1-23-19 Student Mission Briefing

GRYPHON MISSION BRIEFING

For Wednesday, January 23, 2019 – N-day

School Mission – Boundless STEM: Learning & Leading

L&N Student Mission – #Own it!

School Ops:

·      Be watching for Wednesday’s new Genius Hour assignments.  We know some students are disappointed at being placed in tutoring or study hall rather than a requested activity.  You can earn your way out by getting some work done and bringing your grade up!  They are also scheduled so in most cases you can eat while attending the club or other activity and still be at the assigned area.  Do not skip these assigned placements – they will be treated as a class cut and subject to discipline!

·      If you misplaced an Acer laptop earlier this year please stop by the office to identify one that has been turned in.

·      Plan now to join us for winter Reading Night! This Friday, January 25th from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. All you need is a book to read--Check one out from our library! We'll alternate between quiet reading time and time to socialize. Equality Club will be hosting the evening and PTSA will be sponsoring the evening, and they'll generously be providing food and raffle prizes. It's sure to be fun!

·      The 3rd Annual L&N STEM Academy Film Festival will be held on April 9th from 6 - 9 p.m. The L&N Film Festival is not exclusive to journalism or theatre students! So, if you have a knack for filmmaking, give it a try!  The cut off for submitting film is March 15th, by 11:59 p.m. More details to come regarding how to submit films, judges, and etc.  

·      Lost in the Station – pair of black, wireless, AKG headphones, on Thursday, 1/17.  Turn in to office if found.

·      Time is running out to purchase a yearbook. The price will go up soon and we're beginning to sell out, so make sure to buy yours from jostensyearbooks.com ASAP to make sure you don't miss out!

·      PROM TICKETS:  The prom committee members will be selling tickets during both lunches everyday except Mondays. Tickets will be single tickets are $45 and couples tickets are $80. Additionally, if students paid their senior dues the cost of a single ticket was included. 

·      Book Drive! Our Key Club and The Gryphon Coffee Nook are sponsoring a book drive throughout January. Please drop off your books for donation to the office or the STEM Library. Thank you!

Community  & Guidance Ops:

·      FREE ACT Workshop for 10-11^th graders:  On Saturday, February 23rd, we will host an ACT Workshop from 8am to 1pm at L&N. During this time, students will have the opportunity to attempt an official ACT practice test, receive scores, listen to strategy sessions by Outlier's Advantage, and enjoy a free lunch. In addition, we will provide registration and practice instructions for ACT Academy.

By attending this workshop, students will put themselves in a good position to prepare for the ACT administrations in March, including the in-school ACT for juniors on March 12th.  ACT strategy and support sessions for parents will be provided at 12:15 pm.  Register now: tinyurl.com/act2-23.

·      AP Registration Window Opening Soon!  The Advanced Placement (AP) Exam Registration Window is January 28th-February 15th.  Students and parents can obtain the registration form digitally (see attached) or pick up a hard copy in the Guidance office.  Completed forms and payment must be submitted to the Guidance office.  Forms or payments submitted any other way may not make it to the appropriate staff member, resulting in students not being able to test! Do NOT submit to the main office! Remember: The deadline to register is Friday, February 15th! Please direct any questions to sarah.salerno@knoxschools.org.  More AP information can be found at https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/home

·      PSAT Score Info:  PSAT score reports from the test you all took in October are available to students online.  Students may also choose to link their College Board and Khan Academy accounts to receive FREE, personalized test prep through Khan's website.  While paper score reports are available for pick up in Guidance, the online reports provide MUCH more in-depth information and data.  Below is a link to videos on accessing scores and linking accounts:
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/scores/student-score-reports

·      In-School ACT for Juniors:  Tuesday, March 12th, 2019, 9:30-12:30

All juniors will take the ACT in-school on March 12th for FREE.  Please contact Sarah Salerno, Test Coordinator, at sarah.salerno@knoxschools.org if you have any questions.

·      Interested in STEM and working with elementary students?  Apply as a mentor in the Gear Up STEM Camp. Eligible mentors can be in grades 9-11 with at least a 2.75 GPA. Receive a stipend, leadership skills, service hours.  The program is 4 separate weeks over the next year (2 in summer, spring break and fall break).  See more at http://bit.ly/GearUpSLM. Deadline 2/15/19.

Quote of the day from Vesta Kelly:

Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they stick together.

Practice L&N Habits every day: Professionalism, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Innovation, Inquiry, & Design

L&N STEM Academy – TN’s First Apple School of Distinction, US News & World Report medalist , Newsweek’s Top 500 American High Schools, TN Reward School,  

TN STEM Designated School, AdvancED STEM Certified School