12.21.18

“Perseverance, secret of all triumphs.”

- Victor Hugo Dear AHS Parents, Last week, my Indiana Hoosiers (undergrad) defeated my Butler Bulldogs (grad school) in a very exciting basketball game. And although my heart will ALWAYS be with Indiana, I learned a valuable expectation through my graduate program in Educational Leadership through Butler: always go “above and beyond.” I try to live into this when it comes to my marriage, my family, and my work; inevitably, it can be difficult and sometimes I fall short. But I try. When it comes to academic performance, nothing gives me greater joy than seeing our students go “above and beyond” in the classroom. To that end, this week on Monday, I received an incredible and affirming email from the Ohio Department of Education. The email indicated that Anderson High School has achieved the “Momentum Award” for the GROWTH our students demonstrated last year on their End of Course graduation exams. And although this isn’t the first time we’ve been awarded this great distinction, it is no small accomplishment. In fact, Anderson High School is the ONLY high school in Hamilton County (and one of only 12 high schools across Ohio) to have achieved this award three years in a row!!! Understandably, on Tuesday morning, I pulled an “emergency” staff meeting of all teachers, custodians, secretaries, cafeteria workers, paraprofessionals and everyone else to share this great news. I shared with them that WE - collectively, not individually - have helped to create conditions ripe for our students to achieve these kinds of distinctions. You should have seen the celebration that our teachers had for our students’ accomplishment! It was special, that’s for sure. Shortly thereafter, the bell for Period 1 rang and I hopped on the schoolwide announcements to share the news with all of our students. I reminded them of how PROUD we are of them - their work ethic, their focus, and their perseverance in the classroom. What an incredible group we have at AHS who are constantly going “above and beyond”!! It is my sincere hope that you can enjoy a FANTASTIC Winter Break alongside family & friends!! See you next year! :) Rob P.S. For more information about the Momentum Award, please click on the following link (it’s worth the read!): ODE Momentum Award 2018.

MOMENTS OF THE WEEK:

AHS Seniors Timothy Swaney AND Kristin Sweeney BOTH straight DRILLED 1/2 court shots during halftime back-to-back boys hoops games last week and won 13 free subs from Jersey

Mike’s!!

The AHS varsity dance team volunteered last weekend with “Hands Against Hunger” packing

over 10,000 meals!!

Anderson SALT students sold hot chocolate and coffee before school on Monday for $2,

which went directly to Aiken Largo school in Sierra Leone!!

The choir room has officially begun “DEMO WORK” - remember, this will become the new

Orchestra room later this spring!!

The newly renovated BAND ROOM is FINISHED and students were able to rehearse in there

today!! UPCOMING SCHOOL EVENTS:

12/24 - 1/1 - Winter Break, No School! 1/8 - Government End of Course Exam - See “Testing Information” section below 1/17 - End of Semester 1 1/18 - Teacher Work Day - No School for Students 1/21 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - No School for Students 1/27 - FHFE “Interview Skills” Class from 1-3 pm at Nagel MS - More information below. 2/4 - PTO Meeting, 7 pm in Media Center

IMPORTANT SENIOR INFORMATION:

Senior Portraits - Contact McIntire-Glutz (513.528.5888) ASAP to ensure your student’s senior portrait is in the yearbook.

Cap & Gown - The deadline for ordering cap & gown was December 10th. Orders placed after that date will incur a late fee. Click on the following link for more info: Cap & Gown

Commencement - Commencement will be held on Sunday, May 26th, at 3:00 pm at BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University. The ceremony lasts approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.

FHSD SCIENCE AND INNOVATION FAIR INFORMATION: Our science fair is receiving a makeover this year and will now be called the Science and Innovation Expo! Based on your child's grade level, he/she will decide what type of project they want to submit, an innovation project or a science project. Here's a quick breakdown: Students in Grades 5-12: Can submit their project as a science project or an innovation project.- the choice is yours! (PLEASE NOTE: Science projects are the only projects that can qualify to move on to UC's Regional Science and Engineering Expo) Students in Grades K-4: Can submit their project only as an innovation project. These projects receive feedback, but less formal "judging," and fewer restrictions as to what the project must have.

We also need judges to make the Expo a success. For more information on registering a project or signing up to be a judge please go to: https://sites.google.com/foresthills.edu/science-innovation-expo

WEIGHTED COURSE INFORMATION: Quarter GPA's have always been (and will continue to be) calculated without any added weight for advanced level classes (ex. Honors, Pre-AP, AP, etc.). Weights are only applied to semester grades and only semester grades are counted in a student's Cumulative GPA. Anderson and Turpin High Schools utilize a 4.0 grading scale; Weighted Cumulative GPA's will, from this year forward, be calculated with an additional 1.0 point for AP/CCP courses (for a potential 5.0), and an additional 0.5 point for Honors/Pre-AP courses (for a potential 4.5). Honor Roll is the only academic honor awarded at the quarter and is based strictly on unweighted quarter grades. For more information regarding Weighted Courses, please visit the following link on our website: FHSD Weighted Course Information.

AHS ACT PREP OPPORTUNITIES: Students interested in preparing for the ACT have access to a Schoology course for ACT Math Preparation. It has access to full length practice tests, study guides, interactive online practice websites, PowerPoint presentations, videos with explanations, tips on maximizing calculator usage, and much more. It will also have weekly question sets covering different topics on the ACT. Students can self-enroll by using the Schoology access code 8C5D8-BNTX9. If you have any questions, please email Math Teacher Jason Lynch at jasonlynch@foresthills.edu or stop by Room 210. Question sets will begin the week of November 12th.

DRIVERS EDUCATION INFORMATION: The AAA Winter Driving class applications have just become available for registration. The first class begins on January 15 going through February 21 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:45-4:45 pm at Anderson High School. Applications are available in the front office. If you have any questions, you can contact Karen Vanderhorst at karenvanderhorst@foresthills.edu. FHFE INTERVIEW SKILLS CLASS INFORMATION: The Forest Hills Foundation for Education will host an Interview Skills Class which will be held at Nagel Middle School from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm on Sunday, January 27, 2019. In the class students will gain feedback on their resume and mock interview, dress for a "real" interview, construct answers to potential interview questions, and most importantly learn key skills in networking with local and community business individuals. The Skills Class is open to all Forest Hills students in grades 11th and 12th. Click on the following link for more information: FHFE Interviewing Skills Class TESTING INFORMATION: Questions? Contact Kyle Fender (kylefender@foresthills.edu)

PSAT Information: o On October 10th, all Juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT. Parents & students are now

able to access their scores online through the CollegeBoard's assessment portal. Students have also been given paper score reports. Please view this link for information about how to understand the reports: Parent Tutorial on Understanding the PSAT Score Report.

National (ACT/SAT) Testing: o General Information:

It’s never too early to start looking into test preparation opportunities, accommodations request information, and registration deadlines for either the ACT or SAT. See this link for more information and resources to help get

your ready for the ACT: ACT Information for Examinees. Please click on the following link for other general information: ACT/SAT Information.

o Test Prep Opportunities: All students and families looking for free, online ACT practice and

instruction can set up accounts on the ACT Academy

Students interested in preparing for the ACT have access to a Schoology course for ACT Math Preparation. It has access to full length practice tests, study guides, interactive online practice websites, PowerPoint presentations, videos with explanations, tips on maximizing calculator usage, and much more. It will also have weekly question sets covering different topics on the ACT. Students can self-enroll by using the Schoology access code 8C5D8-BNTX9. If you have any questions, please email Math Teacher Jason Lynch atjasonlynch@foresthills.edu or stop by Room 210.

For pay options include TorchPrep (info@torchprep.com) and LEAP

End of Course Testing Information: o Please view this document for information about the State's End of Course

tests/graduation requirements (also known as the AIR tests): CLICK HERE o Key dates:

o US Government (Semester 1 students) will test on January 8 o English 9 and 10 students will test on April 8-9 o US History students will test on April 24 o Math I and II students will test on April 29-30 o Biology students will test on May 1-2 o US Government (Semester 2 students) will test on May 1

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY INFORMATION: Any student interested in being inducted into National Honor Society must have a 3.5+ GPA and 20+ hours of community service logged into Innerview.org by the end of 1st semester of their Junior year to be considered. Juniors will be notified of their admittance in late February and the induction ceremony will be held in March. Questions? Please contact Tonya Herron (tonyaherron@foresthills.edu). COMMUNITY SERVICE UPDATE: The Freestore Foodbank is in need of new and gently used infant, toddler, children's, teen and adult coats. They are also collecting hats, gloves, mittens and scarves. Collection barrels are in our AHS front lobby area until October 24th. Questions? Please contact Cheryl Kemper (cherylkemper@foresthills.edu). BECOME A MEMBER OF ANDERSON’S PTO: Anderson has a strong tradition of parents and staff supporting the school through membership in the PTO. Our online form is fast, secure and might just make you feel like a superhero! Your membership entitles you to a student directory and the satisfaction of knowing you are covering the costs of the programming that enriches your student’s experience throughout AHS. Your membership is critical and we thank you! https://www.foresthills.edu/anderson/about/pto.html 2018-2019 AHS YEARBOOK INFORMATION: Don’t miss out on the great memories from this school year! Buy the 2019 yearbook #AHSisFAMILY. Click on the following link for more information: buytheyearbook.com/andersonhs