NOTAM 052311

23 May 2011

Principal’s Message

Congratulations and thanks to:

• The Junior Class (and especially Libby Redda and Sean Crowley) for sponsoring a spectacular Prom this past Saturday evening! It was a night filled with good times and glamor, and touching notes and smile-inducing pictures. The decorations were great; the music was danceable; the best part was the large amount of fun being had by all. Congratulations to our Prom Royalty: Collins Mbugua, Libby Redda, Miranda Sita, and Peter Nguyen. Thanks too to our chaperones: Drs. Katims, Messrs. McComb, Shiroma, and Ward, Mmes. Carper, Crowley, Fitzpatrick, Lee, Lefevre, Spiak, and Wombold, and to our hosts at the Experience Music Project.


• Austin Chick, Jenny Gao, David Hartranft, Drew Hidalgo, Siva Hope, Cameron Jaxheimer, Sydney Miller, Matthew Petroske, and Libanos Redda on successful completion of the online portion of the Washington Aerospace Scholars program and their selection for the 2011 Summer Residency!


• School ambassadors Albert Ta, Jenny Gao, Camila Palacio and Elsa Aguilar who joined Ms. Pappas to share the Aviation High School story at the Washington Airport Managers Association (WAMA) held last week in Seattle. The students shared their high school accomplishments, insights and college-and-beyond plans with a room full of professional airport managers and associates, along with describing the school’s culture, mission, academic rigor and the elements of our career readiness program. More mentoring and internship opportunities are being generated as a result of the high-quality presentation provided by the students and Ms. Pappas!


• Our AHS Ultimate Frisbee Team for placing second after their 14 May game, winning 12-9 against Everett High School, and another stellar showing at the 21 May championship at Magnusson Park. Our Ultimate stars finished the season in second place within their division. Thanks to Jennifer Luoma, a custom-made frisbee is being donated for our trophy case that will forever recognize this inaugural team and its successes. Congratulations to all Ultimate members and your parents for starting AHS’s very first athletic team!


• Our ASB officers and class captains for developing an inspiring and informative summary presentation of the 2011-2012 school year that was presented at the PTSA General Membership Meeting last week. It was superb, providing evidence of this spirited group’s commitment to AHS. Thanks to Ms. Fitz for being such a dedicated advisor, too!


• Our amazing PTSA for all of their support all year long!


• The following students who have been selected to tour the Arizona campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, leaving Seattle on Sunday, 10 July and returning late on Tuesday evening, 12 July: Emily Kelley, Lauren Crom, Natalie Carmichael, Abby Jarve, Molly Walsh, and Jennifer Luoma, Phillip Romero, Beemnet Workeneh, Max Wienke, Hunter McSwain, Austin Spores, and Jacob Wagner. All expenses are being paid by ERAU with the exception of incidentals (buying an ERAU shirt, munchies, etc.). Please note that these dates are NOT what I proposed in last week’s NOTAM, so if you are unable to participate during these July dates, please let me know by Wednesday of this week. Since we had far more applicants for this experience (all very qualified) than we can accommodate, please honor this deadline so that another student can attend if you are unable to do so. (FYI to students not selected: There will be another opportunity to visit ERAU, and I will place you at the top of the list if ERAU is still part of your college plans. I’m truly sorry that we are limited to 12 students.)


• Ms. Ciccone-Cook for presenting to the Association of University Women last Saturday and doing such an outstanding job of sharing her passion for teaching and learning! Of course, they now want to schedule her for a second presentation in the fall. Thank you, Ms. Cook, for being such an enthusiastic teacher ambassador!

We have five full days of school this week before the 3-day Memorial Day weekend. (We will follow a Monday schedule on Friday.) Here’s to learning and to a safe and honorable Memorial holiday weekend.

I am honored to be your principal. ~Reba


Royal Aeronautical Society Internship (RAeS)
Two new internships are now available with the Royal Aeronautical Society. See Ms. Burr in the Counseling Center if you are interested in this career readiness experience. Interns will be selected tomorrow! Don’t miss an opportunity for great learning that can build your résumé and add to your college application!


NOTE:
o Continue checking the AHS website or logging on to school computers to get updated information on events and meetings. There, you’ll find things like:
PSTA Reminder: Cookie Dough delivery will be Tuesday, 24 May at 2:30.


Quote of the Week:
Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.
— Socrates

NOTAM 051611

16 May 2011

Principal’s Message

Great opportunities continue to come your way, students! Some that you may want to consider include:

College!

• A summer trip to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott Arizona campus IF you intend to apply to ERAU in your senior year. Exact travel dates have not yet been determined but we are hoping for last week of June. ERAU covers the cost of airfare and houses you in one of their dormitories. The duration of the trip is usually two nights and three days. This opportunity is open to students in grades 9-11. If interested, please email me at gilmanrj@hsd401.org, explaining your goals for college and career and what you hope to experience as part of this college visitation. Emails due by this Friday, 20 May.


• Scholarships
  · The AHS packet is posted on our website and hard copies are available from senior advisors. Completed applications and essays are due to Ms. Carper on or before 23 May @ 1600 PDT.
  · If you have been selected as a SoDo Rotary Student of the Month this year, please plan to have lunch (pizza and pop) with a few Rotarians TODAY, 16 May from noon to 1:00 p.m. in Room 2. This meeting provides another opportunity for a possible scholarship that will be awarded this year.

Career!

• Summer Internship at AeroTEC! Do your research on the company and see Ms. Burr if you are interested in a $15/hour, full-time, eight-week experience this summer. Preference goes to seniors who plan to attend the UW this fall to pursue an Aerospace Engineering degree, but others will be considered as well if highly motivated and qualified (and 17 years old or older). Application materials are due on or before 1 June.


• Internships continue to be posted on the internship board outside the office as they come available. Many students have already found theirs and are looking forward to working at places like Blue Origin (rocket ship company), OMAX (manufacturing company), with the Blue Angels, etc. Be sure to investigate and apply for these opportunities!

Citizenship!

• Student-led conferences are taking place tonight and tomorrow night. It is your chance to articulate what you have learned and to explain how the work you are doing know will prepare you for the next step towards your goals.


• A reminder to all that the PTSA is holding its General Membership Meeting this Thursday, May 19, from 7:00-8:00 p.m. in our gymnasium. Please plan to attend in support of our ASB officers and representative who will be providing a summary of this year’s activities and thanking the PTSA for their generous support. Incoming freshmen and their families have also been invited, so it’s a great opportunity to meet, greet, and welcome them to our learning community. There’s no school for students on the following day, Friday 20 May 20, so you can attend without the worry of getting your homework done that night! And…did you know that the S in PTSA stands for “Student?”


• As most of you know, the State’s economy is not thriving. The legislature is working hard to balance the state budget, but that means across-the-board cuts in most everything, education included. In anticipation of a greatly reduced State budget, Highline Public schools must make plans to reduce costs for next school year. A ‘laundry list’ of considerations will be presented for community feedback at a Budget Workshop that is being held this Saturday, 21 May from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at Midway Elementary School. There are likely to be proposed cuts that will impact Aviation High School (last year, for example, one of the proposed cuts included changing the starting and ending time for our school day). District leaders do listen to what the community shares with them, so your attendance is important. Hopefully, you will also be able to express your thoughts online but we have not yet been given that information. Stay tuned!

Some congratulations and thanks are also in order:

• Kudos to everyone who ran for ASB Executive Office; congratulations to those who were elected. Your officers for the 2011-2012 school year are Jenny Gao, president; Kevin Schilling, vice-president; Tran Tonnu, secretary; and, Karan Grewel, treasurer.


• Hearty congratulations to two more AHS alumni from our inaugural Class of 2008 who have graduated from college! Natalie Nason earned her degree from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana; and Joey Marco earned his degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Natalie and Joey are the second and third AHS alumni to graduate from college.


• We had two groups of students submit entries into the Port of Seattle video contest; both won 2nd place. Congratulations to Kevin Schilling, Dustin Abrahamson, Jenny Gao, and Allison Do. The 2nd place prize is a $4K cash award!


• AHS women were out in force at the Women Fly Day in Renton on Saturday. Over 65 girls and young women flew. Check out the following blog for more information: http://karlenepetitt.blogspot.com/2011/05/54-guest-fly-out-of-renton-airport.html


• Skunkworks Robotics thanks all the students that prepared welcome home signs for the team. It was wonderful to see the support!! Thank you so much!!

My best to all for an exciting week of learning! Honored to be your principal—Reba


NOTE:
Continue checking the AHS website or logging on to school computers to get updated information on events and meetings. For example, on Tuesday, 17 May, the Royal Aeronautical Society is hosting a lecture by Guy Norris, an award-winning journalist, who will present “787 Dreamliner – The Story Behind the Story” at the Museum of Flight.

Quote of the Week:
As you pass from sunlight into darkness and back again every hour and a half, you become startlingly aware how artificial are thousands of boundaries we've created to separate and define. And for the first time in your life, you feel in your gut the precious unity of the Earth and all the living things it supports.
— Russell 'Rusty' Schweikart, returning from Apollo 9

NOTAM 050911

09 May 2011

Principal’s Message

Congratulations to junior Jenny Gao on her selection as a WISH (Women in STEM High Schools Aerospace Scholars) recipient, which provides the opportunity to participate in the WISH Summer Program at Johnson Space Center with 39 other girls from around the world. When you see Jenny, you may want to ask about the application process that led to such a prestigious award!

Congratulations also go to Navid Shafa, our May Student of the Month for Sodo Rotary. Navid will be honored this Thursday at a noon luncheon in Georgetown.

Jordan Cross and Alex Cox recently applied for an internship with Hytek in Kent. After a very thorough interview process, both have been offered paid positions with Hytek this summer. They will be doing 3-D design for the finishing touches of the entire spectrum of airplane parts for Boeing and all the companies that Hytek serves. Congratulations, Jordan and Alex!

If you are interested in a summer internship, make it a point to check with Julie Burr in the counseling center and read the notices that she posts. Our goal at AHS is to connect every student with a mentor and with an internship. Ideally, you will do your internship in your junior year or the summer prior to senior year. The knowledge and skills you gain through mentoring, interning, and/or paid employment are key to informing your thinking about your college and career pathways. There are some fabulous opportunities available to AHS students, thanks to our many partners in aviation and aerospace. Don’t miss an opportunity to round out your résumé! FYI: Currently, there is a paid internship posted for Korry Electronics in Everett—check it out with Ms. Burr!

AHS students Danica Balsiger and Kyra Sutherland will be competing Saturday, 14 May in the Scottish Highland Dancing Northwest Regional Championships. The very best dancers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Alaska compete to represent the region at the United States National Championship this summer. The championship is at Sylvester Middle School in Burien, and the ladies dance in the afternoon. Wish them luck when you see them this week. Better yet, show up to support them; admission is just $5.

Speaking of support, AHS’s inaugural Ultimate Frisbee team has the final match of their season on Saturday, 14 May at 4:30 p.m. at South Park Field (738 South Sullivan St., Seattle). They will be facing off against Everett High School and would appreciate your presence and cheers! Our team has had a great season! Since 2 April, they’ve played the following games: vs. Eastside Prep: 10-9 us; vs. Bush B: 10-6 us; vs. U Prep B: 9-4 us; vs. Garfield 9-8 us; vs. Woodinville 11-7 us.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the focus group interviews last week with Assistant Secretary of Education Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier. She was duly impressed! On Wednesday of this week, we are hosting two more VIP groups: from 9:00-11:00 a.m. representatives of the Pacific Northwest Business Aircraft Owners Association will be on campus; and from 1:00-3:00 p.m. we’ll have senior executives from Greenpoint Technologies in Kirkland on campus. We will be touring classes and asking you to share your learning and your goals for college and career with our guests.

Ellen Jetland is sponsoring a pet food drive that ends this Friday. She is requesting that you drop off food in grade level boxes located in the cafeteria each morning. Only cat and dog food are acceptable though it could be wet or dry. Food that is six months past the expiration date cannot be accepted. Previously opened dry food in original bag is acceptable. Ellen is asking us all to step up and help our less fortunate furry friends at the Seattle Humane Society. So…if you can contribute to Ellen’s project, please do so by Friday!

On 19 May, the PTSA will hold its annual General Membership Meeting from 7:00-8:00 p.m. in our gymnasium. Our ASB officers and representatives will be providing a review of the school year and thanking the PTSA for their very generous support to the instructional program, school clubs and activities. Parents and students: Let’s pack the gym! See you there!

That’s it for this week, Scholars! Learning counts—every minute of it! As always, I am honored to be your principal. ~Reba


PTSA Updates:

Year End General PTSA Meeting: Thursday, May 19th - AHS gymnasium 7:00 pm

PTSA Nominations for New Officers for 2011-2012: The AHS PTSA is seeking nominations for two board positions for the 2011 - 2012 school year. If you are interested or would like to nominate someone please contact: Barry Nelsen, Ace_construct@yahoo.com, phone 206 246 4883

Senior Grad Night Information: There has been a change of plans for the party. Tickets will be on sale Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the school through June. Price is $90.00 per person. You may also buy a ticket by sending payment to: Melanie DeWeese - 2321 S. 249th, Kent, WA 98032. Volunteers are needed to help pick up food from Costco, chaperone, take a group photo the night of and distribute copies afterward, set up car wash fundraisers. Contact Melanie DeWeese (206 824 1077 email: aviationgradnight@aviationptsa.org) for more information or to volunteer.

NOTE:
o We received a notice from the district’s Transportation Department last week asking that we remind everyone who rides a school bus that balloons, popcorn, candy, skateboards, rollerblades, sharp or bulky items cannot be transported in the passenger compartment of a school bus. Food that is sealed and confined inside your backpack and or lunch bag is okay. For the safety of all passengers and to comply with state laws, please follow these rules.
o Continue checking the AHS website or logging on to school computers to get updated information on events and meetings.

Jokes of the Week, courtesy of Mr. Ivy, our Tech Administrator:
Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other “You stay here; I’ll go on ahead.”
Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says “I’ve lost my electron.” The other says “Are you sure?” The first replies “Yes, I’m positive.”

NOTAM 050211

02 May 2011

Principal’s Message

AHS students continue to inspire and amaze us all! Hearty congratulations to:

• Albert Ta for a successful admissions appeal to the University of Washington! Yea, Albert, for being both agile and perseverant!


• Libanos Redda and Phaevene Mekkonen for their acceptance to Bioquest for a summer internship where they will research causes and cures of infectious diseases.


• Melissa Lewis on being selected by Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos’ space development company) for a paid summer internship! Melissa is the only high school student who has been chosen for what is normally reserved for college interns.


• Betsy Smith on her selection as a Washington Scholar! This award is sponsored by Washington State’s Higher Education Coordinating Board in recognition of the most exemplary high school seniors within each legislative district of the State. Betsy was chosen from the 34th Legislative District, and depending on state economic conditions, she may (or may not) receive financial support for college tuition. We’re hoping that she does!


• Our Skunkworks Robotics team, Coach Steele, Parents, Mentors, & Sponsors for an amazing 2011 season! They return to school today after a sensational trip to the World Championships in St. Louis, Missouri at which the team scored 8 wins and 2 losses in the qualification round and qualified 6th on their field. In a written update message from Coach on Sunday morning, he summarized as follows: “We lost in a hard-fought quarterfinal match. We averaged over 100 points in our matches for the tournament. The CAD team was one of only four teams to win an award in the Autodesk CAD Inventor competition; and senior Lydia Johnston received the Dean’s List Award (3500 applications, 102 finalists, and 10 winners—in the world!). During the closing ceremonies, the Skunkworks team was given the World Championship Award for Creativity for our innovative game-piece scoring mechanism. All in all, it was a terrific ending for a great year. This year the team won 11 separate awards and nine trophies…we are going to need a bigger trophy case!” Indeed, you are, Coach and team, and we will make sure you get one! We salute you…we commend you…we are ever so proud of you!


• Kevin Schilling, a founding member of AHS’s LEAP (Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize) club, went to the AERO 2011 Trade Exhibition for General Aviation in Friedrichshafen, Germany. In addition to collecting amazing new footage, he also presented a video produced by AHS’s LEAP club to Prince Albert of Monaco!


• Benton Coblentz is heading off this week (Wednesday – Saturday) to participate in YMCA’s Youth in Government program. While there, he will learn even more about becoming an active and engaged citizen in the democratic process.

Our mentors and friends of AHS are also quite amazing. It’s a pleasure to recognize Mike Borfitz, FAA Engineer & AHS mentor on his selection as Volunteer of the Year, an award that is sponsored by the Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence. Mike will be honored at the Foundation’s Gold Star breakfast on May 13th. In the meantime, I’m sure he would appreciate congratulatory notes or comments when you see him. Congratulations, Mike!

Advanced Placement (AP) testing begins today and continues through May 11. Our juniors and seniors have been preparing all year for this final assessment of their learning, and we wish them the very best! As an FYI to freshmen and sophomores: When you enroll in an AP class at Aviation High School, we require that you also take the AP exam. As such, our little high school has more exam takers than any other school in the Highline District! A total of 145 AHS students will be taking a total of 250 AP exams over the next week! Yea, AHS scholars! We’re proud of you!

Do you appreciate AHS staff? Of course you do! And while I imagine that you frequently acknowledge your appreciation for them, you may want to show them a little extra respect this week as part of Staff Appreciation Week. AHS educators and support staff are my heroes, and I suspect that you may have a special fondness for them, too. Here’s to all educators everywhere and especially those at Aviation High School! (Special thanks to all AHS parents and the PTSA for treating us so well with goodies, Starbucks cards, etc. all year long! We appreciate YOU, too!)

About those Scholarship Packets that we’ve been promising to post by May 1: We’re almost ready to post on our website; however, a couple of new scholarships came through late last week that we want to include, so we’ll finish the details today and have the packet posted by Wednesday. Please pay attention to specific criteria and due dates for each of the scholarships for which you apply. We encourage all seniors to review the scholarship packet and apply for as many awards as possible. See Ms. Carper if you have questions.

We continue to have many requests from educators and business and industry representatives to visit our school. Today, we are hosting a group from Walla Walla that will be on campus from 0800 until 1100. You will most likely see them in classrooms. Student ambassadors, please be prepared to share your learning if/when they visit your classroom. Tomorrow, we are hosting a visit for Glenda Dann-Messier, Assistant Secretary of Education for the U.S. Department of Education. Dr. Dann-Messier oversees Career & Technical Education and Adult Education and is interested in learning more about how a career-focused, contextual based (aviation/aerospace/engineering), college prep program such as ours benefits students as well as employers and the workforce. I will be talking with some of you today to ask that you be part of a student focus group from 1240-1335 tomorrow. Our guest is scheduled to be on our campus from 1230-1515.

A parent alerted me last week that I made a slight error in my Principal’s message about the date for the Senior Awards Ceremony. Thank you, Mr. Smith! And…the correct date is Sunday, June 5 (NOT June 7!) Mr. Smith’s reminder also nudged me to provide a schedule of important dates from now until the end of the school year. They are:

• 16 – 17 May: student-led conferences


• 18 May: registration for 2011-12 classes during advisory


• 19 May: PTSA General Membership Meeting at AHS (in the evening—staff and students are encouraged to attend!)


• 20 May: non-school day for students


• 27 May: full day of school (1530 dismissal)


• 30 May: Memorial Day break


• 5 June: senior awards ceremony at Boeing Theater


• 7-9 June: geometry and algebra end-of-course exams


• 8 June: Senior Literary Night


• 9 June: make-up end-of-course exam (9th graders in Algebra 2, 10th graders in precalculus, others who have not yet passed WASL or HSPE)


• 10 June: all-school awards ceremony @ Highline Performing Arts Center


• 18 June: graduation


• 20 June: last day for seniors


• 24 June: full day of school (1530 dismissal)


• 27 June: Last day for other students (1200 dismissal); pancake breakfast

If you have reached this point in reading this week’s message, I applaud you and apologize for the lengthiness. In the spirit of providing important and timely communication, however, I hope that this information is helpful in planning for the remainder of the school year.

To learning! Honored to be your principal—Reba

A senior project that you may want to attend:
Below you will find the link to the Museum of Flight Calendar highlight for Alex Bergler’s upcoming Senior Project event. Enjoy the video, too, by turning the volume up for music and dialog. http://www.museumofflight.org/event/angle-attack-aerodynamic-kinship-between-exotic-automobiles-and-aircraft

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:
If you can't see any opportunities where you are now, don't waste your time criticizing the darkness. . . . Light a candle to find your way out.
— Arlene Feldman. Regional Director FAA