Agenda: Week of April 26 through April 30th, 2010

This is TAKS Week.  We will meet just a couple of times this week.

See the TAKS Week Schedule here.

Quote of the Day:  "Science has made us Gods even before we are worthy of being human beings." - Jean Rostand


This week we will focus on team building and poetry.  AVID Students will complete their "I Am" poems on Monday in class.  We will perform them in class on Monday and on the other day we meet.  


We will also be working on completing the "Three Ball Toss" in record time.  More on that later.


The only other thing on the agenda is finishing our student Road Trip Nation videos and viewing those.  They have been great so far!

Clarification on Comm Apps Credit through AVID

Here is the policy regarding receiving Embedded Communication Applications (Comm Apps/Speech) credit through AVID:

Students (current freshmen, sophomores and any junior who has not previously earned credit) who have been in AVID for one year are eligible for the credit if both the AVID teacher and Comm Apps certified teacher agree that this student has met the TEKS.  The form must be signed by the AVID elective teacher prior to submitting to the counselor for her signature.  Prospective candidates will then return the form to the AVID elective teacher.  The AVID elective teacher and speech teacher will grant credit on June 2nd.  The list of students receiving credit will be submitted to the registrar and counselor for credit to be placed on the transcript.

 

Students should turn their triplicate form into Mr. Duez when they are finished meeting with their counselor.  The sooner the better.

Kaplan SAT/ACT course for $45 for Juniors

This is a note about the program from Kaplan:

At Kaplan, helping students succeed is what we do.  We’ve been inspired by the Texas Education Agency’s commitment to increasing college preparation efforts, as demonstrated by their recent initiative to make free college admissions tests available to all Texas public high school juniors.

To play our part in supporting the effort, Kaplan will offer comprehensive Live Online SAT and ACT prep courses, normally valued at $499, for just $45 to cover material and shipping costs.  All Texas public high school juniors registered for the May or June 2010 SAT or ACT are eligible for these courses.  Our SAT and ACT Live Online programs provide the same rigorous preparation as our traditional classroom courses and are taught by our top instructors using streaming video delivery.  Our Live Online classrooms come to life with full online whiteboard capabilities, polling and instant chat.  Students experience all of the same rigors and demand of a live classroom, and are able to ask questions of their instructor in real time during each lesson, as well as interact with their fellow peers!

Kaplan’s programs have helped millions of students get into the school of their choice, and we hope to help more Texas juniors succeed on the road to college. We appreciate your help in making students aware of this special offer, as we know your students will benefit from participating in Kaplan’s SAT and ACT Live Online program.  Students interested in enrolling in this program can do so at www.kaptest.com/college, using promotion code TXSATPREP for SAT or TXACTPREP for ACT, between now and May 1.

We are proud of the fact that this year alone, we have helped thousands of students get into their top choice schools, and with your help, we look forward to helping many more.

What will computers look like in the future?

Agenda: Week of Monday, April 19th - Friday, April 23rd 2010

Quote of the Week:  Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good.  ~Joe Paterno

AGENDA:

Monday - Watch class interviews of Road Trip Nation.

Tuesday - Tutoring

Wed/Thu - Tutoring first 1/2 of period; then we will finish watching Road Trip Nation interviews from class (or the original RTN documentary - we are about 1/2 finished with it)

Friday - Socratic Seminar over this text:  http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/envelope-bose-5/?pagemode=print "Mom, We Did It!" An article from "The Choice" from NYTimes.

Arizona plane

What else would a plane look like in arizona?  :)  on my way home.  Can't wait.

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Great day in San Diego

Looking forward to coming home.  We had a great time.  Met some terrific people.

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A great day - AVID Staff Developer Training - San Diego

I have been looking forward to this day for over 3 years.  Today I officially became a national AVID Staff Developer.  Now I can give back to teachers just like I was supported these past few years.
Very excited about this whole new world of opportunity and I can't thank everyone enough.
My students, parents, principals, colleagues, and district have always believed in me.  But mostly the thanks goes to my best friend and most supportive force in my life - my beautiful wife.  Thank you honey.  Can't wait to see you and Aidan.

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Avid staff developer training

Having a great time and meeting wonderful people in San Diego.

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Saturday Service to the Community - ECOBOT Competition

Location is at Reliant Center.

The bus will leave from Maplebrook Elementary at 7:20 Saturday morning.


There are three elementary teachers riding the bus. Ms. Isbell, Mr. Jeffery, and asst. principal April Maldonado. Please give these teachers your names and cell phone numbers. If your parents decided to pick you up early, they must locate one of these teachers to let them know. The busses will depart immediately after the awards ceremony.

District champ

Our tennis queen Olivia!

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Monday Motivation: "How to Train Your Cat"

We'll watch this video on Monday.  I find it inspirational that my cat loves to play as much as she does.  We can learn a lot from Suki.

Agenda: Week of April 5 - April 9, 2010

Quote of the Week:
"People are in a rush to start their lives, and it's sad...the rest of their lives, they're working at something they don't enjoy." - Al Merrick, Founder of Channel Islands Surfboards.


Monday:
First we'll write our Goal of the Week and we'll do it in our Road Trip Nation groups.  This will give groups a chance to touch base on where they are at in terms of RTN interviews.  Then we will read a blog posting by Anne Paik about the college application process:
APRIL 4, 2010, 7:30 AM A Sheaf of Rejections, But Still ‘Fabulous’  By ANNE PAIK
After reading and discussing her blog posting, we'll watch a tv interview with the writer that created "The Choice" on New York Times.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Tuesday:
Tutoring


Wed/Thursday:
Tutoring and Road Trip Nation Interviews.  We'll watch the Road Trip Nation interviews that have been completed so far.  Great job everyone!
If we have a gap in them, or finish them all, we will 
watch a finished Road Trip interview from the RTN Youtube site from Hoover High. 



About the video:  Hoover High School AOIT students embark on their own Roadtrip Nation projects.  Roadtrip Nation has evolved into a PBS series, three books, an online community, and a student movement. We send people on the road who are interested in exploring the world outside their comfort zone, talking with individuals who chose to define their own road in life, and sharing their experiences with our generation.


Friday:
We will spend the period writing our Life Goal rough drafts.  If there is any time at the end of the period, we'll see a portion of a group's Road Trip Nation video. 

Thanks to Ms. Diaz and Invisible Children

My classes want to say thank you to Ms. Diaz and the Invisible Children club for inviting us to the PAC this last week.  It was an incredible experience.

Pictures from Wednesday, March 31, 2010