9-30-15 Student Mission Briefing

GRYPHON MISSION BRIEFING

For Wednesday, September 30, 2015 – “N” classes

2015-16 L&N Student Mission – Own it!

School Ops:

·      Today at lunch stop by the guidance office on the plaza for free popcorn and to sign the college plans banner for your grade level.  Celebrate TN’s College App week!

·      You probably knew this already, but NASA had a press conference Monday to announce that liquid water periodically flows on the surface of Mars, and therefore is near the surface underground.  This cannot be underestimated; from water astronauts can extract oxygen, and hydrogen for fuel.   Read more about it here:  http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-confirms-evidence-that-liquid-water-flows-on-today-s-mars  It is very, very interesting that the evidence was first discovered by two undergraduate students; i.e. a few years older than L&N Gryphons! 

·      See reminders below about this being National Banned Book Week, and College App week – lots going on around school, be part of it!!

·      Congrats to our golf teams!  Our boys team finished as District Runner Up, which qualifies them for regional.  Reece Walker finished 4^th overall!  Abbey Morgan finished 5^th overall and also qualified for regionals.  Good luck in Elizabethton next Monday Golfing Gryphons!

·      In other sports news – our Ultimate Frisbee Team started the 2015-16 season with a tournament win in Berea, KY this weekend!  Way to go!!

·      NATIONAL HISTORY DAY:  Interested in participating in National History Day this year, but it's not assigned in class? You're still welcome to participate on your own or in groups. The theme this year is Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange in History. Visit the website to get more details: www.NHD.org. Mark your calendar; our school competition is scheduled for January 28th.   See Mrs. Robbins or Ms. Coley for details.

·      Mr. Bell is collecting supplies that will be sent to aid a European refugee camp of 18,000 people. These individuals will be facing winter in harsh conditions and need our help. We are collecting winter clothes, coats, pants, long underwear, blankets, children's diapers, and adult diapers. One Vision International will be sending a large metal shipping container at the end of October. Mr. Bell will be accepting donations in new or gently used condition until October 9th in Room 208.

·      Hey students – did you know we have a working branch of Y-12 Credit Union located in our school?  If you are interested in volunteering to work at the Y-12 student branch this year, pickup an application from the folder outside Room 215.  Please return to Mrs. Griggs by Friday, October 2nd.  Interviews will be conducted on Monday, October 5.

·      LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR CLASS T-SHIRT TODAY! They are on sale in the Commons during all three lunches. Shirts will be on sale from now until September 30th and are $15 (XS-XL - for each additional X please add another dollar). All proceeds go to support prom. 

Community  & Guidance Ops:

·      Celebrate your freedom to read! September 27 through October 3, is the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week. Our Library Media Center is encouraging students to pick up and read a banned book. Part of our school promotion will take place on Twitter, using the hashtag #LNShelfie. Please consider taking a picture of yourself with a banned book and tweet it using that hashtag, as well as the more universal tag #bannedbookshelfie. Or, if you don't not want to post a shelfie (a picture of you with a book), you could simply post a photo of the book with #bannedbooksweek and #LNShelfie. Unsure of what books have been banned? Check out the links below.  So if you would like to participate, please tweet your shelfies using the hashtags #LNShelfie and #BannedBooksWeek, or, if you would like, you could email the photos straight to Mrs. Ellis. (Feel free to stop by the Library Media Center to borrow a book if you do not own any yourself.)  There is also a reading flash mob scheduled from 3:00 – 4:00 on Market Square on Saturday, Oct 3.  Bring a chair and a book to read and join the read-in to celebrate that you can!

List of Most Commonly Challenged Classics - http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics 

List of Most Commonly Challenged Books in the Past Decade - http://www.ala.org/bbooks/top-100-bannedchallenged-books-2000-2009

·      Next week is College App week across TN.  We’re celebrating our Seniors by having them sign a banner with colleges they’ve applied to (AND/OR been accepted – bring your acceptance letter for a photo op!) and Juniors to sign with where they are wanting to apply.  Next Wednesday, on the plaza, during all 3 lunches.  Come see the signatures and get some free popcorn!

·      Need community service hours?  Open Streets Knoxville is happening Sunday, Oct 25th from 1 - 4 p.m., and we need a LOT of volunteers to make it a success. Volunteers will get a free Open Streets Knoxville t-shirt. Go here to find out more http://openstreetsknoxville.com/ or here to sign up: https://www.volunteersignup.org/TJ9LE

·      The month of September is Chiari Awareness Month.  Arnold-Chiari Malformation is a rather uncommon condition in which the brain tissue extends into the spinal canal, which limits the drainage of spinal fluid. This limited drainage causes extreme migraines and can drastically affect vision. Many doctors know nothing of this condition, and as such it can be very difficult to get proper medical treatment. For more information regarding this, you can visithttp://www.wichiaricenter.org/Chiari  Since this school will likely produce multiple doctors, the exposure of this information could have a great impact on how doctors approach patients with this condition.

·      TN Promise will drop off books on November 10th from 8:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. in the STEM Space.  Students who plan to participate in the TN Promise proceedings will be given a 10 minute overview of the qualification process and mandatory attendance dates.  

Quote of the day from Mark Twain:

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by ones you did, so, throw off your bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover.

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

L&N STEM Academy – TN’s First Apple School of Distinction, 2-time TN Reward School for Performance (2012 – 2015)