The Pulse
Pikes Peak Early College, February Edition
A Note from Rochelle Kolhouse, Principal
Happy New Year and a happy new semester! We are so proud of our students for their perseverance and grit during a topsy turvy first semester. It’s so refreshing to have such amazing Yetis at our school. This new year and the new semester marks a new beginning for us all.
We are so excited to bring students back on our campus! Beginning the week of February 1st, students will be able to come onto our campus on Mondays and Wednesdays for small group instruction, prioritized Edgenuity direct instruction (this will not be like the classes we ran at the beginning of the school year, however), opportunities for additional learning activities, and interventions that will enhance student learning. At this time, we will not have students on campus on Fridays. It is our intention to stick with this schedule for the remainder of the school year with our fingers crossed that the COVID numbers cooperate with our endeavors.
Teachers recently sent out an email to all students with a schedule of upcoming in-building activities and events for the month of February. Students are welcome to sign up for these events whether they originally decided to be blended or full virtual. These opportunities are open to all PPEC and SSAE students. I wish I were a student again so I could sign up for all the fun and amazing options as well! If you have not had a chance to see what’s happening on our campus for February, please check it out using the links below!
CLICK HERE to check out the list of activities we are going to offer in the building. At the top of the spreadsheet is a quick-glance calendar to show what is going on. If you scroll down, you’ll see descriptions of each one. There are LOTS of great things to do!
CLICK HERE to sign up for all of them or some of them. If you sign up for an activity, please make sure you show up, or communicate with the teacher if something happens. With our limited spots for each activity, we want as many students to participate as possible.
Here’s to a great spring semester!
Math
2021 promises to be a new year, a year with lessons of 2020; weary, hopeful, and promises of health and transition. As we begin this year never has it been more important for virtual math students to be dedicated and spend the necessary time to learn the mathematical material. In this term, PPEC students have been given the opportunity to keep their math classes on Edgenuity for better transparency, structure and video support. It is something that they are used to in other classes so the transition to Edgenuity is seamless. Students need to reach out to teachers if they are struggling and be proactive in their note taking as they traverse the challenge of math on Edgenuity.
Most PPEC Pre-Calculus students have chosen to do their work on Aleks rather than Edgenuity and I have begun to post videos on Trigonometry to this website https://sites.google.com/d49.org/beadlespre-calcbsite/home. The importance of Pre-Calc B is Trigonometry. Trigonometry is beautiful but much of it is new and learning without demonstration can be frustrating. Therefore, I am dedicated to sharing videos and working with students in Pre-Calc to understand these tough ideas. Students need to reach out if they start to struggle so that we can keep moving forward. I believe our students are doing outstanding things, overcoming great challenges in these times. I am here, full of energy, full of answers to all math questions.
As we bring blended students into the building this too is an opportunity for Math time with 3 teachers available and Mrs. Ryland who has never shied away from a math question. Math should always be done first and never left for the last minute. Mornings, not late nights, with candy, not celery, and definitely with a smile and not a frown. We believe in our PPEC students, we believe they haven’t missed a beat, and we believe they will be the leaders of tomorrow.
Science
Wow, January flew by and spring break is just around the corner, that’s hard to believe! What’s not hard to believe, is the energy and work that our science students are putting into their science classes already! Though in-person labs have been replaced with full virtual laboratory write-ups and Think CERCA’s, the science lab is still open for business! On Monday’s and Wednesday’s, I will be working with students on any and all science topics. Students who are stuck on a quiz or assignment, come in and see me! Students who need help with a test, Come in and see me! Students who aren’t sure how to take notes on an Edgenuity Instructional video without losing their mind and hours of sleep, come in! As the topics and problems in Chemistry progressively get more complex and mathematical in nature, come in! I will be working one on one with students as well as leading small group discussions, and mini lessons for those who need help! Can’t come into the building? No worries! I will be helping all students virtually in the same way on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, just reach out to me to get your very own personal Zoom link!
February is promising to be an exciting month! We have a temporary guest in the science lab this semester, River, a mini golden retriever. With many students taking my elective Veterinary Science class last semester, I decided to offer some basic Puppy Training Seminar classes this semester. Are you eager to learn what to do with your new pup? Are you about to bring home a puppy and want some tips & tricks? Or do you just love puppies and need some puppy snuggles? Then this is the seminar for you! We’ll be discussing new puppy care and training tips. Join us for a seminar to learn some simple solutions for building a good canine companion. Please note: This seminar is for humans only! Please leave your pups at home. Participants will be treated to a brief presentation of basic puppy training and time to practice those skills with River, a mini golden retriever puppy. All participants will receive notes on the seminar topics. There will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions and train, play & pet River as group size will be kept to 4 students per seminar sign-up time slot (8-9 am or 10-11 am or 1-2 pm on Monday, February 22nd). Class size is limited, and even if you aren’t able to attend the seminar, feel free to stop by the Science Lab on Mondays and Wednesdays for some puppy snuggles and kisses from River.
English
Bring on 2021! I’m excited to get this year going just so we can make it awesome-er than 2020! This semester, all English students are going to shift to focus on speech and debate. While writing and reading will still remain a large part of what students do, speech and debate is the focus for our in-building time together. Now more than ever, students need to gain confidence with their voice, and practice using evidence to support their conclusions. I am excited to challenge students to speak up and speak out about a variety of topics- current events, off-the-wall- that focus on learning and fun.
I love that through all of this pandemic craziness, our students have not only survived- they have THRIVED!!!!...and that has a lot to do with our amazing families. Thank you for helping make this year count!
Tech Electives
Welcome to 2021! Hope this year brings new hope and promise for all families. Major kudos to our Yeti’s who finished the semester strong and successful.
2nd semester is in full swing! Students have been working hard in all of their elective courses so far. This semester we will continue our focus on leadership and academic skills to increase career and college readiness for the freshman class.
Students will continue working on coding games for computer science courses. This semester we will work on animations and program structure of python coding language. The Makerspace is open for any PPEC student on M/W in building to 3D print, code, tynker with arduinos, digital cameras, podcast and video editing. Stop by to work on a new passion project. Elective courses are up and running in Edgenuity and Schoology! If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me.
Join us FEB 17th for a Campus Hike
World Languages
Welcome to a new school semester in World Language class! This new year 2021 promises to be very exciting, with new expectations, full of new learning, and new goals to meet. My goal is to provide students with the tools to understand and communicate with others in their target language and to increase the level of competence of those who already have some prior knowledge. During the month of January, we continued with our virtual classes via Zoom on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Monday and Wednesday are support days. This time is a good opportunity for me to help you with any questions, on any topic that we have already seen. Do not hesitate to do so. Also, students will continue to do their best and deepen their understanding of how verbs actually work in their target language of study. This is a great component in creating a solid foundation in language acquisition. To reinforce this, at this time and through the end of our semester, we will focus on improving oral communication skills. For February, the students are preparing their mid-semester project to be turned in on February 15th, this consists of writing a book for children in the language they are learning. The students will demonstrate mastery of several grammatical concepts at once.
Have a nice Valentine’s Day & Stay Healthy!
Counselor's Corner
Greetings! I hope this finds you all doing well and ready to tackle the rest of this semester. I know that virtual learning & blended learning has been challenging for some, however, I am so proud of the grit that our students and families have shown. Even with all of the changes, our students were incredibly resilient with almost 90% of classes completed successfully. Everyone should be proud of a job well done in such uncertain and unpredictable times.
With that being said, we are also into the college acceptance process and season. To date, PPEC students have been accepted into schools such as the University of Wyoming, UCCS, Metropolitan State, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, CU Boulder and New Mexico State. Additionally, this year, we have 2 students, Ashleigh Damron & Joel Kinyon, who have recently received nominations to the US Naval Academy and are awaiting news as to whether or not they will now receive appointments.
It is also scholarship season. If you have not filled out your FAFSA application, it is not too late. As a reminder, colleges build their financial aid packages for students based on the FAFSA being filled out. I urge and beg you all to please fill out the forms as soon as possible. Additionally, if you head over to our counseling webpage, you will find several scholarship sites with relatively easy to apply for scholarships. Please have your student spend some time each week applying whether they will be attending a 2 year college or a 4 year college. Some examples of scholarships are ones such as Drive Safe & Unigo
There is a lot of money out their for students, but they have to apply, apply, apply!
Lastly, be on the lookout for an email to your student to schedule their advising appointment in February and March for the Fall 2021.
Please let me know what questions you have and how I can help!
Check out the links below for some great information!
Virtual College Fairs
NACAC Virtual College Fairs are back
NACAC’s upcoming series of Virtual College Fairs kicks off on Jan. 31! Common App is thrilled to support these virtual events, designed to help students connect with college admissions officers and ask important questions about the application process. These sessions support all students, including seniors who have not yet applied. Students can prepare ahead of time by tagging the Zoom sessions they want to attend.
If your students can’t make it to the first event, there are more opportunities to join this spring:
College Covered
Pikes Peak Business and Educational Alliance (PPBEA)
Family Engagement Council
Our next virtual Family Engagement Council meeting will be Monday, February 8th from 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm. During this meeting, we will be discussing PPEC’s budget priorities for the 2021-2022 school year. If you would like to know more about our upcoming meeting or about any of our previous meetings, please click on the link below to access our meeting agendas and meeting minutes. Thank you for your dedication to our school.
Spotlight Yeti of the Month
Our Yeti for the month is Zachary Austin! Zach is new to PPEC this year and we have certainly enjoyed getting to know him. Meet Zach and his Yeti, Michael…
“Heyo, my name is Zach. In my free time I like to play video games either by myself, with my sisters, or with friends. I also enjoy doing parkour, solving Rubik's cubes, and coding. I am here at PPEC because of the great opportunities (one example being concurrent enrollment) available at this school. My plan of study is to obtain a bachelor's degree in computer science which will aid me in becoming a software developer after college. Being chosen as Yeti of the month means a lot to me because, being new to this school and the people here, I was not sure if my new peers or teachers would even consider nominating me in the first place. Although I see each of the Yeti traits in myself, I definitely cannot say that I have mastered them because there is always room for me to improve.”
Hopefully this works. And yes I did name my Yeti. His name is Michael.
Thanks!
-Zach
Upcoming Events
February 3rd: Campus Concurrent Enrollment Information Night 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
February 8th: Family Engagement Council Virtual Meeting 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
February 9th: PPEC Meet and Greet for new student enrollments 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
February 10th: PPEC Virtual Academic Awards Celebration 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
February 17th: Campus Hike at Palmer Park 9:00Am Meet @ Meadows Parking Lot
February 23rd: PPEC meet and Greet for new student enrollments 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm