April 2016 - Albemarle County Public Schools

Albemarle High School
Newsletter
April 2016
Principal’s Message
Table of Contents
Principal’s Message
1
Contact Information
2
Important Dates
2
Student and Staff Kudos
2–5
Niche Ranks AHS Top 5%
6
Guidance and Year End News
7
Student Tellers at AHS Branch
8
Dear Parents and Guardians,
What an exciting year this has been! With each passing year, I remain amazed at the
collective talent and abilities of our student body and staff. With their youthful
eagerness and determination, our wonderfully creative and dynamic students
reinvigorate this school’s commitment to invest ourselves in them every day. No less
amazing is the broad support of parents and guardians like you. Your input and help
is invaluable to the collective success of Albemarle High School.
AHS is the largest high school in the area. Its sheer numbers equates to a diversity of
talents, abilities, ethnicity, religions, cultures and experiences that make this an
exciting school beyond academics. This diversity cultivates the tolerance of
differences, of new ideas; ultimately, it begets a more tolerant world of people. It also
reflects the changes not only within our state, but also within our country and the
world. We are a great school on many levels. Our programs are diverse and offer a
challenging variety of opportunities on a multitude of levels for our student body.
Recently, AHS was one of the high schools ranked by Niche in the top five percent
of the nation’s “Smartest Public High Schools.” This title is earned from hard work
and a continuous commitment to see that all students leave AHS better prepared to
meet the challenges of their changing world ahead. I could not be prouder of our
students and our staff for being the primary reason we are such a great school.
Inside this newsletter you will find important information about the upcoming senior
graduation as well as other end of school activities and dates. Much of this
information is also available on our website and through the Guidance Department.
Please be sure to check out the articles on group and individual student awards and
honors this last quarter as well. It’s just one of the many qualities reflective of our
students and staff that helps to make our school great.
Jay Thomas,
Principal
Congratulations to the AHS Rowing Team champions at the VA State Rowing
Championship: Women's LWT 2x, Men's 2x, men's LWT 2x, Men's 4x! Women's
4x was second and Women’s LWT 2x move on to the Nationals!
Page 2 ~ April 2016
Albemarle High School
AHS Crew Team Wins
Nine Races at Williams
Warf
Contact Information
Main Office 975-­‐9300 Main Fax 974-­‐4335 Athletics 974-­‐4308 Attendance 974-­‐4310 Community Ed 975-­‐9450 Guidance 974-­‐4321 Important Dates
AP Exams 5/2-­‐13 SOLS 5/4-­‐20 STAMP Testing 5/5-­‐ 6 Senior Exams 5/18-­‐20 Senior Movie/Picnic 5/23 SOL M akeups 5/18-­‐ 6/7 School Closed –Holiday 5/30 Graduation JPJ at 7 p.m. 5/31 Last Day of School 6/7 Men's Lightweight Double – Hugh
Rickard and Jake Pierce
Men's LWT Single – Hugh Rickard
Men's Heavyweight Single - David Braatz
Men's Quad - Graham Haynie, Clark
Benham, John Wray, Will Banner
Women's Single - Sara Cliborne
Women's Double - Lydia Eisenberg,
Sara Cliborne
Women's LWT Double- Rachel Lloyd,
Erin O'Hara
Women's A Quad - Emmy Wuensch, Kat
Seitz, Eliza MacKnight, Lydia Eisenberg
Women's B Quad - Rachel Lloyd, Sara
Cliborne, Ellie Forney, Erin O'hara
AHS Indoor Track
Wins Conference 16
Championship
Congratulations to Coach Nagel, the
AHS Indoor Track coaches, and our
athletes. The girls indoor track team
won the Conference 16 Championship
this year! Coach Nagel stated as long as
he has been part of the program for the
past 11 years this is the first time the
girls have won a conference (formerly
district) championship. We are proud
to congratulate the boys AHS Indoor
Track team who finished a respectable
second place! GO Patriots, you rock!
Scholastic Arts and
Writing Awards
Charlotte Wood and the following
Region-At-Large AHS Creative Writing
students were honored at the Scholastic
Art and Writing Awards.
Kamryn Crossman, Honorable Mention,
Portfolio
Rosemarie Fabrizio, Honorable Mention,
Portfolio
Luke Henter, Honorable Mention,
Portfolio, Silver Key, Flash Fiction,
"Among the Trees"
Silver Key, Poetry, "You Could Never
Stay Silent for Long"
Gold Key, Poetry, "How Masks Were
Invented"
Becky Lake, Honorable Mention, Essay,
"Forgotten Piece of Me"
Katie Martin, Honorable Mention,
Portfolio
Marie Ungar, Honorable Mention,
Poetry, "Our Fading Wonderings"
Silver Key, Flash Fiction, "Count the
Raindrops"
Silver Key, Flash Fiction, "When the
Wind Blows"
Silver Key, Short Story, "Just Pretend"
Silver Key, Poetry, "Primitive"
Gold Key, Flash Fiction, "Four
Thousand Minutes"
Gold Key, Short Story, "Out of the
Cracks"
Gold Key, Poetry, "Eidetic and Blind"
AHS Creative Writing
Students Recognized
Congratulations to Charlotte Wood and
our Creative Writing students who
received recognition in Writer’s Eye
2015 literary competition. Among the
1,821 entries three students and one
staff member from AHS were
recognized:
Sabryn Dotson – First Place, Poetry
Baylina Pu – Honorable Mention, Prose
Kayleigh McCoy – First Place, Prose
Charlotte Wood – Honorable Mention,
Adult Prose
Job Opportunity for Students
The UVA Community Credit Union is
eager to hire a new trio of Albemarle
High School students to staff our
Patriot Pride branch! The application
deadline is May 20, 2016; and
interviews will be held between May
26th and May 27th. See the back page
of this newsletter for detailed
information on applying.
Page 3 ~ April 2016
Albemarle High School
Staff and Student Accomplishments
Zainab “Ayoade” Balogun
Awarded Virginia / D.C.
NCWIT Award for
Aspirations in Computing
The award, sponsored by the
National Center for Women &
Information Technology (NCWIT)
and the VA/DC Affiliate, recognizes
young high school women for their
computing-related achievements and
interests as part of an effort to
encourage more young women to
choose careers in technology.
A total of 25 award-winners were
selected from high schools across the
Virginia and Washington D.C. area
for their outstanding aptitude and
interest in information technology
and computing, solid leadership
ability, good academic history, and
plans for post-secondary education.
»
Each award-winner will receive:
an invitation to an awards luncheon
for the winner, her family, and her
endorsing teacher; two engraved
awards, one for the student and one
for her school’s trophy case; company
giveaways provided on behalf of
NCWIT, VA/DC supporters, and
member schools.
"Encouraging young women’s
interest in technology careers is
critical: our workforce needs their
creativity and their innovation,” said
Lucy Sanders, CEO and Co-founder
of NCWIT.
“Albemarle High School is proud
that one of its own students received
this prestigious award, and would
also like to congratulate Hojung
“Rachel” Park, 2016 VA and DC
Affiliate Competition Runner Up,
and Cherry Wang, 2016 National
Award Competition Runner-Up,”
said Buffie Holley, AP Computer
Science Teacher at AHS. “During
her junior year, I was able to know
Ayoade better. I was quickly struck
by how well rounded she is and she
is such a wonderful young lady. She
has received a lot of accolades and
recognitions this year; this is just the
beginning of a wonderful future she
will have. She is one of those
students that I know will forge a path
to help many others and we will hear
a lot more about her throughout the
course of her career.”
“Simply put she is one of the finest
students I have ever had the privilege
to know,” said Jay Thomas,
Principal at AHS. “Albemarle High
School continues to offer computing
as part of its curriculum, recognizing
its value to students’ future success.”
“This is the fourth year in a row that
AHS has had a State or National
NCWIT winner, and I am excited for
the future as our AP Computer
Science program continues to pick up
STEAM,” said Buffie Holley.
Albemarle High School is a learning
community that inspires all students
to pursue their dreams, becoming
lifelong learners and responsible
citizens in a global society.
The National Center for Women &
Information Technology (NCWIT)
works to correct the imbalance of
gender diversity in technology and
computing because gender diversity
positively correlates with a larger
workforce, better innovation, and
increased business performance.
Increasing the number of women in
technology and computing also has
the potential to improve the design
of products and services to better
serve a more diverse population, and
increase economic and social wellbeing by providing more women
with stable and lucrative careers.
Find out more at
https://www.ncwit.org/
AHS Students First High
School Students to Have
i.Lab Venture Accepted
Seniors Rheisen Dennis and Tyler
Cosgrove have been participants in
Alexis Mason's annual AHS
Entrepreneur Workshop. They have
just been selected to participate in
the W. L. Lyons Brown III
Innovation Lab’s Summer 2016
Class at the i.Lab at UVA Batten
School of Business. They are the
first high school students to ever
have a venture accepted since the
i.Lab has been in operation. They
competed against more than 50 other
ventures that were pitched and
nearly 100 applicants to the
program.
Junior Hayden Davis Wins
Shakespeare Competition
Hayden won first place in the English
Speaking Union's Shakespeare
Competition. The event was held at
the Black Friars Shakespeare Center in
Staunton. Hayden went on to compete
at the Lincoln Center in New York
City on May 1-3. He also will receive a
$500 scholarship to attend the Summer
Shakespeare Institute in Staunton this
upcoming summer.
Page 4 ~ April 2016
Albemarle High School
Staff and Student Accomplishments
AHS Team 19: Rapid
Innovation in Public School
Inspired by the documentary Most
Likely to Succeed, leaders at Albemarle
High School have rapidly adopted
progressive approaches to education
through integrated learning and real
world application with impressive
results. The link to this brief
documentary below explores the
wonderful work that our students and
staff are producing in TEAM 19.
This is a major game changer for
many of our students. In fact, One
Potato Production was here for three
weeks filming the work of the
students and staff for a longer
documentary. Please follow the link
below to check out this exciting
innovative program at AHS:
https://vimeo.com/152765275
AHS State Track
Champions
Congratulations to our State Champion
4x800 State track team.
Haley Dillenbeck, Ryann Helmers,
Kathryn Mayo, & Lauren Hughlett
finished in a school record time of
9:34.33. Way to go Patriots! Later,
Kathryn Mayo became the State
Champion in the 1000m!
AHS Wins State
Sportsmanship Award
The AHS boys basketball team, who
finished with their highest rank in
history this year, and the AHS cheering
section were recognized with the state
sportsmanship award. What an
awesome recognition for our amazing
young men and women at AHS!
Above: an AHS Team 19 member immersed in innovative learning through this pilot
program. To hear Principal Jay Thomas’ live interview with WINA radio. Click here.
AHS Swim Team Wins
Conference and Second
Place in States competition
Congratulations to swim coaches JJ
Bean, Abby Kirkham and to our AHS
swimmers. Early this year our boys
team won first in Conference and the
girls’ team won second. At Regions,
both the girls and boys placed second
with 17 swimmers advanced to the
State competition.
2016 State Championships Results:
AHS Boys: 3rd place Team (201 points)
AHS Girls: 3rd place, Team (195 points)
Girls 200 medley relay:
4th place- A. Huang, M. Jones,
B. Coffindaffer, R. Wang
Boys 200 free:
3rd place- Caleb Smith
Boys 200 IM:
3rd place- Hogan Harper
Girls 50 free:
2nd place- Maggie Woods
Boys 100 fly:
2nd place- Nick Pease
Boys 100 free:
3rd place- Hogan Harper
Boys 200 free relay
3rd place- H. Harper, C. Smith,
J. Robbins, N. Pease
Girls 200 free relay:
4th place- G. Farmar, A. Huang,
M. Jones, M. Woods
Boys 100 back:
2nd place- Nick Pease
Boys 400 free relay:
1st place- Jack Robbins, Caleb Smith,
Nick Pease, Hogan Harper
2015-16 USA SWIMMING
SCHOLASTIC ALL AMERICANS:
Hogan Harper
Jack Robbins
Maggie Woods
Congratulations to AHS
Student Janaya Mott
She became one of five 2016 Minor
Preston Scholars Program Award
Recipients. Janaya and the other
recipients will be recognized by the
Board of Directors of the Minor
Preston Fund on Friday, May 20th
at the Jefferson School City Center.
Page 5 ~ April 2016
Albemarle High School
Staff and Student Accomplishments
AHS Orchestra Awarded
First Place on Cruise
Congratulations to Carrie Finnegan
and the AHS Orchestra who ended
their Music Festivals Cruise with the
First Place trophy and a superior
rating.
variety of topics including science,
eugenics, civil rights, college readiness,
creative writing, and the writing and
publishing process.
The first violin and bass sections won
awards for outstanding sections.
Additionally, Stephen Tan and Alyssa
Jordan were recognized individually as
outstanding musicians.
Katie Martin Wins
Journalism Education
Honor
Katie Martin, Co-Editor-in-Chief of
the AHS Lantern Literary/Art
Magazine, had two magazine spread
designs published in the Summer
2016 edition of the Journalism
Education Association's national
publication, Communication:
Journalism Education Today.
2016 Residential Governor’s
School Programs Invitees
Congratulations to the following
students who have been invited to
attend the 2016 Summer Residential
Governor’s School programs. These
students competed at the school,
division, and state levels against more
than 1000 students across the
Commonwealth of Virginia for
academic and mentorship programs
and 700 nominees for foreign language
programs.
NASA – Mentorship
Ayoade Balogun
Theater – Visual and Performing Arts
Elizabeth Catchings
Cameron Edson
AHS Library Celebrates
VA Festival of the Book
The AHS Library hosted six authors
this year. Over the course of three
days, students shared the opportunity
to meet and hear these authors:
Annabelle Jay, Emilie Raymond,
Winifred Conkling, Laurie Cannady,
Adam Cohen and Granville
Sawyer. The authors focused on a
Agriculture – Academic
Emily Lin
Max Sun
Instrumental – Visual and Performing
Arts
Olivia Hadley (Trombone)
Sean Cha (Classical Guitar)
Humanities – Academic
Allison Humphrey
Foreign Language Academies
German – Natalie Carlson
Latin – David Gazewood
French – Erin O’Hara
Spanish – Hayden Davis (Alt)
Winners of the Tom Tom
Youth Summit
Congratulations to winners of the
Tom Tom Youth Summit Business
Pitch and Social Innovation
Challenge competitions.
Winner - Social Innovation
Challenge
Will Knospe & Hannah Lewis: CAV
619 Robotics-providing K-8 students
with free opportunities to learn
robotics. Their group, CAV619, was
among the 10 finalists who received
awards for their social entrepreneurship ideas.
Winner - Business Pitch
Competition
Kieran Rundle, Emma Umberger, and
Kayleigh McCoy: Sincerely Magazine.
Only two business pitches won
awards, and Sincerely Magazine's
founders will use their award to
improve the quality of their published
magazine and expand their online
platform.
All of the student presenters did a
fantastic job sharing their passion and
expertise in their areas of interest.
Kevin Zong: Aeronautics-Student
Showcase
Nate Carlson, Aiden Hesselroth, Angela
(Cami) Pastore, and Zane Sanders:
Reducing CO2 Emissions-Student
Showcase
Kiernan DiMeglio: Student Showcase
Tyler Cosgrove & Rheisen Dennis: SEAMBusiness Pitch Competition
Thanks to the AHS students who
served on the Tom Tom Student
Advisory Council for putting together
an engaging and purposeful youth
summit: Ayoade Balogun, Rheisen
Dennis, Kiernan DiMeglio, and Douglas
Kulow.
Page 6 ~ April 2016
Albemarle High School
AHS Ranked in Top 5% of Nation’s “Smartest Public High Schools”
Albemarle High School was among
the three Albemarle County’s
public comprehensive high schools
rated in the top five percent of
public high schools in the country
according to Niche, a national
organization that annually analyzes
and ranks the top performing
schools in the nation.
In its ranking of “America’s
Smartest Public High Schools,”
Niche used a combination of
school climate measures, student
test scores and input from parents
to determine its rankings. Among
the data points the survey
incorporated were academic
performance, health and safety
data, student culture and diversity,
sports, fitness and extracurricular
programs, resources and facilities
and teaching excellence.
Western Albemarle and Monticello
each earned five “A’s” among the
seven data point categories that
were evaluated, while Albemarle
earned four “A’s.” Both Western
Albemarle and Albemarle received
an A+ for academic achievement
and an A for teaching. Monticello
also had the highest score among
the schools for overall high school
experience as reported by students
and parents.
“These are first-class results and a
tribute to teamwork among staff,
teachers and parents at all three of
our comprehensive high schools,”
said Dr. Matthew Haas, the school
division’s deputy superintendent.
“They certainly track with our ontime graduation rate of 95 percent,
our very low drop-out rate of 2.2
percent and the consistent
outperformance of our students
against their peers on the SATs
both within the state and across the
nation,” Dr. Haas said.
The school division strategic goal
states, “all students will graduate
having actively mastered the
lifelong-learning skills they need to
succeed as 21st century learners,
workers and citizens.” Among the
five objectives in achieving this goal
are to engage every student, to
improve opportunity and
achievement, to create and expand
partnerships, to optimize resources
and to implement balanced
assessments of student learning.
“As we work towards this goal for
every student, it is helpful to
benchmark our methods and
progress against other school
divisions in Virginia and across the
nation,” Dr. Haas pointed out.
“That’s the value of analyses such
as this one by Niche. Our students
are going to be competing for
admission to colleges of their
choice and to career paths that
appeal to them once they graduate
from our schools. The Niche
survey is useful in that it suggests
how competitive we are as a school
division and points to areas where
we need to continue to improve,”
he added.
Western Albemarle, Albemarle and
Monticello high schools all were
among the top 1,000 of the nation’s
23,861 public high schools. Among
Virginia’s 327 public high schools,
Western Albemarle was ranked
22nd; Albemarle was ranked 27th
and Monticello was 36th. The
complete survey is accessible at
http://www.educationdive.com/n
ews/niche-issues-2016-rankings-ofamericas-smartest-public-highschools-1/416600/
Don’t miss Principal Thomas’
interview and commentary live on
WRNA.
It’s SPRING! No surer sign than
Ms. Webber’s science room where
science projects abound.
Page 7 ~ April 2016
Albemarle High School
Administrative,
Guidance Counseling,
and Year End
and
Information
Student Services
Important Information for
Seniors and their Families
Since May 17 is the last day of
classes for our seniors before they
take their exams beginning on May
18, we are closing in on the last
couple of weeks of school for
seniors. We wanted to take this
opportunity to share some
important end of year information
as it related to graduation, senior
night, and other senior information.
Additionally, we need your help in
collecting very important
information from you about
graduation participation,
scholarships and awards, senior
night RSVP, and final transcript
notifications. We require all of this
information to help us plan for
these end of year events that help us
celebrate with you. This information is due by Wednesday, May
18.
Please click here to access the
slideshow that will share all of our
information with you as well as
collect the required information
from you. There are three places in
the slideshow that require
information from you:
1. Graduation Student RSVP and
Expectations
In addition, this digital slideshow
will be available as a link shared in
multiple places for you to access:
our website, an email notification,
counseling and AHS twitter feeds,
and our Patriot Progress enewsletter. If you do not have
access to this slideshow or if you
have any questions, please contact
the school counseling office at
974-4321.
We look forward to celebrating this
exciting time with you.
Upward Bound Applications
The University of Virginia’s Upward
Bound Program applications are
available for interested students.
Please see your school counselor if
interested.
College Information Session
Join Brown, Chicago, Columbia,
Cornell and Rice for an
information session for
prospective students and their
families. Sessions include a brief
overview of each institution,
information on admissions and
financial aid, and a chance to
speak informally with admissions
representatives. You must register
to attend Richmond, VA Wednesday, May 18, 2016 @
7:00pm. Click here for details.
2. Senior Information Sheet – Class
of 2016
National Preservation Week
May 15-21
3. Senior Night RSVP
This is sponsored by the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), which
describes this event as “an annual
health observance dedicated to
increasing public awareness of
substance abuse and mental health
It is important that you view the
slideshow in its entirety so that you
not only access all of the
information but that you also
respond to all of the required
information we need from each
senior by Wednesday, May 18.
issues [with an intention] to [bring]
individuals, organizations,
coalitions, states, and communities
together through local events to
educate the public about the
importance of preventing substance
abuse and mental disorders before
they occur.”
This year’s events will take place
during the week of May 16 – May
20. All events are free of charge
and open to the public, though
several require registration, so
reserve your seat early.
http://www.youchoosecville.com
Summer Opportunities
STEM and ART Summer
Academies at PVCC-STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering,
Math) and Arts Enrichment
Academies are offered at PVCC and
at other off-site partner locations
(3rd-9th Grade). Click the link below:
PVCC-STEM
Summer Programs at The
Naval Academy
Click here for more information
Tech Camp @ STAB
Tech Camp @ STAB has a wide
variety of camps this summer for
rising 9th through 12th graders,
including Computer Graphics,
Minecraft Modding, Filmmaking,
Programming in C++/Python and a
2-week CS Academy. Scholarships
available.
STAB summer-programs link
Page 8 ~ April 2016
Albemarle High School
The Albemarle High School
newsletter is a publication of
Albemarle County Public
Schools. It is published
quarterly and distributed to all
Albemarle High School families.
Student Tellers – Patriot Pride Student Branch
Albemarle County Public
Schools does not discriminate on
the basis of race, color, religion,
age, sex, disability, national
origin, pregnancy, or marital
status. Questions or concerns
regarding compliance with the
School Division's
nondiscrimination policies may
be directed to:
Director of Human Resources
401 McIntire Road
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Phone: (434)296.5827
Title IX of the Educational
Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C.
§§ 1691 et seq., prohibits
discrimination on the basis of
sex in educational programs or
activities receiving federal funds,
including discrimination in
employment and student
admissions. All Albemarle
County Public Schools students,
applicants, and employees are
covered by this law. For
questions or concerns regarding
Title IX, please contact:
Title IX Coordinator
Department of Human
Resources 401 McIntire Road
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Phone: (434)296.5827
Our Vision:
All learners believe in their
power to embrace learning, to
excel, and to own their future.
UVA Community Credit Union, one of the largest financial institutions based in Central Virginia, is
proud to continue its partnership with Albemarle High School to offer a student-run branch. This is
a great opportunity for outgoing and solutions-oriented Patriot Pride students to help your fellow
classmates manage their money, build their credit, and establish good financial habits that last a
lifetime.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
In this part-time position, you will provide friendly, professional, and efficient service to members,
perform transactions with minimal error, balance and maintain a cash drawer, and follow all
established policies and procedures. To be successful, you will develop a working knowledge of the
Credit Union’s services and products, answer member questions, identify their needs, offer the
appropriate products, make referrals, and support the goals of the Credit Union.
KEY QUALIFICATIONS
To be a strong candidate, you will have the following qualifications and attributes:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Current Albemarle High School students in good standing with solid academic
performance
Ability to communicate effectively
Prior cash handling experience
Prior customer service and sales experience
Proficient with calculator and computer terminal
Friendly, enthusiastic, solutions-oriented, and productive team player
Professional appearance and attire
Able to work independently, problem solve, and accurately assess members’ financial
needs
KEY AVAILABILITY
•
•
•
Available to work most or all of the branch hours
o Tuesday 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM (subject to change based on school schedule)
o Thursday 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM (subject to change based on school schedule)
Able to represent UVA Community Credit Union in financial education events and
student-run promotional activities
Willing to work additional hours at the Credit Union’s off-campus branches during
weekends, summer or holiday breaks as needed
While this at-will, part-time position is available to full-time students; top performers may have an
opportunity to enjoy a rewarding full-time career with the Credit Union in one of its many fullservice branches after they leave Patriot Pride.
HOW TO APPLY
1.
In order to apply for this position, you must first create an online profile in the UVA
Community Credit Union Career Center online at
www.uvacreditunion.org/content/Careers.
2.
You may either upload your resume, two letters of reference, and the completed attached
UVA Community Credit Union application to your career center profile, or, you may
email these documents to us at mailto:jobs@uvacreditunion.org by May 20, 2016. We
look forward to hearing from you!