End of the Year!

It is hard for me to believe that in a few short days another year will have passed by. I am grateful for each of the students and families I get to work with. One of the perks of my job is not having to say goodbye to students after a certain subject or class is done, but rather sticking with them throughout their school career. Even though many students minds are likely now set to summer vacation, there are some important things that still need to happen before May 17:

1. At the May 7 board meeting it was decided that my position will be K-12 next year rather than 6-12. This will impact all three buildings. I am currently in the process of putting together a couple of different sample schedules. In the fall a letter with a copy of my weekly schedule will be sent home to all ELP families within the district. As much as possible core programming will remain intact.
2. ALL high school Post Secondary Enrollment Option and/or Iowa Online AP Academy decisions and registrations must be made by Thursday, May 17.
3. I am very happy to report that I will be teaching one section of AP US History at the high school this fall! This is largely dependent on interested students. I will be working with Mr. Jones these next two weeks to speak with students and put together a tentative class list.
4. Secondary class placement discussions and decisions are happening right now. I am working with all content teachers between the middle and high school to make sure TAG students are place in the appropriate classes.
5. I have still have some time left to meet with any eighth grader who still needs to develop their four-year plan for high school.
6. If you interested in what summer opportunities are available to TAG students from institutions across the country please let me know.
7. High school students should consider taking the ACT or SAT over the summer even if college is still a ways off.
8. FIRST LEGO League applications for the 2012-13 team will be available once school resumes in August.

I hope everyone has an exciting summer planned and returns rested and ready to learn in August!

Letter to Your Representative Response

I am happy to report that Representative Kim Pearson (R-42) sent hand-written responses to two ELP eighth graders! The students were a little shocked that she had taken the time to write them personally. The students realized that real citizens voicing their concerns and ideas can and will have an impact on their state and community.

College Application Practice

Hello, my name is Dakota and I am in Mr. ST's ELP first hour class. Last Friday we had to choose a college and print off their application requirements and school rules for attendance and stuff like that. I chose to do Harvard. First, I went on Harvard's school website (http://www.harvardschool.com/) and then I clicked on application tab at the top of the web page. There I found a list of requirements and school expectations for that semester and the coming semesters. It was actually really cool that Mr.ST got us thinking about what we needed to do in High School to prepare for our college journey and even further on past that.

We also filled out an application like we would actually have to do in the process of applying to a college or job.  I thought that there were a lot of questions about your parents or even where your parents came from. It was fun to fill it out and basically write a summary of your life in a little packet. We did a lot of stuff like that for him this week and it we really got into the fact that we need to be thinking about college as early as we can to get prepared for the road ahead.

Dakota

College Applications

A current MIT student provides some great tips to remember for juniors and seniors either beginning to narrow down their college choices or in the middle of the application process:

Paul's Top Ten Common-Sense College Application Tips
http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/pauls_top_ten_commonsense_coll

Also, students should remember that many college application resources are available in the ELP room at the high school.

Good luck and don't forget to bring in a poster for my wall!

Letter to Your Representative

This week the sixth and eighth graders in Government and Politics are working on letters to an elected official of their choice. Students worked last week to brainstorm and outline ideas of issues to write about. Students came up with ideas ranging from school funding, road repair, environmental issues, youth curfew, to small businesses in Colfax. It's exciting to see what the next generation of voters cares about!

At the same time, student are learning the proper formal format their letter should be in and practicing supporting a claim with evidence. At the end of the week students' letters will be mailed in-town, to Des Moines or to Washington, D.C. Hopefully each student will hear back from their chosen representative.

FIRST Tech Challenge Regional Qualifier

18 FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams from around Iowa met at the Net Center on the campus of Indian Hills Community
College in Ottumwa on Saturday, January 28^th. This was the second to last regional qualifier for FTC Iowa. “Full Metal,” was only one of two rookie teams in attendance. Both the team and the coach were quite pleased with how we competed in the “robot game.” In our rookie season we managed to outscore eight other teams and finish 10^th overall. As their coach, it has been remarkable to watch the team overcome challenges and experience breakthroughs as they worked together to rack up the most points in this year’s game “Bowled Over.”

Students were required to design, build, and program a unique robot to perform specific tasks for this year's challenge. It was wonderful to watch the sheer amount of academic and personal growth that took place over the season (August-January). By the arrival of our regional qualifier, every student on the team had overcome something he or she once though impossible. This is the true meaning of the competition to build perseverance and dedication within each and every student.

I am already beginning to plan for next year's season. During spring semester there will be a robotics club at the high school where students can learn the details of this international engineering competition. Students are already itching to start on next year’s challenge!

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc

New Year

I hope everyone enjoyed their time off and spent it with family and friends. Many exciting things are on the spring horizon. Soon at the middle school, I will start a robotics club for students interested in LEGO League next fall. This way students can begin to build the necessary skills to successfully compete. Once again, I will be collaborating with Mr. McCloud and Mr. Naeve on the National Social Studies League. At the high school, four high school students will compete in the Iowa High School Battle of the Books and two students are working on essays to attend the World Food Prize's Iowa Youth Institute in April. At the end of January, six students will compete at the First Tech Challenge Regional Qualifier in Ottumwa. I hope as we get a clearer budget picture heading into the fall, that my proposal to add one section of Advanced Placement US History will become reality. 

As we look towards the end of school in May, there are couple things to keep in mind:

• I will be meeting with all TAG 8th graders to work with them on their four year plans for high school.
• PSEO deadlines for 2012-13 depend on the school (Iowa, DMACC, Drake).
• Students interested in an Iowa Online Advanced Placement Academy course will likely need to decide by late March.
• I am here to help all high school TAG students with 2012-13 course selection, whether at CMHS or a PSEO.
• If you are interested in summer enrichment programs available from institutions such as Iowa or Iowa State, please contact me at either building. Many excellent programs are available.

May you have a wonderful new year!