Shout-outs:

• To Ms. White and the Drew student InvenTeam for being awarded the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam™ Grant for Invention Projects (Official Press Release available here and AJC article available here)
• To Ms. Herman & Ms. Young for all their hard work helping our students prepare for early decision deadlines
• To all of the teachers who have been working to write letters of recommendation
• To the Coach Tracy for welcoming former UGA and NBA basketball player Jarvis Hayes to come and work with the Boys Junior Varsity Basketball Team
• Ms. Schaffer for working with students to help them create a student-driven project
• To Mr. Rashid, Mr. Richardson, Mr. Myers and Mr. Parker for their hard work to put together the Men of Success program for our young men last Friday
• To Ms. Kaney for working to develop a partnership with Atlanta Technical College to expand our Early College program
• To Ms. Nguyen, Ms. Schaffer and Mr. White for hosting a display of sugar skulls for their Day of the Dead project at Willy’s in Edgewood last week
• To Ms. Pryor, Ms. Simmons, Ms. Allen, Ms. Young and the rest of the Homecoming team for continuing to plan a series of great events
• To all of the parents who have signed up to help with Homecoming (if you are interested, please sign up here)
• To Ms. Colbert for an awesome Orchestra Benchmark Concert last week
• To Mr. Parker for continuing to capture great images of our events and for investing and training students in taking pictures as well
• To Ms. Wynn and Ms. Akinyela for dressing up on Halloween in costumes related to their current project
• To Coach White and the boys and girls cross country teams for finishing 4^th and 9^th, respectively, at the State Championship Meet
• To Jeremiah Furlow, who finished 5^th at the State Championship Cross Country Meet

Calendar:

• Monday, November 7th – A Day
  • Extended Learning:
    • Clubs
    • Homecoming Coronation Practice
• Tuesday, November 8th – B Day
  • Election Day
  • Flex Time: Extended Learning
    • 11th Grade Community Forum
  • 7:00-9:00 – Election Day Watch Party sponsored by National Honor Society [Cafeteria]
• Wednesday, November 9th – A Day
  • Junior College Trip begins
  • 9th Grade Field Trip to True Colors Performance of Proof
  • Extended Learning: Advisory
• Thursday, November 10th – B Day
  • Junior College Trip
  • Flex Time: Extended Learning
  • 6:00 – Drew’s Got Talent Performance & PTA Meeting [Center for the Arts]
• Friday, November 11th – A Day
  • Junior College Trip
  • 9:00-1:00 – 10th Grade Trip to Medieval Times
  • Flex Time:
    • Advisory
    • Homecoming Info assembly sponsored by SGA
  • 4th period: Coronation practice

Upcoming Events:

• 11/14-11/19 – Homecoming Week
• Monday, 11/14
  • Flex Time – Homecoming Grade-Level Basketball Game
  • 6:00 – Homecoming Coronation [Center for the Arts]
• Tuesday, 11/15 –
  • 12:00-1:00 – Homecoming Royal Court Luncheon
  • 4:30 – SA Principal’s Coffee: Curriculum and Programs of Study [Eva Davis Board Room]
  • 6:00 – JA/SA Fall All-Sports Banquet [Cafeteria]
• Wednesday, 11/16, Flex Time – Homecoming Family Feud
• Thursday, 11/17
  • Flex Time – 10th Grade Community Forum
  • 5:30 – Varsity Basketball at Maynard Jackson [Homecoming Spirit Buses will be available to transport students to this game.]
• Friday, 11/18
  • 8:00-12:00 – Pre-ACT administration [All Juniors]
  • 3:00-4:00 – Homecoming Pep Rally
  • 5:30/7:00pm – Homecoming: Girls’ and Boys’ Varsity Homecoming Basketball Game   
• Saturday, 11/19, 7:00-10:00 pm –  Homecoming Dance [Cafeteria]
• Friday, 12/2 – Accuplacer Early College Placement Test [All Juniors]
• Tuesday, 12/6
  • Georgia State University Early College Exams Begin
  • 8:00-11:00 – Economics Georgia Milestone End-of-Course Test
• Thursday and Friday, 12/15 and 12/16 – Semester 1 Final Exams

Announcements:

• Drew Charter Renewal Update – Charles R. Drew Charter School’s five-year charter agreement with Atlanta Public Schools (APS) expires on June 30, 2017.  As you know, Drew has been in the process of petitioning APS and the State of Georgia for a renewal of the charter. The new charter will represent the progress made towards goals and ambitious plans for the next ten years, reflective of Drew Charter School’s 2015-2020 strategic plan. Drew is thrilled to report that last evening, the APS School Board voted unanimously to support Drew’s application for a renewal of the charter for the next ten years. The petition will now go before the State of Georgia for approval in December, 2016.
• Progress Reports – In addition to the grades that are available to view live in Blackboard, teachers posted Progress grades in our Infinite Campus student information system last week.  Students will be given these hard-copy progress reports to take home in Advisory on Wednesday.  Please review them closely and reach out to your student’s teacher and/or counselor with questions or concerns.  Final grades will be posted to students’ transcripts when we return from the holiday break, at which point students will either earn or not earn a half-credit in each course they are taking right now.
• Achieve Atlanta Scholarship – As Atlanta Public Schools students, Senior Academy students are eligible for scholarships and support from a new non-profit, Achieve Atlanta.  We will be working to connect students and families with these resources, but also encourage you to check out their website at http://achieveatlanta.org.
• Yearbook – The Charles R. Drew Charter School  2017 Yearbook is now available for sale!! This year’s book is a Signature Series Hardcover bound, PreK-12 (Drew’s FIRST graduating senior class), full color, 140 pages and is available for delivery 5/8/2017. Order yours TODAY for the lowest price possible!!  Sales will work as follows:
  • ONLINE through 11/25/16 $28.00 EARLY BIRD SPECIAL PRICE!!Purchase now with the link below.
  • http://link.entourageyearbooks.com/view_account.asp?l=F1940BDA-4103-4DFE-9899-5802744E3719
  • ONLINE 11/26/16 through 02/26/17 $30.00
  • ONLINE 02/27/17 through 04/10/17 $35.00
  • After 04/10/17 In person at either campus, $35 cash or credit.
• Reminder: Links – Rather than including the same links with every blog post, I have now created a page dedicated to links to Drew and Drew partner websites.  You should see a link to this page at the top of the blog.
• Reminder: Dues – Below is information for student dues.  These funds help pay for programs like Midnight Madness, Prom and Senior Week that we cannot pay for out of school funds.
  • Freshman
    • $30
    • Due (cash or money order) September 16^th to Ms. Deiters in room A202
    • There is a $5 late fee after September 16^th
    • Includes: Freshman T-Shirt, SGA Day of Play, Midnight Madness and other ninth grade activities
  • Sophomore
    • $35
    • Flyer
  • Junior
    • $200
    • Dues Payment Schedule
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Senior
    • $225
    • Include cap and gowns, diploma cover, Visions of the Future (including awards and decorations), senior breakfast, senior picnic, senior lunch jam, senior Sunday bar, senior t-shirt, class picture, and other activities.
• Reminder: PTA Membership – Please take a moment to join the Drew PTA.  Dues are $10 and they work tirelessly to provide a wide variety of programming to support our students and staff. You can join online via this link.