Tuesday, April 3, 2018

4-4-18 Student Mission Briefing


GRYPHON MISSION BRIEFING
For Wednesday, April 4, 2018 – N-day
School Mission – Boundless STEM: Learning & Leading
L&N Student Mission – #Own it!

School Ops:
·      Hey Gryphons! As part of Earth week next week the Powersave Energy Genius Hour is sponsoring a photo competition. Your assignment is to take an ORIGINAL photo demonstrating some form of pollution and submit a png file to s755125@student.knoxschools.org by Mon, April 9th. Please make the subject of the Email PHOTO COMPETITION. Any photo is accepted, your photo does not have to be local. You will be judged on clarity of subject, originality, and authentic display. There are 3 categories, land, air and water pollution. There will be monetary awards to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. There will also be a grand prize awarded to the overall winner based on a school-wide vote. All winning Photographs will be put on display. Winners will be announced on Thursday April 12th.

·      Engergy GH is also sponsoring a short story competition. There will be no maximum or minimum page number, but remember that a reasonable amount of pages gives you a better chance of winning. Your prompt is, “In the near or distant future, what is happening on earth and what will the earth look like.” This must relate to climate and/or energy. You may submit a digital or hard copy. To submit digitally please email to s755125@student.knoxschools.org BY April 10th with a subject of Writing Competition. To submit as a hard copy please place your story in the cardboard box in the office ON April 10th. Your short story will be judged on creativity, knowledge of subject, and clear storytelling technique. There will be monetary prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Also, ALL stories will be submitted to the English department for extra credit in your respective class.

·      Looking for a pair of black Beats solo 3 headphones that were last seen in the PE room on 3/23.  Please notify us in the office if you have seen them!

·      Have you taken the Fruved survey again this spring? If you haven’t, please go to Fruved.com and click on where it says High Schoolers click here in red. If you complete the survey you will be entered for a chance to win 1 of 5 $25 gift cards that will be announced at the end of April.   More importantly the de-identified data will be used by L&N students in class projects and to help advocate for healthy changes you would like to see on campus so it’s important for you to participate! This is the same survey that people took last fall that asked questions about physical activity, diet, and other health-related questions. Although it does take about 45 minutes to complete, you can start it and come back to it as many times as you want as long as you are on the same device.

·      Seniors, don’t forget the mandatory TN Promise meeting coming up, 04/05/2018, (Thursday) in the STEM space and will begin promptly at 8:00 AM.  Remember, failure to attend this meeting will result in the permanent loss of your TN Promise eligibility. Please note the tnAchieves meeting excuse form policy found here.

·      Gryphons made a big showing at the Southern Appalachian Science and Engineering Fair!  This fair takes in projects from 4 states, the L&N had 4 projects entered, and 3 won recognitions!  Congrats to special award AND Honorable mention winners: Shay Branner and William Curtis Brewer (project: Improved Trash Collector), and Larkin Foster and Isabelle Toth (project: Infiltrating into the problems of Second Creek).  Special congrats to Cade Brown, who’s project “Rendering fractals based on escaping sets” won him a Special Award from Intel, the KCS Superintendent’s Award – and made him the Reserve Grand Champion of the whole fair!  He won an all-expense paid trip to the Intel International Science Fair to be held this summer in Philadelphia, PA.  Congrats to you all!

·      In the national John F. Kennedy Library Profiles in Courage essay contest, out of 1,989 essays received nationwide, Zach Medley received an honorable mention.  This award comes with a $100 prize and a special hardcover copy of Profiles in Courage. Zach will also be part of the social media campaign to announce the results.

·      Make plans to join us this Friday night, 4/6 – there will be a “welcome back to school” celebration for both Mrs. Ashe and Mr. Childers (yes, he will be here that night) sponsored by parents from 5:00 – 6:00 on the Verandah.  Come for food, drink, and to hear from them about where we’ve been and where we’re going.  All students and family members are then invited to bring a book and join us for our spring Reading Night from 6:00 – 8:30 in the Commons and Media Center.  Food, good discussion, and great company!  Bring whatever you’re reading and have some fun!
·       Do you play a sport?  Are you planning to go out for one of our teams in 2018-19?  Here’s a chance to meet your physical exam requirement fast, easy, and cheap!  Attend an L&N pre-participation screening for all sports for all rising 9th – 12th grade students.  The screenings will take place on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 8:00 am at Thompson Boling Arena. Parking will be available in the G10 garage. Use the Knox County/TSSAA Pre-Participation Screening Form: http://kocortho.com/pre-participation-screenings/.  These forms must have parent or guardian signature. There is a $10 Charge of cash or check made payable to KOC.  Pre-participation screenings completed after April 15 are good for the entire 2018-2019 school year. If you have questions, contact Michelle Hansard at 558-4438 or michelle.hansard@orthotennessee.com.

·      Come out and support our TSA and Key Club just by eating breakfast!  Mark your calendars now to join us on Saturday, April 7th, 8 to 10 a.m. at Aubrey’s (214 E. Emory Rd. Powell, TN  37849).  Both TSA and Key Club are raising money for trips to Nationals and service projects. Help support them by purchasing Pancake Breakfast tickets for $6 a piece. Bring your family or just make a donation. We'd love your help!  Please mark your calendars--Contact a club member or use this link to purchase tickets online:  https://goo.gl/861LPo


Community  & Guidance Ops:
·      Systers: Women in EECS @ UTK (Systers) is a volunteer student organization at the University of Tennessee –Knoxville – is hosting an outreach event called “Little Systers” on Sat, April 14. This event will inform and inspire high school females about such possibilities for their futures through positive, firsthand experiences. Systers is afforded the opportunity to continue to inspire young women to pursue science, technology, and engineering through Little Systers. This event is limited to 90 student participants, so students should be sure to register soon! This event is free and lunch will be provided.
            Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/174874906452434/

·      Here are some opportunities for students interested in design or architecture: 
o  The Explorer Post sponsored by the local American Institute of Architects offers to all high school students a tour of the newly-designed facility at Beardsley Farm.  Monday April 9, 6:00 - 8:00pm.  Contact Josh Shaffer at designexploring901@gmail.com
o  [Knoxville] By Design - www.knoxbydesign.org  In  April the local architecture community will host fun events for the public. Students will be especially excited about very first LEGO competition Knox Bricks & Blocks. Students will be teamed with designers to create a unique tower in a limited amount of time, all while competing for various "best of" prizes. Check out the link.

·      Summer opportunity: The Young Scholars Program (YSP) is for high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and it's a great opportunity to get some hands-on research in engineering before college. This is a competitive application process, so students will need to submit transcripts and 2 letters of recommendation, as well as a personal statement. That program runs July 2 - 27th, and information can be found here: http://curent.utk.edu/education/pre-college/youngscholars/  The program runs on campus at the University of TN through the CURENT group.  We’ve had students participate in the past and loved it!

·      Want to spend the summer in the Smoky Mountains and get paid for it?  GSMNPark is recruiting for 10 paid high school internships for the summer.  Click here for the application and directions to submit.  You must use your knoxschools.org email address.

·      Are you interested in sports medicine? The field of athletic training?  This workshop is for you!  See below or go here for more info:

·      Author visit coming soon!  Jeff Zentner (http://www.jeffzentnerbooks.com/) is coming to speak to our school on Monday, April 16th during M4. Many thanks to our wonderful PTSA for sponsoring this event! Check out one of his books! We have them in the library. Or better yet, order a copy to have him sign when he visits! (Seriously,you'll want your own copy for him to sign!) Paperback copies of both are under $10 and are linked here at  Amazon.com or speak to Ms. Ellis. Mr. Zentner will offer a Writer's Workshop from 3:35 to 4:30 for interested students. (Mark your calendars--a sign up is coming!)

·      PTSA Scholarships:  All seniors are invited to apply for one or both of the PTSA $1000 scholarships to be awarded to L&N STEM Academy graduating seniors at Awards Night, April 26, 2018. To apply for the scholarships, students must submit an essay (no longer than 300 words) that answers the questions listed for that scholarship. The scholarship information is linked here.  All submissions must be emailed to Mrs. Johnson (lyn.johnson@knoxschools.org) and received no later than 5:00 p.m, Friday, April 6.

Quote of the day from Jonathan Confucius:

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.


Practice L&N Habits every day: Professionalism, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Innovation, Inquiry, & Design
L&N STEM Academy – TN’s First Apple School of Distinction, 3 time - US News & World Report medalist – Silver 2017, Gold 2016, Bronze 2015, 3 time - Newsweek’s Top 500 American High Schools 2015 – 17, TN Reward School (2014, 2015, 2017)


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