Winter 15 DragonNews - Collierville High School
Transcription
Winter 15 DragonNews - Collierville High School
From our Principal A Collierville High School PTSO Publication Winter 2015 CHS DRAGON NEWS Collierville High School Community! It is exciting to realize that we have completed our first semester in our new municipal school system and that semester two is underway! Collierville High School is blessed with incredible students, engaged parents, and supportive community members. I would like to take this opportunity to share some of the impressive happenings at CHS. Our student body, led by our Student Government Association, adopted 100 Angel Tree children this past December! A special thank you to our students for impacting the lives of these children. I am thankful and proud to announce that our faculty and staff PTSO membership is 100%! Our PTSO is intentionally committed to support our students, teachers, and community. We appreciate the impact they are having at CHS. The continued support from our community is astounding. The Collierville Education Foundation awarded $13,276.80 to our teachers through grants! Thank you to CEF for generously supporting our students and teachers. A few weeks ago, our faculty and staff voted Ms. Marina Brashear as the Collierville High School Teacher of the Year. Ms. Brashear is a dedicated teacher who works in our Department for Exceptional Children. She is a remarkable educator and essential member of our staff. As we begin the second semester, there will be several important events and activities taking place spring sports, course selections for next school year, theatre productions, EOC and AP testing, and many other programs. I encourage you to stay involved by checking our school’s webpage regularly. Thank you for your continual support. It is truly great to be a Dragon! Respectfully, Chip Blanchard Important Update of CHS Attendance Policies *NEW PROCEDURE: Please complete an absence note and send with your child upon return. A pdf of an Absence Note can be found on the school’s website. ABSENCES FROM SCHOOL Parents are asked to call the Attendance Office the morning their student is absent and explain the reason for the absence. If the parent does not call the day of the absence, a parent note will be required from the student when he/she returns to school. Without a call or a note upon returning to school, the absence will remain unexcused. In cases of 10 unexcused absences, the student will be required to produce a doctor’s note to excuse any subsequent absences. Students who are absent from school are ineligible to participate in extracurricular activities held after school on the date of the absence. District policy determines if the absence will be recorded as excused or unexcused. Unexcused absences will result in zeroes for all class work missed during the absence. A student has 48 hours to return a parent/doctor note or the absence will remain unexcused. ALTERNATIVE ABSENCES If a student is going to be absent (2 days max.) for extenuating circumstances (mission trip, college tryouts, etc.), they may apply for an excused absence through the Attendance Office. The application must be completed a week prior to the absence. If the principal approves the absence, all requirements listed on the form must be completed for the absence to become excused. Failure to complete the requirements will result in an unexcused absence. ILLNESS DURING THE SCHOOL DAY If your child becomes too ill to stay at school, it is required that the parent or the parent’s designee comes to the Attendance Office to sign the student out. This is for the safety of students who are too ill to stay at school. NO EXECPTIONS. Continued on page 4 COUNSELORS’ CORNER Important Dates Thursday, January 29 from 5-7 pm: Thursday, January 29 from 6-8 pm: Thursday, February 12 from 3-6 pm: Thursday, February 26 at 6:00 pm: Tuesday, March 3: Tuesday, March 3 at 5:30 pm: AP/Honors Fair in CHS PE Gym 8th Grade Open House Parent/Teacher Conferences Honor Academy Senior Banquet at Collierville First Baptist Church Junior ACT Day MANDATORY TN Promise meeting in Auditorium Calling All Junior Parents The statewide junior ACT date will be on Tuesday, March 3 and we will need all the volunteers we can get for the picnic that is provided after testing concludes. Be on the lookout for a postcard for ways you can get involved. Tennessee Promise Tennessee Promise offers two years of tuition-free community or technical college to Tennessee high school graduates. Over 180 CHS seniors have taken advantage of this phenomenal opportunity. Way to go Dragons! A TN Achieves regional coordinator met with eligible seniors on Thursday, December 11, and each student received the TN Promise handbook at this meeting. Eligible students attended the first of two mandatory meetings on Thursday, January 8. Eligible students are also required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Air (FAFSA) and apply to a community or technical school by Sunday, February 15, 2015. Kudos from the Counselors Congratulations to the Commercial Appeal Academic All-Star Weekly winners so far! Roger Li - General Scholarship Christopher Dufour - Foreign Language Jake McCutcheon - Drama & Speech Sabrina Curley - Music Anna Raheem - General Scholarship Swathi Ganesh - Science Laura Lester - Art 2014 PSAT PSAT scores will be distributed during a homeroom during January. Be looking for these at home if your student took the test. Students who take a challenging course load each year most often become members of the ACT 30 and Above Club and are recognized as National Merit Scholarship participants. The PSAT taken during the junior year is used for the National Merit program so honors level freshmen and sophomores are encouraged to take the test as practice. PSAT’s online program offers helpful hints concerning test preparation and college and career planning. Attention Seniors: Graduation Program Scholarship List Has your child been offered a scholarship? We need a copy of ALL scholarship award letters, even if your student will not be accepting the scholarship. Scholarships are listed in the graduation program and we only know about them if we receive a copy of the letter. All award letters should be given to Mrs. Taylor in the Guidance Office and she will make a copy of them. Scholarship award letters must be turned in by Friday, April 17 to guarantee their inclusion in the graduation program. HOPE Scholarship Changes Students with a cumulative weighted GPA of 3.0 or higher OR a minimum composite ACT of 21 or higher are eligible for the HOPE Scholarship. NEW: Students attending four year institutions can receive up to $1,750 per full-time enrollment semester as a freshman and sophomore; then up to $2,250 per full-time enrollment semester as a junior and senior. Students attending a two-year institution can receive up to $1,500 per full time enrollment semester as a freshman and sophomore. CHS Counselors Last Names A-Co: Pat Bell, [email protected] Last Names Cr-He: Kristy Krotzer, [email protected] Last names Hi-Me: Carolyn Comella, [email protected] Last Names Mi-Sh: Jani Smith, [email protected] Last names: Si-Z: Courtney Wall, [email protected] 8th Grade Transition: Jerri Czosek, [email protected] Page 2 CHS DRAGON NEWS Winter 2015 From our Vice Principal It’s hard to believe that the first semester has ended! This has truly been a wonderful school year so far, and we are looking forward to the spring semester. Course selections for the 2015-2016 school year will begin in early February. Counselors will meet with all students individually in order to determine which courses best fit their needs. The course selection sheets will come home to you for your approval. Your feedback and involvement in this process are integral to your child’s success. AP Fees were due November 25. If you have not yet paid, please do so as soon as possible. There is a link on our school’s website to pay online through PayPal. You can also send in a check to Lisa Toldi in the main office. Please write your child’s name and his/her AP classes in the memo section. AP fees are due for both fall and spring semester classes. Remember that the best way to be involved in your child’s education is to check Powerschool, our school website, and teacher websites daily. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us anytime. Sincerely, Brandi Hynes Congratulations to Coca-Cola Scholars Semifinalists Congratulations to Anna and Anne Raheem for being selected as semifinalists in the Coca-Cola Scholars Program! The Raheem sisters will each receive a $20,000 scholarship if selected as finalists. The Coca-Cola Scholars program is reserved for 150 applicants nationwide. CHS Alumni Association Scholarships The CHS Alumni Association (CHSAA) will be awarding $20,000 in scholarships to graduating Seniors. CHSAA is very excited to announce the expansion of the number of scholarships it will award to the 2015 graduating class. This expansion will give more students the opportunity to be granted a scholarship. The ‘new’ scholarships will be three (3) Technical School Book/Tool Scholarships and six (6) Collierville Alumni Scholarships. Each Technical School Book/Tool scholarship awarded will be $500.00 to the school of choice for books or tool purchases and each Collierville Alumni Scholarship awarded will be $1000.00 to the school of choice. Get more information regarding these and other CHSAA scholarships available on the CHS website and/or the CHS guidance office. We are so pleased to support the Class of 2015! Go Dragons! The Alumni Association The Hospitality Committee is Looking for YOU! Do you enjoy baking, cooking for a crowd, entertaining, or just want to be more involved with the high school? Then the HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE is looking for YOU! There are opportunities to bake, donate, and serve every month. You can be as involved as you like. If you would like to BE INVOLVED with the school, we have the simplest of ways to do so - by sending in food items - either store bought or homemade OR by donating time - serving at one of the meals we offer our staff during the school year. Please consider joining the HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE today! Contact Beverly Stopher at [email protected] for more information. CHS Publicity Please send any “newsworthy" photos and/or stories about our students, faculty or school to Amy Murrah at [email protected] to be submitted to the local newspapers! Let’s keep the great things going on at our school in the SPOTLIGHT! Remember to include the names of people in the picture as well as details about the event. Winter 2015 CHS DRAGON NEWS Page 3 Continued from front page CHECK OUTS FOR DOCTOR’S APPOINTMENTS (MONDAY-THURSDAY) A driving student may sign out without a parent coming to school for a doctor’s appointment if the following two requirements are met: 1. The student brings a note from a parent explaining the check out and the time the student is to leave. 2. The parent calls the Attendance Office prior to the check out to verify the note. Without the note and phone verification the student will not be allowed to leave school. ALL check outs for doctor’s appointments will be excused only after the student brings to the Attendance Office a “return to school” note from the doctor’s office upon returning to school. FRIDAY CHECK OUTS Due to the excessive number of checkouts on Fridays, a parent will be required to come to the Attendance Office to sign the student out of school. Notes, faxes, or phone calls will not be accepted for Friday checkouts. LATE CHECK IN Attendance is taken at the beginning of each class period daily. Students who arrive to school after 7:10 AM are required to check in through the Attendance Office immediately upon entering the campus. Failure to follow this procedure will result in disciplinary action. A parent must sign in students who arrive after 7:10 AM. CHECKING IN WITHOUT A PARENT If a student checks in late to school, the student can avoid receiving a tardy provided a parent calls the Attendance Office prior to the student’s arrival explaining the reason for the late arrival and the time we can expect the student to arrive. Saturday School may be assigned for being tardy to school if a parent does not call or accompany the student. COLLEGE VISITS Seniors are allowed two excused absences for college visits. A college visit permission form must be picked up from the Attendance Office one week prior to the visit. This form must be signed by the counselor, a parent, and all the student’s teachers and turned in to Attendance at least one day prior to the college visit. Juniors are allowed one college visit day after verification that they have taken the ACT and the Guidance Department has received the score. Juniors in the Honor Graduate Program receive two college days. An eligible college visit must include an appointment with a school official and signed documentation to verify the visit. MAKE-UP POLICY Students are given one day for make-up for each day of school missed if the absence is due to an excusable absence (gold slip). Legacy Walk “Our Foundation” In an ongoing effort to raise funds for scholarships, the Collierville High School Alumni Assocation (CHSAA) has embarked on a fundraiser that will provide funds and enhance the look of the school. We have replaced a section of concrete at the school’s entrance to the building with laser engraved commemorative pavers honoring our alumni. What better way to remember and honor a relative or friend than to have their name engraved in a place of prominence along with fellow classmates? The cost of the pavers is $50 each, or $45 for multiples. To order, call CHS at 853-3310. Thank you in advance for your support! For the latest information about the Collierville School district, including school board meetings, agendas and minutes, careers with the district, school calendars, and more go to www.colliervilleschools.org. Booster Clubs, sponsors, teachers, parents: Please send news, pictures, and information for the Spring Dragon News to Kim Pappas at [email protected] by March 9. Newsletter will be published electronically after Spring Break. Page 4 CHS DRAGON NEWS Winter 2015 Support STEM/TSA Send Roses and Candy to sons and daughters, couples and crushes! Roses will be delivered during 1st period on February 12th. Turn in completed Order Form to Main Office (Attn: Ms Brasher) by Jan 30, 2015. Checks can be made payable to CHS. Rose color meanings: Yellow = For friends/family Pink = I have a Crush! Red = I’m in Love! Blue = Secret Admirer One Rose $3 Half Dozen Roses (6) $16 One Dozen Roses (12) $30 Total $ Yellow Rose ____________ ________________________ _________________________ ______ Pink Rose ____________ ________________________ _________________________ ______ Red Rose ____________ ________________________ _________________________ ______ Half Dozen Roses (6) $20 One Dozen Roses (12) $35 Total $ One Rose $4 Blue Rose ____________ ________________________ _________________________ ______ FREE One (1) Chocolate/Candy Bar (with the purchase of any rose package) $1.50 each additional candy bar Extremes Sour Candy Kit Kat Chocolate Bar Reese’s Peanut Butter Skittles Snickers Chocolate Bar Total Total for Roses and Additional Candy: Delivery Information: To: 1st Period: From: Note: Memphis In May Student Exchange Program CHS is honored to have been chosen to host Memphis In May's student exchange program! The country being honored for Memphis in May International Festival 2015 is Poland. Collierville High School families are needed to host students from Poland April 13-17 (proposed dates, exact dates TBD). Please find the host application and informational sheet links in the school website. All applications and questions can be directed to the CHS guidance office. Tutoring Live, real-time help online for Math, Science, English, Social Studies and Writing is available 7 days from 4-11 pm at the Collierville Burch Library. Visit the Burch Library at 501 Poplar View Parkway or call 901-457-2600 for more information. Winter 2015 CHS DRAGON NEWS Page 5 Stay Informed! There are many ways to keep up to date with what’s going on at Collierville High School: The CHS website, www.colliervillehs.org, is FULL of information, news, announcements and upcoming events. ‘Like’ the CHS PTSO on Facebook at facebook.com/CHSPTSO and check the website www.colliervilleptso.com. Follow Twitter accounts @CHS_PTSO, @CHSDragons, @cville-schools, @Cville_SGA, @CVilleCrazies, @DracoPlayhouse, @CHSDragonFB, @CHSDragonLax, @CHS_Soccer - just to name a few! Sign up for daily email alerts on PowerSchool. Watch Collierville AM live Monday through Friday at 7:00 am on Comcast Ch 19 or online at www.ustream.tv/channel/chs-tv-collierville-tn. Join the CHS PTSO and be added to our new email distribution to get information sent directly to your inbox. Have a Question? CHS has a dedicated Administrative Staff ready to assist and answer parent questions. Please refer to the information below for administrator areas of responsibility. Chip Blanchard Principal, main office, policies/procedures, budgeting, overall instructional plans Brandi Hynes Vice Principal, curriculum, guidance service, PowerSchool, teacher evaluations Kristi Hancock Asst Principal 9-12 IEP, building text coordinator, oversees special education Dr. Dan Holcomb Asst Principal 9th grade, security, athletics, textbooks, lockers, schedule of events David Matykiewicz Asst Principal 11th/12th grade, attendance, parking, ISS, substitute teachers Lela Williams Asst Principal 10th grade, transportation, clubs, AP testing Email addresses can be found on the school website at www.colliervillehs.org Special Thanks to these CHS Dragon News Sponsors! The sponsorship of these businesses helps the PTSO meet the needs of our students and staff. Please support them whenever possible. 901.850.8351 No Appointment Necessary 853 W. Poplar Collierville, TN 38017 Mon-Fri 8am-8pm Sat & Sun 9am-5pm Would you like to see your ad here and reach over 1500 homes in Collierville while supporting the CHS PTSO? Contact Kim Pappas at [email protected] for sponsorship information. 100% Collierville - Pride in Our Town - Pride in Our School! Page 6 CHS DRAGON NEWS Winter 2015 Beautification Thank You A big “thank you” goes out to Doug Chevalier, Mark Hodges, and Michael Faught from Central Church who helped Sara Hale with installing 4x4 wood edging around the six trees outside the cafeteria. The new edging will not only look beautiful for years to come, but will also stay in place and keep the mulch from going onto the sidewalk. Thank you to Mr. Sawyer’s classes for getting the beds cleaned up, for placing mulch around the school, and for keeping the flowers watered. Project Graduation 2015 Project Graduation is an all night event held at the Collierville Community Center the evening of Graduation. This year the event will be held May 14, 2015. It will begin at 10:00 pm and end at 3:00 am on May 15. Tickets are $35.00 if purchased by March 31 and $40.00 if purchased after. Reservation forms can be picked up in the front office at CHS. Like us on facebook to see photos and comments on last years’ event - Collierville High School Project Graduation. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer with Project Graduation 2015, please contact Karen Conlan at [email protected] or (901) 496-6692. CHS Prom Dress Closet Michelle Kelley is organizing a Prom Dress Closet for young ladies needing a dress to wear to CHS Prom. Dresses can be dropped off at the main office. Watch for more details on the CHS website and Facebook. PTSO Membership Thank You Thank you to all the faculty, parents and students who have joined the PTSO for the 2014-15 school year. Because we don’t fundraise as elementary and middle schools do, your membership fee supports all the PTSO does for the school, faculty, and students such as teacher grants for classroom materials and student scholarships. If you have not joined, it isn’t too late! Contact Julie Sparrow at [email protected] or join online at colliervilleptso.com. Around Collierville Keep an eye on what is going on in our Town! ‘Like’ Town of Collierville on Facebook, follow the town on Twitter @colliervillegov, follow Town of Collierville on Google Plus, watch Channel 19 on Comcast Cable or Channel 99 on AT&T U-verse, and see what is happening in the Board of Mayor and Alderman meetings live or catch up later at Collierville.com/government/live-and-archived-meetings. Live Life Local 38017 - Collierville! CHS Draco Playhouse Theatre Mark your calendar and plan to attend the next production of the CHS Draco Playhouse Theatre. Les Miserables will be performed Thursday, April 16 through Saturday, April 18 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, April 19 at 2:00 pm. Tickets will be $10/$15 and can be purchased at the door, 1101 N Byhalia Road. For more information, contact Mr. Keith Salter at [email protected] or Mrs. Emily Taylor at [email protected] or call (901) 853-3310. Winter 2015 CHS DRAGON NEWS Page 7 COLLIERVILLE HIGH SCHOOL NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION CHS PTSO NEWSLETTER U.S. POSTAGE PAID 1101 N. BYHALIA RD COLLIERVILLE, TN 38017 COLLIERVILLE, TN 38017 PERMIT #80 To the Parents of or Current Resident Calendar At A Glance JANUARY 25-31 29 30 School Board Appreciation Week AP/Honors Fair 5-7pm 8th Grade Open House 6-8pm FEBRUARY 7 12 12 13 26 ACT Test Parent/Teacher Conferences Professional Development Day-No School for Students SAT Registration deadline Honor Academy Senior Banquet 6:00pm MARCH 3 4 13 14 16-20 26 Junior ACT Test/Picnic TN Promise Meeting 5:30-7pm ACT Registration deadline SAT Test Spring Break CEF Bowl-a-thon APRIL 3 6 16-18 18 Good Friday - No School SAT Registration Les Miserables ACT Test For a complete calendar of events at CHS, including details on athletic, academic, and fine art events, log on to www.colliervillehs.org and click on the calendar link. Also follow @CHSDragons and @CHS_PTSO on Twitter. Chip Blanchard, Principal Follow on Twitter at @CHSDragons Inside This Issue Attendance Policies Beautification CHSAA Scholarship CHS Draco Playhouse Counselors’ Corner Dragon News Sponsors From Our Principal From The Vice Principal Hospitality Legacy Walk Memphis in May Project Graduation Publicity Stay Informed Tutoring Valentine Roses Order Form front 7 3 7 2 6 front 3 3 4 5 7 3 6 5 5 Serena Heilman, PTSO President www.colliervilleptso.com