Holidays and end of semester

Don't forget that students get out at 2:30 on Friday.  We return on Tuesday, Jan. 4.  Finals are the next week.  All of your teachers should be sending out information by this weekend.  The registration process for 2011-2012 will begin the week we return as well.  This is new for Freshmen as they are used to having registration later in the semester.  There will be a meeting for parents of current academy students on Monday, Jan 10 at 7pm in the lecture hall about registration and changes for next year.

Have a safe and enjoyable vacation.

Hovercraft display

The students did a fantastic job with the hovercraft last night at the Varsity game.  It was a great chance for them to run a "live" test of their craft in preparation for the big event at the February pep rally.  We will be posting pictures soon.

Hovercraft update

The students will be showing their hovercraft during half-time of the varsity game.  It will be approximately 7:50.  Students who are going to be there need to be up at school by 6:30 to make sure that everything is in proper working order.

Raffle Results

The results of the raffle are in:

• J.Macklin's dinner gift card..........Nancy Sullivan
• Blue Ray Player......................... Darren Stone
• CD Clock Radio IPod dock...... Allen Taggert
• iTouch....................................... Paula Murphy
• iPad...........................................Susanna [something]
• Flight Simulator......................... Donna Garrett 

Top Seller - Paulana Hall - 96 tickets!

EXCITE 1 Hovercraft

See the EXCITE 1 students perform at half-time during the baskeball game on Monday 12/13.  They will be showing off their hovercraft they have been working on in class this week.

FRC Parent meeting

Parents of all students who are on FRC will have a meeting on Tuesday 1/4 at 7pm in room C203.  Everyone needs to be there so that we can let you know everything that is going on with FRC this year.  The students will need your help with several things during the season.

End of the semester party

We will be having an end of the semester party a Main Event on Friday Jan, 14.  The event is open to all STEM Academy, School of Engineering, and JETS students.  More details will follow.

FIRST Robotics Deadline

If you want to compete on either FIRST Robotics team (FRC or FTC).  You need to see Mr. Garner by the end of the day on Thursday 12/9.

Raffle tickets due Fri, Dec 3rd., drawing is Tues, Dec 7th, 7 pm at CHS library!!

Dear Parents and CHS EBC Supporters,

The last day to turn in raffle tickets is this Friday, December 3rd. Tickets and money can be turned into the EBC lockbox in Mr. Yakubovsky's room. Please make sure that raffle tickets and money are together in the same envelope.

The raffle drawing will be on Tuesday, December 7th, in the CHS library. Winners do not need to be present.

This will serve as the December general meeting.

Thank you all for your efforts in making both the EXPO and the raffle a success.

Cordially,

Tony Huet

CHS Engineering Booster Club President

Student mouse

When we get to SolidWorks and STK units, we will be using the laptops.  Students can do everything with the touchpad.  It is much, much easier with a mouse, so students may want to bring their own USB mouse when we get to those units

Booster Club Meeting

Dear Engineering Booster Club Members,

The November meeting of the Engineering Booster Club is this Tuesday, November 16th, at 7 pm, in the CHS library.

The 2010 Engineering Expo was a huge success! On behalf of the EBC board, I would like to thank all of you who volunteered and helped out with the Expo. It takes many volunteers to make the Expo happen and this year we had a good turnout of parent and student volunteers alike. We're already working on next year's Expo, so it's never too early to step up and offer your assistance.

Topics for this meeting include:

* Recap of the 2010 Engineering Expo - attendance and demographics

* Plans for next year's Expo

* Raffle tickets due Friday, December 3rd in Mr. Yak's drop box

* Raffle held Tuesday, December 7th, at 7 pm, in the CHS library

* Mr. Yak's update

* Solar Car team report

* and more

Please let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing you there.

Cordially,

Tony Huet

CHS Engineering Booster Club President

Expo 2010

The Engineering Expo 2010 was a huge success!  We had between 1200 and 1500 people here on Sunday.  The colleges and universities were very impressed with the students and they work they are doing.  I'm glad the students had a chance to talk with them before the crowds showed up.  It would not have been the success it was without the help and support of all of the parents and volunteers.  I can't thank you enough.  We will be putting together photos and videos soon.

From the Booster Club

Just a reminder that the Engineering Expo is this Sunday, November 7^th and we are still in need of volunteers.

Please go to CHS Engineering Expo on MySignUp if you are able to help out.

We will also need volunteers to help with set up this Saturday, November 6^th morning from 9am-noon at the high school.  In addition we need power strips and grounded extension cords to be brought during set up.  Please use a sharpie to write your name on the item or use duct tape to label your item.

Expo t-shirts will be available for purchase during set up on Saturday morning.  These t-shirts are for adults as well as students and can be worn while volunteering or at competitions.  Cost is $10.

Hopefully your students have been busy selling their raffle tickets.  All students were given 20 raffle tickets to sell.  The flier included with these tickets had a turn in deadline of December 16^th.  However, a vote was taken at the last booster club meeting to move the general meeting up to December 7^th and have the raffle drawing then.  Therefore the deadline for turning in ticket stubs and money has been moved to December 1^st.  We will have a table set up at the Expo if any students want to man this and try to sell their raffle tickets.

I’ll send a reminder to all who have volunteered to help in the next couple of days with details about checking in and duties.

Thank you,

Jane Hays

Membership/Volunteer Chair, CHS Engineering Booster Club

Expo time

Students will be at the Expo on Saturday 11/6 starting at 9am to set up.  We hope to be done by noon if everyone is there on time.  On Sunday, everyone will show up at 9:30.  The colleges will arrive at 10:00.  The colleges will tour the student work at 11.  We will break for lunch at noon.  Then the students will be able to see the colleges from 1 to 2.  The event opens to the public from 2 to 5.  Clean up should take about an hour with everyone's help.

Students can buy expo shirts this weekend for $10.  The shirts will make it easier for others to see who our students are and give us every advantage as we expect over 2000 people to be in attendance.

Engineering Expo

The Expo is just around the corner.  We have approximately 60 exhibitors coming.  In addition, schools from around the DFW area will be coming.  Some are sending bus loads of students.  It will be an exciting time.

Composition Books

All students must have a sewn-bound composition book by Monday, 11/1.  We will start using these in class daily.

Lab Fees

Please remember that Lab Fees, OSHA Registration, and class supplies are due.

Engineering Disasters

Please check the EXCITE 1 calendar for an update on the Engineering Disasters dates.  They have been pushed back at least 1 day for the assignments over the next week.

Mole Day Presentation

The sophomores will be giving their Mole Day presentations on Friday morning.  You can check the chemistry and ELA2 websites for more information.

Math L.E.A.D. Lab

L.E.A.D. (Learning Enhancement Across Disciplines) is our new tutoring lab.  We are starting up the tutoring lab this Wednesday.  At this moment, the lab will be open 1 period a day for math tutoring.  Any STEM student is welcome to come to the lab for help.  Over the course of the coming weeks, we will extend the times and the courses.  Starting Wednesday, the lab will be open on A-Days during 4th period and B-Days during 7th period in C203.  As we figure out demand we will be adding new sessions and expanding to include Science, English, Social Studies and Engineering. 

EXCITE lab fees and supplies

The students were made aware of the lab fee and supplies needed for the Engineering Classes.  All students need to bring a check for $25 made out to CHS.  Students who do not already have their OSHA certification and did not go to the STEM Boot Camp, must bring a check for $18 made out to the CHS Engineering Booster Club.  All students must complete the OSHA certification, which does not expire.  Finally, freshmen need to bring in a roll of duct tape and sophomores need to bring in a pair of impact type safety goggles (not splash).  Both can be found at Home Depot or Lowe's.  These supplies help us keep the labs running and running safely. 

Curriculum Night Video

If you were unable to attend Monday night's curriculum night meeting with me in the Lecture Hall, I have uploaded a video of the meeting.  You can see it in our new YouTube Channel.  The link is in the links section to the right of this announcement.

The video will be uploaded in 4 segments of about 14 minutes each.  Go to "Academy Videos" for the link.

First Day of School

For the first day of school, all STEM students need to do the following:
- at 8:20, go to the room assigned on the lists posted in the commons.  There you will get your ID and schedule.
- When dismissed, go to your 1st period class.
- If your 1st period class is any STEM course, go to C201 for instructions.
- If your 1st period class is not a STEM course, go to the room listed.  You will go to C201 for your first STEM class whenever you schedule lists it.
-  If you have any questions, go to C201.

Curriculum Night Meeting

Curriculum night is Monday 8/30.  We will be having sessions for the parents at 6pm and 7pm in the Lecture Hall.  The nature of the STEM Academy schedule makes it hard for parents to follow their student's schedule.  So you can hear from all of the teachers, we will be meeting in the Lecture Hall for all Academy classes.  See you there.

Schedules

CHS Schedule pick up will be happening soon.  We will be giving the students their Academy schedules the first day of school.  Due to the unique nature of the schedule and the curriculum, the first several days will be devoted to working with the students to make the adjustment to the schedule.  Our orientation program, called "Hit the Ground Running" will help students adjust to the Academy, the curriculum, get to know the other students, and get an introduction to Engineering.  A part of Hit the Ground Running will be a unique challenge called "Project X."  The Academy is new for everyone and we will do everything we can to help all of the students and parents make the transition easier.

STEM Boot Camp

STEM Boot Camp starts next week.  We will meet in the small commons at the HS.  If you have not signed up, but would like to come, please contact me.  We can get you in.  Camp runs from 1 to 4 each day 8/2 - 8/4

Firefox Personas

Get your official STEM Academy personas for Firefox.  These are great ways to dress up your browser and show your spirit.  You can follow the link below or to the right.

Click here to get your persona

Calendars

You will see a series of links to the right.  These are Google Calendars for the different groups in the School of Engineering.  We will be using these calendars to keep students and parents informed of work sessions, dates, etc.  If you have a Google account, you can easily subscribe to the calendar and have the information imported automatically to your own personal calendar.  If you don't have an account, don't worry, the links are here for you to use.

Camp name change

We have changed the name of the Berkeley Project to "Engineers Without Borders".  We are still working on the same project, wind energy.

STEM T-Shirts are in!

The STEM Academy T-Shirts have arrived.  I have them in the engineering lab.  I will not be on campus during the day the next two weeks.  I can give them out Saturday 6/12 during the day or during the camps. 

Welcome

Welcome to the CHS STEM Academy Announcements blog.  Through this blog, we will provide a convienent place for all parents and students to recieve general inormation.  It is recommended that you subscribe to this blog so you can recieve updates.  There are a number of resources available for following this blog.  Your browser will have a button to allow you to subscribe.  In addition, there are a lot of programs and apps that you can use in a web browser or on your phone.  To help you get started, here is a link to the getting started info for using Google Reader  (click here)

Summer Reading

The summer reading lists have been posted.  There is reading for both incoming 9th and 10th graders.  The first part of the list is all required.  The second part of the list contains a selection of books.  Each student must read one of the books on the list for English.  This list is different from the list of books for non-STEM Academy English classes.  Follow the links below for your grade:

• 9th Grade Reading List
• 10th Grade Reading List