April Newsletter - Rangeview High School

Rangeview High
School
We develop and honor the curiosity of our students by uncovering their passion and motivation to learn in a fun and relevant
environment, creating dynamic citizens who will strengthen their community and add to the narrative of Rangeview High School.
Volume 1, Issue 7
April 2015
A Letter to Families from Principal Fay
I consider every day a celebration. And the days I spend at Rangeview High School
with our students only enhance my day to day experience. As we approach the end
of the year and prepare to celebrate our senior class, I would like to share some of
the achievements from this year.
In This Issue:
Letter from Principal
Fay
1
Assistant Principal
Updates
2
ACT Information
2
Department Updates
Art
Science
English
Technology
3-6
3
4-5
5-6
6
Counseling Update
7
Major Scholarship
Recipients
7
Alumni Spotlight
8
Moot Court National
Qualifiers
9
Important Dates
9
Media Center Update
9
The future success of all students begins with earning their high school diploma. In
2010 the graduation rate for Rangeview High School was 67.5%. What does this
really mean? Of the 550 students who entered Rangeview as freshman in 20052006, 182 of them did not earn their high school diploma in this four year period.
Contrast this with the graduating class of 2014 which 83% of the freshman class of
2009-2010 earned their high school diploma. The number of students who did not
earn their diploma in four years dropped from 182 to 94. Our projected graduation
rate for the class of 2015 is 88%. We strongly believe the class of 2016 will reach our
exceed 95%.
These remarkable gains indicate the efforts and passion of the staff of Rangeview
High School. The leadership and focus for this work begins with our counseling
staff. Developing caring and thoughtful relationships with students and monitoring
their progress toward graduation are the foundation for helping students realizes
their goals.
On Tuesday April 28, 2015 we will administer the ACT test to all juniors. (See
testing schedule on pg. 2) On this date all juniors in Colorado will take this test.
For many of our juniors this will be the first time they take the ACT test which can
prove to be a challenge for them. This opportunity,, however, will not be their only
opportunity. Once they receive their score in June they can determine if they want
to retake the exam at another date. There are advantages of taking this test multiple
times. The biggest advantage for students is becoming familiar with the format of
the test.
Our school average composite score is used as a metric in our SPF. Our overall
composite score last year was 19.0, this score represented growth, however as a
school we are still … below the state average. Our goal is to meet or exceed the state
average in 2018.
If you are the parent of a sophomore, your student took a practice ACT exam in
October. The results and a comprehensive breakdown of their strengths and areas
for growth can be downloaded here. I highly encourage sophomores who will be
juniors next year to enroll in our ACT prep class. Rangeview is the only school in the
district that provides this level of support for our students. This class offers student
the opportunity to improve their overall composite score, which increases their
chances of acceptance into the college of their choice and increases the
opportunities for scholarships.
As a school and community we have shown growth for the past three years, and this
is certainly a celebration. I want to continue this trend, and with your support and
encouragement I believe we will meet our goal.
Assistant Principal Updates
Ian Mulligan—Assistant Principal
Students engaging students, empathetically
The Rangeview LINK Crew is a student group made up of mostly juniors and seniors that work closely
with our freshman class, particularly in their transition to high school. Recently the LINK Crew students engaged the freshman classes in conversations and exercises about empathy in the Freshman
Character Development class.
I was lucky enough to observe a few of these lessons and conversations. During this time, the LINK
leaders asked the freshman to write down a struggle or challenge they have recently been experiencing. After these were written, they were collected and shared anonymously with the large group. As
each one was shared, the students experiencing the same type of struggle or challenge were asked to
meet together in the middle of the large group. As each one was read I noticed that there were at least
3 or 4 students meeting in the middle, and sometimes over half of the class.
This lesson for the students gave them an opportunity to begin to understand their peers more deeply
and that it is important to know what other people experience to relate to them. It also brought students together who may not have believed they had anything in common with each other, and this
was a chance to make connections that had not been made before.
I would like to recognize those LINK Crew leaders, as well as the work of our staff members, Mr. Ryan
Sladek and Ms. Lindsay Glasscock, that made this a worthwhile and effective learning experience in
regards to the empathy that we ask our staff and students to have for one another.
ACT Information—Important for all grade
The ACT statewide testing date is April 28th. Juniors across the estate will take the test. The state uses the test to measure how schools are performing and colleges across the country use the test results
as part of the admissions process for students. It is important to do your best.
ONLY Juniors should be on campus from 7:30-12:00. A modified schedule for all grade levels will
begin at 12:45.
Prior to testing, Juniors need to complete an answer folder. This will be done in English classes
the 1st and 2nd week of April.
Junior should arrive at school at 7:30 a.m. Seating will begin at 8:00 a.m. ONCE TESTING BEGIN,
THERE ARE NO LATE ADMISSIONS
Items to remember:
 Room assignments will be posted in the
commons and upstairs
 Get plenty of sleep the night before
 Dress casually and in layers
 Bring your School ID or Drivers License
 Bring a snack for the break
 Bring a watch
 Bring a Calculator
 Bring two #2 pencils –No Mechanicals
allowed
 DO NOT bring a Cell Phone
Testing Schedule:
7:45 –8:15 Go to testing room. Proctor will verify ID.
8:15-8:30 Verbal Instructions and Distribution of Test Booklets
8:30-9:15 Test 1 English (45 Min)
9:15-10:15 Test 2 Math
10:15-10:30 Break (15min NO MORE than 15)
10:30-11:05 Test 3 Reading (35 Min)
11:05-11:40 Test 4 Science Reasoning (35 Min)
11:40-11:50 Collect Materials. Dismiss Students
Departments Updates
Art
Congratulations to art students, Bailie Westback and Coree Morgan! Both won silver key awards for
their work submitted to the Colorado Scholastics Art Competition.
“Giraffe”
Coree Morgan
Pencil drawing
“Options”
Bailie Westback
Watercolor painting
Festival Of The Arts is approaching!
The Aurora mall annually holds The Festival of the Arts, where a large selection of art from each Aurora Public School is displayed and awards are given for the best art in various categories. The display of art will be up April 13th through April 25th. Make sure to make it to the Aurora Mall to see all
of our fabulous Raider artwork that they have worked so hard on throughout this year!
Important Facts about Art Education
1. Students who study art are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and 3
times more likely to be awarded for school attendance.
2. Arts and music education programs are mandatory in countries that rank consistently among
the highest for math and science test scores, like Japan, Hungary, and the Netherlands.
3. Multiple studies have concluded that curricular and extracurricular art studies and activities
help keep high-risk dropout students stay in school
4. Arts education helps foster a positive culture and climate in schools.13 When schools integrate
the arts across the curriculum, disciplinary referrals decrease
while effectiveness of instruction and teachers’ ability to meet
the needs of all students increase.
5. Arts education develops students’ critical thinking skills—
including skills for comparing, hypothesizing, critiquing, and
exploring multiple and alternative viewpoints.
Science
AP Science News
AP science students have signed up for their exams and now the home stretch
preparing to take the exams begins. Students taking an AP science class can earn
up to $1000 of college credit for passing their classes’ AP exams with a “3” or better, which is an incredible opportunity to get a head start on higher education
goals. Add the $100 given to students with passing scores from the Legacy Grant,
and the ease in paying for the exam with a low $15 down payment, and it’s easy to
see why so many students take challenging college level classes in high school.
Tips to help students on their AP Science exams:
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Review the “Big Ideas” for your content and have an example for each major concept.
Science focuses on themes and applying concepts over rote memorization, and having an
illustrative example of each theme gives you an advantage answering free response questions.
Example - The “Big Idea” of “Homeostasis” in AP biology can be applied to the endocrine system
when sugar levels are maintained in the blood by insulin and glucagon’s negative feedback. Homeostasis can also be applied to the unit on cells, where lysosomes degrade wastes that build up inside
the cell, preventing disruption of cellular activities.
Don’t put off studying until the last minute. Most AP classes have a considerable amount of content to know and apply, and is usually too much for students to cram into a few days prior to the
test. Make a plan to cover about one unit of content per study session, and have a plan to use focus/
practice questions to check for understanding. Any complicated task can be broken up into several
simpler tasks, and education is no different.
Get a study guide. Princeton Review produces quality guides updated for revised science AP exams. Places like Tattered Cover allow you to browse the study guides without buying, an ideal option
for students on a budget. YouTube is also an incredible and free resource for AP level study material,
like Khan Academy and Bozeman Biology.
Find your motivation. Academic endurance is required to plow through the content in most classes,
and education tends to be more of a marathon than a sprint when taking challenging college classes. Remind yourself why you took an AP science class, and how it relates to your own personal
goals. Reward yourself for doing the outside of class studying that becomes more difficult as the year
winds to a close. One good motivator… not having crushing Stafford loan debt upon graduating college.
Answer every question! The old AP exam took off ¼ of a point for wrong answers, but the redesign
doesn’t. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take so try to eliminate answers that are clearly
wrong, and take your best guess if you can narrow the choices down to 2 or 3.
Don’t contradict yourself in FRQ’s. AP readers are trained to ignore fluff in your essays, but if you
contradict yourself you won’t get points for what you got right…for example, if you start by saying the
mitochondria does cell respiration and then later on you shouldn’t write that the chloroplast does respiration. Make sure you answer the prompt by paying attention and underlining key words like
“Explain”, “Justify”, “Discuss”, etc.
Know the process of science. You should be able to apply the ideas of changing one thing
(independent variable) and seeing what happens (dependent variable) to draw a conclusion. Reading
and making graphs is also a necessary skill, don’t forget the basics like labeling your X axis with the independent variable and the Y axis with the dependent variable.
For more information Google “College Board AP (biology/chemistry/physics)” for more information about your test as well as additional practice questions.
Rangeview Robotics Club News
Robotics Club is finishing its 2nd and 3rd human-sized robot scorpions for
the first 3-way competition in early May. The Roboscorpions have moving tails with a pin on them to pop the balloon eyeballs of the opposing
robot scorpions and are remote controlled to go forward, back, left and
right. Club members learn basic wiring, circuits, soldering, power tool
use, and teamwork. Advanced members have the option to put their
STEM skills to use programming motor controllers in Python using
Raspberry Pi computers. The club is recruiting new members that can work on teams of 2-3 to build
their own unique robot scorpions to compete with, interested members should contact Mr. Kintz in
room 167 on Tuesday after school for more information.
AP Biology Field Trip Report
This year’s cadaver viewing at the Exempla Medical Center gave students a
“hands on” approach to how the body works and provided relevant connections to their AP biology class. As an added bonus, the field trip also gave
students the opportunity to discuss medical school with a medical student
conducting the viewing. Typically the cadavers are medical professionals at
the end of their lives that donate their bodies so that future generations can learn and carry on the
torch of human understanding about human anatomy and physiology into the future. Students attending report being fascinated and a little nervous about their experiences in the hospital morgue.
English
Zeb Carabello’s Advanced Journalism class will be going to visit Colorado State lawmakers at the
capitol building on April 13. Students will get to see and inquire about the inner workings of the state
government, as well as interview Aurora law makers. In addition to this, students will also be visiting
the Denver Post downtown offices to see journalism in action.
Kathryn Strickland’s Humanities classes began fourth
quarter by creating their own Personal Culture Projects. “We
have a week in between the end of quarter three and spring
break, so I wanted to get students writing and researching
about their own identity. Many of these seniors will be moving away after graduation, so they’ll naturally decide which
parts of their culture they’ll keep, so it’s an interesting time to
capture this thinking,” said Strickland. In addition to an essay, students’ projects must also include a creative component
describing their origins, which can be in the form of a poem, a Seniors Juwan Harris and Elizabeth Gonzales
brainstorm what constitutes culture.
presentation, collage, family tree, song, dance, video, ethnic
food, etc. Senior Juwan Harris said, “I have a pretty vast background, so I’m excited to write about my past and research it more in-depth; it’s made me who I am
today.”
Congratulation! Seven students, who have worked extremely hard, will be participating in the city
championship debate tournament at DU! These students, Melanee Montgomery, Daphne Hernandez, Kenia Castro, Rebekah Ramey, Emily Ngyuen, Andres Marquez and Nadya Nfaoui who are supported by English teacher Anna Farnsworth will be participating in this event Saturday March 18th.
We would like to wish good luck to these students!
Slam Poetry and Hip-Hop Club
There will be an Aurora Public Schools Slam Poetry contest May 1 st It will start
at 6:30, here at Rangeview and the cost is $2. Interested students can go to tinyurl.com/lovkwj3 or email jehenderson@aps.k12.co.us for info. Poems need to
be no longer than 3 minutes
Technology Update
Take Advantage of Summer Programs for Students
Programs range from academic enrichment, additional learning opportunities, athletic programs and summer employment. Many Athletic programs have summer programs designed specifically for incoming freshmen. Click on the SUMMER PROGRAMS page under
the students tab and stay updated on the programs that available this
summer. Check back often. As things come in, we will add them.
Introducing the “new look” Counseling tab. We have made it more specific to each grade level
and programs. Things directly relating your student by grade will be on the page for his or her grade.
We also have information about Programs outside of Rangeview. There are links relating to alternative education options, vocational, and college courses.
We are striving to communicate with our students, parents, and community more efficiently. We are
taking steps to provide more access to information via our website and social media. We want to
make every effort so that you can always have the information you need right at your fingertips. Take
time to visit, like, and follow us on the web through Facebook and Twitter.
Stay up to date on:
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Announcements
Athletics and Events
Raider Achievements
Schedule Changes
And More
Facebook.com/RHSExcellence
@RHSExcellence
Be on the look out for many updates and upgrades to come throughout the rest of the semester and
over the summer.
Counseling
RHS Senior Class scholarship average is 2.1 million dollars!
Rangeview loves to have the opportunity to congratulate and even brag about the scholarships that our students earn. It is hard to do this when we don’t know what you have been
awarded. When you receive a financial aid letter or a communication regarding a scholarship even if it is one that you may not plan to accept, please let us know. We report these
celebrations to our superintendent, Mr. Munn, and announce various awards at Convocation. As soon as you receive a letter or email please bring it to the counseling office, and we
will make a copy of it and document the information in Naviance.
Major Scholarship Recipients
Rangeview’s very own Anna Phan has been selected as a recipient of the prestigious scholarship. The competition for these four-year awards is intense and intentional in seeking out excellent students. This year nearly 1,600 students applied for
the 40 available scholarships, which makes Phan’s accomplishment all the more
sweet.
Phan has be an exemplary member of the Rangeview student body, achieving high
marks in her classes, maintaining a high GPA , participating in various Rangeview
clubs and activities and being a member of the RHS Class of 2015 Top-Ten students. Phan is the first Rangeview student to be awarded this scholarship in several
years. Rangeview wishes the best of luck and encourages Anna to hold tight to her
commitment to excellence as she prepares for graduation and on into her pursuit
of a higher education.
Lauren Arnold has been announced as a National Merit Scholarship winner! In addition to being awarded the scholarship through this national program Arnolds
name has been brought to the attention of nearly 1,500 four-year colleges and universities in the United States, and she has been referred as an outstanding student
with potential for academic success.
Arnold is a motivated student, outstanding member of the Rangeview Community
and has achieved a high ranking as a member of the RHS Class of 2015’s Top-Ten
students. She is striving for excellence and is measurably delivering beyond expectation. Rangeview salutes Lauren Arnold, celebrating her accomplishments and
offering its best wishes to her in all of her future endeavors.
Congratulations to Juwan Harris for his selection as a Daniels's Scholar! Applying
for the Daniels Scholarship Program is a competitive process with many qualified
candidates. This year, we received over 2,000 applications. Our regional selection
committees interviewed 458 finalists, of which, 239 were selected as Daniels Scholars. These promising young people were chosen because they demonstrated these
distinguishing qualities throughout the selection process. Juwan has made a huge
contribution as a member of the RHS family and serving as this years Senior Class
President.
Alumni Spotlight
Keith Richards: Creatively inspired commitment
to excellence!
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”
are the words of Lao-Tzu, and it is these words that have acted
as motivation for Rangeview graduate of the class of 2001 Keith
Richards. Since graduating from Rangeview, Richards has had
major successes producing his artistic masterpieces for companies such as Disney, LEGO, the NBA and Nickelodeon.
As a student at Rangeview Richards fell in love with art and
soon recognized a growing passion that could not be stopped. His growing appetite for creating art was fueled
by the Rangeview Art Department its classes and teachers. “I would say that the Art department is what impacted me the most. I had great teachers that taught me the necessary skills to be successful in my future career as an artist and game developer. I made a great portfolio that eventually got me into college” said Richards. With the foundation built, success and high achievement soon followed this creative genius.
After leaving the respected halls of Rangeview, Richards attended the Art Institute of Colorado to further
develop his artistic abilities and promote his artistic aspirations. While at the Art Institute of Colorado he
received a Bachelor of Arts in Media: Arts and Animation and graduated in 2006.
Soon after graduating Richards worked as Computer Graphics Artist at Maxum Games and through his
vast successes he found himself working for LEGO Group, which is most known for the manufacturing of
toys, as a Senior 3D Graphic Artist from 2011- 2012. While working for LEGO Group creating High-Quality 3D
Key Visuals for LEGO Universe game and website, Richards also produced work for the LEGO Club Magazine,
and all of the commercial and marketing visuals associated with the promotion of the LEGO Universe game.
When he was asked about his greatest accomplishments Richards reflects on his time at LEGO Group
when his artwork was published in Fun Online Games Magazine and EDGE Magazine, which features his art
as its December cover.
However the success of Richards doesn’t end there, in 2011 Richard’s innerentrepreneur was awakened and he began doing contracted graphic work as a freelance artist. His portfolio soon grew to include work for big name corporations
such as Disney, the NBA, and Nickelodeon. In 2014 Richards once again decided to
take matters into his own hands and started his own company called Foo Games,
which is a gaming company that operates in the Aurora community.
Richards knows that through all of his successes it was the foundation of family and that Rangeview set for excellence that laid the groundwork for him to become who is his today. Richards credits his time at Rangeview for developing him
as an artist and as a member of the Rangeview community. Richards still holds
tightly to the lifelong friendships he developed while in high school.
When talking about his journey of success Richards describes his work like
this, “I never settled for mediocrity, I wanted to be the best at what I did, excellence. Along my road I’ve met a lot of totally amazing talented people.” Along with
other attributes for success Richards points to his ability to change with the times
and stay on top of the latest technology as keeping him as one of the top creators
in his field.
Fun Online Games Magazine
Games (December 2011) Cover
Key Visual for LEGO Universe
holiday patch Keith Richards
His journey to success has been filled with highs and lows but, this creator knows declares “It is your resilience and persistence that defines you. How you face problems will make or break you.” Richards is an example of achieving great success has a direct link to upholding a commitment to excellence in all facets of
life.
National Moot Court Finalists
Over
Spring
Break
Rangeview had two student compete in the National Marshall-Brennan
Moot Court Competition in Washington D.C.
From March 26-29.
Alexis Wall and Makias Neguessie traveled with
their competition coach from CU Law and 15 other students from Colorado to compete in the national competition. Wall and Neguessie represented Rangeview and presented their arguments
to Supreme Court Judges, Attorneys and some of
the nations top law students. These two promising scholars were in the top 6 finalists out
of nearly 100 students to compete in the state
competition and competed exceptionally well in
the national competition.
In addition to competing, these students were
able to tour the nation's capital and interact with
public officials and take in the history and cultural aspects of the city. We want to Congratulate
our student for this awesome achievement and
constant pursuit for high learning.
Important Dates
Information for Students
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Senior Class Meeting - April 21
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Prom and After Prom - May 2
Information for Parents
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PARCC Spring Testing Window April 27-May 13
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ACT (Juniors) April 28
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AP Testing May 4-15
Events
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Leadership Volleyball Tournament -April 22
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Video Presentation (Freshman Boys) April 22
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Grease the Musical - April 23-25
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Academic Awards Ceremony - April 29
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APS Poetry Slam Competition - May 1
Media Center News
ATTENTION: Parents of Rangeview Seniors
Your student’s academic career at Rangeview is coming to an end.
Please have them look for all of their library books and text books, and return them to the Media
Center.
If they need a list of what is checked out to them, they can visit the Media Center and get a read-out
of all materials that they have.
Let’s avoid those unwanted last minute fees and celebrate your child’s achievements!