Have a Great Holiday

Information on Lonestar Kingwood College Classes @ AHS this spring

[COMPASS and ACCUPLACER are the two computerized college placement tests offered at LSC-Kingwood. Both tests cost $29.00 for the full battery and $10.00 per section.]

HOUSTON (Dec. 14, 2009) – High school students and community members interested in taking evening college credit courses in the spring at Atascocita High School will have an opportunity to register in early 2010.
Lone Star College-Kingwood, which began offering dual credit classes in 2006 and evening college credit courses in spring 2008 at Atascocita High School, will station its Mobile Go Van and its advisors at the school to help students and adults register for courses available in spring 2010. The van will be on campus Jan. 4 -7 from 3 to 7 p.m. All spring classes begin on Jan. 19th.
“We began offering courses at Atascocita High School because it is always a good idea to bring education closer to where people are. We will build a center that is going to open in September 2011, so this is just a start to a long commitment to the Atascocita area,” Professor Honora Diaz, chairman of Behavioral Sciences at LSC-Kingwood, said. “Our goal in offering courses at the high school is to continue our ability to make education accessible to the community because we are a community college. We are financially accessible and physically, we are accessible.”
To register for classes at the Mobile Go Van, new students must take a placement test at LSC-Kingwood to decide if they are college ready and which classes are appropriate for them. In addition to taking or having test results on file, people must also bring documents, for example a utility bill, that state whether they live in or out of the Lone Star College system. Diaz said that it is good idea for people to bring paper copies of their records such as their transcripts and diplomas.
Courses available for the spring semester at Atascocita High School are Composition and Rhetoric I, American Government II, General Psychology, U.S. History Since 1877, College Algebra and Public Speaking. In addition to those courses, the college will offer two new classes: Introduction to Criminal Justice and Introduction to the Teaching Profession.

Criminal Justice, taught by Lt. Albert Johnson with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, will give students an introductory glance into what the broad topic is all about. According to Johnson, they will learn about the causes of crime, social aspects in regards to which environments cause it, what careers they can explore, and much more.

“I want to show them what law enforcement/Criminal Justice is all about. A lot of people believe that what they see on television is what really goes on but, that is not true. That is only a small portion of what goes on. The other part deals with things such as budgeting, communication, writing grants and other things students will also learn about,” Johnson said.

Road Trip Nation article about AHS in the Atascocita Tribune

Very nice article about our field trip to Deer Park for Road Trip Nation.  Very cool.

 

The article is written by Kim Melchor.  She is a great supporter of AVID (Her son is a senior in our AVID program).

 

http://www.ourtribune.com/article.php?id=8796

Define your own road in life 
Monday, December 07, 2009
Kim Melchor

Humble students explore careers with Road Trip Nation

 Photo: Roadtrip Nation co-founder Mike Marriner, Humble ISD instructor David Duez and Humble ISD AVID program sophomores explore the big green RV. Photo courtesy of David Duez
Define your own road in life. 

 

In 2001, four college friends took off on a four-month road trip in order to look for inspiration in their career paths. Equipped with a camera and an old, lime green RV, the group traveled the country in pursuit of people who do what they love for a living.  On  Nov. 2, more than 300 students from Humble ISD, Deer Park, Fort Bend and Pasadena had an opportunity to hear about the experiences of co-founder Mike Marriner at a special appearance of the Roadtrip Nation Experience. The program has evolved into a PBS reality show, several books, an online community, and sends students out on the road in order to talk with individuals who “chose to define their own road in life.”

Humble ISD sophomores in the AVID program were specifically chosen to attend the event. Last year, Roadtrip Nation created  a partnership with the national preparatory AVID program  in order to provide a classroom materials and instruction to disadvantaged and underachieving students. Atascocita High School Avid instructor David Duez called the program, “exactly what our sophomore students need.” He said that students who might otherwise get worn down are inspired by the program. “They are really connected to it.”

Students who attended the event at Deer Parks High School’s south campus had a chance explore the big green RV, as well as watch an live interview with a local businessman.  State rep. Wayne Smith was also in attendance.

Based on funding from PBS and AT&T, the Roadtrip Nation Experience provides workbooks and DVDs with supplemental videos and interviews based on certain themes. The program is described as an “interactive, multi-lesson curriculum designed to facilitate self-discovery and give students direction in exploring different passions in their lives.” Duez said that students explore topics such as risk, success, and failure, and what it has meant to successful people. He explained that many students had previously, “never looked at the idea that failure is not a bad thing to learn from. Some are so worried about mistakes that they don’t try things.”

Duez said that the program teaches students that there are many roads to success. “For those who don’t make it to college, there are other ways to succeed.”

Road Trip Nation in broadcast on Sundays at 12:30 a.m. KUHT-TV Channel 8. Interviews are available on the program’s Web site at http://www.roadtripnation.com.

© 2008 Ourtribune.com

 

Agenda: Monday, Dec. 14, 2009

Quote of the Day:  "Work is love made visible."  - Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese Poet

Agenda:
1.  Finish College video presentations
2.  Time to review for final exams in tutor groups.

Agenda: Friday, Dec. 11, 2009

Quote of the Day: "When you quit something it starts a habit. Don't ever quit." - Anon.

We will present College Video projects in the junior class and then have time to study for finals with classmates.

The sophomores will present their people/questions that they are targeting for the Road Trip Nation interviews that they will do this spring.

We also watched this video. A reminder that we should not quit until this semester is over!

Final Exam Schedule

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 16, 2009
7:25 - 8:50 1st period exam
9:00 - 10:25 3rd period exam
10:35 -12:00 5th period exams

THURSDAY, DEC. 17, 2009
7:25 – 8:50 2nd period exam
9:00 – 10:25 6th period exam

FRIDAY, DEC. 18, 2009
7:25 – 8:50 4th period exam
9:00 – 10:25 7th period exam

Agenda: Tuesday, Wed,, and Thur, December 7, 8, and 9, 2009

Quote of the Day:  “Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be” - George Sheehan quotes

Tuesday - TUTORING

Wednesday (Sophomores) - Tutoring 1st half of the period. 
2nd half of the period, discuss possible Essay questions for the final.  Possible questions:

1)  College Application Essay (About the person in your life who has influenced you the most)
2)  Road Trip Nation (A lesson, interview, or the field trip that has influenced you)
3)  College Field Trip Reflection
4)  AVID Summer Institute Speech

Essay Prompts for the Students

Think about your experiences with the AVID program and how working with AVID students, tutors and peers may have helped you change and define your life. Answer at least two or three of the bulleted questions listed below.

• How is being an AVID teacher different from being a content-area teacher?
• How has AVID opened your eyes or empowered you?
• How have your students changed your belief systems and the way you view your role as a teacher?
• As an AVID teacher, what obstacles did you face and how did you overcome them?
• What is the most rewarding part of being an AVID teacher?
• How has participating in the AVID program enriched your life, whether because of your students, tutors or peers?

5)  Letter to a person at AHS that has influenced you thanking them for 3 specific things they have done to help you.

Students also worked in groups of 3 to prepare for their presentation to the class about Road Trip Nation.  They will describe the 3 people they are targeting for their interviews and what 3 general questions they would ask each of them.  We will present them on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday.

Juniors on Thursday:
Tutoring
and then we will present their College Projects (Videos and Power points about the college of their choice)
We will also discuss Final Essay questions for AVID.

Sophomore - Road Trip Nation - Interview Presentation

Next Monday and Tuesday in AVID Class, the sophomores will be presenting their interview groups of 3.  They will list the 3 people (or types of people) that they would like to interview for their own road trip.  And they will also list 3 questions that they thought would be great to ask.

It is my hope that by having the people/positions and questions presented that it will equip everyone with some options for their road trips that we will be planning in the spring semester.

Man Can Fly

Motivational Monday Video.

Whether or not you think this is crazy, these are people who enjoy life.  They don't take no for an answer.  And if someone said to them, "Hey!  Go jump off a cliff!"  They would say, "Ok."

Agenda: Monday, December 07, 2009

Two Quotes for today:  "A toy is never truly happy until it is loved by a child." - King Moonraiser

Today is Pearl Harbor Day.  On Dec. 8th, 1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed Congress:  "Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."


1.  Goal of the Week.  And a couple of "motivational Monday Messages & Videos."
2.  Juniors will present their college video projects.  And then we will brainstorm the essays for the final exam next week.
Sophomores will work to create their group of 3 for interviewing on Road Trip Nation.  We will also brainstorm ideas for the final exam next week.

Agenda: Wed/Thu Dec 2/3, 2009

Quote of the Day: "The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The meaning of life is to give your gift away." - David Viscott


Agenda:
First 1/2 of the period:  Tutoring
Second 1/2 of the period: 
   - Juniors:  We will discuss the student success stories that they read in groups on Monday.  They will share their 2 things they learned and their summary of the articles.
   - Sophomores:  Will group into 3 for the Road Trip Nation curriculum.  We are working towards preparing for our interviews this spring.  It is important for us to make some progress here.  This spring most of our AVID time will be spent preparing for AP and research & writing development.