We are looking for students interested in the allied health professions that could benefit from our 7-week educational experience. Our faculty and staff will provide them with lectures and laboratory activities to showcase our undergraduate programs, to demonstrate to the students how each field relates to the fight to end cancer, and to make the students aware of career opportunities in healthcare.
Students will receive a scholarship to help defray living expenses during the program. Participants living outside a 20-mile radius from our campus will have the choice to stay at a Rice University college (residence hall).
No new applications will be taken after January 19. We hope to choose the students by early April.
Whether through essays or multimedia, you've used your voices to share visions for a better world. So here's your chance to put them to action! Submit a proposal for how you'll better your community. Because this will be a much more rigorous process with multiple rounds, we're also raising the bar for tuition awards: from five $1,000 tuition awards to five $10,000 tuition awards! We will also fund the top project up to $5,000.
The PROCESS:We will be breaking the process into 3 rounds, using the principles of design thinking:
- Read the Rules and Terms & Conditions (below)
- Design and submit your ROUND 1 proposal:
- First 3 stages of design thinking Launch cycle
- Students submit overall proposal based on the Ford Institute community building principles
- We select applications based on their completion, seriousness, and viability, offering feedback for those approved to move on to round 2.
- Deadline: February 11, 2018, 11:59 MST
- Design and submit your ROUND 2 artifact:
- Next 3 phases of design thinking launch cycle (all but the final launch)
- Students submit an artifact representing their progress and learning
- We give additional feedback
- Deadline: March 18, 2018, 11:59 MST
- Design and submit your ROUND 3 reflection:
- LAUNCH phase of design thinking launch cycle.
- Students submit a final reflection that shares how their project is doing one of the following: 1) increasing connections, 2)building capacity, or 3) taking community-led action. They also share their ideas for acquiring further funding, in addition to the $5,000 from HGU if selected as the top finalist.
- Include a video of yourself working on your project
- Deadline: April 15, 2018 at 11:59 MST.
- We select 5 winners to receive $10,000 tuition scholarships to their colleges, with the top one receiving $5,000 funding to launch their project into the design thinking cycle once more during the summer of 2018 to maximize impact.
CLICK HERE for more details and FAQs on each round.
Are You Planning on being a Civil Engineer? Then check out this grant.
The Texas Dept. of Transportation offers a Conditional Grant Program to eligible students pursuing a degree in civil engineering or a department-approved operational business discipline. The Conditional Grant Program will consider both Texas public and private four-year institutions.
Students accepted into the program receive up to $3,000 per semester or $6,000 per academic year for tuition, based on financial need.
The application may be downloaded at: http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/hrd/cgp-application.pdf , completed and mailed to the address below.
Mail application packets to: Texas Department of Transportation
HRD/Employment Opportunities/CGP
125 East 11th Street
Austin, TX 78701-2483
Applications to the Conditional Grant Program must be post marked prior to March 1st.
Little Elm High School
Chris Reza - Associate Principal (creza@littleelmisd.net)
Alen Palislamovic - White House Principal A - D (apalislamovic@littleelmisd.net)
Ruben Molinar - Grey House Principal E - K (rmolinar@littleelmisd.net)
Kyle Heller - Blue House Principal L - Ra (kheller@littleelmisd.net)
Terilyn Thomas-Monday - Gold House Principal Re - Z (tthomas-monday@littleelmisd.net)
Website: http://www.littleelmisd.net/Domain/9
Location: 1900 Walker Lane, Little Elm, TX, United States
Phone: (972) 947-9443
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Elm-High-School/736775073135970?notif_t=page_fan
Twitter: @LittleElmHS