As always, I have included four sections below – Shout Outs, Calendar, Announcements and Links.  Please do not forget to leave comments for future topics that you would like for me to include in the blog.

Shout-outs:

• Welcoming Mr. Uceda, who joins us as our full-time AmeriCorps member through our partnership with CEISMC at Georgia Tech and who will be supporting students in math, science, robotics and service, particularly for students interested in attending Georgia Tech
• To Ms. Ferenczy and Mr. O’Neill, for their work planning the first Senior Academy PBL Showcase on October 15^th
• To Mr. Konieczny, for organizing parent conferences for this Friday
• To Dr. Jones, our Director of Talent, for all of her work coordinating our accreditation review, stipends, hiring and staff certification
• To Ms. Simmons for her leadership of the Homecoming Committee
• To Ms. Kaney and the varsity volleyball team for close wins over both Carver and Jackson on Thursday
• To Mrs. Holmes-Ferguson for her working coordinating support for students on homebound
• To Dr. Spearman and Ms. White for their collaboration on an upcoming Physics project on sound, which looks to be really engaging and authentic
• To Ms. Miller and Ms. Keith, who came in on the weekend to assist with creating the Pacific Institute binders for every student

Calendar:

• Tuesday, September 8^th
  • A-Day
  • Flex Time – Advisory
  • 5:00 – Volleyball vs. Strong Rock and Landmark [Home]
• Wednesday, September 9^th
  • B-Day
  • Flex Time – Extended Learning
  • 5:30 – Cross Country Meet [Grant Park]
• Thursday, September 10^th
  • A-Day
  • Flex Time – Clubs/Organizations
  • 5:30 – JV Volleyball vs. Grady [Home]
  • 6:00
    • Softball vs. Strong Rock [Home – Southside Park]
    • Volleyball vs. Decatur and Stratford Academy [Decatur]
• Friday, September 11^th – Full-Day Parent Teacher Conferences [Sign up for conferences using this link]

• Upcoming Events  
• Saturday, September 12^th
  • 9:00-12:00 – CREW Teens Meeting
  • 12:30 – Cheerleading Competition [Mills Creek HS]
• Wednesday, September 16^th, 8:15-9:15 – Principal’s Coffee: School Norms and Trust Cards [Room A301]
• Thursday, September 17^th – Ninth Grade College Trip [Auburn – Three ninth grade advisories]
• Thursday, September 24^th – Ninth Grade College Trip [University of Alabama – Three ninth grade advisories]
• Monday, September 28^th – College and Work Readiness Assessment Administration [Ninth grade students]
• October 1^st – A-Day Midterm Exams
• October 2^nd – B-Day Midterm Exams [End of Quarter 1]
• October 8-9^th – Fall Break
• October 15^th, 4:00-6:00 – Quarter 1 PBL Showcase
• October 19-23^rd – Homecoming Week
• October 24^th – Homecoming Parade and Fall Festival
• October 28-29^th – AdvancED Accreditation External Review Visit

Announcements:

1. Morning Punctuality – Classes begin for the Senior Academy at 8:00 am.  However, prior to getting to class, students need to pick up their laptops and often go to their lockers.  Daily attendance is taken based on the time students reach their first period class, not the time that they enter the front door.  As a result, please make every effort to drop your students off or send them out of the door with enough time to complete these tasks and get to class by 8:00 am.  Late arrivals result in lost instructional time and a significant inconvenience to staff who have to issue laptops to tardy students.
2. Governor’s Honors Program – The Governor’s Honors Program (GHP) is a four-week instructional program, June–July at Valdosta State University, designed to provide intellectually gifted and artistically talented high school students challenging and enriching educational opportunities not usually available during the regular school year.  Activities are designed to provide each participant with opportunities to acquire the skills, knowledge and attitudes to become independent, lifelong learners.  The Georgia Governor’s Honors Program is fully funded by the Georgia General Assembly, and operates at no cost to the student.  Students are nominated, interviewed, and selected in a specific instructional area in which their abilities, aptitudes and interests lie.  Students may be nominated in the following areas.  If your student is interested in participating, please reach out to their teacher in the area of their interest to discuss the nomination process.
   1. Academic: Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Social Studies, Communicative Arts, French, Spanish and Chinese.
   2. Technology:  Engineering & Technology, Executive Management, and Architectural Design
   3. Fine Arts: Dance, Music, Theatre (Performance), Theatre (Design), and Visual Arts
3. Progress Reports – While grades are constantly being updated in Echo, we would also like to provide periodic hard-copy progress reports.  These will be available at the middle and end of each quarter.  Copies of these reports will be available on Friday as part of our Parent Conference Day. Whenever they are issued to students, I will announce that through this blog so that you can expect them at home.
4. ACT Prep – A flyer for ACT Prep for juniors was included in the Weekly Constant Contact email, but I have also linked it here.  Please reach out to our College Advising Corps Member, Ms. Knight [olivia.knight@drewcharterschool.org], for information about how to sign-up and pay for the course.
5. Cheerleading Competition – Please come out and support the Varsity Cheerleading Competition team this Saturday at Mills Creek High School.  There is an admission fee of $7 per person and we will perform around 12:30 pm, we would really like your Spirit and Support.  If you need directions, please email Coach Andrews [pamela.andrews@drewcharterschool.org].
6. Reminder: State Farm Youth Advisory Board – “The YAB is one of the nation’s most exciting opportunities for youth empowerment and development. The board is comprised of 30 youth from around the country who serve as equal members on the board. The board is given responsibility over $5 million dollars to grant service-learning and community impact projects that seek to solve important domestic issues.  Board Members are selected through a competitive application process, and all applications are read and reviewed by at least two members of an internal review team at Corporate.”  More information at this link.
7. Reminder: Prom and Junior Dues: This week we kicked off planning for our first prom.  Ms. Cristy Wynn, our tenth grade English/Language Arts teacher, will be leading the committee along with a team of staff and parents.  The original date tentatively set for the prom, Saturday, April 23^rd, may not work based on the availability of the venue.  As soon as a date is confirmed, I’ll announce it here.  As many of you know, prom must be funded exclusively through fundraising and student dues.  In order to fund the prom to the standard we expect, we anticipate junior dues to be $200.  More details about the timeline and logistics for payment will be forthcoming.

Links:

• Echo – https://echo.newtechnetwork.org/
  • Echo Access Request Form (Please submit these to Ms. Mills, the registrar, in the main office)
  • Echo Parent Guide

• Link to Sign up for Constant Contact Emails

• Remind (text message and email alerts) Enrollment Instructions:
  • Ninth Grade
  • Tenth Grade
  • Eleventh Grade
• E-mail Address to Reset Echo Passwords – tech.support@drewcharterschool.org
• MyGivingPoint – http://www.mygivingpoint.org/
  • All students should have accounts to this site in order to log community service hours.  Please direct questions about community services to Ms. Kaney [rachel.kaney@drewcharterschool.org].
• Eagle Nation Booster Club – http://www.dreweaglenation.org
  • Great information about our athletic teams, including their schedules and records.

A Quote to Think About – “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” -Steve Jobs