Acceleration East High School
Community Brief
 Monday, September 10, 2018 
   
Use of Meaningful Educational Data
Data and analytics are still in new in education. We did not pour over data in 1986 when I started teaching as we do now. The attention to data has made us better at instruction, but it has not solved all that ails us. We deal in people, not widgets or blueberries. The production line mentality cannot be applied to the work we are doing as educators. In our weekly administrative curriculum meetings, we talk about kids, not student numbers. We view faces with the names. We talk about our interactions with these students, the dynamics they have with classmates and teachers, and even whether their most basic needs are met.

Our outcomes are student-specific and involve more than just a common set of variables. In fact, the only variables our students truly have in common with each other is the fact they are in the same grade and currently attend the same school. Because of this, we will continue to do the heavy lifting of ensuring every student has a connection to their cohort, their school and have opportunities to reach their full potential.

Monthly SAC Meeting (Tuesday)
Our School Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting will take place this Tuesday, September 11 beginning at 6:00pm. We will be discussing our two school improvement goals and how our school can become a culturally responsive school.  

Annual Open House (Thursday)
Our 2018-2019 Open House is this coming Thursday evening beginning at 6:00pm. There will be a general meeting in the orientation room for all parents. Mr. Hall will also be conducting a mini seminar concerning the benefits of Khan Academy. The open house house event will end at 7:30pm.   
 
Thank you for looking over this latest issue. Make it a great week! 
 
Douglas K. Loftus
Principal   

Students in new principal's picture at upper right:
Front row from left: Nysha Rivers, Paila Baez, Andrea Machado, Melanie Espinosa
Back row from left: Estrella Soto, Henessy Vega, Gilmarie Garcia, Alexandra Colon

Pictured very top:
Photography Club members with some of their camera gear. Also pictured just below with club members is Mrs. Lurdes Lopez, club sponsor.





Rigor in the Classroom
Snapshots of academic engagement over recent days . . .
Mathematics with Mrs. Naffziger
 
 
Mrs. Naffziger's "Math for College Readiness" class was reviewing for an upcoming test last week. Seen above and below, her students were rotating to different stations while Mrs. Naffziger gives assistance.



Biology with Mrs. Singh


In their lab this past week, Mrs. Singh's students were analyzing water as a universal solvent. They were testing this hypothesis, "What type of solutes will water best dissolve? "(copy of their lab assignment is just below).



Vital Signs


Source: OCPS Daily Absence Bulletin. Includes excused and unexcused absences as both represent lost class instructional time. Covers similar days over two weeks.
* Weekly results provided courtesy of Ms. Vicki Jenkins, School Receptionist and 2018-2019 AEHS Support Person of the Year
 
Ten Essential Things Every Senior Needs to Know
1. College Applications - GET GOING ON THEM NOW!!

FSU's deadline (pictured below) is typically in mid-October, and the others are right behind that! Information on how to access applications can be found on each college's website. If you are not sure where you would like to go to college, check out the following websites for college searches: Naviance (an app available through LaunchPad), Collegeboard.org, and floridashines.org


James D. Westcott Memorial Building on the FSU campus

2. High School Transcript Requests - ALL transcript requests are currently requested through a form available at the front desk. Please request your transcript at least three (3) business days prior to needing them for any application deadline.


* Provided courtesy of Ms. Vanessa Roca, AEHS Guidance Counselor

THIS SATURDAY!
A very special Parent Academy at the start of a new school year!




Monday's Motivational Moment!
A LESSON IN KINDNESS FROM THE BIG APPLE 
(A true story)

When Julio Diaz stepped off the New York City subway platform after work one night, he was simply planning to walk over to his favorite local diner for a meal. But when a teenage boy approached him with a knife blade gleaming in his fist, Diaz, a 31-year-old social worker, knew the evening was about to take a more dramatic turn.

The young man demanded Diaz's wallet, and Diaz passed it over without objection. But just as his mugger turned to walk away, Diaz called after him: "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something."

The mugger turned around, surprised.

"If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

The teenager looked at Diaz in disbelief, and asked why he would do such a thing. Diaz replied, "!f you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money." He told the young man that he'd just been heading out for dinner, and that he would be happy for some company.

The young mugger decided to take Diaz up on his offer, and they headed into Diaz's favorite local haunt together. As they were sitting at the table, the manager, the dishwashers, and the waiters all stopped over to say hello to Diaz, and the young man was amazed at his popularity. "You're even nice to the dishwasher," he exclaimed.

"Haven't you been taught that you should be nice to everybody?" Diaz asked him.

"Yeah, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teenager replied.

When the bill came, Diaz told the teen that he'd have to get the check. After all, he still had Diaz's wallet.

But the teenager slid the wallet back across the table without a moment's thought, and Diaz treated him to dinner. Diaz also gave the would-be mugger a $20 bill to take with him - in exchange for the young man's knife.

The lesson for our students?
When interviewed later by the New York media, Mr. Diaz shared this: "I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world."

Florida flag

Make it a great week and please, do not forget about Thursday evening's Open House!
Douglas K. Loftus, Principal
Acceleration East High School
Monday, September 10, 2018

 
 
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Copyright Notice
Reproduction of this material, either written or electronically, including the general layout, graphics, analyses, and content topics without the express approval of Target Performance Systems, Inc., a Florida corporation, and OCPS - Acceleration East High School is forbidden without written consent.  Thank you for your support of the Orange County Public Schools and especially Acceleration East High School. Please contact [email protected] (principal) with any questions or for further information.