01 November 2010
Message from the Principal:
Thank you again to everyone for making our visitors from Dayton Regional STEM school feel so welcomed last week. In our debriefing with their principal and staff late Friday afternoon, we heard the following compliments about your skills and your character:
- public speaking skills: their #1 compliment was “Your students are so articulate!”
- friendliness & helpfulness: They commented about how comfortable you appeared in hosting visitors, sharing your learning, and simply saying “hello” even when you were just passing them in the hallways.
- engagement in and passion for learning: You impressed our visitors with your ability to explain what you were learning versus what you were doing; how you would apply it; next steps in the learning process.
- the clarity of your purpose and your goals: They also mentioned your ability to clearly articulate why you came to Aviation High School and your goals for college and career. This clarity was a big ‘take away’ for them that they will begin to incorporate with their own students.
- your respectful demeanor: More than one commented, “They are so nice!”
You are all of these good things and more, so give yourselves a well-deserved pat on the back. I am immensely proud of you!
Congratulations to:
- Jordan Stivers, a senior, and Sean Romanczuk, a graduate of AHS’s Class of 2009, for earning their Eagle Scout!
- The Skunkworks Robotics Team for sponsoring a very fun and successful spaghetti dinner and auction last Friday evening!
- National Honor Society for sponsoring a blood drive last week that resulted in 34 donors, 21 who were first-time donors. According to the rep from the Puget Sound Blood Bank, “Each unit of blood is divided into three separate components (red blood cells, platelets and plasma) and is given to different patients for various reasons. This means that donors from AHS helped save the lives of over 90 people!” Way to go, AHS blood donors, and special thanks to Faiza, Alma, Melissa, and Danielle for leading and managing this event!
- Speech & Debate team for their outstanding results at the Gig Harbor tournament this past weekend. Five teams competed, and Albert Ta and Hayk Saakian placed third with a 4-1 record. Other team members—Jenny Gao and Libanos Redda, Matt Iverson and Karan Singh, Amela Jazvin and Katie McConville, and Serena Simkus and Abdul Firoz had a 3-2 record. Albert also got 5th place out of 24 competitors in Extemp and 9th place out of 40 in Impromptu. It’s on to Whitman this Friday and Saturday, the first really big tournament of the year, according to Coach Shiroma. We’ll be cheering for you!
There are some particularly important dates coming up:
- Thanksgiving break is just around the corner, and this year you will have Wednesday, 24 November off in addition to Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, 25 Nov) and Friday (26 Nov). Wednesday, 24 Nov will be a non-student day because we are scheduling student-led conferences on two separate evenings: Tuesday, 16 November and Monday, 22 November (equivalent to one full day of school). (Note that the calendar originally published in the student handbook at the start of the school year did not include 24 Nov as a non-student day.)
- Our annual PTSA-sponsored auction is quickly approaching. Saturday, 13 November is the date and the location is the Museum of Flight. If you haven’t heard about this wonderful event and want to help out or attend, please contact our auction chair, Teri Katzer, at tkatzer@msn.com or find more information on the PTSA website at http://www.aviationptsa.org.
- This Friday, 5 November, is the last day of fall quarter. It’s also the due date for applications to Washington Aerospace Scholars!
Here’s to learning and achievement! My best to all of you as we wind down one quarter and ramp up for the next! I am honored to be your principal. ~Reba
NOTE:
o Continue checking the AHS website or logging on to school computers to get updated information on events and meetings
Quote of the Week: Or rather…a poem:
Working Together
by David Whyte
We shape our self to fit this world
and by the world are shaped again.
The visible and the invisible
working together in common cause,
to producethe miraculous.
I am thinking of the way the intangible air
passed at speedround a shaped wing
easily holds our weight.[*]
So may we, in this life trust
to those elementswe have yet to see
or imagine,and look for the true
shape of our own self, by forming it well
to the great Intangibles about us.
[*] As we all know, lift on an airfoil is not solely generated Bernoulli’s principle as implied by the poem. Despite the artistic license the author has taken with the physics of lift, his metaphor still works well (and may even work better).
Posts
