Thursday, May 15, Graduation Day!

     Twelve students began the evening as high school seniors and ended the evening as graduates.  They worked incredibly and diligently to earn their degrees.  And each student deserves a large applause for completing high school.  Their proud families and friends and teachers were all able to see them make this major transition. One student was unable to be at graduation, but he was there in spirit. In all 13 students graduated from the Accelerated Schools of Overland Park this year.
    Graduating senior Tyler started the evening with a reading before dinner.  Seniors, families, friends, staff and faculty all enjoyed a wonderful dinner before the main celebrations began.  After dinner, students were awarded certificates for good/perfect attendance, wonderful results in standardized testing.  Siarah was awarded the Faculty Appreciation Award, a honor voted on by the staff.   Dimitri was awarded the Presidential Award in Education.  Nakysha presented the Senior Speech.
     Leonard Zeskind,  a 1998 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellow, was the commencement speaker.  Mr. Zeskind  has devoted his life to the struggle for dignity and humanity for all people, and works to curb the influence of racism, anti-Semitism and white surpremacist groups.
    During his commencement speech, he told the students that although he has spoken to Parliament in England, Police and elected officials, speaking to them made him a bit nervous.  He told them that they had already accomplished so much with completing their degrees, but they had become life long learners, and lifelong teachers.  Their role in the future was to help the people of the world work together.  As the United States becomes a country made of minorities, everyone must learn to help each other.
   And then the students were presented their diplomas by Sara and Bob, while Jane read off their names.  Each student was greeted with applause as he or she received a diploma.  It was a wonderful evening of celebration.

Annual Award Banquet

Annual Award Banquet

The Annual Award Banquet was a wonderful event!

Twelve eighth grade students graduated into high school!

Nine students performed four musical numbers for the wonderful crowd of  students, parents, family members and staff who attended.

Every student received an award based on his or her special talents.

 Two students received special recognition: Zach was named Middle School Student of the Year; Heather was named High School Student of the Year.

Ten students were recognized for excellence on National Test Scores.

Four students had perfect attendance awards;  24 were awarded for their great attendance.

Every student at the school deserves praise and recognition for their excellence this school year!

     Due to the five snow days that the Accelerated School was closed this winter, two days that were originally designated as vacation days were added back to the calendar.  Students already came back a day early from Spring Break.  School started on Monday, March 24, instead on March 25.

     Students will also lose a vacation day in April.  Instead of enjoying a four-day weekend from Friday, April 18 , through Monday, April 21,  students will return to school on Monday April 21. However, they will still have a vacation day on Friday, April 18.

     With the addition of these two days,  students will not have to go to school beyond the original last day scheduled for Thursday, May 22.    Final exams will be held, as planned, on Wednesday, May 21, and Thursday, May 22.  Teachers will report to school on May 23 for a Professional Day.

Senior graduation is set for Thursday, May 15.

Seeing Dracula, the Ballet

Dracula, by Middle School Student Lily H.

Our school had the opportunity to go to the Kauffman Center to see Dracula.  This story about Dracula was performed as a ballet.  It was an amazing performance.  Everybody seemed to enjoy the ballet.

Several students and teachers commented on the ballet:  Dana said her favorite character was Dracula. She also enjoyed watching the dance moves that she cannot do.  Zach said his favorite character was Van Helsing.  London's favorite part of the ballet was the fire alarm!

Sara B. said,  "I really enjoyed Dracula's performance.  Even when he walked onto the stage to take his bow, he remained in character.  He was awesome.  I would say that it was well done: the music, the dancing. It was amazing."

I believe that seeing a ballet or any kind of performance enriches our lives.

Dracula, High School Student Heather M.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to see the Dracula ballet with school. I adore both the worlds of literature and theatre, so this was a fun activity for me. It was fascinating to compare the ballet to the original novel, and to find that the production did a mostly accurate job of portraying the story.

Because the ballet contained no dialogue, I found it interesting to discern which dancer was which character and what point in the plot was being represented. I enjoyed examining the costumes and scenery, and all the abilities of the talented performers. 

Overall, it was a very fun field trip, and one I would enjoy attending again. 

High School Resource Officer Speaks At ASOP

 

   

  Officer Jose Carrillo, from the Overland Park Police Department, recently spoke about bullying and the importance of attendance at the Accelerated Schools of Overland Park.

       The School Resource Officer at Shawnee Mission West High School, Officer Carrillo spoke to both the middle school and high school students in two separate groups.  He explained that being bullied is not a reason to miss school and gave ideas to help if this is an issue.  Both groups had many good questions for Officer Carrillo, but the middle school students were especially engaged by the program.

      Officer Carrillo’s visit to the school as a guest speaker was arranged by Principal Sara Tate Goldstein.  “Principal Julie Crain, of Shawnee Mission West, graciously loaned the school’s resource officer to the Accelerated Schools for this program,” said Sara.

      “The biggest benefit to the students was learning that it is a priority of the community and the police officers to help students stay in school,” said Sara.  “The police officers want students to understand the benefits of being in school.  But most important, students need to realize that staying home from school because they are being bullied is not the answer to bullying. It is best to find a safe adult, who the student trusts, to get help.  A school resource officer can be this person if needed.”

        The Accelerated Schools is considering having a DARE/Resource Officer at the school one half day a week next school year.  “We are trying to determine the cost and work it into our budget,” said Jane Curran, ASOP Director.

        If any parent, current or former, would like to help underwrite this program or a part of this program, please contact Jane or Ellen Portnoy at the school:  913-341-6666.

2014 Summer Programs Set

 Looking for a summer camp program for your child that combines art and academics?  If you have a child entering fourth through eighth grade, who needs a little extra help during the summer to keep up with academics, but also loves art, computer graphics, video production and photography, then sign up for the Accelerated Schools’ program. 

Offered from June 2 until August 8, 2014, the Academic and Arts Camp is in session form 9 am to 1 pm, Monday through Friday.  Each day, campers spend 2 ¼ hours in individualized tutoring and 90 minutes in creative expression. Students must sign up for a minimum of three weeks of camp.  Start and stop dates are optional within the camp schedule.  Go to this link to see the camp flyer:  http://www.acceleratedschoolsop.org/assets/Uploads/middlecamp.pdf.

High school students, entering grades 9 to 12,  looking to take extra credits during the summer….or to improve a grade, can also attend the Accelerated Schools.  Accredited by the State of Kansas and AdvancED, the school offers high school credit in a variety of courses including math, science, social studies, English and Spanish. Students can earn up to 1 ½ credits during the summer.  Each class takes three weeks, or 60 hours to complete.  Students are in a classroom setting, learning from an accredited teacher.

The high school summer school program is also offered from June 2 to August 8, 2014.  Students must enroll for at least three weeks. Weeks do not have to be consecutive, but dates must be determined in advance.  Go to this link to see the High School Summer School Flyer:  http://www.acceleratedschoolsop.org/assets/Uploads/summercamp.pdf

Students who just need some extra tutoring over the summer, but do not want to be in a set program, can participate in private tutoring at the Learning Center.  Information about the tutoring programs can be found in either summer program flyer.

If the links do not work, you can go to the school's website at www.AcceleratedSchoolsOP.org to see the camp flyers.

If you have questions, please call Jane Curran at 913-341-6666.

Computer Curriculum Updated!

      Digital photography, computer animation, graphic design, video production, video game design and Photoshop are all part of the Accelerated Schools’ elective computer classes.  For the past three years, students have been able to learn these skills on MacBook Pro laptop computers.

      With small classes of no more than nine students in each class, both high school and middle school students are able to learn new computer skills based on their abilities.  Students learn about photography, how to use special effects with photos, make simple animated videos, film and edit green screen video, and about the elements of graphic design.

     These classes are offered as part of the Accelerated Schools’ elective classes held each afternoon from 1 to 3 pm.  Students have a choice of electives including art, drama and music, besides the computer classes.

      Besides these computer classes, the Accelerated Schools, through the help of wonderful donors, was able to purchase 24 Google Chromebook computers this past summer.  One of the things the students use the Chromebook computers to work on is Study Island,” an online standards mastery and test preparation program built from state standards.,” as stated in its teacher’s manual.  “The program allows teachers to customize instruction to students’ needs while allowing students to study in standard test format.”

      The use of Study Island and the Google Chromebook computers has enhanced the schools ability to provide each student internet connection and a computer.

      The Chromebooks are also used for NWEA testing; for the Create A Book elective, a creative writing class; and for English composition classes.

       For more information about the Accelerated Schools of Overland Park, or to schedule an appointment, call Jane Curran at 913-341-6666.