Alpharetta High School
Week of March 20th
In memory of Vonda Rice who will be greatly missed
Upcoming Dates
March 17 – Accelerated Algebra EOC test - NO BELLS
March 16, 17, 18, 19 - Spring Musical (Opening Night and Sunday Matinee discounted for staff)
March 20 - 24 - Remedial Testing
March 30 - Senior Games - afternoon
March 31 - AHS PD day - see schedule below
April 3 – 7 – Spring break
April 10 or 11 Faculty Meeting
April 12 – AP Pre-Bubbling
April 14 - last day of the 12 week grading period
April 14 - both lunches - Radiant Raiders 2nd Semester Birthday Social
April 17 – 21 – Honors Week
April 17 - 21 – End of Pathways testing
April 18 - Export and verify 12 week grades
April 20 - 5 minute Advisement before Anchor Time
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 11 – Recovery deadline
Bell Schedule Survey
As we work to expand our potential here at AHS, we have been examining our current bell schedule to determine adjustments that we might make to better serve our students, staff, and community. In the fall, we conducted focus groups with parents, students, and teachers, and at this point, we have prepared a potential bell schedule and would love your feedback!
Please visit the link below to read about our goals, view a proposed draft of the bell schedule, and respond to two survey questions that will help us determine our next steps.
Sister Act is filled with powerful gospel music, outrageous dancing and a truly moving story!
Biology students take a practice EOC
AHS Technology PLC learns about useful sites to make our jobs easier!
National Latin Exam - Thursday, March 16th
The following students will be taking the National Latin Exam Thursday, 3/16 during second period. They need to be in the cafeteria at 9:00 to begin.
Grant Failor Jackson Isenberg Jason Juang Emily Jung Varun Kasibhatla Lindsay Machleit Branden Magill Oceane Merchiers Catherine Mi Annie Seth Katelynn Singleton Emma Sorenson Sam Stratton Kieran Talele Prayer Thakar Kunal Vohra Kayla Washington Jerrell Whitaker Errol Williams Kiel Cole Mia Cregan Jackson Frizzell Neeha Hajula Leo Garrity Timmy Green Jazzia Harrell Janessa Harris Allie Herbert Sophia Johnson Eon Lu Annette Mundy Samantha Stansberry Maya Williams Katie Worden Michelle Bak Christopher Burgett Annalisa Canouse Jun Cha Michelle Cho Safi Haider Alan McVay Richard Pessoa George Pogorelov Ayush Sharma Ryan Strydom Keenan Walters Abhishek Yellumahanti Nathan Zhu Mikail Haider Angela Kim Faqee Dixon Andy Gonzalez Jeremiah Griffin Sophie Harrison Thomas Henderson Zanee Jackson Christopher Lewis Saige Locke Solomon Mitchell Kianna Nelson Abhinav Panghal Alicia Ruehs Amari Siplin Aqsa Zeb
Prom Chaperones Needed
Chrome Extensions
Check out these sites that can help you be more effective and efficient:
Grammerly: spelling and grammer
One Tab (condenses all tabs to one list you can share)
Cite this for me (MLA citations for websites)The QR Code extension (generates QR code for the page)
Screencastify (screencast – desktop – that saves to google drive)Crafty text (gives big text box to type codes over website)
Crafty level (give reading level of website)
Crafty level (give reading level of website
Brief Tube (summarized youtube videos over 5 minutes long)
Mercury Reader (clears away clutter on articles)
Panic Button (hides all tabs at once so no one sees them)
Only download ones you will use because it will slow down chrome/internet on your devise.
Here is the link to the store and then search the name of the extensions
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/extensions?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon
Here is a link with information on managing chrome extensions, including how to uninstall ones that you don’t want anymore.
https://support.google.com/chrome_webstore/answer/2664769?hl=en
Thank you, Shane Sweet, for sharing your discoveries!
Zoo Atlanta Educator Day
All educators can enjoy free admission to the Zoo (educator ID required) on March 18, and any accompanying guests will receive $2 off general admission.
Educators include early childhood – university level school teachers, child care workers, homeschool parents, informal educators, administrative and support staff, para-professionals and active Georgia PTA members (one PTA member per family; rest of household receives discounted admission).
While visiting the Zoo on March 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., stop by our Ford Pavilion to:
- Receive a 10% off coupon that can be used in Zoo gift shops and food outlets (valid on March 18 only)
- Meet and talk to Zoo Education Staff and outside vendors
- Enjoy private animal encounters
- Face-painting for the kids
AHS Book Awards
Alpharetta’s Book Awards are given to juniors at AHS Honors Night. Lisa Stroligo and I are in charge of the AHS Book Awards, and we ask you to nominate students for these awards. Please do not tell students you have nominated them! Once we have nominees, a committee will determine the book award winners and will invite these students to Honors Night where they will receive their awards.
Please complete the following google form (http://tinyurl.com/2017BookAwards) by nominating any 11th graders that you feel embody the characteristics listed for each award.
ALPHA-BITS
Welcome to the newest section of our newsletter, dedicated exclusively to Technology at AHS!
This week’s tip: always lock your computer before leaving your area. This is done simply by pressing the Windows Key and the letter L simultaneously. The Windows Key is located on the bottom left of the keyboard, in between the Ctrl and Alt keys. The keyboard shortcut would be written like this: WIN + L
Why is this important? An even slightly tech savvy Student can steal a test right off your desktop in a heartbeat. Or change a grade in TAC. Or send a creative expletive or three to the Superintendent through your Outlook.
Better safe than sorry J Always lock your computer! To unlock, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and enter your password.
In an effort to “un-inundate” everyone’s already overcrowded Inboxes, this column will also serve as your new weekly reminder to back up your data.
Have an excellent week!
Jeff Macko
SAVE the date - April 20th - Honors Night/Book Awards
Hand Sanitizer for classrooms
Congrats to our Chorale group - straight superior ratings!
Team building during the fire evacuation
Students promote the Spring Musical
March 24 – AJC Cup Nominations Due to Whitney
The AJC Cup is one of the oldest news organization award programs in the country. Since 1927, the AJC has proudly recognized generations of top Georgia high school students. They are selected for this honor by their school’s faculty and administration. Schools base their decisions on academic excellence, leadership, community service and extra-curricular involvement. This award is one of the most prestigious awards that an Atlanta area senior can receive and is given to the individual that has distinguished themselves as an outstanding high school student. The senior chosen for this award will receive recognition at graduation (Thursday, May 25 @ 7 pm) .
Please consider nominating one SENIOR for this award. Please write a blurb (approx. 1 paragraph) about the student and reply only to me by Friday, March 24th.
Thank you to the team responsible for our incredible lunch on March 10th
Vonda working with her team
Thank you to all for supporting our evacuation experience
Remind students
Students your completed MOWR Participation Agreement and Fulton County MOWR Contract are due to your counselor by March 31st. Also, don’t forget to complete and submit your college application for the school you plan to attend, by March 31st (the only exception being Georgia Tech whose application does not open until May 15th). There is no school on March 31st so you are highly encouraged to have the forms turned in by March 30th , no later paperwork will be accepted. Copies of both documents can be found on the ahscounseling.com site under the Move On When Ready section and outside of both Counseling Suites and 1330.
Consider showing this video to your students this week
High Museum of Art - STEAM Teacher Appreciation Day
STEAM Teacher Appreciation Day
Sunday, March 19, 2017, 12 noon–5:00 p.m.
Free for teachers and one guest each
Inspired by objects in the Museum’s collection and works by artist Daniel Arsham, Teacher Appreciation Day: STEAM Edition at the High Museum of Art will be filled with drop-in stations exploring 3-D printing and hand-making techniques as well as guided tours of Daniel Arsham: Hourglass and the High’s permanent collection.
Admission is free for teachers and one guest each. Please bring a school ID or other form of educator identification.
This event is in partnership with the Atlanta Science Festival. Learn more and submit your photos here: www.citizensciencehd.com/atlanta-science-festival
For the 5th year in a row, AHS FBLA was awarded the coveted Sweepstakes Award for the High School in Georgia with the most competitive event wins.
Student Supervision Expectations
Please open the morning and lunch supervision attachments and mark your calendars. We have a shared responsibility to supervise our students and keep our campus safe.
1100 Hall/Fine Arts and Gym Roam
Move from entrance of Media Center down past drama room and through Gym and Fine Arts foyer reminding students to go to the cafeteria or Media Center.
1200 Hall—front doors to mailroom
Please roam from the front doors down to the mailroom. Please be sure to move throughout these areas so that we can help direct students where they might need to go.
1200 Hall—1220 to 5200
Please roam from the 1220 office through the 5200 hall. Please be sure to move throughout these areas so that we can help direct students where they might need to go.
1300 Hall
Please roam from the elevator near counseling suite 1310 all the way down past the culinary arts hallway (near the other elevator). Please be sure to move throughout these areas so that we can help direct students where they might need to go. Students, in particular, enjoy sitting at the tables outside of the counseling suites and in the open area outside the 4300 hallway.
2000/3000/4000 Hallways
Please roam both the upstairs and downstairs of the hallway (e.g. if on the 2000 hall, roam between 2200 and 2300). It is important that we circulate through the hallways and stairwells at both ends of the hallways, so please do not pull a desk or chair into the hallway and remain stationary.
Check-In
There will be an administrator roaming through the halls. Please go directly to your duty station. An administrator will come find you with the sign in sheet so that it doesn’t get forgotten or cause a delay in supervision.
General Expectations
Please note that we have made some changes to the morning duty stations here at the beginning of the year so that we can set student expectations more consistently and clearly at the outset. Part of our collective responsibility is to make our campus a warm and welcoming environment while at the same time ensuring safety and security for our students and staff. To accomplish this and to respect your colleagues’ time and efforts, please review the following:
- Be ready to go by 7:30am the day you are assigned and (this week especially) help to direct students to the cafeteria. Before school, all students should be in either the cafeteria or Media Center (when it is open). Students can visit their lockers, but they should then head down to the cafeteria.
- There will be an administrator on duty on the cafeteria and roaming the halls each day. They will have the sign in sheets for that day, so be sure to check in with them and can assist if you have questions or need support.
- Remember to move throughout your assigned area and avoid becoming “rooted” (e.g. when on the 2000 hall, circulate through both 2200 and 2300; if in the cafeteria, roam your assigned section, etc.).
- Please stay visible and available from 7:30am until the 8:15am bell. Greet students, help students navigate the building, and direct any visitors to the front office to sign in. We all have many tasks on our lists, but we need to make sure we are focused on the students when on duty.
- Remind students of the personal electronics policy (headphones only in the cafeteria) and dress code policies as needed. These first few weeks will help set the tone for the next few weeks. A positive conversation now can help students avoid negative consequences later.
As always, thanks for all you do to help keep our students safe. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me via email and I will do my best to respond in a timely fashion. In the event that you need to swap with another staff member, please make the necessary arrangements ahead of time. The administrator can update the sign-in sheet on the day of with the correction.
Weight Watchers
Interested in an At Work Weight Watchers Group? They are offering a promotion in March. Spring Break is coming! Email houstonta@fultonschools.org if you want more details.
"He's a teenager!" MOWR middle school school student who attends upper level math classes at AHS celebrates his 13th birthday
Dr. G provided warmth during the fire drill as it was very windy and cold outside
AHS Yearbook wins February Yearbook Sales Contest
Trivia Night - Taco Fiesta
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.
March 31st schedule
March 31 -
8:30 - 9:10 - AHS/WBMS University session 1
9:20 - 10:00 - AHS/WBMS University session 2
10:15 - 11:45 - IG session
12:00 - 1:00 - lunch on your own
1:00 - 2:00 - Faculty Meeting - Media Center
2:00 - 4:00 - Special Education PD; all others work in classrooms as needed
March Birthdays
Amy Landi 2
Chuck Moore 8
Flavia Villarinho 8
Tranise Coryell 9
Marshall King 12
Lauren Donnenfeld 18
Jeff Cohen 19
Rebecca Perkins 21
Rosemary Sibold 21
Kenya Lacy 22
Lacey McLemore 23
Tony Murdock 23
Darlene Todd 25
Adam Smiley 27
Summer Summit 2017
Are you looking for a good book?
Here is the AHS Media Center reccomendation for the week:
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.
Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.
M. L. Stedman’s mesmerizing, beautifully written novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel’s decision to keep this “gift from God.” And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another’s tragic loss.
The Light Between Oceans is exquisite and unforgettable, a deeply moving novel.