Volume 1, Issue 3 Thursday, September 18, 2014 Benjamin E. Mays High School Raider News Principal’s Corner—Mr. Richard Fowler, Principal Raider Families, I hope this message finds you in good spirits. I am very happy to report that our own Ms. Shawonna Coleman was recognized as a demonstration teacher for the district. I encourage you to take advantage of our Wednesday parent conferences. It is a great way to connect with your students, teachers, counselors, and academy leaders to discuss any issues that you may Ms. Coleman will have several visitors have regarding grades and or atto observe her teach as a model teachtendance. er. Donyea Ruffin, a junior was recognized at the state of the school address by the Superintendent for having perfect attendance. Lastly, JROTC cadet Kimberly McQuay was one of 29 cadets nationwide awarded this year's Legion Of Valor Medal. Lastly, please encourage students to get to school on time. School begins at 8:30am. Thank you for your support. Sincerely, Rick Fowler She was one of only two from the state of Georgia. BEA Academy Inside this issue: DHAL Academy 2 Mass Communications Academy 2 Science & Math News 3 Eagle Academy Parent Liaison News 3 Fine Arts News Counseling News 4 Athletic Department News 5 Local School Council Athletic Schedules 5 6-8 The Business and Entrepreneurship Academy was selected by Verizon as a Tools For School site. Verizon donated $2700 worth of supplies to our students. Furthermore, while at Verizon's corporate office, students engaged in conversation with executives and other managers about college and career readiness, scholarships and internship opportunities with Verizon. In addition, our students will be participating in a challenge to create an application for smart phones. We will be creating a team to create this application with the support of Veri- zon. We would like to say thank you to Verizon for supporting our mission and vision. The Academy sponsored a visit to the Benjamin E. Mays museum in South Carolina. Approximately, 50 students, teachers and parents participated in the experience. We are committed to exposing students to programs and experiences that will have an everlasting impact on their lives. A special congratulations to Ms. Shawanna Coleman, BEA Social Studies Teacher, for being selected as a Demonstration Classroom teacher by the district. Ms. Coleman participated in a rigorous selection process last school year. Ms. Coleman will mentor other teachers in the district on best practices for teaching and learning. She was recognized for her accomplishment by Superintendent, Dr. Meria Carstarphen, during the 10th Annual State of The School District Address at Douglass High School on September 9, 2014. On September 11, 2014 The academy held its first Focus Group Meeting with students, teachers, parent representative and the academy leader. Topics discussed in the meeting included: Student Engagement, College Tours, Student Discipline, Corporate Visits, CTAE Course Expectations and Community Service. Reminder: Tennessee College Tour Experience Coming Soon. Please see Dr. Hunter for permission slips. Raider News Dorothy Height Academy Conflict resolution presents a win-win situation. Dr. Gillespie, the DHAL counselor and Academy Leader Powell have begun to meet with DHAL students through DHAL Talk and classroom guidance, two important vessels used to disburse information and keep students informed. The initial sessions targeted 9th and 11th grade students to discuss conflict resolution, respect, and anger management. follow-up activity. Future topics will focus on study skills, testtaking skills, character-building, self-esteem building, and time management. In the sessions, the students are designed to help students develop respect for individual differences, assume responsibility for their own behavior, and that respect begins with them. The sessions will occur several times each month and end with a Mass Communications Academy The Mass Communications Academy leader, Mrs. Jane Martin is looking forward to meeting the academy parents at the next Coffee and Conversations on Friday, September 19, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. in the Eagle Lecture Hall. 9th Grade 12th Grade Kayla Sheffield & Devario Jones Alexis Kellogg & 10th Grade Vincent Armstrong Chantanique Printup & Mass Communications Phillip Davis Academy 11th Grade Teachers of the Month Mass Communications Devyon Johnson & August 2014 Scholars of the Month Shiyaundeia Darshay Ms. Gladys Rios August 2014 The Mass Communications Academy has two Posse Scholarship Semi-Finalists: Alexia Patterson & Dwight Showers. Mr. Richard Fuqua Technology Resources Did you know that every student in Atlanta Public Schools has free access to the Microsoft Office? Students can log on with their individual user id and password to access Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Students should see their teacher for their user name and password. The website for the Atlanta Public Schools virtual “backpack” of tech tools for students is listed below. https://mybackpack.apsk12.org/Pages/myBackpack.aspx. Hispanic Heritage Month is coming! Beginning September 15, 2014, join us as we pay tribute to notable Hispanic figures and the diverse cultures that have influenced the world. Page 2 Volume 1, Issue 3 Science and Mathematics Academy Get on board the Science and Mathematics Academy College Tour Express! In the coming weeks we will be visiting University of Georgia, Morehouse College and Spelman College among other top tier universities. Please see Ms. Smith ASAP as only a few seats are remaining. Join me in congratulating three of our outstanding students: Donyea Ruffin, Mikaela Gay and Lena Adams. Donyea Ruffin was recognized at the superintendent’s State of School address for perfect attendance. Mikaela Gay and Lena Adams was awarded the George W. Gore scholarship from Florida A&M. The scholarship is awarded to select seniors who have scored at least a 1650 on the SAT or 23 on the ACT and a minimum high school GPA of 3.0. The scholarship is worth $71,176. Congratulations ladies! PSAT Registration The PSAT will be administered to all 10th and 11th graders on October 15, 2014. The student with the highest PSAT score at each high school qualifies for the National Merit Scholarship. Eagle Academy The Eagle Academy is proud to announce the Best Dressed Eagles for the month of September: Brandon Stephens, Emmanuel Patterson, and Simeon Albright. They each were awarded $20! Congratulations to three of our Eagles that have made it to the 2nd round interviews for the POSSE Foundation Scholarship. Great job Julius Whitehead, Austin Harrison, and Leonard Barnes and good luck at your 2nd round interview! The Eagle Academy has partnered with The DHAL Academy to sponsor a College Tour to South Carolina October 16 & 17. We will be touring Clemson University, Benedict College, Claflin University, The University of South Carolina, and South Carolina State University. Parent Liaison Corner Mays Cluster Parent Liaisons engaging and enlightening parents together, at the Oprah Winfrey Live The Life You Want Weekend Tour in Atlanta! Page 3 The cost is $75. Please see your counselor or academy leader for more information. The writing test is coming soon and Mr. Jennings wants all Eagles that are taking the writing test to make sure they show up for Writing Camp Saturday morning at 9 am. 100% Pass Rate is the Goal! Fine Arts News Congratulations to the students who auditioned and were selected to be a part of the 2014-2015 honor group Metro Atlanta Youth Wind Ensemble (MAYWE). Out of 37 schools represented and the 81 High School students that make up this ensemble, Benjamin E. Mays High School leads the way with 13 Students selected this year!!! Oboe—Nia Carter Clarinet—Jessica Bell, Dajare George, Sydni Gilmore & Jasmine May Bass Clarinet—Kailyn Calloway & Imani Hines Trumpet—Rahandal Jackson, Armani Johnson & Javodrick Smith French Horn—Oliva Thomas Tuba—Marquez Johnson Fine Arts Rehearsal Schedules Dr. Cherry  Orchestra—Wednesdays until 5:00 p.m.  Violin and Viola Tutorial Tuesdays  Cello and Bass Tutorials— Thursdays Ms. Penn  Private voice lessons (current students only) Mondays by appointment  Chorus rehearsal 2nd, 3rd, 4th Thursday until 5:00 p.m. Mr. Oliver  Marching Band—Football Season  Woodwind Octet—Tuesday & Thursday at 7:15 a.m. Ms. Washington  Art tutorials and open studio—Monday & Thursday until 4:40 p.m.  Art Club—1st and 3rd Thursday until 4:40 p.m. Dr. Whittington  Art tutorial and open studio 2nd and 3rd Wednesday Ms. Vaughn  Dance tutorial 2nd and 4th Wednesday until 4:30  Mays Dance Ensemble Every Thursday until 6:00 p.m. Counselor’s Corner High GPA’s + High Test Scores = College Paid For! Many of our students are taking the ACT Saturday morning. Mays High will be one of the testing sites. Students please get there early because there will be a long line. Make sure you have several sharpened pencils and a calculator. Also, make sure you have your test ticket (printed from the website) and a picture ID. I’m quite sure you’re studying very diligently for the test. Please keep in mind that if you’ve taken the test before but have not studied or prepared since then, the results may very well be the same. The next SAT is October 11th and the deadline is September 12th. The ACT is October 25th and the deadline is September 19th. Mays High will be a testing site for both tests. Parents please try to make sure your child is prepared! Test practice books (Princeton Review, Kaplan, Dummies, etc.) can be purchased online (Amazon) or at any book store. You can also look in to test prep courses and programs. Some of these can be expensive but it’s better to pay now (before getting into college) so that you won’t have to pay later (to get into college)! Good Luck Testing! Donations Needed! NEWSPAPER MAGAZINES SCRAPBOOK PAPER WALL PAPER WRAPPING PAPER TISSUE PAPER PAINT BRUSHES WOODEN SPOONS TUPPERWARE WOOD SCRAPS FABRIC SCISSORS CIGAR BOXES FAKE FLOWERS FAKE FRUIT APRONS YARN STRING THREAD SEWING NEEDLES PENCILS RULERS ERASERS YARD STICKS OLD OR BROKEN JEWELRY TOOLS (HAMMERS, MALLETS, SCREW DRIVERS, ETC.) MAILING TUBES BEADS RIBBON PICTURE BOOKS/OLD CALANDERS OLD VASES SPONGES CANVAS FRAMES (LARGE AND SMALL) BLENDERS IRONS PEDESTALS HAND MIRRORS OBJECTS FOR STILL LIFES SEA SHELLS *IF YOU THINK WE CAN USE IT...DONATE IT! WE ARE VERY CREATIVE. Benjamin E. Mays High School—Raider News The Athletic Department It’s that time of year again for the Atlanta The game is Saturday, September 20, 2014 at 3:00 Public School vs. DeKalb Showdown p.m. and tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the Extravaganza at the Georgia Dome! It has gate. been a few years since Mays has played in the Dome, so let’s show them how aMAYSing MLK will kick it off against Carver at 12:00 p.m. we are! and Washington will play McNair at 6:00 p.m. for their Homecoming and 90th Anniversary Celebra- Please come out and support our football team tion!!! as we host SWD in the DOME for DOMECOMING!!! Tickets will be sold during all 4 lunches in the main office. Upcoming Events The Atlanta Guitar Guild (AGG) is sponsoring a benefit concert featuring the group Solo Duo. This organization has chosen Mays High School as their pilot community outreach program. AGG has been responsible for providing 3 new guitar racks, 17 brand new guitars and guitar instructors. We would GREATLY appreciate it if our Mays Family could show out in GREAT numbers to support this initiative! Sunday, November 9th, 2014 – 4 p.m. $30 292 Moreland Avenue Atlanta, GA 30307 Dr. Chainey Cherry Director of Orchestral and Guitar Services Visit us on the Web http://www.atlanta.k12.ga.us/Page/14892 Athletic Schedules The Business and Entrepreneurship Academy was selected by Verizon as a Tools For School site. Verizon donated $2700 worth of supplies to our students. While at Verizon's corporate office, students engaged in conversations with executives and other managers about college and career readiness, scholarships and internship opportunities with Verizon. In addition, our students will be participating in a challenge to create an application for smart phones. We will be creating a team to create this application with the support of Verizon. We would like to say thank you to Verizon for support- On September 22, 2014 the Business and Entrepreneurship Academy will open the school store. Location: Cafeteria where the current bank is located Operating Time: 8:00 a.m. - 8:25 a.m. Service: School Supplies