November Newsletter Open High School - Richmond Public …

[Pages:6]November Newsletter

Open High School

Developing positive and informed global citizens who are engaged participants, working to make the world a better place.

600 South Pine Street, Richmond, VA 23220 T: 804-780-4661

Dear Open High School Families,

I can't believe it's November already!

Highlights of this month include Parent-Teacher Conferences (11/7 early dismissal and 11/8-no school for students), Report Cards (11/14) and the Thanksgiving Holiday (11/23-11/25). With so few instructional days, every moment counts. Help us to provide a quality education to your students by ensuring that they are in school every day.

Absences can add up quickly. Students who miss 18 or more days in a school year (excused and unexcused) are considered "chronically absent". Keep absences to those things that are unavoidable such as illnesses and family emergencies. Be sure to send a note to school following an absence so that we can properly record the excuse. When your student is absent, have him or her follow up with teachers to get missing assignments completed in a timely fashion.

Enjoy this month's Newsletter!

Candace

Candace Veney-Chaplin, Principal

Open High School

Upcoming Events

November 1-2 D?a de los Muertos Celebration

November 2 VACRAO College Day

November 3 Town Meeting

November 7 End of 1st 9 weeks Early Dismissal for Students at 1:00 Parent Teacher Conferences 3:30-7:00

November 8 Election Day No School for Students Parent Teacher Conferences 8:00-12:00

November 9 *EVEN DAY* CBF Field Trip Slave Trail Field Trip

November 11 CBF Field Trip

November 14 Report Cards Sent Home

November 22 Family Thanksgiving Potluck Celebration

November 23-25 Thanksgiving Holiday No School for Staff or Students

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Day in the Park

The entire school enjoyed our annual Day in the Park, held Friday, October 28th at Maymont Park. Activities included lunch with family, kickball, and tug of war. The games highlighted several OHS Dispositions, including: Perseverance: Persistence and Resilience. The willingness to work through difficult tasks or situations. The ability to remain whole through adversity. The sophomores emerged as champions at tug of war, proving that the force is strong in the Class of 2019!

Pumpkin Decorating Contest

Families worked together the last week in October to create a one-of-a-kind creation for the annual Pumpkin Decorating Contest. The 2016 theme was "Clowns." This competition helps students develop the following disposition: Creativity: Original expression of any kind. The ability to think "outside the box" to dream of better or different ways of being and doing. Some of the pumpkins on display included Donald Trumpkin, Flowey, The Joker, LaVerne the Space Clown, Krusty the Clown, a nerdy clown, and Clown-ula. The winning pumpkin, Open the Minion Clown, was created by Chad's Family, who won a pizza party. Thanks to Altria for donating the decorating materials and to the OHS PTSA for donating the pumpkins!

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Open High School's SOL Success

The SOL data from the 2015-2016 school year has been published, and Open High's test scores have been getting positive attention. While our pass rate is high, we realize that proficient scores on SOL tests are a minimum measurement of achievement. All departments are working diligently on their goals to increase the number of students earning advanced scores. For more information, check out Open High School's school report card at .

Student Movers and Shakers

Sophomore Attends Vice-Presidential Debate at Longwood University Max Murphy's parents encouraged him to take a day off of school and attend the debate because his family owns a farm in Farmville, near where the debate was being held at Longwood University. Max enjoyed seeing all the news stations set up right by the debate location. There were many people supporting their preferred presidential or vice presidential candidates behind the newscasters.

"I did not see the debate in person, but instead I viewed it by a large screen displayed outside with many people sitting down on the grass," Max shares. "I learned that even the vice presidential debate was a big deal, especially because this was the first time the vice presidential candidates had met and this was the only debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence." OHS Student Spends Musical Summer at Berklee Trey Fleming spent five weeks in a jazz program at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He received a scholarship from the Berklee City Music Scholarship Program, which enabled him to play in a number of jazz bands and workshops. Trey loved living on his own in Boston; in fact, the worst part of his adventure was having to leave the environment and all the people he met. His advice to other student musicians? "Practice your instrument, and apply for the scholarship program!"

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Featured Class: Online P. E. with Jocelyn Logan

P. E. Online is a virtual course designed for students to be able to work independently and still reap the benefits of a classroom course.

PROS: Students get their choice of what physical activity they would like to do. Students do not have to physically report to a classroom each day. Students utilize technology to enhance educational values. Students gain the experience of a virtual course.

CONS: Students have a HUGE responsibility to keep track of their coursework because the teacher is not physically present each day. Both teacher and student have to account for the occasional technology glitch or interruption.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM JOCELYN LOGAN:

I am attached to my cell phone at all times; shoot me an email at

(rpsonlinepe@) and I will most likely answer quickly.

If I need to contact a parent, I will definitely reach out to them.

Any activity that elevates your heart rate above resting (ex. walking, running,

competitive sports, Pilates, yard work, walking the dog, roller skating, etc.) is

acceptable to include in your log.

CONSISTENCY is key!!!

Set a schedule or get an agenda book to set aside time to do your assignments.

Students should take this class seriously, since it is a graduation requirement.

DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!

I am available at OHS most weeks on the even Tuesday or Wednesday (however the

calendar falls).

Parent Teacher Conference

Monday 11/7 3:30 -7:00 Tuesday 11/8 8:00 ? 12:00

Next week's Parent-Teacher Conference is geared toward TEACHERS. Plan to meet with teachers of your student's classes, and remember, students are encouraged to attend!

Our Parent-Teacher Conference in March and June will be FAMILY HEAD oriented to provide an opportunity for students to work with family heads to provide parents with an overview of their experience to date. Both March and June will be times when family heads set appointments with family members and parents.

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Impacting Our School, Our City, Our World: Senior Project 2017

A unique culminating feature of the Open High School program is the Senior Project. The goals of the project are to help seniors explore an area of interest prior to choosing a college major and to raise the level of community involvement of OHS seniors. Planning, executing, and sharing results of the senior project help students develop all ten OHS dispositions, including:

Community Engagement: A participatory nature. Commitment to OHS community values such as volunteerism, class and town meeting attendance. A willingness to give back.

Organization: The ability to create systems that ensure the completion of tasks in a timely manner. Organization includes punctuality, time management and study skills.

The seniors are off and running on their senior projects! Here's a sneak peek at what they're working on:

Farron Anderson Miranda Arias Sydni Bell, Tiara Jones, and Tim King

Dance! 3-D Printer Grant St. Mary's Kids Krafts

Kamau Bey and Chris Bolling Jason Coppinger

Students for RPS OHS Landscaping

Mira Davis, Autumn High, and Mariah Bonner Philip Daniel Jazmin Foster and Nazir Williams Ketanya Giscombe Tony Green Khadijah Harris-Muhammed Miguel Hernandez and Ruben Artis Jalen Jackson and Caleb Wallace Tonisha Jones Antoine Kouetoundi Anglea Li and Sterlen DePlata Mysia Perry Zoe Shepard Audrey Wilkinson, Kailyn Small, and Philip Daniel Micah-Michell Williams, Jah'Melia

Oral History Class Rosmy Feral Cat Colony Respect! Tae Kwon Do Our National Security Refurbish the Garden LapTops for the Living Cuidando Flower Revival RAA Garden Girls Do SWEAT Diversity Clothing Decoration Committee Richmond Animal Care and Control

Anderson, and Clarissa Peters

Bishop Bryant, Haile Brooks, and Porter Deckleman Canned Food Drive

Bishop Bryant

Unity Day/GSA

Projects are to be finished by January 15, 2017. The seniors will formally present their projects to the community in March.

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In the Community

Volunteers Spruce Up Open High On Saturday, October 15th, volunteers from Altria and the VCU School of Engineering worked to make Open High School even better. In conjunction with Hands On Greater Richmond, the volunteers tackled several projects, including:

Creating an outdoor classroom space Landscaping front beds and adding plantings to garden beds Furnishing the student lounge with new seating Replacing the bench on the back landing Providing art supplies to OHS families for annual Pumpkin Decorating Contest Thank you so much to the volunteers for all of their help!

Open High Reads with VCU

Thursday, October 20: Just Mercy Kickoff and Screening of To Kill a Mockingbird During the 2016-2017 school year, OHS is collaborating with VCU to read Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Every student and staff member received a copy of Just Mercy at Town Meeting on October 20th. Dr. Micol Hutchison of VCU, also an OHS parent, spoke about the book and shared information about upcoming events related to our reading. Many students, teachers, and parents remained at VCU after the meeting to attend a screening of To Kill a Mockingbird. The ninth grade English class has been studying the novel, and they actively participated in the post-film discussion led by VCU students. Thanks, VCU!

Send newsletter contributions to Lorah Allen, editor, at lallen4@.

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